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West Craven Highlights
\pivs From Alonjf The Hanks Of The Sense
NATCNAl »WSnM«N
VOLUME 12 NO. 23
JUNE 16, 1989
VANCEBORO. NORTH CAROLINA
PHONE 244-0780 OR 946-2144 (UPSP 412-110)
25 CENTS
SIX PAGES
Gov. Martin
Plans Talks
With Fishers
Neuse Included On List
Of Rivers With Problems
Gov. Jim Martin, concerned ab
out the disappearance of Hsh and
fishermen from the Neuse, Pamlico
and Pungo rivers, plans to meet
with local fishermen in Raleigh la
ter this week, possibly today, ac
cording to a spokesman for the
governor.
Local fishermen, who met Mon
day with Martin’s representative
and state health, environmental
and fisheries officials, said they ap
preciate the interest l^ing shown at
the state level in their problems.
\fi8h kill in the Neuse was dis-
covhi^ over a week ago.
But some say the state action may
have come too late to save their
livelihoods on the rivers.
*rm glad to see something’s being
done altout this,” Tammy Paul said
in an interview after the meeting.
*We’ve just about given up.”
The commercial fisherman can’t
make a living on the river any
more,” she said. *The river just
doesn't have the marine life it used
to have."
Btles Henries Sr., another fisher
man at Monday’s meeting, said
fishermen are leaving the Pamlico
River to fish in other rivers.
*We*ve got fishermen leaving the
river and fishermen leaving the in
dustry,” Henries said in an inter
view after the meeting.
The meeting was at the Depart
ment of Natural Resources and
Communitv Development’s regional
office in Washington. It was called
by Gov. Martin in reponse to ques
tions from local fisherman con
cerned about a possible cover-up in
investigation of the fish kills, ac
cording to Ed Sweeny of Martin’s
eastern office in New Bern.
’^vemor Martin is personally
involved with this now,” Sweeny
said.
The governor, he said, will dis
cuss with local fishermen the ongo
ing fish kill that began Memorial
Day weekend and has affected the
Pamlico, Pungo and Neuse rivers.
Meeting with the fishermen were
Dr. Greg Smith, environmental sci
entist with the state Division of
Health Services; Dr. Michael
Dykstra, scientist with the N.C.
State University College of Veterin
ary Medicine; William T. Hogarth,
director of the Division of Marine
See FISHERS, Page 6
No More
Less than 50 years ago folks crossed this body of water on a
ferry. Now, the sun crosses Streets Ferry near Vanceboro
and sets on the horizon. For years the ferry was transpora-
tion across the water, a place to catch up on news and a
Lm Schw.H2.r plwlo
place to eqjoy a ride on the river. In the hurry-up world of
today, the ferry has been replaced by a bridge and a way of
life has been taken away. But there are those who remem
ber ferry as more than just a ride to the other side. They re
member how life in one section of the county used to be.
River Contamination Protest
Warns Of Dioxins Pollution
By Betty Gray
Special to the
West Craven Highlights
Members of three environmental groups began
posting signs along the Neuse River to^y near New
Bern warning people not to eat fish or shellfish caught
there.
The action is in response to the "unacceptable”
amount of dioxin found in fish samples taken from the
two waterways by the Environmental Protection
Agency, a spokesman for the groups said today.
The groups erected signs near Plymouth on Wed
nesday in the Roanoke River and in Welch Creek.
In a telephone interview Wednesday morning,
Steve Tedder, head of the state’s Division of Environ
mental Management water quality section, said from
Raleigh the protest was based on "too few data.”
Dangerous levelsof dioxin are believed by the envir
onmentalists to be contained in the discharge from
Weyerhaeuser Co., which operates a pulp and paper
products facilities near Vanceboro and Plymouth.
Tedder said Weyerhaeuser is taking fish samples
from the two waterways to be tested for dioxin and a
related chemical, polychlorinated dibenzofurans.
Members ofGreenpeace U.S.A. and Greenpeace Ac
tion and residents who live along the Pigeon River in
western North Carolina were in boats today posting
' signs to be placed in the river, William Rostov, of
Greenpeace U.SA. said in a press conference on the
waterfront in downtown Plymouth on Wednesday.
Ihe group also asked that chlorine be eliminated
from the bleaching process at paper plants across the
nation and that alternative methods be used in pulp
and paper processing by 1993.
"Greenpeace challenges the Weyerhaeuser mill in
Plymouth and others like it to be good neighbors,” Ros
tov said. 'Chlorine-based pulp mills must shift away
from such toxic processes to alternative technologies.”
John Pritchard, technical service manager for Wey-
See PROTEST. Page 6
Soil Office Offers Assistance
With Animal-Waste Problem
Protestors erect signs warning of pollution
Eye On The Storm
Emergency Offices Practice To Be Perfect
By Tim Etheridge
SCS Conservationist
Most of us eidoy sitting down to a
good meal of ham, pork chops or
pork barbecue. The things that we
are eating are quality products.
To prepuce these quality pro
ducts, there are by-products that
the producer has to worry with. The
by-product in this case is animal
waste.
By Mike Voss
Editor
Area emergency management of-
fic^lSTook the 1989 hurricane eva
cuation drill seriously, even down to
the infiated air mattress in the cor
ner of one of the offices.
'IViking part in what is billed as
the biggest emergency storm drill
ever held in the United States, the
officials last week tracked ‘Hurri
cane Lucy” and its mock 130-mph
winds, coordinated evacuation
plans and began recovery efforts.
Doug Hoell, Area A coordinator,
said the air mattress in his office
last Thursday meant he would
spend the night ”to answer phones.”
Katy O’Keefe, public information
officer assigned to the Area A office
here for the drill, said federal offi
cials observing the drill *are im
pressed* and think it has been an
"outstanding” exercise.
"There haven’t been any mc^or
problems and it has shown us some
little snags, which is what it is sup
posed to do^* she said. "Ihe local,
state and federal officials observing
are really applauding it,” said Ms.
OICMie.
Officials at the State Emergen^
Response Team (SERT) headquar
ters in Raleigh said no one has
called in with the impression Lucy is
real. Tom Ditt, a SERT spokesman,
said the drill included all coastal
counties and 20 inland counties.
A producer should have a method
or system of handling this waste.
The Soil Conservation Service of
fers help with planning, design and
construction for the adequacy of the
animal waste management
systems.
This system takes into considera
tion the sizeoftheoperation, adequ
acy of the site and use of the waste
through land application.
There are waste management
practices through which cost shore
help for construction of animal
waste systems is available.
The first part of such a waste
management system is best known
as a lagoon. Most producers have a
pitcalled a lagoon used for storage of
animal waste. These lagoons usu-
See SOIL, Page 5
Ihe exercise began last Wednes
day and concluded last Friday.
Using a map with radiating arcs
from the Outer Banks and a overlay
representing Lucy, officials tracked
the mythical storm. When the outer
edge of the hurricane touched the
outer arc of the area marked for
Ocracoke, evacuation was ordered
by the local emergency manage
ment committee.
Depending on speed, size and di
rection of Lucy and various condi
tions of the area, offi ci al s could refer
to a chart and see how much time
they had to evacuate their areas be
fore the brunt of the storm hit, said
David Humphrey of the Area A
office.
To combat rumors, a "rumor con
trol* number was established to as
sist the media in public in receiving
accurate information. As Lucy
drew nearer the coast, evacuations
were ordered for Dare and Curri
tuck counties between 2 p.m. and
2:20 p.m. last Thursday. The evacu
ations were based on the strength,
speed and direction of the hurricane
and estimated time to evacuate
areas thought in danger, said offi
cials. Umited evacuations were or
dered for mainland Hyde, Pasquo
tank and Camden counties.
Messages received during the ex
ercise included information about a
fire at a motel at Nags Head, power
lines down in Dare County, the
Kitty Hawk shelter opening and
N.C. 12 closed because of flooding,
flooding at Hatteras Village and
persons trapped in their homes at
Avon because of flooding.
As of 6 a.m. Friday, Lucy had
maximum sustained winds ^110
knots and was located about 120
miles southeast ofNew Bern. Lucy’s
leading gale-force winds had a ra
dius of 140 miles and had a forward
speed of 14 knots. The eye of the
storm was "expected* this afternoon
near the Onslow County-Carteret
County line, bringing the stronger
edge of the hurricane into the Pam
lico Sound and Neuse River areas.
Ms. O'Keefe said Friday officials
had requested field kitchens and a
helicopter for the simulated recov
ery efforts. She said the exercise
would swing into recovery efforts
once evacuations were complete.
"It’s going great. I’m really im
pressed,” said Hoell when asked
how the drill was progressing. "If it
goes this well in the real event, I will
feel very comfortable. It’s a good
training ground for us,” said Hoell.
Hoell was interrupted to make
decisions on ferry service during the
storm, obtaining equipment to re
move debris after the storm passed
and passed on information about a
real severe storm headed toward
Swan Quarter.
Facelift
Yogi Boar’s Jellyatone Park juat outaide of Bridgeton ia
getting a facelift. Operator Geoim Shaffer ia apnidng
and and generally
See DRILL, Page 6 up the campground and generally getting the camp
ground and accompanying buildinga ready for the
aummer aeaaon. Wonder if Yogi'a frienda will pay a
viait and bring a picnic baaket later thia aummet?