TaxOn
A Surtax
Critics of the General As
sembly are wont to say the
flight hand doesn't know what
the left hand is doing. A de
scription that comes nearer
the mark with respect to the
current legislature says that
what the right hand gives, the
left hand takes away.
For months now the law
makers have been wrestling
t. with the problem of treating
fill pensioners alike at in
1 come tax time, a policy made
necessary by a recent U.S.
Supreme Court ruling.
But no sooner had they
reached an agreement on
J treating all pensioners alike
I than the senate turned around
/ and passed an income tax re
Avision bill levying an en
tirely new state tax on the
principal pension of senior
citizens 65 and older.
This comes about by reason
of the proposal, approved by the
senate, to piggyback state in
come tax policy on top of the
federal form. In the interest of
"fairness" and "brevity,"
*)fchey would make the tax owed
by a state income taxpayer
simply a percentage of his
federal tax.
That's the soul of brevity,
all right, but it’s a long way
from fairness because it
overlooks the fact that Social
Security beneficiaries with an
^outside income of $25,000 or
■more must pay a federal in
come tax on half their bene
fits. In addition, their federal
tax liability is increased by
the catastrophic health care
surtax, which amounts to 15
per cent of the federal tax due
for 1989,20 per cent for 1990.
It is not unusual for a cou
ple who have worked all their
adult lives to have annual So
cial Security benefits of as
much as $20,000, $10,000 of
which is subject to the income
tax. At 28 per cent, that comes
to a tax of $2,800. Add to that
the 15 per cent surtax of $420
and you come up with a total of
$3,220, which is a tax only
)[) Continued On Page 10
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Volume LLV - No. 27
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, July 6,1989
Single Copies 25 Cents
Transportation Plan Hits Roadblock
By JACK GROVE
The news from Raleigh
concerning Gov. James G.
Martin's $8.6 billion highway
construction program has not
been encouraging for the ad
ministration.
The intrastate road im
provement program was de
QUESTIONED--Governor James G. Martin talks to a reporter at a reception after last week’s
Albemarle Sound Bridge dedication. Chowan County Commission Board Chairman Alton
Elmore waits patiently to have a word with the governor.
Shower Doesn't Dampen
July Fourth Celebration
Threatening weather may
have been a factor in reduced
crowds during the celebration
of the Fourth of July in Eden
ton. A 20 minute downpour in
the evening sent people scur
rying for cover as the crowd
gathered for the annual fire
works display.
The rain ceased for the
mcst part, however, in time
for the night time show. Only
a light intermittent drizzle
came down with the fire
works.
The size of the crowd for the
all-day event at the foot of
Broad Street and on the Court
house Green was variously
estimated as smaller or the
same as last year's event.
Edenton Police Sergeant
Joe Norman said that he
thought the number of people
in attendance was about a
third of last year's. On the
other hand, Michael (Danny)
Stallings said that he believed
the crowd to be comparable
with the last Fourth of July.
Stallings based his estimate
on the volume of soft drink
sales at the Chowan-Edenton
Optimist Club refreshment
tent. He has dispensed bever
ages there for the past five
years.
The Green was lined with
arts and crafts booths selling
items ranging from stuffed
animals to baskets to wood
crafts. One resident com
mented that the quality and
variety of crafts displayed
was the best that she had seen
in years.
Fireworks Displays To Continue
Rising Costs Won't Affect Shows
By MARGUERITE
I MCCALL
| Is there a reason for con
cern that due to increasing
supply and insurance costs
area Fourth of July fireworks
displays might cease?
Having learned that after
some 15 years the Holiday Is
land community will not
have a display this year, the
■preceding question was posed
jpo several area celebration
sponsoring officials.
Speaking for the Holiday
Island Property Owners As
sociation, Anne Fauver said
their expense would total
$1,800 for 20 minutes of en
tertainment. Insurance alone
would have cost $800.
"Since the money comes
from our recreation fund,"
Fauver said, "it made more
sense to have a free barbecue
for all residents. This will
take place in mid-afternoon.
People can still go to a neigh
boring town and view the
fireworks."
Sarah Winslow, president
of the Hertford Jaycees, re
marked, "We raise our mon
ey by conducting a pig pick
ing and by receiving dona
tions from businesses and in
dividuals.
"Our expenses this year
are pretty much the same as
last year."
Mrs. Winslow added that
their fireworks personnel at
tended a pyrotechnic seminar
held in Rock Hill, S.C.
"Our only costs for that
were motel and travel expens
es," she said.
Hertford Fourth of July
chairman Chris Peckham
anticipates larger and better
shows each year. He was also
excited about a 12 inch diam
eter shell to be shot in this
year's finale.
, Elizabeth City Jaycee event
chairman T.L. Newell, III
said that their expenses this
year barely exceeded last
year’s outlay.
Continued On Page 10
f) CARE—The N.C. Highway Patrol joined police agencies across the nation this weekend in
'Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Action Reduction Effort) in a move to reduce holiday hicrhwav
accidents. The patrol stopped cars on U.S. 17 Business South to remind
Here, Sergeant P.M. Lemmon, Jr. talks to a driver while Trooper D
trailered boat.
At Waterfront Park, chil
dren were kept busy with rope
jumping, watermelon seed
spitting and other contests. As
in previous years, puppies
were displayed for adoption by
the Edenton-Chowan SPCA
along with the plea for pet
owners to have their animals
spayed or neutered.
The mighty roar of a rep
lica of an 1861 Parrot Gun
punctuated the activities every
hour. The gun’s crew, dressed
as Union soldiers, are from
Portsmouth and Chesapeake,
Virginia. Their gun was set
up next to the Barker House
and fired eut across Edenton
Bay.
Continued On Page 10
vised by a study commission
that included First District
Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare.
It would affect some 10,000
miles of roads, .four-laning
many east-west, north-south
connector highways and pav
ing many rural secondary
roads.
Legislators from eastern
North Carolina have said for
several years that they would
not vote for any transportation
appropriation bills that would
not give this area its fair
share of road money. In a re
cent interview, Senator Bas
night indicated that the
House-passed $8.6 billion
package was fair and specifi
cally included the four-lan
ing of area highways such as
U.S. 17,158,168 and 64.
The plan got off track last
month, however, when Sen.
Marshall Rauch, chairman of
the Senate Finance Commit
tee, sponsored a $195 million
tax bill for increasing state
employee salaries, including
teachers. The bill was adopted
by the Senate.
The measure provides that
part of the funding would
come from an increase in the
state sales tax on motor vehi
cles from two to three per cent.
Supporters claim that money
would be taken away from the
highway program for only two
years and then restored to
highways. They also said that
the 12-year program would be
extended to 15 years and that
all roads improvements
would be fully funded.
That motor vehicle tax was
part of the funding for the
transportation bill passed by
the House. Last week the
House rejected the Senate bill
but had previously balked at
the governor's proposal to
raise the state income tax by
one per cent for the state em
ployee pay raise.
At the recent opening of the
new visitor center on U.S. 17
in Camden County and at last
Continued On Page 10
AIRBURST--A rocket blossoms over Edenton Bay during
the fireworks show put on by the Chowan-Edenton Optimists
Club Tuesday night.
FIRE!—A Civil War reenactment team from Virginia fires their 1860's Parrott Gun during
Edenton's Fourth of July festivities. The booming cannon fire reverberated around the downtown
area every hour from the morning until the beginning of the fireworks display at 9 p.m.
Accident Takes Life Of County Man
Two single vehicle acci
dents marred the weekend,
one of which took the life of a
Chowan County man on Sat
urday evening. Killed in one
accident on Rocky Hock Rd.
was Lloyd Marcus Peele, 72,
of Route 3, Eden ton.
According to a Highway
Patrol report filed by Trooper
C.S. Adams, Peele's 1988
Ford pickup was traveling
west on the road 9.4 miles
northwest of Edenton at 7:50
p.m. when it went on to the
right shoulder. It traveled
down the shoulder for 303 feet,
struck a ditch and veered
across the road.
It went off the side of the
road, turned owr and came to
rest in a field 25 feet off the
roadway. Peele was thrown
clear and his body came to
rest 20 feet from the truck.
The trooper's report said
that Peele was not wearing a
seat belt at the time. Wallace
Craddock, Jr. witnessed the
accident. Damage to the truck
was estimated at $12,000.
The second accident took
place at 9:15 p.m. on Dillard
Mill Rd. According to a report
filed by Trooper W.D. Shep
herd, a 1985 Nissan driven by
David Roy Saunders, 24, of
200 Coventry Rd., Virginia
Beach, was traveling south.
The car entered a sharp
curve to the left, ran off the
road on the right and, "aa>the
driver jerked the steering
wheel to the left, his vehicle
darted across the road and
ran off the road on the left,
rolled over on its top and came
to rest in the ditch."
Saunders was accompa
nied by two passengers, Jean
Saunders, 29 and Ricky
Stokes, 45, also from Virginia
Beach. All three were trans
ported to Chowan Hospital for
treatment of minor injuries.
None were wearing seat belts.
Trooper Shepherd charged
Saunders with exceeding a
safe speed. Damage to the car
was estimated to be $5,000.
Lieutenant James White of
the Chowan Sheriffs Dept,
was at the scene of both acci
dents and assisted with traffic
control.