The Fred P. Adkins obelisk is lifted into place during on Salisbury's Downtown Plaza.

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1969

• A modern and rather imposing structure has been approved for placement on the new Salisbury Downtown Plaza. An obelisk designed by Washington, D.C., sculptor Alfredo Halegua will be donated to the city and paid for by private gifts. It will honor Fred P. Adkins, a longtime Salisbury business leader, and be placed in a reflecting pool that will make it visible from Route 50 through St. Peters Street. K. King Burnett, president of the Wicomico Council of the Arts, said the sculpture should not be thought of as a memorial, but as a piece of art. “We hope that people come to identify the spire with Salisbury and that it will become a symbol of our city,” Burnett said.
• The Salisbury City County meeting set a new record for brevity -- Council President W. Paul Martin Jr. banged the gavel after just 31 minutes. The dean of the council, Harry O. Fullbrook, a member for 17 years, said he couldn’t recall a shorter session. Among the business items transacted was Mayor Dallas Truitt’s appointment of  P.J. O’Hannon to the city’s Bi-racial Commission, and a small tax increase on Downtown businesses to pay for $20,000 in cost overruns on construction of the $160,000 Downtown Plaza. Mayor Truitt reported that Dover’s Mayor and City Council would be visiting Salisbury this week to tour the Plaza, with the idea of building something similar in their city.
• The Salisbury-Wicomico Airport Commission agreed to execute a lease with Viscount International Corp. that would allow the airplane manufacturer to store 13 four-engine aircraft on a runway that would be closed for that purpose. Commission Chairman Walter R. Mullikin said the lease would extend through Dec. 31, 1969. Viscount has been storing some planes on a taxiway at the Salisbury airport, which has been the subject of local criticism.
• The Hecht Co. at Salisbury Mall and WDMV-AM 540 radio are teaming up to provide a service where all community activities would be announced on the air. Publicity chairmen of all Delmarva organizations are invited to telephone the station have their voices -- announcing the details of their event -- recorded for playback on WDMV.
• John Broyhill, manager of J.C. Penney’s in Downtown Salisbury, was named chairman of the 1969 Heart Fund campaign for Wicomico County. John H. Culver, chairman of the Eastern Heart Association, made the announcement. Thomas Sexton and Jesse Cunningham were named vice-chairmen. The Heart Fund has a goal of raising $50,000 this year. The Heart Ball, sponsored by the Newcomer’s Club, will be held Feb. 7.
• The March of Dimes announced it had surpassed its 1967 fundraising total by $1,000 in 1968, raising a remarkable $7,329. Louise White, the fundraising chairwoman, held a party celebrating the accomplishment at her home on Pine Knoll Terrace.
• Coach Jim Cassaday of Wi-Hi said his 8-3 squad was prepared to face off against 9-2 Somerset High in Princess Anne. Somerset has been led this season by Kirkland Hall, who has averaged 23.6 points per game. Carlton Mack and Timmy Knapp are the star players for Wi-Hi, with a combined scoring average of 64.8 points per game.