► Pork Barrels Again Back during the campaign Gov. James Martin got a lot of mileage out of "pork barrel” money ap propriated by the legislature for pet projects of its members. Re cent disclosure that the governor v spent $34,000 in tax money to throw a party in Hollywood raises the question of whether the legis lature put too much money in his pork barrel. It’s true, as he said, that he was attempting to induce Hollywood filmmakers to come to North Carolina to shoot more motion pic tures ; but that leaves unanswered D the question of whether the gover nor was justified in putting up his staff in $300-a-day hotel rooms and engaging in other extremely ex pensive things. As we have said before, nobody in state government has a pork barrel the size of the governor’s. All sorts of nice little goodies are tucked into his budget, as are all |) sorts of big goodies, such as “discretionary funds” in the D D 0 transportation department, wnicn is under the governor’s control. How wisely all these funds are spent becomes more and more important as revenues fall behind projections contained in the 1987 fiscal year budget. With the year now half gone, revenues are fall ing some $50 million short of estimates. By next June 30, the shortage could be twice that or more. This is important because of the impact it will have on 1987-89 budget making, which the legis lature will undertake after it con venes in February. Under the cur rent system, departments start off with their 1985-87 budgets as a base. Depending on how hard the times are, the base budget com mittee can usually whittle a few millions from the base budgets, but usually cuts don’t overmatch small inwoopoa hereandthoret All funds left after the base budgets are funded are for the ex pansion budget, which can vary from $500 million down. At pres ent, budget committee spokesmen can see only about $250 million for Continued On Page 4 THE CHOWAN HERALD Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast Volume HI • No. 47 Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, December 11, 1986 Single Copies 25 Cents Water Quality Discussed By JACK GROVE A procession of experts told lawmakers from two states on Thursday and Friday about the water quality in the Chowan River and what could be done to im prove it in the future. The first meeting of the Chowan River Interstate Study Commission was held at the Edenton Municipal Building. The commission is com posed of eight legislators each from the General Assemblies of Virginia and North Carolina. An official of the N.C. Dept, of Natural Resources and Communi ty Development told the group about blue-green algae bloom, the main problem that surfaces on the river periodically. Using color slides, he pointed out that the worst recent years for the bloom were in 1972, 1978, 1979 and 1983. He said that these years had “just the right conditions—a wet spring and a dry summer.” These algal blooms, caused by nutrient runoff into the river rob the water of oxygen, produce fish kills and spoil the recreational use of the river. He said that the fre quency of these blooms is every four to five years. “I don’t want you to think that the problem has gone away just because we haven’t seen it in the last three years.” He said that a state program has the goal of reducing phos phorous going into the river by 30 to 40 per cent. Experts from both states agreed that phosphorous was the main culprit in blue-green algae bloom. Of the phosphorous that gets into the river, 49 per cent comes from agriculture, .5 per cent from urban runoff and 18 per cent from municipalities. The commission was told that by the end of its water control pro gram, the state of North Carolina will have spent $27.5 million. Some. $10 million has been spent to eliminate treated waste water from nine upstream N.C. munici palities. The only two remaining on the river to move to a land ap plication system are Edenton and Ahoskie and their new plants will be operational in 1988. Virginia Sen. William T. Parker asked when N.C. reaches its goal of 37 per cent reduction in phos phorus input into the river, what would be the impact on the total solution? He was reminded that N .C. comprises only 25 per cent of the total river basin. The Chowan rises in Virginia and is fed by the Nottoway, Blackwater and Meherrin Rivers. “We’ve got 75 per cent of the deal? Virginia seems to be the culprit,” Parker mused. Richard Burton, Executive Director of the Virginia Water Quality Control Board, gave his state’s view of the problem and what is being done about it. He said that the use of agricultural best management practices seemed to have the most promise of reduction of nutrient additives to the river. He outlines these practices which include field borders and Continued On Page 4 LEGISLATIVE DINNER—Colonial costumes lent an air of the historic to a banquet honoring Virginia and North Carolina legislators at the old court house Thursday night. Seated are (r. to 1.) Rep. Ver non James (N.C.), Mrs. James, Rep. J. Paul Councill, Jr. (Va.) and Mrs. Councill. INTERSTATE COMMISSION—Legislators from Virginia and North Carolina met at the Edenton Municipal Building last Thursday and Friday as the Chowan River Interstate Study Commission. Shown are (1. to r.) Rep. Howard B. Chapin (N.C.), Rep. J. Paul Councill (Va.), Rep. Vernon James (N.C.), Rep. C. Hardaway Marks (Va.), Sen. Marc Basnight (N.C.), Sen. William T. Parker (Va.), and Sen. Joseph E. Thomas (N.C.). Chowan Arts Council Receives Special Federal Grant € €) Edenton Mayor John Dowd and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathleen Miller accom panied members of The Chowan Arts Council to Raleigh last Fri day to receive a special grant as part of the North Carolina Arts Council’s launching of a $600,000 program designed to strengthen local support for artists and arts organizations in seventeen coun ties throughout the state with a federal grant of $150,000 announc ed by the National Endowment of the Arts. The funds will be match ed by an additional $450,000 in new state and local dollars over the next three years. Anthony Turney, Deputy to the Arts Endowment Chairman, made the announcement at a press conference outlining the program. He was joined by Patric Dorsey, Secretary of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, and by many representatives of the state and local arts agencies. The federal grant to the N.C. Arts Council is one of only twelve in the nation — and one of three to support statewide programs — to be awarded this year by the Arts Endowment’s Locals Program, a highly successful effort aimed at strengthening local support for the arts through federal-local fun ding partnerships. Turney said, “Endowment Chairman Frank Hodsell and Pro gram Director Robert Canon join me in congratulating the N.C. Arts Council for its efforts to develop strong local arts agen cies. We commend the Governor and State Legislature for their commitment to the arts, demonstrated by the dramatic in crease in arts funding in recent years. “Through this effort, the Arts Council and the Dept, of Cultural Resources are making an impor tant investment in the quality of life in North Carolina. Such an in vestment has a ripple effect that is particularly noteworthy in a ACCEPT ART8 GRANT—Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathleen Miller