THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Volume XLX - No. 27
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, July 3, 1986
Single Copies 215 Cents
In Right Direction
We do not find much wrong with
what the mayor and council are
trying to do to the town charter,
but we do feel they would be well
advised to take the people more
fully into their confidence in the
future when considering such
moves.
We believe it was Alexander
Pope who observed that “fools
over form contest, whatever is
best administered is best.’’ Thus,
the form of government is not as
important as the character and
competence of those who admini
ster it; and that is an area in
which this community appears at
the moment to be fortunate.
Edenton very probably has
' reached the point in size and com
plexity of its affairs that it can
best be served by the council
manager form of government.
With a competent town manager,
a dedicated council and a mayor
who is willing to surrender power,
now would seem to be the oppor
tune time to do it.
Under the old charter, the
} mayor was the chief executive of
ficer of the town, with general
supervision and control of all of
ficers, departments and affairs,
the council serving largely in an
advisory capacity. This type of
administration is best suited to the
town which is too small to afford
a city manager, where the mayor
is of necessity chief cook and bot
tlewasher, not to mention police
court judge and ribbon cutter.
But Edenton has outgrown that
status. It has become a multi
million dollar operation, con
Continued On Page 4
|
AR. School
Hearing Set
The Edenton-Chowan Board of
Education voted unanimously
Tuesday night to hold a public
hearing concerning the possible
closing of the Alternative School.
The marathon three and a half
hour meeting has “considerable
discussion” on the school closing
. said Associate Superintendent
Jim Kinion.
Chowan County Commissioners
took a $30,000 slice out of the
school system budget in order to
reduce an already large ad
valorum tax hike. Kinion said that
the school board was looking at
various options on paring their
budget due to the county’s action.
) He said that a new activities bus
that had already been ordered and
worth $30,000 had been cancelled.
The board, however is expecting
another deficit of some $20,000
when the General Assembly
passes an expected 6.5 per cent
salary increase for teachers. The
board had budgeted only 5 per
cent for the salary increase.
Coupled with the 6.5 per cent in
crease, Kinion said, was an ex
pected legislative increase of a $75
per month raise for non-certified
school personnel (such as secre
taries, custodians and mainte
nance workers). He said that this
amounted to as much as a 10 per
cent raise for some of the non
certifieds depending on where
. they were on the salary schedule.
t Kinion said that closing the
Alternative School would make up
the total deficit of $50,000. He said
that the alternative would be the
savings from the cancelled school
bus and cuts of $20,000 elsewhere
in the board’s budget.
The hearing is scheduled for
Tuesday, July 22 at 8 p.m. at the
John A. Holmes cafeteria.
TORNADO DAMAGE— Jesse Holley stands in front of his storm-damaged home in Rocky Hock Mon
day morning. A late afternoon tornado ripped the roof off the home while Holley was inside. He was the
only occupant and was uninjured as the twister roared through his property.
Tornadoes Pass Through County
A line of severe thunderstorms
across northeastern North Car
olina spawned at least five tor
nadoes across the area Saturday
afternoon, two of which touched
down in Chowan County.
Other localities hit were
Gatesville, Sunbury and Dare
County near Colington Harbor.
The Sunbury twister blew trees
across U.S. 158; the Gatesville
storm caused power outages; and
the Dare storm caused no
damage. None of the tornadoes
resulted in injury.
Jessee Holley, who lives about
a half-mile west of the Rocky
Hock grocery, said that his home
was hit by a tornado between 3
and 4 p.m. Although he didn’t see
a funnel shaped cloud, he said, “It
was right dark.”
Holley was at home alone at the
time the storm hit. He said that “it
sounded like a bomb struck,”
when it ripped the metal roof off
the house. “I jumped up and ran
and got in a corner,” he said. Both
his front and back doors were
open at the time.
After the storm moved off,
Holley stepped out his back door
to find that the power line to his
house was down and “Fire was
flying across the road,” from
downed power lines.
Shirley Drawdy, who along with
her husband George, owns the
Town Insurance Transferred
Edenton Town Council turned
its attention to-fcatoHitjrtnsurance
after the tax hearing last Wednes
day evening. A decision had to be
made concerning the possible
transfer of the town’s coverage
from Traveler’s Insurance Co. to
a new “Interlocal Risk Financing
Fund of N.C., sponsored by the
N.C. Leaue of Municipalities.
Edenton, along with most other
cities and towns of the state
belong to the League. The
IRFFNC was formed in answer to
the spiraling costs associated with
commercial firms. Edenton ex
perienced a jump of from $36,000
last year to $98,000 this year in
premium costs.
Mayor John Dowd and Coun
cilman A.B. Harless, both in the
insurance business, were asked
for their advice by other council
members. Harless said that he
.had made comparisons based on
$2 million in coverage. He said
that the Travelers Co. “took us out
Legislators
Push Through
Local Bills
State legislators from the First
District have taken the lead in en
suring passage of bills this week
in the General Assembly that are
of importance to Edenton and
Chowan County.
Representatives Charles Evans
of Dare, Vernon James of Pas
quotank and Senator Marc
Basnight of Dare have sheparded
through to passage a bill revising
Edenton’s Town Charter and a bill
changing the hunting law for
Chowan County.
The charter bill, ratified Fri
day, provides for a change from
the mayor-council to the council
manager form of government. It
also provides for a tom of four
Continued On Page 4
of hot water last year,” when
-Trther ftrarv wouldrrraecepr
coverage for the town or were
much higher.
Dowd commented that the
Traveler Co. offered “the ex
perience of 100 years,” versus that
of the League of about a year.
Dowd continued, “The League
has been good to Edenton. The
League is predicting dividends of
almost 50 per cent in about five
years.”
Councilman Hollowed, referr
ing to the League, offered, “I
think that as far as dependability,
you can rely on them. The first
year is the highest.” Marina
Crummey said, “If we don’t stand
behind the League, what’s going
to happen then?”
Action was deferred until a noon
meeting Friday at which the coun
cil decided to move the town’s in
surance business to the IRFFNC.
It was determined that, by this
decision, a savings of $2,000 will be
made the first year.
Herald Office
Holiday
Deadlines
The Chowan Herald will be
closed Friday, July 4, in order
to allow employees to spend
the holiday with their families.
Accordingly, the Herald’s
classified ad deadline, which
normally is 4 p.m. on Monday
afternoon, has been extended
to 12 noon on Tuesday, July 8.
All remaining deadlines, both
for ads and news items, will
stay the same.
The Chowan Herald staff
wishes everyone a happy and
safe July 4 holiday. The
Herald will re-open at 8:30
a.m. on Monday, July 7.
Rocky Hock Grocery, said that
she was outside and saw the storm
approaching. She asked her hus
band, “What’s that?” and his re
ply was, “It looks like smoke.”
Mrs. Drawdy went inside the store
only to have her husband close on
her heels—“He came flying in and
said it’s a tornado,” she recalled
Monday.
The Drawdy family took refuge
in the store’s walk-in meat cooler.
In describing the storm, Mrs.
Drawdy said, “You’re talking
dark, dark.” She said the storm
was accompanied by lightning,
heavy rain and “terrific winds.”
She also said that fireballs were
seen near the Holley home.
Holley’s next door neighbor’s
house sustained lesser roof
damage. Anthony Hayes said that
he was in town with his wife and
ypypgjJaughter when the storm
struck. The path of the twister
moved from the Holley house,
near the Hayes property and con
tinued east, depositing sheets of
roofing metal along the way in
nearby fields.
Wilbur Bunch was working in
his field about a mile further west
when he saw the funnel shaped
cloud. He judged the base of the
funnel to be some 300-400 feet in
diameter.
Lloyd Peele, whose home is also
about a mile west of Holley’s, said
that he and his family spotted two
twisters, one of which was seen to
lift from the ground. He said that
they were about a half mile apart
and traveling east.
Tornadoes occur most frequent
ly during the spring but can occur
whenever severe thunderstorms
are present.
Property Tax Raised
By JACK GROVE
Ad valorem taxes will rise for
property owners in both Edenton
and Chowan County as a result of
votes taken last week by the
• respective governments. The
town tax will go up 5 cents per
hundred valuation for a total tax
of 56 cents per hundred. The coun
ty’s tax is going up by another 12
cents, three cents short of the
budget proposal originally sub
mitted by the county’s finance
committee for a total of 79 cents
per hundred.
The recent county tax hearing
in the old court house was attend
ed by protesting farmers who said
that the proposed increase, along
with other financial woes of the
farmer, might put some out of
business. After the hearing, Coun
ty Manager Cliff Copeland said
that the county would apply
sharpened pencils to the budget,
hoping to come up with a smaller
increase.
County Commissioners passed
the smaller increase at a meeting
late Thursday afternoon. The
school system came in for the
brunt of the cut, losing $30,000 to
its budget, or a one cent reduction
in the tax.
Another penny of tax was drop
ped by cutting other county
departments including two new
cars for the Sheriffs Depa rtment.
The final cent was lopped off
with a sharper lode at the tax
base, according to Copeland. He
said that the proposed budlget was
based on estimated income and
that more accurate figures were
available by Thursday.
The town’s hearing on the
budget was held last Wednesday
evening and was attended by on
ly a few people. Council was ask
ed at the hearing if the increase
would be later reduced if the one
half cent sales tax before the
General Assembly were adopted?
Town Administrator Sam Noble
pointed out that the increase was
necessary due to federal cutbacks
and the need for two additional
firemen that added $14,000 in
salary expenses. He said that the
goal of the adminstration has been
to decrease the transfer of electric
utility funds to the general fund
and that any additional sales tax
revenue would go to repay the
electric fund.
Councilman Herbert Hollowell
observed, “You could never set a
tax rate and then change it in the
middle of the year.”
The tax increase was then pass
ed unanimously. Councilman
Steve Hampton was absent from
the meeting.
Restaurant Founder Dies
Mrs. Beulah Boswell, 76, a resi
dent of the Prime Time Retire
ment Home, Edenton, died June
30 in Norfolk General Hospital.
She was the founder and former
owner of Mrs. Boswell’s Res
taurant (now known as Boswell’s
Restaurante) in Edenton. The
restaurant was begun as a ten
seat lunch counter along a side
wall of Beulah Boswell’s grocery
store on July 4, 1947. Following
her retirement, she had sold the
business to her son, Jim Boswell.
A native of Pasquotank County,
Mrs. Boswell was the daughter of
the late Mary Elizabeth Reid
Palmer and Henry Clay Palmer.
She was the widow of the late
William Louis Boswell.
Survivors include: five
daughters - Hazel Habit of Ports
mouth, Va., Nancy Ingman of
Corona Del-Mar, Ca., Helen
Lockhart of Winterhaven, Fla.,
Edna Romine of Ridgefield,
Conn., and Rebecca Boswell of
Fayetteville, N.C.; two sons -
Joseph Lynn Boswell and James
H. (Jim) Boswell, both of Eden
ton; two sisters - Edna Thompson
of Walnut Island, N.C., and
Margaret Hayman of Elizabeth
City; 21 grandchildren; and six
great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Boswell was for many
years active in civic and com
munity organizations. She was a
charter member of the Edenton
Business and Professional
Woman’s Club, of which she
served as President from 1969-70.
In 1968, she was chosen BPW
Clubwoman of the Year and in
1978, she was named BPW Woman
of the Year. In addition, she had
served with the Ocean Highway
Association, and was a member of
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Funeral services will be con
ducted at 11:00a.m. Thursday (to
day) in St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church with Rev. Charles E. Dove
officiating. Burial will follow in
Beaver Hill Cemetery.
The family will gather at the
home of Jim Boswell in Edenton.
Pallbearers will be Mrs. Bos
well’s grandsons—Elton Boswell,
Jr., Jay Habit, David Romine, Bil
ly Lockhart, Steven Lockhart, and
Brad Boswell.
Williford-Bacham Funeral
Home of Edenton is in charge of
arrangements.
BRIDGE UNDERPINNING POURED— Workmen pour concrete from a crane bucket into bridge font is
at the Bagley Swamp Bridge Mondy morning. NC 32 north traffic is detoured around the comstruction
on a temporary bridge pending completion of the new structure.
Schedule
of Events
Enjoy the July Fourth Festivities
at Historic Edenton’s Waterfront Park
Sponsored By The Chowan-Edenton Optimist Club
Schedule
of Events
on
Page 4-A