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VOLUME XXII NO. 14 DANIELS DISPUTES JUSTICE OF PAYING ATTORNEYS* BILLS Register of Deeds Throws Vigor In Fight tt» Stop Costly Legal Bills to Dare County When the County Commissioners of Dare got around to paying bills Tuesday, Melvin R. Daniels, Clerk to the Board, saw red. What, set him on fire was a number of bills sbmitted by three attorneys in Manteo for work in looking up the names of property owners living along the Dare Beaches, where sand dunes are being thrown up as a protection against sea tides, and on which the county is spending $68,000 in Civil Defense relief funds. Mr. Daniels declared the charges of the lawyers outrageous, and Un earned. He used strong language, and when fire started to fly, ladies present left the room, and the commissioners shut the door and held a closed session, but the Reg ister of Deeds did not silence his guns. “In my 32 years as Clerk to this Board, I have never at any time tried to influence their ac tions, or to tell them how to run the county’s affairs,” he said. “But I have my rights as a citizen, and I object to wasting the people's money on the payment of a thous and dollars or more to these law yers, when they have done nothing to earn it, and the work is not even dope, and would cost another thousand or more dollars to get these easements. "You can discount the fact that I dislike one of these law firms. It has nothing to do wish my posi tion in this matter. I just don’t like to see the county being chis eled like this.” While these may not be the ex act words, they are about the sub stance of what he said, if maybe not quite as strong as the lan guage used. How It Began. The story begins earlier when . the county found it had some $68.- 000 to spend in pushing up sand fences. In order to go ahead with the project, the Board was advised they must get easements from the land owners. County Attorney Mar tin Kellogg, Jr. was instructed to get the easements to protect the county. The County Board .might have thought they could pay the See DANIELS, Page Four BONNER SPENDS NIGHT IN MANTEO WEDNESDAY Invites Dare' Democrats to Attend Rally and Dinner in Washington October 25th. Congressman Herbert C. Bonner spent the night at Hotel Fort Ra leigh in Manteo after spending the day in Elizabeth City, where he, as Chairman of Congressional Committee on Merchant Marine, held a hearing on the proposed motor boat regulation for the pro tection of small craft. The meet ings were held to give interested persons the opportunity to come out and express their views. In Manteo Thursday morning, Mr. Bonner met with a number of citizens at the courthouse and extended an invitation to Demo crats of Dare County to attend the First District Rally to be held at the John Small High School in Washington, N. C. at 6 pun. on the afternoon of Thursday, October 25th. A free barbecue dinner will be provided and many prominent speakers will be present, includ ing Governor Hodges, Senators Scott and Ervin, Chairman John Larkins and others. M. L. Daniels, Dare County Democratic Chairman, said it was probable that a 40 passenger bus would be chartered to take a party from Dare, the bus leaving Man teo in the afternoon, picking up passengers at Manns Harbor and Stumpy Point en routed Fare for the round trip will be $3 per per son. The bus will return to Manteo before midnight. Those interested in making the trip will make reser vations beforehand. Mr. Bonner left Thursday morn ing for his home in Washington, planning to stop en route and visit with friends in Hyde County. 259,759 VISITORS ENTER WRIGHT MONUMENT AREA Kill Devil Hills.—A total of 259~- 759 visitors have entered the Wright Brothers Rational Monu ment at Kill Devil Hills during the first nine months of 1956, accord ing to the September report of Supt. Horace Dough. Os this. 31,- 063 visitors were counted during September, comparing with 21,718 in September last year. Through the first nine months of 1955, only 145,372 persons had entered the national monument created to commemorate the first flights of Orville and Wilbur Wright on De cember IT, 1903. THE COASTLAND TIMES PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTEREST OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA MANTEO WOMAN SLATED TO HEAD REBEKAHS IN 1957 ' He iHgn Eg Photo by Don Morrill, Manteo MRS. SUE M. B ALLO WE of Manteo, who recently returned from a long trip through New York, Canada and New England states, is Vice-President of the Re bekah Assembly of North Carolina and is due to be elevated to the Presidency in May of 1957. This week, she is busy with trips to var ious district meetings of the or der, a journey which will take her over much of N. C. During the summer she paid official visits to all the lodges in this state. Her schedule of visits to District meet ings will take her to Elizabeth City on the 3rd, to Statesville on the 4th, High Point on the sth and 6th, Washington on the 10th and 11th, Mooresville on the 13th, Wilming ton on the 20th and Raleigh on the 27th. During her visit to friends up north, she visited two New York lodges. She also vited the North Pole, New ’ York, where "Santa Claus” has developed an immense tourist attraction particularly appealing to chil dren. She also visited. Coopers town, and the country made famous by Washington Irving, spent a week on Long Is land, and visited in Montreal. Mrs. Ballowe, a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie Midgett, was born at Salvo, and taught school for several years, before her mar riage to the late W. W. Ballowe. and they spent many years in var ious parts of the United States and Carribean points. DARE BOARD CONCERNED OVER CARTERET CO. LANDS I Commissioners in Manteo Resolve That Portsmouth Island Remain Pri vately Owned It is sometimes difficult to fig ■ ure the reasoning in actions of the > Dare County Commissioners, as witness a resolution adopted by the board this week having to do ' with the ownership of property on Portsmouth Island over in Car teret County. Skipping across Ocracoke in Hyde County, they re ! solved that Portsmouth Island must forever remain in private ' ownership, and not become a part of any park plan. The Board also expressed its disapproval of any recommenda tions for a zoning commission which might have to do with the improvement of property and con ditions on Hatteras Island. Os course their action was with out forethought or consideration, as they were merely acquiescing in requests brought to Diem by citizens who were inspired by real estate promoters, who see in the . Seashore National Park a threat to schemes for private personal ' profit in real estate. Some weeks ago, a group of Pennsylvania Uni versity students came into the ’ area to make a study of the Na j tional Seashore, and wrote out a long list of things they recom mended should be done. For some strange reason, it set a lot of I people on fire. The Dare Board also voted to disfavor any of their conclusions about transportation in the area. James M. Vannote resigned as Civil defense head in Manteo, and Robert K. Gunn was appointed in his stead. Fred True of Manteo was also appointed County co ordinator for this work. The board approved a request for state maintenance of a road in Hatteras Community, about three-fourths a mile long serving 15 homes, and extending from a point near the hotel past the Al bert Austin home. This request was brought to the board by M. L. Burrus, Millard Ballance and Wheeler Ballance. The Board also approved state maintenance of four-tenths of a mile of road ex tending from the Mashoes high way toward East Lake where a recreation area is being developed. It also asked for the improvement of certain roads at Avon. FUND FOR STREET WORK IN MANTEO GROWING YEARLY Town Has More Than $5,000 on Hand; Nearly $3,500.00 Owing in Unpaid Assessments Some inquiry has been made as to why the town of Manteo is not going ahead with the hard surface on more streets. At the present time the town has only three paved streets running east and west, and some short sections of street run ning north and south, and of those running east and west, the widest and best one was built entirely from highway funds. The town has accumulated from the past three years’ allocations, a tota of $5,291.92 from Powell funds sent from Raleigh by the State Highway Commission. Since the usual annual allotment is about the same as that recently received for the current year—a single year’s sum would not go far, and the results from letting a small contract would make costs prohibitive. The town board be lieves by letting the funds accum ulate, the money can be spent more advantageously, Martin Kel logg, Jr., the mayor, said this week. The usual method of paving a street is to get the property own ers on each side of a street to pay the cost of a third each, and the town to pay one third. But unfor tunately, a number of property owners have not paid these assess ments, although they pledged to pay, on three of the most recently paved streets. Fourteen property owners on Main Street alone, have not paid their share as pledged, in amounts ranging from $63 to $461, and a total of $2,052.57. On Road Street two property owners owe a total of $339.76, and on Church St. three property own ers owe unpaid shares totalling $580.68. In all, more than $5,500.00 is owing, and has been owing for several years. If this money could be collected, it would go a long way toward aiding the surfacing of other streets. But for necessity of paying in order to get loans or to give clear title to property being sold, the amount due the town would be much larger, as some of the larg est property owners and most prominent of citizens are uncon cerned about making good on their public obligations. W. J. MIDGETT JR. DIES IN i CAL.; FUNERAL IN FLA. I Mr. and Mrs. Walton Girggs of Point Harbor were called to Flor ida this week to attend the funeral at New Smyrna of Mrs. Grigg’s ■ brother, William Jarvis Midgett, : Jr., 27, Airman Ist class who died > Friday in Hart’s Airforce Base hospital, Oakland, California, aft- • er long illness from a malignant cancer of the brain. The funeral was set for Thursday. He was the i son of Jarvis and Emma Miller Midgett, former residents of Hat teras Island. Beside his parents : and Mrs. Griggs, he is survived by another sister, Mrs. Tracy Hooper of New Smyrna, and a • brother Hilton Midgett of the U. S. Coast Guard. ; REPUBLICAN CARAVAN HOLDS RALLY IN DARE The Dare County Republican Party held a rally Octo : ber 2nd at 8 p.m. at the Court house in Manteo. Several visitors and Republican candidates from : other parts of the state attended. ; L. V. Gaskill of Wanchese, Coun ty Chairman participated. i Present were State Chairman, Ray Jennings of Taylorsville; Kyle Hayes of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Republican candi . date for Governor; Joel Johnson of Four Oaks, N. C. candidate for i U. S. Senate, Zeno Radcliff of Pantego, Congressional candidate and other candidates and repre -1 sentatives. Several speeches were made to an appreciative audience. The party on tour of the state from Manteo to Murphy, spent the night at the Hotel Fort Raleigh before their departure Wednesday morn ing for Plymouth where a rally was held Wednesday night. POINT HARBOR’S MULLET ROAST SCHEDULED OCT. 20 An annual institution at Point Harbor is the famed Mullet Roast put on for their friend by Mr., and Mrs. Walton Griggs, held on the lot adjacent to Pt. Harbor Grill. Invitations to 500 friends are to be sent out next week, and fortu nate are those who get one, for the mullet roast with cornbread and other trimmings is really a treat and, a full meal. Last Year’s roast was the most successful and largely attended of all. MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1956 HAROLD STOWE JR. DOES TRAINING AT. LACKLAND 1 : ' '' • V i X 1 ■ ■> - MLt j Hi Wi I ; \ iwi W I P ... . '. -JL' f..- .. ,:i 1 HAROLD R. STOWE, 19, son of ’ Mr. and Mrs. Harold Stowe of 1 Hatteras is completing his Air s Force basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, ’ the “Gateway to the Air Force.” The course includes a scientific g evaluation of his aptitude and in clination for following a particular a career field. Lackland, situated near San ’ Antonio, is the site of Air Force basic military training for men and women and home of the ’ USAF Officer Military School. o GRANTS OF $181,400 J DISASTER FUNDS FOR e DRAINAGE IN DARE n Civil Defense Authorities Ap y proved Great Part of Projects d Submitted to Raleigh 1- ■ ? Notice was received this week 0 by the Board of Commissioners of r Dare County, that grants totalling d $181,440 for drainage work in g Dare County as the result of hur g ricane damage last year, have been approved. This sum falls short n only $15,385.91 of the original re r quest for $196,825.91, according to e L. L. Swain, spokesman for the e Board and the prime mover in •- preparing the data submitted to t Raleigh on which the claims were - based. r The grant this week is in addi tion to funds previously reported, and which have been spent. Includ ed in this figure are funds for the following community projects. “ Kitty Hawk drainage, $35,000; Colington $9,450.00; Nags Head, f $13,500.00; Avon, $3,680; Buxton, ■ $6,453 for drainage, and $1,200 for •1 a flood gate; Frisco, $9,000; Hat s teras $2,160; Northern Roanoke Is land $44,262.15; southern Roanoke i Island $49,487.50; Dare County e main land, Mashoes: $1,250; Manns - Harbor, $3,000; East Lake $4,000; t Buffalo City $2,000; Stumpy Point 1 $3,000. e A report on mosquito control r indicates that by the end of Octo- - ber, about $12,000 will have been 3 spent this year from Federal i funds, and some $5,000 is being f carried over from County funds 1 for later use. TWO YOUTHS HELD FOR ROBBING ANOTHER ONE S Following his return from doing n time on the roads, Jon Williams, - young Wanchese boy paid a $25 - fine and costs of $8.20 in Record s er’s Court this week, for reckless u operation of a motor vehicle in I. Manteo. He is now, while on pro- - bation, due to come up for trial next week on a felony charge i, along with Jethro Payne Jr. They ; are charged with holding up and i, robbing Herman Smith Jr. of S2O. - I In court this week the following 1 cases were submitted and fines r assessed, plus costs of $8.20 as f follows: e W. B. Gray Jr., Nags Head, im- - proper license plates, $lO. J. O. Purvis, Nags Head, operating on a wrong side of road while not in • passing, $5. Arthur McClain Meek -1 ins of Stumpy Point, drunk on t highway, $25 and costs. Victor J. b LeCleroq, Mt Clemens, Mich., - reckless driving, $25. Charles A. f Dunn, Portsmouth, Va., reckless driving, $25. Ophelia M. Daniels, Wanchese, no operator’s license, $25. ) DRUM MONDAY NIGHT AT t SOUTHSIDE OREGON INLET t 1 Reuben Etheridge of Manteo and s Sid Trott of Stuanton, Va., were . lucky anglers Monday night on > Oregon Inlet’s south shore. Ether- - idge, at 10:30 p.m. landed a 34 r pounder and Trott made his 26 lb. 1 catch at 11:05. Other fishing has i been good in this area lately, ac i cording to J. S. Turner, operator I of the Pea Island Camp Ground Store. LENNON CONVEYS SHARE IN HOTEL TO HIS PARTNERS — Carolinian Now Owned By Ser mons Family Group, Follow ing Transfer Monday After some nine years of suc cessful operation as the first mod ern hotel on th* Dare Coast, the Carolinian bought out the fourht interest of Guy H. Lennon, its president, this week, and the stock is now owned by Wayland H. Ser mons of Washington, N. C.. who has been elected the new presi dent; his sisters, Mrs. Lucille Pur ser, Mrs. Limb Oneto, and her husband, Julian Oneto. These have previously been owners of thb cor poration since it was formed. The rumored sale price of the one-fourth interest is SIOO,OOO. It is the largest transfer of hotel property to take place on this coast. It includes the sale of 104 building lots owned by Lennon in Nags Head adjoining the hotel property. In the re-organization October 1, Julian Oneto was named vice president, his wife, Lima Sermons Oneto, secretary and Lucille Ser mons Purser was re-elected treas urer. Sermons, in a statement made shortly after the sale, said the corporation had no immediate plans for developing the newly ac quired real estate, but felt that it was well to acquire the land in order to keep pace with the rapid growth which Nags Head has ex perienced since the Carolinian was built. The Carolinian was completed and opened on June 6, 1947 and is the only ocean front resort hotel on the North Carolina coast which remains open the year around. During the leisure autumn, winter and spring seasons in recent years it has entertained many con ventions. Since 1947 the hotel facilities have been expanded considerably. The hotel property now has 66 guest rooms and 24 cottage rooms for guests as well as its popular Pine Room, Cypress Room and the Driftwood and Dogwood dining rooms. “There will be no material change in the operation at pres ent but the corporation plans fu ture expansion programs includ ing the construction of extra rooms so that larger groups may be ac commodated,” said Sermons. At the reorganization meeting here Mrs. - Purser who has been manager of the Carolinian since its opening was promoted to man aging-director. Julian Oneto be came resident manager and Mrs. Sara Hurdle Everett of Edenton was named assistant manager. Mrs. Purser announced that coming events for the Carolinian this year included: Nags Head Surf Fishing Tourney, October 19- 21, to be followed on November 3-4 by the Virginia Motor Sports Club “Old Dominion Sports Car Rally. On Thanksgiving there will be a turkey shoot using old muzzle loaders and on December 17, the annual luncheon of Kill Devil Hills Memorial Society during the 54th anniversary of the Wright’s first flight at Kill Devil Hills. WILLIAM JUNIUS SWINDELL DIES AFTER HEART ATTACK William Junius Swindell, 68, who had been in poor health for sev eral years, died following a heart attack Saturday night at 1:30 a.m., Sunday morning in the Albe marle Hospital, shortly after his arrival there. He was the son of the late Joseph and Mattie Harris Swindell of Hyde County, the hus band of the late Fannie E. Swin dell who died in March of last year. He had resided at Swan Quarter and Engelhard, came to Manteo in World War II and en gaged in boatbuilding and mercan tile business. He was a well-known and highly regarded citizen where ever he lived. At the time of his illness, he had been for more than two years custodian of the 4-H Camps at the Manteo Airport. He was a veteran of World War I and a member of the Christian church of Engelhard. He is sur vived by a daughter, Mrs. Olive Bateman of Norfolk; one son, William C. Swindell of Manteo; four sisters, Mrs. Myra Hires of Atlanta, Ga., Mrs. Margaret Cloud of New Tazewell, Tenn., Mrs. Blanche Swindell of Varnville, S. C., and Capt. Myrtle Swindell, RN, U.S. Army, stationed in New York; three brothers, Wilbur Swindell of Elizabeth City, Hugh Swindell of Plymouth and Thomas Swindell of Atlanta, Ga., and six grandchildren. Funeral services were conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Twiford’s Funeral home in Manteo by Rev. L. A. Aitken, pastor of the Meth odist Church, and burial was in Manteo cemetery. .... . 1 . i . GOVERNOR’S ALLOCATION OF HALF MILLION FOR LARGER FERRIES HAILED ON COAST Three New Larger and Faster Boats To Be Built for Oregon Inlet Promises Much of Rapid De velopment of Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands And Unprecedented Tourist Traffic STUMPY POINT SEAMAN FINISHES C. G. COURSE -v ■ ♦ ml*,’, * »■’- Wl az jgEßlar i fIS aS I. ■ .■B—L—... i Cape May, N. J.—Seaman Ap prentice Louis E. Stephenson, 19. son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. G. Steph enson, Stumpy Point, has recently completed the twelve week recruit training course at the USCG re ceiving center at Cape May, N. J. Before enlisting in the Coast Guard he was a fisherman. He at tended Aulander high school, and then joined the Coast Guard on May 16, 1956. He is currently as signed to Coast Guard District five pending further assignment. DIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEM PLANNED FOR COMMUNITIES LOWER HATTERAS ISLAND The Norfolk & Carolina Tele phone & Telegraph Company has recently completed a new telephone exchange building located in the village of Buxton and has extend ed some local exchange cables in the village of Buxton for provid ing local service when the new system is installed. Additional lines, cables and other facilities will also have to be provided to Hatteras and Avon for dial system service. The new dial telephone system will serve Buxton, Hatteras, Avon and surrounding area. The system would be similar to the present system now serving the coastal areas of Kill Devil Hills. Kitty Hawk and Nags Head. Company plans contemplate the free interchange of local exchange service betwen Avon, Buxton and Hatteras without the usual appli cation of toll service charges flow in effect for messages between these points. The monthly flat rate service charges would apply for all stations connected through the new dial exchange and long distance charges would continue in effect on all messages to points beyond the three areas mentioned above. The dial switchboard system has been ordered, and it is antici pated that it will take approxi mately 24 months to complete the manufacturing and installation of the necessary equipment, as all systems of this character must be manufactured and designed to suit the particular areas to be served. In the meantime, the company will receive applications from its existing subscribers for the new service, as well as applications from proposed subscribers for the new service. CAROLINA FISH. DINNER SERVED IN CONNECTICUT Fish caught the same day, and flown to Bridgeport on the same afternoon, were served in Bridge port, Conn, on Monday of last week. Dr. Thomas F. Connell, Jr., a heart surgeon, his friend, Al Zo tak, pilot took the fish home with them—albacore and blues. With them on the fishing trip was F. D. Hotchkiss of Bridgeport, who is vacationing with his wife, and the Peter Billers of Bantam, Conn, on the Dare coast The fish ing trip to the Gulf Stream was made with Capt Martin Camp asano in Sam Tillett’s boat . ... ' . Single Copy 7p Governor Hodges* action last week in allocating from highway surplus funds the sum of $500,- 000 for construction of three new larger and faster ferry boats to accommodate traffic over Oregon Inlet in the coming year is hailed with much appreciation on the coast, and is expected to prove a tremendous factor in faster growth of the already fast growing tourist traffic and facilities on Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands. The three new boats will be cap able of carrying 24 instead of 18 cars, and having a speed of 12 knots instead of seven, which now handicaps the present Oregon Inlet ferry traffic. The awareness of the Governor to the needs of traffic over this route is considered most fortunate for a region whose main income now depends on tourist trade. It is planned to spend $420,000 for the three new boats, an'd SBO,OOO for reconditioning of present boats used on the three frry routes in Dare County. The state owns sev en boats, three of which are said to be not worth rebuilding. The i boats are the Governor Umstead, 1 Governor Scott, Sandy Graham, Lindsay C. Warren, Conrad Wirth, Herbert C. Bonner and Governor Cherry. . Governor Hodges has manifested much interest in the proposed all seashore highway which would link the entire N. C. coast by a modem road, down the beach to Cape Lookout. Plans are being made for establishment of ferry service to Ocracoke Island across Hatteras Inlet, on completion of the highway now under construc tion on Ocracoke Island. SAYS "OMAR BABUN" NOT WORTH NEAR SIOO,OOO CLAIMED Norfolk Shipbuilder Fights Dam age Claim of Owner Whose Ship Caught Fire The much publicised cargo-con verted Navy net-tender Omar Babun, which was pulled off the beach at Rodanthe in 1954, and taken to only to catch fire in drydock, was never worth the $150,000 her owner seeks as damages, the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp, has claimed in U. S. District Court. The shipbuilding firm asked dis missal of a suit originally brought in Norfolk Court of Law and Chancery by E. A. Canipe, Have lock, N. C. auto dealer. Even before the Oct. 16, 1954, fire the 97-foot Omar Babun “was never worth anything like $150,- 000,” the shipbuilder asserted. The firm said at the time of the fire, which occurred while the ves sel was in drydock at Berkley, the Omar Bubun was in the custody of the U. S. marshall. No arrangement was made for fire insurance, and if sueh had been done “the promise would be without valuable consideration,” the answer added. Aground Near Rodanthe The Omar Babun, built in 1944 as a Navy submarine net tender, was sailing as a merchant vessel of Honduran registry when her master drove her ashore 3 miles north of Rodanthe, N. C., on May 14, 1954, to keep ship and cargo of heavy machinery from sinking in an Atlantic storm. Salvage at first was considered impossible. Canipe bulldozed a sand ramp to the vessel and re moved the cargo. Using her own winches to take in anchor cable slack, the Omar Babun inched herself over a sand bar to freedom 66 days after she was beached. This operation has been done several times on the N. C. coast but was widely hailed as something never done before. The ship was drydocked at Berk ley in July, 1954. Two months later, fire broke out in her dynamo room. In the meantime the marshal had attached her in connection with a SIOO,OOO share-the-profits suit a diver and a mechanic brought against Canipe. The suit later was dismissed. The ship cleared Norfolk for Morehead City on Oct, 13, 1955. Canipe sued Sept. 7, claiming he was assured by the shipbuilder that the vessel was covered by a blanket insurance policy. The case was removed later in the month to Federal Court. tiiri ' 'J-T. J. 4. -
The Coastland Times (Manteo, N.C.)
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