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

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