(Braucn/Bountg
West Craven Highlights
W'H J From Alotifi The Hanks Of The !\euse
mm
' SIX PAOES
VOLUME 12 NO. 13
MARCH 30. 1989
VANCEBORO. NORTH CAROLINA
PHONE 244-0780 OR 846-2144
(UPSP 412-110)
25 CENTS
Highways Plan Would Add To Towns’ Street Funds
By MIKE VOSS
Edilur
Under a proposed $8.6 billion
highways bill, Craven County
towns and cities would see their
portion of street money in
creased.
The improvements will begin
next year, and if the highways
package is passed, the increased
qtpney should continue for 12
years. Vanceboro, Cove City,
Dover, Bridgeton will see about a
25-percent increase in Powell
Bill funds. Powell Bill funds are
monies that are returned the
towns and cities. The money
comes from tax on gasoline.
Vanceboro received $24,752 in
Powell Bill funds this year. The
allocation for 1990 has Vance
boro receiving $34,444. Under
the proposed highways plan, the
town would see an average of
$40,831 each year during the next
12 years.
Dover, with a current alloca
tion of $13,124, has $18,263 allo-
caled for 1990. Its yearly average
over the 12-year period would be
$21,649. Cove City received
$12,068 this year and has been
appropriate $16,794 for 1990. Its
yearly average would be $19,908
over the 12-year period. Bridge-
ton’s current Powell Bill funding
allotment is $12,368 and it is allo
cated $17,210 in 1990. It would
receive an average of $20,402 a
year during the 12-year period.
Eastern and northeastern
North Carolina will benefit great
ly from the proposed highway
trust fund bill that is now before
the General Assembly, said state
Transportation Secretary James
E. Harrington last week at a re
gional briefing on the proposed
bill. Harrington began crossing
the state last week to explain the
bill's provisions.
For more than a year, the High
way Study Commission — a
bipartisan group of legislative
and administrative appointees—
studied North Carolina’s high
way construction needs. The
group came to a unanimous con
clusion; North Carolina faces a
major backlog in vital highway
construction. Therefore, the
commission unanimously re
commended the $8.6 billion, 12-
year building program.
The plan calls for establishing
a highway trust fUnd to pay for an
"intrastate" road system that wilt
unite all regions in the state. The
trust hind also would pay for por
tions of outer loops around seven
major cities.
'nie trust fund will supplement
the secondary roads appropria
tion and allow the state Depart
ment of Transportation to pave
almost 19,000 miles of unpaved
(See HIGHWAYS, Page 5)
Weyerhaeuser
Is Monitoring
Dioxin Levels
Contaminated Fish Unsafe
To Eat Say Some Scientists
c:"'
Spring Weather Pleasant For Playing Possum
It’s not just people who are glad to sec the return of reasonable
weather. This opossum found a sun-warmed manhole cover just
the place for a morning nap Monday. Down on the bank of a
rain-swollen creek the traffic going by on a nearby highway
meant nothing to a fellow tuckered out from a night’s foraging.
(Ric Carter photo)
By BETTY CRAY
Special to Ike
We«t Creven Hlghllghu
Poisons have been found in
fish in the Neuse River and a tri
butary of the Roanoke in concen
trations that some scientists con
sider dangerous.
Chmicals called dioxins were
found near Weyerhaeuser plants
near Vanceboro and Plymouth.
The company planned to start
this week monitoring fish from
the water in response to a request
from the N.C. Division of En
vironmental Management.
Wastes from the Weyerhaeuser
plant at Vanceboro flows into the
Neuse. The company discharges
waste from its Plymouth plant
into the Roanoke.
The dioxins were found by the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency in Welch Creek on the
Roanoke in December of 1987. At
that time Welch Creek was the
discharge area for the Plymouth
plant. The company now dis
charges into the river, and its
monitoring program includes
the river as well as the creek.
The EPA found the dioxin in
the Neuse last September.
The tests were part of the
National Dioxin Study, begun in
1984, which the EPA conducted
to identify any dioxins in fish be
low discharges from pulp and
paper facilities.
'The EPA notified the state Di
vision of Environmental Man
agement of its findings, and the
DEM notified Weyerhaeuser and
asked for a monitoring plan. A
Weyerhaeuser scientist. Bob
Herrmann, told the Daily News
(See DIOXINS, Page 5)
Species Fall Prey To Mysterious, Complex Cycle Of Nature '
“For every creature there is a
paradox at the heart of the *strug-
gle for existence/ and the para
dox is simply this: Neither man
nor any other animal can afford
to triumph in that struggle too
completely.” ^Jotei»h W004I
Knitch
Throughout the 3.5 billion or so
years of life on Earth the “strug
gle for existence” has been unen
ding. And in those eons count
less plant and animal species
have lost that struggle completel-
y; indeed, the history ofearth can
well be told by the appearance
^■'fyVdisappearance of different
life forms.
For most of time these species
fell victim to the mysterious
turns of nature. Cyclical changes
in the earth’s climate and evolu
tionary enhancement within spe
cies allowed some types of life to
flourish while others were
doomed to extinction. Paleonto
logists estimate that until hu
mans emerged as the dominant
creatures several thousand years
ago, this natural process cost the
earth an average of about one
animal species every thousand
years.
In the age of human domina
tion, however, it is thought that
an average of one animal species
per year has been made extinct,
and there are concerns that up to
five or more plant and animal
species a day may be lost now
due to clearcutting in tropical
rain forests.
The reasons for this huge ex
termination are v'aried — habitat
loss, pollution, elimination of
food sources, “overharvesting”
— but humans are clearly at the
root of the process. As our pre
sence encroaches, as our wants
increase, we put more pressure
on ecosystems than they can
stand. Even strong, stable spe
cies can be pushed quickly to the
edge of extinction when this hap
pens.
Within the last hundred years,
for example, several species
which once thrived in the vast
pine forests and swamps of east
ern North Carolina have dis
appeared forever: the passenger
pigeon, the Carolina parakeet,
and the woods bison are extinct.
Several other species, though
surviving elsewhere, no longer
exist in this region, and a number
of others are officially listed as
“endangered” or “threatened”
(endangered being the more se
rious) in the state and possibly
globally.
Surely the most ironic situa
tion is the decline of the bald
eagle both here and throughout
the United States. Beset by habi
tat destruction, poaching and
pesticides that ruined reproduc
tive rates, our national symbol
disappeared from eastern North
Carolina in the early 1970s.
In 1984, however, two eagles
raised in captivity were released
at the Mattamuskeet Refuge in
Hyde County, and several more
pairs have been released since.
Most of those birds have done
well in the wild, and there is
optimism about their chances of
sustaining a wild population, but
plenty of work — and good luck
— still are needed.
Another species being reintro
duced in North Carolina is the
red wolf. Four pairs have been
released in the Alligator River
Refuge in Dare County, and
though there have been deaths,
four pups born to those pairs are
still alive, and there is hope the
wolves can regain a niche in the
rehige.
A species that has made a com
eback without a direct repopula
tion effort by man is the brown
pelican. Its birth rates ravaged by
pesticides, brown pelicans were
listed as endangered in the early
1970s. Many of those pesticides
have since been outlawed,
however, and today the brown
pelican is coming back on its
own, as people in coastal regions
can easily witness now.
The outlook is not as bright for
other species. Theeastem cougar
is possibly extinct in North Caro
lina; the American alligator, heal
thy elsewhere, is declining here;
the red-cockaded woodpecker is
losing ground, and the logger-
head turtle that nests on our
beaches is threatened. An even
greater number of plant species
(See PAM-TAR, Page 5)
Rescue Squad Seeking
Festival Parade Entries
The Vanceboro Rescue Squad
is seeking entries for the annual
Strawberry Festival-Rescue Day-
parade.
The festival will be held in Van
ceboro on May 20, with the para
de getting started at 10 a.in. and
winding its way through down-
TOwh Vanceboro.
The chairman and co-
chairman of the parade, Danny
Barrow and Keith Morris, are
searching for entries. They have
sent letters to various groups and
organizations seeking partici
pants.
The letter, in part, states: "We
would like to take this opportun
ity to invite you and your orga
nization to participate with us in
the parade, and enjoy the fel
lowship, good food and other
activities that are a part of this
event. This year the parade wiil
start at 10 a.m. on Saturday. May
20,1989. Line up time wll be at 9
a.m. at the Royster Pamlico Mill
site located on Highway 17 Busi
ness North just inside the city-
limits.”
Barrow and Morris said they
hope to have one of the best para
des possible this year. They are
requesting that entrants confirm
plans to participate in the parade
no later than April 25. Confirma
tions can be sent to the Vance
boro Rescue Squad, P.O. Box
(See FESTIVAL. Page 5)
Eagles Come Up Short
In Easter Tournament
Shawn Heath pitched a two-
hitter and James Williams added
a two-run home run in the top of
the sixth inning to lead unbeaten
North Lenoir to a 4-1 victory over
West Craven and the West
Craven Easter Tournament
championship.
The Hawks, 4-0, were led by
Williams, who batted 2-for-4.
West Craven, which fell to 3-2,
got one hit each from Chris Stil-
ley and Kip Bryan.
Heath went the distance for
North Lenoir, striking out eight
Eagle batters while walking
three.
John Dawson, who relieved
starter John Dizon in the fourth
and gave up three runs, was
charged with the loss for West
Craven. Monty Brown worked
the final three innings for the
Eagles.
South Lenoir won the consola
tion game by beating Jones
Senior. No score or details were
available.
amiCnm...
no Ml I —«
..HI on 0 — 1
Aiilliotiy, left. Grant perform tricks
Farm Life Students
Finding Busy Times
While waiting for the arrival
of warm w-eather, students at
Farm Life Elementary School
in Vanceboro were enter
tained by shows, projects or
just plain school work.
The students were enter
tained recently with a one-
man variety show that in
cluded juggling, magic and
mime.
Michael Anthony of South
east School Assemblies
brought laughter and skill to
the school with his variety
show. Students joined him on
stage as he demonstrated and
taught the art of juggling with
three objects.
He “bound” the students to
their chairs with a display of
rope tricks. Fifth-grader 'Troy
(See SCHOOLS, Page 5)
West Craven Students
Attend DECA Meeting;
Chapter Gets 3 Awards
Four students representing the
West Craven High School chap
ter of the Distributive Education
Clubs of America (DECA)
attended the state DECA confer
ence in Winston-Salem recently.
Attending were Darlene
Cooke, Jeri Mounce, Tracy Hall
and Lorinda Flynn.
West Craven's DECA chapter
was award a three-star plaque for
its DECA activities during the
1988-89 school year. The chapter
also received a certificate for 100
percent DECA membership and
a plaque for DECA scholarship
support.
The studens were entered in
the competitive events. Miss
Cooke participated in the food
marketing competition. Miss
Mounce took part in the general
merchandising event. Miss Hall
competed in the food service di
vision and Miss Flynn partici
pated as a dancer in the musular
dystrophy event. Each won a
proficiency certificate in their
(See DECA, Page 5)
Hall, Mounce, Cooke and Flynn at conference