THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, February 23,1989
^ Volume LLV-No.8
Single Copies 25 Cents
time For Tradeoff
As long as we were in the
legislature we always voted
against giving the governor
veto power. We felt so
strongly about it that we were
£ not willing to submit the is
sue, which requires a consti
tutional amendment, to a vote
of the people.
And, except for Jim Hol
shouser's term, that was when
we routinely had Democrats
for governor, every one of
which sought the authority to
veto legislation. Back then the
£ governor had a virtual veto on
legislation before it was
passed. If you introduced a
bill the governor didn't like,
you were going to have a heck
of a time trying to get it
through against his seem
ingly unlimited supply of
green stamps.
Now that we have become a
^ two-party state - at least
insofar as the governor's of
fice is concerned — we have
changed our mind somewhat.
We have come to feel it might
be helpful to give the governor
general veto power. It not only
might help to keep the legis
lature on its toes, but it would
become a means of holding
wthe POVfirnnr nrf'minfnHlo fn»
his actions.
As things now stand, it is
possible for a governor to pick
and choose among the actions
he wants to take credit for or
put himself at a distance from
-- $11 after the legislative
horse is out of the barn. If he
had to sign every bill before it
'becomes law or refuse to sign
the ones he does not want to
become law, then he leaves a
paper trail that is difficult to
deny.
We do not believe the gover
nor ought to be given the au
thority to veto only parts of
bills. For example, he ought
.not to be able to go into the
'budget bill and take out a line
appropriating funds for reno
vating a historic site in
Edenton just because similar
funds were not made avail
able for a project in Wilm
ington. With a line item veto,
he could do just that. And, in a
way, that is the very sort of
t thing they criticized Billy
Watkins for doing in re
verse. In either case, it would
be a way of holding individ
ual legislators in line.
Nor do we believe the veto
should be made too difficult to
override. The proposed bill
under consideration in the
senate would make it possible
I for three-fifths "of those pre
Continued On Page 10
State Awards Given
Out of 34 awards presented
to groups and individuals in
the state for participation in
^ "Take Pride in America",
W representatives of Chowan
County came home from
Raleigh with three firsts, an
honorable mention and a spe
cial award.
A first went to Edepton's
American Legion Post 40,
sponsor of the annual county
fair. The.iair's theme was the
^ same "Take Pride in Amer
^ iea." The them* was carried
out in many of the display
booths at the fair. • %
Tony Copeland, a John A.
Holmes student, who was ac
companied by his parents,
picked up a first place award
in the individual youth cate
gory.
V The Pembroke Cloverbuds
4-H Club received a first place
in the youth organization cat
egory for adopting and keep
ing clean a local park. They
were represented by Jeremy
Ashton, Alton Wilder, Caren
Roberts and Brian Ward a
long with adult leaders Fran
Ward and Cherrie Martin.
Receiving the honorable
mention was White Oak
School for the recently com
pleted nature trail constructed
at the school. The school was
represented by Krista Perry
and Malinda McGlone.
A special award, the
La than F.gmith Award, went
to Roger Spivey and Fran
Ward t*r outstanding promo
tion of Take Pride in Amer
ica on the local level.
These award winners were
responsible for Chowan Coun
ty's having more winners
than any other county in the
state.
Don't Like The Weather? Wait Til Tomorrow
Weather Alternates Between Warm And Cold
By JACK GROVE
A Norfolk TV weatherman
this week termed recent con
ditions "a ridiculous roller
coaster" and few in the Albe
marle area would disagree
with him.
The beginning of last week
saw cold temperatures which
gave way to highs in the 70 s
mid-week and then switched
back to cold on Friday and
into the weekend. A warming
trend set in Sunday until
Tuesday when thermometers
were again registering in the
70's.
Clashes of warm, moist air
coming in from the Atlantic
and cooler, moist air from the
west spawned severe thun
derstorms and tornadoes in
eastern North Carolina on
Tuesday.
Forecasts Wednesday call
ed for a return to cold weather
today and tomorrow with a
major snowstorm possible a
cross the state.
Edenton saw a steady fall
of sleet, mixed with rain most
of Friday that turned into a
steady snowfall by 5 p.m.
Before it was over, as much as
six to eight inches had fallen
Friday and Saturday. Tide
water Virginia experienced
15.4 inches of snow.
A highway patrol dis
patcher Friday evening said
that all troopers and patrol
sergeants were out working
accidents. While the main
highways were rapidly clear
ed and sanded, bridges iced
over and secondary roads
were the main source of acci
dents.
This week has been desig
nated “Severe Weather A
wareness Week." Wednes
day was designated for t
statewide tornado drill. Thai
drill was not held locally. To(
close to the real thing happen
ed Tuesday.
The eastern part of the stat<
was put under a Tornadt
Watch mid-day which lastec
until 5 p.m. A "watch" indi
cates that conditions are fa
vorable for the formation 01
tornadoes. An intense thun
derstorm struck Chowar
County between 1 and 2 p.m.
County emergency man
agement coordinator Doug
Belch notified the school sys
tem's central office shortly
before 2 p.m. concerning the
tornado watch. Associate Ad
ministrator James Kinion
then notified schools over a
one-way radio to implemeni
tornado drill procedures.
Students were sent intc
hallways away from windows
just before 2 p.m. John A
Holmes school secretary Ethel
Lavoie said that students re
mained in the halls for 20 to 25
minutes. As the procedures
were implemented at each
school, telephone reports went
back to the central office.
A spokesman for the school
system said that all students
took the procedures seriously
and reacted quickly and in
an orderly manner. "We got
good results," she said.
Strong winds from the
storm knocked over fences,
tore sheet metal and shingles
from some roofs, and brought
down trees and tree limbs in
the airport area of the county.
There was also an uncon
firmed report of a water spout
in the Albemarle Sound near
Cape Colony.
Boyce said that falling
limbs caused power outages in
While Away, Family Loses Home, Possessions
Fire ravaged the home of
Ernest Swanner, Jr. and his
family at Chowan Beach Sat
urday morning. The family
was in Hampton, Va. at the
time of the blaze which de
stroyed the home and most of
their personal possessions.
Swanner's parents live
next door on the main road at
Chowan Beach and Ernest,
Sr. spotted the smoke at 6:30
a.m. After notifying the Cen
ter Hill-Cross Roads Fire
Dept, he rushed next door and
turned off propane gas tanks.
Firemen had to battle wea
ther conditions in bringing
the blaze under control. A
tanker made as many as nine
trips to a hydrant near the en
trance to Chowan Beach to re
plenish. Snow clogged roads
reportedly made it difficult in
reaching the hydrant.
The fire is believed to have
been caused by a battery
eliminator to a tape recorder
that had been plugged in be
hind the Swanner's bed
board.
Jerri Swanner said that
she, her husband and two
children went to Hampton
Friday to conduct business
and visit her parents. "And
then snow trapped us."
Ernest Swanner said that
he received a call from his
brother Saturday morning
with the cryptic questions of
"Where was I and how much
money did I have?" Then he
was told, "You've got major
problems. He simply said,
'Don't hurry home. The house
has burned down,"' Swanner
continued.
Jerri Swanner said that,
when told of the fire, "It took
me a couple of minutes and
then I sat down and cried."
She said that she realized that
they had lost all of their baby
memorabilia. It was the "sen
timental losses" that counted
most, her husband added.
Mrs. Swanner said that it
was difficult to "see every
thing turn to dust." Among
GONE--A11 of the personal possessions and household goods
of the Ernest Swanner, Jr. family were lost on Saturday
morning when their house was destroyed by fire at Chowan
Beach. They were in Hampton, Va. at the time of the blaze.
personal possessions lost were
100-year-old lithographs, baby
books, including her hus
band's, her personal computer
that "melted down" as well as
all cf the family's clothing,
furniture and other household
goods.
One thing salvaged was
Ernest Swanner's personal
computer that was housed in a
recent two-story addition to '
the house which was untouch
ed by flames.
Swanner said of the fire, "I 1
was underinsured." He said '
that he had been in the process
of increasing the house in
surance but didn't do it in 1
time. For others, he recom
mended that "sufficient cov
erage should be arranged an
nually."
Meanwhile, he was philo
sophical. "We'll live through
it, I'm sure.”
Jerri Swanner believes the
loss has brought the family
even closer together with her
husband's parents. "They
have really come through
when the chips are down, j
When we've needed help in j
the past they've always been j
there. They've always helped
us before." ,
Friends of the family want j
to help also. They are asking
the public to donate clothing, (
blankets, a single bed, books l
for an 11-year-old, an in
fant's high chair, cookwear,
utensils, dishes and other
household items. Drop-off
points for these articles have
been established at the WZBO i
radio station on Paradise \
Road and The Cock's Roost at ,
Small's Cross Roads on N.C. y
32 north. ]
Clothing is needed for a 5- j
month-old baby boy, sizes 18 to ,
24 months and shoe size, 3. t
The 11-year-old boy wears
sizes 14 to 16, shirts and pants l
and 6 to 6 and a half for shoes, f
Continued On Page 10 \
i the airport and Rocky Hoc*
sections of the county,
i Bertie EMS coordinator,
William J. Smithwick said
that there were two uncon
firmed reports of tornadoes is
i his county. Asked if severe
storm damage occurred, he
replied, "Overall, no." He
said that trees and some power
‘ lines were downed and some
old outbuildings in the county
were damaged. Also, "One
hog and one chicken house
had some damage."
Smithwick said that no in
juries resulted and "We were
pretty lucky."
Tornadoes were reported in
counties south and east of Ra
leigh.
Belch said that, while the
statewide drill would be con
ducted Wednesday, Chowan
County would not participate.
He said that the schools' re
sponse Tuesday satisfied re
quirements. Wednesday he
said, "They did an excellent
job yesterday."
Belch urged citizens sight
ing funnel clouds to report
them immediately to the 911
communications center. He
said that this would help con
firm the presence of tornadoes
and allow warning to adja
cent areas of the dangerous
storms.
.
WINTER WEAR--The Courthouse Green wears a winter mantle of
snow fall Saturday. The area received from six to eight inches in the largest snow of the winder
season. More snow is predicted for today and tomorrow. (Photo by Pete Manning)
Roads Prove Treacherous
State highway patrolmen
had their hands full on Fri
day and Saturday with acci
dent investigations as drivers
sought to cope, some unsuc
cessfully, with ice and snow
pn roadways. ;
Trooper W.F. Whitley es
timated troopers investigated
eight to ten accidents in
Chowan County over the
snowy weekend. "There were
several that went in the ditch
and got themselves pulled out
that were not reported," he
noted.
"'Whitley said that most ac
cident calls on Friday were
between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
'When the snow hit, it was
right at the 5 o’clock rush."
Where accidents occurred,
he said "People were going
just a little too fast and hit the
brakes. When they did, most
of them lost control and hit the
ditch. Most of them that I saw
were either at the base of a hill
or in a curve."
The number of accidents
certainly wasn’t bad con
sidering the rain, sleet and
snow," the trooper com
mented.
One accident Whitley in
/estigated was a two-vehicle
oileup on the Crisanti Curve
on Base Road at 5:40 p.m.
His report indicated that a
1984 Ford pickup truck driven
oy Aubiy James, 41, of Route 4,
Sdenton, was traveling south
vhen it entered the curve,
ikidded across the north
>ound lane and collided head
in with a 1989 AMC passenger
ar driven by Frederick Pow
ers, 38, of Route 4, Edenton.
Whitley said that James
vas driving at a greater than
easonable rate of speed and
hat Powers was traveling at a
lormal rate of speed.
James, a passenger, Na
Continued On Page 10
Medics
Edenton Police were called
n to render assistance to the
tescue Squad at 1:45 p.m. last
•"riday.
James B. Jones, 29, of 319
>o. Broad Street, had col
apsed in an upstairs apart
nent and squadsmen were
mable to lift the rather large
nan on the stretcher. Officers
issisted in getting the stretch
r downstairs and into the
imbulance.
Jones died shortly there
ifter at Chowan Hospital,
tcting Police Chief C.H.
Villiams said that prelimi
lary autopsy results, relayed
o him by Chowan Medical
Examiner Dr. L.E. DeVine,
ndicated that Jones died of
tatural causes involving a
ilood clot.
f Williams said Wednes
ay that the complete autopsy
rom Pitt Memorial Hospital
ad not as yet been received.