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THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
) Volume LL1II- No. 50
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, December 17,1987
Single Copies 25 Cents
The Spectrum of Need
It's amazing -- and, in a
way, saddening at Christmas
time -- how many requests for
contributions come to an in
dividual through the mails
these days not to mention
those received verbally.
Seldom does a day pass that
we do not receive two or three
such requests, usually
accompanied by a long letter
stressing the merits of the
cause represented. Sometimes
they will include self
addressed stamped envelopes.
Others will affix a shiny new
penny as a gift to you just to
make your conscience hurt.
In any event, these letters
constitute a large portion of
the mail we receive and they
reflect the spectrum of need
from one end to the other. We
assume they are all honest,
but experience tells us that
there may be some crooks in
the woodpile as well. At one
time or another we have con
tributed to some of these
groups and we assume that is
how we get on the mailing list
of the others.
A large portion of the re
quests come from political or
ganizations making broad
cast appeals for support for one
party or the other. Appeals for
political donations are off
somewhat as we approach
Christmas, but they will
flower to full bloom with the
new year. During oiie Week
recently our mail brought the
following requests for contri
butions, together with letters
pleading for assistance:
Habitat for Humanity.
Continued On Page 4
Thieves Foiled In Robbery
A local business was bro
ken into early Tuesday
morning but an alarm system
and quick response by the
Edenton Police were credited
with the fact that nothing was
taken.
An alarm system at the U
Rent store at Edenton Village
Shopping Center alerted police
to a breakin at 2:43 a.m.
Officer Linard Bonner was
first on the scene, followed by
Sgt. F.M. Parker. No one was
found at the scene.
Store employees were
called, and the business was
unlocked to reveal a 2x3 foot
hole in the plasterboard wall
between the store and the va
cant waterbed store. Police
believe entry to the waterbed
store was gained through its
back door.
U-Rent store manager
Robert Turlington praised
police response to the scene
"within a matter of seconds."
He said that an inventory
showed that nothing was
missing although another
would be taken as a double
check. "We’re very fortunate
we didn't lose anything. I at
1 tribute that to the police force
being on the ball," Turlington
added.
The manager demon
strated a sense of humor com
bined with an eye for business
as a result of the breakin. The
store is holding "The Great
Breakin Sale” until Friday.
Cops and robbers video tapes
will be on sale, two for the
price of one.
Turlington has been store
manager here for only three
weeks. He was transferred
from the Clinton, N.C. store.
MESS • Would-be thieves left a mess at the U-Rent store in
Edenton after k breakin early Tuesday morning. Pondering the
situation is Robert, store manager. An alarm system and swift
police response thwarted theft. A police investigation is
continuing. \ s
Schedule
Announced
The Chowan Herald will
be closed on Thursday, De
cember 24 and Friday, De
cember 25 in observance of
the Christmas holiday.
Accordingly, next,
week's edition will be
printed on Tuesday
evening. Advertisers and
those planning to submit
news stories and pho
tographs should have them
turned in as soon as possi
ble. Items received too late to
be included in the Christ
mas edition will be held
over until the following
week.
The Chowan Herald staff
extends its very best wishes
to the community for a
healthy and happy Christ
mas holiday.
Trooper Demonstrates Etreathalizer
Students at Chowan Jr.
High School got a first-hand
look at a breathalizer used by
law enforcement to determine
extent of impairment of
drivers during a presentation
by N.C. Highway Patrol
Trooper Mike McArthur
Monday.
Seventh and Eighth grade
students, as part of their
health classes, heard
McArthur explain how the
Highway Patrol handles
drunk driving cases, from the
highway to the court room.
The trooper said drunk
drivers are usually stopped
due to driving violations such
as crossing the center line,
speeding or stop sign viola
tions. The smell of alcohol is
normally detected by the offi
cer as soon as the window is
rolled down by the driver.
McArthur said that he
knows most of the local mo
torists and their cars. He said
that out-of-the-ordinary char
acteristics of the motorist
stopped is often an indicator of
too much alcohol or of drug
use. He gave an example of
an individual who usually
talks slowly, talking fast or
excitedly when stopped. Or
another, who usually does a
lot of talking, being unchar
acteristicly quiet when
stopped.
Using students, the trooper
demonstrated the use of the
breathalizer and field tests
given to suspect drivers.
He asked two students to
take a small amount of mouth
wash into their mouths and
then spit it into a cup. The
mouth wash contains alcohol.
'Tffe"frrst studefflT was given
the breathalizer test immedi
ately after the mouth wash
and registered .84 (.10 is
legally drunk).
The trooper explained that,
while the breathalizer is de
signed to measure alcohol
circulated by the blood and
through the lungs, this test
was only a demonstration as
the alcohol in the mouth is
quickly dissipated.
Atvbther student waited a
longer period of time after the
mouth wash to be tested. He
registered a .13 on the ma
chine.
Field tests using another
student were demonstrated.
In one, he was asked to walk
heel to toe for five steps,
counting off each step aloud.
Another tested his ability to
touch the tip of his nose with
his eyes closed.
The field tests gave a pe
riod of comic relief to an oth
erwise serious subject as the
student experienced some
difficulty with the tests.
McArthur gave other indi
cators that troopers see in mo
torists that might suggest in
toxication. One earnest young
man though, wanted to know
how impairment of mari
juana was determined. Along
with alcohol indicators such
as glassy eyes and the lack of
bodily coordination,
McArthur said that the smell
of the drug was usually in the
suspect's clothing.
He said that marijuana
users often drank beer while
they smoked the weed. After a
breathalizer test for those with
alcohol on their breath, the
suspect would be taken to the
hospital for a blood test that
would confirm marijuana.
"And guess who pays for the
blood test. He (suspect) does,”
the trooper told his audience.
Continued On Page 4
W:'MS
JUST BLOW IN HERE - Chowan Jr. High student Danielle Drew prepares to participate in a
breathalizer test given by N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Mike McArthur Monday morning.
McArthur's presentation outlined procedures in apprehending impaired drivers.
Intersection Again Accident Site
Serious injuries were
avoided in a Sunday evening
accident at the same intersec
tion, N.C. 37 and Yeopim Rd.,
that was the scene of a fatal
accident several weeks ago.
In that accident, a Snug
Harbor woman was killed
when her car pulled in front of
another vehicle while
attempting to cross the high
way.
The Sunday accident oc
curred as a Virginia family
was traveling north on N.C.
37 in a 55 mph zone and ap
proached the intersection. A
car driven by Napoleon
Lemont Phelps, 17, of Route 2,
Eden ton, pulled out into the
intersection after having
stopped at the stop sign, head
ing east on Yeopim Rd.
The driver of the Virginia
car, Johnny Lawrence Gower;
Jr., 24, of Portsmouth, Va. ap
plied his breaks to avoid a
collision and skidded into a
ditch on the east side of the
highway. Gower's wife,
Crystal, 23 and their three
year old son, Johnny were
transported by the rescue
squad to Chowan Hospital
where they were treated ?nd
released.
The cars did not make
contact and the Phelps vehicle
stopped just beyond the inter
section. Phelps was charged
by investigating Trooper
Mike McArthur with failure
to yield the right of way.
The occupants of the Gower
car were wearing jcestraints.
THANKS - "Thank you very much. You did a great job," Holmes Athletic Director Tom Bass
told the co-chairman of the Jaycee concession sales committee as he and Football Head Coach
Jay Swicegood accepted a check for $2,200. From left are Swicegood, Bass, Gary Smith and
Morris Small. "We had the biggest year ever," commented Small.
Jaycees Aid Student Athletes
The John A. Holmes
Athletic Fund is $2,200 richer
thanks to the efforts of the
Edenton Jaycees. They ran
the concession sales during
the football season and had
"the biggest year ever," ac
cording to concession co
chairman Morris Small.
Last year, concession sales
brought in $1,732 to benefit the
athletic fund. Athletic
Director Tom Bass and Head
Football Coach Jay Swicegood
accepted the check from the co
chairmen, Small and Gary
Smith. Small told them,
'Every year it gets better." In
accepting the check, Bass
said, "Thank you very much.
You did a great job."
All four men credited
Edenton fans with large
turnouts for home games.
They agreed also, that a win
ning football team helped at
tendance.
Both Jaycees were sur
prised to learn that the only
money that goes into the ath
letic fund is from gate re
ceipts, concession receipts
and help from the Aces
Boosters Club. The only
money budgeted by the school
system provides funds for
coaches supplements for the
many extra hours they put in.
The athletic budget is some
$20,000 annually. This buys
equipment, pays officials and
provides transportation for the
entire sports program at the
high school.
"Just the travel costs are
around $5,000," Bass said.
"We are now operating in the
black. Three years ago we
weren't," he added.
Swicegood pointed out that
the sports program includes
varsity and J.V. football
squads, three basketball
teams, boys and girls tennis,
cheerleading squads, boys
basketball, girls softball, boys
wrestling and varsity track.
Bass took the occasion to
announce that eight athletes at
Holmes have been selected for
the Northeast Conference All
Academic Squad. To qualify,
the student athlete must have
attained an overall scholastic
average of 90.
Among the cheerleaders
selected were Beth Norvell,
Stephanie Creighton, Mary
Copeland and Melissa Bunch.
Mike Bunch was tapped
from the football program.
Girls tennis selectees were
Gabriel Webster, Cindy
Ward and Rosie Liem.
Athletes in all departments
of the sports program will re
ceive awards at the fall ban
quet at the high school cafete
ria on January 11.