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West Craven Highlights
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VOLUME 12 WO. 8
JANUARY 19,1988
VANCEBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
PHONE 244-0780 OR 946-2144
(UPSP 412-110)
26 CENTS
SIX PAGES
Florist Invited To Decorate For Inauguration Balls
By MIKE VOSS
Editor
If they’re lucky, two area
women might catch a glimpse of
president-elect George Bush at
one of the inaugural balls after he
is sworn in as president Friday.
Elva Matthews and Georgia
Van Norwich will rub shoulders
with some of the nation's elite —
a^ward for helping spruce up
'ml inauguration.
But before the numerous balls
begin, Mrs. Matthews and Mrs.
Winning
Ways
Resume
Eagle Girls Back
On Track, 70-37
BEAUFORT—Despite seeing
' mrl 1-game win streak come to an
end Saturday night, the West
Craven girls’ basketball team
held on to the No. 1 ranking in the
East and rebounded with a win
Tuesday night.
Liz Cox’s l,ady Eagles pound
ed Class 3-A Coastal Conference
opponent East Beaufort 70-37
and improved to 12-1 overall.
Coach Cox said her girls were
surprised at retaining the No. 1
ranking.
, “They thought they would
drop after the loss," she said.
“They aren’t cocky about being
ranked No. 1.”
She said being top-ranked was
a motivation for remaining at the
top.
How did the top-ranked squad
accept the loss Saturday night?
“They weren’t too excite,” said
Cox. Even though the team had
hoped for an undefeated season,
particularly in conference action,
Cox said some good may have
comelforo ^e loss.'“They know
why they lo'n ancnveie' Upset ab
out the loss.”
“We were kind of surprised at
that The girls were shocked to
learn they were still ranked No. 1
and it was kind of exciting for
them,” she said of remaining at
the top of the poll.
Against the Lady Mariners,
West Craven opened a 21-8 lead
at the end of the first quarter and
Cox went to her bench.
Chundra Croell finished with
17 points while Evelyn Brimmer
added 17 in leading the indi
vidual scoring.
Cox said she went to her bench
starting in the middle of the first
quarter.
The West Craven boys saw a
one-game win streak ended as
East Carteret earned a 73-64
(See EAGLES. Page 5)
Van Norwick will have deco
rated one of the ball sites — or
maybe the White House.
Mrs. Matthews, owner of Farm
Life Florist and Gift Shop in Van-
ceboro, has been invited to help
with floral decorations at the in
auguration. She and Georgia Van
Norwich of Williamston are the
only florists ftom eastern North
Carolina asked to bring their
skills to the inauguration.
“It’s just an honor. It’ll never
happen again in my lifetime,”
said Mrs. Matthews. “We go up
Friday and Saturday. There is
another group that worked Tues
day, Wednesday and Thursday.
All of us couldn’t he in there at
the same time working.”
Those invited must pay their
own way, except for two meals a
day and motel rooms. And to
sweeten the pot. Mrs. Matthews
said invitations to one of the in
augural halls have been ex
tended.
Mrs. Matthews found out Mon
day that she had been selected.
The selections of state florists
were made with the assistance of
American Academy of Floracul-
ture, the Society of Florists and
the state floral association. Does
she expect it to he both fUn and
educational? “I hope it wili be.”
She doesn’t expect any prob
lems obtaining clearance to do
her work. “1 had clearance before
when I was a civil service em
ployee,” she said. “I hope 1 can
work at the White House, but Just
being up there is good enough,”
she said.
“It’s (the selection) just from
your work. You work for it,” she
said.
Apparently the florists are
chosen for their abilities and not
their politics. “Oh, no,” she re
sponded when asked if she is a
Republican. “My husband’s a
Repubiican. I’m a registered
Democrat.”
She has been to Washington,
D.C., before but this trip is spe
cial. “I’m just flabbergasted,” she
said.
She and the other florists will
be given their assignments upon
their arrival Friday night, "liiey
pretty much have in mind what
they want done. I don’t know
how much fteedom we will have.
We’ll work all night Friday night.
I’m sure,” she said.
“I heard that President Bush
plans to attend all of the balls for
(See FLORISTS, Page 5)
360 Cast Ballots Feb, 9
Texasgulf Workers
Will Vote On Union
By MIKE VOSS
Editor
About 360 employees of Texas
gulf Chemicals Co. at Aurora will
vote Feb. 9 on whether to be rep
resented by Local 495 of the In
ternational Brotherhood of Elec
trical Workers.
The election will affect mainte
nance workers in the production
and maintenance division.
Rann Carpenter, manager of
public relations and governmen
tal affairs at the Lee Creek opera
tion, said the company opposes
the unionization. There are no
unions now at the complex,
which employs about 1,200
people.
Russell Hatcher, an official of
Local 495 of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Work
ers, said the union was
approached by Texasgulf
workers.
He said union officials have
held several meetings with in
terested Texasgulf employees.
Hatcher said the union origi
nally targeted workers in the in
strumentation and electrical di
vision, but later Texasgulf and
IBEW agreed that the proposed
bargaining unit will be the
maintenance workers in the pro
duction and maintenance divi
sion at Texasgulf. Hatcher said
the stipulation was agreed to at a
Jan. 3 meeting at National Labor
Relations Board offices.
Carpenter confirmed that the
maintenance workers in the
P&M division, about 356 em
ployees, will be the bargaining
unit if the union is voted in. He
said the union originally filed a
petition with the NLRB for 68
employees in the instrumenta
tion and electrical division.
“We do not feel that Is an
appropriate group,” Carpenter
said. “We feel any decision
should be expanded plantwide.”
The union and company discus
sed and agreed to the change, he
said.
“Texasgulf maintains a very
strong opposition to any un
ionization effort and we will
oppose the attempt by IBEW by
using every legal and proper
means available to us,” Carpen
ter said. He said the company felt
no need for third-party repre-
(See UNION, Page 5)
Poverty Project Tries
To Find Unmet Needs
Reflections On A Foggy Morning
A heavy fog always adds to the mystery of Span
ish moss-draped cypreses. Their ghostly silhouet
tes pierce the water, moss gray hair pointing to the
still surface. Lone tree behind lone tree disappear
ing into the white distance.
(Photo by Ric Carter)
GREENVILLE—Completing
a wide-ranging study of poverty
in a 41-county area of eastern
North Carolina, a task force of
the N.C. Poverty Project, Inc. re
cently presented its ftndings and
recommendations in a formal re
port this week.
Keyed to findings on root
causes of poverty during two
years of study, the report
attempts to identify unmet needs
of the poor and to recommend
remedial action, according to the
co-chairs of the committee.
“Dynamic, sometimes heated,
heart-felt revelations came forth
as the group considered provok
ing questions,” said Deryl W.
Torbert of Reidsville, education
coordinator for the Poverty Pro
ject,
Studies show that more than 40
percent of North Carolina’s
poor—an estimated 12 percent of
the state’s population—live in
eastern North Carolina.
In Tyrrell County, for example,
where the per capita income is
$7,117., 27.4 percent of the
population is below the poverty
level,according to the office of
state budget and management.
“Not all of the questions are
(See POVERTY, Page 5)
Death Of Woman Found Near Vanceboro Still A Mystery
NEW BERN — Investigators
said last week they were awaiting
the final results of the autopsy
that was performed last month
on the body of 37-year-old San
dra Foy of Route 2, Trenton, be
fore they could release any in
formation about the cause of her
death.
But Craven County District
. Attorney W. David McFadyen Jr.
said in a telephone interview that
Miss Foy’s death probably occur
red about the time of her dis
appearance early on Nov. 24.
Sandra Foy’s body was found
in Swift Creek near Spruill’s
Landing outside Vancetoro on
the morning of Dec. 22 by a Kin
ston duck hunter.
The final autopsy results are
expected to be available by late
this month or early February,
McFadyen added.
Sandra Foy last was seen alive
by a family member about 1:30
a.m. Nov. 24, when she left the
parking lot of the Sheraton Motel
and Marina in New Bern in a car
in the company of a person who
has not been identified. She had
been at the Sheraton lounge for
several hours with her younger
sister, Jan.
Both women lived at home
with their parents, Jan Foy said
in an earlier interview, so she
drove back to Trenton, thinking
her sister would return later. The
women’s mother said that San
dra never had stayed away from
home overnight without letting
someone in the family know her
plans.
When Sandra Foy still had not
returned home by Nov. 26, Jan
Foy and another family member
contacted the New Bern Police
Department
In response to a telephoned re
quest for an interview, an admi
nistrative assistant in the N.C.
Chief Medical Examiner’s Oftlce
in Chapel Hill said that the only
positive results that office had
found in the toxicology testing
done to this date in relation to
Miss Foy’s death had shown she
had a blood alcohol level of 96
milligrams, which is equivalent
to a .09 on a breathalyzer test.
State law has set .10 as the level
at which a person is considered
legally drunk.
Asked what other drug testing
had been performed. Nancy
Moore said the records she had
did not specify any other drugs.
Details would be provided in the
final autopsy report, she added.
Later, a law enforcement offic
er investigating the case said pre
liminary results showed no evi
dence of illegal drugs in Miss
Foy’s body.
’The autopsy on Miss Foy’s
body was performed by Dr. Page
Hudson in Greenville just before
Christmas. At that time, New
Bern law enforcement author
ities would say only that Miss
Foy had died of unnatural
causes.
Miss Foy’s sister-in-law,
Vonabe Foy ofTrenton, said last
week that she had worked with
Hudson many times when he
was the chief medical examiner
for North Carolina and she was a
police officer with the Jackson
ville Police Department (He re
cently retired to Greenville.)
“He is just the best,” she said of
Hudson. “If there’s anything
there that's findahle, he’ll find
it,” she added.
Mrs. Foy, who is married to
Sandra Foy’s brother Randy,
said that Sandra’s parents, Ran
dolph and Grace Foy of Route 2,
Trenton, were “doing fairly well.
They have good days and bad
days.”
It had been very upsetting for
all the family members, Mrs. Foy
said, that Sandra’s body had
(See FOY, Page 5)
Bridgeton Teacher Receives Honor
A Bridgeton teacher is one of
two Educators of the Month for
December. The selections are
made by the New Bem-Craven
County Board of Education in
cooperation with the New Bern
Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Educators of the Month
are Joan Tyson of Bridgeton
Elementary School and Janet
Peregoy of Havelock High
School.
Mrs. Tyson, an exceptiona-
chlldren’s teacher at Bridgeton
Elementary, received her Bache
lor of Music degree flrom Young
stown (Ohio) State University
and her masters degree of educa
tion in learning disabilities ftom
East Carolina University in 1687.
Mis. IVson said her goal is to
incorporate academics with the
teaching of appropriate behavior
to enable the student with "spe-
Hsl *A Ainetlon wtfhtn the
regular classroom. She strives to
teach that every person has value
and something to offer and that
love and caring of one’s self and
others are the most important
values a person will ever learn.
According to Mrs. Tyson,
“Educating children means giv
ing all you have to them in order
to make them responsible
citizens in today’s society.”
Mrs. IVson, along with her hus
band, wrote and recorded an
albom, “His Love.” She has also
written songs for a syndicated
children’s television. She enjoys
travelling. She and her husband
have two children, Miriam, 10,
and Joshua, nine.
Mrs. Peregoy received her
bachelor of science degree in
mathematics from N.C. State
University. She has taught for 18
vears eieht of whicii have been
at Havelock High School.
According to Mrs. Peregoy’s stu
dents, Algebra II can actually be
ftm. “Before I start teaching the
subject, I try to convince the stu
dents they like to be in the room.
Soon, without realizing, they will
be enjoying their work,” she said.
As well as committing her time
to teaching and tutoring math,
Mrs. Peregoy is a class sponsor
and the Computer Club sponsor.
Active in her church, Mrs.
Peregoy is on the Christ Episcop
al Church planning board and
often leads the music at Christian
retreats. She is presently a mem
ber of the National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics.
A native of Oak City, Mrs. Pere
goy is married and has two chil
dren — a son in the third grade
and a daugher in the eighth
vraile.
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