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VOLUME 10 NO. 54 DECEMBER 31.1087 VANCEBORO, NORTH CAROLll
Land Ownership
U.S., Weyerhaeuser Own
Much Of Land In County
First In A Series
By MIKE VOSS
Editor
The top 10 landowners in
Craven County own 46 percent,
or 204,468 acres of the county's
448,941 acres. Fourteen other
counties have a higher percen
tage of land owned by the top 10
landowners in the respective
■:rounties. according to a 420-page
study.
Craven County also ranks 17th
in the number of landowners in
the county who own 300 or more
acres. Those landowners who
own 300 or more acres also own
64 percent of the county.
The study, "Who Owns North
Carolina?,” was conducted by
the Institute for Southern Stu
dies in Durham. It says that 45
landowners control one-fifth of
North Carolina’s 31,230,000
acres. The study also contends
that counties’ welfare is tied to
land ownership patterns.
Several Craven County land-
owners are included in the top 45.
Included in the top 45 are the Un
ited States of America,
Weyerhaeuser Co., the State of
North Carolina, other national
and regional timber companies,
'Taylor Lumber and Land of New
Bern, Harold H. Bate of New
Bern and Coastal Lumber of
Weldon.
Taylor Lumber and Land owns
21,127 acres in nine counties,
says the study. Bate owns 17,208
acres in seven counties and Coas
tal Lumber owns 14,449 acres in
seven counties including
Craven, says the study.
The United States owns the
most acreage of the top 45 with
2,230,000, according to the study.
Included among the land belong
ing to the U.S. is the 11,500-acre
Marine Corps base at Cherry
(See LAND, Page 5)
SBI: Craven Is 3rd
In Plants Destroyed
RALEIGH — State and local
law enforcement officers found
more plots of marijuana growing
this year but fewer plants than in
1986, according to figures re-
Chimney Blaze
Does Mostly
Smoke Damage
Firefighters responded to a
chimney fire at 4:18 p.m. Dec.
24 that left the home of Irving
McGee damaged mostly by
smoke.
McGee lives at RL 1, Box 4,
Vanceboro.
The Vanceboro Volunteer
Fire Department removed
hazards and used fans to re
move smoke iVom the home.
Twenty-two men and two fire
icks responded to the alarm.
4o injuries were reported.
leased by the State Bureau of In
vestigation.
The SBI’s final report, cover
ing February through October,
said a total of 89,273 plants were
destroyed in 1,611 plots located
by SBI and local officers, with
204 people arrested.
Craven County ranked third in
plants destroyed, with 6,267
found growing on 45 plots.
This year's total statewide haul
had an estimated street value of
$146.2 million, according to SBI
drug agents, and some marijuana
was found growing in 94 of the
state’s 100 counties.
Last year, SBI spotters, in con
junction with county sherifTs de
partments, seized an all-time
high of 158,443 plants and made
98 arrests in locating 1,059 plots
m 69 counties.
There were no extremely large
plots found this year, according
to the report. Wilkes County was
(See SBI, Page S)
Taking A
Of Dental
Medicine
Chest
Many people will agree that
there are few things that are
more painftil than a toothache.
When a tooth begins to ache
it is a sign that professional de
ntal attention is needed.
If there is swelling or an ele
vated temperature, or both, a
visit to the dentist is in order.
Most of the time the dentist
will prescribe antibiotics (to
fight infection) and pain re
lievers.
If no swelling is observed,
then an analgesic such as
aspirin or aspirin substitutes
may be used until the visit to
the dentist. It is important that
a visit is made to the dentist as
soon as possible.
An injury to the mouth is
one that should also be
attended to as soon as possi-
Bite Out
Problems
ble. The dentist will need to
check for damaged or loose
teeth. If a tooth has fallen out
there is an excellent ehance of
it being saved if help can be
obtained immediately and the
tooth is found.
Once the tooth is found
touch only the part of the
tooth nornally touched (re
frain fiz>m touching the root),
hold the tooth under tap water
(make sure the drain is plug
ged) to rinse it If possible, re
place tbe tooth in its original
location.
Continue to hold the tooth
in place until arriving at the
dentist’s office or hospital.
Adults unable to place the
tooth in the original location
should place it under the ton
gue or put it in a container and
cover It with milk.
In order to prevent
accidental swallowing of a
(See MEDICINE, Page 5)
Poverty In Carolina:
No Place To Linger
It is a hot Saturday in late Au
gust. The tell-tale signs of fall
whisper the coming of a cooler
season, a few leaves drifting to
the ground, a certain mistiness, a
change of tempo, something in
the blood. But the 100 degree
temperature isn’t reading the
signs. It is hot, but the laundry
needs doing.
Historically, laundry has been
women’s work. And in poor
towns and poor neighborhoods,
historically the laundromat has
been a neighborhood meeting
place, a community center, a
pulse, still with some of the attri
butes of the river and the rocks
where the hard dirt flrom work
ing men’s clothes were beat out
on their granite surfaces...
Things have changed. There
are as many kinds of laundro-
nuits as there are lifestyles, in
comes, and even desires for
anonymity. In some upper lever
neighborhoods populated by
apartment dwellers and dormi
tory residents, temporary per-
chers, a person can do one’s laun
dry, never speak to anyone and
never see the same person twice.
Such a place is the laundromat
that I usually go to. I too fre
quently need to do my clothes in
a bubble of silence catching up
on the thoughts that occupy me,
thinking work thoughts promp
ted by this facility’s proximity to
the University where I teach. It’s
a pleasant place, the exterior of
fr^hly-painted white stucco in a
Spanish-style architecture,
white pebbles and pink oleander
bushes framing the sidewalk and
hourly-swept parking iot. A
solarium across the front over
looking the street provides a rest
ing place with hanging plants,
attractive wicker furniture and
magazines like Southern Living,
and Connoisseur for wishful
thinking. It’s a spacious place,
clean and white with plenty of
(See POVERTY, Page 5)
Dry Falls?
In this portion of the state, we
are accustomed to water that
flows gently and predictably in
wide, muddy rivers that separate
sections of flat land. But in west-
emNorth Carolina, the water ca
reens through narrow bands that
we would consider no more than
creeks, yet there are called rivers,
with their clear contents bounc
ing helter-skelter over rocks and
gravel washed down from the
surrounding mountains. One of
the many scenic waterfalls in the
Nantahtda National Forest is Dry
Falls, located along U.S. High
way 64 in Macon County be
tween Franklin and Highlands.
While the waterfall may seem to
be misnamed, it is called Dry
Falls because it is possible to
walk behind the waterfall with
out getting wet and peer through
the cascading water as the Culla-
saja River continues its way
westward to join the Little Ten
nessee River. (Mark Inabinett
photo)