43
TRENTON, N. C., THURSDAY, ,UNUARY 8, 1970 VOLUME XVD
School Bus Transportation Costs in
State and Jones County Are Listed
- Data recently released by the
Transportation Division of the
State Department of Public In
structon reveals that during the
1966-69 school year some 610,
760 Tar Heel school children
were transported to school on
buses, A. C. Davis, Controller for
the State Board of Education,
announces.
The data, according to D. J.
Dark, director of transportation,
is compiled yearly. During the
1966-69 school year, 54.9 per
cent of the total public school
population were transported to
and from school daily, accrd
ing to Dark.
Of that number, 70.9 percent
of, the students were enrolled
, in elementary school and 29.1
percent were in high school.
The average school bus in the
State transported 66 students
per day, made 1.57 trips per
day — and average of 12 miles
in length one way — and trans-1
ported an average of 48.5 stu
dents per bus trip. v
The total cost of North Caro
lina’s school transportation for
1968-69 was $14,293,272.80, in
cluding replacement of buses.
In Jones County the number
of regular school buses operat
ed during the 1968-69 school
year were 43. An average of
2,421 students were transport
ed (Jaily, with an average of 56.3
students per bus per day.
Each bus traveled an average
of 48.3 miles a day getting 6.991
miles to the gallon of gasoline.
The operating cost per mile was
.2036.
The average cost State-wide
— including replacement of bus
es —^for the 1968-69 school year
was $1,541.05 per bus; $8.51
per bus per day; $23.40 per pup
il for the school year; $.1202 per
pupil per day; and $.2243 per
bus mile of operation.
Four Jones Arrests
The fallowing arrests were
made during the past week by
the Jones County Sheriffs de
partment. Ronnie Taylor of Pink
Hill was charged with larceny;
Roy Houston of Pink Hill was
charged with being publicly
drunk;, Daniel Miller of Pink
Hill was booked for being pub
licly drunk; and Paul Ed' Brown
of Trenton route 2 was charged
with being publicly drunk.
Trenton Livestock Company Suing for
$15,802 Damages from Wilson Firm
Two civil cases were filed in
Jones County during the past
week. Earl D. Alphin filed for
a divorce from Barbara Marga
rete Alphin.
Trenton Livestock, Inc. filed
suit against George Ray Parker
and Watson Electric Constructon
Company of Wilson.
Parker is an employee of Wat
son Electric Co. and was the
driver of a pick-up truck that
was involved in a wreck with a
truck belonging to Trenton Live
stock, Inc.
As a result of damages in the
wreck, Trenton Livestock, Inc.,
is asking for a total of $15,802.52
for damage to a truck and trail
er, for the cost of 'hogs killed
in the accident and for recover
ing hogs that got loose as a re
sult of the wreck plus the loss
of the use of the damaged
equipment.
Kinston Hit by Second Downtown Fire
Tuesday Night with Very Heavy Loss;
Three Firemen are Hospitalized
Downtown Kinston was hit by
the second disastrous downtown
fire of the winter Tuesday night
when The Jewel Box and Ad
vance Store on the 300-block of
North Queen Street were both
gutted by fire of undetermined
origin and the three story build
ing in which they were located
was totally destroyed.
Captain Otis Koonce was over
come by smoke and the near
freezing weather while working
on top the aerial truck’s ladder
and Capt. Ldnwood Hill and Lt.
Haywood Quinn suffered leg and
possible internal inuries when
a rear wall fell on them and
several other firemen who were
working in the back of the build
ings. They were all hospitalized.
Three firemen, were treated
and release for less serious in
juries they suffered when the
wall collapsed.
Fire Department Dispatcher
James B. Rouse said he received
simultaneous alarms from the
police radio and the regular fire
alarm system at 8:31 Tuesday
night and the fire was not under
control until after midnight.
Stallings Salvage Company
which is just north of the Ad
vance Store also suffered heavy
smoke and water damage al
though the fire was contained
in the old building that houses
the two totally destroyed busi
nesses.
The Whitaker Building, which
housed the two gutted stores,
was built early in the century
and was purchased by the Bro
day family several years ago
When Dixon’s Hardware was
closed.
Fire Chief Bob Faulkner says
although it is not possible to say
with certainty at this time it is
believed that the fire started in
the back of the Jewel Box and
spread to the Advance Store,
which is an auto supply store.
No estimate of the damage is
available at this time, but it is
certain to run into the quarter
of a million dollar area, and pos
sibly a good bit higher.
KINSTON CRIME RATE ONE OF LOWEST IN NORTH CAROLINA FBI's ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS
by Jack Rider
The annual report on Crime
in The United States by the
Federal Bureau of Investiga
tion includes thousands of sta
tistics and among these is a set
that shows Kinston to have one
of the lowest drime rates of any
city over 25,000 population in
North Carolina.
This chart with this article
shows the total crime jate for
all North Carolina cities over
25,000 population and it indi
cates that only Burlington and
Kannapolis suffered less crime
than Kinston in I960.
At least one part of the folk
legend seems to be on the way
out since these two large tex
tile centers — Burlington and
Kannapolis — indicate that mill
workers no longer have the urge
to commit mayhem and other
less serious breeches of the
peace.
Kinston had fewer crimes re
ported in ’68 than Burlington
but Burlington’s population of
33,199 is almost 8,000 greater
than Kinston’s in the 1960 cen
sus and it’s logical that it has
experienced about the same
growth as Kinston in the past
10 years, and Kannapolis in the
’60 census had about a thous
and more population than Bur
lington, which undoubtedly -gives
that Duchy of Cannon the honor
of being the state's most law
abiding large community.
The Kannapolis record is all
the more remarkable when it is
reflected that its police force
numbers just 31 men, compar
ed to 63 in Burlington and 57
in Kinston.
With doubt the most chilling
figure included in the FBI’s an
nual report is the fact -that
from 1960 to 1969 the crime
rate increased by 98.9 per cent
nationally while the population
was increasing by just 11 per
cent. This means crime was in
creasing almost nine times as
fast as the population.
In this nine-year period mur
der rose 106.5 per cent, from
9,000 to 13,650.
Forcible rape rose 84.3 per
cent in this period, from 16,860
to 31,080.
Robbery jumped a frighten
ing 143.7 per cent, from 107,390
to 261,730.
Aggravated assaults jumped
85.8 per cent, from 142,000 to
282,400.
Burglaries increased 103.8 per
cent, from 897,400 to 1,828,900.
Theft of more than $50 valua
tion jumped 151.1 per cent from
506.200 to 1,271,100.
Auto thefts climbed 138.8 per
cent from 325,700 to 777,800.
For this period violent crim
es increased 106.5 per cent, from
285.200 to 588,800.
And crimes against property
jumped 124.2 per cent, from 1,
729,400 to 3,877,700.
Police Brutality?
In an era when one of the
criminal battle cries is “Police
Brutality” it is illuminating to
consider that in this nine-year
period there were 475 police of
ficers killed.
In this era of probation, parole
and technically freed criminals
it is also irritating to consider
that of the 626 persons indict
ed in connection with murdering
these 475 police officers 76 per
cent had previous arrest records,
and 54 per cent of them had pre
viously been arrested for crimes
of violence, and 65 per cent of
them had prior convictions, and
of this total two thirds had prev
iously been granted leniency in
the form of parole or probation.
Of this total 16 had been con
victed before of murder and this
626 murderers of police officers
had an average of 4.5 arrests
before being charged with kill
ing an officer.
Negro Crime Rate
Another sad reflection from
these frightening figures is on
the brutality of Negroes to Ne
groes. In 1968 there were 9,458
murders in the United States,
and Negroes who comprise less
than 12 per cent of the nation’s
population were charged with
committing 5,699 of that total, or
60.3 per cent of all homicides —
and 93 per cent of the victims
killed by Negroes were Negroes.
In the major cities the Negro
murder rate was at its worst,
with 7,907 murders in metro
politan areas Negroes committed
5,149 of that total, or 65.1 per
cent.
In small towns and surburb
an areas there were 1,322 mur
ders and Negroes committed
482 of these, or just 36.5 per
cent and in rural areas outside
of corporate limits there were
723 murders and Negroes were
charged with only 254 of these,
or 35.1 per cent.
Unhappily the trend of dispro
portionate violations by Negroes
run all the way through the
crime rate reports.
Negroes with 12 per cent of
the population committed:
—60.3 per cent of all mur
ders.
—24.7 per cent of involuntary
manslaughters.
—46.6 per cent of all forcible
rapes.
—62 per cent of all robberies.
—49.2 per cent of all aggra
vated assaults.
—33.4 per cent of all burg
laries.
—31.3 per cent of all thefts
of more than $50.
—35.1 per cent of all auto
thefts.
The only exception to this rule
in the long listing of all crimes
is liquor law violations with Ne
groes charged with only 11.5
per cent of this total, and this
surely does not prevail in East
ern North Carolina.
v. V .
Kannapolis
City
Kinston
Goldsboro
- Greenville
Rocky Mount
Wilson
Wilmington
Charlotte
Greensboro
Raleigh
Winston-Salem
Asheville
Durham
Fayetteville
Gastonia
Crime Index
438
667
593
747
“ '498
1,773
9,466
3,791
2,755
4,244
1,465
2,304
2,604
1,5$0
Homicide Inv. Mansi.
Rape
Robbery
7
14
4
17
20
80
384
113
93
90
39
92
141
14
19
5
7
fip %
Assault
123
35
70
128
121
269
2,094
857
380
943
116
553
420
213
50
88
106
Burglary
144
251
196
284
121
729
3,835
1,087
773
1,789
420
846
832
686
478
114
132
Theft
307
773
666
632
684
1,251
5,659
2,384
2,255
2,623
1,438
1,949
1,702
1,552
984
712
289
Auto Theft
51
99
67
94
88
215
712
488
342
489
249
249
360
217
124
61
47