(Dniutn^aunta
West Craven Highlights
Sews From AIoiik The Haiihs Of The Sense
HUtOHU. UWSMPfR
VOLUME 12 NO. 9
MARCH 2, 1989
VANCEBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
PHONE 244 0780 OR 946-2U4
(UPSP 412-110)
28 CENTS
SIX PAGES
F our-Laning
Of U.S. 17
In Roads Bill
i, -: '
yyo
Winter Wonderland
After an eerie winter of 80>degree days and then ice storms two
days later, people were left wondering when winter would finally
decide to show up. Old Man Winter removed in doubt when snow
blew in Friday and blanketed the area with between four and eight
inches in most places. In the background, several birds were found
Nude Man Discovered
Injured Near Church
out on a limb after the snowfall. In the foreground, a bit of winter
time snow sculpture by Mother Nature, with help of a few evergreen
trees, adds to the beauty of the winter scene. The storm gave stu
dents and many adult a day off from their normal acitivites. (Ric
Carter photo)
By MIKE VOSS
Editor
A proposed highway bill is uni
que because if it becomes law it
spells out specific projects to be
constructed, says one of the bill's
authors.
Sen. Marc Basnight told the
Board of Directors of the High
way 17 Transportation Associa
tion Monday that the bill would
provide $8.6 billion for roads im
provements, including $625 mil
lion for improvements to U.S. 17
from the Virginia to the South
Carolina border.
The bill also calls for the con
struction of the U.S. 17 bypass in
New Bern, four-laning U.S. 17
from Wilmar to Bridgeton. The
New Bern project would cost ab
out $100 million, the Wilmar-
Bridgeton project about $29 mil
lion. The bill also calls for U.S. 17
to be four-laned from the Martin-
Beaufort line to Chocowinity at a
cost of $81 million.
Included in the bill is a bypass
around Washington and four-
laning sections of the highway in
the Martin-Beaufort-Craven cor
ridor. Belhaven might also get
$39 million for road projects. And
if the bill is passed a bridge might
be built over the Pamlico River
in eastern Beaufort County.
Basnight met with the High
way 17 Transportation Associa
tion directors at the Holiday Inn
in Washington.
The bill would Amd the pro
jects mostly through a 5'/4-cent-
per-gallon tax increase on gaso
line and a 2 percent title fee. ITie
bill also asks for a study on toll
roads, but Basnight said he pre
ferred a direct tax because it re
turned 100 percent of money col
lected for road impovements and
30 percent of money from tolls
goes toward collection expenses.
The bill puts eastern North
Carolina on the“brink of finaliza
tion of four-laning U.S. 17 fiom
state line to state line,” said Bas
night.
The bill names the projects and
if it becomes law they would
have to be under construction in
12years, said Basnight. Basnight
said work on the bill had been
going on for 18 months and he
Uiought the bill would be well re
ceived in the Senate. He said he
did not know what response it
would get in the House. The bill
was pre-filed Thursday and
many legistlators have not seen
it, said Rep. Howard Chapin,
who also attended the meeting.
(See ROADS, Page 5)
A man believed present at a
shooting was in stable condition
Monday after he was found Sun
day standing nude outside an
abandoned house beside the
West Vanceboro Church of God.
The Craven County Sheriffs
Department believes Ricardo
Ranez, 33, was present at a shoot
ing at a trailer park on Antioch
Road on Saturday but was not
ii\jured.
“We have nothing to lead us to
believe he hurt anybody or was
injured by anyone else,” said
sheriffs investigator Ken Fil-
lingame.
Ranez was being treated this
week for multiple injuries at
Craven Regional Medical Center,
said a hospital spokesman.
A Vanceboro resident called
Lt. J.C. Woolard of the sheriffs
department about 11:15 a.m.
Sunday and reported someone
lYss indecently explosed.
When officers arrived they
found Ranez standing by the
abandoned house near the
church on N.C. 43. Ranez was in
coherent, said rescue workers
who took him to the hospital. He
was said to have been talking ab
out a shooting. He was able to tell
rescue workers from the Vance
boro Rescue Squad that he was
Mexican. Rescue workers and
volunteer firemen searched the
area for others who may have
been with Ranez.
“He was not in control of his
faculties,” said Fillingame.
Oflicers think Ranez may have
witnessed a shooting that left one
man slightly injured after an
argument at Sandy Ridge Mobile
Home Park ended in gunfire.
Juandela R. Lung of 9-A Sandy
Ridge Mobile Home Park re
ceived emergency room treat
ment fora gunshot wound to the
right side at Craven Regional
Medical Center and was released,
said a hospital spokesman.
She was injured when Mario
Peralta Soto, 21, of the mobile
home park, allegedly fired a .22-
caliber weapon into his trailer af
ter an argument with an uniden
tified roommate.
(See NUDE, Page 5)
Morris Gets New Post
With Greenville District
Jackie D. Morris, Carolina
Telephone’s manager of network
switching in Tarboro, has re
placed Grady C. Strickland as
district commercial manager in
Greenville.
•Anr district commercial mana
ger,’ Morris will be responsible
for the operation of the com
pany's business office in Green
ville and for customer relations
in the exchanges serving
Washington, Aurora, Ayden,
Bethel, Farmville, Fountain,
Snow Hill, Williamston, Col
umbia, Creswell, Hamilton, Ply
mouth, Robersonville, Windsor,
Bath, Belhaven, Swan Quarter
and Engelhard.
Strickland has been reas-
fSee MORRIS, Page 5) Jackie Morris
Nature sketched this study in black and white on creek aAer snowfall
(ilMO Carowpn plMM)
Snow Inches Its Way Into County
By MIKE VOSS
Editor
In a winter that might best
be described as a question
mark in eastern North Caroli
na, Friday's weather could be
best described as an exclama
tion point — it snowed!
In the Down East area, Fri
day’s storm forced the closing
or late opening of schools,
some industries and gov
ernmental offices — giving
children and many grown-ups
a day off.
Public works crews were
out in the snow trying to keep
roads open and electrical pow
er on. Scattered blackouts
were reported, but most were
brief.
Vanceboro Town Clerk
Carolyn Ipock said she was
not aware of any mqjor prob
lems caused by the storm in
Vanceboro.
The snow followed an ice
storm that proceeded it by a
week. There were spring-like
temperatures in between.
Up to four inches of snow
fell between 2 a.m. and 8 p.m.
in the surrounding areas.
Forecasters called for the
snow to become heavier
around noon and taper off in
the afternoon and evening.
Highway Patrol officials in
New Bern and surrounding
areas reported few problems
with traffic this morning. “Ev
erything has been going pretty
good. As long as people are
carefiil out there there won’t
be any problems,” said one
trooper.
Sgt. S.M. Compton of the
Beaufort County Highway
Patrol office said it was “all
quiet” in the area last Thurs
day nikht. Trooper R.L. Haw
ley said last night that roads
would be closed only in ex
treme cases. Patrol officials
asked people not to drive un
less it was necessary.
Weather observer Walter
Jackson said up to 4'A inches
of snow fell in the Craven
County area by 8 a.m. and that
the temperature rose ftom a
low Friday of 21 degrees to 25
(See SNOW, Page S)
Carolina Telephone To Spend $978,000 In Area During Year
Carolina Telephone’s 1989 con
struction plans call for spending
$978,000 near Vanceboro for a
new long-distance service cable
made of fiber-optic fibers, the
state-of-the-art material in tele
communications, said a com
pany news release.
The new cable, slated to be
placed into service in June be
tween New Bern, Vanceboro and
Washington, is part of Carolina
Telephone’s plans to spend more
than $119 million on construc
tion this year in eastern North
Carolina.
"We have more than $1.3 bil
lion invested in equipment and
facilities in eastern North Caroli
na. To continue to meet the com
munications needs of our cus
tomers, we will undertake this
year a construction program that
is estimated to cost
$119,123,000,” said Wayne Peter
son, president of Carolina Tele
phone.
About half of that will be used
to provide for grwoty, said Peter
son. The company expects to add
about 26,500 telephone access
lines this year, which would
make its year-end total approx
imately 774,000.
The remainder of the construc
tion budget is set for replace
ment and modernization of
equipment and facilities.
Peterson said Carolina Tele
phone has been replacing its
electromechanical central
offices with computerized digital
offices at an accelerated pace
since 1985. During 1989, the com
pany will spend more than $32
million for its central office re
placement program.
The company will place into
service 26 new digital central
offices this year. When those are
in service, 87 percent of the com
pany’s customers will be served
by ^is technology.
“Our 1982 long-range plans cal
led for all switching offices to be
changed out to the new digital
technology by the year 2000. We
were able to get a few steps ahead
of that schedule during the last
three years and how hope to sub
stantially improve on it,” said
Peterson.
The digital centers offices re
quire less maintenance and pro
vide faster call processing, im
proved voice and data transmis
sion and Custom Calling Fea
tures.
During the year, Carolina Tele
phone plans to spend approx
imately $19 million for long
distance facilities, including
more than $6.9 million for the
construction of 12 fiber-optic
transmission systems to handle
long-distance calls.
Fiber-optic technology is the
most advanced means of tele
communications transmission.
It uses lasers to transmit in
formation over hair-thin glass fi
bers. One pair of glass fibers can
transmit 8,000 telephone con
versations at the same time.
“Carolina Telephone is using
more and more fiber-optic cable
to expand our network facilities
and to meet increasing demands
for more sophisticated and com
plex communications services,”
said Peterson.
The allocation budgeted by
Carolina Telephone for fiber op
tics is growing, firom $6.3 million
in 1988 to $8.6 million planned for
1989. At the end of 19M, the com
pany had more the 705 miles of
fiber-optic cable, which is ex
pected to climb to 967 this year.
To keep pace with the growth
of its service area and to provide
new services, the company will
spend more than $38 million dur
ing 1989 for local outside plant
facilities. Major outside plant
projects exceeding $25,000 will
(See PHONES, Page 9)