Volume LVII - No 12
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, March 21,1991
Sinolo Copies 35 Cents
I'
UNDER CONTROL—Smoke still billowed as Edenton firemen used hooks to pull off siding to
get at smoldering embers of a house fire on Carteret St. Tuesday afternoon. The fire was at the
home of Maiy Creesey.
Kelly Attorneys File For Dismissal
9 By JACK GROVE
As the Little Rascals Day
Care trial approaches, argu
ments are scheduled to be
heard Monday in Farmville
in what may be the last pre
trial motions hearing.
The trial of Robert F. Kelly
Jr. on 248 child sexual abuse
V charges is set to begin on
April 8. His trial precedes
: - . • those of six others facing over
400 charges (including Kel
ly's) in the case involving 29
children at the former Eden
ton day care.
Scheduled to be heard are
two defense motions and at
least one by the prosecution.
According to District Attor
ney H.P. Williams, one de
fense motion will ask the
court to provide, at state ex
pense, a medical doctor and a
psychiatrist to examine the*
children involved.
A copy of the second de
fense motion was obtained
from defense attorney W. Mi
chael Spivey. The motion
asks dismissal of all the
charges against Kelly. Spivey
points to the latest bill of par
ticulars provided by the pros
ecution, listing offenses, loca
tions and times committed.
A principal defense com
' plaint is that the state has ex
panded the time frame in
which the offenses are alleged
to have occurred.
The motion states, "Thus,
the state has engaged in a
’whole-cloth’ alteration and
tailoring of its accusations . .
and it has attempted to ma
nipulate the allegations from
offenses declared by grand
jury indictments to have oc
curred principally at the new
(day care) facility after Sep
tember 30,1988 into an amal
gam of allegations of offenses
occurring over a period of al
most three years . . . ." from
T June, 1986 to April, 1989.
The motion also asks that a
single offense be charged in
each alleged abuse incident.
(Many of the indictments
charge Kelly with three of
fenses for each incident with
a child — first degree sex of
fense, crime against nature
and taking indecent liber
ties.)
The motion also calls on
the court "To dismiss the in
dictments and to sanction and
disqualify the prosecutors for
gross, willful, wanton and/or
reckless conduct in failing to
comply with this court's or
ders, failing to comply with
discovery obligations and
other misconduct in the prose
cution of this cause."
The state expects to file a
motion this week to quash de
fense subpoenas issued for 40
or more families of alleged
victims, special prosecutor
William P. Hart said Tues
day.
The subpoenas require both
parents of each child and the
children to appear and bring
health care records of the chil
dren. The subpoenas order the
families to attend the trial on
a day-to-day basis.
Earlier this month, Hart
called the subpoenas "an at
tempt to intimidate and ha
rass" the families.
Hospitality Seminar Planned
To Better Serve Area Visitors
By MARGUERITE MCCALL
During Tuesday’s meeting
of the Tourism Development
Authority, Chamber of Com
merce Executive Director
Richard Bunch told the board
of a "Hospitality" seminar
being planned by the cham
ber, Historic Edenton, and
Historic Albemarle Tours.
Bunch said its purpose is to
give information about lodg
ing, restaurants and tour sites
to persons working in local
businesses where such in
quiries are likely to be made.
The seminar is scheduled for
Tuesday, April 9, from 2-4
p.m. A location will be an
nounced later, Bunch said.
Board Vice-chairman Livy
Goodman produced a copy of
Historic Preservation, a pub
lication of the National Trust,
to show the group an article
about four North Carolina
ports. Edenton was prom
inently featured in the text
and by a colored photograph of
the Cupola House.
Board media committee
members Arch Edwards and
Anne-Marie Kelly reported
on the progress of the visitors'
information signs.
Edwards said he received a
quote from local carpenter
Morgan Francis for the
Continued On Page 6-A
'Fabulous Forties' To Return
The 1940's were some of the
most unforgettable years in
American history. In ad
dition to World War II, it was
a time when neighbors were
truly friends and people
shared what they had to sur
vive tough economic times.
But, there were lighter mo
ments as well. Flag pole sit
ting was a major fad, and
television was just beginning
to be available to the masses.
Dance marathons were a
well - known pastime, and
couples moved to the music of
the "Big Band" sound.
Now, area businesses are
bringing back those memo
ries with a "Fabulous 40’s
Celebration" April 18-20. De
tails are on page 7-A of this
week's edition.
kTING-The almost completed new bleachers at the high school’s athletic complex
seem to beckon sports fans. Hus is the home section with the visitor section across the field not
yet begun. The track around the football field has been roughed in and work has begun on the
field house. The sports complex is scheduled to be completed in time for fall competition.
Woman Loses Possessions, Pet
Afternoon Blaze Destroys Home
Edenton firemen respond
ed to a house fire at 109 W.
Carteret St. late Tuesday aft
ernoon, but were too late to
save the residence.
"Flames were coming out
of the roof when we got there. It
was fully involved," said
Fire Chief Lynn Perry of the
4:42 p.m. call.
The small frame house
was the home of Mary Cree
sey, an elderly woman who
lived alone. She lost her
home, all of her personal pos
sessions and her dog, Terry,
to the flames.
Perry said that Ms. Cree
sey told him that she discov
ered the fire when she noticed
a chair next to a wood stove
beginning to blaze. When she
couldn't put out the flames,
she went to a neighbor's home
to call the fire department.
Returning to the house, Ms.
Creesey had to be restrained
from entering the burning
building for her dog, Perry
said.
A friend of Ms. Creesey’s,
Phone System
At County Jail
Gets Updated
A new phone system for the
•Chowan County Detention
Facility will benefit both jail
ers and inmates, according to
Chief Jailer Walter Linhardt.
The new system, to be in
stalled by the end of the
month, will allow inmates
access to telephones and free
jailers from placing calls for
them.
The system, to be installed
by Paytel Communications of
Greensboro, will feature a tel
ephone installed in each of the
jail's four cellblocks. Prison
ers will be able to use the
phones from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
daily. Jailers will shut the
system down outside those
hours.
The calls will not be free,
however, even locally. The
person receiving the call will
be told by an automated oper
ator the it is a collect call from
the jail. Also the call recipient
must have a touch tone phone.
The recipient will be told to
press "1" if the call is to be ac
cepted. The charge is 88 cents
for each local call.
"The beauty of the system,"
Linhardt said, "is that before,
jail personnel had to dial each
call for an inmate and then
pass the receiver into the cell
block." He said that until the
new system goes into opera
tion, inmates can only call
from 9 to 11 a.m. on Mondays
and Thursdays.
Calls have been limited to
ten minutes each. Under the
new system, calls will be un
limited every day.
Linhardt stressed that this
is a call-out system only.
Prisoners are not allowed to
Pickup Times
Are Changed
Since the Town of Eden
ton is observing its Easter
holiday on Friday, March
29, the following, revised
trash pickup schedule has
been issued.
Monday, east side col
lection.
Tuesday, west side col
lection.
Wednesday, limbs and
waste will be picked up on
both east and west sides.
Thursday, collections on
both east and west sides.
Friday, no collections.
Mrs. J.B. Pruitt, said at the
scene that a new house was to
be started on Ms. Creesey's
Carteret lot next week under
the ongoing Community De
velopment Block program.
CDBG officials were unavail
able Wednesday morning to
confirm this.
Mrs. Pruitt said that her
friend could stay with her un
til a new home is completed.
Perry said 19 firemen re
sponded to the fire call.
Plan To Be Updated I
The Edenton Planning
Board will begin updating the
town's Land Use Plan on
Tuesday, March 26.
This update, required by
state law, helps the town es
tablish programs for manag
ing its coastal resources,
Town Manager Anne-Marie
Kelly said in a prepared state
ment this week.
Twenty coastal communi
ties are required to prepare
land use plans which estab
lish policies to guide growth
and development.
"Citizen participation is
the key to a successful up
date," Ms. Kelly said. A citi
zens workshop has been
scheduled to kick off the up
date on Tuesday at 7 30 p.m.
in the town council chamber.
"This will be an opportu
nity for Edenton citizens to
discuss their opinions on such
issues as economic develop
ment, waterfront access and
any other land use planning
issue they wish to discuss,"
Ms. Kelly explained.
She said that opinions will
be used by local officials as
Continued On Page 6-A
FACELIFT-Cupola House was given a new coat of paint this
week by an Edenton painting contractor. The spruce up i» just
in time for spring.
Holmes Concert Choir
Performs At Carnegie
By MARGUERITE MCCALL
Years from now, John A.
Holmes Concert Choir mem
bers can tell their grandchil
dren they performed in New
York City's famed Carnegie
Hall.
On Sunday, February 24,
the thirty-two member choir
joined with eleven other
choirs from high schools
across the state to give a con
cert on the hall’s venerated
stage. Billed as "The North
Carolina Youth Chorale," the
youngsters (420 total) were
directed by Ronald Shirey.
Accompanied by Choir Di
rector Shelby Strother and
seven chaperones, the Holmes
group departed Edenton at 4
a.m. on Friday, February 22,
via chartered bus. They ar
rived in the "Big Apple" that
afternoon.
Between rigorous rehear
sals on Friday night, Satur
day and on Sunday morning,
they managed to go sight-see
ing.
"We saw plenty," Shaun
dell Satterfield exclaimed.
"We saw everything."
Mrs. Strother said that as
impressed as her students
were with the World Trade
Center, they were more im
pressed with the building's
elevator attendant.
"He was shocked when the
kids thanked him for the
ride," she said. "He told us,
'No one ever does that.'
"And this was what I ob
served about the group as a
whole, how polite and man
nerly they were and how ap
palled they were at others'
lack of manners."
In spite of waiting in line
for an hour and 45 minutes at
the "Hard Rock Cafe," Bran
don Wohn and Trey Adams
felt the time spent was just
ified.
"Jimi Hendrix's guitar
was there," Wohn said. "I got
to touch it."
Robin Lichtenwalner con
fessed she wanted to touch the
keyboard of the piano on stage
at Carnegie Hall. Unfortu
nately, she couldn't get close
enough to do so, she said.
All of the kids agreed that
attending a performance of
"The Phantom of the Opera"
at the Majestic Theater stood
out as a highlight of their trip.
"It was the icing on the
cake," Adams commented.
The choir will sing three of
the show's tunes in their May
21 spring concert at Holmes
auditorium, as well as selec
tions they sang in New York.’
Because fear of a terrorist
Continued On Page B-A