Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, April 10, 1986
Single Copies 25 Cents
Toward A Good Team
With the primary elections now
only a few weeks away, many
Chowan County citizens are trying
to make up their minds whom to
vote for in the contested races.
It is always a complex decision
and few of us appreciate help
from the outside. In most of the
races you know the contestants
better than we do; so we are go
ing to leave it up to you to make
your own Choice in the sheriff’s
race, the contests for the school
board, board of country commis
sioners or other purely local
offices.
There are, however, contests in
which we feel qualified to offer a
suggestion, and that we are going
to do.
If we could vote in Chowan
County, we would cast our ballot
for R.M. Thompson and Vernon
James for the First District’s two
house seats in the General
Assembly.'
We would vote for Pete Thomp
son for the simple reason that he
is a resident of Chowan County.
He no doubt has other qualifica
Continued From Page 1
a new motei appears to De in
Edenton’s future. Bob Thomas of
Edenton, one of the developers of
the motel, made the announce
ment Monday. He said the other
developers are Dowdy Brothers,
REQUESTS FUNDS—Eeprestenting-the Chowan Arts Council, Bruce Wackelin requests funding for that
organization Tuesday evening at the Edenton Town Council meeting. Wackelin requested $2,960 as the
town’s contribution which would be matched by the N.C. Arts Council.
Council Accepts Agreement Amendments
Amendments to the power sales
agreements between the N.C.
Eastern Municipal Power Agency
(NCEMPA) and its members, in
; eluding Edenton, were offered for
the Town Council’s consideration
Tuesday evening.
The general manager of the
agency, Jim Bobo, explained the
six amendments which concerned
funding and refinancing of the
debt structure of the agency. Bobo
also said that one of the future
projects of the agency is the con
struction of an administration
building in the Raleigh area.
Bobo said that the debt restruc
turing could save the agency some
' $524 million in brining interest
costs from around 11 percent
down to the 7 percent level.
' Other provisions of the amend
ments dealt with technical aspects
of the functioning of the agency’s
board of commissioners and its
budget process.
The council passed resolutions
accepting all six amendments
I with only the first one, concerning
debt funding, passing unanimous
ly. A tie vote on one was broken by
a vote in favor by Mayor John
Dowd. When the second amend
ment was reached, Councilman
Steve Hampton said, “l'm going
to have to object from this point
bn. I really don’t understand
* them.”
* After the vote, Bobo was asked,
“When are we going to get a
cheaper rate here? ” He respond
ed that a lower rate could not be
expected. Instead, he warned of
“a very large increase” in the
first quarter of next year when the
Harris nuclear plant becomes
operational. He said the increase
would be on the order of 15 per
cent. “The same kind of thing is
going on all over the country,”
Bobo said.
Councilman Hampton respond
ed with, “I don’t understand. We
were supposed to have lower
rates” (in reference to the reason
Edenton contracted with the agen
cy). Bobo said of the rates, that
they “had to do mostly with the in
flationary spirals.”
David Ethridge appeared
before the council to ask for an ex
tension on his April 21 deadline to
bring his house at 210 S. Oakum
Street into conformity with the
building code or be faced with its
demolition by the town. Ethridge
was given more time when coun
cil tabled the issue until its April
29 meeting.
The Chowan County Arts Coun
cil, represented by Bruce
Wackelin, requested that the
council provide $2,960 for the
group’s operating .expenses. He
said that Chowan County has pro
vided a like amount and matching
funds will be provided by the N.C.
Arts Council. The request will be
taken up by Councilman Hamp
ton’s Finance Committee.
Another request for funds total
ing $10,500 was made by Brad
Barker who is conducting an
historical survey of the area’s ar
chitecture. He said that he had
looked at over 600 buildings in the
county and “hundreds of
documents” in an effort to docu
ment the area’s past. The funds
would go toward such a survey of
Edenton. He said that very little
is known about several areas of
the town.
Barker said that he had
discovered and documented a
1760’s dairy on West King Street.
He said that the building could
easily have been torn down and
that carpenters working there
called it a “piece of junk.” The
end result of the survey would be
a book on the subject. The request
was referred to the Finance
Committee.
Robert S. Thomas asked the
council for satelite annexation by
the town of a parcel of land at the
northeast corner of the intersec
tion of N.C. 32 and U.S. 17.
Thomas explained his plans for
the construction of a motel on that
site and asked for the council to
take action at one of its special
meetings in April.
Town Administrator Sam No
ble, said Wednesday that after the
petition, which was submitted by
Thomas asking for the annexa
tion, is studied and certified, coun
cil could set a public hearing date
at its April 29 meeting. The hear
ing and final approval could come
as early as mid-May.
During the public comment
period at the end of the meeting,
Continued On Page 4
^ Architects drawing of the proposed Travel Host Inn motel.
New Motel Developers Request Edenton Annexation
Inc. ot Blacksburg, VA and Van
Johnson of Richmond, VA.
The motel, a Travel Host Inn, is
to be located at the northeast cor
ner of N.C. 32 and U.S. 17 at
Edenton.
Thomas said the building design
will be colonial in nature, in keep
ing with the historical significance
of the area. The inn will offer
telephones, air conditioning and
color TV in the rooms and a swim
ming pool.
The seventy unit motel will con
sist of three different room
designs and is planned to cater to
the needs of the commercial and
leisure traveler. Thomas termed
the room rates as “low to
medium.”
He said that, “Although an ex
act opening date has not been
determined, it is hoped that the
motel will be ready for use early
in 1987." Construction of the motel
is expected to cost some $1.4
million.
The site of the planned motel in
eludes 18 acres owned by the
developers. Thomas attended
Tuesday night’s Edenton Town
Council meeting to ask that the
site be the subject of a satelite an
nexation by the town. He also ask
ed that action on this request be
taken at one of the two special
meetings of the council on April 16
or April 29.
Thomas said that the motel
would offer full-time employment
for a staff of twelve. No restaurant
is included in the plans.
Board Candidates Express Concerns
ny jacK urove
(Editor’s Note: This is a continuing
series on candidates for the May fi
Primary.)
David Ober_
Challenging Clara Boswell for
the Second Township seat on the
Chowan County Board of Commis
sioners is David Ober, 56, of the
Rocky Hock community.
Ober, a Chowan County native,
is married with four grown
children and four grandchildren.
He is a graduate of Chowan High
School.
A farmer, his major crops are
peanuts and cotton. He is a
charter member and past
secretary for four years of the
Albemarle Cotton Growers
Association. It was this associa
tion that was instrumental in
establishing the cotton gin in
Rocky Hock in the late 1970's.
Ober is a member of the Rocky
Hock Baptist Church where he is
a Deacon and substitute Sunday
School teacher. He is a charter
member of the Rocky Hock
Ruritans and a past member of
the Chowan Ruritan club. He is a
naval uner
past president of both clubs and
has served as Zone Governor, Lt.
Governor and District Governor
Continued On Page 4
Clara Boswell
The incumbent County Commis
sioner for the Second Township is
Clara M. Boswell. Now serving as
the Vice-Chairperson of the Board
of Commissioners, she has had an
extensive career in public service.
Boswell, 53, is a native of Hyde
County and the widow of W. Elton
m
.mm
Clara Boswell
Boswell. She has four grown
children and one grandchild.
Boswell earned three college
degrees from East Carolina
University: a B.S. in Home
Economics M.A. in Secondary
Home Economics; and a M.A. in
Education Administration.
She began her career in Chowan
County in 1954 as a Home Exten
sion Agent. She then operated a
florist business for two years.
In 1957, she embarked on a
Continued On Page 4
^ mmm w: mi
•* *% ^
DEMO RALLY—Floyd Lupton, Administrative Aide to First District Congressman Walter B. Jones,
was the featured speaker Friday night at a Chowan County Democratic Party rally at the American Legion
building. Most local candidates were present and allowed three minutes each to speak. Chairman of the
Chowan Democratic Party, Sara Tynch is at right.
Saturday, April 12
from 9:30 r 12:30
I at Hicks Fifld
i
Special Olympics
Admission is Free
Come out and support
these special children.