THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Volume LLV - No. 6
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, February 9,1989
Single Copies 25 Cents
That Old New Tax
We hope President George
Bush's promise of a kinder,
gentler nation doesn't end up
like his predecessor's fairer,
simpler tax code. If it does,
we're in for some tougher,
wilder times.
Take it from Stanley W.
Hege of Edenton, middle in
come Americans are in for a
rude awakening when April
15 rolls around. Comparing
the 1988 IRS tax table with the
"tax reform table" of 1987,
Mr. Hege has discovered that
the only thing "revenue neu
tral" about it applies to the
couple, filing jointly, who
have a taxable income of
$29,000.
If you fall in any of the
brackets below that, you as a
couple are going to be paying
more income taxes than you
did in 1987; and if you fall in
the brackets above that, you
are going to be paying less,
much less as you go up the
scale.
In other words, millions of
hard working, middle in
come Americans are going to
be picking up the tab for the tax
break given to the very
wealthy. Mr. Hege has called
President Bush's attention to
this in a letter dated January
20. He points out that the 1988
tax for a couple with a taxable
income of up to $2,000 will be
37 per cent higher than it was
in 1987. From there the per
centage of increase declines
until you reach the $29,000
bracket.
For the couple with a taxable
income of $30,000, the 1988 tax
will actually be 2.36 per cent
less than it was in 1987. And
so it goes, the bigger the in
come, the greater the tax
break.
Continued On Page 10
Misconceptions Cause Busy Lines
Lisa Anderson, acting site
manager for the new Swain
Apartments, said Tuesday
that she has been swamped
with telephone calls from in
dividuals with misconcep
tions as to rentals.
One misconception result
ed from an error in a news
article in last week's Chowan
Herald. The article stated that
one and two bedroom units
were available. Actually all
38 units are one bedroom
apartments.
Another concerned avail
ability of apartments for low
income persons, other than
elderly and disabled. In the
initial stages of planning,
one floor had been considered
for this purpose according to
Chowan County Manager
Cliff Copeland. The plan was
Moving Day:
Offices Close
Town officials have an
nounced that the Edenton
Municipal Building will be
closed on Monday, Feb. 13
while employees move their
offices to the new Town Hall
(old Peoples Bank Build
ing).
Customers paying utility
bills may use the night de
posit which is located in
front of the present Munici
pal Building.
New offices in the Town
Hall will open to the public
at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb.
r14.
—
Students Face Bout With Virus
Attendance Fluctuates Durina Flu Season
By JACK GROVE
Recent extreme tempera
ture swings, from the low 50’s
to a high near 80 last week to1
the 30's and 40's this week are
thought by many to be a cause
of the spread of viruses result
ing in colds and the flu.
Press reports indicate a
spread of flu viruses on UNC
campuses from Raleigh to the
east coast. Another concern of
state health officials has been
an increase of red measles in
college and secondary school
populations across the state.
Whether or not the weather
is a factor, at least one local
private school has closed due
to the flu. A local rumor that
unusually large numbers of
Edenton-Chowan school stu
dents have been ill has proven
untrue.
Tom Gregory, Headmaster
at Lawrence Academy, said
Tuesday that his school has
closed twice in the past two
weeks. The first closing was
due to "quite a few students
reporting in sick." He said
that his school has an annual
winter break and that it was
called early due to the ab
sences "in order to try to pre
vent further sickness." This
was from Jan. 22 through Jan.
30.
When students and faculty
returned on, Jan. 30, "Lo and
behold, we had more kids sick
than before," Gregory said.
He said that the absentee rate
was 40 per cent. Also, four of
27 teachers were ill. At a fac
ulty meeting it was decided
that for the "best educational
interests of the school," Law
rence Academy should again
close Wednesday, Thursday
and EViday of last week.
8chool officials had con
tacted Bertie County and state
health officials who supported
the closing decision while not
saying it was mandatory.
In monitoring the health of
its students, Gregory said that
the school has been keeping a
sharp eye out for measles. No
cases have been reported.
subsequently changed to pro
vide apartments only for el
derly and disabled he said.
Ms. Anderson, who repre
sents the managing company
of Weil Enterprises of Golds
boro, defined elderly as those
62 and older and handicapped
or disabled as those so desig
nated under state and federal
definitions.
"You're dealing with peo
ple that have low incomes,"
she said. She pointed out that
the elderly are most often on
fixed incomes which include
social security and often low
retirement income benefits.
While rents will be rela
tively low, they will not in
clude utilities.
She said that, while all the
apartments have been fitted
with aids for the elderly, such
as bathtub hand-rails, two
apartments have been spe
cially fitted to aid the handi
capped. These include low
ered kitchen appliances and
cabinets for those in wheel
chairs.
Residents will not need to
visit a laundromat either.
Washers and dryers are pro
vided on the premises.
Ms. Anderson has been
managing on a temporary
basis. Edenton resident Hazel
Morgan has been hired as the
permanent resident man
ager. Saying that she expected
to remain only two more
weeks, she explained, "I’m
here to get the project started
and to train the manager."
In addition to the resident
manager, a building superin
tendent is expected to be hired
A viral infection of the
respiratory tract, flu brings
on fever, chills, headache,
sore throat, coughing, muscle
aches and fatigue. While the
symptoms usually last about a
week, the illness can progress
to severe complications in
older or infirm people.
KEEP NAME--John Morehead, utilizing flip charts, showed the evolution of the name of a
road from Briols to the current pronunciation of Brayhall at a public hearing Monday night.
County commissioners had received a petition to change the road sign to Brnyhall from Briols.
Morehead wanted the sign to remain as it is. Brayhall Rd. won out.
Pre/Post School Program
For Students To Begin
A before and after school
care program will soon begin
for the local school system's
"latch-key kids," Malinda
McGlone, Community-School
Relations Coordinator said
Monday. Sitting in on the in
terview was schools superin
tendent, Dr. John Dunn.
The program will be oper
ated at D.F. Walker and
White Oak Schools for stu
dents in grades K-8. Staffing
at Walker will consist of the
assistant principal, one teach
er and two teacher aides. The
program there begins next
Monday.
Staffing has not yet been
identified for White Oak so
an opening date has not been
established.
Hours for the program on
school days in the morning
are from 7:30-8:15 and in the
afternoon from 3-5:30. A nu
shortly.
Those eligible persons in
terested in applying for an
apartment may call the man
ager at 482-5211. The office is
located on the ground floor of
the building.
tritious afternoon snack will
be served. Transportation
must be provided by parents.
Ms. McGlone said, "We
are trying to provide an en
richment program for chil
dren whose parents both
work," and added, "We're
not a babysitting service."
Three categories of activi
ties are planned: physical -
for example, arobic dance;
quiet time - with activities
such as supervised home
work, story time, and rest
time; and expressions
through the arts - such as
drawing, puppets, painting
and cooking.
The program is currently
funded for three years by a
$30,000 state grant from the
Dept, of Public Instruction
and by fees paid by participat
ing parents. It is eventually
intended to be self-supporting.
"That's the notion," the
superintendent remarked.
Dunn said that all school
systems across the state re
ceived the same amount in
"seed money" and were not
told how to use the funds. Pe
riodic reports do have to be
made to the state concerning
the operation of the program,
however.
A brochure is available to
ABLE Center Proposed
Planning has begun on a
literacy center here that may
evolve into a satellite center
in Chowan County of the Col
lege of the Albemarle.
It all started on October 6,
1988 with a "Harpoon" printed
in The Chowan Herald on be
half of COA's Adult Basic
Literacy Education (ABLE)
program and it listed COA's
continuing education classes
held at John A. Holmes High
School.
Harpoons are created by
Howard E. Kohn, II, Director
of Special Projects at the Her
ald and illustrated by staff
member Gail Basnight. They
are a weekly feature geared to
serve community needs.
The October 6 Harpoon was
titled "Let's Help Them Help
Someone" and it referred to a
Nation's Business magazine
cover which read "30 per cent
of your employees can't read
this headline and it's costing
your business plenty."
One week later, Mary
Partin, Director of Literacy
Education, appointed Kohn to
represent COA in Edenton
and Chowan County on pro
gram planning and other ac
tivities as a member of the Ad
visory Committee for the 1988
89 academic year.
On October 28, Kohn, ac
companied by Herald Associ
ate Editor Rebecca Bunch and
Executive Director Richard
Bunch of the Edenton-Chowan
Chamber Chamber of Com
merce toured the very suc
cessful ABLE Center in Eliz
abeth City. They were then in
vited to lunch by COA's Pres
ident, Dr. Parker Chesson
and Dean Norman Norfleet.
Kohn discussed bringing
an ABLE Center to Edenton
and the later expansion and
creation of a COA Edenton
Chowan Center.
The plan was accepted im
mediately and, in a letter
dated October 31, Chesson con
firmed the luncheon discus
sion. Dr. Chesson stated,
"Such a facility could house
the literacy education project,
curriculum classes and vari
ous continuing education
classes and I do believe this is
something th«t is needed in
Chowan County and which
will be successful.”
Kohn obtained from Ches
son the offer of providing the
instructional and equipment
Continued Chi Page 10
parents which contains an
application for the program
and details on how it will be
run.
Fees listed in the brochure
for the morning program are
$2 per week for students eligi
ble for free or reduced meals
and $4 for students paying
full meal price. Payments for
the after school program are
$8 and $12 per week.
Ms. McGlone will oversee
the program. "It is going to be
my baby." She said that those
wishing more information
may contact her at the central
office at 482-4436.
Funding In Budget
Gov. Jim Martin has in
cluded in his proposed budget
an amount of $463,000 for the
fiscal year beginning July 1,
1989, for the restoration and
enlargement of the Ziegler
house in Edenton.
According to Sen. Howard
F. Bryan of Iredell, the project
calls for "the construction of
an 1,800 square foot addition
to the 3,377 square foot Ziegler
house located on the James
Iredell State Historic site in
Edenton in Chowan County.
Funds are also recommended
for the renovation of the exist
ing dwelling. When com
plete, the facility will be used
as a Visitors Center for the
LOST LOAD—This log truck was involved in a single
vehicle accident on N.C. 37 just north of the Yeopim Rd. on
Friday afternoon. The driver, Lonnie Wade Smith, 29, of
Columbia was unhurt but the truck sustained $10,000 in
damage. He lost control when braking to avoid a pickup
turning into a driveway. He was cited for failure to reduce
speed.
Dr. John Dunn dispelled
the rumor about illness a
mong students of the Edenton
Chowan School System dur
ing an interview Monday.
He provided school-by
school and day-by-day absen
tee figures for last week.
John A. Holmes High
H.S., with a total enrollment
of 720 students, had 107 absent
on Tuesday, Jan. 31 for the
high with a low of 80 on
Thursday, Feb. 2.
D.F. Walker had a high of
78 on Monday, Feb. 6 with a
low of 57 on the previous
Thursday. The school's en
rollment is 1,009.
Chowan Jr. High had a low
of 56 on Monday, Feb. C with a
high of 68 on the previous Fri
day. The school's enrollment
is 427.
White Oak had a high of 35
on Friday, Feb. 3 with a low of
22 on the previous day. The
school's enrollment is 355.
The system-wide absentee
rate for the week was an
average of 10 per cent. "Four
per cent is normal," Dunn
said while cautioning that the
figures include absences at
tributable to reasons other
than illnesses.
The superintendent said
that the week’s figures were
nothing to be concerned about.
"It would be consistent with a
normal school year," he said,
where some weeks have a
higher than normal absentee
rate. He added, "We would
consult with the Health De
partment if we became con
cerned," with abnormally
high absences.
As with Lawrence Acade
my, no red measles have been
reported among the system’s
students.
James Iredell house and the
remainder of Historic Eden
ton."
This does not mean that the
money is assured, but it is a
major first step toward the
much-needed upgrading of
the historic site. It is much
easier to keep an item in the
recommended budget during
the legislative process than it
is to put a new item in.
Reps. Vernon James and
Pete Thompson and Sen.
Marc Basnight will be on the
alert to see that the current
money pinch does not result
in the deletion of the item as
the budget moves toward final
Continued On Page 10