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VOLUME 12 NO. 4
JANUARY 26. 1989
VANCEBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
PHONE 244 0780 OR 946-2144 (UPSP 412-119) 25 CENTS SIX PAGES
Water Supply
Still An Issue
In Cove City
Poking Around
This great egret finds his long neck just the thing for poking around
in tall grass while searehing for food. The coastal and inland waters
of the area are home to a variety of water fowl. One would have to
Ground Is Broken
For CCC Buildings
think that with the abundance of food in area waters, this egret has
no regrets about making his home in eastern North Carolina. (Ric
Carter photo)
By MIKE VOSS
Edilor
COVE CITY — After being
turned down for a $609,890 grant,
part of whieh was target^ for
drilling a well and hooking up to
the Northwest Craven water sys
tem, Cove City still finds itself
behind the dam on its water
issue.
Attempts to confirm with court
officials that a lawsuit filed by
Cove City against New Bern con
cerning water rates is scheduled
for Craven County Superior
Court next month were unsuc
cessful. An unofficial source said
the case was on the court calen
dar for early February.
The town still gets Its water
from New Bern.
Last April, the town’s aider-
men appropriated $7,500 to help
obtain the $600,000 Community
Development Block Grant the
town applied for. The town's
commitment would have been
split into $3,750 a year for two
years, if the grant had been
funded.
The grant was turned down.
said City Clerk Evelyn Hood on
Monday. She said the town board
is “still working toward that end”
to provide a water system for re
sidents.
The town’s consultant on the
town well estimated a town well
would cost about $70,000 to in
stall.
The town did tie into the
Northwest Craven Water and
Sewer District’s water line near
the town last summer, said
Mayor L.D. Davis.
ITie mayor said in an interview
Wednesday that the well has not
been drilled and the town is still
studying the issue. “We haven’t
done anything yet,” said Davis.
He said he favors the town get
ting water from its own well, if it
is feasible.
The town is not using water
from the tie-in with the North
west Craven Water and Sewer
District line and plans to use that
water only in case of an emergen
cy, said Davis.
The town’s water woes came to
(See WATER, Page 5)
Ground was broken at noon
Monday for two facilities at
Craven Community College,
enabling the college to move all
of its New Bern-based programs
onto campus and make a dent in
current curriculum space needs.
Participating in the ground
breaking ceremony were the col
lege’s Board of Trustees, the
county commissioners, the local
delegation to the General Assem
bly and directors of the Craven
Community College Foundation.
The buildings are expected to
be completed by June 30, 1990.
The buildings will be con
structed on the South Glenbur-
nie Road campus near the tennis
courts. Architect John N. Peter
son of New Bern designed the
buildings and Eastern Construc
tion Co. of Greenville is the
general contractor. The Craven
County Board of Commissioners
provided $1,587,330 and the N.C.
.funeral Assembly provided $1.5
million to round out the project’s
$3.08 million budget.
“This allows for eontlnuity of
instruction. The opportunity fo
students to participate in other
college activities is greatly en
hanced,” said Dr. Lewis S. Redd,
Airlifted To Hospital
dean of the college. Until the
buildings are complete, students
have to travel from their prog
ram’s facilities to campus to visit
the library and often to take
courses supporting their degree
requirements, explained Redd.
Building D, at 18,685 square
feet, will house programs in elec
tronics engineering technology,
machine shop, tooling and cos
metology. Building E is 20,307
square feet and includes a 290-
seat performance auditorium, a
business computer program
ming area and a fine arts section.
Cosmetology, masonry and
carpentry programs are housed
off campus in rented facilities.
With the completion of the two
buildings, they wilt come onto
campus.
Electronics and machinist
programs have outgrown current
space at the college. Building D
will allow room for two programs
to run concurrently in each of
those areas, with the machine
shop fiirther expanding its adv
anced offering into a two-year
tooling program, said college
officials.
(See CCC, Page S)
Train, Car Accident
Leaves One Injured
''7l*A SO-year-oId woman was
listed in serious condition Mon
day, four days after a collision
with a train.
The accident left her in critical
condition Thursday night after
her car was hit by a train and
dragged 125 feetdown the tracks,
officials said.
Ethelene Shands, whose
hometown was listed as Rt. 3,
Vanceboro, was taken to Pitt
County Memorial Hospital
around 2 p.m. last Thursday by
Eastcare air ambulance, officials
said.
Her car was struck by a Nor
folk & Western height train ab
out 1:40 p.m. last Thursday,
according to the Highway Patrol.
The patrol said there were no sig
nals at the intersection where the
accident occurred.
The accident occurred about
(See WRECK, Page S)
A Weekend For Being Prepared
By MIKE VOSS
Editor
CAMP PETERSON —
Smoke from campfires drifted
among the trees and boys and
men warmed themselves be
fore the crackling fires.
Although the sun was shining,
the morning chill still had its
bite.
For 200 Scouts and adult
leaders, this past weekend
was a learning experience.
Learning who, what, when.
where, how and why for merit
badges and learning how to
cope “in the wild.”
The annual camporee for
the Neuse Basin and Croatan
Trail districts of the East Caro
lina Council of the Boy Scouts
of America was held over the
weekend at Camp Peterson, a
few miles south of Vanceboro.
This was the first time in 12
years the annual camporee
was held somewhere other
than Camp Sam Hatcher near
Newport, said Frankie Buck,
camporee chief
Buck said 16 troops took
part in the camporee, with
Troop 58 and Troop 208 from
Vanceboro acting as hosts.
The troop ftom Davis covered
the most miles in making it to
the camporee and a troop fhim
Greenville, not part of the
Croatan TVail or Neuse Basin
districts, made an appearance
after asking permission.
Scouts were still arriving on
foot, by bans and by car after
lunch. Earlier arrivals had
already set up camp, complete
with tents, fires and makeshift
kitchens. Others were setting
up camp, looking for the right
spot to set up weekend house
keeping in the woods.
“Your tent needs a little
housekeeping,” said one lead
er to a scout.
“What’s this supposed to
(See SCOUTS, Page 2)
Colin James, left, James Brown inspect “latlder”
Henry Goodson explains raft*making
’Greenhouse Effect’ Gives Coastal Areas Cause For Concern
Of all the dire warnings the
public has heard recently about
the failing environment, one of
the most ominous for coastal
North Carolina is the predicted
rise in sea level due to the “green
house effect.”
Scientists understood years
ago that due to our constant
burning of fossill ftiels (oil, coal,
gasoline), carbon dioxide levels
in the earth’s atmosphere would
rise. The scientists also knew
that this carbon dioxide, along
with methane and other gases,
could absorb heat that once re
flected back into space. The re
sult rtf this nhsrtrntinn WrtillH he
Analysis
warming temperatures gener
ated similar to the way a garden
greenhouse works, hence the
term “greenhouse effect.”
Though predictions about the
extent of the future warming
vary, researchers know a gradual
warming of the earth has been
occurring in the past 100 years,
and they feel a more rapid rise is
inevitable over the next 100 years
as well. If they are correct, one of
the results will be a meltback of
nninr Iceeans and alnrlpis. and
subsequent to that a raising of
sea levels around the world.
That would certainly cause ma
jor damage to beaches and other
coastal areas, and it would also
pose a grave threat to coastal wet
lands, including those here in
North Carolina. Again, while sci
entists differ on the level the
problem may reach, they agree
that by the year 2050, 60 years
away, the effects of global warm
ing will be felt and will be severe.
Based on this grim prospect,
two major challenges face the
public today regarding wetlands:
(1) to determine how the sea level
will nffpct wpilftnds and (21
to make regulatory decisions
that give wetlands the best
chance against the rise.
As noted earlier, recorded data
show the Earth has been gradual
ly warming over the past 100
years. Geologic studies indicate
this trend has also been occur
ring from natural causes for
some 15,000 years, and that sea
level has been rising at a steady
pace with the warming.
Since this natural rise in both
temperature and sea level has
been gradual, wetlands have
been able to sustain and even in
crease their area since they had
the room and time to mternie
landward ahead of the water.
Sediment washed ftom uplands
filled in low-lying areas and gave
the wetlands a base on which to
build and recreate their natural
characteristics.
What scientists fear iiom the
greenhouse effect is that sea level
rise will become so rapid that
many wetlands will be unable to
keep up this gentle retreat. Espe
cially in areas where develop
ment and bulkheading have
already encroached on existing
wetlands, the wetlands will have
little room and less time in which
to re-establish themselves. And
even In areas where there Is
room, researchers feel other fac
tors may lead to a net loss in wet
land acreage.
In eastern North Carolina’s
coastland area the potential for
wetland loss is high because
many existing wetlands border
higher land and have no room for
retreat. One study states that by
the year 2100 the Neuse River in
western Craven County and the
lower Tar River in Pitt County
may be coastal rivers much like
the Pamlico is in eastern
Beaufort County now. Without
functioning wetlands, however,
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