Herring - Bad News!
The early predictions regarding
herring in the Chowan River didn’t
materialize this year. Scientists
saw Signs which led them to
- believe fishermen would have one
of the best seasons in recent years.
A few good catches were reported
but Murray Nixon’s prediction was
better than that of others. Herring
Was bad news!
hi fact, the state’s river herring
harvest this year was the lowest
pn record, and biologists suspect
dry weather and pollution from
Union Camp in Virginia are to
blame.
The following report tells the
story:
The spring harvest totaled about
4.3-million pounds, a drop of 2-
million pounds from last year.
This year’s catch, worth about
$>300,000 to fishermen, sank below
tile previous low of 5.1-million
pounds in 1979.
v Michael W. Street, the research
and development chief of the N. C.
Division of Marine Fisheries, said
state agencies are investigating
the possibility that the poor
harvest in the Chowan River was
related to a discharge from a
Union-Camp paper mill on a
tributary of the river in Virginia.
The Chowan contains the state’s
major river herring fishing
grounds.
He said fishermen blamed the
discharge, which discolored the
river water for weeks, but state
officials cannot yet prove a link.
“The fishermen think so, and on
the face of it there is circumstantial
evidence that there is a
relationship,” Street said.
The paper mill, located on the
Blackwater River at Franklin,
Va., has a permit to discharge
wastewater into the river between
December and March in a volume
depending on the river level. The
discharge usually takes about 35
days to flush out of the river, but
low water levels due to an area
drought increased the time to an
estimated 85 days.
According so Street, the dar£
polluted water was in the river
when the herring entered to
spawn. He said it may have kept
the fish from areas where they are
usually caught.
Normally about 85 per cent of
the state’s herring catch comes
from the Chowan, but the river
accounted for only half of this
year’s catch. The decline occurred
despite indications of large
numbers of the fisFi in the ocean,
which is usually a sign of a good
harvest.
Street said the state is working
with environmental agencies in
Virginia and with officials of the
paper mill to alleviate problems
from the discharge. He said the
decline in the river herring fishery
was related to other en
vironmental problems in the river.
Before 1970, fishermen caught 10
to 12-million pounds annually from
the river.
Switching Aisles
The law profession has its ups
and downs, just like anything else.
There are those men and women
who like the excitement afforded
by the practice of criminal law.
likewise, there are those who
prefer to match wits with others
on the civil law side.
It takes a particular breed to
possess the talent in today’s
complex world to successful blend
criminal and civil law. While D.
Keith Teague of the Isle of
Pasquotank hasn’t tried his wings
on the civil side, his success as a
prosecutor in the First Judicial
District will make it easier for him
to weavein the thread for balance.
Keith is affectionally known
along the Public Parade and
throughout Northeastern North
Carolina as “the tall man with a
bow tie.” In his seven years as
assistant to District Attorney Tom
Watts he has represented the
public with skill and dignity.
Although mild mannered by
nature, it is not uncommon for his
face to flush up and his speech
increase in volume as he puts
biQself totally into the situation at
hand.
Keith Teague and Tom Watts
have matched skill with some of
the most able defenders in the
bukiness. They have racked up
mdre successes than failures. It
Continued on page 4
N 1
) ' x
Efficiency Councils Created
Gov. Jim-Hunt has signed an
executive order creating a County
Transportation Efficiency Council
in Chowan County and each of
North Carolina’s 100 counties.
Under the executive order, the
councils “will examine the work
program, policies, methods and
operations of each Department of
Transportation county main
tenance unit” and “make
recommendations to the governor
and the Board of Transportation
on improving efficiency and
productivity in those units.”
Each council will have five to 10
members appointed by the
governor, as well as an ex-officio
member of the Board of Trans
portation serving with them.
Mr .
d:- ...
.. .
COMMUNITY WATCH PROGRAM PROMOTED Tony
-Yoong, left, of the N. C. Department of Crime Control and Public
Safety, admires a handsome personal protfolio being distributed
to promote the Chowan County Community Watch Program. C.
B. Smith, chairman, holds the portfolio. Others pictured are
Police Chief J. D. Parrish and Sheriff Troy Toppin. Nine local
businesses sponsored the project which was handled by Portfolio
Specialists of Edenton.
Conference Stresses Individuality For Women
The women who attended the
governor’s leadership conference
Saturday at Holmes High School
were told that “you need to do
those things that fulfill you as an
individual and as a woman,” by
Juanita M. Bryant.
Mrs. Bryant, executive director
of the N. C. Leadership
Development for Women,
delivered the keynote address at
the conference luncheon.
Stating that the traditional roles
of women are changing, she told
the group that only seven percent
of the state’s families are the
“ideal” -a working husband, the
housekeeping mother, and two
children. The economic situation
'
' 1 ggjg | pgtf V" ?,i ' Ig > Jig jjl 1 |p§ J ~ K
wT~ H mi JBpv VI
tSW*' YTVw: ~ ' X
□Pi-' . -\HI .siSHj
IN / v - .Ȥ
■ 1 10 V , I ■
■.,x Jk - * %. x .tJjA
H
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE OFFICIALS Mrs. Betty Manning, left, and
Mrs. Beth Taylor, right, co-chaired the Governor’s Conference on Leadership Development for
Women which was held Saturday in Holmes Auditorium. Shown with them are Betsy Kelly of
Greenville, second from left, and Ann June Heffelfinger, also of Greenville, presenters at the
conference. Some 70 women from throughout Chowan County attended.
W. B. Gardner
Marc Basnight of Dare County,
a member of the Board of Trans
portation, said Tuesday that the
council members in Chowan
County have not yet been ap
pointed. He added that recom
mendations are now being
received and will be forwarded to
Gov. Hunt for action in the near
future.
In announcing his order
establishing the councils last
week, Gov. Hunt said, “this will
give citizens someone to go to
when they have complaints about
a maintenance crew wasting time,
or not doing a thorough job, or
whatever it may be.”
He added, “I would particularly
Continued on page 4
■ *
has made it necessary that women
get in the work force. Mrs. Bryant
told the women that it is important
that they have their own identity.
The meeting in Chowan County
was one of many she has had
across the United States and
abroad. Mrs. Bryant, who lives in
Boonville, has spoken to women’s
groups in 47 states.
Mrs. Bryant was the first
woman to be appointed to chair a
state board in North Carolina. She
has been presented the
Distinguished Citizen of North
Carolina Award by Governor
James B. Hunt. Having been
spotlighted by the Raleigh News
and Observer as “Tarheel of the
Gardner Submits Resignation; Says
Controversy Was Not A Factor
W. B. Gardner, town ad
ministrator in Edenton for more
than 20 years, submitted his
resignation Tuesday. He asked in
a letter to Mayor Roy L. Harrell
that the resignation be effective
July 4.
The four paragraph letter, dated
Monday, was distributed to
members of the Town Council and
was shared with department
heads at the regular weekly
session Tuesday morning in the
Municipal Building.
Gardner did not disclose his
plans for the future. “I believe I
have an opportunity now that
might now be available to me a
few years down the road,” he
wrote. He said “there comes a
time when one must look to the
future, for himself and his
family.”
1 ~ - - • ...
Vol. XLVI - No. 23
Northeastern N.C. Tomorrow
Task Force Launched
WILLIAMSTON A movement
to establish a Northeastern North
Carolina Tomorrow Task Force
was launched here Wednesday of
last week as leaders from a 16-
county area met to prepare for the
future. The action, as proposed,
would center around Elizabeth
City State University and the five
community colleges located in the
region.
A ranking state offical, Sec. Joe
Grimsley of the Department of
Administration, put forth the
suggestion that “maybe this area
should be promoted as Norfolk”
since it is isolated from Raleigh.
Anyway, he warned, the area
must prepare to live with fewer
state and federal dollars.
Sec. Grimsley said as
discussions continue there are a
number of important topics which
Week,” she has also been named
among Who’s Who in American
Women. She is married and the
mother of three children.
The conference opened with the
group being welcomed by Chowan
County Manager, Cliff Copeland,
and a morning devotion presented
by Mrs. Louise Goodwin.
Leader of the first workshop was
attorney Ann Heffelfinger of
Greenville who gave very in
formative facts on “Women and
the Law.” Dan and Betsy Kelly of
Greenville led an “Assertiveness
Training” session. She is a
forensic specialist for Pitt County,
and he is director of staff
Continued On Page 4
The administrator also pointed
out that a recent controversy over
bids for police vehicles did not
enter into his decision to resign.
“It came as a complete surprise
to me,” Mayor Harrell said when
he was contacted Tuesday mor
ning. “We wish him well in
anything he chooses to do,” he
added. “We’ve been together for
along time, about 10 years.”
The Mayor continued: “He
assures me, as his letter stated,
that the recent controversy has
nothing to do with his decision.”
Mayor Harrell said he had not
made a decision about calling a
special council meeting to begin
preparing to take applications,
but hinted that he might wait until
the next regular meeting - June 9
- to take action.
Gardner’s letter included the
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, May 28, 1981
would lead to a better future for
the region. One, he pointed out, is
the fact that five state parks
already exist and they should be
enlarged. Furthermore, he ex
pressed hopes that the 400th An
niversary of the founding of
American (1984-87) would leave a
lasting affect, such as the Wright
Memorial.
Robert Jernigan of Hertford
County, a former legislator and
chairman of the board of Roanoke-
Chowan Technical College, said
the region is fortunate to have a
governor who is willing to help.
But, he emphasized, the people in
the area must demonstrate thaf
they can help themselves.
Jernigan listed the region’s
assets as: water supply, trainable
work force, nearness to Northern
markets, fair transportation and
tourism. With these assets and
“this group gathered here today
we can do anything we want to
do,” he added.
Earlier, Joe Parkfer, publisher
of regional newspapers in Ahoskie
and a member of Gov. James B.
Hunt, Jr.’s State Goals and Policy
Board, opened the meeting at
Martin Community College as
describing the area as a “basket
case” in regards to economic
development and balanced
growth. He blamed this posture on
the fact that the area is discon
nected, unorganized, and un
willing at the present time to help
Irrigation Seminar
Set For June 3rd
An irrigation seminar is set tor
June 3 at the American Legion
Building on West Queen Street
Extended with a field trip set for
the following day. R. M. (Pete)
Thompson of Peoples Bank &
Trust Company will preside.
Charles D. Sopher of RJR
Technical Company at Avoca will
open the session at 7 P.M. with a
discussion of “Comparison of
Irrigation Systems.’’ Other
speakers include: Vern Parker of
Tom Crockett Irrigation Com
pany in Williamston; William A.
Stalls of Revelle Agri-Products of
Murfreesboro; Ronald E. Sneed of
N. C. State University in Raleigh.
Discussion of irrigation of com,
peanuts and tobacco will be led by
Joseph Leggett of Bertie County,
Hassell Thigpen and Jim Ellis,
both of Edgecombe County.
The following day’s tour will be
outlined by W. J. Griffin of Wind
sor; Murray Goodwin of Edenton;
and J. W. Dunham of Winton.
The tour of the three counties
begins at 7:30 A.M. June 4 at the
David T. Bateman farm in Tyner.
It ends at 4:30 P.M. with a visit to
the Jack Brinkley farm in Hert
ford County. Eight stops are
scheduled with lunch at 12-noon at
the Wood Beasley Farm House
and Barnyard in 80-tie County.
following:
“I have been privileged to serve
the town during an unprecedented
era of progress and, for the most
part, have enjoyed my relation
ship with the mayors and council
members with whom I have
worked, and I believe I leave the
job with the support and con
fidence of an overwhelming
majority of the present council. I
have always attempted to fulfill
the duties of my office in a manner
that would most benefit all the
citizens of Edenton.
“In closing, I want to par
ticularly thank the employees and
especially the department heads,
for all their support and
cooperation through the years.
Sometimes I think the citizens of
Edenton do not realize how for-
Continued on page 4
Single Copies 20 Cents
ourselves.
Gov. Hunt has appointed the
Northeastern North Carolina Task
Force and Sec. Grimsley is
chairman. The chairman said
ideas are being gathered and a
report is expected to result from a
meeting in about a month. “Where
we go from there will depend
greatly on where you want to go,”
he pointed out.
Richard Baker, executive
director of the Alliance For
Progress, a six-county education
consortium, discussed the area’s
resources. He listed them as the
people who are friendly and
hardworking; water, the location
as it relates to population centers,
etc. and industry. The speaker said
the area needs to work closer with
existing industry to help it expand.
Baker said there are already
organized groups in place but
efforts should be made to get
more of them working together.
President Ed Wilson of
Continued On Page 4
David T. Bateman
Mr. Bateman
Named To Post
David T. Bateman, Route 1,
Tyner, has been named to the
board of directors of Peoples Bank
& Trust Company in Edenton. The
announcement was made today by
Jim Brown, city executive for the
bank here.
Bateman owns Bateman
Produce Farms and is president of
the N. C. Pv nut Growers
Association, having served earlier
as secretary and vice president.
He has also been executive
director of the Peanut Growers
Cooperative Marketing
Association.
He served as a Chowan County
commissioner for several years
and was vice chairman at the time
he chose not to seek re-election. He
is active in the Chowan County
Farm Bureau, having served as a
board member, secretary,
treasurer, vice president and
president.
Bateman is a member of the
advisory board of the School of
Agriculture & Life Sciences at
N. C. State University. He is also
Continued on page 4