>/:■/. F .7? ' ”■ ,y r '.! •
Board Stands By Its Decision
By JEANETTE WHITE
A controversial issue was put to
rest Monday night when Edenton
Chowan Board of Education
upheld the July 8 hiring of Billy
Nixon as transportation director
for the school system.
The endorsement came after an
executive personnel session was
called when some county
residents said the hiring was un
fair, because Nixon was a
member of the school board.
Those residents said a 17-year
veteran with the transportation
system, mechanic Van R. (D.D.)
Hare, was bypassed for one of the
board’s own.
When board members gathered
Monday night, around 75ifesidents
were looking for answers to ques
tions and accusations that cir
culated around the county since
Nixon's hiring.
Board chairman Cecil Fry gave
each person who wished to speak
five minutes and harsh words
were spoken, but in a civil
manner.
The harshest words came from
Chowan County Commissioner
Wayne Goodwin, who made it
clear that he spoke personally and
not as a commissioner.
Goodwin said he had never seen
“the, county so upset. I believe
there are people here who would
like to stand up and are afraid
because of reprisal at their jobs,”
he said.
Goodwin said the school board
had lost credibility and gave the
impression of a “rubber stamp
board’’, tfe asked for an indepen
dent investigation into the hiring
and said he believed the decision
to hire Nixon was made several
woeks prior to other job
interviews.
Goodwin asked for the resigna
tion of school superintendent Dr.
John Dunn and associate
superintendent James Kinion.
“This is one of the hardest
things I’ve ever done in my
life...I’ve taken a stand and ask
that you have the guts to do the
same thing,” Goodwin told the
board.
Continued On Page 4
LARGE TURNOUT—School board meetings in Chowan County ususally get underway with no audience,
but a large crowd gathered Monday night to express opinions on the way a vacancy in the transportation
department was filled. Carlton Nixon (standing) said his son, Billy, was qualified for the supervisory posi
tion of transportation director.
Leave Off Sour Grapes
May we compliment the
workers out at Atlantic Forest
Products on the outcome of the
union election Thursday, July 2?
Although the vote was relatively
close, those who preferred to con
tinue as their own agent in deal
ings with the company were in a
clear majority.
And that’s where we think it
ought to be left. Post-election sen
timents expressed through the
Chowan Herald by union
spokesmen sound like sour grapes
to us. Continued efforts to drive a
wedge between workers to favor
unionization and those who don’t
can only have an adverse effect on
the industry.
We have observed through long
years of experience, both as a
union member and as an
employer, that labor organizers
know more about the financial
status of industry than it knows
about itself. It may be true that
the parent i*ft")pany ^ 441a
Forest Products has 125 million in
cash and other assets in the bank.
Most solvent companies do have
money in the bank. That is why it
can continue to provide jobs and
pay wages.
It is when they don’t have
money in the bank that jobs are at
peril. Hie best example of that we
can think of is the U.S. steel in
dustry, which was long a haven of
organized labor. But when it
became over-committed to its
workers and could no longer com
pete with imports that the roof fell
in.
So we hope the workers out at
Atlantic Forest Products will ac
cept the fact that the election is
over and start pulling together as
a team again. There is not enough
industry in northeastern North
Carolina to play too high, wide
and handsome with what we have.
Good News From Raleigh
That was good news about the
$16,000 grant from the N.C.
Department of Natural Resources
and Community Development to
help Edenton’s Build-The-Park
project. That puts the goal of
$35,000 set by Gil Burroughs and
his committee well within reach.
So, the fact that the state money
requires a dollar-for-dollar match
imposes no burden on the local
community. That’s the way Eden
ton does things.
It was also good news that a
$200,000 request for funds to
renovate Swain School auditorium
is “looking good” as fc^e <
legislature heads into its final
days. It may well t>e that the
money has been nailed down by
the time this is in print. If so, we
need to thank Senator Marc
Basnight and Reps. Pete Thomp
son and Vernon James for their
support.
Swain School building is
i scheduled to be converted into
apartments suitable for senior
citizens; but that left the large
auditorium area up for grabs, so
to speak. Fortunately for the com
munity, plans call for refurbishing
the auditorium into a sort of local
civic center and convert the area
under the auditorium into a teen
> Both are badly needed ih Jh$
community.
»
THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little CrtyOn The North Carolina Coast
Volume LLIII • No. 31
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, July 30, 1987
Single Copies 25 Cents
REVIEW PLANS—Brad Brooks (left) and Hoyt Spivey review plans for the new nine holes at the Chowan
Golf and Country Club. They are at the site of the new fifteenth hole.
Golf Course Extension Underway
By JACK GROVE
A 25-year-old nine-hole golf
course is being revitalized with
the addition of nine holes for duf
fers and pros alike. Chowan Golf
and Country Club’s existing yar
dage of 6,183 in two rounds for 18
holes will be expanded so golfers
may play 18 holes straight
through on 6,435 yards.
Forty acres of land for the
course addition was deeded to the
club by Tom Wood of Raleigh,
who is developing some 130
building lots, the bulk of which
will border the course. The pre
sent couise has 18 residential lots
bordering it.
Brad Brooks, golf pro,
superintendent and manager at
the club, said that Bob Thomas,
club president, and his “new
nine” committee were the guiding
force behind the expansion. The
committee members include
George Alma Byrum, Pete Dail,
Jesse Harrell, Joe Conger, Harry
Gard and Mike Overton.
“Bob Thomas and his commit
tee deserve a great deal of credit
for this. He wouldn’t rest until the
project was signed and delivered
to the membership.” The project
began with a meeting in January
1986.
Brooks said that the project was
the reason for his return to the
club from his position as course
superintendent at the Sheraton
Steamboat Resort in Steamboat
Springs, Colo/He had left the posi
tion of superintendent at the local
club in 1984. ‘
Preliminary planning of the
course was done by Stroud
Engineering, contracted by Tom
Wood. The dub contracted with
Hoyt Spivey to do the actual con
struction and design of the course
extension working with Brooks. '
Spivey has constructed many
major courses, induding Bald
Head Island at Wilmington, Hope
Valley at Durham and Quail
Ridge at Sanford. During his
career, he has worked on a total
did the land-dannina
■ -y \7 •. mTT *
and routing of holes.
Spivey and Brooks planned water
hazards and sand traps. A three
acre irrigation lake between the
fourth and fifth fairways, which
acts as a watershed and is spring
fed, became bigger than planned
and now totals 10 acres.
Brooks said that the planning
has over-lapped into the construc
tion phase, much as a sculpture
evolves. Spivey explained, “You
build with the contour of the land,
using its natural beauty.”
Yhe contractor said that work
was 85 percent complete. He said
that the excavation was complete
and “we’re in the process of shap
ing (the course) and installation of
the sprinkler system”.
Three different varieties of
grass seed will be sown after con
struction is complete. Hybrid ber
muda sprigs will be planted for
the tees and greens slopes. Com
mon bermuda seed will be used
for the fairways. A special Penn
cross Bent grass seed will be sown
on the greens.
Brooks indicated that many fac
tors came together to effect cost
savings for the project. “We’ve
been luckv enough to get the ser
vices of Hoyt because of the tim
ing of the project. The availabili
ty of local soil mixes, local labor,
Continued On Page 4
Commission Board, DOT Officials Discuss Secondary Road Funds
Chowan county commissioners,
in a specially called meeting
Tuesday, heard N. C. Department
of Transportation officials outline
proposed secondary road expen
ditures for the coming year.
DOT division engineer C. 0.
White of Ahoskie explained to the
board that the figures presented
for roads were based on last
year’s road budget, although 10-13
percent more is expected when
CLOSE CAI4. — The draw across Chowan River Bridge has been
beset with problems when over-height trucks and equipment try to
squeeze through and hit the span. The bridge had another close call
Monday around 7:30 p.m. when the truck in the front cleared safely,
but the One in the rear was almost too tall. The truck slowed to a crawl
to prevent bouncing and squeaked through the opening.
the legislature completes work on
the state budget.
Of the $124,788 allocated to the
county, 20 percent will be used to
repair paved roads, 15 percent for
stabilization of unpaved roads and
the remainder for paving, spot
strengthening and resurfacing.
Commissioner A1 Phillips told
White that work on the Base Road
“is desperately needed. We’re go
ing to continue to try to have it
designated a primary road." He
said that it was his concern that
“we’re having our money (for
secondary roads) allocated to a
state road.”
Base Road is to receive $72,000
for spot strengthening and resur
facing under the proposal submit
ted to the board.
Riverton resident Robert Beau
mont asked White why so many
road projects seemed to be taking
place around Raleigh when so lit
Continued On Page 6-A
Teenager Facing Rape Charge
A 16-year-old boy has been
charged with the July 18 rape of
a 13-year-old girl, both of Edenton.
According to Sgt. G.K. Bonner
of Edenton Police Department,
the girl was home alone, went to
the clothesline around 11:10 p.m.
and then went back into the house
for a clothes basket.
After she entered the house, she
said the boy knocked at the back
door,, but refused to identify
himself before pushing the door
open and entering the kitchen.
The victim said the assailant
grabbed her and she was beaten
when she refused to have sex with
him. The girl said she was beaten
with fists, choked, struck with a
bottle and her head was banged
against a wall before she was
raped.
The attacker left the house
when the victim said car lights
flashing across a window belong
ed to her mother, who was return
ing home.
The mother heard obscene
remarks pass between people
standing outside the house,
entered the home and found her
daughter. The mother called the
police and the victim was taken to
Chowan Hospital, where she was
treated and released.
The attacker is jailed under
$10,000 bond and is charged with
second degree rape.
The 16-year-okl will be tried as
an adult, but, Bonner said
elements involved did not con
stitute a First degree rape charge.
Legislature To Review
All Airsoace Reauests
Legislation concerning future
use of North Carolina’s airspace
was passed by the General
Assembly last week. The bill was
introduced by Sen. Marc Basnight
of the first district.
It provides for legislative
review of any proposed changes
by the military of restricted
airspace in the state. The N.C.
Dept, of Transportation’s Division
of Aviation is to bring before the
General Assembly or the
Legislative Commission on
Governmental Operations all ap
plications made to the Federal
Aviation Administration by the
military.
The legislative branch will
review and comment on the ap
plications and determine whether
or not they are in the best interests
of the citizens.
In the past, branches of the
mtlttaiyuave requested that
airspace be restricted for military
use over bombing ranges and in
areas where air tactical opera
tions are planned. These requests
to the FAA have gone largely un
noticed and unchallenged by the
public.
Several years ago a resident at
Holiday Island in Perquimans
County uncovered a Naval pro
posal to expand existing bombing
ranges in Albemarle Sound near
that community and in Dare
County. Citizens groups at Holi
day Island and Snug Harbor were
formed to protest the expansion.
Senator Basnight coordinated a
public hearing in Raleigh in 1984
that included citizens delegations
from Eastern North Carolina
counties, officials of the Division
of Aviation, other legislators and
the Navy and Marine Corps.
That and subsequent efforts
caused the Navy to modify its
restricted airspace request, ac
cording to Dare County Airport
Manager Clarence Skinner. The
FAA is reviewing the request.
Senator Basnight said in a
telephone interview this week that
the bill is not retroactive. He said
from now on, airspace requests
will be looked at from a local
perspective. He pointed out that,
prior to the legislation, local small
boards and committees did not
have the resources to effectively
object and airspace was taken
over more easily.
He said that in recommending
either approval or denial of these
airspace requests to the FAA, the
General Assembly “has more
punch than , a property owners’
association”.
• Basnight pointed out that
restricting airspace can affect
decisions of industry that might
consider moving into the state,
especially if these companies
have aircraft and couldn’t operate
them safely here.
He was asked if the recent com
plaints about low over-flights of
the Chowan River Bridge by Navy
aircraft were a factor in the just
passed legislation.
“Very much so. It was part of
the reason the bill was ratified and
enacted,” he said. He added that
motorists affected “while riding
on the bridge and people like
residents of Holiday Island” were
the catalysts for the bill.
“We’re not anti-military, but I
want the citizens I represent to
have their wishes approved,”
Basnight commented.