Good View
Astronauts Jack R. Lousma and
C. Gordon Fullerton are on a
week-tong trip into space and the
mananui they are doing are
carring a place for them in
history. There are those of us who
really don’t have the capacity to
comprehend all that is going on.
Btot one thtog we can all epjqy are
the fantastic color photographs
being beamed throughout the
The space ship Columbia was
launched only one hour late
Monday morning, a fete within
itself. The ship circles the globe
every 89 minutes and 17 seconds.
The (Ml of such a trip may be
“old hat” for Mr. Lousma since he
logged almost two months in space
aboard in 1973. Mr. Fullerton is a
“rookie’’ and is entitled to more
colorful conversation about what
is haDDening.
What caught our eye Monday
evening was a newsphoto sent
back as Columbia crossed the
Atlantic coastline. The astronauts
spoke of spotting Kitty Hawk,
where the Wright Brothers made
their own history. The detail of the
photo was so vivid that the
astronauts and views got an ex
cellent picture of the Public
Parade.
It gave us an extra thrill to have
such a good view of Northeastern
North Carolina, in general, and
our neck of the woods, in par
ticular. This view of the last
frontier of Tar Heelia will cer
tainly be shown countless times in
the future, if toe past tells us
anything about the future.
On one of toe first Apollo flights
a view of toe East Coast was
captured on film and has been
used time and again on magazine
covers, in brochures, etc. It is
fitting, too, that we continue to
play a role in history. Never
theless, getting such a good view
from outer space makes it extra
Those Rates, Again
There outfit to be a law against
detailed comparison erf utility
rates. A majority of the people
along the Public Parade and
throughout North Carolina who
have to pay the bills, regardless of
toe rates, are confused by claims
of who’s lower, and charges,of
who’s higher.
The Town of Edenton long ago
adopted the published residential
rates of Virginia Electric & Power
Company. This seems fair since
the municipality, until recently,
bought electricity from Vepco for
resale. There was a margin of
profit in toe deal and since Vepco
rates are set by regulatory
agencies to give the company a
fair return on investment, the
same can be expected for the
town.
Profits make Vepco attractive
to investors. Profits make
Edenton a good place to live;
where maximum services are
delivered at the lowest possible,
tax rate. We like to call it paying
taxes by the month. Too, some
citizens who don’t hove a great
number of possessions pay no, or
at best little other form of taxes.
About the time things appear to
be somewhat settled, along comes
some joker who wants to compare
rates.
Vepco officials lost in the
comparison game last year when
the Them of Edenton joined with
other municipalities in the electric
to dtanp Vepco for what
is considered a better deal.
These electricities entered into
an agreement with Carolina
Power It Litf* Company and are
now geared tg> to sell HOOmillkm
m tax exempt bonds to close toe
first brush of the deal. As fate
would have it, CPltL’s economic
tftaatian changed between then
and now, causing some delay in
the band offering. This opened toe
doer far Vepco to point the finger,
whOe saying: “We told you so!’*
The profit in the deal for
BdaaAaa may be closer to il per
cent, fcr example, than IS per
cant But, whatever the profit
• amounts to, it will be welcome
Bor the mom affluent along the
: rflblfa the new
Bengrnvart is even They
Cbatlaaol On Pago 4
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Volum* XLVII - No. 12
Benefits Totaled
$3,324,754
During Last Year
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
North Carolina paid benefits
totaling $3,324,754 to hospitals,
doctors, skilled nursing facilities,
and home health agencies in
Chowan County in 1981, the not
for-profit health care plan has
announced.
The amounts paid to doctors and
institutions in other counties in the
area were Camden, $1,364;
Currituck, $7,048; Dare, $136,913;
Gates, $12,758; Hyde, $34,324;
Pasquotank, $10,364,357;
Perquimans, $19,358; Tyrrell,
$1,238; Washington, $2,247,651.
During the year, the statewide
health service Plan processed
4,900,000 claims for participants in
its regular Blue Cross and Blue
Shield programs, amounting to
approximately S6OO-million in
toted benefits. In addition, over
$562-million was paid through* the
federal government’s Medicare
Continued On Page 4
Bids Are Awarded During
County Commissioners Meeting
The Chowan County Com
missioners met March 22 at 7 P.M.
in a special session in toe Com
missioners Room of toe County
Courthouse on Broad Street.
First on the agenda was the
awarding of tods for the Chowan
Hospital Expansion Project.
Marvin Bryan, Hospital Director,
and Jesse Harrell of the Chowan
Hospital Board of Directors,
explained the tods to the Board.
These tods had been approved at
the last meeting of the Chowan
Hospital Board of Directors. The
tods, with Millar Building Cor
poration of Wilmington doing the
general work, Lenoir Plumbing
and Heating Company of Kinston
doing the [dumbing, Henry Baker
Heating Company, Inc. of Wilson
doing the mechanical work, and
Watson Electrical Construction
Five Larceny
Counts Lodged
Warren Leonard Alexander, 38,
of Route 1, Edenton was arrested
March 23 by Deputy Sheriff
Melvin Evans of the Chowan
County Sheriff’s Dept, and
charged with five counts of lar
ceny by employee from Western
Gas.
Alexander allegedly took five L.
B. White Farm heaters, valued at
$358 each from Western Gas of
Edenton while employed there.
According to Evans, the in
vestigation is still continuing and
Alexander’s first appearance is
set for tomorrow (March 26).
Alexander is in the Chowan
County Jail under a $50,000 bond.
pr, '? t' JUI ■ IIP | 1 vJflfl
PROlim DONATED Father Gaul, right, of St. Annes’s
Catholic Church in Edenton presents the proceeds of their bingo
game to Chowan - Edenton Optimist Club President Mike
McArthur. The money will be used to purchase shirts and ribbons
for competitors in the Special Olympic games March 27. A good
time for all is planned.
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, March 25, 1982
Il r V *
I ■ ■DMiii •• i
I l ■ HOMi i* i 11!
p* * it |
I- Wm- ' iIH
CANCER PATIENT GIVES TALK Mrs. Judy Hamby, second from right, gave a speech in
benefit of the Chowan County Chapter of the American Cancer Society on March 22 at Edenton
Baptist Church. She has had cancer for 12 years. Pictured with her are, left to right, Dr. Richard
Hardin, Mrs. Carolyn Bunch, Mrs. Corrine Thorud, Hamby, and Mrs. Sally Blount.
Company of Wilson doing the
electrical work, were passed
unanimously by the Com
missioners.
Gardener Construction Co. of
Elizabeth City had submitted a bid
that was $114,000 lower than the
next lowest bid, but this was
proved to be the result of a
machine error. He was released*
from a contract, even though his
actual bid was still sl4,ooQ,Jower
than the next lowest, because of a
statute that says if a bid is with
drawn because of error, that
bidder cannot bid again.
The motion that passed the bids
also included an application to file
with the Local Government
Commission of North Carolina
pursuant to the Local Government
Revenue Bond Act for an ap
proximate amount of revenue
bonds totalling $2,625,000.
The Coihmissioners also agreed
to sign a letter of intent to show the
bidders that they planned to
continue with the expansion
project, in order that the
respective bidders might go ahead
and complete their ship drawings.
This would push the project up two
or three weeks, giving the project
more time, because the Certificate
of Need issued last year expires
May 12. If it runs out before work
is begun, the project could be
delayed for two or three years.
Next on the agenda, the Board
passed the motion that April 19 be
scheduled to hold a session of the
Board of Equalization and
Review.
The car bids for a new law en
forcement vehicle, which must be
ordered by March 29, were also
Continued On Page 4
Two For One
Split Is Ok’d
GATESVILLE ln a move seen
as a healthy financial indicator,
Tarheel Bank and Trust Co.
stockholders have voted for a two
for one stock split.
The action came during the
company’s annual shareholders’
meeting in the Gates County
Agriculture Building near the
corporate headquarters located
here.
The vote created two new shares
for each existing one tripling the
number of common stock shares
from 280,248 to 840,744. The stock
is currently owned by 538
stockholders, many of whom live
in the area served by the Tarheel
banking system.
The change does not lower the
overall value of Tarheel stock, but
does lower the value of individual
shares from approximately $36
during the final quarter of 1981 to a
new figure of approximately sl2
per share.
Robert E. Lee, executive office
Continued On Page 4
Belhaven, Town of
Edenton, Town of
Elizabeth City, City of
Enfield, Tcwn of •
Greenville Utilities Commission
Hamilton, Town of
Hertford, Tcwn of
Hoboood, Tcwn of
Fobersonville, Town of
Scotland Neck, Tcwn of
Tarboro, Town of
Washington, City of
Windsor, Town of
TOTAL
SETTLEMENT RATES Reflect tentative settlement negotiated between the cities and Vepco
of a pending rate request before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Case was filed on
March 31,1961 and the rates were put into effect, subject to refund under bond, on September 1,1961.
The settlement rates have not received final approval of the FERC.
Daniels Urges Unity For Area Fishermen
MANTEO Sen. Melvin R.
Daniels, Jr., Democrat
Pasquotank - at a joint meeting of
the North Carolina Marine
Fisheries Commission and the
Marine Fisheries Legislative
Study Commission, advised toe
fishermen of North Carolina to
unite for the survival of the in
dustry.
Speaking before the two groups
and an audience of over 250
fishermen, Sen. Daniels outlined
Single Copies 25 Cents
Wholesale Energy Prices Compared
RALEIGH Here’s another set
of figures to consider if you’re
pricing electricity.
Under a recent ruling by the
North Carolina Utilities Com
mission, the average Vepco
customer will pay 3 per cent less in
April for 1,000 kilowatt hours than
the same customer of Carolina
Power & Light, according to
.figures from Virginia Electric &
Power Co.
Vepco Vice President Randy
Mclver recently showed the
Elizabeth City Rotary Club a chart
of tentative wholesale rate
comparisons that indicated
Vepco’s January “settlement”
rates to be 3.4 per cent less than
North Carolina Eastern Municipal
Power Agency rates.
That’s “not a valid com-
WHOLESALE
MUNICIPAL RATES
JANUARY
Vepco Present
Rates
$ 63,193.62
293,744.49
834,445.12
84,265.42
2,731,297.13
14,421.97
83,967.41
16,784.47
88,069.18
98,007.55
756,802.61
774,302.90
118,564.66
$5,957,866.53
three serious problems facing
today’s fishermen: (1) Inflation
and the high cost of getting the
catch to market, (2) The very
serious threat of a “User” fee on
all watermen, that is being
proposed by the Reagan Ad
ministration, and (3) The high
license fee increase bring asked'
for by the Marine Fisheries
Commission.
Sen. Daniels in objecting to the
proposed license increase, noted
Representatives
Tour Facility
Last Thursday, various media
representatives were treated to a
tour of the new facilities and
briefed on the various happen mgs
that will be occuring at The
College of The Albemarle in the
future. Also included in the
bargain was a hnmecooked box
lunch of ham, potato salad and
beans.
School personnel said it was
their way of thanking the media
for showing such an interest in the
activities at COA, and spreading
the news of these activities in their
respective areas.
According to Bill Haskett, public
relations director for the college,
“We just did it to say 'thank you’
for being so good to us.”
The meeting began with the
seven media representatives
being filled in on the latest
happenings at COA. Some of the
projects outlined were an electric
load management study to in
vestigate the possibility of buying
straight from Vepco, in order to
cut the high costs of energy.
An example of the increasing
cost of energy is last year’s
electrical bill of SBO,OOO as com
pared to the estimated bill for this
year of $105,000 at COA.
Parker Chesson, President at
COA, warned that there could be
Continued On Page 4
parison.” according to Bill Watson
of Electri - Cities of North
Carolina, speaking for the power
agency. Watson said that when
Vepco’s lowered rates are ap
proved by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, the
power agency, which serves 11 of
the 13 Electricities towns, will
lower its own rates and make
refunds accordingly.
The power agency rates are in
part based on Vepco rates. Watson
said that when the rates are final
for the month, he expected the
power agency to charge 2-4 per
cent less than Vepco.
Vepco is charging wholesale
municipal customers rates filed
with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission as part of
Continued On Page 4
Vepco
Settlement
Rates
$ 59,067.31
274,570.64
779,849.87
78,765.37
2,547,955.45
13,485.41
78.502.15
15,683.66
82,328.08
91,600.59
707,364.34
724,408.70
110,850.14
$5,564,431.71
that in some cases the increase
was more than 3000 per cent. He
commented. "The average
fisherman today is just holding on.
1 am deeply concerned that a
major license increase of the
amount proposed could be more
than many could stand."
The fishermen present to a large
extent, echoed Senator DanieH'
objection and asked the M**-
Fisheries Commission to re
consider the proposed license
increase.
Power
Acencv Rates
$ 60,987.10
285.005.21
806,760.67
81,465.16
2,636,725.39
13,864.57
81,826.28
15,850.50
84,999.04
94,765.23
730,744.89
752,592.30
115,4%. 58
$5,761,082.92
or
3.4% greater