On Making Problem Worse
We want to commend Gov. Jim
Martin and the legislature for
resisting the move to take North
Carolina out of the southeastern
toxic waste treatment compact
for no better reason than that our
state has been designated as the
most suitable site for the first
facility.
After all, some state other than
South Carolina had to be picked
for the first low-level waste treat
ment project. South Carolina was,
by mutual agreement, exempt
from selection because it has for
years operated such a facility at
Barnwell. Because an indepen
dent study pointed to North
Carolina as the most suitable site
for the first facility, a bill was in
troduced during the short session
of the legislature to take this state
out of the compact.
Rep. George Miller’s committee
failed to act on the bill, which died
as a result. But then the governor,
without having to do so, said he
felt the state should remain in the
compact.
It was the second time in recent
months the governor had taken
what could prove to be an un
popular position. Only a few
weeks ago he said he felt the
Shearon Harris nuclear
generating station south of
Raleigh in Wake County ought to
be permitted to go into operation.
North Carolina is a large
generator of toxic waste of
various sorts. To begin with, we
are generating large amounts of
high-level radioactive waste at
nuclear stations already in opera
tion. This is being stored at the
nuclear stations until the federal
government can develop addi
tional storage facilities.
At the same time, these nuclear
utilities as well as hospitals and
research centers are generating a
large amount of low-level waste,
which, up to now, we have .been
able to ship to South Caroling for
disposal. But South Carolina has
said enough. It feels it has pulled
its share of the load. That’s why
the southeastern compact was
formed, the eight-state area
agreeing they would handle their
own waste, but would not take any
from outside their area.
We believe too much is being
made of the hazards involved’in
the operation of these facilities.
Every time somebody proposes to
* develop a toxic waste treatment
plant in North Carolina, the com
munity suggested as a site rises
up in arms. Not all of this waste
Continued On Page 4
Funds Make
, Town Survey
Possible
The General Assembly recent
ly enacted legislation that will
allow the completion of a historic
architectural survey of Edenton
and Chowan County. The county
portion of the survey is completed
| and funds will now be made
available by the state to complete
the town portion.
A recent letter from Rep.
Charles D. Evans to Jack McM.
Pruden, Chairman of the Edenton
Historical Commission announced
the grant. Evans shepherded the
commission’s request through the
legislature.
| Evans’ lettei stated, “I am
pleased to inform you that I was
able to get $15,000 appropriated to
the Edenton Historical Commis
sion for the Chowan County ar
chitectural survey. This ap
propriation does not require mat
ching local funds, and will be
available to the Commission when
It is requested by them from the
B Department of Cultural
Resources.”
Brad Baker, a recent graduate
of the University of Virginia in ar
chitectural history, has been con
ducting the study.
An appropriation request to pro
vide a full-time development of
ficer for Historic Albemarle
Tours, Inc. failed to get legislative
p approval.
% THE CHOWAN HER ALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Volume Lit - No. 31
Eden ton, North Carolina, Thursday. July 31, 1966
Single Copies 25 Cents
New Bridge Showing Progress
By JACK GROVE
Visible progress is being made
on the longest bridge in North
Carolina, the new Albemarle
Sound Bridge. Only superlatives
can tell the story of this mammoth
$22 million project. #
Work on the bridge began last
summer by a joint venture of two
companies, Cianbro Corp. of Pitt
sfield, Maine and Williams
Brothers of Houston Texas. The
engineering company of Figg and
Muller has been retained by the
state for technical services such
as design and job site inspections.
A drive by the huge casting
yard on the Base Road reveals a
portion of the progess being made.
The yard, established last August,
builds pre-cast cement structures
for the bridge. These “building
blocks” are then assembled at the
bridge site to form the finished
product. Mark Heim, project
engineer said, As far as we know,
there hasn’t been one built like
this in North America.” Concrete
bridges are normally poured at
the site of the bridge.
Three ©f the principal bridge
members being constructed at the
casting yard are pilings, box
giriersand flat slabs. Heim said
that two types of structure are be
ing incorporated into the bridge,
a low-level truss utilizing the flat
slabs, and the high-level section
using box girders.
The low-levels will extend from
each shore of the sound to meet
the 65 foot high center span which
will eliminate a need for a
drawbridge for shipping traffic.
Many of the pilings have
already been driven into the sound
bottom extending from the
Chowan County side while no pil
ings have, as yet, been driven on
the eastern shore. Another
engineer, Marcia Meekins, said
that the low-level slabs would like
ly begin to go in place on the pil
ings around the middle of August.
The diminutive Meekins, a civil
engineer, seemed especially
dwarfed by cranes and bridge sec
tions as she conducted a tour of
the casting yard. She is one of six
engineers on the job. A concrete
plant has been set up in the mid
dle of the yard and she said that
crews “batch” (pour concrete in
to molds) all day long. The con
crete plant is operated by the
Lopez-Gloria Concrete Co. from
Texas.
Meekins explained that the
bridge will have no exterior sup
port of any kind. Instead, steel
cables molded into the bridge sec
tions will be pulled together under
high tension to provide stability.
She said that the flat slabs will be
pulled together with seven strands
of six-tenths inch cable and the
box girders will be pulled together
with 19 strands of the same size
cable.
The casting yard is a huge
assembly line for bridge parts.
Three to four slabs and one box
girder are poured daily. Exacting
measures are taken to ensure
uniformity during the casting of
concrete for the parts. “It’s the
highest quality control you’ll ever
see,” Meekins contended.
She was asked the weight of the
trusses. The approximate weight
of the slabs is 46 tons and the box
girders are some 65 tons.
A specially designed overhead
crane was constructed at the yard
to move the trusses to the water’s
edge where they will be loaded on
barges for transport to the bridge
site. The crane will travel the
length of the yard on rails that are
115 feet apart. The designer of the
crane is Johan lx>tz of Capetown,
South Africa.
The three and a half mile bridge
is scheduled to open for traffic
during the summer of 1988. It
replaces the present span which is
built on wooden pilings.
ONE OUT - ONE IN— Workmen are shown atop one of the 65 ton box girders for the new Albemarle
Sound Bridge. A second girder behind has hot been freed from its mold. These giant bridge sections are
being produced at the casting yard on the Base Road.
Driving Violations Dominate Calendar
Chowan District Court was in
session July 29, the Honorable
John T. Chaffin predsiding over
the criminal calendar.
Doyle Vincent Bennett pleaded
guilty to speeding 70 in a 55mph
zone. He received a $35 fine and
cost of court.
Donald Perry White pleaded
guilty to exceeding a safe speed.
He received a $35 and cost of
court.
Ricky Alexander Speller plead
ed guilty to driving while his
license was revoked, transporting
spiritious liquor in other than its
original container, and unsafe
movement. The cases were con
solidated for judgment. He was
sentenced to six months, suspend
ed for two years upon payment of
a $300 fine and cost of court. He
was ordered not to operate a
motor vehicle until licensed. An
appeal was noted.
Charles Edward Tynch pleaded
guilty to speeding 75 in a 55mph
zone. He was sentenced to 30 days,
suspended for two years upon pay
ment of a $75 fine and cost of
court. He was ordered not to
operate a motor vehicle until
licensed. An appeal was noted.
Andra Eugene Green pleaded
guilty to obstructing, resisting and
delaying an officer, no operator’s
license, and littering. The cases
were consolidated for judgment.
He was sentenced to 90 days,
suspended for two years upon pay
ment of a $150 fine and cost of
court. He was ordered not to
operate a motor vehicle until
licensed. An appeal was noted.
Julian Elberry Forehand plead
ed guilty to larceny. He was
sentenced to 90 days in the N.C.
Dept, of Corrections. An appeal
was noted.
Robert Wayne Nixon pleaded
guilty to DWI and driving while
his license was revoked. A mari
juana possession charge was
dismissed. He was sentenced to
six months with work release
recommended on the DWI charge.
He was sentenced to six months on
the driving while license revoked
charge, sentence to run at the ex
piration of the previous sentence.
Arthur Lee White, Jr. pleaded
guilty to driving while his license
was revoked and failure to dim
lights. He was sentenced to six
months, suspended for two years
upon payment of a $210 fine and
cost of court. He was ordered not
to operate a motor vehicle until
licensed.
Richard E. Preheim pleaded
guilty to DWI and was found guil
ty of DWI, level four. He was
sentenced to 90 days, suspended
for two years upon payment of a
$125 fine and cost of court. He was
ordered not to operate a motor
vehicle for 60 days and to perform
48 hours of community service. An
appeal was noted.
Erie Lee Jordan pleaded guilty
to misdemeanor trespass. He was
sentenced to six months, suspend
Continued On Page 4
Couple Found Guilty Of Murder
A superior court judge in
Asheboro sentenced a couple on
July 16 for the murder of a former
Edenton man. Thomas Phillip
Robey, 35, son of Catherine and
Phillip “Phil” Robey who reside
on Mexico Road, was killed as he
slept in his bed by a shotgun blast
on Christmas Day of 1984.
Ellen Robey Barnes was
sentenced to 35 years in prison for
the slaying of her husband that oc
cur ed in their mobile home in the
Brookfield Acres subdivision of
Asheboro. Her present husband,
Richard Dale Barnes, was
sentenced to eight years as an ac
cessory after the fact. He was a
neighbor at the time of Robey’s
death.
An eight-woman, four-man
Randolph County jury deliberated
about an hour and a half before
bringing in the guilty verdicts.
Ellen Barnes began crying as
jurors were polled on their
verdict.
Phillip and Catherine Robey
were present for the trial and he
cried as the verdict was read. She
said they were “very pleased’’
with the verdict. Pointing out the
unanimous decision, Catherine
Robey said, “There was no reluc
tance from jurors.”
Ellen Barnes faced a maximum
sentence of life in prison while
Richard Barnes could have
received a ten year sentence.
Ellen Barnes’ attorney said that
under present state law, both
could expect to serve about half of
their sentences before they would
be eligible for parole.
Both defendants filed notice of
appeal and appeal bond was
denied by Superior Court Judge
Richard B. Allsbrook.
Catherine and Phillip Robey
have been awarded permanent
custody of their granddaughter,
Continued On Page 4
■ wui* -*afc wmm:
BRIDGE PROGRESS— Pilings for the new Albemarle Sound Bridge
march off into the distance as workmen operate two cranes at the site.
Cars pass over the present span at the extreme right. The bridge is
scheduled for completion in the sujnmer of 1988.
Artifacts Displayed
During Heritage Week
Pettigrew State Park is plann
ing to display two ancient indian
canoes recently recovered from
Lake Phelps during Indian
Heritage Week, September 13-21.
The dugout canoes have been
radiocarbon dated with the aid of
grants from North Carolina
Power and Carolina Telephone.
One canoe’s age was listed at ap
proximately 2,720 years old, while
the other was determined to be
about 2,850 years old.
Local naturalist and Chowan
Herald columnist, Paris Trail, has
taken an active part in the
discovery and recovery of these
canoes along with indian projec
tile points and bits of pottery.
Trail terms himself an “amateur
archaeologist.”
One of the canoes was
discovered by Trail, Michael L.
Dunn, Eastern District Naturalist
with the state and a ranger from
Ft. Macon State Park. The canoe
was found while looking for indian
artifacts in the shallow water near
a shoreline where pottery shards
had been found.
Trail said that the dugout canoe
was found with one end barely
showing above the sandy bottom
in about two feet of water. One
side of the craft was visible for
about eight feet with the other end
buried three feet under the sand.
He said that the three, working
together, have made several such
discoveries and do not attempt to
move the artifacts The ancient
canoes are very fragile. “They
snap just like a carrot,” Trail
said.
Stephen R. Claggett, chief state
archaeologist, and an underwater
recovery team from Ft. Fisher
raised the canoe after having
vacuumed sand away from its
sides. It was floated on air mat
tresses to a dock where it was
lifted by about 20 volunteers onto
a truck.
The dugout is being preserved
Continued On Page 4
CANOE FLOATED—State archaeologists and underwater experts
raise an ancient canoe from the bottom of Lak e P helps in Washington
County. The canoe was floated on air mattresses last February and
transported to a preservation site at Pettigrew' State Park. (Photo by
Karen Equals of the Koanoke Beacon.)