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Arapahoe students in grades K-4 presented the musical “Tall Tales and Heroes”
Thursday night, May 29, under the direction of Betty Welch. The students sang and
acted the stories of such legendary heroes as Johnny Appleseed and John Henry.
A start was wade last week on preparing the new parking lot for the Pamlico Coun
ty courthouse. The Department of Transportation was contracted to do the work.
Commissioners Scrutinizing Budget Requests
When the Pamlico County com
missioners met last Tuesday
night, May 27, to begin their
review of the 1986-87 budget, they
were faced with the task of cutting
back expenses since the requests
were almost $800,000 more than
the proposed revenues.
Although the boucd hAd
directed, in their budget prepara
tion guidelines, that no depart
ments include salary increases in
their proposals, fourteen did sub
mit requests totaling $48,198.
Revenues for 1986-87 are
estimated at $3,229,735. Major
sources are 1986 ad valorem
taxes,$1,549,865; interest, $40,000;
intangibles tax, $75,000; beer and
wine tax, $29,000; one cent sales
tax, $205,000; half-cent sales tax,
$162,900; restricted half-cen|t sales
tax (for the schools) $105,000;
ABC stores, $20,000; building per
mits, $14,696; re-inspection fees,
$2,190; insulation permits, $3,675;
electrical permits, $12,000; plum
bing permits, $5,670; mechanical
permits, $4,272; flood ordinance
permits, $2,160; recording fees,
$23,000; reproduction fees, $2,200;
marriage licenses, $1,000; beer
and wine licenses, $1,700; revenue
stamps, $14,000; jail fees, $2,000;
landfill (from Beaufort County),
$41,149; and recreation fees,
$7,200,
Notably absent in the 1986-87
budget are appropriations from
the general fund, fund balance
and Pamlico Technical College
fund balance and allocations to
the Capital Reserve Fund set up
several years ago for the school
system s uuilding needs. Last
year $576,499 came from the
general fund’s fund balance and
$4,754 from PTC’s Two hundred
thousand dollars was placed in the
capital reserve fund.
This year, the budget for the
governing body, which funds
special projects of the commis
sioners’, their salaries and
memberships in various organiza
tions, was $70,854. For 1986-87, the
(SeeBUDGET, Page 10)
The Jett Cowell Memorial Stadium at Pamlico County
High School was sprigged with grass last week in anticipa
tion of the fall football season.
Aurora Tax Rate
Set At 35 Cents
AURORA-Finance officer San
dra Bonner presented the town’s
new budget to its board of com
missioners at their regular mon
thly meeting on Monday night.
Bonner said that the budget,
which will go into effect on July 1,
is based on 35 cents per $100 valua
tion on property within the Aurora
city limits.
Last year the base was 49 cents
per $100 valuation but due to the
revaluation of property in
Beaufort County, the base rate
has been lowered 14 cents.
Bonner said that the largest ex
pense in the new budget will be
water plant repairs. The budget is
on file at the town all for any in
terested citizen to examine.
The commissioners approved a
motion made by Curtis Potter for
the town to donate fifty percent of
the cost of a new backstop at the
Aurora ball field. The town’s
share is not to exceed $1,500.
An old town ordinance requiring
businesses on Hwy. 33 to close on
Sunday mornings between 10 am
and 12 noon has been changed.
These businesses can now remain
open all day on Sunday because
the churches are located at least 2
blocks away.
The commissioners voted to
participate in a workfare program
proposed by the Department of
Social Services. This program
enables recipients of Aid to
Families with Dependent Children
(See AURORA, Page 9)
Minorities Express Concern Over
Lack Of Board Representation
Minority citizens of Pamlico
County Monday night, June 2, ex
pressed their concern over the
lack of black representation on the
board of county commissioners
and board of education and called
for changes to be made in the way
local officials are elected.
Unless candidate Joe Himbry
wins the run off Tuesday for the
township 3 seat on the county com
mission and subsequently defeats
a Republican opponent in
November, as of December there
will be no black member on either
board.
Booker T. Jones, who is present
ly serving on the school board but
who lost his bid for re-election to
the township 1 seat last month to
C. Ray Poole, told the commis
sioners that a “number of con
cerned citizens and a majority of
the minority (citizens) of this
county have expressed con
cern...about the inability of
minorities to be elected to office.”
Wanda Credle read a proposed
resolution that stated that “the
present system of at-large voting
to elect county officials does dilute
the minority voting strength and
perpetuates voting among racial
lines” and that similar election
methods are being declared un
constitutional. The resolution re
quests that the law governing
voting in Pamlico County, which
was identified as House Bill 504,
be changed so that a township
representative would be elected
by his own township only and not
by the county as a whole. It also
called for two at-large members
to be added to the board of com
(See CONCERN, Page 10)
Vote On Bay River Sewage
System Set For Sept. 16
Voters in the Bay River
Metropolitan Sewerage District
will go to the polls on September
16 to determine if they want $2.75
million in bonds sold to finance a
sewage system that will stretch
from Alliance to Vandemere to
Mesic.
County attorney Bernard
Hollowell told the county commis
sioners Monday night that the sale
of the bonds had been approved.
The system will also be financed
by a grant from the Environmen
tal Protection Agency and with
state Clean Water bond monies. In
addition, the county has allocated
its share of Clean Water bond
funds, which total $136,220 over a
two-year period, to the project.
On June 11, said Hollowell, the
District board will meet and ad
journ until June 30 when they will
introduce the bond order. A public
hearing will then be scheduled for
July 21 with subsequent adoption.
On July 23 and 30, the notice of
referendum will be published.
Voter registration books will close
on August 18 with the actual elec
tion set for September 16.
Hollowell estimated that if the
referendum passes, it will be
three to four years before the
system is operable.
PJHS Principal Asks Board To Consider Closing
School To Rec. Dept. Ball Games
Pamlico County schools, the
school board decided Monday
night, June 2nd, will open on
September 2nd tor the start of the
1986-87 school year and end on
June 12,1907.
The adopted calendar calls for a
2-week Christmas vacation begin
ning December 22nd and ending
January 2, 1907. The Easter holi
day will start April 20, 1907 and
end on April 24,1987. Snow days, if
needed, will be made up during
the Easter break. In addition, the
calendar calls for 18 teacher work
days of which 6 will mean no
school for students. Also, the
schools will be closed on Nov. 11th
(Veteran’s Day) and Nov. 27t**
and 28th for Thanksgiving.
John Peterson, architect for the
Anderson gymtorium, informed
the board that plans and specifica
tions for the building were com
plete and that bids would be open
ed on June llth at 2 pm. Peterson
said that if the bids were accepted
construction could start by August
1 with the facility being completed
within 7 to 9 months. The 8-sided
structure has 8,900 square feet and
is expected to cost between
1404,000 and 1411,000 or approx
imately (88.00 per square foot.
John Hill, principal of Pamlico
Junior High School, advised the
board that he was having trouble
protecting the integrity of the
junior high school because of the
drinking and vandalism
associated with the softball games
sponsored by the recreation
department and held at the school.
Hill said that supervision of the
program is not consistent and that
the situation doesn’t get better. He
(&ee PJHS, Pa^
iO)
Students Identified For Remedial Summer Program
Although the state projected
that one hundred Pamlico County
children would need to attend
summer school, based on April
achievement test scores, only 25
children will be required to attend
the summer session; they also
have the choice of repeating the
grade.
The program addresses
children in grades 3, 6 and 8 who
scored below the 25th percentile
on the April test. It does not in
clude some of the exceptional
children or those who have
already repeated in their grade
range.
About 75 children were iden
tified in the April testing. Those
students were re-tested on the
North Carolina Minimum Skills
Diagnostic Test, leaving the 25.
However, says Paul Delamar,
director of instruction, since the
state is providing $31,000 in funds
for the summer session, which
will run from July 7 to August 1,
other students are being recruited
to attend the classes including
students who scored below the
25th percentile but are not re
quired to go, students who scored
between the 25th and 40th percen
tiles and students who met the
minimum standards when they
took the second test.
For the LD (learning disabled)
students, the session could be im
portant in that will help them “to
maintain th|e gains they’ve made
during the year so they won’t
regress,” commented Delamar.
Delamar said that several
students in these categories have
already signed up and the parents
of others are being contacted by
phone and letter.
The seven teachers, Sandy
Baluss, Lillian Sawyer, Sandra
Harper, Marion Altman, Derwitt
King, Carol Badger and Sandra
Rice, are attending their training
sessions this week. Altman, who is
the assistant principal at Pamlico
Junior High School, will be serv
ing as lead teacher. All teachers
are certified in their areas.
Before the session starts, a Per
sonalized Education Plan (PEP)
will be prepared for each child,
noting his weakness. Information
for these is already being
gathered, commented Delamar,
and the PEP will follow the child
into the next year.
At the end of the summer ses
sion, the child will be tested again,
then the teacher and home prin
cipal will determine if the child
should be promoted.
(See SUMMER, Page 10)