Vdl. XLVI-No. 13 MANUFACT URIN& EMPLOYMENT VEPCO VS. STATEWIDE 38 b i i 20 ■ — ;===B , —- * > "7 ' % II 21 7 71 73 74 75 70 77 71 1 i yurt VEPCfI .i.i —. (15 counties, including Halifax) STATEWIDE Public Parade Pointing The Finger Readi Kilowatt, a character drawn to appear like a bolt of lightning, has long been the em blem of the electric utility in dustry. The emblem usually ap peared in red. Remember? Readi Kilowatt is not used much anymore. The consumer sees red now at the very thought of the cost of electricity; and justly so. It is especially true in 22 counties of Eastern North Carolina served by Virginia Electric and Power Company. Sixteen communities and six rural co-ops purchase electricity wholesale and re-sell it to 56,000 customers. In the case of Edenton, the retail rate “tracks” Vepco’s, which is paid by another 70,500 customers. Operation Overcharge, a volunteer consumer group, was on Vepco’s high rates which in part are claimed to be the result of mismanagement. Stan Hege of Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce spearheaded a petition drive which resulted in Gov. Jim Hunt calling for an investigation by the N. C. Utilities Commission. The finger pointing hasn’t stopped with that inquiry. Only recently the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D. C., instructed staff to conduct an eight-month indepth study of Vepco. Sen. Robert Morgan, Rep. Walter B. Jones of the First Congressional District, and Rep. Robert W. Daniel, Jr., of Virginia’s Fourth District, have played a key role in happenings at the national level. Meanwhile, two newly organized Power Agencies in Tar Heelia are moving ahead with negotiations to obtain joint ownership in generation facilities of Carolina Power & Light Company. This ultimately would result in CP&L serving Vepco’s area in Eastern North Carolina. The Town of Edenton and Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation are members of Power Agency No. 2. Representatives of Power Agency No. 2 met earlier this month in Richmond with top Vepco officials to discuss the eventual termination of Vepco service to the members. In earlier strong language, Gov. Hunt invited Vepco to get out of North Carolina. Among his charges that Vepco’s high rates are detrimental to industrial development in Northeastern North Carolina. Vepco has claimed that Gov. Hunt played a numbers game by including 14 comities in the figures he used, conveniently leaving out Halifax Comity, a county which has 96 per cent coverage by Vepco. Vepco says figures supplied by the N. C. Bureau of Employment Security Research for the 15 counties in which Vepco is the primary electric supplier (in cluding Halifax! show this area has outpaced the state. (See chart.) «Continued on Page 4 ' | ft I ' I—l I 1 \lkf A l\l U Ihi fcr A I 1 § ■ m j fl H BMHB H mm H Mb .ißi B ™ , * i Bi B Bmbiß Bi Bi Bbbß B^ Revaluation Will Increase Chowan County Tax Base Revaluation of property, scheduled to begin this spring with a completion date of July 1, 1981, can be expected to result in a higher tax base but a lower tax rate, reported Bob Carroll, president of Carroll-Phelps Ap praisal Co., in a conference Wednesday morning. The Winston-Salem based firm was awarded a $125,000 contract by the county for this project. New values will be posted by January 1, Gov. James B. Hunt Hunt To Visit Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr., will bring his bid for re-election to Chowan County on April 9. He will greet voters at the Chowan County Courthouse on Broad Street at 2 P.M. on that day. James C. (Pete) Dail and Sheriff Troy Toppin, co-chairmen for the Hunt For Governor com mittee here, said the visit will probably be the only one Gov. Hunt makes to this county prior to the May 6 Democratic Primary election. “We hope that a good number of citizens from throughout the county will come to the courthouse on April 9 at 2 P.M. to personally meet Gov. Hunt,” it was stated. f 1 «*s>’%, - : C^B' i f©S^^^^^Hcvg|j'}S4pi>';^^^B^' :^f ; ;'{f% ■. ymuasSmxskM *** Hf —a »■ ■% ¥-t **w ~ tRSI jfS\ M M vfv ■ ■?« ft* B Sr .a BPW v i |Bh| ~ m f ; . 3. __ Hp ■M ; 'J£ - m.fti T&CC I «s*/| ' ,' 4* ,'4, #** /"11V \ ""'r hPWP, V*l » * v>»o*r\ #«Sfpßt^ TREE CITY, USA —Nomination of Edenton for the Tree City, USA award brought with it various gifts proclaiming the designation, including a flag, road signs and a wall plaque. Displaying the gifts, from the left, is Ralph Winkwirth, director of the Division of Forest Resources, Mayor Roy L. Harrell, W. B. Gardner, town* administrator, Rodney Swink, landscape architect, and Roger Spivey, Chowan County Forest Ranger. * v . ■* % ~-4;; ■ ' . :\*. • ' . Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, March 27, 1980 1982 and will be used for budgeting starting in the 1982-83 fiscal year. Carroll said it was important for property owners to understand that revaluation will result in an equalization of the tax burden and will bring property values in line with the true market values. A uniform schedule of market prices in the form of a tax assessment manual will be presented for review and approval by the tax office before going to the county commissioners for adoption as the assessed valuation of properties. All assessed values will be based on 100 per cent of the appraised value, as is required by law. “With today’s inflated real estate prices, it would be natural to assume that revaluation will add a great deal to the tax base enabling the county to adopt a much lower tax rate,” Phelps commented to Cliff Copeland, county manager, Jethro, tax supervisor. At the same time, he said it is impossible at this point to estimate which classes of property will be the most effected. “The final results will have different impacts on different property owners,” Carroll said. “As the equalization process goes into effect, some property will be valued more, some will stay the Continued On Page 4 Edenton Receives Tree City, USA Award Edenton became one of only six municipalities, this year, to earn the National Tree City, USA award sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation. In an informal ceremony last Thursday afternoon at the Municipal Building, Ralph Winkworth, director of the N. C. Division of Forest Resources presented to Mayor Roy L. Harrell a plaque, Tri-County Career Center Progress Report Is Heard HERTFORD The wraps wore taken off this week of tentative space summary and proposed program areas for the Tri-County Career Education Center to serve Chowan, Gates and Perquimans counties. The estimated cost is nearly $5-million. Clifford Winslow, chairman of the feasibility Steering Com mittee, and Kenneth L. Stalls, project director, said Monday that once the committee approves the document efforts will begin im mediately to secure “brick and mortar” money. Up until this time no local funds have gone into the two-year project. Coastal Plains Regional Commission and the State Department of Public Instruction have provided funds for this unique concept which Stalls says . is already drawing attention from other areas of North Carolina. “They are coming in to see how we are putting it together,” Stalls said. Junior Livestock Show, Sale Set The twenty-sixth annual Chowan County Junior Livestock Show and Sale will be held Tuesday, April 8, at the American Legion Fair Grounds. The show will be at 2:30 P.M. and sale at 7:30 P.M. Eighteen boys and girls will show hogs and seven steers. Nine trophies will be presented by the following businesses: Albemarle Production Credit, Peoples Bank g_ . rrv,,o4 PAmnonv TUliFnhftnoi.’o ' ArUftu. - S - Pharmacy, Hollowell & Blount Rexall Drug Store, Albemarle Motor Company, Chowan Farm Bureau, Edenton Savings and Loan Association, J. H. Conger & Son, and Albemarle Cooperative Association. Judges for the show will be Bruce Shankle, Livestock Marketing Specialist for the North Carolina Department of Continued On Page 4 road signs and flag in recognition of urban forestry efforts begun about 10 years ago. Winkworth said, “The Tree City, USA award is not just an honorary promotion but is one of real ac complishment.” He pointed out that in order to receive this award, a town must enact a tree or dinance, appoint a tree board and have a comprehensive program or Furthermore,, Winslow, who is president of the State School Boards Association, is encouraged by the spin-offs which are al ready developing. The thrust at this time, he added, is to convince every possible funding agency that they need to be a part of this unique program. The tentative programs number 26 and the proposed facility would be able to handle 600 contracts per day. There are some 2,019 students in the target area within the three counties. It is proposed that a 104,370- square-foot facility be built at an PROGRESS REPORTED ON TRI-COUNTY PROJECT Clifford Winslow, right, chairman of the Steering Committee for Tri-County Career Education Center, and Kenneth Stalls, project director, discuss details of tentative space requirements and program areas. Development of the curriculum has been top priority in Phase II and 111 this year. »MjpMnnii j - t rn j Census Day Is 1 uesday Next Tuesday, April 1 is an important day in Edenton as well as in all of the U.S. That is the day 1980 Census forms are to be mailed back. Local officials have joined in encouraging each household to take a few minutes to complete the census questionnaire. The form takes relatively little urban forestry that includes a budget representing at least $1 per citizen. Receiving the award, Mayor Harrell commented, “Edenton is a town that is proud of its history, its waterfront and its trees, and not necessarily in that order.” “We are happy when you come to see what we have and not just when you come bearing gifts,” he said. Earlier W. B. Gardner, town administrator, said Edenton’s urban forestry program began about 10 years ago when NCSU performed a tree inventory as a first step in the project. Since then, he said, there has been progress in planting in new sub divisions and removing old and diseased trees. Landscaping of the entrances into the town is ex pected to be completed in the next few years. He reported that a $23,000 contract was recently awarded for landscaping of the new waterfront park. Gardner also commended Rodney L. Swink, a landscaping architect with Forest Resources for his assistance. Milan J. Muzinich, regional manager of the Department of Natural Resources and Com munity Development,' represented Secretary Howard Lee at the presentation. Muzinich said the secretary sent his congratulations and said the award was one that showed “total community in volvement.” Muzinich also cited Chowan County Forest Ranger Roger Spivey for a job well done. Single Copies 20 Cents estimated cost of about $4-million. Another sl-million would provide the necessary furniture and equipment. Stalls and Winslow both stressed that development of such a center would not compete with College of The Albemarle. “We propose to send them a better product,” Stalls said. COA President Parker Chesson is working closely with the tri-county group. Stalls said the intent is to insure that there are no surprises along the way. To accomplish this the committee has involved the Continued on Page 4 time for a household to complete, about 15 minutes for the short version with 19 questions and about 45 minutes for the long form with 65 questions. Only about one in six households, selected at random, has received the long form. Data collected from the census provides the basis for fairly ap portioning the seats in the House of Representatives. In recent years, court rulings on the one person, one-vote principal have led many state and even local governments to use census data to draw legislative district and ward boundaries. So if people are missed by the census, it means a potential loss of political representation at all levels of government. The 1980 census will provide information that is used to direct the distribution of millions of dollars in federal funds to state and local governments. Latest estimates place the cost of the census, spread over 10 years, at nearly sl-billion. Each year, through revenue sharing and about 100 other federal programs, much more than that is allocated to states and smaller jurisdictions in a single month according to their population. Information received through the census can be helpful to community groups in setting up programs and even in con struction plans. While the census is mandatory, all answers are protected from Continued On Page 4 Spring Concert The Edenton Chorale Society will present its annual spring concert this Sunday, March 30, at 4 o’clock at Edenton Baptist Church. The program consists of selections from the Easter portion of Handel’s Messiah as well as anthems and spirituals ap propriate to the Easter season. The public is cordially invited to attend.

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