Publice Purade
Double Standardi?
Population is more and more becom
ing away of life. On every turn we
face the impact “folks" are having on
everything. One thing we haven’t been
blessed(?) with along the Public Parade
is over population. So sez the Census
Bureau.
But take the area of highway com
struction. When a plea is made for
more and better roads in this neck of
the woods so we can not only better
get our goods to market, but open our
tourist market for others to enjoy, we
are reminded that roads and people go
hand in hand. (It is the old saw about
which came first the chicken or the
egg). So the asphalt and concrete strips
in Tar Heelia begin at Wilson. That
apparently is where the people begin.
Yet, Monday we went over to Ahoskie
in the western most edge of the First
Highway Division to the dedication of
a handsome new headquarters building.
Instead of putting the administrative
ram next to the maintenance shop at
Winfall where adequate land was al
ready available, the state purchased
nine acres in Hertford County to insure
adequate space for expansion.
Hertford County is neither where
the people are or the best geographical
site in the 14-county division. Isn’t
this bordering on double standards
within the highway department?
George S. Willoughby, Jr., admini
strator, State Highway Commission,
said in his mini dedicatory remarks the
$250,000 project cannot be dedicated
to any individual but to the citizens of
the division.
The administrator said also the State
Highway Commission has but one goal
and that is to construct and maintain
the best highway system in the United
States.
Commissioner Joe Nowell of Winfall
adequately summed up the situation
when he said: “It’s a nice building in
the wrong location.’’
Joe, folks are just that way.
Tale Os A City
Now that we are between the bien
nial Pilgrimage of Colonial Edenton
and Countryside and the JayCee Me
morial Day Air Festival weekend,
Edenton has little time to catch a
breath. Yet we want to tell you the
story of a man who lived by the side
of tfar roatfr~ " v " -
The story is not original with us, but
the moral is applicable to this com
munity and we want to pass it on to
everybody along the Public Parade.
So, upon a time once, there lived a
man by the the side of the road and
he sold hot dogs.
He was hard of hearing, so he had
no radio.
He had trouble with his eyes, so he
had no newspaper or television set.
But he sold good hot dogs.
He put up a sign on the highway,
telling how good they were.
He stood by the side of the road
and cried out to passersby, “Buy a hot
dog, mister.”
And people bought.
He increased his meat and bun or
ders and he bought a bigger grill to
take care of his trade.
Finally, he brought his son home
from college to help him. But then
something happened.
His son said, “Father, haven’t you
been listening to the radio? There’s
a big depression on. The international
Continued on Pago 4
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i4f Dedication— The First Highway Division Headquarters build
ing in Ahoskie was dedicated Monday morning. State Sen. J. J.
(Monk) Harrington, center, is flanked by Edenton Mayor George
Alma Byrum, left, and Highway Commissioner Joe Nowell of
Winfall. (See Public Parade), v
Ceiling Put On Local Funds
County Rejects Budget For Schools
c ' r - _ _ . 1 .
By PATRICIA M. ARNOLD
Chowan County commissioners turn
ed down the proposed budget of the
Edenton-Chowan Board of Education
and suggested funds some $131,000 less
on Monday night during a joint meet
ing. .
The commissioners stated they felt
THE CHOWAN HERALD
Volume XXXVH—No. 17.
Mayor Asks
Hard Work
Os Council
Mayor George Alma Byrum started
a new term Tuesday with a new inno
vation in town organization, along with
a call to Town Council for greater em
phasis on projects and programs to
benefit present and future generations.
The new organization wrinkle came
when Byrum split the council into two
divisions. He named Leo Katkaveck
to chair a three-member committee to
handle the Law and Finance division.
W. Herbert Hollowell and J. C. (Petal
Dail will serve with Katkaveck.
David White was named chairman
of the Public Works division, heading
a committee which includes Clyde Hol
lowell and Roy L. Harrell.
Each division will handle matters
which fall in their respective categories.
This is a departure from past tradition
in council organization.
In a brief address, Byrum called at
tention to “our great heritage” and
for the need for this administration
to offer even better government for
-the, future, .He commended past town
officials for their efforts on behalf of
the town, and declared “we are all
proud of the condition we find in our
community today.”
Byrum said he knew of no other
town of Edenton’s size that can boast
as proudly of its buildings, equipment
and personnel. He lauded Town Ad
ministrator W. B. Gardner as a man
of “ability and energy” and said all
town departments are led by qualified
men.
He called on council to give atten
tion to some “present and future needs
that can be accomplished with proper
planning . . . and with present and
future financing.”
He encouraged each councilman to
make a greater effort to close the re
maining open ditches abutting streets
in Edenton, to encourage the building
of sidewalks and the building and im
proving of streets under “our present
policy."
Byrum told council it is “our respon
sibility to furnish the leadership to
improve and beautify our town” and
Continued on Pago 4
Schools could run on
'Sfai per child, based on average daily
-aidance, instead of the $166 budget-
Ct
c l
s 3 J. George, commissioner, said that
uiey promised the people of the county
a reduction in cost of operations.
Eugene Jordan, School Board Chair
Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina, Thursday, May 13, 1971
The James Iredell House
Iredell House Nominated For Listing
RALEIGH —The James Iredell House
in Edenton has been nominated for in
clusion on the National Register of
Historic Places, the nation’s "official list
of significant historic properties.
Recently the Chowan County Court
house and the Cupola House were in
cluded in the National Register.
In submitting the nomination to the
Department of the Interior, Dr. H. G.
Jones, director of the State Department
of Archives and History, noted that the
Iredell House now includes two major
sections, the first being a two-story
Church Destroyed
The Chowan County Sheriff Depart
ment had to reroute traffic on Highway
32 Sunday night for about two hours
as the Center Hill-Crossroads, Edenton
and Hertford Fire Departments tried
to extinguished a fire that destroyed
Welch’s Chapel Baptist Church.
The church was 106 years old and
Rev. W. H. Davis was its pastor.
According to Frank White, Jr., chief
of the Center Hill-Crossroads Volunteer
Department, the fire call was sounded
at 8:30 P. M. They then notified the
Hertford and Edenton departments.
The Gliden Unit of Edenton-Chowan
Rescue Squad also responded to the
call in case of any emergencies.
Chief White commented that his de
partment had the fire under control
when the water gave out and he thinks
if they had had 500 more gallons of
water at the time they could have saved
the church.
By the time the other two depart
ments arrived at the fire, the building
was completely engulfed in flames.
The fire was ignited in the zenith
of an electrical storm that hit the area
that night. It is assumed the fire was
caused from lightning.
Chief White expressed the depart
ment’s appreciation for all the coopera
tion and assistance given them by vari
ous departments.
Bill Would Allow Vote On Question Os Town Boards
A measure introduced in the General
Assembly Tuesday would give citizens
iq the Town of Edenton a second chance
to vote on the question of abolishing
the Board of Public Works. A vote on
the question four years ago saw the
utilities board retained by a 101-vote
margin
Under the bill put into the hopper by
Rep. W. T. Culpepper of Elizabeth City,
the vote would be held in May, 1972.
If voters approve its abolition, a town
council committee would take over the
board’s duties in May, 1973.
M?yor George Alma Byrum and Town
man, stated that much time and con
sideration had been put into the pro
posed budget by every member of the
board of education and he stated he
just would not know where to begin
to cut it anymore.
Jordan also pointed out that this
year each principal of the schools in
the county made an appearance before
Single Copy 10 Cents
frame structure built about 1776 and
the second a two-story frame addition
built perpendicular to the first about
1816. It is thought that another section
of the house built as early as 1759 was
removed before the 1816 section- was
added.
James Iredell was born in Sussex
County, England, in 1751, and came to
America at seventeen as deputy con
troller of customs for Edenton. He
was a member of the Provincial Con
gress, a justice of the court of law, at
torney general for the state of North
Carolina, and a vocal participant in the
fight for approval of the constitution at
Hillsborough in 1788.
While he was urging approval, the
legislature named the newly formed Ire
dell County in his honor. In Febru
ary, 1790, George Washington appoint
ed Iredell to the U. S. Supreme Court,
where he served until his death in
1799.
The house is now owned by the state
of North Carolina, and its nomination
was made in connection with the State
Department of Archives and History’s
long-range program of documenting the
authenticity of historic places in North
Carolina.
Godwin Interview
CHAPEL HILL House Speaker Phil
Godwin will be interviewed on “North
Carolina People” on the UNC-TV edu
cational network at 8:30 P. M., May 27.
Dr. William Friday, president of the
University of North Carolina, will in
terview Godwin, who currently is serv
ing his sixth term as representative
from Gates County.
The telecast may be seen on WUND
TV, Channel 2, Columbia. The Godwin
interview will be shown a second time
at 6:30 P. M., May 30.
Godwin will talk about the 1971
General Assembly, and express his
views on a number of the public issues
of the day.
Council have tried unsuccessfully to
obtain agreement from the utilities
board on the abolition. After a joint
meeting failed to bring about agree
ment, the council voted to seek authori
zation for a second referendum.
Mayor Byrum asked Jesse L. Harrell,
chairman of the utilities board, to ap
point a committee to work with a coun
cil committeee on the terms to be in
cluded in the referendum. Harrell
asked for volunteers and when all
members refused the council moved
ahead on its own.
The Board of Public Works is a sepa
rate, elected body of five men who are
the budget committee and told of his
needs. The committee took the needs
and budgeted the ones that needed im
mediate attention and held out on the
others.
The commissioners approved a budg
et last year of some $386,000. This
year they will approve a budget of no
more than $343,680; a cut of approxi
mately $43,000 over this year’s budget.
Mrs. Emily G. Amburn told the com
missioners most of the additional money
in the budget was for the maintenance
of schools; to make the buildings more
presentable and safe for the children,
with just a little added in new pro
grams.
George replied that the money had
been in the budget over the past years
for maintenance but he did not know
how the board of education had spent
it.
Earlier in the year, the fire marshal
and Edenton building inspector took a
tour of the schools and stated certain
upgrading that had to be made along
with the grand jury of Chowan County.
C. A. Phillips, Commissioner, made
the comment that the commissioners
wanted the best schools the county
could afford. He remarked that every
one in the county wanted higher pro
jected budgets but no more money was
Continued on Pago 4
Postal Rate Hike
Effective Sunday
Postmaster James Bond said today
that increases in most postage rates
will take effect Sunday as the new
U. S. Postal Service begins its task of
achieving self sufficiency as required
by the Postal Reorganization Act.
Bond noted that general postage rates
have not been increased since 1967
when Congress passed what was to be
come its final legislative act in this
respect.
He pointed out that, earlier, requests
for rate increases were proposed to
Congress in 1969 by both President
Johnson and President Nixon. In ad
dition, President Nixon proposed an
increase again in 1970, although none
of the proposed increases Was acted
upon by Congress.
Bond explained that the new in
creases authorized on a temporary
basis until the newly created Postal
Rate Commission can make recommen-
Continued on Page 4
On Commission
RALEIGH Gov. Bob Scott has re
cently appointed two Edentonians to
the Edenton Historical Commission.
They are: Mrs. Wood Privott and John
A. Mitchener, Jr.
Mitchener, former Edenton mayor,
has served on the commission in an
ex officio capacity for many years.
Mrs. Privott is a member of the board
of directors of Historic Edenton, Inc.,
having served on the steering commit
tee and helped to start the committee
functioning. She is also a charter
member of the Edenton Tea Party
Chapter, Daughters of American Revo
lution.
Mrs. Privott is president of the
James Iredell Association, Inc., one of
five historic sites which make up His
toric Edenton, Inc.
Mitchener has been a leader in civic
and business affairs in the Albemarle
Area for many years. He was active
in the N. C. League of Municipalities
while a member of the town council
and as mayor. He is a past president
of the league.
Mitchener headed the planning com
mittee of Albemarle Area Development
Association during the period when a
comprehensive study was conducted of
the 10 AADA counties. He was Cho
wan County’s representative on the
AADA board for several years.
charged with the responsibilities of
operating the utilities department.
In another local bill introduced by
Rep. Culpepper, Pasquotank County
would be authorized to contract with
other boards of county commissioners
for the purpose of supporting the Col
lege of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City.
COA is a two-year community college
serving seven counties but gets tax sup
port only from Pasquotank.
A recent move by COA to establish
a community college district failed
when Chowan County commissioners re
fused to adopt a resolution pledging
financial support.