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Barbecued chicken, pork
Plates of barbecued pork and chicken will be on sale from 11 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. June 6-7 at Tabernacle of the Congregation, 430 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Smithfield. The cost is $8 for a pork plate, $7.50 for chicken or $9 for a combination plate. All plates come with coleslaw, potato salad and string beans. Within a 25-mile radius of Smithfield, the church will deliver orders of 10 or more plates. To place an order, call 934-1271 or send an e-mail to tabernacleofthecongregation@yahoo.com.

Yard sale, bake sale
White Oak Baptist Church will hold a yard sale and bake sale from 7 a.m. till 1 p.m. Saturday, June 7, at 13943 Buffalo Road, which is beside the Archer Lodge Community Center. Also, the church will be selling sausage biscuits, drinks and bottled water.

Yard sale at Yelverton
A yard sale will get under way at 7 a.m. Saturday, June 7, in the fellowship hall at Yelverton Grove Free Will Baptist Church on Yelverton Grove Road east of Smithfield. Also, the church will have hot dogs and baked goods for sale.

Spaghetti in Selma
Spaghetti plates will be on sale from noon till 6 p.m. Friday, June 6, at St. John AME Church, 400 W. Watson St., Selma. Plates are $5, while desserts and beverages will be $1. Proceeds will go to the building fund.

Gospel sing June 9
The Mark Trammel Trio and The Taylors of Lillington will sing at 7 p.m. Monday, June 9, at New Hope Presbyterian Church on N.C. 42 in the Willow Spring community.

Chicken in Selma
Plates of barbecued chicken will be on sale from 11 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. Friday, June 6, at Selma Emmanuel Holiness Church on Lizzie Street in Selma. The cost is $6.50 per plate, and takeout will be available. For more information, call 202-0332, 965-5881 or 631-0794.

Charlotte Ritchie
Charlotte Ritchie will sing at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Piney Grove Chapel Baptist Church on Piney Grove Church Road west of McGee’s Crossroads. Ritchie formerly sang with Jeff and Sheri Easter for 12 years. Admission to the performance is free; the church will collect an offering for the singer. For more information, or for directions to the church, call (919) 639-2481 or visit www.pgcbc.org.

Teen choir at Mt. Zion
The Federated Church Teen Choir of East Springfield, Pa., will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, 15772 N.C. 50 in the Cleveland community. For more information, call 772-8415 or visit www.mountzion-umc.org.

Pisgah Baptist Joy
The Pisgah Baptist Church Joy Club will meet at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 5, at the church, which is on N.C. 210 west of Smithfield. The church will hold Vacation Bible School June 23-27. A community Sunday School picnic will be held July 12.

A change for summer
Wilson’s Mills Advent Christian Church has changed its schedule of services for the summer. Worship is from 8:45 till 9:45 a.m. Sunday School follows from 10 till 10:45. The church is at 676 Main St. in Wilson’s Mills.

Financial peace
South Smithfield Baptist Church will offer Financial Peace University, the 13-week program taught by Dave Ramsey. The first class will meet at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5886 in Smithfield. Topics include saving for emergencies, budgeting, relationship and money issues, buying big bargains, getting out of debt, understanding insurance, retirement and college planning and estate mortgages.

Evangelist to speak
Evangelist Hattie Lofton of Smithfield will speak at 7:30 p.m. June 4-6 at Word Church of Deliverance on U.S. 13, Newton Grove. Lofton will speak at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Harvest Word Ministry, which meets in Beulah in the Pines Trailer Park in Micro. For directions to either church, call Lofton at 934-9653.

Small Chapel Church
A Men’s Day service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday, June 8, at Small Chapel Church near Newton Grove. For directions, call 965-0621.

Faith International
Apostle Greg Stancil, pastor of City of David in Goldsboro, will speak at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Faith International Community Church, 109 N. 3rd St., Smithfield. For more information, call 320-8302.

VBS registration
Registration for Vacation Bible School is scheduled from noon till 2 p.m. Saturday, June 7, at First Missionary Baptist Church at the corner of Fourth and Caswell streets in Smithfield. VBS is scheduled from 6:30 till 8:30 p.m. June 16-20 at the church.

Youth at Oakey Grove
A celebration of Youth Day is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Oakey Grove Baptist Church on U.S. 70 Business west of Smithfield. Minister Valarie Whitley of Abundant Life Christian Church in Raleigh will speak.

Men’s Day program
A Men’s Day program is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday, June 8, at Cornerstone Gospel Tabernacle Ministries, 4369 U.S. 70 East, Princeton. Bishop Mordecai Johnson of Dover will speak. For more information, call 936-0392 or 735-5711.

Support for pastors
The Barnabas Group, a support group for Johnston ministers of all denominations, will hold its first meeting from 7 till 9 a.m. Thursday, July 10, at the Johnston Baptist Association office, 102 W. Noble St., Selma. Meeting on the second and fourth Thursdays, the group will allow ministers to share mutual concerns, receive support and encouragement and fellowship together in a confidential, small-group setting. The cost will be $30 for six sessions. Dr. Robert Cooke, a pastoral counselor with Triangle Pastoral Counseling, will lead the sessions. For information, call Kelton Hinton at 965-9450 or Robert Cooke at 816-6797.

Cookbook available
Ebenezer United Methodist Church in the Bentonville community has a new supply of its cookbook. Copies are $15. To purchase one, call Nellie Westbrook at 934-3999.

William Baxter Piper, 80, of Smithfield, died Wednesday, June 4.

Born June 7, 1927 in Wake County, he was the son of the late William Y. and Lila King Piper. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Feathers Piper.

Mr. Piper was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and was a member of Sharon Baptist Church.

A funeral will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 5, in the chapel of Parrish Funeral Home in Selma. Burial will be at 9 a.m. Friday, June 6, in Sunset Memorial Park.

Surviving are two sons, William Danny Piper of Smithfield and Michael “Mike” Piper of Selma; a stepson, Charles W. Leonard of Chicago; a sister, Katheline Smith of Raleigh; three grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren; and friend Clara Scouten of Smithfield.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society-Johnston County, 930-B Wellness Dr., Greenville, NC 27834.

Condolences may be made to the family at parrishfh.com.

Susanta Ranjan Guha, 90, of Clayton died Tuesday, June 3.

Surviving are his wife, Mira C. Guha; and a son, Dr. John Guha of Clayton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross, 801 S. Third St., Smithfield, NC 27577.

Arrangements are by McLaurin at Pinecrest Funerals and Cremations in Clayton.

Penella B. Lane, 87, of Clayton died Wednesday, June 4.

Funeral will be at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, at Johnston Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Clayton. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery in Clayton.

Surviving are son, James Barbour of Garner; five daughters, Roxie Lane and Hannah Isreal, both of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Eva Mitchell, Rosa Hood and Pauline Stone, all of Clayton. Surviving are also two sisters, Uneda Ford and Bernice Smith, both of Smithfield; 16 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from noon till 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, at Johnston Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

CLAYTON -- Most days, a visitor can find Sam Robertson in his office at B.M. Robertson Mule Co.

Sipping a cup of coffee, the 90-year-old is surrounded by photos of his family, model airplanes and medals from his time in the Air Force. Robertson, who lives just one block from his office, is quiet about his military service, but he is eager to talk about the five sleighs, five buggies and three wagons parked inside his building.

Each piece, dating back at least 75 years, has its own story to tell. Robertson’s favorite is the buggy he found under a shed in 1975. He had planned to trade tractors with a Pine Level farmer but made a pitch instead for the buggy, which has leather seats.

“I asked [the farmer] if he wanted to sell it, and he said it belonged to his wife,” Robertson said. “I said, ‘Did she want to sell it?’ He said, ‘I don’t know. Let me find out.’”

Not far from the buggy is a wagon that Robertson’s nephew, B.M. Robertson II, received for Christmas in 1941. Today, Sam Robertson and his nephew own B.M. Robertson Mule Co., one of the oldest businesses in Clayton. Robertson keeps the office clean while letting his nephew care for the precious cargo.

“Most of the equipment was on the shelf, but he took it all down,” Robertson said of his nephew’s efforts to organize the goods. “He did a good job. He did it all. I don’t take any credit for that.”

Before antiques started taking up space, B.M. Robertson Co. sold farm equipment and mules. Sam Robertson’s late father, Battle Moore “Bat” Robertson, started the business with four other partners in 1902. Eventually, he bought out the partners and added “Mule” to the company name. Bat Robertson and friend Sam Musgrave also owned Tennessee Mule Co. near O’Neil and First streets.

The building on North Lombard Street could hold as many as 50 mules. Back then, mules cost $250 to $350 each. Under a skylight in the building’s center, the owners showed mules to prospective buyers.

Many of the mules came to Clayton by train from Georgia, Virginia, Missouri and Tennessee, Sam Robertson said. “One time I went with [my dad] to St. Louis, and we were probably gone a week or 10 days,” he said. “He must have taken me out of school when I was 5 or 6 years old. That was just out of this world. For a little fella, it was a particularly long trip.”

Robertson and his brother, John B. Robertson, ran the business after their father’s death in 1929. Gradually, mules gave way to tractors. As Robertson traveled to Pennsylvania and New York to buy used farm machinery, he often stumbled upon buggies, wagons and road carts.

Robertson was not one to refuse a good deal. “When I would go north, a lot of time, if I had an empty spot on the truck and I could buy that sleigh or buggy cheap enough, I did,” he said.

About six years ago, Robertson decided to stop selling farm equipment. But he could not let go of the building that bore his father’s name and legacy. Now, he will share his prized possessions with the public for a second year. The Clayton Historical Association will open B.M. Robertson Mule Co. for tours during Millstock on Saturday.

But don’t expect Robertson to be there. These days, he prefers quiet over crowds. “I used to have a whole lot of friends come here and drink coffee with me,” he said. “But it’s just me drinking the coffee now.”

SELMA -- The Town Council will seek advice before deciding whether to help the owner of a local mobile home park.

Earlier this year, the town began debating how to help David Jones, owner of Selma Mobile Home Park on U.S. 301. Jones had been seeking a bank loan, which he planned to use for personal business. But his bank declined his loan application because of a town ordinance that might have made it hard to repay the loan.

The ordinance states that owners of mobile home parks are not allowed to replace homes that have been destroyed or fallen into extreme disrepair. It also says mobile home parks may have no more than four homes per acre. Jones and his wife manage 17 mobile homes on 2.01 acres.

Jones has told the Town Council that his bank feared any changes in the number of mobile homes would adversely affect his income. In such a case, Jones might not be able to repay a loan from the bank.

In recent months, Councilwoman Debbie Johnson, a real estate agent, has urged her fellow council members to move swiftly to come to Jones’ aid. Johnson has led a charge to exempt three mobile home parks in town, including Jones’, from the ordinance.

Last Tuesday, Johnson’s frustration showed when the Town Council moved to further delay debate on the issue until its next meeting, on June 9. The vote to table debate came after interim town manager C.L. Gobble advised the council to seek advice from the N.C. League of Municipalities.

“He [Jones] came to us in January, and here we are almost six months later and still nothing has been done,” Johnson said. “I’m getting a little tired of this.”

But Gobble told the council that bending the rules for specific individuals was a “slippery slope.” He said doing so could raise any number of legal issues that could put the town at greater risk of lawsuits.

“I just think you need to do some serious homework on this before making a decision,” Gobble said.

Meanwhile, the Town Council voted 4-1 last week to clear up another matter affecting Jones’ property. As council members probed Jones’ case, town officials found that the property on which his park sits had been zoned incorrectly amid changes in 2004.

In a letter to the council, Gobble said Selma Mobile Home Park had accidentally been included in a zone for high-density residential developments. With Mayor Charles Hester dissenting, the Town Council last week voted to rezone the property for a mobile home park.

Millstock in Clayton
Music, fine arts and crafts will take center stage this weekend in Clayton. The eighth annual Millstock Music and Arts Faire will take place from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. Saturday.

Millstock is held at the corner of Lombard and Second streets in the parking lot of the Coffee Mill and The Flipside. Millstock is a showcase for local artists and musicians. This year more than 20 local artists will be displaying their work.

Among the art displays will be photography, jewelry, pottery, paintings, and stained glass. The Clayton Historical Association will have a booth and feature tours of the historic B.M. Robertson Mule Barn. Mothers Unlimited will host children's activities.

The musical lineup this year will kickoff with Rootzie, with a rock and funk sound; followed by Zydecopious, the Triangle's only zydeco band. No Strings Attached will bring a bluegrass flavor to Millstock, and The Amateurs will bring a Caribbean end to the day with some Reggae music.

Bentonville Battleground
A living-history program with artillery demonstrations will be held Saturday, June 7, at Bentonville Battleground State Historic Site, 5466 Harper House Road in the Bentonville community. From 10 a.m. till 4 p.m., interpreters dressed in period costumes will demonstrate the activities of the common North Carolina soldier -- small-arms firing, close-order drill and the issuing of provisions. For more information, call (910) 594-0789.

Classical music
An evening of classical music with pianist Taylor G. Sanders is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday at Hickory Grove Church, 5260 Devil's Racetrack Road, Four Oaks. Admission is free; donations will be accepted.

Children's choir
Children of the World, an international children's choir, will perform at 9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday, June 8, at Cleveland Community Church, 8246 Cleveland Road. The choir is made up of orphaned and disadvantaged children from several countries. They sing and speak on behalf of the millions of children who are suffering because of the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

Country music in Selma
The next Country Tonight Music Show is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Friday, June 6, at The Ice House Theatre, 112 N. Webb St., Selma. The show will feature Bobby Lynn and the Country Tonight Band with special guest Ronnie Jones. Doors open at 7 p.m. For reserved seating, which is $12, call (252) 237-6199. General Admission is $10.

Fashion tips in Clayton
An evening of fashion tips, with clothing and jewelry. Is scheduled from 5 till 7 p.m. Thursday, June 5, at Pizazz on Main Street in Clayton. Proceeds from clothing purchased will aid victims of rape and domestic violence.

Joyce "Nana" Johnson Davis, 86, died June 1 at Rex Healthcare. Funeral is scheduled for June 5 at Central Baptist Church, Wendell. Burial will be in Historic Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh.

She was a native of Smethwick, England, near Birmingham. She was born April 5, 1922, one of three children of William and Florence Johnson. She was the young caregiver for her mother until she was 18 years old and her mother died. She became a "war bride" after meeting a young soldier named George Pete Davis. She came to the United States a year after her husband had returned and they remarried in the Greek Orthodox Church to include a celebration with their family in the Raleigh area. They owned and operated several restaurants in the Raleigh area — Wake Cafe, Joy's Grill, Davis Restaurant and Rainbow Grill while raising their two daughters. She was preceded in death by her husband, George; grandsons, Adam Tyler Purser and Patrick Dean Purser; parents; sister, Phyllis and husband Byrt Edwards; and brother, Bill Johnson and wife Florence. She believed in hard work for herself, laughing out loud, and loving everyone.

Surviving: daughters, Tricia Purser Faison and husband Jimmy of Wendell, Beverly Bogus of the Atlanta, Ga., area; granddaughter, Meghan Blair Purser of Wendell; twin grandsons, Bradley and Barrett Bogus of the Atlanta, Ga., area.

Memorials may be made to Central Baptist Church Vision Fund or the Adam Purser Youth Fund, 11109 Poole Road, Wendell 27591. Arrangements by Strickland Funeral Home, Wendell.

Henry Claude "H.C." Weaver, 79, of 2136 Marks Creek Road, died June 2 at WakeMed. Funeral is scheduled for June 5 at L. Harold Poole Funeral Service chapel. Burial will be at Gethsemane Memorial Gardens, Zebulon.

He was born Aug. 30, 1928, in Franklin County, son of the late Henry Weaver and Roxie Anna Jeans Weaver. He retired with 17 years at Square D Manufacturing. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a daughter, Sue Weaver Perry; son, Michael David Weaver; brothers, Howard and Nathan; and sisters, Lessie, Daphine and Nancy.

Surviving: son, Glenn Weaver of Benson; daughters, Judy W. Willoughby of Wendell, Brenda Weaver of Selma; nine grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; sister, Hazel Weaver of Louisburg.

Sampson Richardson, 80, of Zebulon died June 2. Arrangements by William Toney's Funeral Home.

Bertha Mae Williams Curtis, 83, of Middlesex died June 3. Funeral is scheduled for June 6 at Lee’s Chapel Baptist Church in the church cemetery.

A native of Nash County, she was born Feb. 2, 1925. She was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Thomas James Curtis.

Surviving: daughter, Rose Driver and husband Sherwood of Middlesex; sons, Ed Curtis and wife Vickie of Wendell, Ricky Curtis and wife Debbie of Bailey; sisters, Margie Glover of Middlesex, Joyce Lively and husband Danny of Ashland, Ky.; grandchildren, Robert Curtis, Celena Curtis, Mandy Driver, Sarah Curtis, two great-grandchildren; friend, Julian Bryant.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org. Arrangements by Strickland Funeral Home, Wendell.

Rachel P. Fraser of 1104 Mailwood Drive in Knightdale died May 31. Memorial is scheduled for June 5 at C.A. Haywood Memorial Chapel of Haywood Funeral Home, Raleigh.

BENSON -- For the past two years, dinnertime at the home of James and Brenda Holder often included one of the couple’s closest friends.

Bobby Glenn McLamb, 62, loved filling up on Brenda’s menu of country cooking, which included country ham and beef liver, among other dishes. He seldom missed a night at the couple’s dinner table.

“He loved to complain about my wife’s cooking,” James said with a laugh. “He always said she was making him fat with all the homemade biscuits. He loved those biscuits, and he loved her collards, turnips and fatback too. I never saw him turn anything away that she cooked.”

One of the rare nights McLamb missed dinner was last Tuesday. James said his friend, whom he considered a brother, called his wife that evening to tell her he wasn’t hungry. McLamb assured her he would see his friends the following day.

But on Wednesday morning, word spread quickly that McLamb had been found murdered inside his mobile home on N.C. 242 between Benson and Dunn.

Tammy Amaon, spokeswoman for the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, said last week that a friend of McLamb’s found him about 8 a.m. She didn’t say who discovered McLamb’s body. But employees of McLamb’s LP Gas, where he had worked for about a year, said several co-workers went to McLamb’s house when he didn’t show up for work at his usual time.

Wayne McLamb, no relation, is co-owner of McLamb’s LP. He described McLamb as “unique” and an “honest friend and worker.”

“Bobby was a humble man,” Wayne McLamb said. “You could ask him to do anything, and he’d do it, no questions asked. He was a fun human being.”

A woman, her son and his girlfriend were arrested last Wednesday and charged with robbery and murder. Not long after McLamb’s death, authorities said, Luis Angel Reyes Hernandez, 27, of 6928 Godwin Lake Road was captured in a wooded area several miles from McLamb’s home.

Also charged were Hernandez’s mother, Nancy Hernandez, 48, and his girlfriend, Amanda Jean Russell, 28, also of the same address. All three remain in the Johnston County jail without bond.

“It’s just a shock to all of us that something like this could happen out here,” said the Holders’ daughter-in-law, Jessica Holder. “This is a close-knit community of farmers and close friends where everybody knows everybody. Stuff like this happens in Raleigh or Fayetteville, but not here, not among us.”

But there were exceptions. Amaon said McLamb’s trailer had been broken into in March 2005. A month before, Amaon said, McLamb called authorities after someone stole property from his front yard.

McLamb hadn’t reported any other trouble in the past three years, Amaon said. But friends said McLamb had begun keeping a .38-caliber handgun inside his house and a wooden stick by the door.

Still, the Holders and others said McLamb was a giving person and might have offered his attackers whatever they wanted, if they had only asked. Amaon said the suspects took several guns from his house. A few of the weapons were recovered in the woods where Luis Hernandez was arrested, she added.

“I guess in times like this we can’t really ask why things like this happen,” James Holder said. “I guess it was just his time to go. But Bobby was so friendly and easygoing toward everyone, and he would literally give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. I just can’t understand why anyone would want to do something like this to such a good man.”

Johnston County -- Business at the county's recycling centers is booming.

At Wise Recycling near Clayton, about 200 people walk through the front door each day, said Gary Taylor, vice president. That number reflects a 20-percent increase over this time last year.

Similar increases have been reported at other centers, including Atlantic Scrap & Processing and Johnston County Recycling, both in Smithfield. At Johnston County Recycling, employee Tim Parrish estimated a 40-percent increase in customers in the past year.

"It has picked up tremendously," he said.

Taylor, of Wise Recycling, said the increase stemmed in large part from the weak U.S. economy and the rising costs of food and gas. "With the price of everything going up so fast, even that extra $5 people might have left laying around in the garage for six months is being put to use," he said.

Parrish agreed. "People give all kinds of reasons for it," he said. "Some will say they need it for gas money. We also have elderly people coming in and saying they are selling things to help them buy medications. People are looking for any way they can find to make money."

Gas prices weighed heavy on Matthew Scarborough's mind recently as he piled aluminum siding on a scale at Johnston County Recycling. Fifteen pounds of siding earned him $23.40, or a little more than half of what it costs to fill up his 1999 Chevy pickup.

"Most of the time, I’m lucky to get gas money out of it," Scarborough, of Princeton, said about his recycling efforts.

But Scarborough, a construction worker, said he is not looking a gift horse in the mouth. The dollars he earns from his monthly visits to recycling centers are dollars he can't live without.

"With the way metal prices have shot up, a load that might have gotten me $60 or $70 two years ago would get me $100 to $130," Scarborough said. "That is really crazy to me. But I am glad, because I need the cash. Times are tough."

Scarborough is not alone. On a recent Thursday afternoon, Tyree Faison of Middlesex was parked in a line of trucks waiting to enter Wise Recycling. Faison, 59, relies on money from recycling to supplement his disability benefits.

Faison has been unable to work since May 2005, when a car pulled out in front of him on Poole Road in Raleigh. His work truck struck the car, and Faison suffered a knee injury that forced him to quit his job.

Now Faison scraps for any kind of metal he can find. On that particular Thursday, his load included a 150-gallon steel drum, aluminum gating and an old washing machine made of tin. He figured that load might earn him $200.

"When you are on a fixed income like I am, every little bit helps," Faison said.

The business of recycling
Every little bit also helps those people for whom recycling is their sole means of income.

On that Thursday, Tyrone Sanders of Selma walked out of Atlantic Scrap & Processing $3 richer than when he arrived.

That might seem like a small payout for the 15 pounds of aluminum wire Sanders dropped off at the recycling center. But for Sanders, every dollar counts. The 20-something is among those who depend on recycling for their livelihood.

It can be a good income, said Frank Brenner of Atlantic Scrap & Processing. "It is not just a county phenomenon," he said. "The prices of metals are at historic highs, a cause of a weakened U.S. dollar. As a result, people are out there looking more aggressively for all kinds of materials."

Sanders quit his job at Wendy's about a month ago. Today, he cleans up the yards of the county's elderly residents. In return for his work, Sanders asks only that the homeowners allow him to collect any scrap metal left lying around.

"I don't charge them," he said. "I let them know up front about my intentions."

During an average 25-hour workweek, Sanders said, he tries to gather at least 300 pounds of aluminum and copper to sell. That amount of scrap metal often pays as much as $400, Sanders said. Even after factoring in the cost of gas, Sanders said, he is making more money working part-time than he earned working full-time at the restaurant.

So do friends Tony Barbour and Rusty Wagner, who teamed up last month after both lost their jobs with a heating and cooling company in Clayton. Barbour and Wagner were among those waiting in line at Wise Recycling during the company’s lunch hour on a recent Thursday.

Wagner said many of their scrap items, such as a cast-iron bathtub and steel piping, came from past clients and their friends. Wagner also posts occasional ads on Craigslist, a popular online place for buying and selling just about anything.

"We started out getting mostly smaller items," Wagner said. "But through the Internet and word of mouth, we have moved up to larger items."

It often takes the friends only 20 hours a week to drum up enough scrap metal to earn both of them $500 to $600. After deducting gas money from their weekly total, Wagner and Barbour split the remaining money 50-50.

"I make more doing this than I did at my old job," Wagner said.

"It is good work," Barbour added. "It is better than sitting at home and wishing you had a dollar."

Parrish, of Johnston County Recycling, said he expected the trend would continue. "People are going to keep cashing in anything they think they can get a nickel off of, whether that is cans, copper wire, aluminum siding, car radiators, air conditioning coils or insulated wire," he said. "They are looking for any way they can to make money."

Cary’s Town Council will consider a property-tax rate above what the town manager has proposed.

The agreement to look at a rate above 33 cents per $100 of valuation for the 2009 fiscal year came at a work session Tuesday.

Council members expressed interest in evening out the tax rate at a higher figure for the next three years. The council held off discussing a specific rate until it learns of the implications of eliminating two road projects.

A handout provided as the meeting started shows the tax implications of covering Cary’s increasing debt expense and maintaining four months of cash reserves. To meet those obligations, tax rates would start at 33 cents in 2009, go to 37.98 cents in 2011, 41.03 cents in 2013 and up to 43.84 cents in 2020.

“I think it’s the elephant in the room and I think we ought to just deal with it,” said council member Gale Adcock.

The council has agreed to limit debt service to 15 percent of expenditures. Fifteen percent is a threshold that bond-rating agencies look at when evaluating municipalities. Cary currently has the highest bond ratings from the three major agencies. The high ratings allow the town to pay lower interest on the debt it sells, which reduces the cost of using debt to finance bricks-and-mortar projects.

Staff also provided a flowchart showing two approaches to capital funding. The first approach is that projects determine funding; the second is that funding determines projects.

“I think that we have a responsibility to say … that funding determines projects,” said council member Erv Portman. The discussion about the tax rate followed a review of road and park projects proposed for the 2009 fiscal year, which starts July 1.

The council removed downtown road projects, the widening of Chapel Hill Road and the extension of South Harrison Avenue. Removing those two projects is expected to save the town about $10.5 million next year and additional money in future years.

The proposed 33-cent tax rate is “revenue neutral.” That revenue-neutral rate takes into account Wake County’s property-tax revaluation that became effective Jan. 1. The revaluation was the first since 2000.

A revenue-neutral tax rate is one that raises the same amount of money following a revaluation as before when adjusted for municipal growth. The current tax is 42 cents per $100 of valuation.

Some semantics also crept into the conversation. Adcock said that the idea of going above “revenue-neutral” is not an increase because the rate would still be lower than Cary residents currently pay.

“We’re not raising the tax rate, we’re lowering it less,” Adcock said.

Portman disagreed. Any rate above revenue-neutral “is in fact a tax increase,” Portman said.

Town Manager Bill Coleman recommended that the council not plan farther out than three years with any tax-rate adjustments.

The handout, Coleman said, includes a variety of complex assumptions about the town’s future financial situation.

“The assumptions can change significantly” over two or three years, Coleman said.

Contact Adam Arnold at 460-2609 or aarnold@nando.com.