. .
Illg
i
anksg
On Counting
Our Blessings
There are many things,
great and small, for which to
be thankful along the Public
^Parade and we here at the
Chowan Herald take this
method of showing our appre
ciation.
In many countries of the
world, the transfer of power
from one government to an
other is accompanied by vio
lence and bloodshed. We are
thankful that in the United
^States we are right now going
^through a period when
authority is being shifted
peacefully, even benignly,
from one set of hands to an
other.
Although the inauguration
of the new regime will not
take place until January 20,
the transition is already un
£ derway so that when the mo
ment comes there will be as
little disruption as possible.
That is something to be
thankful for.
We are also thankful that
we live in a state where, had
the voters so chosen, a similar
peaceful transition would be
going on. It says a great deal
£for the type of government
under which we live.
And we are thankful that we
are blessed in both Chowan
County and the Town of
Edenton with stable, honest
administrations, which pro
vide us ^fttralltfte'bgifefltr of
an organized society, perhaps
a greater blessing than we are
• called upon to pay for. We
have excellent law enforce
ment agencies which watch
over our- safety and comfort in
our homes and businesses.
We have good organizations
which look after our health
and physical wellbeing. We
have fire departments, active
/and volunteer, which stand
• guard against one of the
greatest threats the commu
nity faces day and night.
We have good schools and
churches to fill our educa
tional and spiritual needs
and an unmatched environ
ment in which to live and
move and have our being. We
^ are thankful for all these
• things, all these wonderful
Continued On Paged
Santa To
Be Here
Santa Claus is coming to
town on Wednesday, Novem
ber 30 at 4 p.m. He will be the
special guest of the Edenton
Chowan Chamber of Com
merce at their annual
Christmas Parade.
Santa will be riding on the
Edenton Jaycee float, escorted
by the John A. Holmes
Marching Band. Ac
companying Santa on his
visit to Edenton will be sev
eral other bands, along with
Blackboard the Pirate,
Smokey the Bear and the Su
dan Turtle Patrol.
This year's parade theme,
"The Sights and Sounds of
Christmas," will be repre
sented by the many commu
civic, and individual
!8s entries in the float
itegory. ;
The parade route will run
from Holmes High School
down Broad Street to the wa
terfront and then back to the
high school to unload float
'Major Drug Dealer' Arrested Wednesday
The war on drugs is con
tinuing in Chowan County
With the arrest Wednesday
night, Nov. 16, in Gates
County of a reputed major
dealer.
Arrested was Louis Nor
man Eason, 42, of Rt. 1, Hobb
sville. He is charged with
possession with intent to sell
and deliver cocaine; main
taining a dwelling for the
purpose of keeping and sell
ing marijuana and cocaine;
possession with intent to sell
and deliver marijuana and
trafficking in cocaine. Bond
was set last week at $1.6 mil
lion.
Also arrested was his wife,
Audrey Naomi Eason at their
residence on N.C. 37 in
Chowan County near the
Gates County line. She has
been charged with possession
with intent to sell and deliver
cocaine; possession with in
tent to sell and deliver mari
juana; and maintaining a
dwelling for the purpose of
keeping and selling mari
juana and cocaine. Her bond
was set at $100,000.
Sheriff Fred Spruill said
that the arrests were the result
of an undercover investi
gation utilizing an Elizabeth
City Police Officer.
Eason was arrested at the
former Red Apple market,
which he owns, just inside
Gates County on N.C. 32. Ea
son was preparing to sell the
undercover agent about 10 oz.
of cocaine around 7 p.m.
when officers moved in and
made the arrest.
He was then taken to his
home where officers armed
with a search warrant went
through the house. Additional
drugs were found along with a
large amount of cash. Spruill
said that the money "was ev
erywhere, in the house and in
the cars."
The sheriff said that his
>
"OPERATION SNOWBALL"~Elizabeth City Police Chief introduced at a press conference
Friday night, area sheriffs that participated with his department in "Operation Snowball," a city
drug investigation that snowballed into an investigation that included six Albemarle counties
and three municipalities. In the foreground are drugs seized during arrests last week in
Chowan and Perquimans Counties. Seated from left are Chowan Sheriff Fred Spruill,
Perquimans Sheriff Joe Lothian and Camden Sheriff Joe Jones.
deputy, Lieutenant David
Jethro, found a bag with a
stack of $100 bills amounting
to $50,000. Cash was found in
closets, in drawers and in a
1988 Ford pickup and a 1988
Buick.
In all, $114,000 in cash,
some 30 pounds of marijuana
and between 10 and 11 ounces
of cocaine were seized along
with three vehicles. The third
vehicle, a 1983 Ford Tempo
was driven by Eason to the site
of the drug deal. The street
value of the marijuana was
estimated at $48,000 and the
value of the pure cocaine at
$16,000.
Also found at the residence
were four keys to safety de
posit boxes in two banks in
Gatesville. Officers Friday
seized $230,000 in cash and
two $10,000 CD's from two of
the boxes. On Monday, the
other two boxes yielded a little
over $291,000.
Total seizures of cash and
drugs amounted to just under
$640,000.
Continued On Page 10
THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Volume LLIV - No. 45
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, November 24,1988
Single Copies 25 Cents
Drug Sweep Is A Success
By JACK GROVE
ELIZABETH CITY - Area
law enforcement agencies
hjave joined forces to put drug
dealers behind bars.
~ The effort was sfffearheadfed
by the Elizabeth City Police
Dept, in cooperation with the
sheriffs departments of
Pasquotank, Perquimans,
Gates, Chowan, Camden and
Currituck Counties; police
departments of Edenton and
Hertford; the SBI; and the
district attorney’s office.
The drug investigation
was dubbed "Operation
Snowball."
A press conference held by
Elizabeth City Police Chief
W.C. Owens on Friday even
ing preceded a sweep through
area counties and towns in
which some 17 drug arrests
were made. The sheriffs of the
six counties, officers and the
media packed into the city
hall annex for the conference
after which a stack of arrest
warrants containing 194
charges were distributed to the
officers for service.
Chowan Sheriff Fred
Spruill assisted in arrests in
Elizabeth City.
Owens praised all partici
pants in the investigation for
their cooperative spirit and
long hours spent in surveil
lance and investigation.
The investigation began in
Elizabeth City six months ago,
expanded into Pasquotank
County and then spread into
Hertford and Perquimans
County. At that point, the other
counties joined in.
The main resource used
was an undercover Elizabeth
City Police Officer, identified
only as "Big Al." Detective
Capt. W.O. Leary said that he
ordered the young officer to
get a "spike” haircut and
wear an earring while
undercover. The effect on the
barrel chested officer, present
at the conference, was strik
ing.
Counties and municipali
ties involved were asked to
contribute $3,000 each for
funds for drug buys. Also uti
lized was a $50,000 grant to
Elizabeth City from the state
Continued On Page 10
Cancer Society Benefit
Holiday Fashion Show Set
til the spirit of the Christ
inas season, which is giving,
twe laeal businesses have
joined together to present a
Holiday Gala Fashion Show
and Champagne Buffet to
LOVELY LADIES ~ Donna Heidenreich and Melanie Jones
model dresses which will be among those featured in a Holiday
Gala Fashion Show and Champagne Buffet to benefit the
American Cancer Society. Sandy Silks and Foot Fashions will
be co-sponsors for the event which takes place at the Governor
Eden Inn on Wednesday, November 30 at 7 p.m. (Staff photo by
Gail Basnight) ‘
benefit the American Cancer
Society.
Sandy Silks and Foot
Fashions will co-sponSOr this
special event, at which all
proceeds from ticket sales
will be donated to the fight
against cancer.
The gala will be held held
at the Governor Eden Inn on
Wednesday, November 30,
beginning at 7 p.m. The inn
is owned and operated by Ruth
and Clarence "Shack"
Shackelford of Edenton.
A delightful Champagne
Buffet will be served through
out the evening as the models
show off holiday fashions in
an informal manner.
An assortment of party
dresses, slacks, jewelry,
handbags and dyed to match
shoes will be featured.
Pam Stallings, Director of
the local American Cancer
Society office, says, "What a
pleasure it is to work for such
a worthwhile cause and have
an enjoyable evening, too.
We would like to encourage
everyone to come out and sup
port this event and its com
munity-spirited sponsors."
She added, "We just can't
thank Patricia Downum and
Carolyn White enough for all
they are doing for us."
Tickets are available from
Sandy Silks, Foot Fashions
and members of the Ameri
can Cancer Society.
"SNOW"--One of the many nicknames for cocaine is snow.
Capt. of Detectives in the Elizabeth City Police Dept., W.O.
Leary, holds aloft a packet of the illegal drug Friday night as
Sheriffs Joe Lothian of Perquimans and Joe Jones of Camden
look on.
Bond Plans Outlined
Passage of the local school
bond referendum by an 86 per
cent majority on Nov. 8 has
set the wheels in motion to pre
pare for construction next
summer.
County Manager Cliff
Copeland last week outlined
the process that is expected.
There is a 30 day waiting pe
riod to allow for any chal
lenges to the referendum be
fore official steps are taken
toward construction.
In the meantime, the school
board has begun work with
architect William Doggett of
Doggett Associates of
Raleigh.
The bid process will take
30-45 days after which bids
will be evaluated, taking an
additional two weeks to a
Continued On Page 10
Williams Named To Post
Town Manager Ann
Marie Kelly announced
Tuesday morning that Capt.
Harvey Williams of the
Edenton Police Dept, has been
named as Acting Chief, ef
fective Wednesday, Nov. 23.
It was announced on Nov. 2
that Chief J.D. Parrish had
submitted his resignation in
order to retire, effective Dec.
2. Ms. Kelly said that Parrish
will use his accumulated va
cation time prior to his re
tirement. Parrish cited his
wish to "get out there in the
county with my family,” as
the reason for retiring.
Ms. Kelly commented that
Williams, "is the ranking
officer and he has filled in for
the chief when he has been on
vacation and been out of town
on business. I'm confident
that the captain can perform
the duties of the chief."
The town has begun the
process of looking for a per
manent replacement. The
town manager said that ad
vertisements for applications
have been placed in several
police journals statewide. She
reiterated, "The position is
open to anyone within the de
partment to apply." A perma
nent appointment is expected
within tiie next three to four
months.
"I look at this interim pe
riod as a good opportunity for
the captain and I to work to
gether,” Ms. Kelly concluded.
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