pB/ca****
'nn'r. “ T *‘ C 002 A0034
EDENTON NC 27932-1854
482-4418
Wednesday, July 5, 201 7
50^
Forum provides information, but no answers about algae bloom
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Information was plentiful
but answers were in short
supply during a Citizens
Information Forum held
Thursday evening at the
COA Edenton campus.
The purpose of the forum
was to provide an update on
the algae outbreak that has
plagued Chowan County
waters in recent weeks.
Community leaders said
that with a focus on col
laboration between various
agencies they were hopeful
increased amounts of infor
mation would help move
efforts to eradicate algae
along.
That collaboration will
also be the focus of a
planned forum to educate
local officials on strategies
currently being used to ad
dress the issue. That forum
is scheduled to take place
on Aug. 9 from 5-7 p.m., Da
vison said. The location has
yet to be decided.
“It takes all of us working
together to find answers,”
said Cathy Davison, execu
tive director of the Albemar
le Commission.
Davison added that the
more partners join in the ef
fort the more attention their
efforts would get.
“Collectively we have a
stronger voice in Raleigh
and in Washington, DC to
fix this issue,” she said.
Besides Davison other
speakers that evening in
cluded:
■ Mark Powell with the
Albemarle Resource Con
servation and Development
Council, who talked about
what is currently known
about algal blooms and
what the current impacts
are on local waterways
■ Colleen and Steve Karl
of the Chowan Edenton En
vironmental Group (CEEG)
who gave an update on
work their volunteer organi
zation is doing with NOAA
(National Oceanic and
Outreach Administration)
to help state and federal
scientists with algal bloom
research
■ GloriaPutnam of North
Carolina Sea Grant, who
spoke about monitoring
work and support being of
fered by the agency through
NC State University
■ Chowan Emergency
Management Coordinator
Cord Palmer who briefed
those present about the
flow of communications be
tween agencies that comes
into play when the state
confirms the presence of al
gal blooms
See ALGAE, 2A
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Cathy Davison of Albemarle Commission talks about
what’s being done to collect information following the
recent algae outbeak in Chowan County waterways
during a Citizens Information Forum held at the COA
Edenton campus on Thursday evening.
Scotland native
talks about
American
birthday
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Tuesday, Blair Currie will join countless oth
ers in celebrating Independence Day in Amer
ica. But he’ll also be marking another special
occasion — his 88th birthday.
Currie, who emigrated from Scotland with
his wife Chrissie and their two children in 1961,
said his opinion of America was colored by the
entry of the United States into World War H. He
well remembers, he said, how that event elevat
ed the mood of those in Britain.
“There was a sense of jubilation,” he said with
a huge grin. “The Yanks are coming! The Yanks
are coming! You heard that everywhere.”
And he said that even though America has
changed over the years, he and his family are
grateful for the decision they made to come
here.
“America is a very different place today but
there’s no question that if you’re ambitious and
willing to work hard it is still the land of oppor
tunity, and we’re glad to be here,” he said.
James Blair Currie began his life in the Royal
Burgh of Sanquhar in southwest Scotland.
“The area was mostly sheep and dairy farm
ing,” Currie said, “and many of our personal
friends were shepherds. Until recent years there
was also some coal mining in nearby areas.”
When Currie’s father, a coal-mineral, talented
musician and a member of the Home Guard,
died at age 39 his mother was left with four chil
dren to support.
Fabulous Fourth of July festivities
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Do you love peanut butter? If so,
then you’ll be excited to hear about
the newest attraction to be offered
at the Chowan Edenton Optimist
Club’s Fabulous Fourth of July Cel
ebration this Tuesday.
Kirk DeVine, who is co-chairing
the activities being planned that
afternoon and evening at Colonial
Park on the downtown waterfront,
said he and his co-chair, John McAr
thur were talking about what they
could add to the event’s popular
watermelon eating contest and tra
ditional penny hunt, and thought a
“It was perhaps due to this that I made the de
cision to accept an apprenticeship in the local
butcher’s shop,” he said. “Other than two years
in the Royal Navy, my career in life was in that
industry.”
Currie, a self-taught photographer, found suc
cess in the field of child photography as well.
“I had many awards for photogr aphy but the
biggest was when I placed third in a nationwide
contest, the prize being a weeklong trip for two
to the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1980,” he
said.
peanut butter eating contest would
be a lot of fun.
“We do a lot of stuff for kids on
Fourth of July,” he said. “Of course,
we are a youth-oriented organiza
tion. Our motto is ‘Friend of Youth’.”
DeVine said once they decided
a peanut butter eating contest was
something they’d like to try this
year, they approached a local busi
ness, Jimbo’s Jumbos, to seek sup
plies and received tremendous co-
operation.
“We’re going to open up this event
for participation by kids of all ages,”
he said. “By that I mean, adults and
See FESTIVITIES, 3A
Scottish born
Blair Currie
will not only
celebrate
his 88th
birthday, but
join countless
others in
celebrating
Independence
Day in
America.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A man of varied interests, Currie took up
long distance running at the age of 50 and ran in
a number of marathons, most notably the Penn
Relays.
He and his wife, Currie said, “were always
keen dancers” and taught Scottish dancing in a
variety of locales including New Bem. The first
night they taught, he said, a small group showed
up. But evidently word spread about the class
because at the next session 200 people came.
See BLAIR, 3A
Kids sport big grins
during the Chowan
Edenton Optimist
Club’s popular
Watermelon Eating
Contest during the
annual Fabulous
Fourth of July
Celebration that
draws thousands
to the downtown
waterfront to enjoy
Independence Day
festivities with family
members and friends.
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA
BUNCH
Brew pub
closer to
resolution
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
The issue of whether or
not Raleigh businessman
John Glover will establish
a brewpub in the former
Northeast Commission
building on the downtown
Edenton waterfront is mov
ing closer to resolution.
Town Manager Anne-
Marie Knighton told town
council members during a
June 26 work session that
she expected engineer Tom
McNiellan from Norfolk,
Va. to present his report to
Glover in the next few days
on expected costs associ
ated with a requirement that
he flood proof the building
as part of the agreement to
purchase it from the town.
“He’s wrapped up his re
port,” she said. “The build
ing can be flood proofed but
Mr. Glover will have to de
cide whether or not the cost
would be worth it.”
Knighton said she was
not able to find out from the
engineer prior to the work
session what the estimated
costs would be. She said Mc
Niellan told her he had just
completed his report but
had not yet had an oppor
tunity present his findings
on those costs to Glover. He
needed to do that prior to
releasing the information to
the town, she said.
“I think at best we’re a
good 60 days away from
knowing what his (Glover’s)
decision is,” Knighton said.
“I think it’s going to take
that long for us to get an an
swer.”
The requirement for
Glover to flood proof the
building comes as a result
of a requirement by the
National Flood Insurance
Council that if renovations
to any waterfront property
See BREW, 3A
Sheriff Goodwin warns residents of ‘grandparents scam’
6
Like us On FACEBOOK at
/EDENTON-CHOWANHERALD
89076 ,, 44813
0
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Chowan County Sheriff
Dwayne Goodwin wants
senior citizens and then-
families to be aware of —
and protected from — the
grandparents scam.
What is the scam? Most
commonly, the sheriff said,
it’s an operation typically
based outside the United
States, primarily in Canada,
during which con artists call
seniors on the phone pre
tending to be one of their
grandchildren.
Seniors are particularly
vulnerable to these types
of calls, the sheriff said, be
cause they can never hear
from their grandchildren
enough and because their
hearing may not be as good
as it used to which makes it
easier for someone to fool
them into thinking the per
son on the other end of the
line is actually a grandchild
and not a con artist.
The scam works like this.
Someone pretending to
be one of your grandchil
dren calls your home and
says he or she is out of town
and asks to confide in you
about a little trouble he or
she has gotten into such as
an arrest for driving while
impaired. The “grandchild”
begs you not to tell anyone
else in the family but instead
to wire money to help him
or her out of this emergency
situation.
If you do, you’ll never see
that money again — join
ing the ranks of countless
grandparents across the
United States who get taken
for millions of dollars each
year.
For the con to be suc
cessful, seniors have to be
led by their love for then-
grandchildren and not by
their common sense, the
sheriff said.
“The sheriff’s department
wants to get the word out
about this, so we can make
sure that seniors in Chowan
See SCAM, 2A
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
UPCOMING HOME GAMES
Historic Hicks Field
FMI Call 252-482-4080
www.edentonsteamers.com
TONIGHT @7PM
VS WILSON TOBS
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT CONCESSIONS
JULY 7 @7PM
VS PENINSULA PILOTS
GATES COUNTY NIGHT
KIDS RUN THE BASES