* THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast.
Volume LLV - No. 12
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, March 23,1989
Single Copies 25 Cents
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Coming in
Out of Cold
History has a way of writ
. ing its own ironies. Back
when we were being reviled
along the Public Parade for
our open partisanship, we
11 were htfng invited by the top
< echelon of the Grand Old
Party to come in out of the
cold.
It all began on December 21
when Senator Robert Dole,
Senate Republican leader,
informed us that we had been
nominated by Senator Strom
Thurmond to become a mem
- ber of the Republican Inner
* Circle and had been accepted
for membership.
Then, on December 23, we
received from former Senator
Howard H. Baker, Jr., Presi
dent Ronald Reagan's chief
of staff, a formal invitation to
become a member of the
Republican Senatorial Inner
( * Circle and join in the gala
events celebrating George
Bush's inauguration as our
41st president.
We responded by thanking
both Senator Dole and Senator
Baker for their interest. We
declined the invitation by
saying, truthfully, that we did
not believe our "transfer of
^ allegiance from the Demo
cratic to the Republican party
would do much to cure the ills
of either."
We assumed that would be
the end of the matter. But not
r Z
SO.
' , Soon after tire Inauguration
we received an invitation
from Senator Don Nickles,
^ chairman of the Republican
Presidential Task Force, to
become a part of that distin
guished group, dedicated to
recapturing control of the U.S.
Senate in 1990.
As suggested, we have filed
that interesting invitation
among our personal papers.
%
%
And now comes Vice Pres
ident Dan Quayle, who in
formed us on February 28, that
we had been nominated by
Senator Jesse Helms and ac
cepted for membership in the
Republican Senatorial Inner
Circle. Upon acceptance, we
were invited to a private
cocktail party at the Vice
President's residence on
April 10. And we now have in
hand a second invitation
from Senator Baker, con
firming Senator Helms'
nomination and urging us to
accept the Vice President's
invitation.
We, of course, do not take
any of these invitations
lightly. They represent a se
rious effort by the Republican
party, from the top down, to
broaden its base and increase
its strength from the state
house to the White House.
If the Democratic party
were making half as deter
mined an effort to improve its
image and recapture its
members, we would not be in
the weakened condition we
now are. It is not what we
stand for any more. We are
usually right on the issues.
It's what we look like to a
constituency so easily swayed
by 30-second commercials
and staged media events.
We must, somehow,
change that. A good place to
begin would be with the up
coming U.S. Senate race. We,
for one, do not want to see a
replay of the old Jesse Helms -
Jim Hunt "you're another"
charade. We need to come up
with a fresh face, preferably
an independent conservative.
Somebody like Lacy Thorn
^ burg, for example.
Residents Invited To
Tour New Town Hall
Town officials are invit
ing all area residents to see
the results of the renovation of
the old Peoples Bank building
into the new Town Hall. An
official opening ceremony for
the building was held on Feb
ruary 14.
The Town of Edenton is
hosting an open house on
Thursday, March 30, for resi
dents to tour the Town Hall.
The open house is scheduled
from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The building, located at 400
South Broad Street, was do
nated to the town by Peoples
bank at no cost. Officials es
timated that the building was
worth approximately $300,000
prior to renovations.
The town hired the Wooten
Co., an architectural and en
gineering firm, to conduct a
feasibility study of renovat
ing the building for munici
pal offices.
The original plan called
for the town to do the renova
tion in phases over a period of
three years. However, when
additional funds were real
ized from savings on the con
struction of the peak generator
project, it was decided to do the
entire project at one time.
Visitors to the sparkling
new offices will see a lowered
ceiling, brass chandeliers,
new carpeting, complement
ing drapes, a service desk
and offices leading off the
service area.
Plans call for the move of
the police department into the
former municipal building
after minor renovations are
completed. These include par
titioning, added security
measures and access for the
handicapped.
In February, Town Man
ager Ann-Marie Kelly said
that when the present police
building is vacated, "We
have been operating around
the premise that the recreation
department would move in
there." She said that no reno
vations would be required and
that it would operate as a
satellite facility for uses such
as crafts and adult education.
Recreation department offices
would remain at the old ar
mory.
Break-Ins Investigated
Thieves were busy in
Edenton on Sunday, March
12. Police were called after an
employee of High's Ice Cream
discovered upon coming to
work at 1:15 p.m. that a forced
entry had been made.
Acting Police Chief C.H.
Williams said that the bottom
of a rear metal door had been
pried up. He said that due to
the size of the opening, a
small person probably entered
the store.
Loose change was taken
from the cash register and the
thief "probably got some ice
cream too." The only damage
done was to the door. At least
two people are believed re
sponsible for the break-in.
Sgt. F.M. Parker and Pa
trolman W.L. Forehand are
investigating.
The home of Gary Swanner
on Kimberly Drive was en
tered some time between 6:30
and 7:30 p.m. on the same
day. Entry was gained
through a garage door and a
Town, County Join Efforts
Cleanup Planned
_Spring is now here and
town and county officials are
hoping that residents are
thinking about spring clean
ing. Of the town and county,
that is.
The town and county are
jointly sponsoring a 1989
Spring Cleanup Campaign.
The litter cleanup effort is
scheduled for Saturday, April
15.
In last year's annual
cleanup, over 150 citizens par
ticipated and officials hope
that more will participate this
year.
Organizations, groups and
individuals can all partici
pate in communities across
the county. Trash bags and
roadside pickup of filled bags
is again being provided by the
state.
tmtsm mmam
Incentives are being of
fered for all those helping to
clean up the roadsides and
streets. McDonald's and Har
dee’s are providing food cer
tificates and refreshments
are offered by Chowan Hos
pital and will be delivered at
the work sites by the Edenton
Chowan Recreation Depart
ment. Prizes are being do
nated by town and county bus
inesses and will be awarded
by a drawing from the names
of all participants.
Church and civic groups,
and others are asked to con
tact Linda Edmundson at the
Town Hall (482-2155) or Nan
cy Morgan at the county man
ager's office (482-8431) giving
the name of the group or indi
vidual, planned work area
and the approximate number
of participants.
connecting door to the house.
Williams said that a VCR
and a small amount of jew
elry are missing from the
home.
Patrolmen Tom Palmer,
Bill Phillips, Tim Hickman
and Chief Williams are con
ducting an investigation.
Another break-in was dis
covered last Friday. Will
iams said a thief or thieves
broke through a rear window
at the Soil Conservation Off
ice on West Queen Street a
cross from S&R.
A 19 inch color TV set and
a VCR were stolen. Sergeant
Joe Norman and Patrolman
L.C. Brothers are investigat
ing.
Jail Terms Received
Five young men faced
Superior Court Judge Thomas
S. Watts in Edenton during
the March session and sev
eral received active prison
sentences.
Marvin Holley, Marvin
Ford, Michael Knight,
Herbert Ford and Leroy
Beasley were charged with
commmon law robbery and
assault with a deadly weapon,
inflicting serious bodily in
jury. In addition, Holley was
charged with breaking and
entering and larceny and
possession of stolen property.
The common charges of the
five involved the injury and
•** 'Tk * mmtms *
robbery of William Craig
Marshall on Saturday even
ing, October 1,1988. Marshall
was delivering pizzas for
Icaro's Restaurant when he
stopped his car to ask direc
tions from one of the defend
ants.
Marvin Holley allegedly
stepped behind the vehicle as it
was backing up to turn around
and depart. Claiming that
Marshall was trying to run
over him, one of the defen
dants reportedly grabbed
Marshall around the neck
and Holley climbed into the
passenger seat. Roughing
him up, the group demanded
the pizzas and his money.
Marshall then turned over to
them the pizzas and a little
over $11.
Several of the group also
banged on the car with a
brick, doing over $1,000 in
damage. None of the defen
dants told the same story, so it
was difficult to determine ex
actly who did what during the
incident.
In another incident, Holley
Continued On Page 10
FOG VICTIM—Heavy fog last week may have contributed to an accident on N.C. 32 North that
toppled this tractor-trailer truck early on Wednesday morning. The driver received only minor
injuries but the truck sustained $10,000 in damage.
Heavy Fog Contributes To Accident
Heavy fog on Wednesday
morning, March 15, may
have been a contributing fac
tor in a truck accident that oc
curred on N.C. 32 North near
Virginia Fork.
A report filed by investi
gating Trooper Y.Z. New
berry of the N.C. Highway
Patrol indicated that the 1981
Kenworth tractor-trailer was
heading north at 6:45 a.m. in
heavy fog when it met an
unknown vehicle heading
south and partially in the
northbound lane.
The driver and owner of
the truck, Thomas James, Jr.,
47, of Portsmouth, Va., drove
off on the right shoulder in a
sharp curve, went into the
ditch and overturned on its
right side, hitting a utility
pole and coming to rest
Newberry estimated dam
age to the truck at $10,000 and
$1,000 to the utility pole, owned
by the Town of Edenton.
James, wearing a lap belt,
received only minor injuries.
No charges have been filed in
the incident.
SEALED WITH A SHAKE—Tommy Austin, new general
manager of Edenton Motors (left) and Hoke Roberson engage
in a symbolic handshake after the sale of Hoke Motor Corp. to
PHH FleetAmerica last Thursday.
Auto Dealership
Changes Hands
By JACK GROVE
Ownership of a major
Edenton business changed
hands last Thursday when
Hoke Motor Corp. on North
Broad Street Extended was
sold to PHH FleetAmerica of
Baltimore, Maryland. The
purchase price was not dis
closed.
The auto dealership will
continue to operate much as
before under the local man
agement of General Manager
Tommy Austin. Now known
as Edenton Motors, the deal
ership will continue to offer
new Chryslers, Dodges, Ply
mouths, Dodge trucks, Ponti
acs, Oldsmobiles, Buicks and
GMC trucks. There will also
be a full line of used cars and
trucks.
Edenton Motors will dis
continue sale of outboard mo
tors. Hoke Roberson said that
the Evinrude outboard motors
line will be transferred to
R&W Chevrolet in Windsor,
a family business where Rob
erson will be manager.
Hoke Motor Corp. bought
the dealership from Colonial
Motors in April, 1971 when it
was located on the site of the
present new courthouse on
North Broad St. Prior to Colo
nial Motors, the business was
known as the Charles H. Jen
kins Co.
Hoke Motor Corp. moved
the dealership into a new
building at the present site on
18 acres of land in 1977.
Roberson said that PHH
FleetAmerica signed a long
term lease of the buildings
and land from Hoke and
Nancy Roberson.
Austin said the same staff
will handle sales and re
pairs. "We're pleased to say
that all the employees stayed
with us."
Charles Davis, a company
official said that PHH Flee
tAmerica is a multi-faceted
corporation and is listed on
the New York Stock Ex
change. He said that the com
pany has several car dealer
ships in Virginia.
On coming to Edenton,
Davis said, "We're just as
delighted as we can be to be
here. It's a beautiful little
town."
Closings Announced
This Easter Holiday will
see a mixed bag of closings in
the town and county.
Town and county offices
will be closed Friday, March
24, in accordance with the
state declared holiday. How
ever the Parks and Recre
ation Department will be open
Friday. There will be no gar
bage collection on Friday.
Other closures Friday in
clude the Court Clerk's office
and local banks.
Businesses in the town and
county will vary their clos
ings with some being closed
Friday and some closed Mon
day.
Edenton-Chowan schools
will remain open Friday as a
snow make-up day. Schools
will be closed all of next
week.
Local Post Offices will not
close Friday or Monday.
The Shepard Pruden Li
brary will be closed Friday
and Saturday while the Eden
ton-Chowan Food Pantry and
the Chowan Senior Citizens
Center will be closed Monday.
The Chowan Herald will be
closed Friday. The manage
ment and stafT of the Herald
would like to take this oppor
tunity to wish all our readers
a happy and safe Easter.