North Carolina Now; North Carolina Now Episode from 07/13/1995

The It's Thursday July 13th. Tonight a visit with me now the author and poet Maya Angelou's in North Carolina. Good evening I'm Mary Lou Hart char glad you could join us tonight. We are so proud to let you meet a wonderful North Carolinian who is our guest tonight Dr. Maya Angelou sat down with me

earlier today. And that interview is coming up in just a few moments. Also tonight we'll check in with you and see TV's legislative bureau for a check on the latest activity with proposed legislation. And then Bob Barr is off on another tough assignment. This time he samples Jimmy's barbecue in Lexington. We begin tonight with a renowned poet and author Maya Angelou kicked off a fund raising campaign at NC State this morning to raise one point two million dollars to build living and learning centers at three universities in Ghana West Africa. The centers will provide places for and CSU students and faculty to live and work when they attend these overcrowded universities as part of an educational exchange program. After the announcement of the fund raising campaign I had an opportunity to have a one on one conversation with this dynamic talented and be loved North Carolinian. Dr. Angelou thank you so much for making time for us today it's really a pleasure to meet you. I know that there are a lot of demands on your time and probably a lot of organizations and groups that would ask that you lend your name to their organization but what is it about this

particular project that you have decided to lend your name to. I lived in Guyana for a number of years and made family and I really feel that I never left town that I went there in 1962 and I still feel as if I'm in Ghana. I have a little piece of land there and that was given to me because I didn't try to buy land at the spirit of dam that is so almost tangible this spirit of hope in the air and and a readiness to work and to laugh and to be to be seen as a rounded human beings that's that always impressed me about that. I love the idea of that and the American institution is

about the business of making. Guys with Ghana or with West Africa in general. Damn In particular I love the idea that scholars from our country and in this case from our very STAY have dream that the dream that they would like to bring African Americans and Americans to Ghana and also to bring them here. That's a wonderful thing. You see my belief is that only equals make friends. Any other relationship is out of out of balance. It may be paternalistic maternalistic etc. but unless there is a clear and level playing field it is impossible to really make a friendship. This is very interesting. It seems from what you're saying that everything that you've done in life. It all goes back to educating and to learning.

That's right it's very important to realize that our two from me anyway to believe that that idea that the brain starts to die at about twenty six eight seven and one is over one's learning period. I think that's ridiculous. I'm going to be 70 in a few years. Yes and and I'm just studying Japanese and doing very well. So I'm that that's ridiculous that the brain refuses to learn. We are all students at our best and at our best we are our teachers. I read an article recently in USA Today that you were asked to write a poem for the 50th anniversary of the UN and that you were intimidated by that. Was it the task that you were intimidated by and in why so intimidated is a word that has found its way into my my mouth in the last few weeks and it no one

intimidated me might be that the word I mean but rather over there. I'm always overwhelmed when I go to write and that yet that's when I am I am a writer. But each time I see that yellow pad and I have that plan and start to write I think now they'll find out there that really told the truth. I mean I have I think 10 or 11 national bestsellers. And that I still don't believe I can do it until I do it. So I'm always apprehensive. Is it a humbling experience for you when you're asked to do these things humbling. Yes humbling. Yes it's good although humbling is a positive thing. I think it it frightens me. I'm frightened. I think there's a difference between being modest and being humble. Modesty is a learned

affectation. It's stuck on from without you know. And when lighted slams the mob is present again. The world of modesty with a drop of humility comes from within. It says someone was here before me. Someone is here now whom I'm responsible and someone will be here after me. That's that's when it made humbled by that and that's a good thing. It is a positive thing in all your accomplishments and all that you have done in your nearly 70 years. Is there one thing that you are most proud of. Well it's not really my accomplishment. The greatest thing that happened to me was to have my son and to be a mother. And he was beyond me when I was very young. So in order to educate him I had to educate myself. If I have a monument in the my Sun is rhyme it is a good man good has been good father good citizen poet too.

That's nice to hear mother say that about her son he's a wonderful man also interested I've read that you're working on an album now with the estrogen since that's right tell me about this is a little bit different living what you used to tell a slave. I have one song out with Branford Marsalis. It's done very well. I like it a lot because it keeps me feeling that I'm young and that pretending to be your idea or did they come to you and they're like children to me I mean they're like my matches my own son and I have some daughters who are under my umbrella. And so they were visiting me and we went to the piano in my music room and they and Valerie started playing something and I started talking and started singing and it sounded pretty good. Then slowly they got a

tape recorder in it we have an album coming out on Motown. And it's it's really so you know it really is nothing you don't do right. Oh yeah that would be nice. Well I understand there's a movie as well. Yes I do have I mean there is a movie that's how I bring it up. It's and Steven Spielberg movie and the actors are am Bancroft's Ellen Burstyn Jean Sam and Alfre Woodard by Mona rather and me and it's called How To Make An American quilt. Yes and what is it all about it's a wonderful piece it's very much like the Russian mom if you remember that it's The Illustrated Man. So there are women who quilt and play the master quilt and the women quilt their own

stories and so the camera will go to that story and open up. And this story is taking place. You see it's really wonderful. Dr. Angelou thank you so much for being our guest tonight. My pleasure to be with you and to be here at North Carolina State. From the breathtaking vistas of the mountains to the beguiling breakers on the coast North Carolina is a land of great beauty. We invite you to travel with North Carolina now and explore our states and list diversity. If you have a special place you'd like to share let us know. North Carolina now P.O. Box 1 4 9 0 0 0 RTP NC 2 7 7 0 9. Or call 9 1 9 5 4 9 7 8 0 8. It will have an in-depth look at some legislation being examined by our state lawmakers that just a few minutes but first a summary of the news business and weather in our state with Michel Louis at

the now news desk. Hello Michel. Hello Mary Lou. Good evening everyone. It took only four hours today for the state Senate to pass its version of an expansion and capital budget bill. The plan calls for spending three hundred eighty four million dollars about 2.7 million dollars more than the House version. A conference committee will have to resolve the differences. The votes on various amendments today end on the bill itself split along party lines. Republicans said they wanted tougher penalties for criminals. Democrats charge the Republicans wanted tougher penalties with out money to increase the number of prison beds. And the reason that I wanted to have these things divide it was so that we would have an opportunity to vote to strengthen the criminal laws in our state. And to make it clear to people that everyone in this chamber is equally committed to their it seems to me asking to vote to increase the penalty and then again pay the money to build the prison beds to pack to incarcerate people with increased

penalties is a little bit like a little red hand who wants to eat the cake without having to set up a flat where you grind the flour and make the case the House and Senate conference committee will begin its work trying to iron out the differences between the two bills next week. Governor Jim Hunt is throwing his support behind a plan that would have prison inmates sleeping in shifts. It's called hot bunking a method sometimes used in the Navy. In this case two inmates would share one bed. The state House has already voted to spend half a million dollars next year to test the program in Lincoln County. But the Senate didn't include the funds in its version of the budget. So the issue will have to be worked out in conference committee. A coalition of groups is asking the governor and the General Assembly to pace to place a moratorium on new hog operations in the state. The group says the moratorium is needed until a blue ribbon commission studying the hawg industry has completed its work and its recommendations have been implemented. Don Webb the president of the Alliance for responsible swine industry says

that without the moratorium hog farmers have little incentive to prevent pollution and to protect their neighbor's health. Each day we wait more pollution is going into our ditches which are going to get trashed drains more dams are going to spill over more homes and more people are going to save their homes or move because it stunk so bad. So this more tornadoes to come ma'am. Meanwhile a new study shows that more than half of the members of the General Assembly received campaign contributions from the hog industry during the past four years. The report by the Institute for Southern Studies also says the industry quadrupled its contributions for last year's elections. A House vote on the state lottery bill has been delayed until next week. Lawmakers postponed the action today saying fiscal experts haven't done an analysis of what the lottery bill would do to state income and spending. Supporters say they want to give voters across the state a chance to decide on whether to create a lottery to finance school construction. But even if the house eventually passes the bill

it's unlikely voters will get that chance any time soon. The Senate has already rejected a similar bill and by law can't take up the issue again during the session. This summer's heavy rains may cause farm profits to dry up at harvest time. State Department of Agriculture figures show that only 28 percent of the current tobacco crop is rated good or excellent compared with 84 percent at the same time last year. Other crops affected by the unusually wet weather include cotton soybeans oats and wheat. Governor Hunt requested federal disaster aid for farmers in about 20 Eastern Counties. The USDA crop insurance office in Raleigh is getting nearly 300 calls a week. And now for a look at tomorrow's weather. Temperatures will be similar to today with highs in the Buddha natural areas in the mid to upper 80s. Elsewhere highs will be in the 90s mostly sunny skies are expected statewide with a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms in the southern coastal areas. In business news Governor Jim Hunt says the FDA should not be involved in regulating the tobacco industry

and says Hunt. He has called President Clinton in person to let him know how he feels. The Food and Drug Administration and the White House are discussing for the first time whether nicotine should be regulated as an addictive drug. If so that would give the FDA broad new authority and the control and distribution of tobacco products. Food Lion has filed a 100 million dollar lawsuit against ABC television and connection with a negative story the network broadcast in 1992. In addition to the monetary damages the Solsbury based grocery store chain claims it owns the rights to tapes shown during the broadcast. Those tapes were made inside Food Lion stores with hidden cameras and tape recorders. A spokesperson for ABC said she couldn't comment because the network hasn't seen the suit yet. The stock market was narrowly mixed today but the Dow Jones Industrial Average did manage to eke out another record close. The Dow ended the day a fraction higher at forty seven twenty seven point forty eight. Three hundred eighty seven million shares traded hands both the Standard and Poor's

500 and the Nasdaq composite index also had record closes and now for some stocks of North Carolina interest. Time now to check in with our legislative bureau for the latest going on at the General Assembly and for that we turn to you and see TV's John basin. Hi John. Hello. First off tell us about the

Senate's version of the budget I understand that's the big news because it passed at this point does it go on to a conference committee now John. It will but first the House has to receive it and reject it. That's the mechanism that that takes place at this point the House has passed its own version of this particular budget which is called the expansion and capital budget. And of course the House and Senate versions don't match up if they did they'd shake hands and we could go home but they don't they don't match up the house will reject the Senate's version and that will set up the conference committee mechanism to appoint members and they will get down to negotiating deciding whose version of the particular item they'll accept. I understand well the Senate version of this bill spends more money than the House version. I think it spends more money on the university system and public education is also difference and a mechanism for funding the state prisons. So there are a lot of. And those are just the big differences there are a lot of smaller differences in each of these of course will have to be worked out before they can come together on a compromise that they are at least a step closer at this point.

They are indeed. Well another thing John many folks are curious to find out if the lottery will is going to be decided by the voters of course in a referendum or if they'll just take a gamble on it in the general assembly. The House will being bring it up next week after today's postponement I understand what do you think the odds are. Well we don't have a lottery so I don't have to lay out the I think it's probably still considered a long shot. OK. There are there are people here whole Say Anything can happen and even though the Senate has already defeated a lottery bill they could change their mind and if the House passed this one the Senate could accept it. My gut tells me that North Carolina will continue to not have a lottery although there was a surprising vote earlier this week when represented Toby Fitch got the votes that he needed to bring a lottery bill out of committee that had not been voted on or discussed in that committee. Bring it out of the committee brought it to the floor. And that's that's where it is now it's taken a very strange route compared to the way most bills get to the floor. OK. I understand also a group has asked the governor and lawmakers to enact a

moratorium on new hog operations in the state. Can we expect some sort of a legislation about this or something John. I would I would speculate and this is just hopefully semi-informed guess that there would not be a legislative moratorium or even one probably from the governor I think the industry is is too big and too strong and economically too important to the state. There have been some bills passed that are regulating the industry more than had been in the past. A lot of this is brought out by those recent spills which really drew a lot of attention to the issue. OK. And also a Senate Committee today approved a slightly rewritten parental consent bill for minors seeking an abortion is parental consent now expected to pass in this session. It was it was significantly rewritten not have to say. And it does it does stand a very good chance of passing this session. Earlier another Senate committee had weakened the bill in the eyes of people who support parental consent. They had raise the age which meant that more young women would be able to go ahead and. Get there actually lower the age more young women be

able to make the decision themselves to have an abortion without getting permission. And also they had put together a very rote relatively large group of relatives of this young woman who would be able to grant permission if she didn't want to go before her parents. Now another Senate committee has changed that gone more back to the way the bill was when it left the house. Now it's all young women under the age of 18 will have to get a parent's permission a grandparent will be able to grant permission but the child would have to be living with that grandparent for at least six months. And of course this bill like all parental consent bills that that will be Constitutional has to have what they call the judicial bypass that allows a young woman who doesn't want to ask her parents to go before a judge to get permission. OK now John I know every week I ask you this. Just very quickly how are things sort of wrapping up there at the General Assembly now do you have any idea when this session might be over. They aren't wrapping up yet. This negotiation over the expansion and capital budgets will be the next big hurdle. There are a lot of other odds and ends that some folks would like to get done but the

budget is the big one that has to be done. OK. I think it's going to be a going to be a couple more weeks. OK Daniel thank you so much and we'll continue to check back with you thanks again. Oh. If you're a fan of real North Carolina barbecue chances are you're a fan of either the Eastern style or the Lexington style which is named after a Piedmont town that probably has more barbecue restaurants per capita than any other place on the planet. Well Bob Barr reports tonight that one of the best of them is a place called Jimmy's

preparing barbecue is hard work. The hours are long. The schedule is inconvenient and all in all it's the type of business that demands the kind of loyalty and commitment that is held together only by common blood. It is in short a family business. This is a family portrait. Jimmy Harvey his wife Betty rose two sons two daughters and five grandchildren. Not all of whom are shown here have chosen over the years to stick with this enterprise which should tell you a lot. Jimmy's BBQ has been open at its present location for 25 years now but owner Jimmy Harvey has been cooking barbecue for nearly 55 years. His is the quintessential Piedmont style barbecue. And on a normal day he has no trouble filling up his one hundred twenty five seats. We're in Lexington so you know that it Jimmy's the barbecue comes from pork shoulders lovingly simmered over hardwood coals for hours and hours. This is not all that finely chopped it's actually a fairly chunky barbecue.

Very delicately flavored. Absolutely delicious. Now you can order this everywhere but you can get it here at Jimmy's and it's my very favorite part. This is the chopped Brown outside meat. And I like it because it's where most of the smoke flavor stays. Now in this neck of the woods this isn't called sauce. It's called dip. Now Jimmy step is a little hotter than most I believe there's more pepper in there that in most bits in this area. Also I don't believe it's mine to sweetness and I've tasted Whatever the secret is. The dip is certainly one reason why Jimi's is a household name around Lexington. Now this is Jimmy's hot hot dip. I don't know that we really need any more heat but I'm game. I'll give it a try. I don't know about this. Actually that's

very flavorful and not too hot at all. I love the way they chop the slaw. Here in Lexington they get a different consistency to it and they do most places. And of course you'll notice the trademark red color. Now I know already that this will have a special time because essentially has the same dip on it that goes over the cook. I love the husk puppies at Jimmie's they're crispy they're not too sweet and there's lots of that white cornmeal flavor. Now Thursday through Sunday only our barbecued chicken days at Jimmy's and boy does the crowd show up then. Now that is basted with a little bit of sauce but they have sense enough not to drench it in sauce. Plenty of natural chicken Klaver good would see smoke taste.

That is wonderful stuff in this town of fewer than 20000 people there are nearly 20 barbecue restaurants. So what's the secret of establishing one of the biggest reputations of them all. His personality his very ins makes for easy easy. He trashed the town. I cannot translate saving money. He must. This extended family not only works together the members go on vacation to the beach or go bike together and generally spend their free time enjoying one another's company. You'll definitely want to visit to get there take a good 91 off the ivy 5 bypass and watch Eaton and turned south on Highway 8 toward South. You'll see the restaurant on the right almost immediately. No question whatever about this one. Jimmy's BBQ earns our highest rating of five little pigs. Once again if you want to sample the chicken as well as the BBQ you want to visit Jimmy's on Thursdays through Sundays and we are so glad you joined us 90 years what's coming up

tomorrow night. Well look at how the budget will affect public education in our state. And then it's off to the wing Haven gardens and bird sanctuary in Charlotte. For your information tonight North Carolina based field Chris Cannon just presented an interesting award. They did a national search looking for the ugliest couch in the country. A woman named Mary Scroggins from Oregon received $2000 from the sure fit slipcover division for the ugliest couch three North Carolinians captured second and third place weddings. Well we appreciate you joining us we'll see you back here tomorrow night at 7:30. Goodnight everyone.