Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / June 23, 1999, edition 1 / Page 1
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Herald Wednesday, June 23,1999 Published inthe most beautiful little city on the North Carolina Coast Vol.lXVI.No.24 500 Subdivision permit wins Council nod BY LAURIE HUFFORD - Staff Writer At the Town Council’s most recent meeting, no public com ment was made on the proposed budget, and the FY 1999/2000 Budget for the Town of Edenton passed unanimously. Application for rezoning and granting of a Conditional Use Permit for a major subdivision, Edenton Lake and Harbor, was unanimously approved. For a Conditional Use Permit ^to be granted, the Counci I must consider four things: if the change endangers public health or safety; if the change injures the value of adjacent or abutting properties; if the change is in harmony with the area in which it is located; and if it is in conformity with the land, use plan, or other such plans. See COUNCIL On Page 3-A EDENTON BA Y CHALLENGE RETURNS The 1999 Edenton Bay Challenge Regatta will be held this Saturday. There will be two separate race courses - the first, the North Carolina Tanzer 16 State Championship with Windmills and Thistles participating. The second group will consist of Sunfish, Lazer and Moth boats. The first race will begin at noon. A dinner (for all participants) and trophy presentations for the winning Sunfish, Lazers and Moth boats will be held Saturday evening. Sunday's events begin at 9 a.m. with a luncheon and awards ceremony for the Tanzers and Windmills set to follow at 1 p.m. County budget will fund technology in local school system BY LAURIE HUFFORD Staff Writer Chowan County Commission ers unanimously approved the county’s 1999-2000 Budget af ter a public hearing June 21. No public comment was made, but a letter from John Sams was entered into the record. The proposed budget, pre sented to the Board June 7, was unchanged since that time. Prepared by the Finance Com mittee and Staff, this budget holds back tax increases, yet addresses County education, public safety and facility needs. The tax rate of 690 per $100 value remains intact, with bud geted tax revenues of $160,000 (an increase in the tax base of about $22 million). Highlights of the budget in clude the appropriation of $1,250,000 (money generated from the lease of the Chowan Hospital) to the Edenton Chowan Schools for-the imple mentation of their Five-Year School Technology Plan. $250,000 per year, for five years, will upgrade technology at the schools, and “enhance the educational standards in our community.” There will be four additional EMS positions, and money from Health Care Reserve 1 and Reserve 2 funds is bud geted in accordance with reso lutions previously adopted. There is a cost of living in crease of 3% for all employ ees, with a larger adjustment See COUNTY On Page 3-A TORCH RUN CEREMONY HELD A 1999 Special Olympics World.Games Torch Run ceremony was held outside the Barker House in downtown Edenton Monday morning. Following a welcome by Sandy Davis and the singing of the national anthem by Kirby Johnson, local dignitaries were introduced to Sgt. Richard Allsbrook of the Greenville Police Department, who is serving as coordinator of this final leg of the Roch Run, and Randall Boehm of Missouri, a member of one of two teams participating in the final leg of the Torch Run. The '99 Special Olympics World Games, the world's largest sporting event scheduled this year, will take place June 26 through July 4 in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Cary, NC. (Staff photo by Rebecca Bunch) County's cable rates rise as channels added Knighton says town, county cannot intervene News that local cable rates will soon be going up has some local residents upset even though additional channels will be added along with the in crease in rates. Among them is George Bradham of Edenton. In a letter to The Chowan Her ald protesting the rate in crease, Bradham wrote, in part: "On March 31, 1999 the Fed eral Communications Commis sion announced that they would no longer be able to act upon cable television rate increases effective that date. Essentially, they open(ed) the door for cable companies to raise rales to whatever level they chose. "Mediacom is taking advan tage of a situation over which local customers have no con trol. We cannot choose to go to another cable provider. With this as an example, what will rates be in the future?" The Federal Communica tions Commission (FCC) is an independent government agency whose mission it is to encourage competition in all communications markets and to protect public interests. The FCC develops and implements policy regarding interstate and international communications by radio, TV, wire, satellite, and cable, as directed by Con gress. After March Jl, 1999, the FCC, as Bradham points out in his letter, could no longer re ceive or act upon consumer complaints about cable TV ser vice. However, according to the FCC, Office of Public Af fairs, Public Service Division, local communities still have au thority to regulate rates on the basic service tier. (Congress’ reasoning in ending the FCC’s rate regulation authority was that competition would keep prices reasonable.) In the 1992 Cable Act, cable equipment and basic tier cable rates are subject to regulation by state and municipal govern ments in areas where effec tive competition is absent. Basic tier service includes broadcast signals, local public, educational, and government access channels and other ser vices the system operator chooses to include in the same package with these channels. Usually, it is the lowest priced tier of service that subscrib ers can receive. It is all of the other cable programming, dis tributed over the system, and not on the basic tier, that is no longer subject to regulation after March 31,1999. For more information, access www.fcc.gov or write to Cable Services Bureau; 445 12th St., SW; Room 3-C830; Washington, DC 20554. Phone: (202)418 7200 In discussing extension of the franchise with the Town Coun cil in March, a rate increase was mentioned by Mediacom, at about the amount that has occurred. Improvements in service, including the addition of a number of new channels to the cable lineup, have already been explained with notifica tion of the increase to custom ers. In the county’s contract, a section on rates and charges says that the “Grantor reserves the right to regulate such rates and charges to the extent per mitted by any present or fu ture regulatory law.” A sched ule of the (soon-to-be old) rates was attached to the contract. On Tuesday morning, Eden ton Town Manager Anne-Marie Knighton issued the following statement on the rate increase. "The town and county only have regulatory authority over the very basic service tier, the $9.65 tier,” she said. "Only if the cable company exceeds the formula for this rate can we step in. Kathy Rea advises that her company has not (exceeded cap on the basic tier)." FCC Chairman William E. Kennard has launched a cam paign for a Cable Consumer Bill of Rights. It’s purpose is to inform consumers that they still have rights regarding cable service. During the time that the FCC did receive complaints, it re solved almost 18,000 com plaints involving 5,700 cable communities. About $100 mil lion in consumer refunds was ordered, to 40 million cable subscribers. Cable consumers were saved about three to five billion dollars over the past six years. Kennard has launched a con sumer education program to notify consumers of their op tions in the deregulated mar See CABLE On Page 3-A Center's responsibilities outlined (Questions from Chowan Her ald readers concerning the duties and responsibilities of the staff at county-located trash/recycling have prompted us to offer this explanation of how the center is supposed to be operated.) BY LAURIE HUFFORD Staff Writer Albemarle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority is ultimately in charge of thw trash/recycling units along Hwy. 32, although Waste In dustries is a primary subcon tractor. Questions/problems should be directed to the Albemarle Solid Waste Man agement Authority; PO Box 189; Elizabeth City, NC 27909; Phone: 338-4485. For questions about recy cling, call Perquimans, Chowan, Gates (PCG) Solid Waste Facility: (252)297-3300. Also from this number, a speaker is available for group presentations, on topics such as recycling, waste reduction, composting, or household haz ardous waste. There are 13 solid waste/re cycling centers in three conn ties; four are in Chowan. According to Jerry Parkis, Executive Director of PCG Solid Waste Management, at Johnny Copeland of the Hwy. 32 Recycling Center tendants at these centers should be knowledgeable as to answering questions and en abling patrons to recycle items (put this part here, that part there, etc.) because “it is not mandatory that people re cycle.” Attendants are required to keep sites clean, to avert van dalism, and to be alert to needs as they arise. They should be able to tell people where to take items, and what is and is not accepted at that site. If an item is unacceptable at the site, the wor ker should be able to direct the patron to a site that will accept the item, if applicable. (Most items are acceptable somewhere.) Employees are not required to assist the public in unload ing material. Many do help, and enjoy the interaction, but their jobs are only to direct people and to answer questions. “Anything above and beyond that is a courtesy of that worker,” says Jerry Parks. There also seems to be some confusion as to what is accept able at the recycling places. Washers, stoves, air condi tioners, water heaters, refrig erators, and other “white goods” are acceptable. Bulky items should be put into con tainers. Lead acid batteries should be returned to parts stores or ser vice stations. (Call PCG for other recycling programs.) Hard cover and paper back books are accepted. Computer paper, copy paper, mail, enve lopes, stationery, and other business papers are also ac cepted. (Call PCG to join an office program.) Properly rinsed pesticide containers are accepted at the PCG Solid Waste Facility and at special collections. (Call the See CENTER On Page 3-A Jackie McGuire, Clothes Closet employee (third from left), with volunteers Marie Harris, Laura Fagan, and Andrea Miller. (Staff photo by Laurie Hufford) Clothes Closet, Food Pantry to move The Clothes Closet and the Edenton-Chowan Food Pantry will soon be sharing quarters at a new location, 1370 North Broad Street. The move is scheduled to come during July. "This move is made possible by the generous support of the community," said Clothes Closet employee Jackie Mc Guire. McGuire noted that the thrill of the hunt and the search for that special discount motivate many to seek out thrift stores, hoping to find a bargain they can brag about to friends. The popularity of the "Retro" look among young people is another But, she added, "The bargains are not the real reason the Clothes Closet is in business. We provide a service to the community. The money from sales goes back into the com See CLOSET On Page 3-A
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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June 23, 1999, edition 1
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