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West
Craven
HIGHLIGHT
The Beautiful
Neuse Paper
Serving Askin, Bridgeton, Caton, Clarks, Cove City, Dover, Epworth, Ernul, Ft. Barnweli, Japser, New Bern, Piney Neck, Spring Garden, Tuscarora, Vanceboro, Wilmar.
Voiume 6, Number 26
Vanceboro, North Carolina
Tliursday, July 1, 1982
Phone 244-0780
12 Pages
20 Cents
Drowning At Cow pens Landing
New Bern To Celebrate July 4th
New Bernians are organizing a larger July 4th
celebration this year, with a special eveiit on
Saturday evening, July 3rd, and a series of free
family events on Sunday the 4th.
The Little German Band and Dancers will perform
several times starting at 5 to 8 p. m. Saturday at the
rear of the Harvey Mansion Restaurant, 221 Tryon
Palace Drive.
On Sunday the Tryon Palace will open its historic
grounds and gardens free to the public from 1:30 to
4:30 p. m. The Tryon Palace Players will perform
several short living history plays.
At 3 p. m. The Little German Band and Dancers
are behind Tryon Palace and from 1:30 to 3:30 p. m.
family games will take place in the Bicentennial
Park.
5 p. m. The Little German Band and 6 p. m. the
Tryon Twirlers will be on the concert stage at
Bicentennial Park. At 8:15 p. m. the Marine Aircraft
Band will begin a concert with a finale leading intoa
major fireworks display.
, The Neuse River has claimed another victim.
Cornelius “Wheat” Saunders of the Riverdale
section was an 11 year old student at Brinson
Memorial School. He was visiting his grandmother
Eartha Dunn of Cowpens Landing Road when the
tragedy took place.
Cornelius was playing with a friend in chest deep
water just to the left of the weeds about 15 feet out
from the shore when he went under at about 3:30 p.
m. Saturday and after several hours of searching the
body was recovered another 30 feet out.
Serjgeant J. C. “Rusty” Woolard of the Craven
County Sheriff’s Department said in a telephone
interview that Cornelius was pronounced dead on
arrival at Craven County Hospital and that the death
was ruled as an accidental drowning by Medical
Examiner Dr. Ralph Lowy.
The following are eye-witness accounts:
Henry Austin of Belhaven in Beaufort County said,
“I was sittin’ over by my sister’s car while those two
boys were playin’around in the water and I heard one
of the boys yell that his partner had time to come up
but that he ain’t commin’ up.
“My step-niece was here and she saw the boy bob up
and down once and that’s when I turned to look and I
saw him go up and down and I stood still a few
seconds to see if he’d come up again.
“I didn’t see no bubbles or nothin’ and I took my
wallet out of my pants pocket, didn’t bother with my
shoes or nothin’, and I went quick overboard to the
spot where the boy went down.
“Seems like the current of the chilly water would
take a small person out so easily.
'“The boy didn't holler, didn’t scream. He was up
and down and gone.
“I reckon the shock got to him.
“Right after I jumped in I’d say about 20 other
people crowded into the water tryin’ to find him.”
Patricia Lewis of Calico is Henry’s sister and said,
“I’m a pretty good swimmer but I couldn’t find him
and nobody else could find him.
“I dove under the water and felt all around with my
feet. I wa.lked all around those marshy weeds and cut
my feet up while I was feelin’ around.
“When I first jumped in I screamed out that
anybody who could swim better get in here with me
and about six or seven guys jumped in immediately
and we searched all around the boat ramp but we just
could not find him.
“We searched and we searched and we searched.
“It was like somebody havin’ a heart attack - it was
that quick.
“I swear it’s a tragedy.”
DEPRESSING DIALOGUE-Patsy Townsend, left.
Acting Captain and Outstanding Rescue Worker 1981 Tri-
County Emergency Assoc, of the Vanceboro Rescue Squad
discusses methods of searching with Debbie Flowers, Kay
Bowling and Larry Waters, all of Bridgeton.
Wayne Lewis is Pat’s husband and said, “It was a
nightmare - just like that the boy dove backwards
and he never came up, never cried, never done nothin’
- it was the end of the game.
“He never hawked, never squawked, never
hollered for mercy.
“I would say within five minutes there were 20
guys patrolling the area, wading around and kicking
the river bottom.”
Craven County Jailer Ed Nobles was watching
intently from the shore as several fiberglass rescue
boats made circular swirls in the water, creating
swells in an attempt to stir up the body.
Ed said that Rescue 15 was in charge with Acting
Captain Patsy Townsend taking over for Captain
Terry Kite who had to leave.
Assistance was being provided by Rescue 12,
Rescue 30, the Vanceboro Fire Department, the
Sheriff’s Department, and the Civil Air Patrol which
was flying a small plane trying to spot the body.
The search was made both upstream and
downstream, dragging the riverbottom with
grappling hooks and at about 6:30 p. m. one of the
hooks came up with a long orange thread wrapped
around it.
At 6:50 p. m. the worst was confirmed as the body
of young Cornelius Saunders was recovered from the
muddy Neuse and brought back to shore where he
was wrapped in a black bag and carried away by
ambulance.
Question of the Week: Should all phone calls made within Craven County be local?
Norwood Pate of Jasper
“Yes. because Craven is not that big
and it ought not cost extra to call Ft.
Barnwell. Phone bills are high enough
already. Otherwise the system is good.
^ - -
Betty Huggins of Ft. Barnwell
“I’d pay a bit more to have both
Kinston and New Bern local. We’re on
the Kinston line and that’s good. It
would be nice having both."
Otis Gatlin of Vanceboro
“Absolutely. I work in Havelock and
can call New Bern but not home. At
home I can’t call Havelock yet its all in
(’raven. I’d pay a higher flat rate."
' - I II
Nancy Wetherington of Perfection
“It would be great. We could reach
one another better. My home’s only 4
miles down the road from Ft. Barnwell
and its long distance to call kin.”