s iLif *
Living Dangerously
Chowan County’s tentative 1980-
81 budget is now on record. It
requires a modest five-cent ad
valoreni tax increase. If all budget
requests had been funded the
increase would have been 27 cents.
The alarming fact is the $215,000
being budgeted from Federal
Revenue Sharing Funds. Should
Congress not continue this
program Chowan County will be in
deep, deep trouble. Each penny on
the tax rate increases revenue by
$13,783. This means the an
ticipated federal funds have kept
the tax rate 15.6 cents lower.
It will be after the county’s
budget has been adopted and the
tax rate set before final word on
this federal money is received.
Therefore, the commissioners are
living dangerously, to say the
least.
In neighboring Bertie County, a
41-cent tax increase is being
proposed. This is primarily due to
a more conservative attitude
toward Federal Revenue Sharing
Funds. There only revenue for two
months is being budgeted.
Bertie, like Chowan, is faced
with less increase in the tax base
than in prior years. There the in
crease was 4.47 per cent; in Chowan
a mere 1.7 per cent. In Bertie each
penny of tax will yield $25,050 at a
'92 per cent collection rate. Chowan
budgets on a 95 per cent collection
rate.
There is some criticism along
the Public Parade over funds to
open the new Detention Facility.
The amount is $77,719, or 5.64-
cents on the tax rate. Meanwhile,
in Bertie the county is putting
$300,000 or (11.97 cents per SIOO
valuation) into first year money
for a regional jail in Williamston.
And once it is built the cost of
operations will be greater than
what is being spent locally.
The Chowan board’s Finance
Committe, composed of J. D.
Peele and George Jones, has
presented what could be called
this county’s tightest budget.
They have kept the expenditures in
line with a 4.3 per cent increase
in revenue.
State law mandates that all
levels of government have a
balanced budget. Anticipating
$215,000 in yet unappropriated
federal money is not only living
dangerously but may be unlawful.
It doesn’t take a wizard with
figures to see that any change in
expenditures in this budget cannot
come from within. It will have to
be in the form of additional in
crease to the tax rate. If the
property owners are willing to
pay, the commissioners should be
willing to levy. But how are they to
know?
Maybe the answer has been
found in the State of Washington.
There the state has assumed
responsibility for basic public
education, for example. Any other
funds must come from the school
district in the form of a special
levy approved by the voters
biennially. Probably only then will
true accountability be realized.
In the whole, however, it ap
pears that Chowan County
property owners cannot bear any
greater burden in the form of
taxation. The commissioners
apparently are willing to live
dangerously this year. That’s a
little further than they should be
asked to go.
Touching Base
It was refreshing Thursday
afternoon to return to the Public
Parade after a couple of days in
the Capital City. The trip, though,
allowed us to touch base with
groups and individuals in which
we have special interests.
Wednesday afternoon, we, along
with David Bateman of Tyner, and
other Advisory Council members
of the School of Agriculture and
Life Sciences, N. C. State
University, were joined by
representatives of commodity
groups at the Faculty Club. Dean
Ed Legates called the meeting to
discuss limits on change budget
requests to the General Assembly
for 1981-83.
Extension, headed by Dr.
Carlton Blalock, and Research,
headed by Dr. Durwood Bateman
(a native of Chowan County)
Continued on Page 4
‘Textbook’ Conditions Result In Algae Bloom
By L. F. Amburn, Jr.
North Carolina’s No. 1 fisher
man has joined the long list of
people in government, business
and the private sector who con
tinue to express alarm over algae
blooms in the Chowan River.
Connell E. Purvis, director,
Division of Marine Fisheries,
recently told Chowan County
commissioners his agency is
applying pressure at every
possible source to get the almost
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Connell E. Purvis
Public Hearing On Town Budget Set
A public hearing on the Town of
Edenton budget for 1980-81 has
been slated for June 23 at 6 P.M- at
the Municipal Building. The
tentative budget of $6,163,725 was
presented to the Town Council,
Tuesday night, during its regular
monthly meeting.
Based on a valuation of $55-
million, the property tax rate will
be 79 cents per SIOO valuation with
a collection rate of 95 per cent. The
tax rate will be up five cents over
1979-80.
The total figure calls for a
general fund of $1,272,853, and
$620,000 in capital outlay. In ad
dition, $65,000 will come from the
Powell Bill fund, $3,732,836 from
the electric fund, and $407,488
from the water-sewer fund. Only
one-half, $65,548, of the Revenue
Sharing fund was budgeted
pending action of Congress.
W. B. Gardner, town ad-
Law Changed
A change in the town ordinance
relating to alcoholic beverages
was unanimously approved by the
Town Council. Tuesday night, and
enforcement will begin im
mediately.
The ordinance now makes it
unlawful to possess or consume
any alcoholic beverage in a public
place. W. B. Gardner, town ad
ministrator, said previously the
ordinance only effected those seen
consuming alcoholic beverages.
The new law has been extended to
include the possession of open
containers on streets, in parking
lots, in alleys, on sidewalks or in
businesses frequented by the
general public.
The ordinance was modeled
after one recently adopted in
Elizabeth City.
|&u^ Jj|? |nK
Property Owners Association now ha* . m.*< o* the 12 miles of
mmm subdivision streets on the State Mav ■ The streets
mm MHHHHpvfIH were formerly opened June 4v\:t r: Hep. \ernon
WMtiiM James, left, assisted the associatie: .--.at ion passed
m/m «yflH|jj[HkJHj designating the area as a Wildlife .>.r . t v Al Howard.
188 l "wHHBIfiH head of the Arrowhead group. M<->\ .:.' oi Hare County.
■HHH IfIHHHp/jl'fM State Board of Transportation mem lei w.d < 'hairman C. A
rasgHHH '&■ Phillips of Chowan County Commissi •■ - ■ participated. At
gPPpf Hp left is one of the handsome signs posted in the area. Property
necessary for the project.
criminal situation corrected.
Saying “fish is my business”,
Purvis did note, however, that
landings in the Albemarle Sound
Basin were up 1-million pounds
this year. Credit for some of this
goes to enforcement (headed here
by Carlton Nixon) which has been
successful in keeping foreign ships
off the Tar Heel coast, he noted.
Meanwhile, environmental
officials of the Department of
Natural Resources and Com
munity Development have sighted
algae blooms in the river, Edenton
Bay and in tributaries to the lower
portions of the river. Capt. A1
Howard of Arrowhead, chairman
of the Chowan River Restoration
Task Force, said evidence of algae
blooms were reported two weeks
earlier than in 1979.
The temperature and rainfall
patterns this winter and spring
«4fTHF punWAN HPR AID
Tfgp i nil v>nu wAn nLi\ALu
Vol. XLVI-No. 24
ministrator, said three of the main
expenditures will be $40,000 as the
first payment on a solid waste
transfer station. SBO,OOO for a new
deep well at Beaver Hill, and
$500,000 for construction of a new
waste water treatment plant.
Town employees will receive a
10 per cent cost of living pay in
crease.
Following a brief public
hearing, the council unanimously
approved certain changes in the
Zoning Ordinance relating :
development of subdivisions in
order to clarify and make en
forcible the requirements of the
text.
A request by Bernard P
Burroughs for $7,000 in financial
assistance to provide sewer line>
for a medical arts subdivision o,
Hicks Street behind Chowan
Hospital was turned down, j-2.'in
requested the town to pay the
difference in cost of digging
trenches to 11 feet instead of the
standard eight feet. Burroughs
said the additional depth would be
needed to adequately serve
property owners as the tract is
developed.
Councilman Gil Burroughs, in
moving to deny the request,
suggested that the additional cost
be passed on the purchasers.
Voting in favor of the motion
were councilmen Burroughs, W
H. Hollowed, and Steve Hampton
Against the motion were coun
cilmen Harry Spruill and J. P
Ricks. Councilman Allen Hornthal
excused himself from voting due
to conflict of interest.
Street and sanitation depart
ment employees will have the
weekend off, beginning June 21
Gardner said the full crew had
been reporting to work for 2' 2
hours each Saturday to sweep the
have provided “textbook con
ditions” for the blooms, according
to Dr. Robert Holman of the
Division of Environmental
Management, the scientist in
charge of state government’s
From Va. Water Control Board
‘Nasty Paper’ Is Distributed
The Virginia State Water
Control Board has distributed
what has been labeled a “nasty
paper' concerning the algae
problems in the Chowan River,
along with steps being taken to
correct the problem. Seventy-five
per cent of the Chowan River
Basin is in Virginia.
See. Maurice B. Rowe of
Virginia’s Commerce and
Resources suggested in a tran
ton North Carolina, Thursday. June 12. 1980
sidewalks and clean the street
downtown, prior to business
openings. In !he future, Broad
Street will: be cleaned Friday
night and downtown merchants
will i>c asked to sweep the
sidewalks from the front of their
businesses t > the curb, Saturday
nights at closing time.
Hearing June 19
ii: Kl’i )Ri)—\ public hearing
will be hr;*? here June 19 on the
Area Aging Plan for 1981-83. The
lieanty.; bb- at the Albemarle
Region ’ pi.jnning & Development
( 'init" office, beginning at 2
P.M.
'«!>■ \(!,i»er\ Council to the 10-
(Oiinlv \r<- .sruey on Aging will
cttinloc! the i> at ing, according to
'.ii-toi/ l« >• program ad
ni'.iistt nlor
A copv of the document is
awi! '■ public inspection at
ARPIK
Construction Contracts To Be Awarded
1 ;•- ire ready to be
ruction of a new
tard Armory in
EdenfoiT. Yo.tai cost of the project
is A: 1,560 54 The armory will be
located w a seven-acre site at
Ivi, n;on Municipal Airport.
VV ,B. Gardner, town ad
rainist rator, said Monday the local
shati oi th project is $70,411.50.
The town will pay $46,936.31 with
the count s contributing $23,475.19.
The site where the old Ad
ministration Building was located
on Base Road, was obtained from
Edenton Airport Commission. The
state has $75,199.48 into the
project.
Mai. >■< a William E. Ingram,
research in to Chowan algae
problems.
Purvis, traveling the circuit of
coastal counties, said his mission
is to bring local and state gov
ernments closer together through
smittal letter of the department’s
“issue paper” that the problem
can only be corrected by
“allowing our technical folks to
proceeed and bring to us their
recommendations.” Sec. Howard
N. Lee of the N.C. Department of
Natural Resources and Com
munity Development had no
immediate response to Rowe’s
letter or contents in the “issue
Continued on Page 4
'
HARBOR STUDY PROGRESSES A bottom survey of
Edenton Bay and nearby waters was completed, Monday, by
team members from East Carolina University and the Un
derwater Archaeology branch of the Department of Archives and
History. Dr, William Still, ECU history professor, said the
remainder of the five week study period will be used to in
vestigate various targets and to possibly recover some items.
Among those targets will be the wreckage of a 105-foot sailing
vessel found at the mouth of Pembroke Creek near John’s Island.
N. C. adjutant general, told The
Chowan Herald the facility is one
of two being let to contract this
year . A contract was let in May for
a facility in Morganton and the
replacement program is begin
ning to lag because of fewer
federal funds.
“We’re in good shape as far as
state funds are concerned,” Gen.
Ingram said, “and local com
munities seem to be ready with
their share.”
Gen. Ingram is a native of
Elizabeth City and has been in
terested in the Edenton project
long before he was named ad
jutant general. - 'I hope we can get
the contracts signed and people on
the job before the end of the
month,” he said.
The Town of Edenton has a long-
Brown Takes Bank Post
ROCKY MOl NT - Peoples
Bank and Trust Company recently
announced the promotion of
James E. Brown, Jr., to city
executive of its Edenton branches.
Brown is a vice president and
formerly worked in the Com
mercial Loan Department at the
Rocky Mount main office.
Formerly associated with First
Citizens Bank and Waccamaw
Bank, he is a graduate of East
Carolina University and the
American Bankers Association
National Commercial Lending
School.
Brown has been active in many
civic and community
organizations. He is Nash County
chairman of the N. C. Bankers
Association, president of the Tar
River Kiwanis Club, It. governor
elect of the Carolina District of the
Kiwanis Club, president-elect of
the Rocky Mount Children’s
Museum Board, member of the
Board of Directors of the United
Community Services, chairman of
frank “discussions about the
fishing industry. “We want to see
the most number of fish caught,
and get the top dollar for catches
without destroying the
population,” he said. Backing him
up here was W T . Earl Smith of
Rocky Hock, a member of the N.
C. Marine Fisheries Commission
who keeps steady pressure on
state officials about the Chowan
problem; Harold Johnson of
Elizabeth City, a marine biologist;
and Nixon, chief of enforcement in
the area.
Chowan County ranks sixth in
the quantity of commercial fish
landings and 10th in the money
volume. Purvis said fishermen
were paid some $500,000 at the
dock for their catches; with a total
economic impact of between $4
and $5-million.
Continued on Page 4
Single Copies 20 Cents.
range plan for renovating the
existing armory on North Broad
Street into a comprehensive
recreation center. Gardner did not
indicate when the first phase of the
plan would be implemented.
Wimco. Corp . of Washington
was low bidder on the general
construction with $417 788, Lenoir
Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc., of
Kinston, plumbing at $27,483;
Climate Craft, Inc., of
Washington, heating and air
Conditioning at $43,495; and
Stuart-Shinn. Inc., of Greenville,
electrical, at $27,250.
Elbert McPhaul. Jr., chief,
engineering and facilities for the
N. C. National Guard, said the bids
were received May 29. The total
construction cost was $14,384 less
Continued on Page 4
the nocKy Mount Chamber of
Commerce Division of New
Business Development, and a
deacon and Sunday school teacher
at the First Presbyterian Church.
He and his wife, the former
Luanne Roebuck of Williamston.
have one daughter. Amanda.
p I|lH|
James E. Brown. Jr.