THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
volume lliii ■ no. o
taenion, norm Carolina, inursaay, January zs, iy»/
Single Copies zti cents
T
t Price Is Too High
Our government has just an
nounced that it has agreed not to
seek the death penalty if the Ger
mans will allow us to extradite an
accused Lebanese hijacker
murdered for trial in the United
States.
What on earth do we want with
this character on those
* conditions?
Most Americans still recall the
scene at the Beirut airport back in
1965 when a U.S. Navy man, a pas
senger aboard the hijacked TWA
jet, was beaten by the terrorists,
then shot to death and kicked from
the place like a bag of garbage.
Mohammed Ali Hamadei, 22,
. arrested recently in Frankfurt as
a suspected terrorist, has now
been identified as one of the two
men who hijacked the TWA jet
and diverted it to the Beirut air
port, where they threatened to
blow it up unless some Of their
compatriots now being held in
prison in Kuwait were set free.
As a result of this information,
^ the U.S. government has been try
9 ing to get the West German
authorities to release Hamadei for
trial in the United States, announ
cing over the last weekend that it
had agreed, as a pre-condition of
extradition, that it would not seek
the death penalty.
We ask again, what do we want
with Hamadei under those condi
) -lions? The one sure cure for ter
rorism is £o shoot the terrorists.
To hold them in custody, no mat
ter how humane the conditions,
merely triggers further terrorist
acts, such as the West German
businessman who was kidnapped
in Beirut almost as soon as the
Hamadi arrest was announced.
If we cannot, through capital
b punishment, speed this hijacker to
the moslem paradise he so richly
deserves, why do we want to go to
the trouble and expense of bring
ing him to this country for trail
when, if found guilty of a henious
crime, our only recourse is to
house him the for next 20 to 30
years in a nice federal prison,
where all his physical needs will
* be looked after? While other
moslem minds plot other kidnap
pings for use as “negotiating
chips’’ in seeking his freedom?
Caught In Storm
We should have stayed in
Edenton.
When we left last Thursday, we
k intended to go home by way of
* Pine Knoll Shores; but when we
got down there we found our place
had been broken into and our
Continued On Page 4
STORM VICTIM—This vehicle is representative of dozens that sus
tained damage in traffic accidents as a result of Monday’s storm that
turned area roads into sheets of ice.
Icy Roads Cause Traffic Mishaps
Mild winter weather was
0 broken early Monday morning aBs
low temperatures, freezing rain
anti snow swept into the county on
cold arctic winds. Hie change in
the weather brought a rash of traf
fic mishaps, school closings and a
near total shutdown of downtown
businesses well before normal
closing hours in anticipation of
tion and even col
X
•>
The northern part of the county
was the scene of countless ac
cidents as vehicles slid off the
glazed roads or into each other.
Chief Jailer Walt Linhardt, acting
as sheriff’s dept, dispatcher prior
to 8 a.m., said that, while he had
not kept track of reported acci
dents, he did recall reports of two
tractor-trailer trucks and other
vehicles in the ditches on a curve
* Continued On Page 4
*•
Center Hill Firemen answered an alarm at Rocky Hock Grocery and a community institution was lost
to fire early Monday morning.
Perry Favors Adopting FIN Program
If state funding can be secured,
firefighting agencies in the state
will soon have a twin to the Police
Information Network. Gdenton
Fire Chief Lynn Perry attended a
meeting in Greensboro January 24
where the Firemen’s Information
Network (FIN) was discussed.
The system would allow each of
the state’s 1,400 fire departments
to have a computer connection
with a central storage system in
Raleigh. The system would pro
vide instant access to whatever in
formation each department
needed.
The meeting adopted a uniform
reporting system so that each of
the departments would submit the
same reports to Raleigh.
Another improvement program
discussed would set minimum
standards for firefighters. The
program would be completely im
plemented three years after adop
tion by each department and
would be on a voluntary basis.
Guidelines say each firefighter
would meet the same re
quirements in any department.
Active members at the time of
adoption would be under the
grandfather clause.
Perry said, “Fire departments
would be set up under the same
training guidelines statewide. If
you follow those guidelines for
training, there is no reason why
any man would not be as profi
cient as another.”
The minimum standard pro
gram would mean an experienc
ed firefighter could move into a
new town, ask to join the fire
department and t,ell the chief what
level of training be had achieved
at his old department. The fire
chief at his new location would
know immediately what training
the newcomer had received.
The program would be recer
tified and updated by the state
every five years. “This would be
on a voluntary basis,” Perry em
phasized, “and no department
would be required to adopt these
standards.”
The Greensboro program was
sponsored by the N.C. Fire Com
mission, organized by the N.C.
Dept, of Insurance.
Roper Man Robbed, Reaten
By JACK GROVE and
JEANETTE WHITE
A Roper man was attacked Sun
day, Jan. 18 in his home, where he
was cut with a knife, shot, clubb
ed over the head, maced, hand
cuffed and robbed.
John Krawcsyk, 46, of Blair
Shores, was alone at his home at
about 7 p.m. when he answered a
knock at his door. Two men in ski
masks pushed their way in and the
victim reached for one of the
masks, thinking it w^s- a prank,
according to Washington County
Sheriff Jim Whitehurst.
Krawcsyk was ordered to get on
the floor and he began to “tussle”
with one of the assailants. The se
cond man shot him through the
hand and into the neck with a .38
caliber handgun and he was also
sprayed with mace, cut in the
back and head with his own knife,
was struck over the head and
handcuffed.
The pair then apparently ran
sacked the house. Sheriff
Whitehurst said that “items were
strewn about, but that could have
been a result of the struggle.”
Items reported taken included
$100 in cash, an AM-FM stereo
cassette, two speakers, three guns
and other items.
Reports indicate that Krawcsyk
waited some ten minutes after his
Continued On Page 4
Construction
Is Lagging
Construction on a new bridge
across Albemarle Sound remains
at a standstill since a portion of
the bridge collapsed in November.
Builders say the collapse will not
affect the May 1988 completion
date.
Mark Heim of Cianbro-Williams
Brothers said the collapse in
volved the fall of seven deck slabs
across the pilings. Cause of the
collapse has not been determined.
“We don’t really know what
caused it. When a collapse is not
witnessed, like this one at might,
you just can’t always pinpoint the
cause,” Heim said.
Three of the 18 supporting pil
ings have been removed from the
water and Heim says the remain
ing 15 should be taken up and
replacements installed within two
weeks. He stated that bad weather
is hampering removal and that
there is no way to determine yet
Continued On Page 4
There are 45,000 firemen in the
state, 90 per cent of whom are
volunteers.
Make-Up
Scheduled
All the schools of the Edenton
Chowan school system will have a
regular class schedule Friday,
Jan. 30.
Community Relations Director
Walt Noneman said this is a
make-up day for students caused
by school closing Monday due to
weather conditions.
Night Fire Destroys
Rocky Hock Grocery
By JEANETTE WHITE
A Rocky Hock institution is
gone.
A Sunday night fire destroyed
the meeting place where tall tales
were swapped about the biggest
deer, the fish that got away and
the best yield per acre.
For 50 years, farmers and
hunters have met at Rocky Hock
Grocery each morning and even
ing to catch up on the news and
add a bit to the story. But it will
be a while, if ever, before they can
do that again.
Center Hill Fire Chief Leon
Evans said his department receiv
ed the call at 2:55 a.m. Monday
and found the grocery and adjoin
ing garage completely engulfed in
flames. Center Hill called Eden
ton Fire Department for assis
tance and three pumpers and one
tank truck fought the blaze.
Another building about 30 feet
from the store was saved, but a
car outside and another inside the
garage were total losses.
Three gas tanks outside the
store burned, but did not explode.
Evans said gasoline in the tanks
and hoses above the ground burn
ed, but the fire did not reach
underground storage tanks. Small
explosions did come from aerosol
cans and sealed oil and paint cans.
Evans said extremely cold tem
peratures did not hamper the fire
fighting efforts. His concern was
focused instead on curious
onlookers sliding on the ice
covered roads.
“We were concerned with the
number of people on the road and
afraid they would skid into each
other or some of-our equipment,’’
Evans said. One whiplash injury
was reported when a truck skidd
ed into a parked car.
The store was built by J.E.
Peele, who sold to Earl Smith in
early 1953. Smith sold the store to
George and Shirley Drawdy about
five years ago. The garage was
rented to Joe Jones.
Drawdy said he received bet
ween 75 and 100 telephone calls
Monday from well-wishers who
wanted to know if he planned to
rebuild.
“But right now I just can’t tell.
I would like to rebuild,” Drawdy
said. The building was insured,
but the owner said no monetary
loss had been determined.
Evans asked for routine inves
tigative assistance from the SBI
Monday, but arson was not sus
pected in the blaze. Cause of the
fire was determined late Monday
to be an electrical problem around
the meat department.
One Rocky Hock resident said
the fire caused a real loss.
“Shirley and George are both so
nice, people in the community just
enjoyed gathering there,” Avis
Dail said.
Smith said even though he was
no longer connected with the
grocery, he considered the loss to
be great.
“I sold it, but I hated to see it go,
it was needed in the community.
When you take the church, school
or country grocery store out of a
community, you don’t have much
left,” Smith said.
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LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON—Jerry Parks is presented with the Jaycees’ annual Distinguished Service
Award by last year’s recipient, Morris Small, Jr. as his wife, Brenda and his father, Luther look on. Luther
Parks was a recipient of the award in the late 1950’s. The award was presented for active involvement
in service to the community.
Parks Winner Of Local DSA Award
Edenton Jaycees presented
their Distinguished Service
Award for 1986 to a man with a
long history of service to his com
munity. Last year’s honoree,
banker Morris Small, Jr., made
the presentation to Jerry Parks at
the annual award banquet last
Thursday evening.
Parks, a graduate of Holmes
High School and East Carolina
University, was twice the reci
pient of the Outstanding Young
Men of America award; coaches
Little League baseball; is an
Edenton volunteer fireman;
member of the board of directors
of the county chapter of the
American Cancer Society; an ac
tive leader in his church; and has
received honors on the job with
the health department.
Parks and his wife Brenda have
one son. The DSA award seems to
run in the family as well. His
father, Luther Parks, received the
award in the late 1950’s.
Guest speaker, West Byrum,
lauded the Jaycee organization
and outlined the prerequisites for
individual success. “1 think our
country is a better place to live
because Jaycees are in our com
munities. This is true only
because you are better men and
women for having belonged to the
Ja'ycees. The past and future suc
cess of the Jaycees is attributed to
the initiative which came from
you. This initiative was spurred
by enthusiasm and enthusiasm
will accomplish any objective and
is the key to success in any
undertaking.
“He who would accomplish lit
tle, must sacrifice little; he who
would achieve much, must sacri
fice much; he who would attain
highly, must sacrifice greatly.
The person who does not willing
ly want to conform will find that
he has many opportunities to ex
press his individuality. The wise
man uses the opportunities to ex
press his individuality. The wise
man uses the opportunities pro
vided by our civilization to
develop his individual talents. And
when you begin to develop
yourself for the benefit of your
community, you begin to develop
leadership.”
The guest speaker’s words
seemed to sum up the work of the
Jaycees and the attributes that
they look for in a recipient for the
Distinguished Service Award.
Special Consent Order Issued
Town officials went to Raleigh
on January 15 to meet with R.
Paul Wilms, Director of the N.C.
Div. of Environmental Manage
ment. The town had requested a
Special Order By Consent from
the state to allow additional
wastewater discharges into the
sewage collection and treatment
system.
Last year, plant performance
had not been up to state standards
on effluent limitations, especially
phosphorus and nitrogen,
discharged into Edenton Bay.
Local officials were able to show
a steady improvement in plant
performance, increased
understanding and cooperation by
local industries and a heightened
awareness on the part of the town
to prevent a recurrence.
At stake was the addition to the
wastewater system of the plann
ed motel at the intersection of U.S.
Continued On Page 4