Let’s finally get one right: Build the Owens Park now!
By: Steve Trubilla

Sports fans, we have to get this one right: “Build the “V.E. Owens Fishing Hole and Park” Now!

On Jan. 21, 2010, Edgar H. Owens left us all too soon. I did not know the man personally, but I have learned of him. I know of the Owens family and their deep and meaningful contributions to Franklin County.

Among Owens’ final wishes was that if sufficient funds were available, the county build a lake or pond, stock it with fish, and call it the V.E. Owens Fishing Hole.

Not only was this his wish, he gifted a considerable amount to Franklin County from his estate to allow for it. The numbers vary on the actual amount, ranging from $770,000 to around $1 million. 

I could point to countless examples of things and events which ameliorate the lethargic inability of our local elected officials and county executives to effectively dispatch the basic function of government. 

One of these is the most recent and abhorring burning of historical records that has now garnered national attention. The occurrence serves as an insult to the memory of those that have come before us, and is an embarrassment to the collective intelligence of the county.

The example I am going to select to make the point is Owens’ wishes and unprecedented generosity with his gift to the county.

It is unconscionable that some four years have lapsed and the V.E. Owens Fishing Hole has not been realized.

Now think about this for a minute. What is the mission?  It is to create a park with a fishing hole. We are not talking about solving world hunger, or finding the fountain of youth.

Unlike most things, funding is not an issue.  As for a location, for Pete’s sake, it’s Franklin County. It’s not like we are talking about finding land in Manhattan.  

Without going into specifics, and it will not come as a revelation to you, there are all kinds of people with “special interest in this.” It seems everyone has a “friend” and there is a lot of money involved. 

Let me tell you something about this you may not know. I have been told of one family that in the same spirit as Owens, offered to donate land for this project.  

That’s right; donate it, at no cost to the county. My understanding is the land was right along the Tar River.  Do you think there are any fish in the river? That would kind of take all, if not most of the “friends and special interest” out of the mix. 

There are some 60 acres the county already owns out at the airport. It is in proximity to the illustrious multimillion dollar industrial park. 

My information is about 30 of those acres are not needed by the airport. The acreage buffers the Cascine Plantation, land I have been told that cannot be used for anything else. 

It would be an ideal high use of the land and value multiplier. This land was paid for by a Department of Transportation Grant.

The county is not now, nor will it ever, collect a dime of property taxes on this land.  If other land is purchased for this project, then that land too will be non-revenue generating.    

In terms of a vision for the future, the possibilities are endless with this location.   Owens’ gift could be used exclusively for development.  

Play grounds, quality ones; ball fields, running trails, walking and bicycle paths. Maybe even a place to ride horses. Camping is even a possibility.

This could also be a place to host outdoor revenue generating events, etc.

Owens gift would allow for all of this and more.

An added plus to this location would be families watching airplanes taking off and landing. 

There could be a dog park, an idea suggested by the Director of Franklin County Animal Control, Taylor Bartholomew. Use of the dog park could enhance the monitoring of animal immunization.  

General aviation is a powerful economic engine and contrary to what many would have you believe, our airport under Steve Merritt’s leadership now has a strong pulse.  He is engaged and bringing hard dollars into the county.

If we want development, consider the investment that has already been made at this location.

The road that some now call the road to nowhere could be a link to a “state of the art park” and show case for Franklin County.

The distance from RDU is a matter of 10 minutes flying, if that?  The old saying of ‘build it and they will come’ works, “if you build it.” Give pilots a reason to come; fuel, hanger fees, maintenance.

You know some day it just might happen that the 401 expansion gets built. That is the plan and the vision, is it not?

Here is something else to ask questions about: Would it make sense to leverage Owens’ gift with a matching $1 million grant? 

Remember, we just lost our Tier III ranking and now are primed for more grant money. Why this has not been done defies understanding! They have had four years to do it?

At this point, I have to ask: “has anyone actually seen this money?  Where is it? Has it be loaned or used for something else? Do we need an audit?”

Some may say the airport may not be the best location, well ok. With a grant we could do something similar in another part of the county.

It has been shared with me that the county manager has now been given this for action.  Well, let me look into my crystal ball and predict what will drive this now.  Just get it done, and get it over with!

It would not surprise me if decisions are made and contracts are signed late on a Friday afternoon, without anyone outside the secret circle getting notice. Just like with the burning of the records.

Sports fans, we have to get this one right. It is not every day someone is as generous as Owens. Let’s honor his memory and build the “V.E. Owens Fishing Hole and Park.”

There have been enough meetings that go nowhere.   Final question: Whose judgment are you going to trust to get this done right? 

Yes, I am asking hard questions. I could use a little help. Write letters to the local paper, pick up your phone, make some calls, and attend a meeting or two.

Soon I will be moving on. Someone needs to pick up the ball and run with some of this.

The Republican Path to Prosperity Barbecue Dinner will be 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 25. Peter Ferrara will be the speaker. Call Robert Church at 919-358-2016 for details or visit the website: newfrontierpac.com

So yes it is Christmas, and I hope you do well – Gold Star Parents
By: Steve Trubilla

“Mom I miss you, tell everyone I love them”. A line from a typical letter an American kid writes that is deployed somewhere in the world at Christmas time.

To many this will seem uneventful.  Military service has become less and less of an option for most in our country today.  Statistics show less than one percent of people now serve.

Fewer in Congress now have served in the military than any other time in our history.

Military service was once considered tradition for many; such things were part of the fabric of life.

It used to be just about everyone had a family member that at some point wore a uniform. I remember as a child during holidays there was always talk of this or that person that had served in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. I even remember stories about the Spanish American War, and an ancestor that is said to have been at Valley Forge with Washington.

There were somber moments of those killed or terribly wounded. Conversations had a way of drifting to family history.   You know, things like remember when John or Mary did this or that, “to bad they are overseas and cannot be here this year, well may be next year”.

Then, as now, there were always people unhappy about things. At the end of it all there was always a sense of national pride and patriotism. This is something I think we have lost.

People had the sense America was a place that lit up the world with hope. It was “we the people” and “united we stand”. There was no “press one for English”.  I do not really remember anyone talking about being hyphenated Americans. Everyone was just an American.

Some doing better than others, but most did not think they were better than others. 

It was prayer in schools and “I pledge allegiance to the flag”

I do not remember a time when our country has been more divided. Nor a time when I was more concerned for the future.

Self-interest seems to outweigh all other things, as one group is pitted against another.

The other person’s troubles or loss is not ours to be concerned with, so the other person becomes invisible when they are most in need.

Even though around the world Christians are being more and more persecuted, Christmas time in America is still a special time. It is a time to remember some of those that have become invisible.

Truly, if there is hope for the future this is something we can all agree upon.

The list of these people is endless, but I want to bring attention to a very special group of them. They are Gold Star moms and dads.

Many reading this may not know of Gold Star parents. These people are the mothers and fathers that have lost someone to war.

For them wars are not over. They will never again receive the “Mom I miss you” letter.  John or Mary will not be there next year.

The same is also true for many parents, and other family members, that their loved ones come home crippled or mentally forever trapped in a long ago battle.

Christmas is less special for these people. Most of them do not speak of it. The headlines that reported what happened have long since faded. Now they simply endure.

Yes, now only less than one percent serves in the military. For some, it cost hundred percent.

Somewhere today in an underfunded retirement home there is a forgotten old woman, maybe eighty four or five years old.

She is sitting alone at a window. 

It is snowing; no one has visited her for more than two years. 

It is Christmas, there she sits under a worn thread bear red, white, and blue afghan; a present from the USO. 

Her hands are bent with age. Look closely, you can see her gently holding the letter, “Mrs. Pomerton, I am sorry to inform you……………….”   The letter is dated 25 December 1942.

As you read this, some American kid is walking the mountain passes of Kandahar.  An eighteen year old Marine is standing post in Helmond province.  

One of their mother’s is reading this year’s Christmas letter from her son.

A lonely father still waits for word about his son left as a POW in Vietnam. No word yet.

There is a little girl that on Christmas day this year that asks her mother, “Why mommy, why is daddy not coming home for Christmas”.

So yes it is Christmas, and I hope you do well. 

Take a moment and say a special prayer for America’s Gold Star mothers and fathers.

If you think there are only problems in Washington DC, you are wrong.  This story is one, I feel that needs national attention. It is one that will never be told unless "you" tell it.

What was done here in obscene. It is a story that cries out to both the past. and the future. They burned books, and records, some dating back to the 1800's

It is but one chapter of a true story of local government  that has lost touch with the those they have taken an oath to serve.

Send this to you friends, so they will send it to their friends. Be the one that light the candle against such things.

See more pictures and read testimonials about this at:  
https://www.facebook.com/notes/heritage-society-of-franklin-county-nc/timeline-of-the-destruction-of-100-year-old-franklin-county-nc-records/554910501264078 

Prelude by Steve Trubilla

Timeline of the Destruction of 100 Year Old Franklin County, NC Records
Story by Diane Taylor Torrent

December 8, 2013 

I am Diane Taylor Torrent with The Heritage Society of Franklin County, NC.  I want to thank everyone for your involvement and the help that each of you offered us on Friday, December 2013 when the Franklin County management acted upon their decision to destroy the 100 year old records discovered in the courthouse basement. This has been a long 7 months and we were hopeful up to the end that the outcome would be different.                                                                                                  

I know you have a lot of questions so here is a timeline of what lead to this event. In May, a new Clerk of Court (Patricia Burnette Chastain) was appointed following the resignation of the long serving clerk, Alice Faye Hunter.   Mrs. Chastain soon discovered that the basement had been unopened for some time. Upon opening the basement we found stacks and stacks of books, boxes, loose papers, ledgers, etc. dating from approximately 1840's to the 1960's. They were strewn everywhere. There was obvious mold in the back section and evidence of water damage.                

After much investigation it was revealed that through the years the basement had been used for overflow of records awaiting retention dates as well as other items deemed unnecessary or non-vital. They were then forgotten.  The basement was also used for storage of old furniture, cleaning supplies, broken or no longer used doors, and whatever else there was no room for upstairs.  The two rooms were in a mess.  We could barely open the door and had to crawl over everything to reach the back room.  The boiler flooded the basement at one point. It was also discovered that an air conditioner unit was venting into the basement causing the majority of the mold. 

Some records had been ruined by the mold, but most were completely viable.  A quick investigation of the records revealed boxes from most every department of the Franklin County government.  There were items from the court as well as register of deeds, county finance, board of education, sheriff's office, county jail, elections board and many others.                     

Mrs. Chastain and I spent the 3 day Memorial Day weekend hauling away trash from the basement.  We pulled out trailer loads of bagged trash, broken furniture, torn carpeting and used cleaning supplies in order to be able to get to the records.  Furniture was up righted and arranged in a make shift office in the front room. We were then able to begin picking up some of the records that were strewn about the floor.

Over the years the boxes had weakened from either time, carelessness or water damage.  We were told that when the boiler burst and the basement flooded years ago, workers repairing the boiler (not courthouse clerks) retrieved many of the papers and books from the flooded floor and simply laid them on the shelving, resulting in more mold and destruction of the wet papers.  Most boxes fell apart when you moved them resulting in many of their contents spilling out. Many times these contents had been piled on top of other boxes and combined with other records so that most of the boxes actually contained a variety of items. A box with records on the top level dating in the 1960s actually had records from the 1800s on the bottom.  We quickly learned that each and every box and piece of paper would need to be investigated.

We collected as many boxes as we could find to hold the loose papers.  Boxes were used from other departments as well as local businesses, the liquor store, retailers, anywhere we could find an empty box. Some of these boxes had writing or labels and 2013 dates from the department they came from which would later lead to misinterpretation by county officials that there were records of a "sensitive" and current nature in the basement. Had they looked inside the box they would have discovered their true contents. 

Now that the area was more accessible a plan was needed to be developed to find the true value of what had been discovered and what could be done to preserve the documents and best share the information with the public. The Heritage Society of Franklin County, NC presented a program on May 16th to its membership along with members of the community to discuss the best way to proceed.  Present were local historians, genealogist, friends of the library, the arts council, the new Clerk of Court and County Commissioner Sidney Dunston.  All present were shown photos of the basement and the condition of the records.  

Mrs. Chastain recognized the value of having a group of genealogist and historians available who were willing and able to ascertain the historic worth of these records to the community and asked the Heritage Society to review, record, digitize and preserve the records.   Due to space constraints and conditions in the basement it was decided that only a few would be allowed to begin the work.  The Heritage Society provided the appropriate protective gear for the work to begin.  Masks, gloves, sanitizes, etc. were bought by the Society and placed in the basement for the use of everyone entering.                                                                   

We were very excited and went to work immediately straightening, organizing and investigating.  Immediately we found Chattel Mortgages from the 1890's, court dockets from post civil war to prohibition, delayed birth certificate applications with original supporting documents (letters from Grandma, bible records, birth certificates, etc), county receipts on original letterhead from businesses long extinct, poll record books, original school, road and bridge bonds denoting the building of the county, law books still in their original paper wrappings, etc., etc. etc. The list goes on and on.   Our original feelings of shock that the records were there and in such bad condition led to feelings of joy that they were still there and that someone had thought to retain them for us to discover so many years later.

Each book or box opened produced a new treasure. A letter, stamped and in the original envelope, from a Franklin County soldier serving in France during the First World War asking the court to be sure his sister and his estate was looked after while he was away. A naturalization paper from the late 1890s for an immigrant from Russia escaping the tyranny of the Czar. A document from County Commissioners in the early years of road building requesting another county repair their road as it entered the county. Lists of county employees and what their wages were in 1900.  A court document paying the court reporter who took the depositions in the "Sweat Ward" case, (Ward beheaded a man in the 1930s and later became the last man to be lynched in the county).   Postcards, county bills, audits, cancelled checks, newspaper clippings, store ads from long gone businesses.  Boxes and boxes of court cases covering the years of prohibition, a docket from an individual accused of running a "baudy house" within the city limits, a photo tucked now and then inside a book, one of the courthouse unseen since the 1920s. Again, nothing was in any order and many of the boxes were combinations of records from many decades.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
In June, we requested new, clean file boxes from the county management so that we could begin saving some of the more important documents.  We received around 40 office type white file boxes which we then filled with records from the floor as well as from boxes that were falling apart.   

Understandably we were thrilled. Out of an abundance of caution and because we wanted to handle each document and treasure with the respect it deserved, WE (The Heritage Society) contacted the NC State Archives for advice on handling old documents and the best archiving method. This was where we began loosing the battle. The Archives stepped in and decided that they should have control over ALL of the basements contents. They sent a representative who looked through the basement and said that they would get back to us with a report on the next steps.  We continued working when we could in the cramped, dusty and moldy environment of the basement while we waited for an assessment from the Archives.   June and July were very wet months and many days we were unable to enter the basement.  It was becoming obvious that we would not be able to continue working under these conditions and certainly would not be able to bring in all of the researchers who were waiting to begin the task of preserving these documents.                                   

On August 5, 2013 a request was made at the County Commissioner's meeting, on the behalf of the Heritage Society, by Steve Trubilla to provide adequate space for the preservation to continue.  JM Dickens, a local business owner, had graciously donated the use of office space across the street from the courthouse and many citizens had made offers of supplies.  The Commissioners agreed to provide electric and water to the offices for 6 months.  Keys were turned over to the Society and we began stocking the offices.  Holt Kornegay, the county librarian attended the next meeting of the Heritage Society and expressed that he would be able to train the volunteers to use a computer program designed to archive the records so that they would integrate into the system and would be accessible to the public.

A request was made to The United Way to supply the Society with computers and Steve Trubilla donated a scanner/copier.  By August 13th the offices were ready to go and Mrs. Chastain provided trustees to begin moving the first set records up the 23 flights of stairs to the newly donated space.  All of the new file boxes, repacked with the old, dusty records from the basement floor, were moved to the upstairs space  We were ready to begin once I returned from a two day business trip out of town.

When I returned everything had changed.                                                                                                                                                                      
First, on August 15th, the issue of insurance for the office space and the Society arose and halted progress. Superior Court Judge Bob Hobgood offered to pay for the insurance for the 6 months that the offices were in use. At this point the Society felt that the support of the community was behind them and everyone was coming together to preserve this exciting time capsule of their history.

We were then told by the county management that the Heritage Society had to "stand down" as the issue of "chain of command" had arisen.  We were told that management had become concerned, four months into the process, that there were items of a "sensitive", i.e adoptions, social services, etc., nature in the basement  that should not be made public.  This had resulted from the misinterpretation mentioned earlier regarding reused boxes with labels that did not denote the actual contents of the box.

Concern was that chain of command and protocol should be followed for each pair of eyes that viewed the records.  The problem existed that with the records being in such jumbled order and no way of knowing what box belonged to which department without going through it, there was no easy way for each department to view only their own records.   It should be noted at this point that every piece of paper, book and box touched by the Heritage Society had been carefully logged and organized.  Nothing had been removed and the time capsule was intact.

It was now that I discovered that during my absence, access had been obtained (not through chain of command and the Clerk of Court) and county management had allowed people from the elections board, education, register of deeds and the State Archives and others to go through the basement and the office and remove items that they deemed to be under their control.  Items were strewn about the office floor and boxes that had been carefully stacked were opened and askew.  ALL of  the new white file boxes were gone, taken by the State Archives.  There was no way of knowing who took what or what was missing.  No one had left a log.

Our immediate question was how did this action fall within the chain of command?  How was it better to have so many hands and eyes on the records searching for what may be theirs rather than a few careful historians organizing and sorting?   The time capsule was now compromised and we no longer had control of the integrity of the records.

We had been asked to stand down.  We were still waiting for an assessment from the State Archives on the value of the records and the AOC (Administrative Office of Courts) was preparing a report on the retention dates of the court records.  A more complete inventory was needed so I was allowed to do a cursory accounting of what remained in the basement by simply labeling boxes by year range and approximate contents.  Again, none of the ledger books were opened and investigated due to time and space restraints.

The assessment from the State Archives finally arrived in October with the rules as they applied to retention dates of each box that had been cursory inventoried.  Remember, each box still contained a variety of records even though they were labeled according to approximate dates and contents.  It was the position of the Archives that since all of the records had long since met  their retention dates and there was some mold present in the basement that the records were of no value and should be destroyed.  ALL OF THE RECORDS should be destroyed and could not be preserved by the Heritage Society because of the chance of contamination.

Of course we were upset and immediately appealed to the county management to reconsider.  I questioned as to why so many of the white file boxes were taken by the State Archives if they were dangerous and of no value.  The reply was that they were "clean".  The same records that had been picked up off the floor and placed in the new, clean white boxes were no different from the records that still remained in the basement, they were just in a pretty box.

The County management concurred with the Archives. I asked many times who was actually in control of the records.  Was the advice from the Archives a suggestion or a mandate? My biggest question was at what point does a public record go from being a simple piece of paper with a retention date to a historic document simply because of its age? My questions were unanswered.

We appealed to the County Commissioners, our state representatives, the Governor was even contacted. We talked endlessly to the state Archives, we contacted the state Genealogical Society, the newspapers, anyone that would listen.   I requested to at least be able to view and review as each item was removed from the basement so that items of extreme interest could possibly be set aside and photographed before destruction.  I was denied. Unfortunately, I believe that no one actually believed that they really would destroy these documents until it was too late. 

I would like to say that I believe that everyone involved did what it was that they felt had to be done.  There are rules and laws that dictate the handling of state, county and public records.  Protocol should be followed and certain privacy issues need to be adhered to.  However, there comes a time when common sense and doing what is right should be part of the process.  These records were a special circumstance.  They had outlived their retention dates by many, many years.    They survived and existed in spite of the passage of time, water damage, neglect and mismanagement.   I cannot tell you the thrill you feel when you hold in your hands a piece of paper, 100 years old that survived to tell the story of those that came before you.  How do you make the decision to destroy something that has survived so long?

The sad thing is that since we were not allowed to complete the inventory of ALL of the basement's contents, we will never know what was lost. Hopefully, that is a question that the County's leadership will be able to live with.

The questions of why linger, and will never be answered. Was some one trying to hide something? Did someone know something that fire could forever hide? What is known, is no one has been held accountable, and that which has been lost has been lost forever.


You can show your support by by visiting and liking the Franklin County, NC  Heritage Society's Face Book Page. Please make a donation is you are able to. These are very good people. 
https://www.facebook.com/HeritageSocietyOfFranklinCountyNc

Steve Trubilla