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West Craven Highlights
\eu-s h'rom Alimfi The Itaiiks Of'l'lii- \i‘itsv
NAJCNAl NIWSMWH
VOLUME \2 NO. 21
JUNE 1, 1989
VANCEBORO. NORTH CAROLINA
PHONE 244-0780 OR 946-2144
(UPSP 412-110)
25 CENTS
' SIX PAOES
Jobless
Figures
Increase
RALEIGH — Unemployment
ratea in Craven. Jones and Lenoir
counties rose in April, according to
the state Employment Security
jCi^misaion.
Pamlico County’s unemploy*
ment rate declined by over one*
third of what is was in March to
April’s rate.
Craven County experienced a
slight increase in its unemploy*
ment rate, from 2.9 percent in
March to 3.9 percent in April. Ab
out 1,280 people were withoutjobs
in April in a work force estimated
32,470. In March, the work force
was estimated at 31,340 and there
were 900 unable to find work.
Jones County saw its unem*
ployment rate increase from 3.1
percent in March to 3.9 percent in
April. There were about 200 un
employed in a work force of 4,070
in April. In March, the estimates
130 in a labor pool of 4,240
unable to find work.
See JOBLESS, Page 5
Child*s Play
Figuring out how to spend a nice, warm spring
day is nothing more than child’s play for these two
youngsters. Often, this topsy-turvy world seems
much better after taking a few minutes to get back
Banquet Rec(^izes
Employers, Students
For Training Efforts
Uy Gr^ Stroud
Staff Writer
The Distributive Education
Clubs of America (DECA) chapter
of West Craven High School held
its annual employer-employee
banquet May 24. The event was
held at the New Bern Shrine Club.
Approximately 30 local bu
sinesses were represented and
honored for their assistance in
training students involved with
the marketing education program
at West Craven High School.
Special guests included Wes
Sweeny, manager of Gov. Jim
Martin’s eastern ofTioe. Sweeny
presented special awards from
thye governor to students who
worked in his olBoe this past year.
He also presented a special award
to the group’s advisor. Richard
Cannon.
The evening’s speaker. Misty
Von Ipock, is a former student of
the program. Ms. Ipock now at
tends East Carolina University,
where she is still actively involved
in DECA as the president of her
c^9i?«^ate chapter.
Jeri Mounce was honored as the
top second-year student and Scott
Jenkins received the award for
Marketing I.
DECA ofllcers this past year
were Shelly Rollins, president;
Lena Martin, vice president; Jeri
Mounoe, secretary; Sabra Jordan,
treasurer; Patrick Brinson, par*
limentarian; Denise Workman,
reporter; Christie Shackelford,
historian. Lisa Long was Miss
DECA and Chad Jones was
elected Mr. DECA.
Employers who received
awards included Balloons Galore,
Beaman, Kellum, Hollows, Char-
burger, Cotton Funeral Home.
Chick Fil-A, Craven Regional
Medical Center, Family Dollar
Stores, Food Lion supermarket.
General Wholesale, Great South
ern Finance, Helig-Meyers Furni
ture. Kash & Karry, King’s Re
staurant. Mainsail Restaurant,
Medical Arts Pharmacy. Neuse
Cinema, Nichol’s, Nobles Tire &
Auto Parts. Pak-a-Sak super
markets, Pizza Hut. Professional
Drive Pharmacy. Rose’s depart
ment store, Smithfleld’s Bar-
beque, Sutton’s Clover Farm
See BANQUET, Page 5
Miss Ipock speaks at banquet
Teachers Are Honored
As Best In Craven Co.
By Greg Stroud
Staff Writer
Craven County Schools, in con
junction with the New Bern Area
Chamber of Commerce, recently
honored outstanding educators
from throughout the county at its
annual Educator of the Year Ban
quet held May 23 at H.J. MacDo
nald Middle School.
Honorecs at the banquet in
cluded Mrs. Jane Murphy of West
Craven Middle School. Mrs.
Cynthia Ann Johnson from Van-
ceboro Farm-Life Elementary
School and ennis Stokes of West
Craven High School.
Track Medalists
Two West Craven tracksters placed high in their respective events
Friday at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Class
d-A track championship held in Raleigh. Senior Lisa Volaric (top), the
Eastern Regional champion, was second in the shot put with a heave of
37 feet, 2Vi inches while sophomore Lee Becton finished third in the
triple jump in his second straight visit to the state with a leap of 47
feet. V* inch.
OrSg^SroudTph^
Mrs. Murphy has been a
teacher at West Craven Middle
School for nine years where she
teaches seventh grade math and
science. She is a graduate of Gard
ner Webb College.
Mrs. Johnson teaches second
grade and attended college at East
Carolina University. Mrs. John
son said her philosophy of teach-
ingis'to work with the children on
an individual and personal basis.”
When asked about the award, she
said it was great to have her work
noticed by her peers. "Teaching
See TEACHERS. Page 6
* . V ■ • . . \ - V.
Test Results
Show Traces
Of Chemical
Dioxin Found In Fish
In Trent, Neuse Rivers
Tsrri JamiMon photo
to the basics — goofing off. A few handstands or just
siitingdown can be a wonderful cure for the school-
won’t-end-soon-enough blues.
Preliminary results of dioxin
testing on the Neuse and Trent
rivers show traces of the poison in
fish in the two rivers, state ofR-
cials said last week.
Spokesmen with the state Divi
sion of Environmental Manage
ment. the agency that ordered the
tests, and Weyerhaeuser, the com
pany conducting the tests, say it is
too early to tell what the samples
mean.
According to Mike Garrett,
technical director for Weyer
haeuser, the results of the tests
are “very unclear.*
“What we have learned so far is
that we need more data to really
understand what’s going on.” he
said in a telephone interview last
week.
Steve Tedder, head of OEM’s
water quality section, said last
week a variety of conclusions
could be drawn from one set of
data and that more information
would be needed before the state is
able to respond to Weyerhaeuser’s
report.
The tests are part of a National
Dioxin Study, begun in 1984,
which the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency conducted to
identify any dioxins in fish below
discharges from pulp and paper
plants.
See DIOXIN, Page 6
Thought ‘All Wet,’
Irrigation System
Can Increase Yield
A relatively new kind of irriga
tion system that uses what appear
to be large, flat drinking straws to
deliver water to plants is helping
state vegetable producers in
crease yield and quality on less
land.
Drip irrigation was developed
in England in the 19408 but did
not catch on until the 19608 and
the advent of the use of po-
iyetyhylene plastic mulch to grow
crops.
Israeli fanners were the first to
use the technique.
It took a little longer for drip ir
rigation to reach North Carolina.
Early tests of plastic mulch in
North Carolina in the 19608 and
1970s did not go well — the
method resulted in dry, over
heated soil.
“My estimation is that it wasn’t
getting an adequate amount of
water into the crop,” said Dr. Dou
glas Sanders, a horticulture spe
cialist with the N.C. Agricultural
Extension Service at N.C. State
University.
Drip irrigation, which puts wa
ter near the roots of plants daily as
they need it, began gaining popu
larity in the state in 1983, after
fine-tuning and testing by San
ders and former extension horti
culture specialist Dr. Bill Lament.
Today vegetables grow on 6,000
to 8,000 North Carolina acres
See DRIP, Page 6
Craven Farmer Shares
Greenhouse Approach
For Tobacco Seedlings
Rain up to eight inches above
normal has delayed com and to
bacco planting in eastern North
Carolina. It has also hurt the to
bacco seedlings in their trans
plant beds.
But one Craven County farmer
has helped his neighbors
“weather” the crisis. His idea
helped one farmer in a neighbor
ing county find a solution to the
bad weather.
Steve Gerard and his wife Pam,
farmers in Beaufort County, used
a greenhouse for starting their to
bacco this year.
“We got caught in the bad
weather and we had to do some
thing,* Gerard said. He heard ab-
All-Over Clover
As temperatures get warmer, greenery springs
up in many locations. But this clover all over this lot
adds a little color, attracts bees and could eventu-
tsrrl JsmiMon pMo
ally lead to some sweet clover honey. You can bet
the bees in the area will all abuzz when clover took
over this field.
out the greenhouse from the Cra
ven County fanner.
The greenhouse saved them
growing time and labor costs.
However, Gerard said, it is expen
sive and requires a special kind of
transplanter that adapts to trays
used to grow the plants.
The greenhouse is made of
steel, plywood and plastic. Gerard
will replace the plastic has to be
replaced each year.
Gerard said the tobacco plants
float in styrofoam trays in pools of
water about four inches deep. Fer
tilizer is added to the water as
needed.
See GREENHOUSE, Page 6
State Loses
More Farms
In 5 Years
Despite a drastic decline in the
number of farms in North Car
olina over the past live years, agri
culture will continue to play an
important role in the state’s eco
nomy, a sociologist at N.C. State
University said.
A recent farm census showed
that North Carolina lost 18.6 per-
centofits farms between 1982 and
1987.
The census, which is conducted
nationwide every five years, found
that North Carolina had 59,284
farms at the end of 1987, down
13,608 from 1982.
The decline was the largest
drop since the late 1950’a and
early fiO’s.
Dr. Robert 0. Wimberly, NC8U
See LOSS, Page 6