Noted And Passed
For more than 30 years, Carolina
Telephone has had an employee
* oriented magazine. “Cross Talk” is
published monthly and for some
reason or another it was one mail
ing list which had passed us by.
Bill Meekins, community rela
tions manager from the Isle of Pas
quotank, brought Jim Nichols by
not long ago to introduce him as the
new editof. Although it was raining
this particular day, Bill declared
that he did show up along the Public
Parade in fair wheather also, even
though Carolina Telephone found it
more cost effective to close the
local commerciar office.
Bill and Jim wanted to promote
the January, 1984, issue hereabouts
because one of the feature articles
is on Edenton-“Historic Albemarle
Jewel With A Bright Future.”
While the article by Jill Adams,
area correspondent for The
Virginia Pilot, was already in print,
Jim found room to give the better
part of a page to our expanding
health care industry.
“Cross Talk” won’t be found in
every magazine rack along the
Public Parade. But Carolina
Telephone company employees
who read the latest edition will
know a little more about Edenton,
past, present and future.
Troubled Lines
If the devil doesn’t get us,
redistricting of the General
Assembly will. Or at least, that
must be what State Sen. J.J.
(Monk) Harrington of Bertie is
thinking these days.
Sen. Harringon, who announced
last week for re-election, is a man
without a district. A three-judge
federal panel ruled Friday that the
Second Senatorial District was
among some in Tar Heelia which
violate the federal Voting Rights
Act.
Chowan County is in the Second
Senatorial District, which was
carved out of a two-seater Sen. Har
rington, shared with Sen. Melvin
Daniels^ Jr., of the Isle of Pas
• quetaiflt ^en. TtiflTmgtwr arir
veteran legislator, and crafty at
that: lie sorta hand picked the
counties he wanted when it became
obvious'the 14-county district would
be divided into two single represen
tative areas.
When Sen. Daniels complained
that his district went from the
Virginia line at the north, south to
the Pamlico Sound, he got no sym
pathy from his colleague. Sen. Har
rington got what he wanted and
through whatever means necessary
kept it—that is, until Friday.,
Now Sen. Daniels is sitting out
this election, assessing his chances
to run for the U.S. Senate in 1986.
Sen. Harrington is temporarily
without a district.
The federal panel gave the State
of North Carolina until March 16 to
correct the “injustices” via a new
redistricting plan. This is virtually
impossible since the members of
the General Assembly seem to have
more problems with drawing lines
on a map than adopting a multi
billion dollar budget.
Boundaries are troubled lines
throughout the nation. They are
especially troublesome in Tar
Heelia were legislators are so turf
conscious, not to mention their con
con for re-election. But re-election
apparently won’t be a problem in
our Senatorial District this sum
mer. There’s no district to worry
about.
Unity vs. Threats
While supporters of Democrats
are writing letters to editors in
order to threaten the credibility of
candidate and other “dirty
tricks” emerge so early in the cam
paign, the “other side” has a real,
live candidate traveling around the
state speaking a language which
can be the difference in victory and
defeat.
We had long ago heard what pro
posed to be the prior position of Ed
die Knox, the former Charlotte
mayor, state legislator and political
whiz iid, on the establishment of
the East Carolina University
r of North
.I On Page 4 I
, -
Body Of Fisherman
Found In Tyrrell Co.
By Ron Anderson
The search concluded Wednes
day, February l for a Columbia
fisherman who was last seen ten
ding fishing nets in the Albemarle
Sound on Monday evening, January
30.
. Hie Coast Guard, the Edenton
Chowan Rescue Squad and both the
Chowan County and the
Washington County Sheriff’s
Departments began their search
for Lonny Ray Cowell, 30, of Colum
bia around 7 P.M. on Monday.
Searchers stopped looking
sometime close to 2 A.M. Tuesday
morning but were back at daylight
to begin again. They were joined at
dawn by a group of private
fishermen and wildlife officers and
searched until 4:30 that afternoon.
The search was resumed again at
dawn on Wednesday, February 1.
Cowell’s 16 ft. fiberglass boat was
found washed ashore on a beach in
Chowan County Monday, Jan. 30
around 6:30 P.M. The Coast Guard
notified the Edenton-Chowan
Rescue Squad and the search was
begun.
The Coast Guard used two
patrol boats and a helicopter to
search for the missing man.
Local search efforts, which were
primarily confined to the
Sound Bridge northeast to Nixon’s
Beach, were coordinated from
Sandy Point Beach.
At 12:30 P.M. February 1 Petty
Officer Coleman of the Coinjock
Coast Guard Station said, “We are
re-searching areas that have
previously been searched and ex
panding the search.”
Cowell’s body was found in Tyrell
County Wednesday at 1 P.M., ac
cording to a Chowan County Rescue
Squad Spokesman.
SEARCH—The 16 ft. fiberglass boat (left) owned by missing fisherman Lonny Ray Cowell of Colum
bia was towed to Sandy Point Beach on Tuesday January 31. The boat that towed Cowell’s Boat (right)
went back to continue the search for Cowell in the Albemarle Sound. Sandy Point Beach was
the base of operation for the search locally.
Volume XLVIII-No. 54
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, February 2, 1984
Single Copies 25 Cents
• ELECTIONS - Marjorie T. Allen, Supervisor of Elections, and
R. Wayne Goodwin of Tyner look over the Campaign Reporting
Instructions at the Elections Board Office on E. King St. Goodwin
filed on Friday, January 27 for a seat on the Board of County
Commissioners.
Tyner Resident To Seek
County Commissioners Post
R. Wayne Goodwin of Tyner fil
ed to run for Chowan County Com
missioner (Wardville District) on
Friday, January 27.
Goodwin is a farmer and co
owner of Goodwin T.V. and Ap
pliance of Crossroads. He is an ac
tive member and past president of
the Tyner Jaycees.
A native of Chowan County,
Goodwin graduated from Chowan
High School in 1965. He is also a
graduate of Pitt Technical Institute
and the College of the Albemarle.
He is a four year veteran of the
United States Air Force.
Goodwin is the son of Thelma
Goodwin of Ryland and the late
Richard Goodwin. He is married to
the former Frances Byrum of
Rocky Hock. The Goodwins’ have
four children, Dwayne, Kenny,
Cristy and Marty.
In a prepared statement Goodwin
explained why he was seeking a
seat on the Board of'County
Commissioners.
“At this point in time I believe
that I can be of benefit to the peo
ple of Chowan County to help set
trends as they may affect us and
our children in years to come,” he
said.
. “Our County buildings, including
our schools, are deteriorating fast.
Each year we are having to choose
to either repair or replace. Adding
this to our, already set respon
sibilities of supporting our
teachers, law enforcement officers,
firemen and rescue squads and
county employees I believe this
county will face financial hardships
like we haven’t seen in a long time.
“These facts along with the fact
that most people are already hav
ing hardships paying their proper
ty tax indicates that a restructure
of our tax base or other sources of
income for the country must be
looked into.
“I beleive I can be of some
assistance in trying to find answers
to these and many more important
situations that pertain to Chowan
County,”
The Wardville precinct seat on
the Board of County Commis
sioners is currently occupied by
Barbara Ward who is finishing out
the unexpired term of Lester
Copeland. Ward announced at the
January Board of County Commis
sioner’s meeting that she would not
be running for another term. She
cited health problems as the reason
for not seeking re-election.
Martin Outlines Economic Goals
By Maru Amburn
Food processing plants and other
agriculture and fishing related in
dustries are “naturals” for the
economic scheme of Northeastern
North Carolina, according to guber
natorial candidate Jim Martin.
In one of his first appearances as
a Republican candidate for gover
nor, Congressman Martin spoke to
an audience of 35 1st District
Republicans at the old Chowan
County Courthouse Saturday.
Martin formally announced his
candidacy Friday at the State
Capitol in Raleigh.
“Republicans are necessary in
order to build a strong, healthy two
party system in the Southeastern
United States,” Martin contended.
.-.Martin.called roads, education^,
the recruitment of food/seafood
processing industries, and pro
viding jobs for young people major
needs for the state and Nor
theastern North Carolina.
The candidate emphasized that
roads are directly tied to jobs and
industrial development.
While saying that Highway 17 is
a priority, Martin would make no
specific promises about highway
development other than to say that
1-40 should be completed to Wilm
ington. The six-term Congressman
stated that this effort will aid all of
the state, including agriculture
related industry, improving the ex
port /import balance in North
Carolina.
Eastern North Carolina has not
gotten a fair share of the economic
recovery inspired by
“Reaganomics,” according to Mar
tin. While unemployment decreas
ed in North Carolina from 10.7 per
cent to 7.3 per cent in 1983, the cur
rent state administration did not
bring the recovery to the Albemarle
Area.
Congressman Jim Martin
Martin said, “Of the 19 counties
which experienced an increase in
unemployment, 16 counties were
east of Interstate 95.’’
Martin, 47, has been a member of
the U. S. House of Representatives
since 1972, when he was elected to
succeed Congressman Charles R.
Jonas. He is a senior member of the
House Committee on Ways and
Means and Chairman of the
Republican Task Force on Health.
As chairman of the house
Republican Research Committee,
he is a ranking member of the ex
ecutive committee of the House
GOP leadership.
Prior to his election to Congress,
Martin was a Davidson College pro
fessor and chairman of the
Mecklenburg County Board of
Commissioners.
Martin lives on Lake Norman
near the Iredell County town of
Mooresville.
Redistricting
Plan Invalid
By Maru Amburn
A federal panel ruled Friday that
certain North Carolina legislative
districts are in violation of the 1965
Voting Rights Act because they
dilute the voting strength of blacks.
The three-judge court gave the
General Assembly until March 16 to
create a new redistricting plan.
The judges required that the
state must redraw boundaries
before holding elections in Senate
districts 2 and 22 and House
districts 8, 21, 23, 36, and 39.
Chowan County is part of the 2nd
District Senate seat which is ef
fected by the ruling of the special
panel given the authority to hear
cases rising out of the Voting Rights
Act.
Senate District 2, with one
senator, was drawn to cover most
of Northeastern North Carolina
north of Pamlico County and east
of Edgecombe and Halifax
counties.
The state has the option of ap
Continued On Page 4
AN UNMARKED CANVAS—Tne symmetry ot nature was baun
tingly obvious late Friday afternoon as each cloud, tree bough and
house was reflected in Edenton Bay. (Staff Photo by Maru Am burn)