Herald
Violent encounter ends
in stabbing of local man
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Staff Writer
A quarrel between a pair of
local men apparently escalated
into a violent encounter, leav
ing 35-year-old Thomas Simons
laying in his own blood after
being stabbed with a butcher
knife.
Simons was found by police
late Sunday night at 202 E. Gale
St., sprawled on his back in the
front yard of the residence with
left side of his body, soaking
his shirt. Edenton Police Of
ficer Curtis Liverman ques
tioned Simons at the scene.
Simons indicated that he had
been stabbed.
In his report, Liverman wrote
that Simons stated he had been
stabbed by his neighbor, 49
year-old William Wilson. Both
men reside in apartments at
103 N. Oakum St., said Edenton
patrol officer Rhonda
“Apparently, the two of them
had gotten into an altercation
at William Wilson’s apart
ment,” Copeland said. Wilson
allegedly stabbed Simons with
the five-inch-long blade of a
butcher knife, piercing Simons’
left lung. Simons then fled
Wilson’s apartment and made
his way to East Gale Street
See STABBING On Page 3-A
Three arrested on drug charges
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
A New Year’s Eve party
turned sour for revelers last
Thursday night when police
officers showed up with a
search warrant which resulted
in the arrest of three Edenton
men on drug charges.
According to Edenton Police
Officer Rhonda Copeland, the
134 E. Gale St. residence had
been the target of an ongoing
investigation by police.
Copeland said that residents
had been calling police for sev
eral months identifying the
home as a hotbed for drug ac
tivity.
“Many of the calls we re
ceived said there was a con
stant flow of traffic going in
and out of the residence,” said
Copeland. “People were appar
ently walking up to the house,
riding up on bikes or in cars,
and staying for a few seconds
Bryan Bass faces East as George Midgettties the official Masonry apron for
the office of Senior Warden duringthe Mason's installation ceremony Saturday
night. (Staff photo by Sean Jackson)
Kirkland named new
Lodge Master for '99
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Since the Middle Ages, Ma
sonry has brought men to
gether in a close-knit frater
nity in which they could share
values and conversation behind
closed doors.
Saturday night, the local
chapter of Masons, Unanimity
Lodge No. 7, opened their doors
to the public for a memorial
service and installation of new
lodge officers, Nearly 50
people climbed upstairs to the
Mason’s official chamber room
for the hour-long event. The
local lodge was chartered in
1775 and now boasts 125 mem
bers.
During the installation cer
emony, Fred Kirkland was
named lodge Master for 1999
in a time-honored ceremony
presided over by Bill Goodwin,
a former lodge master himself
and a 50-year member of the
Masonic Lodge.
“We’re all here because we
lpve Masonry,” Kirkland said
after all the new officers had
been installed. “And we hope
you’re here because you love
us, he told lamuy memhers on
hand for the event.
Kirkland stated that, Masonry
goals in North Carolina are to
raise moral, social, and intel
lectual levels in society by pre
serving and promoting the
Mason’s practices. And Ma
sonry is no longer tied strictly
to Christianty. All religions all
welcome into Freemasonry.
Members only need to be at
least age 21 believe in a higher
power, Kirkland said.
“We’re not a religious orga
nization by any means,” he said.
Kirkland said that becoming
a Mason does not involve any
special qualifications beyond
the desire to become a Mason
and being allowed to do 30 by
lodge members.
“To become a Mason, you
have to ask to join,” he said.
“Mason’s aren’t allowed to ask
prospective members to join.”
Jim Kerr phrased the mem
bership situation in Masonry
terms.
“We have a saying,” Kerr
said. ‘“To be one, aks one.’”
Officers for 1999 installed
See MASONS On Page 3-A
and then leaving.”
Police showed up at the resi
dence just before midnight on
New Year’s Eve and arrested
Kelsey Boston, Lorenzo
Pulliam and Daryl Boyce on
drug charges. According to
Copeland, Kelsey Boston lived
at the residence with his girl
friend, Sharon Hoffler, and
Hoffler’s two children - both
under 10 years-old. Neither
See DRUGS On Page 12-A
Preserving rural history goal of new plan
As the South becomes a veri
table melting pot for those in
dividuals seeking a less-urban
ized style of life, southern cul
ture is in jeopardy of fading
like wallpaper in direct, bright
sunlight.
But a statewide initiative la
beled Heritage Tourism seek -
to preserve the rural histories
of North Carolinians who have
come and gone. Locally, the
opportunity to enhance eco
nomic development with a
heavier totxrist trade may be
outweighed by the chance to
have still-living residents re
veal their own colorful pasts
and historic landmarks to visi
tors.
Monday afternoon, Heritage
Tourism officials met with
Yeopim residents to discuss a
push to involve their commu
nity in the new plan. According
to Tourism Development Au
thority Director Nancy
Nicholls, Heritage Tourism
relies strongly on local sup
port.
“You want it to be a commu
nity, grassroots situation,”
Nicholls said shortly after the
90-minute meeting with some
of Yeopim’s elders concluded.
Many family histories and nar
ratives have not been written
down over the decades and cen
turies. Future generations may
not have access to the oral ac
counts currently available.
“It’s really involving what we
have in our county to tell a
Opening of new school, hospital lease big news
Naming of police
chief, school supt.
also newsworthy
Along with naming a new
police chief, school superinten
dent, and the opening of a new
elementary school, the leasing
of Chowan Hospital to a
Greenville-based health-care
company was big news here in
1998.
In late January, the county
hospital board requested that
County Commissioners con
sider leasing the publicly
owned hospital to a larger
health-care provider to ensure
that Chowan Hospital would
remain a viable facility in up
coming years. In June, com
missioners named Pitt County
Memorial Hospital and Prov
ince Healthcare as the two fi
nalists from a list of five bid
ders seeking to lease Chowan
Hospital. On Aug. 10, Pitt was
unanimously chosen by the
county board to lease the lease
the hospital, and took control
of day-to-day operations in
November after the closing of
a 30-year, $30 million deal.
On March 10, Dr. Allan Smith
was named by the county school
board to replace outgoing
school superintendent Dr. John
Dunn. Dunn retired from his
post on June 30 after heading
the Edenton-Chowan School
System for 22 years.
Also that month, Edenton
Police Captain Gregory Bonner
was named to the department’s
top post after serving five
months as Interim Police Chief.
Bonner, an Edenton native, was
sworn in as chief - the first
African-American to officially
head the department - on April
2, culminating his 24 years as a
police officer in Edenton.
The new White Oak Elemen
tary School moved a few miles
south on state Highway 32 from
its former location, accepting
students on the first day of
school in August. The new
school, built by M.B. Kahn Con
struction Company, was lauded
by local school officials at a
grand-opening ceremony just
prior to the students’ arrival.
Other top stories for 1998
included:
• On Jan. 7, the Village Creek
Homeowners Association filed
a complaint against a group of
Edenton officials in protest of
the town’s approval to rezone a
tract of land on Coke Avenue
for a proposed subdivision,
Colonial Village. Superior
Court Judge Richard Parker
dismissed the complaint in
June, citing a “lack of subject
matter jurisdiction” in the case.
Construction has yet to begin
at the 23.3-acre site.
• On Martin Luther King Day,
Jan. 19, nearly two inches of
snow fell in Edenton and
Chowan County. Although rain
would wash away the snow a
few hours later, the brief accu
mulation was the area’s only
measurable snowfall during
the winter of 1997-1998.
•On Feb. 2, county, school
and town officials gathered
with representatives of the
Coastal Plain League at Hicks
Field to announce that the
league would sponsor a colle
giate summer league team in
Edenton during the 1998 sea
son.
• On Feb. 27, the Edenton
Holmes Lady Aces basketball
team clinched the Northeast
ern-Albemarle Conference
post-season title by trouncing
Northside, upping the team’s
unbeaten record to 25-0.
Edenton had earlier clinched
the NAC’s regular-season title.
The Lady Aces would fall to
East Duplin 64-41 on March 14
in the state 2-A East Regional
Finals at Greenville Rose High
See REVIEW On Page 8-A
4
i
(From left) Marion Jones, Francis Inglis, Beulah Wadsworth and Earl Wadsworth met with members of the local
Heritage Tourism board Monday afternoon to discuss ways to bring the Yeopim community into a lasting
relationship with the tourism initiative. A public meeting is planned for the spring, where ideas gathered at
Monday's and other meetings will be openly discussed. (Staff photo by Sean Jackson)
story (to visitors),” she said of
the initiative. “A lot of history
has taken place that we don’t
even know about. We want to
not lose it all.”
Recently, the local board
charged with overseeing the
program divided Chowan
County into four sectors: Up
per township (northern
Chowan), middle township
(Valhalla and surrounding
communities), the Town of
Edenton, and Yeopim. Mon
■* •
1 1
day’s meeting with was
Nicholls’ and fellow board
member Nancy Morgan’s
method of brainstorming for
ideas with Yeopim residents.
See TOURISM On Page 3-A
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SONS OF LEGION DONATE TALKING BEAR
Chowan Hospital Administrator Barbara Cale (center) acceptsthe"Spinoza Bear"from Richard
Campbell (left) and Merrill Perry (right) on behalf of the Sons of the American Legion, Squadron
40 in Edenton. The talking bear will be utilized with pediatric in-patients and at the hospital's
Skilled Nursing Unit. The Sons of the American Legion support several local agencies with
causes ranging from scholarships to Operation Santa Claus.