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West Craven Highlights
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NATIONAL NIWSnAPfft
ASSOCUilON
VOLUME 12 NO. 25 JUNE 29. 1989
VANCEBOROjJIORTHCA^OLIN^
PHONE 244-0780 OR 946-2144 (UPSP 412-110) 25 CENTS SIX PAGES
^ Sjpjnnakcrs flew in Smirnoff Regatta to Ocracoke over the weekend
Voss pholo
Spinnaker Start!
Editor Joins Crew For Weekend
lly Mike Voss
Kditor
ABOARDTHEBRILIJANTCUT
— Six seconds.
After racing about 23 miles, the
crew of BrilliantCut was six seconds
behind the boat they had been chas
ing all day.
Through rain, light winds, and a
beating sun, Brilliant Out fought
her way toward the finish line of the
SmirnolTRegatta. The only thought
was to reach the end of the line just
off Ocracoke and put competition in
the state’s oldest regatta away for
another year.
But to finish one must start.
The seven-member crew began
talking about n spinnaker start ns
crew members arrived FViday night.
The conversation in motoring out to
the No. 3 buoy on the Pamlico River
off Indian Island was mostly small
talk, strategy for the next day and
wishes for a southwest wind that
would mean a spinnaker start.
Seven men settled in shortly aller
midnight Friday and got a fewhours
of sleep. Saturday morning came
and more race preparations were
made. Anxiety ruled the minutes be
fore the race started. The crew
waited and waited.
Spinnaker start!
Just what the crew wanted. The
smiles spread ns big and ns fast
across their faces os the spinnaker
did in front of the 29-root Elite. The
race was on and the fun times were
over with, at least for a few more
hours.
Skipper Steve Norris was at the
helm ns Joe Sizemore plotted the
Brilliant Cut’s course to Ocracoke.
FVank Richardson, Bill Sprinkle,
John Hall and Todd Edwards hand
led the soils. A reporter filled in
where ever he could and tried to stay
out of the way. Richardson, an Epis
copalian priest, was in charge of the
foredeck work. Sprinkle, an accoun
tant, took charge of the activities
amidship and Hall and Edwards
manned the lines of the spinnaker
and later, the headsail.
Edwards, the rookie on the crew,
was put through the paces and
emei^ed worn but not beaten.
’This was a pretty good crew and
a good effort. I am pleased with how
well we worked,* said Norris after
the race.
Light winds forced the race com
mittee to shorten the race by about
10 miles. It was difficult to deter
mine how the crew felt about the
shortened race, but the look in their
eyes indicated a desire to keep some
rags in the air.
Brilliant Cut fell in behind Sea-
Duction and Jonathan minutes af
ter the race started. Norris decided
to follow the two boats and try to
overtake them because he thought it
would lead to winning the Class C
division or placing high. Jonathan
took a course to the north, but Bril
liant Cut stayed with Sea-Duction
on a bearing of 120 degrees toward
Ocracoke.
Brilliant Cut and Sea-Duction
played a cat-and-mouse game with
each other. Brilliant Cut put away
Yaller Dawg early in the race, leav
ing her behind off the port stern.
The crew broke into a little celebra
tion once the Dawg was put away.
*You can’t count her out. I’ve seen
her come storming back and win
when she was behind,” warned
See CREWING, Page 5
Pilot Trainer Takes
Fear Out Of Flying
By Michael Adams
Special to the
West Craven Highlights
So, you want to learn to fly, but
vou’re scared to try because
"you’re one of those people who
has problems with anything
more complicated than parallel
parking.
Well, don’t dispair. According
to the Peer Bakke, flight instruc
tor of Pamlico Airlines, you don’t
have to be an astronaut to be a
pilot.
"You don’t have to be a super
human being to fly a plane,”
Bakke said Ixfore a short flight
last Thursday. Bakke, a Norwe
gian native, is trying to resurrect
a flight training program at
Washington’s Warren Field that
has been almost dormant for the
last few years. Pamlico Airlines
took over operation of the airport
in May.
To demonstrate just how easy
flying can be, Bakke took me — a
notorious fumble-finger — up in
one of the school’s training
planes. With a little help, I man
aged to take off and fly around
Washington for about thirty mi
nutes without crashing once.
Bakke did land the plane for
me, but ] was in control most of
the flight. 1 had only flown once
before, almost 20 years ago, so 1
was about as ignorant of planes
as anyone alive.
Bakke said my experience
wasn’t unusual, that many peo-
Bakke at controls in one of training planes
pie ore surprised at the simple
ness of flying.
The flight school has three
planes: a Cessna 152 for flying by
vision only, a Cessna 172 for in
strument flying and a twin-
See FLIGHT, Page 6
Budget Up,
No Increase
In Tax Rate
Residents To Pay
50 Cents Per $100
By .Mike Voss
Editor
Vanceboro residents will not see a
hike in their tax rate despite an in
crease of almost $5,OOOin the town’s
general-fund budget.
The tax rate remains at 50 cents
per $100 valuation.
The town’s general-fund budget
increased from $208,814 last year to
$213,364 for fiscal year 1989-90, an
increase of $4,550.
The budget calls for $75,000 to
come from property taxes in
1989-90, nn increase of $5,000 over
last year’s budget.
The Sanitation Department has
the largest piece of the budget pie
with an allocation of $61,567. The
Street Department follows with an
allocation of $55,071. Last year the
Sanitation Department was
budgeted $60,242 and the Street
Department was budgeted $58,523.
The Administration Department
is allocated $54,950 in the new
budget, up slightly from last year’s
See BUDGET, Page 6
Drive Opens
To Protect
The Wetlands
RALEIGH — An overhaul of
state and federal policy is needed
to save North Carolina’s remain
ing wetlands, the N.C. Environ
mental Defense Fund said in a
report released today.
To prevent further destruction
of wetland areas in the slate, the
report calls for immediate adop
tion of a "no net loss” policy for
wetlands development.
The report, “Carolina Wet
lands: Our Vanishing Resource,”
calls for n legislative study com
mission to develop a comprehen
sive wetland protection law for
North Caroline to be presented
during the 1991 General As
sembly session.
The report also seeks interim
measures to be enacted immedi
ately while lawmakers wait on
the legislative study commission
report.
Among the interim measures
are esta^ishment of an Office of
Natural Areas and Wetlonds as
part of nn reorganization of state
See WETLANDS, Page 5
Airspace Concerns
May Spur Coalition
By .Mike Voss
Editor
Two meetings will be held here to
morrow to consider the impact on
North Carolina and its const of mili
tary activities such ns low-level
overflights, electro-magnetic radia
tion and use of exotic laser
weaponry.
The Military Activities Task
Force, formed last January primar
ily to look at the effect of military op
erations on the state’s coastal envi
ronment, will meet at 10 a.m. to
hear recommendations from
subcommittees.
The second meeting nt 3:30 p.m.
is expected to lead to formation of a
statewide coalition to deal with the
effects of military activities
throughout the state.
Invited to that meeting are rep-
White Finds Term
As Page Interesting
By Creg Stroud
Stair Writer
Terrence White, a rising junior at
West Craven High School, recently
served Gov. Jim Martin ns a gover
nor’s page.
The ^vemor*8 Page Program
was established in 1973 and is de
signed to “motivate young people to
become interested in state govern
ment, and by doing so, render a ser
vice to the state.”
Pages serve in Raleigh for one
week, working in one of the state’s
many oflices. They work from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. each day, Monday through
FViday, and recieve $100 for their
services in order to cover the costs of
lodging and meals. Pages run er
rands, answer telephones, do copy
ing, and other general ofRce tasks.
They also have the opportunity to
tour government buildings includ
ing the State Capitol Building, the
Executive Mansion, the Supreme
Court Building, the Legislative
Building, the Museum of History
and the Agriculture Building.
Wliite served his week in the Ad
ministration Building oflice under
the supervision of Program Director
Mary Denning.
Ms. Denning referred to White as
an “extraordinary page.” Most im
pressive, she said, was White fol
lowed directions well and was quick
to learn. “He didn’t have any trouble
grasping what to do.”, she said. Den
ning also remarked that White had
received a great number of compli
ments from other state employees.
George Demick and Louis Col-
umbo, a member of the Porole Com
mission, were responsible for
White’s selection as a governor’s
page. Columbo said White came
highly recommended and felt he
would be “an asset to the govern
ment, county and state.*
White has been busy in other
areas as well. After his service tothe
governor the week of May 22, White
was chosen for a campership and at
tended the S.I.T.E 1 (Student’s In
troduction To Engineering) comp at
See PAGE, Page 6
An Old Hand
Bill Butler has been Ashing the waters of Streets Ferry
for over 50 years. With that much time watching a
cork, even boats and skiers have a hard time distract-
Lm SermsHisf Jr. pholo
ing Butler from his main concern ^hookinga fewflsh.
Maybe it’s not fish he’s after, but Just some quiet time
in a peaceful surrounding. 'The fish may just be an
added attraction. Butler apparently prefers a cane
pole to the high-tech rods and reels in use today.
resentalives of local governments,
citizen groups, environmental
groups, real estate developers and
“concerned” citizens from across the
state.
Both meetings will be at the Holi
day Inn.
When the Military Activities
Task Force was formed early this
year at the urging of the Coastal Re
sources Commission, it was charged
with reviewing environmental prob
lems related to military activity.
The task force is chaired by
James W. Hamilton of Kinston, who
said it was formed because CRC
“wants to go over our guidelines” to
see if new procedures are nc-eded to
keep military operations consistent
with the state’s coastal manage
ment plan.
See AIRSPACE, Page 5
Rev. Royall
Will Serve
Vanceboro
By Greg Stroud
Staff Writer
Vanceboro United Methodist
Church will soon be hearing a new
voice reaching out from its pulpit.
Rev. Graham Lloyd Royall, a
Goldsboro native, has been ap
pointed to replace Claude Wilson,
who has been appointed by the
Methodist Conference to onother
church.
Royall, who has been at Vass Un
ited Methodist Church for the past
five years, has been in the ministry
for 26 years. He entered the mini
stry at age 24.
Royall completed his undergra
duate work at Louisburg College
and Methodist College in Fayette
ville. He received his masters of h-
vinity degree from Duke University.
In addition to the pulpit ministry,
Royall has also been involved vrith
alcohol-related programs and was
See ROYALL, Page 6