North Carolina Now; North Carolina Now Episode from 08/19/1997

Left right or left. It's Tuesday August 19th. Tonight grandparents being thrown into the role of parents all over again in North Carolina now. Hello I'm Marina dry Welcome to North Carolina now.

We have a shortened version of our program for you tonight in order to make way for ask you was CTV an opportunity for you our viewers to pass along your questions and comments to our U.N. CTV staff. Summer is starting to wane but there is still plenty of time for that getaway to the coast. Tonight Bob daughter brings back memories of those Coastal Vacations with his story about beach music. But up first tonight we examine the growing trend of grandparents raising their own grandchildren because the parents for whatever reason are not capable of that responsibility. A growing number of young single mothers who've gotten into trouble with drugs or the law or both are turning to the relatives to raise their children for them. Often the burden falls on the grandparents robbing them of the so-called golden years of retirement that they've looked so forward to for decades. But as Clay Johnson shows us grandparents across the state are coming together to help one another through trying times. It was worth it. Rusty Hardin Laney is raising a

houseful of children again a generation ago. She was raising her own children. Now she's raising her children's children. God is 14 months so Rod Meloni 70 young guy 7 Cantor is the oldest seven. Eric is eight. Mark is now. Adam is 11. There are nine in all. One is a great granddaughter that Origen adopted the other eight are children of her two youngest daughter Arjun says. Both daughters are addicted to drugs. There were two choices a foster home or their grandmother's home. I took I'm sorry they would put him in homes. It was just guardian for the rest of their life they are rid of victims of circumstances. Even at the age of 11 Adam understands this was supposed to be someone who

did it right. Did a crime. So this is really really routine. That's crazy plan. You know three months ago Arjun's youngest daughter gave her mother a new set of twins to take care of Arjun is taking care of all seven of that daughter's children. Why did she have so many children if she could. Terrible. Well you tell me it's happening all the time everywhere you know how substance abuse are reduced. So at 63 years old Arjun Lanie is playing the role of new mother. No one stop you just keep going. Arjun must keep going nonstop to there are mouths to be fed diapers to be changed ailments to be treated and disputes to be settled. Oh god no. Started taking that one into to this term but I don't let it be so tough to the point that I would just let it go because it is tough.

It's tough physically it's tough emotionally and it's tough financially because origin is a relative and the state doesn't give her the financial assistance it gives foster parents. We're saving the government big money taking care of these children pulling this weight by our sales. Arjun raises the children on her 550 an hour job as a school cafeteria cooks and food stamps. I am a resourceful person. I'm making ends meet. I don't wander into a waste. What I get out make sure but it's hard. Arjun Laney may be raising her grandchildren alone but when it comes to her situation she's certainly not alone in the world according to the U.S. Census Bureau more than one hundred and eleven thousand children in North Carolina are being raised by their grandparents and more than 3.7 million nationwide. But support groups are forming for grandparents like Arjen Lanie. She attends one every month called grandparents unlimited love that operation breakthrough in Durham. Operation breakthrough administers Head Start and other programs for low income families.

The group is also supported by the Durham County partnership for children which is the local smart storage agency. Let me know when they're going to land you in one room the grandchildren get a babysitter in another. The grandparents get a guest speaker. Your responsibility is to look at this. Sign it and turn it back on. Many grandparents have trouble taking care of their own needs much less the needs of the children. They now must re-educate often they feel isolated with no one to turn to. They feel angry. They're exhausted. They are in America around trying to fit their lifestyle with the children now and they have been less and less time for themselves. There's no opportunities to take vacation. Every penny counts and so they really do need a group that they can get together and talk where cry with laughter where blow off steam with. And they have a lot of good

advice for each other because they've been through the same experience of sharing that goes on in these groups. It's really to me as important as the information they get from a speaker that might come in from an agency. It makes us feel good just to talk to each other to know we got somebody that we can really know we have play and we have somebody that we can relate to understand where we are coming for you wouldn't believe I was there you know both their grandparents out there didn't want to discuss what we did all right. We had fun right. Very cute. OK. But orginally is still hoping to retire. Still hoping to have some time for herself one day. It's hard but I could imagine was there with at least two of them. No by the way I don't believe nobody in the world will put up with what I do with them. And we love each other and we

need each other. All I know is I have to continue doing what I do is what I'm doing for them and hope their lives are so much better than mine. And just to sound less like Good for her. In addition to the grandparents support group in Durham There are about a half a dozen other groups up and running across the state including support groups in Raleigh and Charlotte and about a dozen local agencies across the state are in the process of trying to form support groups. Well still ahead we'll go shagging with Bob Garner. But first let's get caught up on the events making news across the state by checking in with Michel Louis at the news desk. Hello Mitch. Hello Maria. Good evening everyone. Topping our news legislative negotiators are assessing the number of counties in support of two different welfare reform packages. A recent Senate survey finds 20 of the state's 100 counties have endorsed either the House or Senate plan. Senate data reveals 13 counties favor the House version while seven back the Senate option. The Senate survey concludes seventy three counties have

taken no action on either plan at one time GOP lawmakers held at almost 40 counties were in support of the House proposal. The dispute over welfare reform is one of the major issues blocking adoption of a state budget. A malfunctioning municipal sewage treatment plant is responsible for the second one million gallon raw sewage spill in a week. The massive spill in the Granville County town of Oxford is being blamed for killing thousands of fish and waters leading to the Tar River. State environmental officials say a number of pumps sent by city workers to operate on automatic did not function correctly. Environmental teams are working to flush out the affected creek. Another spill last week in Garner dumped up to a million gallons of raw sewage into waters leading to the Neuse River. Some Yadkin County residents are threatening to stop paying property taxes unless county officials put limits on hog farms. Residents have presented up as a petition to county commissioners opposing a planned operation. The residents are opposed to a 57 acre eighty six hundred head hog farm that would be the largest hog

operation in the western part of the state. But because it already has a state permit. County officials say there is little they can do to stop the hog farm from opening. But residents say they have rights too and they are being ignored. The state House has approved a measure barring insurance companies from dropping coverage for churches set on fire by arsonists. The bill was passed by a vote of 99 to 1. After reaching agreement over Senate changes the bill came about after a suspected rash of church arsons last year and some cases insurance companies paid off insured congregations and then canceled their policies. Now Governor Hunt must sign the measure for it to become law. The state and local governments will receive several million dollars in federal disaster recovery funds to rebuild from losses caused by Hurricane Fran. Governor Jim Hunt was joined by HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Representative David Price and making the announcement today in Raleigh. The money is part of a new Federal Housing and Urban Development disaster recovery program. Some parts of North Carolina have yet to fully recover from Hurricane

Fran. After nearly one year. And now for a look at tomorrow's weather mid 80 degree temperatures will stretch across much of the Tarheel State for Wednesday. The mountains are forecast to be five to 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the state expect mostly cloudy conditions statewide and a 40 to 50 percent chance of showers or a thunderstorm is a part of tomorrow's weather picture. In business news look at tobacco companies share in the domestic cigarette market continues to decline. The Durham based company reports U.S. tobacco sales declined 31 percent in the second quarter totaling somebody eight million dollars. Some analysts say the decline is part of a deliberate plan by Leggett to cut costs and restructure debt. By contrast legates international operations posted an 8 million dollar increase in sales over the same quarter. And now for a look at what happened on Wall Street today. In the light 50s and early 60s rhythm and blues enjoyed immense

popularity in North and South Carolina during those years a trademark dance blossomed which blended perfectly with the songs of the period it formed a musical legacy that has endured for over 30 years. As Bob Garda reports what's now called Beach Music is firmly entrenched in the popular culture of the Carolinas. Those are the town a rhythm and blues group out of Atlanta that never really hit the big time nationally but their popularity in North and South Carolina in the mid 60s approached cult status and nowhere more so than at beach clubs especially at Myrtle Beach. The Tams and scores of other groups became part of a true cultural icon in the Carolinas. A musical style that later became known as beach music. It all revolved around the dance you did to this music. The shag the shag and beach

music became such a well entrenched phenomenon in North and South Carolina that Hollywood made a movie in the 80s called Shang very bad movie great dance. The shot developed in the late 40s out of the Lindy the Big Apple in the jitterbug. But compared to these forerunners it was a smoother more flowing dance done to a moderate laid back beat. The idea was to slide and scuff the feet while keeping the upper body relatively steady for whatever reason the shank took root in the Carolinas and stayed on through the 50s and 60s while other parts of the country were preoccupied with the fruit. You want to see in the mashed potatoes the dance may have had a sort of forbidden attraction to otherwise proper white middle class youngsters because the name had an off color connotation in much the same way as the term rock n roll. The term shag used to have quite a different meaning and does to this day in Great Britain. Let me put it this way if a father ask you where you have been with this daughter and you said Al shagging he was likely to go get a shot gun club owner read hewas

remembers the time a group of visiting British businessmen were invited after an all day meeting to go to his place to shank. They come to the club and they will want to dance and have a good time and it and the people come after they asked Mayes it. Whenever we go get to shag house it the floors for just go a lap there you know if it was daring to do a dance that sounded a little dirty. It was also a little daring for Southern white kids to listen to black rhythm and blues which used to be known as race music and that's really how the whole beach thing started. White kids listening to black music especially those songs with the right beat for the Shang it was especially popular at the beach since that's where a lot of partying took place but it was and all across the two Carolinas not much internet. One of the key ingredients of that unique recipe known as beach music was a collection of old blues songs and drinking tunes mostly by

black artists. Most people across the country probably never heard of them but they were archived on jukeboxes and beer joints in fraternity house basements in the Carolinas like the one at the Kappa Sigma house at USC Chapel Hill. Songs like drinking wine spota yo nips it and your cash ain't nothing but trash you loser. There were also versions of songs dating back to the World War 2 years like green eyes and the White Cliffs of Dover. Congrats on some of the nationally known rhythm and blues groups like the Drifters fell easily into the beach music mix along with a lot of the then popular Motown releases from artists like The Four Tops and the Temptations. Many of which had the requisite shag but once in a while there was a song designed not so much for dancing but more for spirited singing along. At USC Chapel Hill where

I was a relatively slender dark haired cheerleader in the mid sixties we frequently joined other North and South Carolina college students in belting out one of the Tams all time favorite party anthems. Fred Hughes who owns Reds Beach Club in Raleigh has run beach music clubs for over 30 years. We started out it was Modell you know and then with them then we mix the blue and then we started having the local bands you know at a rally in the end the Norco a lot and they would say these days Jackie Gore of Romney performs with his daughter in a new group called Jackie Gore. Friends and family but for thirty six years beginning in 1988 he anchored one of the most popular North Carolina bands ever. The embers like other white

singers in what are now generally considered beach groups. Gore ignored the white pop stars of the late 50s and 60s and modeled his emerging style after black R&B singers. I always listen and tried to emulate the good singers and not the what I would call the rank of things they can say about Bobby and then then they analyse got there they didn't do anything for me. I was listening to people like Billy Eckstein and Johnny Mathis. I'm really hurt by the early 60s the music mix was complete and sounded like black groups were playing the Big Book. But it still wasn't music later.

And tomorrow night when Bob continue two part special series on this tradition look at how the beach music was spawned. And that will do it for tonight's edition of North Carolina now thanks for tuning in. And we invite you to call in this evening during ask you and CTV our staff is standing by to answer your questions you can give us a call at 1 800 5 9 5. Twenty two hundred Well please join us tomorrow for another edition of North

Carolina now one fourth district Congressman David Price will be our guest. Representative Price will be here to talk about the balanced budget agreement his recent series of town hall meetings and proposals in Congress to ease the financial burden of our state's tobacco farmers. Also tomorrow Maria Lundberg will report on the opening of the first charter schools in our state. And of course Bob Garner and part two of this special report on beach music. Have a great evening everyone will see you tomorrow night at that.