COUNTY
TRENTON, N. C„ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1969
volume xvn
fir Effort to Brook
Gray by Rolatives
v The effort made last week in
Jones County Superior Court to
■ ' break the will of Mrs. Henry
Gay resulted in a mistrial be
ing declared when the jury said
. it wan unable to reach a unani
mous verdict.
Mrs. Gray left the bulk of her
estate in trust to provide schol
arships for , deserving Jones
students to colleges and univer
sities.
Several of her relatives are
attempting to have the will de
clared void, alleging that Mrs.
Gray was not of sound haind at
the time she made the will and
that undue influence was exert
ed on her. ,
Under the stupid laws of
North Carolina in such cases
lawyers on both sides are paid
out of the estate, whether they
win or lose and no matter what
the jury decides the estate winds
up the loser.
Since this case will have to
be tried again the slice taken
from the estate by the lawyers
is expected to be even more ex
horbitant than in other recent
LAND TRANSFERS ‘
Jones County Register of
Deeds Bill Parker reports re
fers in his office during the past
cording the following land trans
week:
Prom C. E. Willie to Chaun
cey Strayhorn and Bertha Stray
horn a tract in Pollocksville
Township.
From Walter H. Bray and
Audrey P. Bray to John and
Dorothy Moore 4.52 acres in
Pollocksville Township.
Prom Nelson S. Barker to
Charles C. Jones Jr. 170 acres
in Trenton Township.
instances of this kind in' Jones
County. __
Three Jones Arrests
Jones County Sheriff Brown
Yates reports three persons be
ing booked at the county jail
Airing the past week: David L.
Barfield of Trenton route 1 was
accused of drunken driving, and
E. W. Potter and Randy Mead
ows of Tteaton were charged
with drunken walking.
Damage Suit from
May 31st Wreck is
Asking for $5,000
The only suit filed in the of
fice of Jones County Court
Clerk Rogers Pollock during the
past week was one growing out
of an automobile accident on
May 31, 1969.
James Edward1 Taylor is su
ing Thomas Mackay Jenkins for
$5,000 for personal injuries, as
well as recovery of damages to
his car from an accident on that
date which he alleges to have
been Jenkins’s fault.
North Carolina Birthrate Continues
Falling; Now at Lowest Point Ever
The North Carolina State
Board of Health reports a con
tinuing drop in the state’s birth
rate being recorded in the past
year, bringing the rate to the
lowest point ever recorded: 18.7
per thousand of population.
Although tjie drop was slight
from that of 1967 it continues
a trend that began with the ad
vent of “The Pill”.-The ’67 rate
was 18.8.
The all-time high birthrate for
North Carolina was recorded
in 1921, when it hit 33.4 per
thousand!.
During the depression years
the rate fell, hitting 22.4 in 1936
dnd bouncing back up to 30.4
at the end of World War Two
in 1947.
Then after .that first big crop j
of post-war babies the birthrate
was fairly stable, running in
the 26-per-thousand area from
’50 through ’56.
The dramatic drop began in
’61 when the rate was 24.2 and
in the period since it fell to the
’88 all-lime Tow of 18.7.
In ’68 the white birthrate was
17.4, a notch higher than the
year before when it stood at
17.3.
The Negro birthrate, how
ever, continued its rapid decline,
falling from 23.4 in ’67 to 22.6
last year.
The all-time recorded high
Negro birthrate was 1954 when
it hit 34.4, and for that to have
fallen to 22.6 in such a brief
period is considered remarkable
by demographic experts.
In ’61 when “The Pill” ar
Continued page 8
Pitt Countian Dies
In Lenoir County's
12th 1969 Fatality
Richard Mitchell White of
Greenville became the 12th
traffic fatality for 1969 in Le
noir County last Wednesday
morning.
White, a 56 year-old federal
employee, lost control of his
Lenoir, Jones, Duplin, Wayne, Greene
Onslow, Pamlico Favor One-Cent Tax
Although 75 of North Caro
lina’s 1Q0 counties vetoed a
county-option one-cent sales tax
Lenoir and a majority of its sis
ter counties approved by con
siderable margins this new ap
proach to paying for local gov
ernmental services.
Lenoir County voted strong
est of any county among the 25
voting for the program by a
vote of 4401 to 1248.
Jones County’s margin was
also decisive 662404)36, Greene
Countians said Yes at the rate
of 82340-499.
Large Wayne County also de
cisively embraced the new con
cept 3495-to-2101.
Duplin County also said yes
but by a thinner margin: 2038
to-1607, and' Pamlico County’s
yes-vote was even thinner: 823
to-761.
Onslow County had a very
light vote but said Yes by a
goodly margin: 2863-to-1773.
In Pitt County the vote was
Biggest Rain in
Months Hits Area
Saturday Night
After unusally dry weather in
September and October the skies
opened up Saturday night and
dumped 4.81 inches of rain on
the Kinston area. Fairly high
winds also acommpanied the
young flood but no serious dam
age was reported in the Kins
ton area.
Weather Observer Douglas
Rouse said his rain gauge in
Southwest Township recorded
the 4.81 and the gauge at Radio,
Stations WFTC and WRNS ini
Falling Creek Township in Le
noir County registered 4.56 inch
es.
Neuse River was falling Sat
urday at 3.61 feet but at 8
Monday morning it had hit 8.04
and was still rising.
car in the curve just north of
Kinston on State Highway'NC
91.
very closely against the new sys
tem of local taxation: 3749-to
3134.
Craven Countians also said No
and by a heavier margin than
in Pitt, voting No 3104-to-1731.
Viewed from the perspective
of sales tax collections in fiscal
1968-69 it is likely that Lenoir
County will be at about the
midpoint, getting back under
the system just about what it '
pays in.
Jones, Greene, Pamlico and
Duplin are likely to get back
slightly more than is collected
by this new tax in their respec
tive counties.
Among the larger counties that
approved the vote were Durham,
Buncombe, Cumberland, New
Hanover, Wayne andi Onslow,
The first half of the collec
tions from this new tax will be
returned to the county in which
it is collected1, and divided be
tween the county and’ all cor
porate communities on the basis
of their respective tax listed
valuations.
The second half of the collec
tions will be put into a pool
and divided on the basis of
population between the 25 coun
ties that approved the tax on
Tuesday.
Those 25 counties approving
the new tax had a 1960 popula
tion of 947,944. The present esti
mated population of these 25
counties is 1,061,322.
This indicates a pretty fair
fourth of the total state popula
tion in that the estimated state
population at present is 4,963,
895 and one-fourth of that is
1,240,974.
Mecklenburg County which
already has a four-cent sales
tax with the entire fourth cent
going to the county voted down
the additional tax, and its
fourth cent will not be shared
by those 25 counties that ap
proved the new tax this week.
Adding Mecklenburg’s popu
lation to the 25 approving a
four-cent sales tax Tuesday
puts well over a fourth of the
state’s population in counties
that will have such a sales tax.
Ur.
DEPARTMENT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS JOB IS TO HELP VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES
By Jack Rider
The 1967 session of the Gen
eral Assembly' among other
things changed the name of the
North Carolina Veterans Com
mission to the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
But the job of the state agen
cy remains what it has been
since it was founded in 1931:
To aid veterans and their fam
ilies in getting benefits available
to them through the federal Vet
erans Administration and to ad
minister the scholarship pro
gram for children of veterans
in North Carolina.
To accomplish this two-part
job the department has two prin
ciple offices, in Raleigh where
the administrative head Cohn
McKinne and his, staff are
quartered, and- the State Ser
vice Office m Winston-Salem,
where a much larger staff is
maintained under the super
vision of State Service Officer
Lloyd Blalock.
The service office is located
In ti>e same building with the re
offices of the Veterans
tioh and its task is
the flow of wor*
N ttirmnoh the
iiii
by the county government in
which they serve with the state
allocating $1,000 per year as a
matching fund in those counties
that do have a county service
officer.
The policies of the depart
ment are set by a five-member
board, each appointed to a five
year term, by the governor, with
one appointment being made
each year. The current mem
bership of this statutory board
includes Chairman Wesley Cul
Iipher of Elizabeth City, Vice
Chairman Jack Bass of Hickory,
Secretary Jack Bider of Kins
ton, Dudley Robbins of Willard,
and John Dickerson of Monroe.
The State Coinmanders of the
six active veterans’ organiza|ions
in the state are ex-officio mem
bers of the board. They may
make motions, take part in dis
cussions but only the* statutory
board meinbers are allowed to
vote..
The present ex-officio mem
bers include American Legion
Commander C. E. Thompson Jr.
of Wilmington, AMVETS Com
mander Otha Day of Roxboro,
Veterans of Foreign Wars Com
mander Fred Moore 'Jr. of Sal
isbury, Veterans of World War
year.
The department has an annual
budget (1969-70) of $722,164.
| This does not include funds ap
propriated by the general assem
bly for scholarships.
Under this scholarship pro
gram something near $1 million
per year is being spent at pres
ent. In the past four years the
board1 has approved 1,429 full
four-year scholarships.
Until the 1969 session of the
general assembly these scholar
ships were restricted to state
supported institutions of higher
education, but this year the
scholarships were made avail
able to any accredited North Car
olina college or university, with
payments made in line with the
cost of attending state institu
tions. —-———^
This year 390 scholarships were
approved, last year 360, in 1967
there were 353 and in ’66 there
were 326.
These scholarships go auto
matically to children of North
Carolina veterans killed in com
bat; those who died' from com
bat injuries and veterans who
suffered a 100 per cent disabil
ity jn combat. All any child of
such a, veteran needs do to
qualify for a full four - year
scholarship is be accepted in An
accredited school in the state
md prove the parental relation
North Carolinian and married
an out-of-state veteran may qual
ify if they have not been con
stantly away from the state and
if North Carolina is the legal
residence of the veteran at the
time of his death or injury. To
keep the scholarship once it is
awarded the student must main
tain passing grades and not be
involved1 in campus disorders.
Class 11 Scholarships are lim
ited to 100 for each calendar
year and they go to children of
veterans who have less than a
100 per cent service connected
disability and at least a 30 per
cent disability.
Class Scholarships are limited
also to 100 for each calendar
year and children of any war
time veteran are eligible for
these. . . ~
Both Class II and Class ni
Scholarships are awarded on the
basis of the family’s financial
need and the overall aptitude
of the student in each case.
These are all full four-year
scholarships, including room and
school fees with one exception.
Under Class I Scholarships the
children of veterans with a 100
per cent service connected dis-‘
ability already are getting mon
etary payments as dependents
of that veteran so the scholar
ships for these do not include
room and board, but do cover
ill tuition and school fees. U
the disabled parent of 'such a
:hild dies during the period of
his scholarship the room and
board fees are added, since the
family would no longer be get
ting as liberal allocations for
children with the father dead.
.This year the 99 scholarships
given under Class 111 went into
just 53 counties, indicating that
county service officers and gui
dance counsellors in some areas
were doing much better than
those in other areas, since these
are given on the basis of fin
ancial need and it is to be pre
sumed that there are needy vet
erans families in every part of
the state. An ideal arrangement
would be an award to the need
iest student from each of the 100
counties, but there are many
counties from which there are
sddom if ever applications.
At present The State Depart
ment of Veterans Affairs, being
one of the smallest departments
of state government, is anxious
about a constitutional referend
um that is to be held in No
vember 1970 which, if passed,
ivould give the governor and
general assemhly power to com
bine all branches of the state
government into just 25 depart
ments.
The DePartment of Veterans
Affairs neither wants to become
a part of the welfare or educa
tional apparatus. It is likely
all veterans organizations share
this View and will fight to kill
this proposed Constitutional Ad
mendment.
*mt.rise../