Vol. XLVI-No. 30
Public Parade
Harmony Needed
The death July 14 of Lester T.
Copeland shocked those who
meander along the Public Parade.
It also left a vacancy on Chowan
County Board of Commissioners,
and a blank on the November
ballot.
Responsibility for filling both
gaps lies with two groups • the
county commissioners and the
Democratic Executive Com
mittee. Mr. Copeland’s current
four-year term runs until
December 1 and his colleagues
must fill the vacancy. A
replacement for him on the
November ballot is to be named by
the Executive Committee.
The same person should be both
appointed and nominated. Har
mony is needed.
It is an open secret that C.A.
Phillips, commission chairman,
and N.J. George, committee
chairman, have been politically
crossed up for years. It was,
however, Mr. Phillips who
suggested that Mr. George be
appointed to the county board to
All the unexpired term of W.E.
Bond in 1970. Mr. George had just
won a primary election for the
First Township seat.
Chowan County needs a lot of
things; but not a four-month
county commissioner. The
inability of the commisssioners
and Democratic Party leaders
could cause an unnecessary rift in
November via a write-in cam
paign.
After December 1 there will be
no female representation on any
publicly elected board or com
mission along the Public Parade.
Mrs. Emily G. Amburn, the
-“token womqn” on Edenton-,,
Chowan Board of Education,
chose not to seek re-election..
It would be wise, in our opinion,
for the appointee-nominee from
the Third Township on Chowan
County Board of Commissioners to
be a woman. It would be a first,
but one which can be easily
justified. This can, however, come
about only through open com
munication and shared counsel
between commissioners and of
ficers in the Democratic Party.
Mr. Phillips controls .the county
board; Mr. George enjoys like
standing in the Democratic Party.
The awesome responsibility both
face at this time could be the
vehicle which could result in
restoration of mutual conficence,
respect and understanding among
these two community stalwarts.
A “we’ll show ’em” attitude is
certainly unnecessary. Not only is
it unnecessary, it just wouldn’t be
a display of proper respect for Mr.
Copeland. He’d want harmony.
The two groups can give it to the
community, in his memory.
Splendid Work
Another chapter has been
closed in the remarkable history
of the Tri-County Career
Education Center along the Public
Parade. A major part of the credit
for development of this unique
educational program must surely
go to Kenneth L. Stalls.
Mr. Stalls returns to his job of
vocational education in Chowan,
Gates and Perquimans counties
after a two-year stint as director
of the TCCEC Feasibility Study.
The results of his leadership in the
temporary assignment is borne
out by the fact that a three-year
study was completed a full 12
mooths ahead of schedule.
This newspaper has supported
the TCCEC concept from its in
ception. However, we did not
support Mr. Stalls’ appointment to
die study directorship. We have
the utmost respect for his ability,
but felt he would be “too close to
die fire” to develop a completely
objective, let alone saleable
report. He proved us wrong.
Mr. Stalls wasted little time in
mastering the bureaucratic lingo
and as his encore he left a $25,000
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
Continued on Page 4
■Sag lip r*v ■ -X; ft / B ' -' fiK: w ■ ■
1 W* JHfc Jt* Hi K /V Li L/
1* * 1 ~ w*’
* ■ v-v f - h ■ ■ ; - f : .' *
9
■
Hal? -g
b jjjL
J. Gilliam Wood
Scientists Assessing River Research
Seven scientists from federal
environmental research facilities
across the nation gathered
Monday in the Research Triangle
Park to begin a two-week
assessment of research on the
Chowan River algae problem.
Douglas Costle, administrator of
the U.S. Environmental Protec
tion Agency, assembled the
Chowan River Review Committee
in response to a request from Gov.
Jim Hunt. The committee will
report its findings and recom
Party Executives To Discuss
Commissioner Replacement
Chowan County Democratic
Executive Committee will meet
- Monday night to discuss the
selection of a person to replace the
late Lester T. Copeland on the
November ballot as county
commissioner from Third
Township. N.J. George, chairman,
said the meeting is set for 7 o’clock
at Mrs. Boswell’s Restaurant.
Mr. Copeland died suddenly
July 14. At the time of his death he
was completing a four-year term
on the county board. He was
seeking a second term without
opposition.
Under state law the Executive
Committee of the nominees party
is to select a replacement to go on
the ballot.
However, it is the responsibility
rr *,A' *
jliff
■■■ jn^Hßk
' |PP|
ON THE RUN First the boll weevil, shown above, was
eradicated in cotton in Chowan County. Now the focus of attention
is on the boll worm. A two-year worm program is gearing down
here but farmers hope a third year can be added to provide more
conclusive data.
Weevils Eradicated Ahead Os Schedule
By L.F. Amburn, Jr.
Chowan County has been the
focal point of an extensive boll
weevil eradication program which
involved cooperation of the
federal, state and locals govern
ment, as well as growers. The last
boll weevil was spotted here on
June 28, 1978.
Dr. Bob Jones, USDA methods
station leader, said Chowan
County was singled out a year
ahead of the exhausted project in
order that techniques could be
developed. This led to boll weevil
eradication a year ahead of'
schedule.
A spin off of the project was
more participation in an in
Edanton, North Carolina, Thursday, July 24, 1980
Environmeatalists Consider Lawsuit
The former chairman of the
State Board of Natural Resources
and Community Development has
crossed up with the Hunt Ad
ministration over attempts to
improve water quality in the
Chowan River and Albemarle
Sound.
J. Gilliam Wood of Hayes
Plantation now has assumed an
adversary position and convened a
group here Thursday where there
was strong discussion of a possible
class action suit. He said he sees
such action as plausable if it is
legal.
Ranking representatives of the
N.C. Wildlife Federation, N.C.
Fisherman’s Association, Sierra
Club and Conservation Council of
North Carolina, heard Wood
proclaim that to focus on the
mendations to Gov. Hunt and Gov.
John Dalton of Virginia.
Howard N. Lee, secretary of the
N.C. Department of Natural
Resources and Community
Development, said, “we welcome
these top scientists from across
the nation. We expect their
evaluation of our restoration
program to help us move as
quickly as possible to clean up this
great river.”
Lee said Alec Little, deputy
administrator for EPA Region IV,
of Chowan County commissioners
to appoint a person to serve the
unexpired term - which runs until
December 1. It is not known
whether or not such an ap
pointment will be considered at
the board’s regular meeting on
August 4.
There are apparently four men
currently being considered by the
21-member Democratic Executive
Committee. One source listed
them as Harry Lee Winslow, H.
Ivey Ward and Jimmy Hare. Ward
lost to Copeland in the 1976 elec
tion after David Bateman chose
not to seek re-election.
Earlier in the week three women
were said to be under con
sideration. They were: Mrs. Kay
Continued on Page 4
tegrated pest management
program aimed at handling the
boll worm. “We are trying to show
what can be done to get rid of the
worm,” he said. The end result
will be to get production costs
back in line through less expense
for chemicals.
This is the fourth year of the boll
weevil eradication trial in Chowan
County, Dr. Jones points out.
These experiments have resulted
in new technology.
A unique' situation arose here in
1979. This was the increase in
beneficial insects in the cotton
fields. Along with the pest
management use of these
beneficiab, the 1979 experiment
Chowan River and CF Industries
is “over-simplification of the vast
water quality problem in North
Carolina.”
“The people on the state level
are just not doing their job,” he
declared. “By some means we
have got to make the State of
North Carolina more sensitive
environmentally,” he added.
“Take it to your people,” he told
the representatives. “We must
start a statewide campaign to
clean up our waters.”
Charlie Shaw of the wildlife
federation; Vince Beilis of
Greenville, a ranking member of
conservation agencies; and Ross
Boyer of fisherman’s
association, agreed to assist local
efforts.
Boyer came armed with a
based in Atlanta, and Dr. A1
Morris, deputy administrator for
EPA Region 111, headquartered in
Philadelphia, will be co-chairmen
of the committee. He also pointed
out that representatives from the
environmental agencies for North
Carolina and Virginia will join the
panel of scientists.
Lee cited three principal tasks
the committee will face:
- To determine the technical
adequacy of the existing data base
and study results relative to the
best approach for solving the
algae bloom problem in the tidal
portion of the Chowan River.
- To review the existing bi-state
institutional arrangement and
develop recommendations for
modifications that encourage
closer coordination.
- To make specific recom
mendations for any additional
scientific evaluation necessary to
support regulatory controls.
The committee will visit the
Continued on Page 4
Law Proposal
Is Debated
A proposed change in the
classification of Albemarle Sound,
west of Highway 32 bridge, which
would require fishing license was
attacked here July 16 at a hearing
in the old Chowan County Cour
thouse. Speaker after speaker
spoke against the proposal and
before the hearing adjourned it
was turned into a discussion of
water quality.
Connell, Purvis, director,
Division of Marine Fisheries,
restated his position that every
agency should cooperate in
cleaning up Albemarle Sound,
Chowan River and all Tar Heel
waters. He said if corrective
action is not begun soon his
department will be out of business.
“Our business is to manage
fisheries and without fish to
manage we are out of business,”
he said.
Purvis made similar remarks
recently to Chowan County
commissioners. He said press
accounts of his statements created
a small furor in Raleigh. However,
he said he stands pat on his ob-
Continued on Page 4
showed that environmentally safe
microbial insecticides, chemical
ovicides, or reduced amounts of
pyrethroids could successfully
control the boll worm infestations.
Also, the release of sterile boll
weevils over the cotton acreage
area was a major program ac
tivity, Dr. Jones noted. This
release was done by distributing
the sterile weevils evenly over the
cotton fields by airplane. The
distribution was similar to aerial
application of pesticides.
This type release proved costly
and its effectiveness was
questioned. This year the ob
jective is to test the efficacy of
Continued on Page 4
petition bearing more than 700
signatures in opposition to ex
tending the permit of CF In
dustries. He was the most vocal
regarding court action. “We are a
little short of cash because this has
been a slow year,” he said. “But
we’ll do our part.”
Beilis said everyone must pull
together because basically
everyone is a contributor. He said
the built-up on the bottom of the
river and sound goes back as
much as 100 years and came from
agriculture and forestry before
industry. "It will take 25 to 30
years to clean itself out,” he
estimated.
Boyer said, however, the state’s
-•-'V • : JUI
liwurßiwnlß | }
Wh-
WP*mmh \
*>
* 1
WliWftf .. hBHII
'fe
t i fl m , r i
: H Iml i# •&
Ik ..—.n miwm $
i WmSm *
- x v WSk^
♦
DRAFT REGISTRATION UNDERWAY Young men such as
David Rea, shown in photo above, are registering for the draft
during the week of July 28. Forms are available at post offices
across the United States. About 4-million Americans born in 1960-
1961 are affected by the federal legislation passed this year.
Draft Registration Begun
Young men who were born in
1960 are going to post offices in
Chowan County and throughout
the United States this week,
registering for the draft. Those
born in 1961 must register the
week of July 28.
There are approximately 4-
million Americans in this age
group who must register in the
peacetime draft, under federal
legislation passed earlier this
summer.
Signup for the draft was ruled
illegal Friday by a federal court
panel. The U.S. Government is
seeking a stay of the ruling pen
ding appeal to the entire Supreme
Court.
However, Saturday a Supreme
Court justice signed a stay of
execution of the order. Authorities
said this means the draft signup is
proceeding as planned.
Postmaster James M. Bond of
the Edenton Post Office, said all
post offices have received
registration forms which the
young men are being asked to
complete during this two-week
period.
“It doesn’t make any difference
which post office they go to,” he
said. “In fact, they don’t even
have to register in the county.”
In addition to Edenton, the other
post offices in this county is at
Tyner.
Registration forms ask the
name, date of birth, Social
Security number, address and
telephone number. It is estimated
that it will take approximately one
minute to complete the form.
Failure to register is a felony
carrying a maximum penalty of
.
Single Copies 20 Cents
inaction is putting fishermen out
of business. “This is as far as we
are going,” he said the group
should tell the state. “We’re ready
to take some action.”
Wood said he recently told
Murray Nixon, Chowan County
fishery executive, that he felt
more comfortable sitting out in the
audience than “up front trying to
help sell what the state has been
trying to sell.”
There has been no public
response to Wood’s letter of
resignation to Gov. James B.
Hunt. Jr. In the March 6 letter,
W'ood said for many months he
had been “dismayed and often
Continued on Page 4
five years in prison and a SIO,OOO
fine.
Registering males must also
produce some type of iden
tification such as a driver's license
or a Social Security card Females
do not have to register under the
new law despite President Car
ter's initial request tor a both sex
registration.
President Carter has said
that registration will allow'
mobilization of recruits at a 90 to
100 day savings in times of
emergency
The last draft ended in 1975.
Park Vandals
Stir Discussion
The Town Council is seeking a
recommendation from the Parks
and Recreation Committee on how
to deal with vandalism in the
town’s several parks.
At a recent meeting,
administrator W.B. Gardner said
vandals had damaged the
restroom facilities at the water
front park and had dumped trash
over the area. Since the park has
been open, vandals have thrown
two park benches overboard and
have stolen all but one of the life
rings on the pier
“At another neighborhood park,
we had a whole basketball goal be
taken down and disappear,’’ he
said. “And that was within a
stone’s throw of several homes.”
Councilman J P Ricks said the
problem was not confined to town
property. Basketball goals on the
St. Anne's Catholic Church
Continued on Page 4