Public Parade
Disturbed, And More
“Yolrdattui right!”
This was Gov. James B. Hunt,
Jr.’s, response last Wednesday to
a reminder of his pledge regarding
restoring life to the algae-clogged
Chowan River. He bad just been
told that the graphing of samples
taken from the liver around CF
Industries at Tunis showed an
estimated 1,200 pounds of nitrogen
per day was entering the river.
At a September meeting along
the Public Parade he pledged that
his administration would get to the
bottom, the matter and take
whatever corrective actions
necessary, no matter how drastic
they might bb.
The reminder brought the angry
response from the usually well
disciplined Tar * Heel chief
executive. The heat is now
squarely where it should be the
Hunt Administration. However,
whatever action is taken area
citizens must prepare for many
winters of unpleasantness before
the wrong is righted.
Up until recently, state programs
regarding our greatest natur
al resource have been a comedy
of error%looking the other way, in
consistencies, foot-dragging, buck
passing, double-talk and general
bureaucratic hogwash.
The confessions expected to be
made at the December 11 public
meeting won’t be accepted by
local citizens who have beat the
drum off and on for six years
trying to keep the attention of
state environmentalists.
The State of North Carolina,
through the Coastal Area
Management Act, is seeking to
administer more federal en
vironmental permits in a 20-
county area. This could wipe out
duplication, cut red tape and
eliminate costly delays. However,
if the state doesn’t establish a good
track record on the Chowan River
there are faint hopes that the
gliberals in Washington, D.C., are
going to look with favor on any
plan to relinquish control over
permits.
if the latesf~firufings So not'
challenge elected officials in the
11-county region which makes up
the Albemarle Sound Basin to band
together, and the Hunt Ad
ministration to be as good as its
word, then the whole group needs
tu be turned out on election day.
Governor, think we are mad!
“You damn right!” A.
Priority Item
Tuesday was a Court Holiday
along the Public Parade. This was
by accident rather than design.
But, whatever the explanation, it
forcefully supports the need for an
additional District Court judge.
Mrs. Lena M. Leary, clerk of of
Chowan County Superior Court,
was notified after 4 P.M. Monday
that Judge Grafton G. Beaman
was being detained in a Raleigh
case. Therefore, he would be
unable to preside in District Court
here at 9:30 A.M. Tuesday. This
left the clerk little time to notify
people who were scheduled to do
business with the court.
Judge John T. Chaffin was in
volved in a civil term in
Perquimans County and was not
available. Franklin Freeman,
administrator of courts, was
unsuccessful in obtaining a jurist
to substitute for Judge Beaman.
Defendants, witnesses, at
torneys and the usual courtroom
Continued on Page 4
TOOTS NAVY'S HORN Capt Jim Earnhardt, a reservist,
manages the Navy’s Seapower Presentation Item as a volunteer
on Weekends and practices law in Edenton throughout the week.
(Photos by PHI Isaiah Robipson).
GETS GOVERNOR'S EAR W.B. Gardner, Edenton town
administrator, buttonholes Gov. James B. Hunt in his Capitol
office to inform him erf recent findings of huge amounts of algae
feeding nitrogen flowing into the Chowan River near CF In
dustries at Tunis. Gov. Hunt has pledged to take strong action in
the matter. (See Public Parade).
Board Chairman
Reviews Decision
On Consolidation
In the wake of the defeated $3.5-
million School Bond referendum
and the Edenton-Chowan Board of
Education’s decision to achieve
consolidation in 1979 by placing
ten temporary classrooms at John
A. Holmes High School, there has
been local speculation, criticism
and questioning of reasons and
motives for the decision.
An interview recently held with
Board Chairman, Eugene Jordan,
summarized the background
leading to the board’s decision and
expanded on the Consolidation
Steering Committee’s report
released at the November Board
meeting.
In the meantime, a Public
Hearing will be held at 7:30 P.M.
today (Thursday) at Chowan High
School. Such a hearing is required
by law whenever a high school
facility will no longer be used for
that purpose. The proposed
consolidation [dan will change
Chowan School from a high to a
junior-high facility, to include
grades 6 (in the northern end of
the county) and grade 7 and 8
countywide.
In explaining the School Board’s
position, Chairman Jordan
reiterated time and again, “The
Continued on Tragi'!"
Christmas Parade
Scheduled Friday
The Christmas shopping season
will be launched here Friday with
the annual parade through
downtown Edenton. It will (nark
the first official visit by Santa
Claus.
The parade will form on Coke
Avenue and make its way down
Broad Street at 3 o’clock. Units
will break up on Water Street.
Robert Moore, executive of
Edenton-Chowan Chamber of
Commerce, said the final count of
units was still undetermined. He
did say, though, that “things are
beginning to shape up” for a nice
parade.
Byron Kehayes is chairman of
the sponsoring Merchants Com
mittee of the chamber. The
Edenton Jaycees assist in the
event and are headed this year by
Bill Smith.
Waning Naval Power Is Reservist’s Concern
fp with pixs By Scott Hessek
NORFOLK, Va. - A tall, soft
spoken man who describes himself
as “a small-town lawyer prac
ticing in Edenton”, moonlights at
a job whose success could
Volume XLIV-Na 4,
W4rr
fe/
% r;; iMI
■i jltL ■
PETITIONS PRESENTED—Governor James B. Hunt, at right
in photos above, was presented petitions bearing some 43,000
signatures protesting high Vepco rates last Wednesday. In left
photo, Charles Creighton, president of Edenton Chamber of
Commerce is shown with the governor. In the right photo, Stan
Governor Pledges Vigorous Pursuit Os Lower Utility Rates
RALEIGH Repeating his
claim that high utility rates are
J“hurting our economic growth” in
Northestern North Carolina, Gov.
James B. Hunt, Jr., received a
delegation bearing petitions with
more than 43,000 signatures here
on Wednesday of last week.
The petitions ask Gov. Hunt, the
State Utilities Commission and
Federal Power Commission to roll
back high electric rates charged
by Vepco in its 22-county service
Concert Set
The Edenton Choral Society will
present its annual Christmas
concert Sunday at 4 P.M. at the
Edenton Baptist Church.
This year’s program is varied.
The well-known Pergolesi “Glory
to God in The Highest”, the lively
“Carol of The Bells”, and the
stately Beethoven “Hallelujah’’
will be heard, along with other
familiar Christmas selections.
The public is invited to share in
this musical opening of the
Christmas season.
ultimately spell survival for the
United States.
The man is Wiley (Jim) Earn
hardt, Jr., the Edenton town
attorney who holds up his end of a
law partnership during the day,
and heads the Navy’s Seapower
Presentation Teams in several
states as a volunteer Naval
Reservist at nights and on
weekends.
Earnhardt is a captain in the
Naval Reserve, directing the Naval
Air Reserve Unit, Norfolk’s
Seapower Presentation Team
whose members travel around
several states alerting citizens to
what the Navy perceives as a very
serious threat to America’s sur
vival as a maritime power, and
even as a nation.
All members *of the teams are
volunteers who are not paid for
their time and efforts, but who
have made almost 3,000 presen
tations to groups in the Mid-
Atlantic region in the past six
years. Their commitment stems
from a genuine concern based on
known facts about America’s
■ • _• ■ . ■v ■ * » • . • . . •
Report On Algae Problem
Expected At Meeting Here
Two public gatherings relating
to the worst algae bloom in the
Chowan River in history have
been set few next month by the
State Division of Environmental
Management.
The division will officially
report recent findings in the
vicinity of CF Industries at Tunis
in a public meeting at Chowan
County Courthouse at 7 P.M. on
December 11.
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, November 30,1978
area of the state.
Gov. Hunt called the rate matter
“a situation that is not only hard
on the individual rate payer” but
“the one thihg that has made this
intolerable is that this is hurting
our economic growth.”
He said this is only the beginning
of investigations into high utility
rates in the state.
“I intend for the state to do
everything humanly possible to
have reasonably comparable
rates in this area,” the governor
said.
In conclusion he said: “I give
you my work we’ll pursue this
matter as vigorously as we can.”
At his suggestion, the petitions
were taken to the State Utilities
Commission where they were
turned over to the Public Staff
which is conducting the in
vestigation called for by Gov.
Hunt.
Stanley W. Hege, chairman of
the Petition Committee of
“Operation Overcharge” and
representing Edenton-Chowan
Chamber of Commerce, handed
Gov. Hunt a letter in which he
outlined the causes of concern.
declining Naval strength in the face
of a growing Soviet naval and
martitime presence.
“I don’t think most Americans
know how really serious the threat
is,” said Captain Earnhardt, “but
we rely on imports for 72 of the 79
vital materials it takes to keep this
country running. More than 97 per
cent of our imports and exports
travel by ship. This includes oil,
grain, and industrial goods.
Allowing us to lose control of sea
lanes over which these materials
are carried means a drastic loss of
control over our national destiny. ”
Earnhardt’s interest in
spreading the word about
seapower to American citizens
began when in 1971 he was invited
to attend a presentation on the
importance of seapower by then
Captain now R. Adm. J.R.
Rohleder, in a building on the
Norfolk Naval Air Station.
The admiral was laying the
groundwork for the Seapower
Team concept.
Earnhardt attended.
Continued oa Page 4
The second meeting, a public
hearing, will be held at Hertford
County Courthouse in Winton at
7:30 P.M. on December 14. The
public hearing deals with CFl’s
application for a renewal of an
existing discharge permit which
expires December 31.
A.F. Mcßorie, director of DEM,
revealed here November 17 that
an estimated 1,200 pounds of algae
feeding nitrogen was entering the
rfl
JmZm ;ii|
Hege, left, chairman of the Petitions Committee and Richard S.
Coiner of Washington, chairman of Operation Overcharge unload
more petitions on Gov. Hunt. At his suggestion, the petitions were
forwarded to the Public Staff of the State Utilities Commission.
“Vepco says, ‘Price reductions
will take time, but Vepco has lost
sight of the fact that for more than
15 years their rates have been
consistently higher than Carolina
Power and Duke Power,” he
wrote.
“The people living in the area
served by Vepco are speaking out
Chowan County Picked
For Land Title Project
Chowan County has been selected for creation of a model land title
recordation project funded by the Department of Housing & Urban
Development. Once completed, the land records management system
could be duplicated by some 3,000 counties throughout the United States.
The $200,000 HUD grant will be administered by the State Department
of Administration.
The manual will be the only model developed in North Carolina under
the state-federal program which will cost the county approximately
SIO,OOO. The only county cost, according to County Manager Eddie Dick,
will be a 50 per cent match for “hardware”.
Dick explained that the system will make title searches easier and
quicker, thereby saving the property owner money. He said the cost
cutting feature of the system is what HUD officials are seeking.
The manager said because this is the only project in the state it will be
watched closely by both state and federal officials. Also, when completed
in the next two years, it will attract county leaders from all over the
country.
Chowan County was chosen because of a movement already afoot to
obtain new tax maps. That project will move forward at the same time as
the system is developed.
Dick pointed out that the state is moving to establish certain standards
for land records management, such as identification numbers for
various parcels. “Chowan County will already be on such a system when
it comes about,” he added.
Competition for the grant was keen, Dick noted, saying Chowan
received full cooperation from Sens. Melvin Daniels and J.J. (Monk)
Harrington and Rep. Vernon James.
Dick went to Raleigh Wednesday to meet with state and federal
representatives to establish the framework for this unique, innovative
project.
Legion Baseball Banquet Set
Edward G. Bond Post No. 40,
American Legion, will host the
N.C. American Legion Baseball
Hall of Fame banquet on January
27,1979. The event will be held at
the Legion Building on U.S. 17
business.
Commander Carl Freese said
this will mark the first time the
Hall of Fame banquet has been
held east of Greensboro. E.C.
Toppin is handling arrangements
for the event.
Inductees are:
John H. Moss of King’s Moun
river via unknown means from the
area around CFI. He emphasized
that the state has no evidence that
CFI in discharging any materials
with high concentration of
nitrogen is in violation of their
existing permit.
However, he did say closer
monitering would take place as
well as other measures announced
the week before by Sec. Howard N.
Continued on Page 4
Single Copies 15 Cents.
and do not feel they should be
penalized 19 to 40 per cent more
for electricity than our neighbors
in the Piedmont and Western
sections of North Carolina."
The Edenton-Chowan Chamber
of Commerce obtained 3,509
signatures on the petitions
presented to Gov. Hunt.
tain; Lawrence (Crash) Davis of
Gastonia and Greensboro; G.W.
(Bill) Leonard of Salisbury; and
Ralph Michael Caldwell of Tar
boro and Grafton, Wise.
A press conference with the
inductees will be held at 5 P M.
The social hour at 6 P.M. will be
followed by the 7 o’clock banquet.
The speaker will be announced at
a later date.
The 1978 American Legion state
championship team from Ashboro
and other state and national
Continaed mi Page 4