Volume XXXVI.—No. 41
COMMUNITY HOSTS COUNCIL—OIiver Bonner, center, president of the Old H«Mord
Road Community, is shown with some of the other. atlendiHgameelingofCommum
ity Action Council at the community's building on Paxton Lane Thursday night. Let
right are: Earl Jones, EIC job developer; Hoy Lowe EIC director: Robert W Moore,
community action chairman; Bonner: Mayor George Alma Byrum, and C. A. PhiU.ps,
vice president, Edenlon Colion Mills.
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Public Parade
Label Doesn't Apply
Paxton Lane runs east off Old Hert
ford Road. It is an improved state road
and to this writer’s knowledge has never
heen a "little path grown over with
weeds and grass.”
It was described as such recently in
an article by one of our favorite writers
(although we can’t warm up to his en
thusiasm for Unidentified Hying Ob
jects) in one of our favorite metropolitan
newspapers.
Frank Roberts used a quote in his
art it It* about the Old Hertford Road
Community which is said to be a mis
quote. The community was done a great
er dkscrwce. Tibwevef, By' the copy edi-
tor who unfortunately used the word
“slum" in his banner headline.
The accomplishments of residents of
this community in Edenton shine too
bright to be shadowed by sensationalism
of the big city press. If any damage
has been done, it is history. The people
in the community are too big. too de
termined, too concerned about their fu
, ture and the future of their children to
be depressed by outsiders.
The facts about the Old Hertford
Road Community are fresh in our mind.
It was on a Saturday morning about two
years ago that Karl Jones came into The
Chowan Herald office bubbling with
enthusiasm about what was happening
on Paxton Lane.
Gilliam Wood had agreed to let the
people clean up a lot he had just down
the road arid make a recreation area. In
short order the trees were cut and the
underbrush removed. The children had
a place other than the street in which
Continued on Page Four
X-Ray Unit Here
The State Board of Health’s Mobile
X-ray Clinic will arrive in Edenton next
Wednesday.
All persons over 12 years of age wish
ing an X-ray of their chest may get one
on Wednesday and Thursday from 10
A. M., to 12 noon and 1 to 5 P. M.
On Friday. October 17, they will be
open from 10 to 12 noon. Also on Mon
day. October 20, from 2 P. M., to 5
P. M.
Chest X-rays will be made on October
21 only for persons referred by their
family physician or the Health Depart
ment.
Those persons who are required to
have a chest X-ray for employment are
urged to get one at this time. There will
be no charge for the X-ray. The truck
will be parked in the lot back of the
Health Department.
Mayor Byrum Seeks Strong Neighborhood
Mayor George Alma Byrum named
banker William H. Bunch chairman of
the Citizens Advisory Council of the
Town of Edenton. At the same time he
named Earl Jones vice chairman and
picked neighborhood chairmen and vice
£ xkairmen. v i
borhood organization willJbe stressed^
THE CHOWAN HERALD
Officials Reaffirm
Sales Tax Stand
Xearly 50 business and industry rep
resentatives Tuesday heard spokesmen
for Chowan County and the 1 own of
Edenton repeat their vow to use money
from the local option sales tax to reduce
property tax here.
Mayor George Alma Byrum and Com
missioner C. A. Phillips said while it is
impossible at this time to say how much
taxes would be reduced if voters ap
prove the one cent increase in sales tax
es on November 4. the money received
locally will definitely be used to reduce
the burden on property taxes.
It has been estimated that the county
would get SIIO,OOO and the. town $34.-
000. Commissioner Phillips said had
the county had this money when the
1969-70 budget was composed no in
crease would have been needed to pay
for hospital bonds and a seven cent cut
of the old rate could have been realized.
The money the town would derive
from the tax. based on current estimates,
is equal to .54 cents on the tax rate. The
town rate increased 20 cents this year.
Phillips said the increase in sales tax
is not an additional tax. but can be sub
stituted for the property tax levy.
“In the county we are going to use it
to lower the burden, as nearly as possi
ble, on property tax,” Phillips said.
.Mayor Byrum sees the November 4
vote as an opportunity to bring back
some home rule to the town and county.
And he called the sales tax a “fair” tax.
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DONATION TO HISTORIC EDENTON. INC—Bad weaiher leapt ft* crowd* away and cut into the profit* <rf ft* Manntal PUgrimag.
of Colonial Edonton and Country*ld* in April. Howaras, tba Edanton Woman'* Club raalixad anough to contribute $2,975 to HUtonc
Edanton. From left to right ara: Mr*. Robert W. Moor*. Mi*. War ran Twiddy and Mr*. Alton G. Elmora of the sponsoring club*,
and T. & H. Wood, chairman, and Mr*. (Soldi* I* Niblatl. vie* diairman of Historic Edanton.
committees with chairmen and vice
chairmen making up the Advisory Coun
cil. ,
The committees and council are de
signed to involve as many people as pos
sible in the affairs of the community as
well as have them working toward up
grading housing, recreation, beautifica
tion and other aspects of the community
pointment oMELoy Harrell as chairman of
Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina, Thursday, October 9, 1969.
Mowell Has New Road Plan
u I
■is -$ » Highway Commissioner Joe
’ 3 £ of Perquimans revealed here
I %tn y morning he is working on a
“ a S ?r and more practical” plan for
a |i -highway to open up Northeast
ei w?S th Carolina.
... .ue same time, the first district
commissioner said local traffic alone
makes four-laning U. S. 17 from Eden
ton to Elizabeth City a necessity.
While Nowell would not commit him
self on plans for the new highway, he
did mention the Albemarle Area Devel
opment Association’s highway study sev
eral times. He said he would meet with
the Virginia highway commissioner from
Norfolk soon to discuss the proposal.
County Says ‘No’
To District Jail
Chowan County commissioners Mon
day said “no” to an invitation to par
ticipate in construction of a multi-county
jail; took action to make Chowan Coun
ty jail safer; and turned down a request
from another county to use the local fa
cilities.
Commissioners earlier had demonstrat
ed their lack of interest in the proposed
district jail by not attending area meet
ings. Commissioner C. A. Phillips said
he could not see how Chowan would
benefit from such a jail and found noth
ing wrong with the one here, except it
does need a sprinkler system in the at
tic.
A request from Tyrrell County that
prisoners be held in Edenton was denied
when commissioners agreed they should
not create a two county district. How
ever, they left the door open, saying if
the Department of Social Services ap
proved the Tyrrell request they would
cooperate to the fullest.
Phillips said a recent inspection by
state officials revealed several areas of
concern about the historic jail here. The
Continued on Page Four
White Cane Sale
The annual Lions Gub White Cane
Membership campaign began Wednes
day. Edenton Lions Club is cooperating
with the state organization and N. C.
Association for the Blind in this pro
ject.
The XCAB is a Lions Club project.
It was organized by Lions in 1934 as a
non-profit, statewide organization and is
supported by Lions through the White
Cane Drive.
Ralph Outlaw is chairman of the cam
paign in Chowan County. Anyone wish
ing to donate to this project, and are not
contacted by a Lion, should contact Out
law.
the Codes and Ordinances Committee,
and selection of Rodney Harrell, Jr., to
the Board of Adjustment.
Mayor Byrum and Chairman W. E.
Bond of county commissioners jointly
announced the make-up of the Edenton-
Chowan Good Neighbor Council. Dr.
J. H. Horton was again named to serve
as chairman. Mrs. E. N. Elliott is vice
Re-appointed to the board also were:
William H. Bunch, Cecil Fry, W. P.
Nowell did say he hoped to change
the commissioner’s mind about where
North Carolina and Virginia should con
nect up a four-lane highway. It was
here that the commissioner said the plan
now in the mill would be “cheaper and '
more practical” than what Virginia Ts
now talking about.
He urged counties in Northeast North
Carolina to “stick together and push
for one project” and progress could be
realized in this administration.
Nowell, in expressing his desire to
cooperate fully with the seven counties
he represents, said it is imperative that
the commission must come up with a
road plan to open up this area.
He said work orders have been signed
to improve Virginia Road from Gran
ville Street to beyond the new Chowan
Advisory Groups; Bi-Racial Council Picked
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PROGRESS REPORT—Chowan Hospital's new homo on Virginia Road appears to ba
growing right out of a soybean field in the progress picture here. Construction on the
61-bed medical facility, scheduled for completion in September, 1970, is well underway
with work being done on the second floor. A workman on top of the building is direct
ing a crane which is lifting steel to the second floor. T. A. Loving is general contrac
tor for the nearly S2-million project.
Rose Given Contract To Pave Strip
Edenton-Chowan Board of Education
has awarded a contract for construction
of a multi-vehicle laboratory at John A.
Holmes High School to be used in driv
er education.
Rose Construction Company of Ahos
kie and Edenton submitted the low bid,
opened Monday night. Ihwas $2.20 per
square foot to construct a 190 x 540
(Spec) Jones, J. Gilliam Wood, Mrs.
W. E. Cox, Earl Jones and McDonald
Dixon.
New members are: Rev. Anthony
Hathaway,. Frank Coston, Jr., W. G.
Pierce, Alonza Blount and Jack Leary.
The neighborhood leaders on the Citi
zens Advisory Council are chairman and
vice chairman respectively:
Neighborhood I: Bill Boyce and Mrs.
James Darnell.
Neighborhood II: Wesley Chesson and
Single Copy 10 Cents.
Hospital entrance. He said this is a
very important project and one which
will benefit those from other counties
visiting the hospital.
Also, Nowell said ground surveys are
now being made on the Edenton by
pass on U. S. 17. However, he said
highway officials in Raleigh estimate it
will be another two years before work
can begin on the project.
“We got the project reactivated and
I’ll try to get it to move along a little
faster,” the commissioner said. “It is
one item I intend to push along, he add
ed.
Nowell told county commissioners this
county will get $29,000 in secondary
road money this year. This will pave
less than one mile of road, Chairman
W. E. Bond noted.
foot strip. To this will be added $3,000
in equipment, making the entire project
cost $33,000.
Supt. Bill Britt said the size of the
strip was cut in order to get within the
budget. The state is paying for the
project.
John Gard is driver education co
ordinator here and will work with 25
other counties once the lab is complet
ed. He has told local officials the state
will also furnish a $40,000 traffic simu
lator to be used in giving students more
hours of behind-the-wheel driving in
struction.
Supt. Britt has said most counties in
this area will use the lab to further train
driver education instructors.
N. J. George, a board member, com
mended Holmes Principal Cecil Fry and
others who worked on improvements to
Hicks Field prior to Friday’s football
game between Edenton and Northeast
ern. His comments were echoed by oth
er board members.
A Chowan County Grand Jury re
cently commented on overcrowding on
some school buses. Supt. Britt said
while some reassessments might be made,
the buses in Chowan meet the state mini
mum standards.
Supt. Britt said standing on school
buses is un-safe, but the only way to cor
rect it would be for the county to pur
chase more buses and operate them, with
no assistance from the state.
George urged a re-examination of the
bus assignments and routes.
’The annual audit report was accepted.
Leo LaVoie.
Neighborhood III: Northfleet Bond
and Mrs. Alene Slade.
Neighborhood IV: Robert Whiteman
and Mrs. Dennis Basnight.
Neighborhood V: Jack Barrow and*
Mrs. James Cozzens.
Neighborhood VI: Mrs. James Slade 1
and Oliver Bonner.
Neighborhood VII: Alvin Bunch and :
Mrs. Minnie Summers.
Neighborhood VIII: Reginald Granby!
and Herbert Brooks. V i
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