‘Dot’ Jones
There is a void today across the
vast 21-county First Congressional
District of Tar Heelia. It was
created Monday when our First
Lady died in Pitt County after a
brief illness.
Mrs. Doris (Dot) Long Jones was
a native of Edenton. She spent her
childhood and in early adult years
meandering along the Public
Parade. Then in April, 1934, at the
age of 20, she married Walter B.
Jones. To the union was born two
children, a daughter and a son, both
of whom now reside in the family
hometown of Farmville
It was in 1966 that Dot Jone>
became the First Lady of the First
Congressional District. Her popular
husband, who had served in both
houses of the Tar Heel General
Assembly, was elected to Congress
in a special election. And while they
naturally spent much time in
Farmville and Washington, they
always considered Edenton
“home”.
Dot Jones was possessed with a
natural love of people. This show
ed constantly; she could “work” a
crowd with the best of them, or
when the need arose, remind her
listener that her dear husband was
the congressman.
Dot Jones not only loved people,
which made her a natural com
munity leader, wife, mother and
grandmother, but she loved nature
and animal life. She was hardly
ever seen without at least one small
pet, other than her husband.
Although she had a deep and
abiding love for her fellowman,
there was something she could
hardly tolerate, that being the con
crete jungle of Washington. She
couldn’t tolerate a phoney; she
couldn’t work in her garden
because there wasn’t enough
space; and she couldn’t feel com
fortable exercising her pets
because of the crime in the streets.
The last few years she spent
more and more time at their Farm
ville home where she could enjoy
herself, but never neglecting her
retpQnaiibiUttm.as the wife of a
U.S. CongressmwT"
Dot Jones especially liked the
periods when Congress was not in
session. It gave her the opportuni
ty to enjoy the things she so loved
at home, as well as to travel the cir
cuit with her popular husband, who
in nearly two decades in
Washington had paid his dues, be
ing recognized for his leadership
and chosen chairman of the House
Committee on Merchant Marines
and Fisheries-one of 14 standing
committees in that body.
Dot Jones had a radiant smile, a
firm handshake and a mind all her
own. Had it been in the stars, she
would have made a good congres
sional representative in her own
right.
Rep. Jones said following her
death that it would be“very difficult
to face tomorrow without her.” He
will, and we will. But nobody pro
mises that it will be easy. The fond
memories we all cherrish will
make the tomorrows a little easier,
the burden a bit lighter.
The First Lady of the First Con
gressional District reigned in splen
dor. She died as she lived-in honor
and dignity.
A first class lady if one ever
breathed-that was Dot Jones!
Getting Results
The State Board of Transporta
tion under the Hunt Administration
is keeping its word regarding im
provements to U.S. 17, north of
Elizabeth City. The area is getting
results because leaders have kept
pressure applied at the proper spots
to see that commitments are car
ried out.
Just last week, the transportation
board let two contracts which will
complete improvements to U.S. 17
on Up the road, through the Isle of
Pasquotank and Camden County.
These improvements have been a
long time coining and can be at
tributed to hard work on the part of
a lot of organizationed efforts as
well as individuals.
The 10-county Albemarle Area
Development Association has an
active Highway Committee which
has been effective in establishing
Continued On Page 4
Volume XLVM-No. 56
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, February 16, 1984
Single Cooies 25 Cents
SCHOOL TOUR - While hosting visitors to the new
Holmes Cafeteria Friday, Principal Rob Boyce encourages
Commissioner Barbara Ward and School Board member John
Mitchener to look toward future improvements at the con
solidated high school.
Elizabeth City Attorneys
Open An Office In Edenton
By Maru Amburn
Two Elizabeth City attorneys,
William T. Davis and G. Wendell
Spivey, have expanded their law
practice to include Edenton.
Davis & Spivey opened their of
fice at 321 South Broad Street on
February 6, bringing their ex
perience in personal injury, real
estate, family and criminal law to
Edenton residents.
Davis, a licensed pilot and church
pastor, has practiced law in
Elizabeth City since 1974.
An Edenton native, he was
graduated from D. F. Walker High
school, where he was selected most
likely to succeed by his fellow
-seniors. Ho completed both
undergraduate (1970) and law
studies (1974) at North Carolina
Central University in Durham.
Before going into private practice
in 1977, Davis was legal counsel at
Elizabeth City State University. He
is Chairman of the Board of the
Legal Services of the Coastal Plain,
a member of the Board of Directors
of the Elizabeth City Girls Club and
Chairman of the Board of Trustes
of the Roanoke Missionary Baptist
Association.
Davis is the pastor of the New
Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church
in Camden County. He has served
the 250 member church for two
years.
‘ ‘What motivates me in both pro
fessions is a desire to help people,
Rep. Jones’ Wife
Taken In Death
FARMVILLE—Mrs. Doris Jean
Jones, wife of Rep. Walter B. Jones
of the First Congressional District,
died Monday after a brief illness.
She was 69.
Mrs. Jones, commonly known as
“Dot”, was a native of Edenton.
She was the daughter of the late
Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Long and was
married to Rep. Jones in April 1934.
While her children were in school
she was acitve in the Parent
Teacher Association. In the late
1940s she helped found the Farm
ville High School Band.
Mrs. Jones was active in com
munity, social and political func
tions all of her adult life.
In 1947 she and her husband
formed the Northeastern Official
Booking Office which assigns
refrees for high school sporting
events from Greensboro to the
coast.
In addition to her husband, sur
viving is a daughter, Mrs. Bob R.
Moye of Farmville; a brother,
Joseph Judson Long, Jr., of
Smitnfield; and four
grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at 3
P.M. Tuesday at First Baptist
Church here. Burial was in Forest
Hitt Cemetery.
through my law practice and my
ministry,” Davis said.
Davis, 35, is the son of the
Reverend and Mrs. W. H. Davis of
Edenton. He is married to the
former Claudia Cannady and has
three children, William Timothy,
Jr., 11, Nicole, 8, and Michael, 7.
He is a member of the North
Carolina Bar and the Academy of
Trial Lawyers.
Wendell Spivey, 41, is a Gates
County native who returned to Nor
theastern North Carolina after
working in Washington, D.C. to
“enter private practice one day and
to return to the area where I grew
up.” . .
Continued On Page 4
Bdard"Accepts
County Funding
By Ron Anderson
In a 5 to 2 vote ai the Edenton
Chowan Board of Education
meeting Monday, February 13
school board members accepted
the $471,000 authorized by the Coun
ty Board of Commissioners to begin
the first priority of Stage I of the
Edenton-Chowan Capital Outlay
Plan.
The first priority of Stage I in
cludes renovations and new con
struction at the D. F. Walker
School. When these improvements
are completed, students will be
relocated from Swain to D. F.
Walker.
Included in the County Commis
sioners’ appropriation for the
$471,000 were four stipulations. Two
of these caused two school board
members, Billy Nixon and John
Mitchener, III, to vote against ac
cepting the appropriation.
One of the stipulations stated that
the total county appropriation for
the project will not exceed $471,000.
The other stated that after the
students have been moved from
Swain to Walker, a fee simple title
to the Swain facility and lot would
revert to the County at the County’s
option. And also that the Alter
native School would remain at the
Swain site.
Billy Nixon said that he was
disappointed with the County’s of
fer because, “We have asked the
county for quite a bit and have got
ten so little.”
He also said that he was not hap
py with the wording of the stipula
tion which stated that the Swain
facilities and lot will be reverted to
the county after the students are
moved to Walker. He said that the ,
stipulation wa$ not expressed
clearly. 1
John Mitchener, III, said that he
was uneasy about the ceiling of
$471,000. He said that he did not
think it was a good idea to move
students to D. F. Walker without
first updating the school’s heating
and air conditioning systems.
Continued On Page 4
Town Council Denies Funding
For Architectural Survey Plan
By Maru Amount
The Town Council concurred with
a recommendation by the Finance
Committee not to fund an architec
tural survey project proposed by
the Edenton Women’s Club.
“In light of the expense of the
sewer project and other budget
needs, the Finance Committee
recommends that the funds not be
authorized for an architectural
survey,” Mayor Pro-tem Steve
Hampton said. The Council agreed
by a voice vote.
The Edenton Women’s Club re
quested that both the town and
county contribute $5,500 in mat
ching funds for a survey project
established by the North Carolina
Department of Archives and
History.
According to club leaders,
neighboring counties have
discovered that following initial in
vestment in the architectural pro
ject, sale of books on the survey has
been a lucrative operation.
“Participation in the survey is
not as one-year thing,” Coun
cilwoman Crummey said, “The
first year is just the beginning.”
The Council also held two public
hearings within their regularly
scheduled meeting time.
The first hearing was held to
discuss the submission of an ap
plication to the North Carolina
State Department of Natural
Resources and Community
Development for block grant funds
for neighborhood revitalization for
a new target area. The council
heard no public opposition to their
plan to apply for $750,000 in grant
monies by April 16.
Councilman Fenner stressed the
need for a Senior Citizens Center
and urged grant consultant,
David Holmes, to review ways in
which these block grant funds could
beptilized to facilitate the needs of
the senior citizen community. If
funds would not be available to
build a new senior center, Fenner
suggested that the council, “Im
prove or do whatever is necessary
to improve the existing site (at the
Recreation Center).”
The second hearing was called to
hear public comment on the Assess
ment Roll for the improvement of
West Carteret Street from Broad
Street to Granville Street. The
Council heard from two citizens,
Howard Blount of 133 West Carteret
Street and Mrs. Clara K. Simons of
314 North Granville Street, who
were conerned with how those peo
ple on fixed incomes could pay the
levy and exactly how the levy
would be charged. Town Manager
Sam Noble assured the citizens that
they could pay the amount over a
10-year period and that the amount
per-foot would be $6.12.
Airport Advisory Committee
member Jim Blount charged that
Sam Noble, “may not look beyond
the ledger sheet” when considering
the future of Edenton Municipal
Airport.
The Council earlier decided not to
employ a full-time airport operator
to serve visiting aircraft on the
weekends. Blount said, “You may
not know who is in one of those air
craft, it could be someone looking
to locate a business or invest in
Edenton. “You can’t measure this
in dollars and cents.”
Noble pointed out that the Town
of Edenton has spent $9,000 over -
budget on the airport and that the
town continues to be concerned
with the need to repave the runway
surface.
“When the runway is re-paved,
we may take another look at the
need to keep the airport open on the
weekends,” Councilman Hollowell
Continued On Page 4
Chief Lynn Perry
Perry Installed
AFA President
Edenton Fire Department Chief
Lynn Perry was installed as the
president of the Albemarle
Firemen’s Association on Tuesday,
February 7.
The chief began his year long
term as president at the associa
tion’s ladies’ night banquet held at
the South Mills Ruritan Building.
Perry, who has been with the
Edenton Fire Department for 25
years, became chief in July 1982
when Chief Parks retired.
Looking ahead to his year as
president of the Firemen’s Associa
tion Perry said, “I’m really looking
forward to working with the men
for the betterment of the associa
tion. It’s going to be a great year.’’
The Albemarle Firemen’s
Association was formed on October
17,1967 with “Unity through mutual
aid” as its motto. The organization
is made up of fire departments
from Camden, Chowan, Currituck,
Dare, Gates, Hyde, Pasquotank,
Perquimans, Tyrrell and
Washington counties.
A blaze in Elizabeth City on
March 1, 1967 which destroyed an
entire city block became a catalyst
for organizing the association.
Chief Perry said that that fire
and other large fires in 1967 con
Continued On Page 4
•v.>-.y.;ox
MUSICAL ANTICS - Swain students Jessica Phillips, April Keeter (back), Denise Wilder and
Teshia Holley (front), prepare for the arrival of the North Carolina Symphony next week. In this
photo, the fourth graders are portraying the wolf (french horn) and the duck (clarinet) from “Peter
and the Wolf”. The symphony will play for Edenton-Chowan students Thursday afternoon. Tickets
are still available for the evening symphony performance at Swain Auditorium. They may be
purchased in advance for $7 and for $8 at the door. Symphony Board members encourage music
lovers to purchase tickets early.
Jaycees
f OI ' J
llLOIti
Mobile - Tuesday, February 21 Noon til 6 P.M.- Edenton Methodist Church