Explosion Destroys Barry Home
By JACK GROVE
An explosion rocked Cape
Colony Monday night and a
resulting fire leveled the
W home of Trip Barry and
damaged neighboring
houses. The explosion oc
curred around 9:30 p.m. ac
cording to witnesses.
Barry, the only occupant at
the time„received bums over
30 to 35 per cent of his body
and is in serious condition at
Sentara Norfolk General
^ Hospital's bum trauma unit.
™ He is married to the former
Kathy Spruill of Edenton.
The three-story frame
dwelling reportedly had a gas
log in the downstairs living
room, supplied by LP gas.
Main heating for the house
was a heat pump according to
a neighbor.
Edenton Fire Chief Lynn
£ Perry said that his depart
menl received the call at 9:34
p.m. 'The house was totally
engulfed (in flames) and the
two houses next door were
burning,' when fire equip
ment arrived. Perry said. A
call was immediately sent
for backup assistance from
the Center Hill-Crossroads
Fire Department.
"Our Job at that point was
saving the neighboring
houses,” the fire chief rela
ted. Fire partially destroyed
wood siding on the home of
Shelton and Wanda Stryker
and melted the vinyl siding
of the home of George and
Maggie Stokes.
The force of the blast
which, according to Mrs.
Stryker, blew out the side of
the Barry home toward her
home, drove a two by four
board through the wall of
their living room, knocked
all the pictures off the walls,
dumped the contents of the
kitchen cabinet, cracked a
roof beam, and knocked over
a lamp.
On the Stokes' side, win
dows were broken, glass and
window frames from the
Barry home littered their
backyard and the side of
their motor home in the
driveway was wrinkled and
burned from the blast and
fire.
Stokes said that he and his
wife were at American Le
gion bingo when they re
ceived a call from a neighbor
who told him. "There's a fire
next door and your house is
getting mighty hot." "That's
all I had to hear, " Stokes
said before rushing home.
The Strykers were home at
Continued On Page 4
It 's ^our ‘Turn cT[ozu
We are not about to try to
tell the people of Edenton
how to vote in the upcoming
town election. After all, ev
erybody along the Public
^ Parade knows the candidates
better than we do.
But we do hope that all
qualified voters to to the
polls November 3 and cast
their ballots for a bigger and
better Edenton, understand
ing as they do the difference
between the two. We want to
see Edenton grow and pros
• per because, as the town
prospers, so does the Chowan
Herald. Just the same, we
know that more neons do not
necessarily add up to a better
place to live.
Although our unemploy
ment rate is relatively low,
Edenton does need more and
better paying jobs. Just as
man should not live by bread
£ alone, he also finds it diffi
cult to survive on history.
The challenge to our com
munity is to increase the
harvest of bread without de
stroying our heritage of his
tory.
We want to see the historic
integrity of the central dis
trict preserved and protected.
We want to see the waterfront
9 enlarged and beautified and
kept lor the enjoyment of all.
And we want to see the whole
place kept litter-free and
clean.
Beyond that, we would like
to see a little more flexibility
in the perimeter areas and a
little more imagination by
community leaders in the
recruiting of business and
9 industry to increase our tax
base enough to support those
services needed and de
manded by all.
So, we urge you to vote for
those candidates you believe
will best assure continued
progress within the limits
Just outlined.
Of the two candidates for
_ mayor, both are well known,
P both have served in that of
fice, are well qualified and
Continued On Page 4
It's Back!
»
• Page 5-A of today's edition
of The Chowan Herald fea
tures a Community Calendar
for the first time in several
Months.
As the result of interest
expressed by several local
organizations, the calendar
has been revived and will be
coordinated by the Edenton
Chowan Chamber of Com
merce in the future.
Particular credit for this
decision rests with
"Snookie" Bond of the His
toric Albemarle Tour and
Donna Heidenrelch of the
Chowan Arts Council, who
coordinated the effort with
thO chamber.
. Local civic groups inter
ested in having events in
cluded in the calendar
should contact the Chamber
of Commerce office for de
rails.
Edenton voters will go to
the polls next Tuesday to
elect a mayor and three town
council members. Polls will
open at 6:30 a.m. and close at
7:30 p.m.
The Old National Guard
Armory on N. Broad Street is
Hearings
Are Planned
Imminent Federal Aviation
Administration hearings at
Manteo and Hertford have
sparked an urgent memo
randum from the Albemarle
Commissioner's Executive
Director, Don Flowers to
area legislators, mpnicipa.l
official® and county com^
missioners.
The FAA hearings will
receive public comment on
the U.S. Navy's proposed ex
pansion of military bombing
ranges and military operat
ing areas in Albemarle
Sound and at Stumpy Point.
The subject surfaced several
years ago when residents of
Holiday Island and Snug
Harbor learned of the Navy's
expansion plans. A series of
sometimes angry public
hearings were presided over
by the Navy in attempting to
explain its position. The
Navy continues to press for
the expansion which must be
approved by the FAA.
Flowers' memo says, in
part, "At issue here is the
very future of economic de
velopment as affects the
Albemarle Sound and the
Outer Banks for water usage
and the fishing, commercial
and recreational uses.
"This drastically affects
Hertford, Edenton, Ply
mouth, and Columbia and
most places in between. We
could not have regattas,
daily sailing, or any other
water activities. This could
also affect the attempts to
lure boaters into our area via
the Highway 17-Dismal
Swamp Welcome Center and
the proposed 'Showboat' that
NNCT is trying to secure for
this area."
Flowers explained that the
military plans to reserve
airspace "from surface level
to 14.000 feet, thus eclipsing
all traffic in the proposed
area." He said that the
proposal would adversely
affect civilian air travel
from the Outer Banks west
ward and raised the specter
of the danger of the use by the
military "of laser guided
weaponry. ”
He concluded with, "If we
don't act now, these ranges
will become reality and we
may never be able to change
them."
Flowers asked the public
officials to attend the
hearings at Manteo’s N.C.
Aquarium on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
and at the Albemarle Com
mission building in Hertford
on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The
hearings are open to all
members of the public.
FREE BAG-Chowan Sheriff Fred Spruill handed out free
trick or treat bags at area schools in emphasizing safety for
Halloween activities Saturday night. The bags came with
safety tips and are reflectorized for added safety.
Safety Tips
Chowan Sheriff Fred
Spruill is calling upon the
parents in the county to
assist in assuring the safety
of all children, especially on
Halloween when the ghouls
and goblins will be out trick
or treating.
Spruill and Edenton Police
Chief John Parrish ask that
parents follow these guide
lines to ensure that children
have a safe Halloween:
- Stay in your own neigh
borhood:
- Children should be ac
companied by an adult:
- Wear light colored
clothing for easy visibility:
- Carry a flashlight after
dark; and
- Watch out for traffic when
crossing streets or roadways.
Authorities ask that trick
or treaters go door-to-door
between the hours of 5:30
and 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Ghouls and goblins should be
no older than twelve years of
age.
Spruill has also provided
children at schools with
special Super Safety Trick
or-Treat Bags provided by
Sampling Corp. of America
in cooperation with the
National Safety Council and
a number of food corpora
tions.
The plastic bag includes
safety tips and is printed on
both sides with a special flu
orescent ink. A child carry
ing this bag will be highly
visible to motorists due to
the bright reflection of the
color.
Dusk is an especially dan
gerous time when visibility
is generally poor. Each child
also received a large, self
adhesive safety patch with
coloring similar to the bags.
The patch can be worn on the
ww •S-;-:y-:v--.--^ ! llipBIIWlllllliyBMMWIlWWWMW
HOUSE EXPLODES-The remains of a house at Cape Colony lie in blackened ruins after a
Monday night explosion and fire. A classic MG and a pickup in front of the house were dam
aged. The George Stokes home at right is sheathed in plastic for protection against Tuesday’s
rains after the windows were shattered from the blast.
THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Volume LLIII - No. 43
Edenton, North Carolina. Thursday. October 29. 1987
Single Copies 25 Cents
Edenton Voters To Select Mayor, Council In Upcoming Election
the polling place for East
Edenton and the new Rescue
Squad Building is the site for
West Edenton voters to regis
ter their choices. Voters will
select candidates for mayor.
the at-large council seat and
the candidate for their own
ward only in the first and
second wards.
In the election, incumbent
mayor John Dowd faces
former mayor Roy Harrell.
For the first ward, incum
bent Herbert Hollowell is
running against newcomer
James Alligood. In the sec
ond ward, Jane Mabry, Steve
Biggs and Livingstone Good
man are competing for the
seat of retiring councilman
Steve Hampton. The at-large
race pits incumbent Marina
Crummey against chal
lengers Joe Lee and James
Taylor.
Poll workers for East Eden
lon are registrar Magdalene
D. Dale; judges Iris H. Mills
and Linda E. Keel; and assis
tants Darnell E. White,
Phyllis F. Madrey, William
Zarbock and Patricia Slorie.
For West Edenton, workers
are registrar Angelene
Wright; judges Janet Arm
strong and Rebecca
McArthur; and assistants
Marie Pierce, Lois Jordan,
Deanna Chesson and Betty
Halsey.
A sample ballot can be
found on page 4-B of this
newspaper.
Area Hunter Is Killed
The area's first fatal hunt
ing accident of the year oc
curred Wednesday evening,
October 21 when a Snug
Harbor man was shot in
Perquimans' Bethel Town
ship off of Hopewell Road.
According to Wildlife En
forcement Officer Jack Sta
ley, Terry McHone, 18, of
Snug Harbor, was shot in the
chest around 6:30 p.m. by his
hunting companion, Jeff
Nixon, also 18. Both hunters
were seniors at Perquimans
High School.
Slaley said that Nixon fired
his 30.06 rifle at a deer in a
lane with woods on both
sides. The slug missed the
deer and struck McHone who
was in a field screened by
weeds. The victim was not
wearing blaze orange which
was mandated this year by
the General Assembly.
The area's regular gun sea
son for deer opened October
12. The blaze orange law
requires wearing of the color
while hunting big game with
firearms. Violation of the
law is an "infraction" and
carries a penalty of $25.
Staley said that no charges
were expected to be filed as a
result of the accident.
Dept. Confiscates 46 Marijuana Plants
The Chowan Sheriffs De
partment made one of their
biggest marijuana hauls this
year when they confiscated
46 plants found in the Bal
lard's Bridge area Saturday.
The plants were collected
from a wooded area near the
water tower in the northern
end of the county around 6
p.m. according to Sheriff
Fred Spruill.
The plants, 12 to 14 feet tall,
have a street value of $1,200
each for a total of $55,200.
For the year, the sheriff's
department has confiscated
264 plants with a total street
value of $316,800.
Participating in the raid
were Spruill and Deputies
Harry Ward and James
White. The sheriff said the
plants were found as the
result of a Crime Line tip. A
Crime Line reward of $50 has
already been paid for infor
mation provided resulting in
seizure of marijuana in a
prior case.
Sunday morning Spruill
requested the services of a
MM
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter
to overfly the Ballard's
Bridge area to determine if
any illegal weed had been
missed. Spruill flew with the
helo crew for about an hour
but was unable to detect more
plants. The helo landed near
the former Teeny Boy's Store
to drop Spruill off before
proceeding to a new mission.
Spruill said that he cur
rently has no suspects in this
most recent case but that an
investigation is continuing.
Continued On Page 4
Emphasized
back of outer garments or
costumes for additional vis
ibility to motorists.
UP IN SMOKE-Chowan Sheriff Fred Spruill and Deputies David Jethro and James While
watch as 46 marijuana plants bum near the animal shelter at the airbase Monday morning.
The plants were found In the Ballard’s Bridge section of the county Saturday.