The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 19

o'w''W I 'Banks Seek Right to Charge Credit Card Users has decided to seek legislation allowing the service charge Currently banks are prohibited by state law from charging for use of a credit card if a user pays his bill within 25 days after receiving the bill When the 25 days elapse the banks may charge 15 per cent monthly interest On the amount not paid 18 per cent per year credit card service to small businesses because the banks would lose money Jordan said Currently a store would receive $96 for each WO collected if the bank charged the full four per cent fee If the amount of money a bank could charge a store were raised banks could offer credit card contracts to many smaller businesses not now served Jordan said No other state has a discount ceiling as low as North Carolina's Jordan said overdue balance is "adequate" to cover the cost of service Hut he said the council will not decide whether it will take a stand concerning the bill until the legislation is introduced Jordan said banks should also examine whether they should seek elimination of the 4 per cent ceiling on "discounts" or service fees that banks charge retail establishments which accept the credit cards No legislation is now planned With the present 4 per cent ceiling banks often cannot afford to provide By ROB CHRISTENSEN Staff Writer North Carolina banks will soon ask the General Assembly to let them 'charge customers a 50-cent monthly service fee for using bank credit cards such as Master Charge and Bank Americard The charge would be in addition to I interest charged for overdue pay- ments Banks also collect a fee from 'merchants who accept the cards The NC Bankers Association say- ing credit cards are are "financially marginal" for the banks to handle John Jordan Jr a lobbyist for the bank association said the proposed legislation is primarily for the benefit of small banks According to Jordan small banks often do not have sufficient volume of credit card business to break even financially But small banks feel they must offer a credit card service to remain competitive with larger banks he said "I don't believe the large banks will even do this (charge the 50-cent fee)" Jordan said lie said if the law passes he thinks some large banks will even advertise servicefree credit cards to attract customers In recent interviews however officials with a number of the state's larger banks declined to rule out charging the service fee if it is allowed The NC Consumers Council may oppose the fee for credit cards and other forms of revolving credit Donald A Davis president of the council and a Raleigh attorney said he feelsthe 18 per cent interest per year banks now receive from the North Carolina is the only state that prohibits banks from charging a service fee for use of a credit card The News and Observer Raleigh NC Page 19 Monday March 21 1977 Area Viewers Protesting TV Movie About Jesus It 44 4 AC '4- oll pir' a i tf 16 -141 1 Atat f-ela 0 Al i I IC- t)k 1 0 I 9 1 i i it 4 -i I 1 Aw- i 4 fi 4 kl 1 table' i 1 AP k774 as CS7 0 1111 It 4101F i 4 411' H' 11 gy :110 :1:: is conducting hi own letter-writing campaign sending personal replies to letter writers along with an explanation ofthe movie In the fihn's defense he points to endorsements given by leading national religious leaders of several faiths And Mason also calls attention to Zeffirelli's use of the Gospels as sources of dialogue for the film Filmed on location in North Africa the first half of the movie portrays several of the miracles attributed to Jesus including raising the dead and driving demons out of an afflicted youth SP United Press International Kurachi touches up his homemade rowboat before Ms trip across the Atlantic 'Voyage He Aims to Row Across the Ocean Snip ings Stilt Haunt Durham Two ministers and two newspapers were invited Mason said but only a reporter fr he News and Observer attended Mason ruffled through the nearly 30 letters of protest received at the Channel 28 studios "It's a misunderstanding unfortunately" Mason said People who have not seen the movie he said jump to conclusions and confuse it with other movies dealing with the historical Jesus such as "The Passover Plot" or "The Many Faces of Jesus" Most letters particularly some form letters ask that the station squelch the showing of "The Life of Jesus" which is not the title of the NBC film "People hear that one film is coming and they assume the worst" Mason said One of the ministers invited to the showing the Rev James Morriss communications director for the Baptist State Convention said Sunday he was unaware of the pre-screening Even if he had known about it Morriss said he preached Sunday and would not have been able to attend Morriss who earlier contacted the station for information about the film said Baptists are waiting "until we get all the facts" before appraising the film The second minister the Rev Louis Shultz who has a television show on WROU also did not attend lie could not be reached Sunday WROU is offering ministers and the news media a pre-screening of the second half of the movie The drawback however is that the second prescreening must be held between 2-5 am this Wednesday because the station lacks enough taping equipment to record it and that is when NBC will transmit its pre-screening Because of the critical mail Mason By JOHN POWELL Staff Write The letter was signed "love in Christ" But the signature concluded a blistering denunciation of WRDU television's station manager James Mason Putting Mason squarely in that portion of humanity not likely to encounter eternal bliss the letter was one of many criticizing the showing of a movie "Jesus of Nazareth" NBC will telecast the film in two parts on Palm Sunday and Easter As the NBC affiliate for the Raleigh-Durham area WRDU plans to show the film Ranging from straightforward requests to block the showing to more virulent denunciations of Mason and the station the letters represent only the local skirmish in what is shaping up as a small but widespread religious issue over the film A chief complaint has been voiced by the Rev Bob Jones ill a leading critic of the film and president of the fundamentalist Bob Jones University in Greenville SC He has said the film lacks appropriate miracles and other religious events which show the divinity of Jesus Other protests led last week to General Motors' announcement that it was dropping its sponsorship of the drama The Rev John Dekker a Baltimore Presbyterian pastor said last week a national protest was launched against the movie because of comments made by the producer Franco Zeff irelli who allegedly had been quoted as saying "The public has never wanted to accept Jesus as a man but only as a God" To reassure local religious leaders WRDU staged a pre-screening Sunday morning of the first half of the six-hour movie By WILLIAM ROBERTS and BRUCE SWUM' Staff Writers i A power "I used to be quite adventurous but I'm not adventurous any more" he said "I'm not a person to take a chance I know I can make it" Kurachi said he is undertaking the journey because "when I turn 50 I don't want to look back and wonder what I did with my life" Kurachi an unemployed boat repairman said he first got the notion when he was 16 years old after he read an article about a man who had just sailed the Atlantic alone in an I I-foot boat "I thought about that and it seemed like something to do" said Kurachi 'an avid scuba diver kayak and canoe enthusiast Kurachi a Japanese-American said that since he made the commitment his honor is at stake "Nine years ago I said I would do it sometime in my life and it is a matter of honor to do it" he said From his description the plywood and fiberglass boat 'K Davenport" named for a friend who helped him in the initial construction sounds like a compact model of Noah's ark But while the biblical sailor had divine guidance when he planned his trip Kurachi said he would will rely on the accounts of "every crossing of every ocean that has been done in a small craft" With the benefit of that experience he said he has designed and built the best craft that has yet attempted such a journey "The boat is virtually unsinkable" Kurachi said boldly :1:: For the last nine years Steve Kurachi has been telling his friends in Austin Tex that he'll row across the Atlantic Ocean some day Sure you will they said 4 But he wasn't just talking He was planning and building Kurachi 25 said in a telephone in: terview he will arrive in Wilmington next week and shove off three or four days later from nearby Wrightsville Beach to ride the Gulf Stream on a 3000-mile trip to England which he expects will take from three to five months In a I7-foot craft he designed and built he intends to be the first American ever to cross the Atlantic by oar Water Issue Stirs Unrest in County 9 i i 1 4 ie 0 i 1 1 7 f-1 -'1'- clg -oar 1 Al i 1) soov Carolina (Z Notebook cp) I A Analysis DURHAM (UPI) It has been more than three months since what police describe as a psychopathic marksman terrorized this city by killing two persons and wounding two others in apparently unprovoked attacks Since then the police have arrested what they call a "prime suspect'' on unrelated charges and there have been no more sniping incidents But for some of the residents in the two neighborhoods where the attacks occurred the fear still lingers "I'm scared every day I come home" said Mrs Elvard Vartanian a neighbor of Herbert Bradshaw 59 who was shot and killed through the window of his home while helping his wife wash supper dishes "He was a good man" she added Mrs Kenneth Bryan the Bradshaw's next-door neighbor said the family had venetian blinds put up after the shooting "I think we were all negligent and overconfident about that sort of thing" she said "We never thought about anything like that" The shootings occurred between Dec 10 and Dec 22 1976 and police had press conferences urging residents to pull window shades avoid lighted windows stay off the streets after dark and report strange noises Maj TB Seagroves head of the police department's uniform crime patrol said many residents are still following the police suggestions "I think probably there's some fear still in those neighborhoods because they're not sure we've got the right man off the street" said Seagroves Some people are "real skittish" he said and the question he is often asked is "Have you anything new on it?" A man Police Chief Jon Kindice described as a "prime suspect" in the shootings was arrested in Clayton on Dec 27 1976 on charges of shooting a pistol at three men in front of a store Durham The man was questioned and never charged with any of the shootings In interviews last week Kindice said the theory that the shootings may have been coininitted by different individuals has been discounted He said evidence shows that in all of the shootings the sniper and victim had no apparent link and high powered firearms were used in each case L-J I Griffin Moho ley Chicurel Pruette By NADINE COHODAS Stall Writer To the small towns in Wake County Raleigh may seem like a regulatory bully The capital city is the county's major water supplier and in the past few years Raleigh has tried to influence development of smaller Wake towns through its water contracts with the towns Representatives from Raleigh and the county's 11 other municipalities meet tonight to go over a new water contractTheir discussion is certain to focus on the frustrations and conflicting philosphies of land regulation "If you have the supply you can wield a pretty strong stick" Billy Wilder the mayor of Knightdale said in an interview On one side in the contract dispute is Raleigh the selling party Concerned about sprawling development in the county that would be triggered by expanded water service the city has sought to require smaller towns to enforce certain land and building regulations before customers may connect to water lines On the other side are the towns which must buy water from Raleigh While they are also concerned about growth in the county some town officials have said Raleigh exerts too much authority by putting conditions in the contract they believe have little or no relation to water supply "Our board doesn't think this is the way government ought to work" Wilder said "If the county (commissioners) want to tell us to do something if were going to stay in the county that's a different thing than Raleigh saying it" Representatives interviewed from the small towns say they are most offended by one section in the proposed contract It specifies that before any connections to water lines are allowed in a town's "utility perimeter" the area to be served with water the town must enact and enforce certain subdivision building plumbing electrical soil erosion water and sewer regulations "What does a building code have to do with the use of water?" asks Wilder "Whether you have a brick house or a wooden house doesn't effect the the See WATER Page 21 tion competition by the Music Teachers National Association Robert (Bob) Pace of Raleigh has been elected to a threeyear term on the board of directors of the North Carolina Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Daniel Duane Wright a senior in the East Carolina University School of Business is the recipient of this year's state scholarship award sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas Calvin Bower of UNC-CH is among the 220 recipients selected to receive National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipends awards Bower's award is for music Dr Hubert A Eaton of Wilmington has received the Community Physician Award Linwood Shebdan a member of the Clayton Fire Department for 25 years has been appointed as a member of the board of trustees of the Firemen's Relief Fund Dr Stephen Mahaley Jr has been named professor of surgery and chief of the division of neurosurgery in the School of Medicine at UNC-CH Ray Pruette professor of chemistry at Louisburg College has received the Community Service Award from American Legion Post No 52 of Franklinton Dr Thomas Kinney a Duke University Medical Center physician has received the Gold-Headed Cane Award from the American Association of Pathologists Edwin Griffin Jr has been appointed director of intergovernmental programs for the NC League of Munic ipalities effective today John McLendon Jr who was the first black coach in the American Basketball Association will speak at NC Central University in Durham at the school's awards day ceremonies April 1 BG Casey of Allied Chemical Corp in Moncure Robert Baity Phillips Jr of Western Electric Co in Winston-Salem and Teer Jr of Nello Teer Co of Durham have been elected to the board of directors of NCCU in Durham Ava Garrett director of Historic Edenton will attend the Tryon Palace Symposium as the representative for the Historic Site Section of Archives and History Dr David Webb has been named chairman of the Atlantic Chris tian College Department of Education succeeding Dr Kenneth St John who will retire at the end of the school year Frank Eagles dean of learning resources at Wilson County Technical Institute has been named president of the NC Community College Learning Resources Association Leonard Wiggins has been named manager of educational services at Nash General Hospital Charles Blackburn has been elected president of the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce Board of Director William Chicurel of Asheville a graduate music student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been named winner of the 1976-77 college composi Grifton's Top Citizen Always Helping People 4 'T AIN CC tt 1 4 0 Dennis Rogers GRIFTON Her name is Mrs Mattie Dixon She is 73 years old a great-grandmother and the Grifton Chamber of Commerce's Outstanding Citizen of the Year She is also black "It made me feel happy and rejoiceful to accomplish something like that" she told me the other day as we enjoyed a spring afternoon "I called my sister in Brooklyn NY and she said 'In Grifton? You must have moved I never thought Grifton would get to that" "Well to tell you the truth I didn't either When I was growing up here I never thought I'd live to see the day when a colored woman would be chosen like that by white folks "I was born right across Contentnea Creek over there I can remember the whistles blowing up and down the river at night and all of us children running out to see the boats On Sunday evenings in the summer we'd all walk up to the depot to see who was getting off the train and who was After he died I buried myself in church activities and taking care of people" The slight little woman hurrying from one humble house to another in the part of town they still call "colored town" became a familar sight in Grif ton "Folks used to ask me what I'd do if I come up on one of them drunkards in the dark It wouldn't bother me a bit They all call me Ma and they respect me and love me because I treat them right "My Bible and I keep it by my bed says God is no respecter of persons and I'm not either I don't care if they are drunkards or black or white Ill help them if I can ''I started working in white people's houses after my husband died and do you know those children I helped raise still come to see me and write me letters? When they have babies I know about it as soon as their parents do I know where everyone of them is and what they're doing They come to see me as soon as they see their own family" could I When she found out what I wanted to be she'd come to my house on Sunday and help me with my books "I finished the eighth grade here and then worked my way though Kinston College to finish 12 grades I still wanted to be a teacher so I read all the books I could find My pastor even used to loan me books "I took my certification test in Kinston and they told me they'd mail me the results I went to that mailbox every day looking to hear from Raleigh When the letter came I hugged it to my heart and ran all the way back to the house before I opened it I didn't need to open it because I just knew I had passed "And when I opened it and saw I'd made it I had me a hallelujah time I've never been so happy in my life That was in 1928 She taught school until 1942 when her husband was taken sick She quit to take care of him for 12 long years giving him all her attention "Ile was my husband" she said simply "Ile came first getting on "My daddy always made me go to school and I had a teacher at Grifton School who was the most beautiful precious and nicest person I've ever known She made a real impression on me and I decided if she could teach so I.