Volume LVII - No. 44
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Single Copies 35 Cents
EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, DEC. 1,1994
Choir Ushers
In Christmas
By REBECCA BUNCH
The renowned American
Boychoir will help Chowan
County usher in the holiday
season with a one-night only
Christmas concert that will
include many favorite Christ
mas carols.
Among them will be "O
Little Town of Bethlehem,"
"Hark! The Herald Angels
Sing,” O Come, All Ye
Faithful," and "Deck the
Halls."
The performance will be
held at Swain Auditorium on
Friday evening, Dec. 9, at 8
p.m. Earlier in the day, the
Boychoir will give a special
concert for Chowan Middle
School and Lawrence Aca
demy students in grades 6-12.
The student performance is
being sponsored by Union
Camp of Princeton, N.J.
"We have been getting
calls from across North
Carolina since the concert
was announced," said Ann
Perry, executive director of
the Chowan Arts Council,
which is sponsoring the per
formance.
"You might consider mak
ing a gift of tickets to the con
cert to a friend or loved one,"
said Perry. "This could be a
unique gift because it is not
often that we have the oppor
tunity to hear an interna
tionally acclaimed group per
form locally." Audrey and
Suzi Leary of Leary Plant
Farm will add a festive touch
to the concerts by decorating
the stage in keeping with the
holiday.
Members of the American
Boychoir range from fifth to
eighth graders. While they
come from a variety of lo
cales, they share a deep love
for music. The boys will be
housed by local families for
their stay here.
"director Jim Litton has
offered to hold auditions for
any boys who may be in
terested in joining the choir,"
said Perry. For audition in
formation, contact the Arts
Continued On Page 3-A
The American Boychoir is considered by many to be the best children's choir in America and one of the great boychoirs of the
world. They have cut more than 30 albums and have been featured on numerous television specials and commercials. The
renowned choir will offer a single performance in Edenton on Friday evening, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m. in Swain Auditorium to coincide
with the Historic Edenton Holiday weekend that will include the Candlelight Tour, Wassail Bowl and Groaning Board. Tickets
for the concert are available now from the Arts Council and the Historic Edenton Visitor Center.
Council To Pursue DOT Office At Airport Here
By MARGUERITE MCCALL
City Manager Anne-Marie
Kelly was instructed by the
town council Monday night to
pursue negotiations with the
Department of Transportation
regarding locating its divi
sion offices in the airport ter
minal building.
"I would hope within the
next 30 days to have a written
agreement with them (DOT),"
Ms. Kelly said.
The action follows months
of study and controversy,
whether to renovate the old
World War II building, or to
demolish it and construct a
new facility.
DOT's indication Nov. 17,
during a meeting in Roper,
that it plans to relocate its Di
vision I offices from Ahoskie
to Edenton spurred interest in
selling the department a por
tion of the building, with DOT
and the town sharing renova
tion costs.
Ms. Kelly said construc
tion of a new 3,600 square-foot
building will cost $80 a square
foot for a total of $288,000.
Disposal and demolition of
the old building will cost a
minimum $50,000 more,
bringing the cost to $338,000.
If DOT accepts the town's
offer, renovation of 4,400
square feet in the present
building for aviation use will
cost the town an estimated
$231,000 and DOT $181,000 for
’Growing Toward Future'
Farm-City Banquet Theme
By MARGUERITE MCCALL
Chowan County Commis
sioner James Taylor summed
up the purpose of Farm-City
Week, Nov. 18-24, with one
comment Tuesday, Nov. 22,
during the annual Farm-City
Awards Banquet at Chowan
Middle School.
"Your county commis
sioners support this banquet
and all efforts to bring us -
town and county citizens —
together," Taylor said.
Edenton Mayor Roy Har
rell echoed the sentiment. He
said the town’s negotiations to
develop the Industrial Park at
the airport is "looking to
bring work and industry to
all people in Edenton and
Chowan County."
The statement reflected the
week's theme, Farm and
City: Growing Toward the
Future.
Continued On Page 5-A
HI g$ §
Conservation Farm Award; Frank Parrish, Outstanding Young Farmer, Bryant Roberson,
Outstanding Youth; Sylvia Monds, 1994 Woman in Agriculture; Bill Monds, 1994 Corn Award;
Alton Wilder, Outstanding Youth; Betsy Copeland, Outst anding Youth; and Joseph Ward, 1993
Peanut Award. (Staff photo by Marguerite McCall.)
k
a total of $412,000. This figure
does not include replacing the
tower nor upfitting 6,700
square feet of interior space
for DOT.
Ms. Kelly said she feels
there are many advantages in
having DOT locate in Eden
ton, if not at the terminal
building, then elsewhere
suitable to its needs.
Paul Stevens, of Stevens
and Francis, an architectural
firm in New Bern, was pre
sent to answer questions per
taining to his firm's study of
the terminal building. He
also showed diagrams of the
building illustrating the ar
eas that would be occupied by
DOT, the town's airport of
fices, and common shared
areas such as rest rooms,
Santa Is Coming
On December 2
Local merchants will spon
sor a special "Christmas in
Edenton” celebration Friday,
Dec. 2, in the downtown busi
ness district.
Food booths will be set up
downtown from 4-8 p.m. and
Christmas music will fill the
air starting at 5 p.m., courtesy
of Jackson Radio & TV. At
5:45 p.m. there will be a per
formance by the John A.
Holmes High School Mar
ching Aces.
Things will really kick
into high gear at 6 p.m. when
Santa Claus makes his ap
pearance atop a fire truck to
officially usher in the Christ
mas season. He will be vi
siting with area children at
Chair and Equipment Rentals
(formerly Quinn Furniture)
that evening and again from
10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sa
turday, Dec. 3.
Entertainment to round out
Friday afternoon's festivities
will be provided by the John A.
Holmes High School Concert
Choir and others, beginning
at 7 p.m.
Continued On Page 3-A
g • '•
conference rooms and a
lobby.
Stevens assured the council
adequate space existed for
DOT requirements in the
portion of the building it is
assigned.
Former Edenton Construc
tion Co. owner Ross Inglis
told the council that work on
the building will be done in
two phases. Phase I will in
clude the figures quoted by
Ms. Kelly, he said. He pre
sented a breakdown of the
projected^osts of Phase I for
the town and the suggested
costs for DOT.
"These numbers are the
professional's numbers put in
a way I could understand
them," Inglis said.
lie said Phase II
renovating the remaining
areas of the building includ
ing the second floor common
area and restoring the tower —
Continued On Page 3-A
Johnson Running ror
Kids With Leukemia
By BONNIE DAVIS
Endurance and courage are
two qualities the Rev. Russell
Johnson shares with several
local children who are battling
leukemia.
An accomplished mara
thoner of 14 races, Johnson,
rector of St. Paul's Episcopal
Church, is celebrating his 50th
birthday by running the
Boston Marathon for the first
time in April.
He's not only running to cel
ebrate the milestone mark in
his life, but he's running on be
half of John Mansfield, Jessica
•Dalton and Brad Gosser, local
Chowan County children who
battle leukemia, and to raise
money in the fight against
leukemia.
John, 5, and Jessica, 11,
fight a daily battle with
leukemia. Brad, 15, has been
in remission after battling the
disease when he was much
younger.
"The personal battle
against the disease of
leukemia is one requiring in
credible endurance and
courage. John and Jessica
have had to face the ordeal of
regular chemotherapy treat
ments and must look inside
themselves to find the
strength to push through it.
Brad had a slightly different
treatment regimen requiring
no less courage and en-f
durance," Johnson said.
"In a similar fashion, a
marathoner reaches points
throughout the long, lonely
weeks of training and all dur
ing the race when he must
look inside himself in order to
keep on going toward the fih
ish line. Each student, each
runner must find the courage
and endurance to will them
selves to go on."
And while there is no com
parison in terms of the seri
ousness of each endeavor, the
similarities for the patient and
the runner made instant sense
to the Leukemia Society of
America, Johnson said. This
group embraces marathoning
as a way of highlighting the
heroism of those who are in
the fight against leukemia by
sponsoring marathoners dedi
cated to raising money to com
bat the disease.
Jessica was diagnosed with
leukemia in January of this
year, underwent very intensive
chemotherapy treatment and
is now is remission after re
cently undergoing a bone mar
row transplant, said her
mother, Deborah Dalton.
"The doctors have told us
three times she wasn't going
to come out of the hospital,"
Deborah said. "She’s come out
of the hospital each time."
Deborah points out that
leukemia has not only taken
its toll on Jessica, but the
entire family, especially her
siblings.
John was diagnosed in
September 1992, said his
mother Pat Mansfield. He is
undergoing what is termed
; Continued On Page 3-A