Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Oct. 10, 1985, edition 1 / Page 1
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icer Chow^Jfounty lost one of its most jppjlar and colorful leadenpMkrly Tuesday morning when Sheriff Troy Toppin died in a Greenville hospital. After becoming ill Saturday night, Toppin, 65, was taken to Chowan Hospital. The next day he was transferred to Pitt Memorial Hospital where he died two days later on October 8 at approximately 3:30 A.M. The cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm in the brain. Funeral services will be at 3 P.M. today (Thursday) in Edenton Baptist Church, Rev. Robert Kelly, Rev. Keith Sink, Chaplain, American Legion, and Rev. Robert Crisp officiating. Burial will follow in Beaver Hill Cemetery. Williford-Barham Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. At the Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday morning, Deputy Pam Byrum was kept busy with numerous phone calls. Most of the callers were inquiring about the sheriff. She did, however, Sheriff Troy Toppin have time to talk about her boss, of twelve years. “He’d go out of his way to help somebody. I often told him he was too good for his own good,” she said. Outside the courthouse that same morning, a man stopped to ask why the flags were being flown at half-mast. When he was told of the sheriff’s death, tears came to his eyes as he com mented on what a good man Toppin was. Along with being remembered for his goodness, the affable sheriff is also being remembered for his work with young people and the efforts he made to keep them out of trouble. “He always talked with the youth of the community about the problems of growing up and was continually trying to keep them out of trouble,” said A1 Phillips, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. “He was a fine example to the youth of the community as well as adults,” Phillips said. “He’s going to be sorely missed by everyone in the county. Toppin was an outstanding person as well as an outstanding sheriff.” Toppin is also being remem bered for his competence as a i _- ,> • I sheriff and for changes he made in the county sheriff’s depart ment. “He’s done a wonderful job in updating and modernizing and having an efficient sheriff’s office,” said Clerk of Superior Court Marjorie Hollowell. “He’s done a darn good job as sheriff.” But knowledge of Toppin’s reputation isn’t confined within the boundaries of Chowan County, it stretches across the state. “He was one of the most highly respected and most liked sheriffs in the state,” said County Manager Cliff Copeland. “His death is a great loss to the county and a great loss personally because he was a friend.” Toppin was appointed Sheriff in 1969 to fill the unexpired term of Earl Goodwin, who died in office. He won the next four elections for sheriff and was only opposed once by a write-in candidate. Two years prior to becoming sheriff, he served as ai deputy under Goodwin. His work for the county began in 1955 as the County ABC Officer. Toppin expressed his views on being the county’s sheriff in an article published by the .News and Qbserver on September 4, 1983. In the article he was quoted as saying: “What bothers me a lot is when I walk down the street and meet somebody with a couple of kids, and that mama’s saying, ‘You* better be good or the sheriff’s going to come and get you.’ “The minute I hear that, I don’t care if I know the person or not, I go up and say, ‘ I’m Sheriff Toppin, and I am NOT going to hurt you.’” Toppin’s intentions were never to scare people, shoot his gun and lock up people. Born in the northern section of Chowan County on February 17, 1920 to Nolan and Jennie Parker' Toppin, he lived near his birth place until he moved into town this year with his wife, Erelean. He has been a farmer and a merchant and served in the US Navy during World War II. Extremely active in com mumty affairs, he was the main force behind the annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Banquet. He was also a member of the NC Sheriff’s Association; the National Sheriff’s Association; Center Hill Baptist Church, Chowan Ruritan Club (past president); Edenton Rotary Club; and Edward G. Bond Post 40 (La Societa 627) where he was a commander four times and a district commander. He is survived by his wife, Erelean Byrum Toppin; his mother, Jennie Parker Toppin; three sons, E. C. Toppin, Edenton, Ronald W. Toppin Sr., and Floyd Ray Toppin, both of Plymouth; eight brothers, Wilford Toppin, Tyner, Guy Toppin, Edenton, Earl Toppin, Germany, Garland Toppin, Edenton, Horace Toppin, Reed City, Michigan, Maurice Toppin, San Antonio, Texas, Durwood Toppin, Franklin, Va. and Larry Toppin, Crystal Springs, Mississippi; three sisters, Lillie Mae Beamon, Hazel T. Spruill Continued On Page 4 Volume XUX - No. 38 Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, October 10, 1985 Single Copies 25 Cents About Worth Its Cost It’s a good thing 134 private firms picked up the tab for the Governor’s Efficiency Study Commission, otherwise the taxpayers would probably have paid for more than they got in the report, which was filed last It reminds us of Will Rogers’ famous cure for the German submarine plague during World War I - just heat the Atlantic Ocean to pretty near the boiling point, he said. When someone asked how he proposed to heat the ocean, he said he didn’t want to quibble over details, i Now comes the Storrs Com ' ’mission " with 414 "recom mendations, which it says will save the state $248 million a year. | Appointed by Gov. James G. Martin, the 73-member study commission was headed by Thomas I. Storrs of Charlotte, retired board chairman of NCNB Corporation, who served on the Grace Commission, which, you will remember, told President Reagan how to lop billions of the federal budget and reduce the deficit. We predict the Storrs report will have about as much impact on the state’s fiscal af fairs as the Grace study had on federal spending. But let s get DacK tor a minuie to those 414 recommendations. Among them are two which, for all their simplicity, remind us of Rogers’ proposal to heat the Atlantic. One would withdraw state support from the North Carolina Museum of Art and the other from the North Carolina Symphony and leave them dependent entirely upon private funding for their operations, thus saving the state $6.3 million in one fell swoop. Don’t ask how these two uniquely North Carolina in stitutions would manage to survive in a state long known as the Sahara of the Beaux Arts or you will be charged with quib bling over details. But, in the true spirit of the efficiency ex pert, one might ask why we don’t turn the public school system over to private operators and save the state about a billion dollars a year? If efficiency is simply a matter of shucking off services, why don’t we quit qiiihhiing and get down to the bottom line? The truth is that North Carolina gets millions pf dollars worth of advertising a year from its state supported art museum, and symphony orchestra, not to mention its School of the Arts. As a result it has in the past few i crane to be known as. the of the Arts, a quantam leap Teacher Of The Year The Teacher of the Year for 1986-87 is Nelia Lane, 10th grade English teacher at John A. Holmes. Significant experience that affected her decision to become a teacher are best described in her own words: “Being the fourth of six children bom to small farm owners in Chowan County, I quickly learned that hard work was expected. I often thought the toil and drudgery of chopping peanuts, suckering tobacco, and picking cotton would kill me, but I survived and am grateful for the lessons learned through honest sweat. My family had few bf the luxuries money could buy, TMatw were rich inyddeandteve for one another. My parents, especially Mama, recognized and cultivated in each of us a desire to learn, and all of us excelled in school. In retrospect, I think they instilled in us the idea that an education is the best key to open doors to the future. So I decided to unlock a door. “I’ll never forget the day I received my first “B” in a sub ject. It was in history during the fifth grade, that arduous year. The world didn’t end, as I had feared it might when my parents saw the grade, but that “B” spurred me to work harder. I I did; J won the history award in I the sixth grade. I credit my sixth \ grade teacher, Mary Lee Copeland, with my desire to become a teacher. She was tough, a true school marm in the spinstef tradition, but she showed me compassion that year when my mother underwent spinal surgery. She encouraged my running for SC A president against a male opponent. I lost that year, but I rallied and was \ elected president of the seventh grade, a position which earned me the honor of leading my class from Swain to then Edenton High School for an orientation assembly. From th«f p8SR-on; I j accepted .responsibility * in , leadership roles at school and graduated with honors. “Outside school, I was quite active in 4-H Club and church groups. I was fortunate to have a fine leader of our Girls Auxiliary who encouraged me to attain the distinction of Queen. Our youth choir director had us performing every Sunday and occasionally singing on radio and television. My interest in music was demonstrated by four years in the Glee Club and three in Treble Continued On Page 4 Appreciation Banquet Planned Lacy H. Thornburg A limited number of tickets are still available for the fifteenth annual Appreciation Banquet for Law Enforcement Officers to be held Thursday, October 17 at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Post in Edenton. The event, sponsored by American Legion Post 40, honors both local law enforcement officers and officers from surrounding counties, and offers citizens an opportunity to demonstrate support and ap preciation for the fine job the officer* do. Anyone wanting to purchase a ticket (16.00 each) may do 8Q at the Chowan County i? department, The Police Department or at Quinns the evening H. T;' Thornburg, Attorney General for the state of Ncrth Carolina. The highlight of the evening will be when one of our local officers is honored as the Outstanding Officer of the Year. The number of people at tending the banquet increases annually and this year’s affair should be no different. Several officers from the North Carolina Sheriff’s Department are ex pected to attend including: Halifax County Sheriff Bill Bailey, president; McDowell County Sheriff Bobby Hayes, vice-president; and Burke County Sheriff Jerry Richards, secretary and treasurer. Other out-of-town guests ex pected at the banquet include: Phil Lyons, assistant to the at torney general; Dr. Leslie Biddinger, a Greenville pathologist; Dr. Lawrence Harris, head pathologist at the Medical Center in Greenville and State Medical Examiner Dr. Page Hudson. Since so many visitors from other parts of the state are ex pected to attend the event this year, organizers have included special activities for the entire weekend. Prior to the banquet on Thursday, a Welcome to Colonial Bdenton will be presented in the old Chowan County Courthouse at 4 p.m. by Penelope Baker (portrayed by Marguerite Me* ™\). From 4:30 until 6:30 a al hour, courtesy of Jimbo’s "rSw?1 ^Ann Page 4 PEANUT FESTIVAL—The tenth annual Peanut Festival Parade had something for everyone, both young and old. The festival, held last weekend, was considered a big success by its organizers. (Ad ditional Peanut Festival photos on page 3-B) DOT Agreement Denied By Council Members of Edenton Town Council unanimously agreed to deny an agreement with the NC Department of Transportation that would require the town to pay 75 percent of right-of-way acquisition costs for land within the city limits to be used to construct the proposed Albemarle Street and Paradise Road interchanges. The action r 1 Printing Delayed Due to the mechanical failure of the Chowan Herald’s computerized typesetting equipment on Monday, most of the news articles and new ad vertisements appearing in this week’s paper had to be typed on older, back-up equipment. Minor dif ferences, therefore, may be noticeable. Although production of this issue hasbeen slowed somewhat by these dif ficulties, several Herald staff members worked longer than normal hours to ensure that publication would not be adversely af fected. Special thanks go to Barbie Britton and Gail Mize who offered their assistance when it was needed most. The patience and un derstanding of both our readers and advertisers during this trying time are deeply appreciated. Repairs ' are currently underway, and should be completed shortly. Items not used in this edition will appear in next week’s issue. ■« ; . ' >»:■*-'—.» .— ' •’ «-•<!• • y H ■ f ■ ... was taken on Tuesday during a regular meeting of the council. John Corbitt, a representative from DOT, told council members that other towns across the state are being asked to participate in similar right-of-way cost sharing. He said Edenton should pay a percentage of the costs because the town will benefit more from the exchanges than the general public will. Corbitt estimated that the acquisition costs would amount to ap proximately $60,750 for the town, but said a payment schedule could be worked out. “It’s almost absurd to think that this town would go into this contract,” said Mayor Roy Harrell. The mayor told Corbitt that he had attended many meetings through the years and had never heard of such an arrangement. Corbitt said that while it was true no municipality in the eastern part ofthe state has shared in right-of-way costs for seven or eight years, the practice has been common in the western Heating Bills Help Available To help with heating bills the Chowan County Department of Social Services will again be making a one-time payment in February 1986 to all households who apply and are found to be eligible for the Federal Low Income Energy Assistance Program. This is not a “first come, first served” type program, therefore a household may apply at any time between October 15, and November 29, and if found to be eligible will receive a payment. Continued On Page 4 section ot tne stale. In an interview on Wednesday, Town Administrator Sam Noble said, “The Town of Edenton has enough city streets to be maintained that we don’t have enough funds to improve state highways.” The motion denying the DOT request also stated that Noble begin negotiations with the department immediately. In other business, council members: - Instructed the town ad ministrator to begin looking into the cost of participation in the county-wide 911 system. - Agreed to allow the NJROTC boat to dock at the foot of Broad Street until a docking agreement is reached between the school system and the town. Marine Ladies Coffee Hour The public is cordially invited to attend a Coffee Hour to honor the Edenton Chapter of the National Marine Ladies at the New National Guard Armory, Base Road, Edenton on Satur day, October 12, 2 - 3 P.M. The social hour, hosted by friends of Military History, a new organized group to preserve local military history, provides this opportunity for former civilian employees and military personnel of the Edenton Air Base and interested citizens to reminisence the World War II - Korean era with Lady Marines stationed in Edenton. Approximately thirty ladies throughout the United States will attend their third bi-annual Edenton Convention October 10 14.
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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Oct. 10, 1985, edition 1
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