HI •" ~ ill i
’
, Bending Policy
U is an exception rather than a
rule for Wto 'amfend or bend
policies established for the
operation ,of this newspaper.
However.this week two instances
are of such importance that ex
cations were made to normal
policy. By coincidence the subject
of both is the s3.S*million school
bond referendum.
First, the general policy
regarding the length of Letters To
The Editof is waived to print in
full correspondence from John A.
Mitchener, 111, While we can
argue with Mr. Mitchener’s
conclusions, it is felt he couldn’t
have come to than in less space.
Then there is the statement
from Edenton-Chowan Board of
Education, signed by than, in
dividually, regarding a com
mitment to consolidation. While
board action waS taken in May it is
felt their statement is of such
’ importance to jpass it on in the
format in which it was presented.
With this explanation we
recommend both letters for
reading.
Office. For DA
The State of North Carolina pays
the salary of the District Attorney
and furnishes him a staff. That is
the end of the state’s respon
sibility.
But fortunately, no tax funds go
toward the expense involved in
operating the DA’s office along the
Public Parade and throughout the
First Judicial District. Tom Watts
appears to be as crafty as a
manager as be is a prosecutor.
The DA has designed a fee for
counties based on the number of
weeks of court. In Chowan in fiscal
1977-78, five weeks of court was
held and $640 from facilities fees
went toward the operation of the
prosecutor’s office. In the seven
county .district, 39 weeks of court
was held and $4,890 was paid.
More specifically in Chowan,
$47,610.27 in fines and forfeitures
was -collected apii r <W' fiateilhc
school fund. Another $8,464 in
facilities fees went to the county.
these figures don’t reflect
payments in District and Superior
courts the last week in June.
The bulk of the DA’s expense is
rent for office space. This amounts
to some $5,000 annually. As new,
expensive construction and
renovations are done, someone
might consider permanent
headquarters for the DA.
Multi-county projects are
becoming more and more at
tractive as costs increase in every
sector. Commissioners in the First
Judicial District might start
looking for grant and loan funds
for such a project.
4 -
School Opening
Dr. Craig Phillips, state school
superintendent, is enthuastic
about the prospects for the 1978-79
school term. The following release
covers a multitude of subjects
which might help get our readers
Continued on Page 4
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left, home sharer after be was honored Monday afternoon for his contribution to
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THE CHOWAN HERALD
Volume XLIV,—No. 34
Courts Mw Decide Issue
Lake Gaston will be recom- ■
mended by the U.S. Corps of
Engineersras the future source of
water supply for the Hampton
Roa&area of Virginia. However,
thegcbqice of Col. Douglas L.
Haller m the Norfolk District, has
already been threatened with
legal action.
At a hearing in Emporia, Va.,
W"*** wk £Mr
, \ %gk 's&■'
u ,/ | '* lO ‘ jSmrm
CALLS FOR ACTION—W.B. Gardner, town administrator, is
pictured talking with Mike McCarthy, center, and an unidentified
news reporter prior to a team being dispatched to study the
Chowan River. McCarthy heads an eight-man team which has
been working in the river for the past week.
CF Industries Suspected
No conclusions have been
arrived at by scientists from the
state’s Division of Environmental
Management regarding this year’s
excessive algae bloom in the
Chowaq River.Howftver, one
member oF~an eight-man team***
working 50 miles of the river
from Edenton Bay to the Virginia
line is quoted as saying CF In
dustries at Tunis must be handled
first.
Area residents are confident
that the fertilizer complex in
Hertford County is a major
pollutor of the river, thus
triggering the “green tide” in the
Chowan.
The state team has been taking
samples at 22 points in the river on
a regular basis for the past week.
It is expected to take at least
another week to obtain sufficeint
data to arrive at conclusions.
While they work in the river, the
federal Environmental Protection
Agency is being pushed to join in
the search for solutions to the
problem. Edenton Chamber of
Commerce and the Town of
Edenton are requesting EPA
action.
In response to a chamber letter,
Rep. Walter B. Jones of First
Congressional District has asked
Lake Gaston Recommended
\
Bn. County, Va., officials
said would bring suit to
protect ” Gaston from any
water withdrawal. Earlier, Gov.
Jim Hunt told Virginia authorities
that every effort would be. made,
including a fight in the courts, in
order to protect the quality of Tar
Heel water.
Water from Lake Gaston flows
John C. White, regional EPA
administrator in Altanta, Ga., to
personally get involved.
Rep. Jones has sought White’s
“guidance in bringing about a
cooperative effort on the pari of all
"TecteraT
hope of determining the cause of
this pollution and those steps
Continued on Page 4
Conger Presented Award
The Thomas Jefferson Award
was presented to J.H. Conger, Sr.,
105 West ' King Street, in
ceremonies at his home Monday
afternoon. It is in recognition of
his long tenure as a weather ob
server for the U.S. Department of
Commerce’s National Weather
Service.
At the same time, the “Order of
the Long Leaf Pine Award” was
presented to Conger by Rep.
Walter B. Jones of the First
Congressional District. It was
made by Gov. Jim Hunt whose
accompaning letter was read by
Walter B. Jones, Jr., the eastern
representative of his office.
William Pogerman, chief of the
Substation Program at the
National Weather Service
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, August 24,1978
into the Roanoke River and that
basin is believed to be harmed
with any withdrawal, as would the
Albemarle Sound Basin.
The Coastal Resources Com
mission, meeting in Edenton in
June, adopted strongly worded
resolutions dealing with the
problem. The commission is
petitioning Congress to fund a
study of the environmental im
pact of water withdrawal as far
south as Pamlico Sound.
“We will go to court to oppose
this proposal,” Gov. Hunt stated
shortly after Monday’s an
nouncement. “It would take water
out of watershed where we have so
much unemployment . We need to
have industrial development over
there in the years to come.”
Like Gov. Hunt, Sen. Jesse
Helms supports going to court to
protect Tar Heel water.. He sent a
representative to the Emporia
hearing to outline his views for the
record.
The corps concluded that Lake
Gaston was the more desirable
alternative because it would be
implemented without construction
of a major impoundment, “...(it)
would involve only intake struc
tures, pumping stations, pipelines
and treatment facilities...,” it was
stated.
The withdrawal at Pea Hill
Creek would be 70-million gallons
per day. As proposed the project
would be built in three phases, the
first to be completed by mid
1980’s.
Congress authorized the Corps
study and will get the report after
Lt. Gen. John Morris, chief of
engineers, solicits views from
officials in Virginia and North
Carolina ana passing it by
Secretary of the Army and the
president’s Office of Management
and Budget.
Headquarters in Washington,
D.C., presented the Jefferson
Award to Conger. He cited the fact
that the Conger family had been
volunteers in the program for
more than 80 years, the last 35 by
the recipient of the award.
Pogerman described it as a ‘ ‘ verj
select award” that recognizes only
those who have provided ex
ceptional service. There were but
seven given in the nation this year.
After the presentations, Conger
said receiving the awards made
him feel that he had been well paid
for all his efforts.
Thomas Jefferson Awards were
originated in 1859 for the National
Weather Service to honor
volunteer weather observers for
unusual and outstanding
achievements. It is the highest
award the National Weather
Service presents to volunteer
observers. The award is named for
Jefferson because the statesman
scientist made an almost un
broken series of weather ob
servations from 1776 to 1816.
Conger was honored for un
selfish and dedicated service in
continuing a family tradition of
weather observing and storm
warning that began in the last
centimy. In fact, the records
maintained by the Congers at
Edenton are among the longest in
the state. They began in 1896.
The National Weather Service
Coo tinned on Page 4
Semester Calendar
«
The Edenton-Chowan Board of Education is publishing the following
Ist semester calendar for the benefit of parents and students:
August 28—Pupil Orientation Day - Vt day
August 22 First full day for students ,
Sept. 4 - Legal Holiday - LABOR DAY .
Oct. 10—End of Ist six weeks grading period
Oct. 17 Report cards out
Oct. 20 -PARENT CONFERENCE DAY - STUDENT HOLIDAY
Nov.22—End of ted six weeks grading period
LB§ * l mU " 9 * raANKSGIVING
Dec. 20 - Jan?*^3IRISTMAS VACATION AND NEW YEAR'S DAY
Jtaft* r*tvin\ to ; - • * ■.
EDENTON . CHOWAN SCHOOLS
o*nc* Or THC ■UPCMNTCNOCMT \
EDEMTON. N. C. 37*32
August 21, 1978
Dear Citizens of Chowan County:
We, the Edenton-Chowan Board of Education, would like to re-emphasize the
fact that the Edenton-Chowan Schools will be consolidated, regardless of the
outcome of the school bond referendum. The decision on consolidation was
unanimously made In Hay 1978.
The vote on September 19th will determine the method of consolidation. The
vote Is not being held to decide whether or not consolidation should take place.
If the bond Issue passes, the school system will be reorganized, hopefully
by the fall of 1980, In the following manner:
Grades 9-12 Countywide New High School
Grades 7-8 Countywide Holmes School
Grades K-6 Southern County D. F. Walker School
Grades k-6 Northern County Chowan High School
If the bond Issue falls, the school system will be reorganized, maybe as
early as the fall of 1979, In the following manner:
Grades 9-12 Countywide Holmes School
Grades 7-8 Countywide Chowan School
6rades K-6 Southern County D. F. Walker School
Grades K-6 Northern County White Oak School
We feel 1t Is imperative that you understand exactly what the school bond
Issue means to the children of Chowan County. Should you have any questions
concerning the educational need, please contact your school board member.
C&SL—
John 8. Dunn, Secretary
C P-
Thomas P. Griffin
Morris Small
Wilbur Ray Burch
Water System Funds
Sought From FmHA
A $312,000 Farmers Home
Administration grant is being
sought by Chowan County to
defray some of the cost of Phase II
of the county-wide water system.
Chairman N.J. George was
authorized by board action
Tuesday highl 'to 'sign'TKfe' ap
plication.
During the special session,
commissioners signed an
agreement with W.T. Culpepper,
111, for legal services regarding
the grant, and a contract with
Rivers & Associates for
engineering work.
FmHA played a major role in
financing of the initial phase of the
system and continues to show
interest in the project.
At the same time, the board
approved a new schedule for
water rates which creates a
residential rate. The new rate will
be 75 cents per l.OOOgallons for all
over 10,000 gallons. The old rate
was 50 cents per 1,000 gallons for
all over 20,000. This was deleted.
A considerable portion of the
meeting centered around a
discussion of the financing of
school bonds should the $3.5-
million referendum pass on
Parking Limit
Chief J.D. Parrish has issued a
warning that Edenton Police
Department will begin strict
enforcement of the two-hour
parking limit in the downtown
area. He said it would start im
mediately.
Chief Parrish said the parking
limit is for all spaces on Broad
Street, between Water and Queen
Streets, as well as the 100 block of
East King Street.
At the same time the Merchants
Committee of Edenton Chamber of
Commerce has a drive underway
to have employees of local
businesses to park in off-street
lots, not along Broad Street.
Sincerely,
/ „ . Yi.
Eugene N. Jordan, Chairman
fyiiJxtzz.
Dr. J. H. Horton, Vice Chairman
f«JLO«»AdI kwV-5
Dr. Edward G. Bifid
fa- (hvJjUC*^/
Emily G. Anburn
An Equal Opportunity Employer
September 19.
Commissioner J.D. Peele said
the board is obligated to state a
definite time for repayment so the
voters will know exactly what they
are passing on.
At an earlier meeting the board
tentatively approved a 40-year
payback at 5 per cent interest. A
decision was made to reconsider
this at a meeting to be held at 7:30
P.M. on September 5.
Capt. A1 Howard, chairman,
Edenton-Chowan Airport Com
mission, outlined plans for the
replacement of the tower and
hanger buildings at the airport,
earlier he had discussed
the plans with Edenton Town
Council.
Application
Gains Approval
Following earlier action by the
State Banking Commission, the
Federal Deposit Insurance Cor
poration has approved the ap
plication of Tarheel Bank & Trust
Company to open a branch in
Edenton. The $3-million bank has
home offices in Gatesville.
“We expect to develop our plans
as expeditiously as possible,”
stated Robert E. Lee, executive
vice president. At a hearing in
Raleigh, Lee told the state com
mission that his bank could be
ready to begin doing business at
an Edenton location in as little as
five months.
Organized in 1904, the financial
institution now has branches in
Lewiston, Winton, Murfreesboro
and Ahoskie.
250 Assisted
The Economic Improvement
Council, Inc., recently assisted 250
low-income families under the
Emergency Energy Asssistance
Program.
The grant awarded to EIC was
for $27,669 and was designed to
assist low-income individuals,
especially the elderly and the
disabled, in paying back fuel bills
and to prevent utility shut-offs
Over 700 individuals residing in
the households benefited from the
project.
“The Emergency Energy
Assistance Program is a one-time
funding from the Community
Services Administration and
designed to lessen the impact of
high fuel cssto sstob enable toe
Single Copies 15 Cents.