Firefighters set to restore REO
Speed Wagon — 1B
482-4418
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
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Queen Anne Creek bridge opens for traffic
Project finished
one week late
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Motorists got a pleasant
surprise early Saturday
morning when they dis
Opponents
agree on
gun rights
Differences emerge
on law expansion
By REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
With high-profile inci
dents this summer putting
gun laws in the spotlight,
state legislative candidates
in northeastern North
Carolina have expressed
support for gun rights but
differences on the details
of some gun control is
sues.
Bill Luton, a Democrat
and member of the Eliza
beth City-Pasquotank
County
Board of
Educa
tion, has a
ready an
swer when
people ask
him about
gun con
trol.
“I tell them that I. sup
port the 2nd amendment,
and I support and exercise
the right to protect and
defend my family,” Luton
said. “I own a handgun,
and having the ability to
protect my family in the
case of a robbery or break
in is my responsibility I
don’t take that responsibil
ity lightly.”
Bob Steinburg, the for
mer chairman of the Chow
an County Republican
Luton
Party and
Luton’s
opponent
for the 1st
District
Seat in the
N.C. House
of Repre
. . sentatives,
Steinburg also stated
his support for 2nd amend
ment rights.
“I have always been a
strong supporter of the
Second Amendment,”
Steinburg said. “I am a
member of the NRA and
Ducks Unlimited. I believe
the laws we currently have
on the books adequately
protect the absolute right
of citizens to own guns and
for the safety of the public
at large.”
Steinburg did not an
swer questions about spe
cific legislation and regu
lations. He said most of
the issues are more federal
than state.
Luton commented on
specific gun issues, as did
Sen. Stan White, D-Dare,
and Rep. Bill Cook, R-Beau
fort, who is challenging
See GUNS, 3A
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
covered the Queen Anne
Creek bridge replacement
was finally finished.
Once motorists noticed
that detour signs were be
ing removed, they learned
the N.C. Highway 32 route
that connects downtown to
southeast Chowan County
was open for traffic. Last
J.A. Holmes’ principal sets expectations
PHOTO BY RITCHIE STARNES
John A. Holmes High School principal Sheila Evans shares a laugh with a class, Friday. As the former principal at D.F. Walker Elementary School, Evans knew most
of the high school’s students when they were younger.
Evans: Tm about respect and responsibility’
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
ti in, one out,” prin
** ■^■cipal Sheila Evans
says matter-of-factly
when encountering a student
in the hallway wearing a set of
Ipad earphones.
Five minutes later when she
meets another student sporting
both earphones, “one in, one
out.
“There’s no use fighting
them,” Evans explains. “They
live in an electronic world. It’s
The indestructible Queen Bee returns
Regulator-built
vessel comes home
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
For the past four years
they’ve had one of the best
cocktail stories about how
they survived a harrowing
ordeal before swimming
one and a half miles in
treacherous ocean waters.
Then, earlier this year,
the story developed a new
twist. Not only did the
brothers-in-law survive
a life-or-death campaign,
but the vessel they were
aboard when a rogue wave
tossed them into the At
month, Shawn Mebane,
an engineer with the N.C.
Department of Transporta
tion overseeing the project,
forecasted that the bridge
replacement could be de
layed one month beyond
its original goal of Aug. 24.
“They worked hard the
last 30 days to get it done
better to teach them the proper
etiquette, like to silence then
cell phones when in class.”
Evans may well be a students
principal, a relationship that
serves her well as she embarks
on her second semester and
first full year at John A. Holmes
High School. A former principal
at D.F. Walker Elementary, Ev
ans has seen many of her high
school pupils when they were
younger.
“I know these kids," she adds.
See EVANS, 4A
lantic Ocean was found in
tact more than 3,000 miles
away from their spill. Last
Tuesday, the men were
united with the 26-foot
Regulator Marine console
fishing boat in Edenton,
home of the company and
where the boat was built
in 2003, during a reception
dubbed The Indestructible
Bee.
“The way it was found
and brought back is a feel
good story,” said survivor
Rich St. Pierre. “I like the
fact that it grew a mous
tache while it was gone,”
referring to the barnacles
clinging to the bow’s hull.
St. Pierre and the boat’s
owner, Scott Douglas, re
when they did,” Mebane
said Tuesday “It’s a week
late, but it’s done.”
On Friday afternoon,
Mebane said it would
probably be today before
the bridge opened for traf
fic. At that time, no guard
rails had been installed.
But, contractors worked
STAFF PHOTO BY THOMAS J. TURNEY
Survivor Rich St. Pierre talks about swimming to shore after
being washed off the boat - Queen Bee, which was found off
the coast of Spain three years later, last Tuesday.
told their story of survival
as they have countless
times ohtside the Barker
into the night and finished
around 9 p.m.
There remains addition
al paving and the painting
of lines to be completed.
Plans call for the final pav
ing on Saturday, weather
permitting, Mebane said.
Palmetto Infrastructure,
the project’s contractor
House by Edenton Bay
About 60 visitors, includ
ing elected officials and
after posting the lowest
bid, forfeited any chance
of a bonus for early com
pletion once the Aug. 24
date passed. The compa
ny stood to earn a $1,500
daily bonus for every day
the project came in early.
See BRIDGE, 3A
PHOTO BY RITCHIE
STARNES
Holmes’ principal
Sheila Evans begins
her second semester
and first full year
at the high school.
Over the summer
the school received
a facelift and an
extensive cleaning in
an effort to present
a more respectful
environment.
Regulator employees,
were on hand to hear then
amazing story.
It was about this time
four years ago when Doug
las, now 59, and St. Pierre,
68, left Nantucket, Mass,
for a day of fishing for bo
nito. The ocean was rough
and wind lashing, but they
thought the sandbar on
the sound side would insu
late them from the harsh
conditions. Waves about
6-foot high with an occa
sional 7-footer pounded
their boat but they pressed
onward.
“Normally there are 30
See QUEEN BEE, 4A
♦
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