THE JONES COUNTY
NUMBER 35
TRENTON, N. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1968
VOLUME XVI
Schoolhouse Shoot-Out Seriously Hurts
Youth, Results in Indictment of Another
Last. Friday morning an in
cident at Jones High School just
outside Trenton sent one boy
to Lenoir Memorial Hospital in
Kinston with three serious pis
tol wounds and another to the
county jail on charge of assault
with a deadly weapon with in
tent to kill.
Seventeen year-old Alvin
Grant of Dover route 2 is charg
ed with shooting 18 year-old
Thomas Brimage of Trenton
route 2.
The shooting took place before
school was convened for the day
at about 8 a.m. just as busses
were arriving for the day.
Grant shot Brimage three
times in the upper body with a
small caliber pistol. Grant is
free under bond, pending trial
Jail for Speeders
District Judge Buck Wooten
seemed to be getting a lot
tougher with speeders last week.
James Gulley of Camp Lejeune
and Kenneth Ray Thompson of
Richlands route 1 were each
found guilty of speeding 110
miles an hour in a 60-mile zone
and Wooten sentenced each to
90 flat days in prison. They both
gave notice of appeal to superior
court, perhaps hoping that Judge
Joe Parker would be back to
treat them as gently as he did
Paroled Murderer Wesley Ford
ham, who was put on probation
for armed robbery and aggra
vated assault.
of the charges dn superior court.
Brimage is reportedly recup
erating satisfactorily.
The sheriffs office also re
ports booking two others in the
past week. Herbert Elwood Ho
ward of Pink Hill route 1 was
charged with drunken driving
and speeding 80 miles ,an hour
and Chester Roberts of Pollocks
ville, who is out on bond, pend
ing trial on a murder charge, was
charged with drunken driving,
driving without a license and
resisting arrest.
Two Suits Filed in
Superior Court
During Past Week
Jones County Clerk of Court
Rogers Pollack reports receiving
two civil suits in his office dur
ing the past week.
Anna Elizabeth Quinn Metts
filed suit for a divorce from
Wilbur Ashley Metts, alleging
their marriage on March 29,
1942 and their separation on
May 25, 1966. The complaint
says four minor children born
to the marriage are in the cus
tody of Mrs. Metts.
The other suit was one filed
by Sinclair Refining Company
of Illinois, which seeks to col
lect a bill allegedly owed that
company by Hue D. Hill of
Jones County.
The suit alleges the debt to
be $169.43 and it asks recovery
of that amount with interest
from July 1, 1965.
Landowners Fined
For Failing List
Taxes Properly
Four of the nine cases cleared
from the docket of Jones Coun
ty District Court in the past
week were charges of failure to
list taxes.
Obediah Strayhom of Tren
ton route 1, James Bryant apd
William C. Jones both of Pol
locksville and Gilbert and Lela
Meadows of Maysville were fined
$10 and the $15 court costs for
their oversight in this depart
ment.
Charles F. Mooney of New
Bern, Leslie Spells of Hout, In
diana, and Donald Dale Smith of
Jacksonville route 2 each paid
$20 for speeding.
Everett W. Wilson of Ayden
and W. J. Findiesen of Maysville
each paid $15 for failure to com
ply with the vehicle inspection
laws.
DRAFT BOARD SCHEDULE
Local Board No. 53, Jones
County (more commonly known
as the draft board) will be clos
ed on Dec. 23rd and 24th, but
open on the 26th and 27th for
business as usual. Hours 8:30
to 5:30 daily Monday through
Friday.
TWO CHECKS, FIVE MONTHS
J. C. Jarman of Kinston route
1 was found guilty last week
in District court of passing two
worthless checks for which he
was given five months in jail.
One of the checks for $554.43
was given to a Kinston auto
dealer as down payment on a
new car.
Lengthy Bill of Particulars Hied
Against Jones County Sheriff Yates
A group of eight Jones Coun
tians and one Highway Patrol
man stationed in Kinston have
filed a lengthy bill of particulars
Six Onslow Boys in
Trouble for Thefts
Last week six Onslow County
teenagers were charged with
more than 50 acts of thievery
and vandalism over a wide area.
Included1 in their handiwork
were jobs they did in Lenoir
County at Hardee Gas Company,
Mills International, Kinston
Plaza Dry Cleaning plant and
Lenoir County Community Col
lege.
MH-30 Thief Gets
Suspended Jail
James Grady Jr. of LaGrange
was convicted in Lenoir County
Superior Court last week of
stealing a large quantity of MH
30 from the Smith-Douglas plant
north of Kinston.
He was given a 2-year jail
term suspended on condition he
remain on probation three years,
pay $800 to the company and
$270 to his attorney.
SMITH ON USS ENTERPRISE
Boatswain’s Mate Third Class
Stacy L. Smith, son of Mr. and
Mrs. John W. Smith of Route 1,
Trenton, participated in opera
tion “Beef Trust” aboard the nu
clear-powered attack aircraft car
rier USS Enterprise off the
coast of Southern California.
LEVON CARR IN TEXAS
Airman Levon Carr, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond W. Carr
of Route 1, Trenton, has been
graduated from an Air Force
technical school at Sheppard
AFB, Tex. The airman, who was
trained as a medical services
specialist, will remain at Shep
pard for further training. He
is a graduate of Jones High
School.
against Jones County Sheriff
Brown Yates in Superior Court
aimed at removing Yates from
office.
This move which began just
after the dose of the annual
Jones County Fair now has be
come the official responsibility
of the courts of the county.
Legion officials, who conduct
the annual fair, made the first
complaint. They are Harvey
Boyette, Logan Green, Clifton
Heath, Manley Gray Jr., and
Wayne Stilley. They alleged
that Yates was repeatedly too
drunk at the fair to carry out
the duties of his office.
The affidavits filed in the of
fice of Court Clerk Rogers Pol
lock this week include one from
Highway Patrol Sergeant Louis
Taylor of Kinston, who swears
that on October 5, 1968, Yates
was drunk in his office at the
court house, and Taylor concur
red in the charges made by the
fair officials.
Another affidavit sworn to by
W. D. Eubanks says that on
February 24, 1968, Yates was
drunk at the scene of a fire near
Pollocksville in which an aged
woman had burned to death, and
that Yates interferred with fire
men at the scene.
County Commissioners Clif
ton Hood and Horace Phillips
in their affidavits make no spe
cific charges, but they assert
that on numerous occasions
since they were sworn in on
the first Monday of December
in 1967 citizens around the
county have complained to them
about Yates “riding around the
county in an intoxicated condi
tion.”
Yates has 30 days to file and
answer to the charges made by
this group, after which the case
automatically becomes the first
to be heard in the next term of
Jones County Superior Court.
The charge is heard without
jury by the presiding judge, who
has the authority to suspend
Yates from office pending fur
ther appeals in the case if ap
pears are taken.
SOCIAL SECURITY TAX GOING UP BUT BENEFITS OUT-WEIGH COST TO AVERAGE CITIZEN
by Jack Rider
Those who pay social security
taxes complain that the rate is
too high and they flinch anew
with each boost in the rate,
which goes up another .8 per
cent on the first $7800 of an
nual, income as of Jan. 1, 1969.
Those who are on the receiv
ing end of social security bene
fits generally complain that they
are not getting enough.
This 31 year-old program has
been cussed and discussed ever
since it became a part of the
American Way of Life in 1937.
But it is here to stay, and there
is every evidence that it is ac
cepted, and generally appre
ciated both by the payer and the
payee.
‘Wnen social security began in
the Early New Deal Days it rep
resented a 2 per cent tax on the
first $3000 of annual income.
One per cent to be contributed
by the worker and the other one
per cent by his boss. This was
the rate for the first 12 years
of social security, and only a
very small per cent of the na
tional workforce was earning an
average of $3000 per year in
those early lean years.
But the war came and brought
its inevitable inflation and along
with the general inflation the
social security tax began to inch
higher, but each time its bite
on the payroll got larger the list
of benefits expanded and other
groups became eligible for par
ticipation, or their participation
- ’ mandatory under new
the law.
cent on the first $300 of annual
payroll.
For the next three years (1951
53) the rate was 3 per cent on
the first $3600 of annual pay
roll.
In 1954 the rate was 4 per cent
on $3600. In 1955-56 it was 4
per cent on $4200. In ’57 the
rate was 4.25 per cent on $4200.
In ’59 the rate went to 5 per cent
on $4800. It rose to 6 per cent on
$4800 for ’60-61.' Rose in ’62 to
6.25 per cent on $4800. For the
three years ’63-64-65 the rate
rested at 7.25 per cent on $4800.
In ’66 the rate was 8.4 per cent
on $6600, and in ’67 the rate
rose to 8.8 per cent on $6600
and for the year now ending the
rate rose once more to 8.8 per
cent on $7800.
.Maximum Payments
If a worker were lucky enough
to be earning the maximum tax
able income during all those
years from 1937 through 1968
he and his boss would have paid
into the social security trust
funds a total of $5962 If the
worker wanted to be selfish and
merely consider only what he
had paid himself his total contri
would have been $2981, but his
boss was forced to pay in the
same amount, for which the boss
got no benefit, except staying
out of Atlanta, but anyway it’s
considered it’s money that could
have been in the worker’s pay
check if it had not been~sent to
the social security administra
tion ■
Assuming that this lucky
worker reached the retirement
age of 65 during 1968 he could
have retired for the rest of his
natural life at $168 per month
and his wife, if she were 62
years old would have been eli
gible for a monthly benefit so
long as her husband lived of
$63 per month, and at his death
she would become eligible for
$138.40 per month for the re
mainder of her life.
If they happened to be Mr.
and Mrs. Average American
they had three children and
during the time those children
were under 18 or until they
reached the age of 22 if they
remained in an approved school
the children also had consid
erable vested interest in those
deductions that had been made
on Papa’s paycheck.
u rapa auring tne cnnanooa,
or education period of his child
ren suffered a totally disabling
injury or illness he and his fami
ly would have been eligible for
$309 per month, with this being
reduced as each child passed 18
or 22 years of age. Children to
tally disabled physically pr men
tally remain eligible for their
entire lives under this provision
of the law. _
If Papa during the childhood
or educational period of his
children had died his survivors
would have received $368 per
month, with the same provi
sions for the ages, educations
and disabilities "of each child.
And $255 would have been paid
to Papa’s estate to help with
the funeral expenses.
In a theoretically possible
situation, which has happened
thousands of times over a young
father of say 30 is killed or dies
naturally and leaves three child
ren behind aged one, two and
three, and he has maximum so
cial security coverage. Consider:
Assuming that each of those
three children went to college
and remained in school until
their 22nd year the total pay
ments to his family would have
been $91,864, which represents
$84,304 for the 19-year period
until the oldest child reaches 22,
$6048 for the two years until
the next child reaches 22 and
one more year at $1512 until his
last child reaches 22.
Under existing laws his wife
would not be eligible for any
widow’s benefits after the last
child has passed 22 until she
reaches the age of 60, or unless
she is past the age of 50 and to
tally disabled, and in either of
these circumstances his widow
would then be eligible for
$120.40 per month for the rest
of her life.
But There'* More
Effective with 1967 persons
65 years of age and older be
came eligible for something
ed through the social security
administration tax and from ap
propriations from the federal
general taxation.
Under this for each separate
spell of sickness in a 12-month
period the patient pays the first
$40 of hospital bills for the first
60 days in a hospital and Medi
care pays the balance, and all
but $10 per day for an addition
al 30 days in each spell of sick
—_
ness. And another 20 days in an
extended care facility, and an
other 80 days in such a con
valescence of nursing home with
all but $5 per day for each spell
of sickness. Also pay for up to
100 home-health visits by nurses
or other health workers in the
365 days after release from a
hospital or nursing home, and
80 per cent of the cost after the
first $20 of out-patient diagnos
tic tests in a hospital for each
20-day period of testing.
Some package!
But there’s more, on a volun
tary basis. If one is frightened
by doctor bills at the age of 65
he may sign up for Medical In
surance under this program,
which costs $4 per month, pay
able in advance or deductible
from one’s social security check
if one is drawing such a check.
Under this social security will
pay 80 per cent of reasonable
doctor bills after the first $50
has been paid by the patient.
Actuarial Soundness?
Some Adam Smith, conserva
tives frequently assert in public
fraud, that the government is
using the money it collects
for an assortment of odd jobs
and peculiar projects, and these
types further assert that a lot
of people who are “paying in”
today will never “draw out” to
morrow.
The basic fault with such al
legations is that they are try
ing to compare cheese and chalk.
They are using the bookkeeping
methods of private insurance
companies, whose only guran
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