On Meeting School Needs Gov. Jim Martin has come up with a sensible proposal* for meeting the state's massive school building needs. Although it doesn’t have the distinction of be ing completely new, it is sound and workable and deserves a fair hearing before the legislature and full consideration by the people. With the counties’ school building needs running into the billions, the problem has become almost beyond the reath of local governments, with county com missioners and city councils reluctant to commit their areas to massive bonded debts at a time when the federal deficit is threatening to put a heavy tax burden on us all. So Governor Martin has come up with an updated version of the old Literary Fund. He would have the state, which has a Triple-A credit rating, sell up to $2.2 billion in bonds to create a fiscal pool fi;om which the counties could bor row school construction funds at a much lower interest rate, repay ing the debt over a 20-year period with revenue realized from half cent local sales tax approved by the last legislature. This tax, if put into effect in all the counties, would bring in about $176 million a year, possibly going to $200 million if the economy im proves as time passes. Such a fund, on the average, would give each county from $1.76 to $2 million a year with which to retire school construction debts, or $17.6 Continued On Page 4 Annual Tea Party Planned ) 3 3 ft o The 212th anniversary celebra tion of the Edenton Tea Party will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25 On the town waterfront near the Barker House Visitor Center. This year’s celebration begins at 10 a.m. and lasts until 4 p.m. The observance, which is held every other year, commemorates what has come to be known as the first political activity by women in the American colonies. The dec ade of the 1770’s was a time of great concern over increasing taxation of the colonies by England and lack of representa tion in Parliament. These concerns were expressed on Dec. 16,1773 by the Boston Tea Party. On Oct. 25,1774 in Edenton, a group of 51 women signed a document pledging their support to the Provincial Assembly. The Provincial Deputies had resolved not to drink any more tea, heavi ly taxed by England. This spirit of patriotism and commitment to the public good will be honored in this year’s celebration. The Barker House was the home of Thomas and Penelope Barker. According to tradition, it was Penelope Barker who organized the Edenton Tea Party. Featured this year will be a visil of the Elizabeth II from Manteo. In addition to tours offered on the ship^ there will be an old fashioned street fair, musical entertainment and children’s games. The guest speaker for the event will be Pa trie Dorsey, Secretary of the N.C. Dept, ol Cultural Resources. During the Tea Party Celebra tion, Broad St. will be closed fronr the waterfront to King St. Approx imately 50 booths will be set uj along the street providing crafts information, food and entertain ment. The Optimist Club will provide rides for children on their trail and musical entertainment will be provided throughout the day bj the Rocky Hock Rebels anel the Edenton Harmony Belles. Secretary Dorsey will speak a Continued On Page 9 am. tii i p.m. Muscular Dystrophy Bucket Brigade o Saturday Sponsored by Edenton Jaycees At Area Food Stores THE CHOWAN HEP A * ~ Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast Volume LI I • No. 40 Ed'enton, North Carolina, Thursday, October 16. 19&6 Single Copies 25 Cents Area Officials Bring In New Local Industry Edenton, Chowan County and Chamber of Commerce officials have been successful in bringing to the area a new major industry. The company, North American Reiss, an extrusion-molding plastics manufacturer currently has a plant in New Jersey. The company will purchase 154 acres of land at the Airport In dustrial Park in Edenton. The Town Council approved the sale at their Tuesday evening meeting for a purchase price of $750 per acre totaling $115,500. A new plant, comprising 100,000 square feet will be constructed and will add some 150-200 new jobs to the area with the potential of adding up to 400 jobs in the future. The lead for this company came through the N.C. Dept, of Com merce and Edenton was selected by the owner in spirited competi tion with North Carolina and Virginia cities. Citing the excellent land loca tion and value and unequaled livability as reasons for his final decision, the company’s owner plans to make Edenton an expan sion site for his business. Kathleen Miller, Executive Director of the Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce, said that an all-out recruitment effort to bring the company here was launched by the town, county and the chamber. They hosted offi cials of the company on tours of the area on several occasions, ar ranged meetings with area em ployers and the Employment Security Commission as well as Dfficials of the N.C. Community College system for training information. According to Edenton Town Manager Sam Noble, proceeds of the sale of the land will be used for improvement of the Edenton Air port facilities. He said that the town will supply about 120,000 gallons of water daily to the plant as well as electricity without put ting a strain on the present utility systems. The monthly income from water sales is expected to total $1,809.30. Mayor John Dowd commented, “We’ve worked very closely with the Chamber of Commerce on this. We’re very proud to have them (North American Reiss) here.” Excellence Awards Presented Edenton’s Post Office and Postmaster recently received two awards for excellence. The awards were made by Ross Garulski, the manager of the Sec tion Center (MSC) in Rocky Mount. The section contains 209 post offices. One award was for the “Best budgetary performance of a large office.” Postmaster Howard Hodges received a letter of com mendation and a plaque. The se cond award, -also