Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, December 1,1988
p-.li
Nl
%
tl5|
;:i
|if
On Dopes
And Addicts
Substance abuse is too obtuse
a term to apply to the drug
problem in Chowan County.
That apparently may, account
for the public apathy toward,
this growing evil in our
midst.
When we talk about sub
stance abuse, it covers every
thing from using too much
sugar ip your, coffee to main
lining morphine. What we
need to do is to begin calling
things what they really are.
When we were a youngster
coming up in a rural moun
tain community, our next
door neighbor, a civil war
veteran, was a paregoric ad
dict. He used every cent of his
union veteran's pension to
buy the stuff by the case at the
country store.
He was called a dopehead,
not a substance abuser. And
from that nice distinction
young people of the commu
nity got the idea that this fool
ish man was not a good role
model to follow.
The same thing was true of
the fellow who, during a tour
of duty in Jamaica, let rum
get the better of him. He was
called a "jakeleg," which was
a couple of levels below a
rumhead.
So we need to start calling
things what they are. Howard
Kohn is coming close to the
idea when he describes a
marijuana user as a pothead
who, unless he changes his
way, will soon be planted for
keeps. The same goes for the
coke blokes, the crack jacks
and powder sniffers who
think they are too smart_ever
to let the stuff get a hold on
them. They are not substance
abusers, they are dope addicts
in the making.
This, then, is what has
moved into our community
and from which all too many
of us are looking the other
way. Law enforcement offi
cers, who must confront the
ugly side of the drug traffic,
are alarmed at what they see
and discouraged , at the com
munitywide apathy toward the
I
problem.
We can no longer as a
community stand aside, like
the Pharisee of old, and thank
God we are not as other com
munities, for alcohol and
narcotics recognize no'
boundaries, neither social,
geographic nor legal. We
need to confront this evil in
our clubs, in our churches, in
!our schools and in our homes,
particularly our homes. We
must learn to recognize the
signs of early drug abuse and
deal with each case as the exi
gencies of the moment re
quire.
Encourage our children to
fsa^iie. One of thehesi ways to
Ibis is the positive ap
.We are reminded of a
in which there was a
»tto each child that
Juveniles Desecrate Grave
Juvenile petitions have
been filed by the Chowan
Sheriffs Dept, against three
teenagers and ah arrest war
rant is pending for a fourth as
the result of a grave desecra
tion in the Arrowhead Beach
community recently.
'The grave, said to be part of
, a small slave cemetery on the
former Bandon Plantation
and now part of Arrowhead,
was opened several weeks ago
by the boys, one who is 16, two
of whom areluand one who is
14. A plywood covering had
been placed over the hole in a
secluded section of the com
munity.
Chowan Deputy Sheriff
Harry Ward said that a resi
dent made the discovery and
reported it. Under the plywood
was a seven foot hole through
the grave. At the bottom, Ward
found that a five foot tunnel
led to a small room hollowed
out of the clay subsoil. No
shoring had been used in the
excavation and Ward said
that a cave-in could have oc
curred.
immXmm
CHALLENGES-Guest speaker Billy Ray Hall told those in
attendance at the annual AADA awards banquet of the
challenges that lie ahead for rural areas. Listening attentively
at right is AADA president, Samuel Cox.
Local Co-Op Honored
At Annual Banquet
Albemarle Cotton Growers
Cooperative was honored as
Chowan County’s selection
for outstanding business of
the year at the annual Albe
marle Area Development As
sociation's annual banquet at
the American Legion Build
ing in Edenton Tuesday
night.
The cooperative, operator of
two cotton gins, was among
businesses from each county
in the ten county area to re
ceive the award. It was an
nounced that the cooperative
will do a potential $1.4 mil
lion business this year.
The AADA , begun in 1961,
is an association of business
and community leaders to
promote a climate in which
economic development will
occur. In addition to Chowan,
participating counties include
Camden, Currituck, Dare,
Gates Hyde, Pasquotank,
Perquimans, Tyrrell and
Washington.
The annual awards pro
gram and banquet recognizes
organizations conducting
community improvement and
industrial activities. Tues
day's awards were - for ac
complishments and activities
conducted during 1988.
In addition to the business
category, awards were pre
sented in Youth, Civic and
Rural Community areas.
The Pembroke 4-H Clover
Buds of Chowan County re
ceived recognition in the
Youth category. The club was
honored for its work for the
"Keep America Clean and
Beautiful" program.
Guest speaker for the
evening was Billy Ray Hall
of the N.C. Rural Economic
Development Center, Inc.,
based in Raleigh.
Hall cited the many vol
unteer efforts of individuals,
groups and businesses that
are the hallmark of rural
communities. "In a lot of
large cities in North Car
olina, volunteers don't exist
that you've seen here," he told
the large crowd.
The speaker pointed to the
nation's large trade deficit
anti stated that "Small busi
nesses are the future employ
ers in this country." He said
Continued On Plage 10
The room had a plywood
sheet for flooring and a small
throw rug. On a short wooden
stool stood a beer bottle used as
a candle holder and a roll of
paper towels.
Investigation led to the four
teenagers who live in the
community. Ward said that
fragments of two human arm
or leg bones were found in the
bedroom of the 16-year-old.
A teacher at Holmes High
School and Ward both said
that a rumor had spread at the
school that the boys were in
volved in satanic worship.
Ward said that the boys de
nied this and had a different
story. Their version was that
one Friday night they had
nothing to do and decided to
dig up the grave.
They face a charge of grave
desecration, a felony. The
underground room, tunnel
and grave were filled in by
the suspects under the super
vision of a sheriffs deputy.
The grave was that of
Harry Maben whose tomb
stone indicates that he died in
1892.
While the three youngest
boys face a juvenile hearing,
the 16-year-old could be tried
as an adult.
The Spirit Of The Season
Gift Giving Urged
Where is the spirit of
Christmas? Even the com
mercialized frenzy of gift
buying that has come to sym
bolize the holiday for many
pales in comparison to the joy
shining in the eyes of a small
child on Christmas met
However, for some chil
dren in our community, a
family's financial difficul
ties may dictate that there be
no gifts for them on Christ
mas morning. No gifts at all,
unless outside help can be
found.
With this in mind, the
Chowan County Department
of Social Services has issued
an appeal to church and civic
organizations that would like
to bring the thrill of Christ
mas morning back for boys
and girls from needy fami
lies in our community.
. In addition to gifts for
children, the department will
also be accepting presents to be
given to disabled and elderly
persons who may have no one
else to share the spirit of
Christmas with them.
David McCall, speaking
for the department, said, "The
Spirit of Christmas is giving
and the spirit of giving is un
conditional, whether the gift
goes to a needy child, or an
elderly or disabled person
who lives in our community."
He added, "It is our sincere
hope that everyone in Chowan
~'Cbiihty wifl open "their Hearts
during the Christmas season
and share what they have with
others who are less fortunate.
The true meaning of Christ
mas is love for others, not be
ing mean-spirited and selfish
because you feel someone else
doesn't deserve your help."
Anyone wishing to partici
pate in this program may
contact McCall or Grenda
Coston, 482-7441, who are co
ordinating the project for the
department.
UNDERGROUND DIGS—This underground room was
hollowed out of clay seven feet under the site of a slave cemetery
at Arrowhead Beach recently. The bottle on the stool was used as
a candle holder. (Photo by Chowan County Sheriffs Dept.)
National Coverage
Causes Concern
By JACK GROVE
A recent two-hour special
on network television con
cerning satanic rites, hosted
by Geraldo Rivera, has fueled
speculation and rumors in the
Albemarle area about the ex
istence of satanic cults lo
cally.
The situation has not been
helped by a grave desecration
in Chowan (see accompany
ing story) and vandalism of a
grave a month ago in Gates.
Gates County Sheriff Elmo
Benton said Tuesday that an
above ground brick-lined
crypt had been broken into.
He said that at least two teen
age boys are believed to be in
volved. He said that charges
wouldn't be filed however un
less relatives of the deceased,
who he declined to name,
swore out a warrant.
The motive is not believed
by Gates authorities to be
grave robbing but simply van
dalism.
Sheriff Benton said that he
hadn't heard of any cults op
erating in Gates and that he
saw no connection between the
Chowan and Gates incidents.
"I think it's a bunch of boys
with nothing to do," he com
mented.
A check with Perquimans
Sheriff Joe Lothian about a re
ported cult operating in the
New Hope area led to a call to
Pasquotank Sheriff Davis
Sawyer. Lothian said that he
had heard of a reputed satanic
cult from Pasquotank that had
held some rites in Perqui
Continued On Page 10
Publisher's Statement
Elsewhere in today's
Chowan Herald is the re
sponse by Alex K. Brock,
director of the State Board of
Elections, to Gwendolyn
DeBerry Hendrix's letter of
November 17 complaining
about the design of the Pres
House Is Lost In Fire
The Edenton Fire Dept, re
sponded to an early morning
structure fire at the Chowan
Golf and Country Club Wed
nesday (yesterday).
Edenton Fire Chief Lynn
Perry said that the fire was
reported at 12:50 a.m. by a
neighbor, Tom Holland.
Perry said that after calling
911, Holland walked to the
burning house in time to see
the roof collapse in flames.
The house on West Sound
Shore Drive, near the club
house, was the residence of
Jim Merritt, golf pro for the
club. Merritt, who is single,
* was in Myrtle Beach at a turf
convention on behalf of the
club at the time of the fire, a
club spokesman said.
Perry said the house was a
total loss. An investigation is
underway to determine the
cause of the fire. "It's been a
long, long time since we've
had anything like that," he
commented.
The fire department an
swered another call yesterday
at 8 a.m. to the residence of
Mrs. Christine Revell at 203
West Albemarle Street. Perry
said the fire was in an LP gas
stove and no structural dam
age was incurred.
idential ballot in the
November 8 General Elec
tion.
Mr. Brock explains the
position of the state board,
denying any ulterior mo
tives in the design of the
ballot. This is to respond to
the accusation in the letter
that the Chowan Herald was
delinquent in failing to
publish a sample ballot prior
to the election.
Normally the Chowan
Herald has been willing to
donate a full page in order to
publish a sample ballot as a
public service; but this time
the ballot had become so
large that it would have re
quired a double-page spread
in order for the type to be
large enough to be readable.
We offered to share this cost
with the county board of
elections, but were informed
that there was not enough
money available to the
board to do that.
We admit that the com
ment about the "apparent
repudiation of the national
Democratic party" by the
voters of Chowan County
was editorial in nature and
had no place in the news
story. But to draw from that
that, somehow, we were a
party to subverting the will
of the voters is ridiculous.
This paper had a clear track
record prior to the national
election. We supported the
Democratic party.
J. P. Huskins