Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Sept. 9, 1998, edition 1 / Page 1
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Hen BMisbad in the nest beautiful,little city cn tie Nbrth Carolina Coast \ Company still wants rights to gas here BY SEAN JACKSON Staff Writer A representative from the natural gas company which could lose its exclusive rights to serve the northeast recently told town officials that his com pany is still interested in serv ing the area. Stuart Dixon, Vice-President of Government Relations for North Carolina Natural Gas (NCNG), addressed the Ederi ton Town Council late last month on the/issue of who will serve the northeast if a bond referendum is passed by vot ers-in November. Last week, a plan which would allocate at least $200 million for the ex tension of natural gas lines to unserved counties was tenta tively approved by state law makers.. Since the plan was approved by both the House and Senate, voters will have the opportu nity to approve the use of the $200 million in funds to help defray construction costs of gas lines into areas where natu ral gas is not available, includ ing Chowan County. If voters pass the referen dum, Dixon said NCNG would apply to the state Utilities Com mission for the opportunity to retain exclusive service rights in the northeast. Without those •funds, he said, NCNG studies See RIGHTS On Page 3-A Edenton Town Council considering request to add additional monies to CAC's coffers BY SEAN JACKSON Staff Writer The Edenton Town Council may grant the Chowan Arts Council additional funding for staff needs, but that money is sorely needed in other areas, one councilman said last month. The Chowan Arts Council (CAC) received a Salary Assis tance Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council to assist in funding for an assistant director’s position, recently filled by Karen Cusick. Cusick was hired at a $20,000 annual salary. The matching grant requires the town and Chowan County to each contribute $1,500 to ward that position. The town already budgeted a $5,000 con tribution in its FY 1998-1999 budget. In order to fullfill its obliga tions in receiving the Salary Assistance. Grant, $3,000 was needed from both the town and county, said CAC Director Sue Clark. Edenton Town Manager Anne-Marie Knighton said that she had already set the money aside in the town’s budget. Still, councilman Willis Privott said he could not sup port the additional funding until the town’s cash reserve was stronger. “I think we would do a disser vice to the people,” Privott said, noting that the $1,500 would be funded through taxpayers’ dol lars. “I’m not against support ing the arts council, but at this point I don’t think we can af ford it.” Clark said that she is famil iar with “making ends meet” with a budget, but that the money would be well spent. “I know that money is tight and it’s difficult, but it’s an investment into the commu nity,” she said. Privott answered that Albe marle Hopeline (a local non profit program which serves abused spouses and children) has also asked for increased funding. A special grant to CAC, he said, could snowball as other agencies ask for spe cial funding. Once the town’s cash reserve is healthy, he said, special funding would become more appropriate. “Hopefully down the line I can agree on (the additional) funding,” he said. Several councilmen agreed that the funding would serve to increase CAC’s involvement in the community. “It’s amazing what this group has done for this town,” said councilman Samuel B. “Sambo” Dixon. Dixon said the arts council’s children-oriented programs are vital to reaching the county’s young students. Clark acknowledged that the arts council is steadily increas ing its private funding, mem bership and services to the See CAC On Page 12-A Economic growth still strong in Chowan Co. BY SEAN JACKSON Staff Writer As the New York Stock Ex change wobbles like a hurri cane on an uncertain course, the local economy continues to take steady, upward strides as employment and construction figures continue to rise. A recent economic study compiled by North Carolina State University forecasts that the state’s northeast counties will continue to experience economic growth. The study indicated that the six-county region - including Chowan County - saw retail sales rise along with employment and construction in 1997. Construc tion and employment are both expected to increase in 1998, while retail sales may see a slight decrease, the report stated. Overall, construction rose slightly more than 26 percent last year, with a 4.6 increase projected for 1998. A more than 19 percent drop in unemploy ment in 1997 rs expected to followed by a six percent de cline in the rate this year. There are signs, said Chowan County Manager Cliff Cope land last week, that the county is growing and shows no signs of slowing down in the near future. And Holly, Colombo has the figures to prove it. Colombo, Chowan County’s Code Enforcement Officer, said that the highest figures in new construction involve resi dential sites, especially mobile homes. Through July of this year, slightly more thanj3.9 million in home constructioh occurred in Chowan County jof the 78 building permits issued through July, 60 were for mo See GROWTH On Page 12-A L M. Functional art will be the focus of an exhibit opening this Friday afternoon. The reception for the premiere of "Art...Works" will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Chowan Arts Council Gallery. Eclectic exhibit opens Friday BY REBECCA BUNCH Editor Lovers of the unusual will find much to like about the Chowan Arts Council's newest exhibit, "Art...Works," which opens with a reception this Fri day afternoon at 5:30 p.m. CAC ExecutiveJDirector Sue Clark said the exhibit will fea ture an eclectic mix of the work of "local and regional artists specializing in faux finishes, painted furniture, woodwork ing, tilemaking, and other di verse art forms." Clark said she had a special reason for thinking this type of exhibit was particularly well suited to a Chowan County au dience. "The reason I wanted to do an exhibition of functional art was the reverence that the people of this area have for different types of art," she said. "I also wanted to give these artists who do this type of work a show of their own." Approximately 25 artists will have their work featured in the show. Edenton artisans will be featured as will others from Greenville and Kinston, NC. "If you have a love for the unsual, you'll be very excited about what you'll see here," Clark said. "We are going to have a lot of very interesting things, from stained glass to twig and stick furniture." "There's a really, really wide variety of things in terms of the artistic skills represented in this exhibit, and that's some thing I like a lot," she said. Clark added that the Arts Council especially appreciated the generosity of the Elizabeth City Historic Neighborhood Association which assisted her in providing backdrops for .the exhibit. BY SEAN JACKSON Staff Writer . When redistricting tossed Chowan County into the 3rd Congressional District, the county’s congressional repre sentation switched form Rep. Eva Clayton (D) to Rep. Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R). Goldsboro lawyer John Will iams wants unseat Jones in the upcoming November elections. The irony to the situation, Wil liams said in a telephone inter view last Friday, is that Jones was never officially elected to LOCAL RESIDENT ACHIEVES MILESTONE Craig Miller congratulates Lucille Blount and wishes her well on her 103rd birthday. Blount is a resident of Britthaven of Edenton where she was the subject of much attention on her special day last week. Miller is administrator of the local nursing care facility. (Staff photo by Rebecca Bunch) Parents cautioned after kids are found with rabid raccoon c no wan Animal control an nounced this week that it wanted to caution all parents regarding a possible hazard to their children: handling wild animals that may be car rying the rabies virus. According to Animal Con trol Officer Mary Bass, six youngsters ranging from ages six to 14 were found Aug. 28 with a rabid animal in their possession. The children had killed the raccoon when it at tacked their two dogs. Bass said they first tried to nm over the animal and finally resorted to beating it to death with a baseball bat. "Three of them had handled the raccoon," Bass said. "When I came up in the yard (on River Road) one of them came around the house with it in his hand. We just can't stress strongly enough for parents to please, please warn their children not to handle any animal that appears to be sick." Both dogs had been vacci nated against rabies, and will only have to get booster shots. The children, however, will now have to receive a series of shots to protect them from developing rabies. Third District hopeful wants to win House seat represent Chowan County. “My standard is to look at the needs of the people of north east North Carolina,” said Wil liams, 34, who is embarking on his first-ever political cam paign of any kind, “and not fol low the ideologies of others who have no definitive interest in this part of the country.” Before Williams has the op portunity to face Jones, he will have to defeat opponents Sheppard Neal Moore and Rob ert Junior “Bob” Ayers in the See WILLIAMS On Page 3-A Writers are focus of a workshop In a world where writing skills are perhaps becoming less important than computer literacy, the success of book clubs and writers’ workshops depends upon the enthusiasm of their members. Although membership is lim ited so far, the newly-formed writers’ workshop - sponsored by the Chowan Arts Council - has enough spirit to ensure that it will be around for at least a little while. The workshop was the cre ation of Sue Clark, new Direc tor of the Chowan Arts Coun cil. The writers’ group is one of Clark’s ideas to increase par ticipation in the arts. Along with striving to build numbers from the African American community and local youths, Clark said there was a heed for a writers’ forum in Chowan See WRITERS On Page 3-A
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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