THE CHOWAN HERALD jte
Published In The Most Beautiful l ittle City On The North Carolina Coast
volume ala - no. 29
taenton, North Carolina, Thursaay, July 1 f, itfob
omyiu oupiws uems
On Eroding The Tax Base
Last week we discussed how
federal spending cuts are being
translated into local tax increases
and how revenue policy changes
at the state level are shifting
much of the burden from the
backs of business and the wealthy
to the shoulders of the general
taxpayer.
Today we want to consider in a
little more detail the tax picture
as it emerges from the General
Assembly.
While property holders in
Chowan County and elsewhere
across the state were bracing for
tax increases, Rep. Vernon
James’s bill giving the counties
authority to levy an additional
one-half cent sales tax was mak
ing its way through the
legislature.
For a time it looked as if this bill
would go a long way toward
relieving the hard-pressed county
boards of commissioners in their
search for revenue to continue
needed government programs. A
large portion of what was being
lost in federal funds would be
made up by raising the local sales
tax levy.
But when the James bill reach
ed the senate, an amendment was
added earmarking 60 per cent of
the new revenue for public schools
on a descending scale over the
next several years and 40 per cent
for water and sewer construction,
this too on a descending scale.
The effect of that amendment
was to greatly reduce the benefit
to the general fund from increas
ing the local sales levy by a half
cent But the end was not yet i«t_
sight; When the senate’s gas tax
bill reached the floor of the house,
Rep. Joe Mavretic tagged on an
amendment exempting household
personal property from ad
valorem taxes.
Although it is difficult to tell how
much, that represents another
blow to the county and city
general funds. A great many tax
payers simply check the block on
their tax filing form accepting 10
per cent of their real property tax
as a fair amount for household
personal property - furniture, ap
pliances, jewelry, etc. Not all tax
payers do this, however. A great
many claim their household pro
perty does not exceed the $300 ex
emption. Nevertheless, the levy
on household property raises a
significant amount of money for
the general fund.
Thus the amendment has the ef
fect of eroding the tax base even
further.
Had we been in the legislature,
we would have voted against the
Mavretic amendment because it
will relieve a large group of well
to-do people who have expensive
furniture and jewelry but live in
rented apartments or con
Continued On Page 4
District Court
Session Held
Chowan District Court was in
session July 15, the Honorable J.
Richard Parker presiding over
the criminal calendar.
Walter Raleigh Hawkins’s
suspended sentence was invoked
during a probation violation hear
ing. He also pleaded guilty to a
larceny charge and received an
active sentence of 90 days which
is to begin at the expiration of the
\ previous sentence.
Edgar Wayne Ryan’s suspend
ed sentence of six months was in
voked as the result of a probation
violation hearing.
James E. Copeland pleaded
guilty to exceeding a safe speed.
He received a fine of $10 and cost
of court.
The Honorable J. Richard
- Parker also presided over die
Continued On Page 4
By JACK GROVE
Saying “We are proud to open
this Edenton plant,” Walter
DeRungs, U.S. president of the
Pelikan Corporation unveiled the
companys sign at the N.C. 32
south facility. Attending the open
ing were Chowan County and
Edenton officials and local
businessmen.
The Swiss corporation has 25
factories worldwide and sales in
130 countries. The company is the
world’s largest producers for con
sumables for the office in
typewriter ribbons, computer rib
bons and carbon paper. Pelikan
manufactures its own inks.
Founded in Hanover, West Ger
many 150 years ago, the company
first made artists’ colors. Pelikan
began manufacturing in the U.S.
eight years ago in Franklin, Tenn.
and now has a plant in Derry,
Penn.
DeRungs said that the move by
his company to acquire the
former Dennison Co. plant was
prompted by several considera
tions. He said that the company
felt a need “to distribute our
manufacturing risk.” Pelikan in
the past had been dependent on
European sources for film and
Dennison’s film ribbon plant was
“in many respects, ideal.”
In stating the pros and cons of
the area for professional people,
the company felt that the quality
of life for a bachelor engineer “is
a little bit tough.” DeRungs said
that the environs were fine for a
nature lover, but lacked sports
facilities and diverse entertain
ment. He also said that the
highway system needed
improving.
The president said that some
things should not be changed.
Among them were “Your sense of
citizenship with strong values and
work ethic” and the unspoiled
natural beauty. DeRungs, who is
based in Tennessee, said, “I like
to come here.”
The Edenton facility currently
employs 124 people, starting with
94 when Pelikan took over the
operation earlier this year. In ex
panding the facility, the company
expects to employ as many as 300
people by 1990.
Alton Elmore, Chairman of the
Chowan County Board of Commis
sioners welcomed the new com
pany. “We appreciate your taking
over the plant and saving an in
dustry,” he told DeRungs. “We
Boat Rules Discussed
The U.S. Coast Guard is in the
process of determining regula
tions concerning the use of intox
icants on recreational boats. The
information provided here was ob
tained from the Federal Register,
Vol. 54, No. 100 of May 23,1986. It
is entitled, “Operation of a vessel
while intoxicated; advanced
notice of proposed rulemaking.”
The Coast Guard is inviting
public comment on the problem of
drug and alcohol use by persons
operating recreational vessels
and the options available for
regulatory or other action.
The Coast Guard Authorization
Act of 1984 mandates that ap
propriate standards be establish
ed for determining whether an in
dividual is intoxicated while
operating a boat. Regulations are
also being pursued in regard to
alcohol and drug use by licensed
individuals and other members of
the crew of commercial vessels.
Data on recreational boating ac
Continued On Page 4
--
HATCHERY VISIT—Congressman Walter B. Jones was the special
guest at the 25th anniversary fete of the Edenton Fish Hatchery and
Aquarium Friday.
Fish Hatchery Celebrates
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary
The twenty-fifth anniversary of
the Edenton National Fish Hat
chery and Aquarium brought
dignitaries to the site Friday mor
ning. On a broiling July day Con
gressman Walter B. Jones told
assembled guests that, “I’ve sup
ported this hatchery through my
years in Congress.”
Jones was forced to defer to an
aide to read his prepared remarks
due to an infected tooth and
swollen jaw.
Striped bass are raised at the
hatchery to replenish depleted
stocks in area waters and in the
Chesapeake Bay. Jones chairs a
committee in the House of
Representatives that oversees the
fisheries industry.
Hatchery manager Elliott
Atstupenas reviewed the history
of the Edenton facility. He said
that in the early 1960’s the hat
chery was being used to provide
fish for stocking farm ponds.
William C. Bunch, then manager,
decided to experiment with
striped bass.
Atstupenas said, “As far as I’m
concerned, this hatchery is the
father of striped bass experimen
tation in the country." He said
that the facility has been in the
forefront of striped bass culture
ever since.
Jim Pulliam, Southeastern
Regional director of the fish and
r
Wildlife Service, parent agency of
the facility, said that federal in
volvement in fisheries manage
ment dated to 1861. It was in that
year that a fish culture program
for salmon was begun in
California.
The Edenton facility first began
operation in 1899. Pulliam spoke of
the importance Of striped bass to
the east coast fishing industry and
the hatchery’s role. “Striped bass
have been declining alarmingly”
along the coast since the 1970’s. He
attributed fish population
degradation to loss of fish habitat,
water polution and over-fishing,
Speaking of Jones, Pulliam
said, “The chairman has been a
good friend of ours in Congress.”
The congressman indicated that
he was seeking $500,000 in federal
money to fund a land use study in
North Carolina coastal area con
nected with the Albemarle and
Pamlico Estuaries.
Jones said that restocking
coastal waters from the hatchery
was not the only thing that need
ed to be done. “The Edenton Fish
Hatchery can produce as many
fish as possible but we must have
the clean water and habitat to sup
port them,” he said.
The Edenton Hatchery supplies
over 400,000 striped bass fingerl
ings annually for the restocking
Continued On Page 4
like it here and we think you’ll
come to like it too,” he said. Eden
ton Mayor John Dowd extended
the welcome of the town.
In his remarks, plant manager
Nick Misra promised that “We
will continue to be good neighbors
and good citizens of Chowan
Pelikan Corporation President Opens Edenton Plant
County.”
DeRungs was asked where the
corporation’s name originated.
“The pelikan was in the coat of
arms of the founder. Trademarks
have become a more and more
important part of modern
business,” the corporate presi
dent said.
DeRungs and an accompanying
executive, Bert Beeler, from the
Franklin headquarters are both
natives of Switzerland. DeRungs
pointed to the fact that Beeler had
become a naturalized citizen of
this country on July 9.
...
UNVEIL NEW SIGN—Pelikan president of U.S. operations Walter DeRungs (center) unveils the cor
poration’s new sign with the assistance of (1. to r.) County Commissioner Alton Elmore, Mayor John Dowd
and Town Manager Sam Noble. The former Dennison plant is located on N.C. 32 south.
Sales Tax Increase Hearing Slated
Area residents may soon be
paying a sales tax of five cents
rather than the current four and
one-half cent tax. A county option
increase of a half cent tax was
recently passed by the N.C.
General Assembly. The bill was
sponsored by First District
Representative Vernon James of
Pasquotank. County...
A hearing on the tax rate in
crease for Chowan County will be
held in the county commission
board room in the new court house
on Monday, July 21 at 9 a m.
County Manager Cliff Copeland
said that if the increase was ap
proved after the hearing it could
be implemented on September 1.
Sealed Bids
Opened
Sealed bids were opened Tues
day by Edenton’s Town Council
and L.E. Wooten and Company,
prime contractor for the new land
application sewage treatment
system. The system is separted
into four parts for contracting pur
poses: electrical; lagoon and
pump stations; spray system; and
lines from pump stations to the
plant.
The apparent low bidder was
the Bryant Electrical Co. of High
Point, N.C. for part of the work.
None of the bids were acted upon
by the council due to protests from
two other bidders.
Roanoke Construction Co. of
Roanoke Rapids, N.C. and Crain
& Denbo, Inc. of Durham, N.C.
lodged formal protests alleging
that Bryant was ineligible to bid.
Town Manager Sam Noble ex
plained that Bryant and others
had submitted bids in a previous
bid process and that Bryant’s was
then the low bid. However, Bryant
discovered that they had bid on
the basis of a system document
that was missing two pages. For
that reason, the re-bidding took
place Tuesday.
The protesting companies
maintain that state law prohibits
any company, withdrawing from
a bid, to take part in any subse
quent re-bid. Noble said that in
this case, Bryant was not at fault.
Representatives of the Wooten
company advised and the council
agreed to, seek legal advice prior
to awarding the bids.
The system is to be built on a
tract acquired from the estate of
C.H. Small, Sr. on Mexico Road.
The current sewage plant is
located at Cape Colony and will be
closed when the new system
becomes operational.
Copeland was asked if he ex
pected opposition to the proposal.
"If anything, we expect a lot of
support,” he said. “A lot of people
were concerned about the raising
of the property tax. We need
diversification of the tax system,”
he continued. The manager feels
that it will also aid local mer
chants and customers in figuring
tax on purchases.
Perquimans, Pasquotank,
Camden and several other area
counties have also scheduled ear
ly hearings in order to increase
the sales tax by September 1. “It
wouldn’t surprise me if 40 counties
will be holding early hearings in
order to implement the tax by
September 1,” Copeland said.
The current optional half cent
sales tax is levied by 99 of 100 of
the state’s counties. Chowan
County's annual yield from the
half cent is $270,000, but the coun
ty manager expects a new half
cent tax to bring in no more than
$100,000 during the first year of its
life. As more counties adopt the
tax, the yield will increase. The
return to the counties is based on
population and not on the size of
the sales volume at the point of
collection.
Cities and towns located in
counties passing the increase will
automatically participate in the
tax. Edenton Town Manager Sam
Noble said that there was no way
that he could estimate how much
an increase would bring to the
town for next year.
The new tax law requires that 40
per cent of the income to towns
during the first five years be spent
on water and sewer im
provements and 30 per cent the
following five years. After that,
the towns may spend the income
as they see fit.
Noble said, “We always need
improvements in the water and
sewer systems. You never have
enough money to make all the im
provements that you need.” He
cited as future needs of the town, *
Continued On Page 4
STATE AUDITOR IS SPECIAL GUEST— Ed Renfro, N.C. State
Auditor, speaks to the quarterly meeting of the East Carolina
Fireman’s Association last Thursday night.
Firemen Select New Officers
Edenton was the setting for a
dinner meeting of the 32 county
East Carolina Fireman’s Associa
tion last Thursday evening. The
quarterly meeting at the
American Legion building was
hosted by Edenton Fire Chief
Lynn Perry, a director of the
organization.
Special guest speakers for the
event were State Auditor Ed Ren
fro and Phil Riley, N.C. Deputy
Insurance Commissioner, Fire
and Rescue.
An election of officers saw Tar
boro Fire Chief George Cherry in
stalled as president of the associa
tion, Chief Perry as vice-president
and Gail Joyner of Farmville as
secretary-treasurer.
Renfro acknowledged praise for
his work on the state level to ob
tain a raise in pension compensa
tion for retired firemen. He has
been urging an amendment to the
appropriations bill to raise the
pension from a monthly $75 to
$100. In discussing the pension
fund he said, “The legislature has
seen fit to say thank you to the
greatest group of people in the
world • firemen and rescue
squadsmen.”
Riley gave a presentation on the
State Emergency Response Team
(SERT). Betting that not many
firemen knew about SERT, he
Continued On Page 4