Back to Kennel
Clubf
Are we about to see The
Kennel Club resurrected in
the House of Representatives
i of the North Carolina General
Assembly? It could be, for the
conditions are right.
There is no exact parallel,
but the situation in 1941 is
similar enough to justify
raising the question, espe
cially among oldtimers who
were around at the time.
, Here is what happened
► back then.
Otis M. Mull of Cleveland
had been elected speaker after
a hard fight and refused to
give any good committee as
signments to leaders of the
opposition. So complete was
the banishment that they
claimed he had put them all in
the dog house.
So, as John R. McLaughlin
' of Iredell used to tell it, they
got together and decided that,
since they were all in the dog
house, they might as well
stick together. They formed
The Kennel Club, with its Top
Dog and a long line of under
dogs, all able and willing to
sniff out trends and follow
ty trails. They named the
speaker Cueball.
They ran as a pack and
soon became the balance of
power in the house. "Pretty
soon," as Rep. McLaughlin
told it, "Cueball couldn't get
anything done without com
ing to us."
i We don't yet know what
•^newly-elected Speaker Joe
Mavretic will do, but it is very
likely that there will be a
pretty large dog house in the
current assembly. It is appar
ent that he has promised 40 per
cent of the comffiitWAJhair
■~*roehships to Republican!'and
will find enough prospects
ffeamong his 20 Democratic
■supporters to head the
remaining committees, since
he says he plans to reduce
them to a total of 13.
That will leave ex-Speakei
Liston Ramsey and his 54
supporters with adequate re
sources to form a very strong
Kennel Club, whether thej
ft want to call it by that name oi
™ not. We realize the retiring
speaker has said he would
help his successor any way h«
could; but there are man}
kinds of "help" going arounc
in the General Assembly
such as helping the nev
Continued On Page i
° Need For Education Stressed At Banquet
"Unless you've got a good
education, it's very tough out
there," John A. Holmes ath
letes were told at the annual
Fall Sports Awards Banquet
Thursday night.
v The speaker was Holmes
’ graduate and current pro with
the Green Bay Packers,
Robert Brown.
Brown spoke out against
drugs, including steroids.
Tve seen professional ath
letes ruin their careers with
steroids." He also listed
dedication as a valuable as
set "I just started working
harder and harder."
Among his goals are play
ing in the Pro Bowl, Super
Bowl "and to win in the Super
Bowl."
After graduating from
Holmes, Brown attended Cho
wan College and then went on
to Virginia Tech. He was a
fourth round draft choice of
Tom Bass (left) And
tor. The number was
as Job* A. Holmes Athletic
f, bearing No. 73, Brown's A
r the Green Bay Packers.
Coach Jay Swioegood hold ale
retired tie honor the pro, now i
the Green Bay Packers.
the Packers and has played in
104 consecutive pro football
games.
Brown concluded by thank
ing the town. Coach Tom
Bass, his family, "And I want
to thank the Man Upstairs.”
The Girls Tennis team
finished second in the confer
ence with a 9-3 record.
Gabrielle Webster went all
the way to the state finals be
fore being eliminated.
Tennis awards went to:
Gina Swanner, Most Dedi
cated; Sarah Singh, Most Im
proved; and Gabrielle Web
ster, Most Valuable Player.
"Cheerleaders are ath
letes," declared Coach Penny
Powell. She cited early
morning and late evening
practice during the summer
and said "That takes a lot of
dedication."
Cheerleaders receiving a
wards were: Laura Wilson,
Most Spirited; and Renee
Butler, Most Dedicated.
Varsity Football Head
Coach day Swicegood gave
credit to the coaching staff for
a good season. He thanked
those that helped on the side
lines, in the press box and
scouting teams.
He singled out for special
% THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Volume LLV - No. 3
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, January te, 1989
Single Copies 25 Cents
Officials Discuss Police Weaponry
Purchasing Semi-Automatics Considered
By JACK GROVE
Edenton police officers
may soon join the ranks of
H
area law enforcement agen
cies that arm their officers
with a weapon that packs more
firepower.
Town officials are consid
ering the purchase of 9mm
OLD - NEW-The older .38 caliber revolvers of the Edenton Police Dept contrast with the new
9mm Baretta semi-automatic pistols issued last month to Deputies of the Chowan Sheriffs Dept.
The deputies each carry two 15-round magazines for the pistols, one in the weapon and one on the
belt. Shown in a combat stance are (1. to r.) Sgt. McCoy Parker* Deputy Greg Whitehurst,
Patrolman W.L. Forehand and Deputy Victor Lamb.
<* _;______
Special Permit Is Issued
Edenton Town Council
held a public hearing at their
meeting last week on a re
quest for a special use permit
for an automobile dealership
to be located on 32 No., just be
yond the U.S. 17 bypass and
across from the Travel Host
Inn.
David Twiddy appeared on
behalf of Century 21 which is
handling the land sale to Al
btffWTft “MdtSt tToT He SaTT
that the site comprises five
acres to be used by the Ford
dealership.
Dealership owner, Bruce
Jones, Jr., told council, "I
hope to make a bigger asset to
the town."
Richard Bunch, Executive
Director of the Chamber of
Commerce, said, "This cer
tainly would be a good addi
tion to the economy. I hope you
look favorably upon this re
quest."
And council did, passing it
unanimously.
The meeting was address
ed by an insurance expert
with the N.C. League of
1 Municipalities who explained
why insurance for a proposed
skateboard ramp was virtu
ally unobtainable and prohib
itively expensive.
He said that he knew of
only one insurance company
that would write a policy. At
that, the town would have to
pay the first $50,000 of any loss
from a lawsuit arising from
an accident on public proper
ty.
^Touncmmrn? 'AlTen ‘ttar*
less read from statistics show
ing the dangers of skate
boading. "It seems like it can
be a hazardous sport," he com
mented.
Brenda Spruill, a member
of the Recreation Department
Advisory Board countered
with "Recreation is not al
ways as safe as you'd like it to
be. I think it's only fair that
there be a place where they can
participate in this." She point
ed to dangers in football, even
with protective equipment.
Mayor John Dowd said, "I
hope you can realize that the
Town of Edenton can't put the
assets of the town at risk when
there's an accident."
Councilman Livy Good
man told listeners, "I would
not like to have the impres
sion left that we're anti
skateboarding."
As council dropped plans
for the ramp, Councilman
Willis Privott promised that
council "will continue to look
during the next few years at
finding a way to provide a fa
cility."
Ah<r iltamarcllng Fas be
come a thing of the past on the
recreation department park
ing lot as well.
In other business, council:
• Heard that the N.C. Dept,
of Transportation will per
form a study on parking
needs in the town in late Feb
ruary or early March and
will provide a report to coun
cil;
• Authorized an agreement
with the N.C. League of Mu
nicipalities Insurance Pool
for its Public Officials and
Law Enforcement Liability
Insurance Policy that will
save the town $25,000 over
commercial coverage and
Continued On Page 6
semi-automatic pistols to re
place the six-shot .38 caliber
revolvers currently issued to
officers.
Town Manager Anne
Marie Kelly, councilmen
Allen Harless and E.N.
(Pete) Manning, acting police
chief Harvey Williams and
several of his officers gath
ered at the Edenton office of
Alcohol Law Enforcement
Friday to view an FBI video
tape and see a demonstration
of the 9mm. A scheduled fir
ing demonstration was can
celled due to rain.
The videotape, a re-crea
tion of a shootout between al
most a dozen FBI agents and
two heavily armed and deter
mined bank robbers in
Miami, Fla. in 1986, vividly
demonstrated the need for
properly armed officers.
The agents were mostly
armed with six-shot revolvers
while one had a five-shot shot
gun and one was armed with
a 9mm pistol. The suspects
were armed with heavy cali
ber pistols, a large caliber,
semi-automatic, assault rifle
and a shotgun.
When the smoke cleared
after about four minutes, two
agents lay dead, five were se
riously wounded and the bank
robbers were also dead.
Special Agent Ken Dover of
the A.L.E. told the Friday
gathering the main advan
tages of the 9mm: greater
number of rounds in the wea
pon (from 15 to 20, depending
on the type magazine pur
chased); fast reloading; in
creased safety (will not fire if
dropped - a revolver might);
increased accuracy; light
weight; and ease of mainte
nance.
Patrolman Bill Phillips,
using his personal 9mm,
demonstrated fast reloading
and safety features that are
unique to the 9mm Baretta.
Many area law enforce
ment agencies now arm their
officers with 9mm pistols.
They include the N.C. High
way Patrol, A.L.E., Elizabeth
City Police Dept.; and Cho
wan, Bertie, Dare and Perqui
mans County Sheriffs De
partments.
The 9mm Baretta is not
cheap. Unit price might be
$400 or more, depending on
trade-ins to a gun dealer.
Added to that would be the ex
pense of new pistol belts.
Chowan Sheriff Fred
Spruill accepted delivery of
his deparment's 9mms in No
vember. They were not issued
until last month, however, un
til after receipt of new pistol
belts and all deputies received
extensive training in their
use and live firing.
At a time when major drug
dealers are arming them
selves with deadly, rapid-fire
weapons, police agencies are
seeking to at least stay on an
equal footing in weapons.
Youth To Attend
’89 Inauguration
Harris Vaughan, son of
Roland and Peggy Anne
Vaughan of Edenton, has
joined approximately five
hundred outstanding high
school students from across
the United States for a rare
opportunity.
Hams Vaughan
Vaughan will attend the
Presidential inauguration of
Vice President George Bush
on Friday, January 20 as a
member of the 1989 Youth In
augural Conference, spon
sored by the Congressional
Youth Leadership Council.
Vaughan, a junior at John
A. Holmes High School, was
selected by Principal Rob
Boyce, based on demonstrated
academic achievement, lead
ership and citizenship. He
will serve as a representative
of his school and community
while in the nation's capital.
Vaughan will meet with
Members of Congress, execu
tive officials, historians,
academicians, and leading
journalists to gain a deeper
understanding of the history,
tradition and significance of
the American electoral pro
cess and the inauguration.
In addition to the swear
ing-in Ceremony of the 41st
President of the United States,
program highlights will in
clude a congressional inau
gural breakfast with Mem
bers of Congress, a Mack tie
dinner and performance at
the Kennedy Center, and par
ticipation in the Youth Inau
gural Ball.
"While our planning ef
forts began in early 1987, the
Youth Inaugural Conference
would not have been possible
without the invaluable assis:
tance of the Armed Forces In
augural Committee, the Pres
idential Inaugural Commit
tee, and the Members of
Congress who graciously pro
vided inaugural ceremony
tickets to ensure a special and
lasting educational experi
ence for these young people,"
stated Conference Director
Lawrence Guillemette.
This is the second Youth
Inaugural Conference spon
sored by the Congressional
Youth Leadership Council.
The goals of the Council"
are to recognize outstanding
youth and to provide them with
a unique "hands-on" civics
learning experience in the
nation's capital.
Man's Body
Discovered
The Pasquotank Sheriffs
Dept, answered a call to a res
idence at Lot 77, Hickory
Village Trailer Park on
Weeksville Rd. on Tuesday,
Jan. 10 at 12:15 p.m.
There, they found the body
of Alvin Leander Twine, 28,
of Tyner. Sheriff Davis Saw
yer last week said that Twine
died "as the result of a pistol
shot.
The Weeksville Rd. resi
dence is the home of Willie
Twine, brother of the deceas
ed.
Sawyer said that while an
investigation if continuing,
under the direction of Chief
Deputy A.B. Twiford, it was
"undetermined at this time"
whether Alvin Twine's death
was a suicide or homicide.
The body was sent to Pitt
Memorial Hospital for an
autopsy.