Newspapers / West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, … / March 31, 1988, edition 1 / Page 1
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(EniiitniSpunto West Craven Highlights News From Along The Bankt Of The Neute News From Along The Banks Of The Neuse VOLUME 11 NO. U MARCH 31,1988 VANCEBORO, NORTH CAROLINA PHONE a^ll 0780 OR 946 21M (UPSP412110) 25 CENTS SIX PAGES Big Top, Big Fun, Big Show Hundreds of circuses have come and gone since the mid- ''4M0S. Circuses large and small, carried by horse-drawn wagons or on dozens of rail road cars, three-ring circuses and dog-and-pony shows criss-crossed the North Amer ican continent bringing enter tainment to the public. Cole Bros. Circus remains as the only circus to have survived a century still appearing much as it did over 100 years ago, under the Big Top. Since 1884, three genera- tloiu of Americans have thril led to the sights, smells, sounds and feats of skill that typify the Cole Bros. Circus. The Cole story was begun by William Washington Cole (1847-191S). His "W.W. Cole’s MjiMV Colossal Shows” (1884) wfie, as he stated, “Presented in a reputable manner by reputable people.” With the most modem of the 19th Cen tury equipment, and perform ances of the highest caliber. Cole achieved enormous suc cess. In fact, when he died he left an estate of $5 million — quite a sum in the year 1915. Around the turn of the cen tury, the name of the show was changed to “Cole Bros. Cir cus” and purchased by Cana dian showman Martin Downs and his son, James. During the late 1920s, Cole Bros. Circus was owned and operated by Floyd and Howard King, win- terquarterd in Texas, and played extensively in the West. The King brothers brought Cole Bros. Circus to the frontier, scheduling appearances at military bases. A congress of clowns lake a break from rigors of the circus mining camps and remote boomtowns. The Great Depression near ly signaled an end to Cole Bros. Circus, but for the faith and perserverance of two men highly esteemed men in circus lore. Jess Adkins and Zack Terrell acquired the show and built it into a new circus that (See CIRCUS, Page 5) Board’s Vote Triples Cost Of Engineer Commissioner Forrest Argues Fee Changes ‘Double Dipping' One Craven County commis sioner calls it “double dipping.” But four other county commis sioners approved a plan last week that will more than triple the retainer fee paid to an en gineer hired by the county. The engineer, Vernon Harris, will receive a minimum of $33,360 a year in retainer fees alone under a payment plan approved by the county commis sioners in a 3-1 vote. Commis sioner Roger Forrest voted against the proposal. The approved amount is more than three times the $9,000 paid to Harris' former firm. North- state Consultants. The commis sioners voted last month to drop Northstate in favor of Coloni^ Engineering, Inc.. Harris owns Colonial Engineering. The commissioners approved the motion made by Vice Chair man Charles Potter to okay the fees submitted by Harris. Forrest said the measure was “double dipping” and said the re tainer fees are unnecessary. The commissioner said that in the construction budget for the Neuse River Water and Sewer and Northwest Craven Water and Sewer districts the fees for en gineering work amounted to $1,353,000. Forrest argued that the engineer was ahead being paid for his work. Harris explained last week that the $2,780 each month breaks down into accounts of various water and sewer projects: — A general charge to the county of $1,150. — A charge of $990 per month to the Neuse River Water and Sewer District, with $390 for the water project and $600 for the sewer project. — A monthly $390 charge for Northwest Craven’s water pro ject. — $250 a month for work done on the county industrial park. Harris said the $2,780 is over and above normal commission he makes for work done on any specific county engineering pro ject. The commission is figured on a percentage sliding scale sug gested by the Farmers Home Administration. Harris said the fees were justi fied because the money will cov er his time spent on general ser vices, such as attending and re porting the results of the board meetings of the various water and sewer district advisory com mittees, travel between New Bern and his home office in Raleigh and making applications on part of the county for state and federal grants and loans. Harris said the former $750 fee was set up several years ago when “there wasn’t much going on.” The retainer fees, according to (See BOARD, Page 5) Northwest Advisory Board Recommends Dropping Retainer ' Saying it does not need an en gineer on retainer, the Northwest Craven Water and Sewer District Advisory Board voted unani mously last Thursday during a special called meeting to seek the removal of a $390-montly retain er fee for the water system’s en gineer fh>m its budget. The board is recommending the deletion to the county com missioners. The commissioners have the final say on the request. A board member “disgusted” with the situation, Ray Matth ews, resigned during the meet ing. The water system has experi enced several problems that de layed start up of the system. The action followed on the heels of the approval last week by the Craven County Board of Commissioners of a proposal to pay over $33,000 to engineer Ver non Harris’ firm, Colonial En gineering, Inc. Harris owns the firm but previously worked for Northstate Consultants. “We don’t need an engineer on retainer,” said acting advisory board chairman Bill Pappas. Pappas became acting chairman after former chairman Gray Lan caster resigned earlier this month to protest the rate sche dule adopted by the county com missioners for the Northwest Craven customers last month. The rate schedule adopted was higher than customers were orig- nially told during a bond referen dum campaign. “We don’t need an engineer, especially Harris. The Northwest Craven board does not like Ver non Harris. We feel that he has misled us in the past,” said Pap pas. Members of the advisory board indicated that Harris de liberately delayed the operation of the Northwest water system. “I’m pretty sure the commis sioners (two of them are custom ers) want the same thing we want and that is water as cheap as we can get it,” said Pappas in a tele phone interview “Tuesday. Pap pas said he felt local engineers could provide any work needed “just as good as Harris can do it.” Pappas said he had received support from residents about the advisory board’s stand. “They are telling me to stick with it,” said Pappas. The controversy over Harris came to a head last week when the county adopted a fee propos al that more than triples the monthly sum paid to Harris for work with the county’s four wa ter systems. Before leaving Northstate Match 1, Harris earned $750 per month. After starting his own firm, Harris’ fee increased to $2,780 a month, including the $390 monthly fee to Northwest Craven. Several of the advisory board members said they were not comfortable with the “coinci dence” that the water system be came operational about two weeks ago, shortly after Harris took over all the county's con tracts relating to water systems. Advisory Board member Keith Register said Matthews heard re ports from employees of the two Dizon Pitches Eagles To 3-2 Win Over Pack Bj JIM GREEN Sport* Writer ; The opening Coastal Confer ence game Tuesday between West Craven and Washington fe atured a couple of firsts. 1 TVipp Leggett, who entered the game without a hit, slapped a -single that scored Franz Hols- cher in the sixth inning. Derek .'Curtis, a sophomore right -hander who suffered a one-run Joss at Bertie last Friday, pitched laiilfMng of strong relief to hold ;the Eagles. - But has been the case in three -other games, the Pack fell behind -early, rallied but came out short. West Craven scored all of its runs in the first three innings and held off Washington behind the four-hit pitching of junior south paw John Dizon to take a 3-2 vic tory on the Eagle diamond. Dizon was 0-2 before Tuesday’s game, but he had pitched well in both starts against defending Class 2-A champion Greene Cen tral, according to West Craven coach Tim Hardison. But the left-hander didn’t look like an 0-2 pitcher Tuesday. Mix ing the fastballs and curves to keep the Pam Pack batters gues- (See EAGLES, Page 5) Vanceboro’s Charlie Lee Earns Eagle Scout Award Charlie Lee was awarded the Eagle Scout Award recent ly at the Vanceboro United Methodist Church. He is the 15-year-old son of Nelson and Linda Lee of Van ceboro. He is the grandson of Ite. Lena Lee of Jamesville and the late Elijah Lee. He is also the grandson of the late Seaton E. Overton and Mrs. Mary Lee Overton Lilley. Lm is a ninth-grade student at West Craven High School. Lee entered scouting at the age of eight as a Cub Scout vidth Pack 58. He earned the Arrow of the Light, the high est award a Cub Scout can attain. At age 11,1,ee joined Troop 68 of Vanceboro under the leadership of Richard L. Can- - , JLsL.^ Charlie Lee non Jrt As a scout, I.,ee has served as scribe, patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader and is now senior patrol leader in his troop. West Craven’s Kip Bryan slides back into ilrst base as Washington first baseman Derek Curtis takes the throw from pitcher Gary Hodges during the third huiing Tuesday.natiH*iM)*i companies hired to install the Northwest system that they were instructed to slow down pipe in stallation in Townships 1,3 and 9. Wells were drilled in October but customers did not get water until about two weeks ago, said Pappas. Harris said the delay was caused by state officials who de nied approval of the operation of the two wells because of discol oration in the water pumped from the wells within the first mi nutes of being operated. The wa ter was certified potable, but the color did not meet state guide- (See NORTHWEST, Page 2) Jobless Figures Improve Craven, Jones, Pamlico and Lenoir counties joined a statewide trend that saw 94 other counties improve their unem ployment rates in February, according to the Employment Security Commission. Craven County’s unemploy ment rate fell from 4.5 percent in January to 4.3 percent in February. The county’s February labor force was estimated at 30,520 with 29,220 working and 1,300 jobless. Jones County saw its unem ployment rate decline to 5.5 per cent in February after reaching 5.8 percent the month before. Jones County’s work force totaled 3,990 and 220 of that num ber were out of work and 3,770 working. The unemployment rate in Pamlico County fell from 10 per cent in January to 5.6 percent in February. Pamlico County had 260 mem bers of its 4,620-strong labor pool unable to find work, with 4,360 employed, the commission esti mated. Lenoir County's unemploy ment rate fell firom 5.8 percent in January to 5.3 percent in February. There were 29,070 people in the work force, with 27,530 working and 1,540 without jobs. The state’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.1 percent in (See JOBLESS, Page 5)
West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, N.C.)
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March 31, 1988, edition 1
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