THE CHOWAN HERALD
*'Y* 1 " 4 V’1' VT& <' 'V-‘ ‘ . 1 ' . . . I
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
volume LLV - No. 10
Edenton, North Carolina, Thusday, March 9,1989
Single Copies 25 Cents
i
Time To Be Proud
We take pride in Chowan
for having carried away more
awards than any other county
in the statewide Pride in
America competition held in
Raleigh. It was a big victory
for a small county.
By nature, Chowan is a
beautiful county and it is too
bad that the necessity for a
continuous effort to keep it that
way comes not from nature
but from our citizens.
As a nation, we have
reached the point where we
generate so much refuse that it
; is becoming a major chal
lenge to dispose of it in a safe
way. Time was when most
everything we used was
biodegradable. Ferrous prod
ucts would rust away. Paper
would decompose. Wood
would rot. And copper was too
valuable to be thrown away.
But then came aluminum
cans, plastics of all sorts and
rubber, all of which have a
half life longer than the whole
life of the throwaway genera
tion that inherited them. And
throw them away we do, along
the highways, on the beaches,
in the parks, wherever we
happen to be at the time.
To a degree, life has become
pretty much a cleanup brigade
after the circus. Whole com
munities are having to orga
nize volunteer groups to sup
plement efforts by public san
itation workers to keep the
environment ek>oa;-«lSama»»
times our best efforts seem
inadequate.
Chowan county and the
Town of Edenton have been
more successful than many
other communities, a condi
tion recognized at the state
level. For that we are all
Continued On Page 8
Large Crowd Gathers
For Center's Opening
A large crowd was on hand
Sunday afternoon for the
opening of the new Chowan
Community Center and
Swain Apartments, crafted
from an abandoned school
building a block away from
downtown Edenton.
The resurrection of the
structure has been hailed as a
unique example of cooper
ation between government
and business.
County commission chair
man Alton Elmore said that
"This is truly a dream come
true in Edenton and Chowan
County. He said that the
school, along with its 900-seat
auditorium "came within a
snap of being just like the
hundreds of abandoned and
deteriorated schools across the
United States."
Elmore lauded private de
veloper Dewayne Anderson,
County Manager Cliff Cope
land and Copeland's As
sistant, Nancy Morgan for
guiding the project to its com
pletion. Ross Inglis, retired
developer, was thanked for
his advice as the project got
rolling.
Applause met the intro
duction of E.A. Swain, seated
in the audience, the school's
namesake.
The classroom portion of
the school was sold to An
derson for $100,000. He then
converted the building into 38
apartments for the elderly
and disabled. The county
used the proceeds of the sale,
an N.C. Arts Council grant, a
state grant, a CDBG grant
transferred from the town and
county funds to renovate the
auditorium..
Anderson said that he cal
culated that ten generations of
citizens had been educated at
Swain and "We're rededi
cating this facility to continue
to educate our children."
He cited the project as "An
outstanding example of how
the public sector and private
Injuries Sustained
i
Heavy rains Monday night
contributed to a one car acci
dent on N.C. 32 South at the
intersection of Old Hertford
Road.
Edenton Police were call
ed to the scene at 9:10 p.m. A
report filed by Patrolman
* W.D. Harris stated that a 1986
Oldsmobile, driven by Cor
nelius McCray, 32, of Route 1,
Roper, was proceeding into
Edenton when McCray lost
control.
The car skidded around in
a complete circle, struck a
telephone pole and came to
rest in the ditch.
McCray and passenger
Samelda Belcher, 31, of Ro
per, were transported by the
rescue squad to Chowan Hos
pital. Ms. Belcher was treated
and released. McCray was
admitted and was listed in
stable condition Wednesday.
Another passenger, Jeffery
Simpson, 21, also of Roper,
was uninjured.
Harris estimated that
$2,000 damage was done to the
car and $2,500 to the Carolina
Telephone pole.
The officer charged Mc
Cray with driving too fast for
existing conditions.
sector worked together to
make people's lives better."
He also praised the federal
Farmer’s Home Adminis
tration "for believing in the
project and providing fi
nancing."
On hand for the celebration
were Rep. R.M, (Pete) Thomp
son of Chowan and Rep.
Vernon James of Pasquo
tank. Thompson, commen
ting on the auditorium said,
"We should use it. The more
we use it, the more it will
mean to us."
It did see its first official
use Thursday evening when
the Tommy Dorsey Band per
formed before an almost ca
pacity crowd.
After speeches, a bronze
plaque, commemorating the
opening, was unveiled in the
lobby separating the audi
torium from the apartments.
Apartments were open for
public inspection and a ribbon
cutting on the ground floor of
the auditorium officially
opened Chowan Arts Council
and Senior Center areas.
On hand during the fes
tivities were entertainers
throughout the complex.
Theft Charged
The Chowan County Grand
Jury handed down embezzle
ment indictments Monday
morning charging Dorothy
(Dot) McCray of taking funds
entrusted to her as occupancy
specialist and secretary at the
Edenton Housing Authority.
Edenton Police Sergeant
McCoy Parker said that the
charges contain "quite a few
counts" of embezzlement.
Acting Police Chief C.H.
Williams said that an ex
tensive investigation by his
department began in late
January. He said that Town
Manager Ann-Marie Kelly
and EHA Director Byron Ke
hayes worked closely with po
lice in the probe.
Williams and Parker said
that the investigation was
complete and that they ex
pected to arrest Mrs. McCray
in the near future after a war
rant has been prepared. They
declined to specify the amount
of money taken.
"The two officers assigned
to the case, Sergeant Parker
and Patrolman W.D. Harris,
did an excellent job," Chief
Williams commented.
Kenayes said Wednesday
that Mrs. McCray has been
suspended from her job.
I
SOME CLASSROOM--Mary Elliott, who taught at Swain
School, looks over an apartment kitchen that was once a
classroom. She remarked that the classrooms had five
windows while the apartments have three. The school building
was converted into 38 apartments for the elderly and disabled.
Town Absorbs
61% Of Rate Hike
Electricity customers of the
Town of Edenton may soon be
receiving a rate increase. At
a meeting of town council's
utilities committee this week,
members agreed on a rate
hike of 2.9 per cent. The
recommendation must still be
FIRE SCENE—Not much remains of the home of the Ted Hurdle family on Wingfield Loop
Rd. after a Thursday afternoon blaze. The fire took the life of three-year-old Tedrick Hurdle
and seriously injured his mother and four-year-old sister.
Fire Claims Life Of Three-Year Old
By JACK GROVE
A mid-afternoon fire last
Thursday took the life of a
three-year-old child and bad
ly burned his mother and
older sister.
The fire, first spotted by
Mrs. Emma Evans, a neigh
bor, was at the home of Ted
and Marion Hurdle on
.. 1.
BEST SPEECH-Gabrielle Webster, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glen Webster, was the county,
district and division winner of the American Legion's annual oratorical contest with the U.S.
Constitution as the subject. She is flanked by her teacher, Maijie Hollowell, her mother and
father and George Stokes, chairman of the contest of Edenton Post 40. The state'finals were held
in Edenton Saturday with Brent Goff of Stantonsburg being named state winnpr. Miss Webster
gave her speech for the benefit of Post 40 members at their meeting Tuesday night
Wingfield Loop Rd. in the
Tyner section of the county.
Mrs. Hurdle was appar
ently hanging out a clothes
wash in the yard when the fire
started. The children were in
side. Ted Hurdle, who works
at a meat packing plant in
Smithfield, Va., was at work
at the time.
In an interview Saturday,
Mrs. Evans said that she was
going to her mailbox at the
road when she saw smoke at
the Hurdle home. She said
that she ran to Walter Baker's
house and asked him if he
thought it was just a trash fire.
He looked and said that the
house must be burning.
"He carried me down there
in a car," she related. "The
whole front of the house was
afire when we got there. She
(Mrs. Hurdle) was in the
house trying to find the baby,"
her three-year-old son, Ted
rick. Baker ran around to the
rear and unsuccessfully tried v
to enter the house.
Mrs. Evans said that *
Michele, 4, had been rescued e
by her mother before re-en
tering the burning dwelling. 1
Mrs. Hurdle emerged from
the house "with her coat on
fire and falling off of her and
her slacks burned through."
The witness quoted the
mother as saying, "Get my
baby out of there. I had his
hand and he slipped out of it."
The mother and daughter
were placed in Baker's car
and he returned them to his
house where he called the fire
department and rescue squad.
First of emergency per
sonnel on the scene was
Deputy Sheriff Victor Lamb.
He said that he tried to enter
the house via a back window
but was driven back by
flames.
Emmett Winborne, As
sistant Chief of the Center
Hill-Cross Roads Fire Dept,
said that the house was en
veloped in flames when he
arrived and that the roof had
Continued On Page 8
ratified by the full council at
the Tuesday night meeting.
Town Manager Ann
Marie Kelly said Wednesday
that a rate increase of 7.4 per
cent will go into effect April 1
by the town's supplier of elec
tricity, N.C. Eastern Munici
pal Power Agency. She said
that it is being applied to the
town’s demand rate. Only
part of this will be passed on to
customers.
"After we examined cur-;
rent budget and next year's
projected budget, we deter
mined there would be an ap
proximate revenue shortfall
of $208,000.
"With the operation of our
peak generators, we sub
stantially reduce our de
mand load." The genera-tors
were installed and went into
operation last July. She said
that the town would be able to
avoid 3.5 per cent of the in
crease because of the genera
tors.
The manager said that
$108,000 of the shortfall would
be accounted for by increas
ing the appropriated fund bal
ance from reserve funds. Part
of the reserve came from a
savings when the generators
were installed at a cost
substantially below esti
mates.
The rate increase of 2.9 per
:ent accounts for the re
maining $100,000 of the short
fall.
Ms. Kelly pointed out that
the last increase in rates, two
per cent, came in 1985. She
said that in May of this year,
Edenton's rates would be
comparable to the neighboring
Albemarle Electric Member
ship Co-op's rates.
For the average electri-city
customer now using 1,000
kilowatts per month, the bill is
$83. With the increase, that
bill moves up to $85.40. If the
increase to the town had been
passed on in full to customers,
the bill would have been
$89.10. ,
Parties Plan Meetings
The Democratic and Republican Parties in Chowan County
nil each hold meetings during the month of March.
Democrats will hold their precinct meetings on Thursday,
larch 9 (tonight) at 7:30 p.m. at the regular polling places for
ach precinct.
Republicans will have their annual County Convention on
londay, March 20 at 7 p.m. in the old Chowan Courthouse.
Sites for the Democratic precinct meetings are as follows:
Yeopim. .New National Guard Armory
Rocky Hock.Rocky Hock Rescue Squad Building
EastEdenton.Old National Guard Armory
WestEdenton.New Rescue Squad Building
Wardville.Gliden Rescue Squad Building
Center Hill.Center Hijl - Crossroads Fire Department