THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
I “ Volume LLV- No. 17
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, April 27,1989
Single Copies 25 Cents
Time For
Second Shot
Voters of North Carolina
will likely be called upon
within the next two years to
pass upon several proposals to
» change our constitution. One
1 that is being kicked around
again in the legislature is to
lengthen the terms of mem
bers of the General Assembly
to four years.
Such an amendment was
soundly defeated at the polls
back in the early 1980s, but we
feel it is time to resubmit it to
§ the people. We voted for the
longer terms back then and
the reason we did so is more
compelling today than it was
then.
That is the soaring cost of
elections. During the time we
served in the house, we made
it a practice not to accept con
tributions from Political Ac
I * tion Committees with an ax to
grind in the legislature. But,
by the time we retired, the cost
4)f financing an election in
'even a single-seat district
was becoming a burden.
But it was nothing com
pared to what it is today. One
member of the current house
i - reported spending $65,608 on
™ his campaign. Another re
ported spending $55,057. Ex
penditures of $20,000 and
$30,000 were not unusual. In
fact, the average for the 120
members for the 1988 election
I* was$12,971. -v ,
Senators, of course, fiave to
run in larger districts, and
Iq, their campaign expense re
ports show it. One reported
spending $117,990, of which he
still owes $65,000. Another
spent $87,212, and still owes
$18,000. The average for the 50
senators was $20,164.
A glance at where all this
money is coming from pretty
well reveals whose interests
are most likely to receive
tender, loving care by the
lawmakers. Health care
contributors kicked in a total
of $285,429 to the winners.
Continued On Page 8
ARRESTING OFFICERS--These police officers, with the aid of the new mobile traffic radar,
made a drug arrest Sunday and netted more than $1,800 worth of cocaine and a .22 caliber rifle,
styled along the lines of the U.S. military's M-16 rifle. The confiscated weapon, which has a
collapsible stock, was fully loaded with 13 long rifle hollow point bullets. Officer T.E. Palmer
holds the weapon that he found in the suspect's car. He is flanked by Sgt. McCoy Parker and
Officer Bill Phillips.
Traffic Stop Nets Cocaine
By JACK GROVE
Use of a recently acquired
mobile radar unit yielded
more than just a routine traf
fic arrest by Edenton Police
Sunday.
Officer Bill Phillips was
on patrol at 8 p.m. and operat
ing the radar when he ob
served a 1977 Nova driven by
Paul Gregory, Jr. speeding 49
in a 35 mph zone on Virginia
Road near Chowan Hospital.
Gregory turned left on Bad
ham Rd. where he stopped for
the officer in front of Fueston
Wood Products Co.
Phillips said that while he
was writing the speeding tick
et, Gregory paced the street,
cursing. Then Phillips saw
him go around the comer of
the building for a few seconds
and return. "When this hap
Escape Prevented
The Chowan Sheriffs De
partment Tuesday made sure
that an "escape artist" in their
custody couldn't run while in
court for a first appearance
hearing on breaking and en
tering and larceny charges.
Nelson Isaac (Trick) Jones
faced District Court Judge
John T. Chaffin in leg irons.
Sheriff Fred Spruill said that
Jones has a history of escapes,
the most recent being last
Thursday when he escaped
from a holding cell in the Per
quimans County Courthouse.
Perquimans authorities re
turned him from Atlanta, Ga.
where he had been incarcer
ated. Spruill said that he had
escaped three times from the
Atlanta jail. At the time of
last week's escape, he was
facing a first appearance on
breaking and entering and
larceny charges in Perqui
mans.
Following a six-hour hunt,
Jones was recaptured in a
thicket of pines near a Hert
ford apartment complex on
U.S. 17 Bypass.
Spruill said that the Cho
wan charges concern a break
in at Coastal Concrete on Feb
Continued On Page 8
3rd Pul! Hosted By Post 40
m Truck And Tractor PuXL Scheduled
American Legion Post 40 of
Edenton will hold its third an
nual truck and tractor pull on
May 6 and 7. The pull, to be
held at the American Legion
Fairgrounds on U.S. 17 Busi
ness, South, will begin at 7
p.m. on Saturday, May 6 and
on Sunday, May 7 at 2 p.m.
The pull is sanctioned by
the East Coast Tractor Pullers
Assoc., a member of the Na
tional Tractor Pullers Assoc.
Prize monies for this pull will
exceed $9,000, Legion spokes
man E.C. Toppin said. He
said that for the first time in
eastern North Carolina there
will be jeep pulling compe
tition.
Returning for the second
year will be the miniature car
crusher, "Wolly Bully."
Admission for 13 and over
will be $8 and for 12 and un
der will be $4. No glass will be
allowed on the grounds and
coolers will be limited to 16
inch size.
( III Hi III liil
photographer Jim Colman of
N
I I I I I I I
Television was in
d state citizens
fora
___
pened, I suspected he dropped
off something,” said Phillips.
By this time, Patrolman T.E.
Palmer and Sgt. McCoy Par
ker had arrived on the scene
as backups.
"After he left, we searched
the area to see if he left some
thing. Officer Palmer found
the stash,” Parker said. The
stash turned out to be a plastic
bag containing six separate
plastic packets of cocaine. It
was found in an air duct on
the north side of the building.
Parker said that the drugs
were returned to the hiding
place after "we decided to
stake it out.”
The officers took positions
of concealment and Gregory
returned in about ten minutes
and retrieved the cocaine.,
Parker said that Gregory
"stuck it behind the license
plate, made a U-turn and ran
smack dab into Officers
Palmer and Phillips,” who
were called in by Parker.
Continued On Page 8
Bennett Takes
New Position
The Edenton Post Office
has lost its second postmaster
within two years with the de
parture of Steve Bennett on
Friday. Bennett came to
Edenton on March 12 of last
year and instituted many pro
grams to serve the public, im
prove employee morale and
give the Post Office a personal
touch.
Bennett has assumed the
position of Superintendent of
Postal Operations at the San
ford, N.C. Post Office. He
said that the transfer was due
to a family situation that ne
cessitated the move.
He is succeeded by an in
terim Officer in Charge, Mrs.
Nela Horton. She comes to the
local post office from the posi
tion of Associate Office Coor
dinator in the Raleigh Sec
tional Center. She makes her
home with her family near
Wendell.
A postal official said that
an OIC normally runs a post
office from three to six months
while the U.S. Postal Service
selects a permanent postmas
ter.
Some of the accomplish
ments that Bennett left behind
him in Edenton include: pre
sentations for students at
Walker School and tours of
the post office for those stu
dents; beautification of post
office grounds; employee rec
ognition programs; promo
tion of Historic Edenton in the
statewide postal newsletter;
and participation in planning
for the second day cover to be
issued in Edenton honoring
North Carolina's bicenten
nial stamp.
Bennett instituted commu
nity awareness projects a
Continued On Page 8
*
ARRIVING AND DEPARTING-Edenton s Postmaster tor
the past year, Steve Bennett, is shown with newly arrived
Officer in Charge, Mrs. Nela Horton, who has taken over
direction of the local post office. Bennett is transferring to the
Sanford, N.C. Post Office. _
Case To Go Back To Grand Jury
The legal process is con
tinuing to have unexpected
twists in the case of Robert
Fulton Kelly, Jr., charged
with sex offenses involving
young boys at a local day care
center.
Two weeks ago, the Cho
wan Grand Jury issued four
true bills of indictment
charging Kelly with four first
degree sex offenses. It was
subsequently learned that one
of the jurors was ineligible to
serve and Superior Court
Judge Thomas S. Watts
quashed the indictments.
Later that day, upon direc
tion of District Attorney H.P.
Williams, Kelly was arrested
by the Edenton Police Dept for
the four alleged offenses. He
was released under $20,000
bond.
A first appearance hearing
took place on the charges last
week before District Court
Judge J. Richard Parker who
set a probable cause hearing
in the court room of District
Court Judge John T. Chaffin
this week.
When the case came before
Judge Chaffin Tuesday, Dis
trict Attorney Williams mov
ed for a continuance of two
weeks on the basis that "We
are not prepared to go forward
on probable cause." He said
that there were "more war
rants on another victim" to be
served against the defendant.
Williams told the judge that
his plans were to take the case
back before the grand jury in
the Special Chowan Superior
Court session of May 8.
_
Defense counsel C. Christ
opher Bean argued against the
continuance pointing out,
"This investigation has been
going forward since Janu
ary" and that the state had had
plenty of time to be ready for
the probable cause hearing.
Bean continued that the
case had "greatly divided the
Rob Boyce
Is Chosen
John A. Holmes High
School Principal Rob Boyce
has been named Principal of
the Year for Region I in North
Carolina. This marks the
second time in five years that
Boyce has been selected for the
honor.
Boyce's reaction was one of
total surprise. "I really
hadn't expected that they
would pick the same person
again,” he noted. Boyce has
served as principal at the
Edenton high school for the
past eight years.
Boyce credits the "com
bined efforts of our teachers,
students and community" for
the outstanding reputation the
Edenton - Chowan Schools
enjoy throughout the state.
"The teachers here are the
hardest-working and most
conscientious educators you
will find anywhere," he said.
Boyce will compete for the
title of Principal of the Year
on the state level in May.
community" and that his cli
ent had not yet heard any of
the specific allegations con
cerning the charges. "The
state, we would argue is try
ing to avoid a probable cause
hearing."
The state, by obtaining
felony indictments directly
from a grand jury, sidesteps a
probable cause hearing and
the case goes directly to sup
erior court without publicly
revealing the state's evi
dence. (The defense can re
quest to review the state's evi
dence through "discovery"
motions before a judge.)
Williams commented that
he didn’t understand why
Judge Parker had scheduled
the probable cause hearing
just a week after the first ap
pearance. Bean responded by
citing state criminal
procedure statute 15A-606 that
states that a probable cause
hearing must be scheduled not
later than 15 working days
following the initial appear
ance and not sooner than five
working days following ini
tial appearance.
Judge Chaffin told Bean
that it had not been five work
ing days since the first ap
pearance on the. previous
Tuesday.
Bean offered Chaffin a
copy of the statute and when he
said that he had read it many
times, Bean read from the of
ficial commentary following
the statute's wording: "In or
der to give the parties time to