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482-4418
‘Mr. J’s Polar
Plunge’
benefits
Special
Olympics - 6A
Wednesday, January 7, 2014
County seeks site, cost info for substation
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
The Chowan County
Board of Commissioners
on a split vote Monday di
rected the county manager
and Edenton’s fire chief to
identify a potential site for a
fire substation in the south
ern part, of the county and
to report to the board-on the
cost of building a minimal
standard substation.
Although a first step to
ward the possible construc
tion of a substation, the ac
tion at Monday’s meeting
did not amount to a com
mitment to actually building
the facility.
The action followed a
public hearing on the pro
posed substation.
Commissioner Alex Ke
hayes’s motion passed with
Commissioner Keith Nixon
and Commissioner Emmett.
Winbome voting against it.
Southern Chowan resi
dents Tom Credle, Marvin
Strzyzewski, Fred Powers
and John Dunn spoke dur
ing the public hearing in fa
vor of the substation.
Credle also asked that
the committee that studied
the fixe substation issue
also consider the prospect
of eventually going to a
countywide professionally
staffed fire service.
Dunn said a substation
could improve response
time, reduce insurance pre
miums for some homeown
ers by hundreds of dollars a
year, and improve property
values in southern Chowan
County.
Powers said a substation
could benefit a number of
employers in the vicinity of
the Northeastern Regional
Airport. Homeowners also
would benefit, he said.
After the public hearing
was closed, Chairman Jeff
Smith asked Edenton Fire
Chief Craig Forlines to clar
ify the point about response
time.
“Response time will truly
not change much,” For
See SUBSTATION, 4A
Harris takes oath of office at historic courthouse
BY KEUulE PONDER
Editor
Meader Harms took
the oath of offic e
Friday as the 1st
Judicial District's newest
district judge in a special
session of court at the 1767
Chowan County Court
house.
Judge Chris Bean admin
istered the oath in his final
official act as a district court
judge.
Harrlss was elected in
November in an uncontest
ed race.
Bean said it was nice
change of pace to have a
brief and pleasant session
of court .
“It is very nice that we
can havy a relatively short
session of court and a hap
py session of court,” Bean
said near the conclusion erf
Friday’s ceremony.
About 125 people - most
ly representatives of the
legal and law enforcement
communities from across
the district and business and
civic leaders from Edenton
- packed into the Colonial
era courtroom to witness
Harriss’s oath of office.
“This is a position of
honor and trust and this is
something that 1 do not take
lightly,” Harriss told the
crowd after taking the oath.
Bean, citing an article
written by a district court
judge in one of the state’s
other districts, noted the
range of cases heard by a
district court judge, includ
ing criminal, juvenile, and '
family cases.
Harriss stressed the im
portance of fairness.
“The bottom line is tieing
fair and impartial," Harriss
said during an interview fin
day. “Tire law is the law. My
job is to find the facts from
what has been presented to
me.”
It is the responsibility of
a judge* to apply those facts
to the law without any sway
from anybody else or any
consideration of personal
opinion, Harriss said.
"1 aim to find the truth,”
Harriss said “1 pray to find
See HARRIS, 4A
STAFF PHOTOS
BV REGGIE PONDER
New District Court Judge
Meader Harris (above)
is administered the
oath of office Friday by
retiring District Court
Judge Chris Bean. The
ceremony was held
inside the 1767 Chowan
County Courthouse and
at Harris’ side is his
wife, Jennifer.
Members of the
audience show their
support for new
District Court Judge
Meader Harris after
he completes his
oath of office.
Next move on local
grocery front unclear
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
A spokeswoman for Food
Lion said this week that the
company was unable to
comment on public specula
tion the grocery chain Ls try
u\g to “kxk out" potential
competitors from the Eden
ton market.
Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton mentioned
the speculation in recent
remarks to the Chowan
Herald.
“It Ls suspected, based on
All Rights Reserved
rumor, that Food Lion Ls tak
ing stops to look out another
grocer from occupying ei
ther the former Farmers
Food store or the grocery
store currently occupied
by Food lion at Eilenton
Village Shopping Center,"
Knighton said in an email
statement to the newspaper
in response to a reporter’s
query about challenges and
opportunities for the town
in 2015.
But Christy Phillips
Brown, a F<kk1 lion spokes
woman, said the company
would be able to respond to
the speculation.
“At this time, Food lion
lias not signed a new lease,
or purchased property, for
a store location in Eden ton,
See NEXT MOVE, 4A
Sheriff warns of ‘$1 million prize’ scam
From staff reports
Chowan County Sheriff Dwayne
< ioodwin is warning area residents to
be w;uy of seam calls claiming people
hare won a $1 million prize.
Gotxlwin said some of the num
bers show up on caller ID as legiti
mate businesses, but that if you call
the number back it doesn’t go to that
business but to the caller.
The caller in the instances Good
win is most familiar
with has a foreign ac
cent that appears to
Ire from a mid-east
ern country, Good
win said.
The callers tell
11 iv rwni u i uivv ^ jra
won $1 million and GOODWIN
that a van Ls on the
way to their house with news medi;
dong to record the check presenta
(ion. But tht' callers then insist that
before they can receive the money
they must go to a Western Union lo
cation and send money to cover the
taxes, he said.
I Usually a caller will put someone
else on the line who claims to be from
the IRS or FBI to make it sound more
official, according to Goodwin.
The thing to do with such a call is
See $1M SCAM, 4A
Consultant hired to review power deal
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Edenton town officials
have lured a consultant to
review documents related
to the proposed sale of N.C.
Eastern Municipal Power
Agency assets to Duke En
ergy Progress.
The town council voted
unanimously at its Deo. 9
meeting to contract with
Robert “Bob” Pender to
review the proposed agree
ments pertaining to the
proposed sale of NCEM
PAs generating assets to
Duke Energy Progress and
the long-term power supply
purchase agreement.
Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton had recom
mended the council hire
Pender. Hertford has also
hired Pender to conduct a
similar review.
Tlu* town is one of 32
mem!>ers of N( 'KM PA.
Tills move to sell NCEM
PA’s ownership interest in
power plants to Duke is
expected to retire a signifi
cant portion of NCEMPA’s
debt in effect lowering its
wholesale power costs,
town officials said.
“Lower wholesale power
costs will mean lower rates
for Edenton utility custom
ers," Knighton said. “The
town council will consider
See POWER DEAL, 4A
*
i