482-4418 I.|.||.ll| 1 l|||.||||||| l |'ll , !ll'll'll'l ll, l"l ,1 SHEPHERD PRUDEN LIBRARY 106 W WATER ST EDENTON NC 27932-1854 50* AW CAROL!UC«miER.CGV -ALSTEAD aaO UJBfTH CITt Rocky Hock Pastor, son remain in hospital after crash BY MILES LAYTON Editor EDENTON — A Chowan County pastor and one of his two sons remain in a Vir ginia hospital following then- pickup truck’s collision with a school bus last week. Mike Denny, a children’s youth pastor at Rocky Hock Baptist Church, and his two sons — Will and Landon — were injured when then- pickup collided Wednesday morning with an Edenton- Chowan school bus on Har ris Landing Road. Mike Denny, who was driving the pickup, initially was taken to Vidant Chow an Hospital in Edenton be fore being taken by an am bulance to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Denny’s sons were flown via medical “The church is offering our hopes and prayers for a fast recovery. We’re praying hard." James Horton Rocky Hock Baptist Church senior pastor helicopter directly from the crash site to the hospital. Will Denny has since been released from the hospital, Rocky Hock Baptist Church Senior Pastor James Horton said late last week. Mike Denny underwent surgery on Friday and is expected to recover, Horton said. Landon Denny, mean while, remains under care at Sentara Norfolk, Horton said. “The church is offering our hopes and prayers for a fast recovery,” Horton said. “We’re praying hard.” Chowan EMS Director Colin Ryan said neither the bus driver nor any of the eight children on the bus sustained any injuries, but they were taken to Vidant Chowan Hospital for evalu ation. See HOSPITAL, 3A Generous Donations A big crowd of more than a hundred people attended the Food Pantry’s fundraiser on Saturday. Held at Nothin’ Fancy Cafe and Market in Edenton, the charity event has raised $2,550 for the nonprofit’s Book Bag Buddies program. Book Bag Buddies benefit from fundraiser BY REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer Saturday night’s “Fill the Food Pantry” fundraiser held at the Nothin’ Fancy Cafe and Market in Edenton has raised $2,550 for the nonprofit’s Book Bag Buddies program. Lee Lolkema, spokeswoman for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship that sponsored the annual event, said 100 people attended. “Many more bought tickets and gave generous donations,” she said. The program is aimed at making sure that kids in Chow an County receive ample food to take home on weekends and in the summer so that they don’t go hungry. Pantry Director Roger Cole man said that thanks to the strong support offered by the local community his organi zation’s ability to feed hungry children is growing every year. “I want to thank everyone for their support,” he said. “This is a big undertaking.” Coleman said that the pro gram is currently providing Tasty cuisine was served at Saturday’s Food Pantry fundraiser. weekend meals to 135 children that attend White Oak and D.F. Walker Elementary Schools. “Our budget currently sup ports 100 meals each week so fundraising events like the ‘Fill the Pantry’ dinner are very im portant in allowing the Eden ton-Chowan Food Pantry to continue meeting the full need of grade school children,” he said. “The full cost of provid ¬ ing food for a child through the Book Bag Buddies program is $200 per child.” The purpose of the program, Coleman said, is to make sure that children deemed “at-risk” by school counselors are pro vided adequate food. “Such nutrition is important not only for maintaining good health but also for ensuring a child’s ability to effectively par ticipate in a learning setting,” he said. According to Coleman, ma jor funding for the Book Bag Buddies program comes from Edenton United Methodist Church, Rocky Hock Baptist Church, Regulator Marine and the annual Walk for Hunger. There are others who also make the program possible through donating their time to volunteer and to assist in the effort in other ways. “Those who make the pro gram possible, in addition to our generous contributors, are food pantry volunteers that meet each Wednesday morn ing to package the meals, Vi- See FUNDRAISER, 4A Public schools charged a state sales tax BY MILES LAYTON Editor A few weeks back during a Chowan County Commission meeting, there was a moment of clarity for everyone — politicos and the public alike — when local schools’ Superintendent Rob Jackson mentioned a point about taxes. During Jackson’s presentation, he said school systems near and far are charged a state sales tax. Among other folks, Commissioner John Mitchener’s ears perked up when learning that school districts are one of the few that cannot apply for the state sales tax refund—a tax that has been in effect more than a decade. “I could not believe my ears when the su perintendent mentioned that,” Mitchener said during an interview with the Chowan Herald. “I thought to myself, surely 10 years later after the General Assembly put this forward that someone must have jumped on this thing.” During the commission’s April 3 meeting, ■ See TAX, 9A Chowan Herald ‘reboots’ its social media presence From staff reports The Chowan Herald is expanding its Facebook and social media footprint. Basically, we’ve rebooted our Facebook | page — /Edenton-ChowanHerald — where ! you can find daily items related to news, ! sports and community events. Most recently, scores from the Aces’ base- ball and softball games were posted on the Edenton-Chowan Herald’s page. Later, there | was a video posted about White Oak Ele- I mentary’s kindergarten’s trip to the North Carolina Aquarium. That short clip showed ! kids touching a crab in the water of a shal- j low pool within the aquarium. More videos will be posted to the page as the days and weeks go by. Sunday, a few photos of Food Pantry’s ; fundraiser were posted. Monday, a video was posted of children sending ‘get well’ wishes Rev. Mike Denny of Rock Hock Baptist Church. So if you want to keep up with Chowan I County happenings on a daily basis or know i more about what stories will be appearing j in the upcoming edition of the newspaper, . please “like” our page — Edenton-Chowan Herald — and become our “friends.” Perhaps inspired by President Trump ) among others, the newspaper has joined the wonderful world of Twitter. This medium j allows the Chowan Herald to post snippets ! of whatever, whoever and whenever for the world wide community to see via the Inter net. Please “follow” @chowan_herald. Thanks for reading. Justice Erwin to discuss NC Supreme Court at courthouse Like us on Facebook at /EDENTON-CHOWANHERALD 6 ■89076"44813^ ©2009 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved 0 From staff reports As a preamble to the May 9 session of the state Supreme Court to be held at the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse, N.C. Supreme Court Justice Sam Erwin will speak at the court- house Monday, April 24, 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. He will explore the history and functions of the Supreme Court in a free public pro gram. Refreshments will follow the presentation. To reserve a seat, call (252) 482-2637. “This is a fantastic op portunity for students and the public to connect with and learn about our State Supreme Court,” said Historic Eden ton Site Manager Bob Hopkins. “We are very fortunate to have Justice Er vin visiting us.” The seven jus tices of the Su ¬ erwin courthouse, as the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse observes its 250th anniversary. The public is invited to the ses sions at no charge, but reservations are preme Court will hold required by calling (252) two sessions May 9 at the 482-2637. “The 1767 Chowan County Courthouse is one of only two places the N.C. Supreme Court holds ses sions away from Raleigh,” Hopkins continued. “Our courthouse remains a liv ing building where history continues to be made even See ERWIN, 2A Z £ ROCKU H ° C ^ OpriF V ^ 0ns0re b ty toe Rocky Hock *S Ruritan’s Relay for Life Team ^|^|^||^^^ FRIDAY, APRIL 21", 7:00m $10.00 a® " SATURDAY, APRIL 22 nd , 7:00PM PERQUIMANS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM HERTFORD, NC Tickets Available at various locations or call 252-221-4875 or 252-333-8567. Email rockyhock opry@live.com