Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Dec. 22, 1999, edition 1 / Page 1
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A Day with Santa’ delights many local youngsters Dante Jones of Edenton tries to answer that question Santa asks every season, "What do you want for Christmas?" during Operation Santa Claus at D.F. Walker Elementary School on Saturday. (Staff photo by Jeb Caudill) BY JEB CAUDILL Publisher Blue bags filled with presents lined the stage at D.F. Walker Elementary School Saturday, and, at center stage, hundreds of toys rested under Christ mas tree. It was all part of this year’s Operation Santa Claus, where local citizens and merchants donate presents for Chowan County’s needy. The program is run through the Recreation Department and is in its second year, organizer Gwen Brown said. This year, 182 children applied to receive gifts through Operation Santa Claus. Last year’s pro gram was a little larger, and donations in 1998 included a lot more clothes, Brown said. But, in the aftermath of this year’s hurricanes, Brown under stood that many resources went elsewhere. “Due to the storms and the floods, that made it a little tough on people now,” she said. Close to 30 volunteers turned the cafeteria at D.F. Walker into a holiday playground for the event. There were crafts and refreshments for kids and their parents; and, every kid got a chance to visit with Santa. Student volunteers r :me from .John A. Holmes See SANTA On Page 3-A Shopping season sales are strong in Edenton With Christmas just a few days away, area residents are scram bling to pick up those last minute gifts in what local merchants are calling one of the best holiday shop ping seasons ever. Grace Swanner of Edeftton was among those finishing up her gift buying Tuesday morning. Swanner, who was battling a cold, said she usually tries to get an early start on her Christmas shopping. She said she has had good luck finding mostly everything on her list locally. “As a rule, it hasn’t been bad at all,” Swanner said. Snug Harbor resident Rosemarie Sherrod said she generally does I IT most of her holiday shopping in Edenton and Elizabeth City, and this year was no exception. “I try to get started with it early. I start looking for things each Sep tember because I’ve found that you need to do that if you’re going to get the best selection,” she said. Sherrod said she has 11 grand children, and four grandchildren, "so I have a lot to buy for.” Gail Davenport of Creswell said she does her Christmas shopping “about half and half. I do about 50% of it in Edenton and the rest elsewhere.” She said that with chil dren and grandchildren to buy for, she had found the selection good when buying for those on her gift list. That same enthusiasm was ech oed by local merchants Tuesday. Peebles Manager Trade Adams' said this was “the best year we’ve ever had. We’ve gotten more local support from shoppers this year than ever before. Fmjustthrilled.” Adams said that Christmas deco ration items have sold really well this year, as have clothing items such as velvet sequined sweaters and other fancy dress items. “Prob ably there are a lot of people plan ning to attend New Year’s parties See SHOPPERS On Page 3-A School officials discuss Walker suspensions, new programs . BY REBECCA BUNCH S Editor Concerned that parents attend »i ing recent school forums may have come away with a misleading im pression of the learning situation that exists at D.F. Walker Elemen tary School, school officials say ! 1 they want to set the record straight. “Obviously, any discipline refer 1 ral is one too many, and we have to continously work to address disci pline problems at all our schools," said Dr. Allan Smith, superinten dent of the Edenton-Chowan Schools. “However, the numbers given during the forums were somewhat misleading. In fact, about 90 percent of the students at Walker School have never been referred for disciplinary action. “The fact is, the vast majority of students who attend Walker School are good, conscientious students. We think it is important for people to know that at Walker, as at our other schools, teachers are able to teach and children are able to learn." Information provided by Michelle Alexander, school-public relations coordinator for the school system, shows that during the 1998 1999 school year, a total of 631 stu dents attended Walker School. Of those, two were suspended for fighting, while 18 students were suspended for other types of ag gressive behavior. One student was suspended for possession of a weapon on school property, and two for stealing. Alexander said that the record clearly shows that “89% of the stu dents at D.F. Walker have not been involved in disciplinary situations that resulted in suspension, and only .04% of the students at that school were involved in disciplin ary action resulting from fighting or aggressive behavior.” Figures provided by Alexander detailing suspension incidents during the period from Aug. 5,1999 through Nov. 16,1999 indicate that of a total student population of 595 students, there were seven suspen sions for aggressive behavior and one for employee assault resulting in no injuries. “During that period of time,” Alexander said, “only .03% of stu dents were involved in situations that resulted in disciplinary ac Chowan Department of Social Services staffers Mona Griffin, Valerie Patrick and Melissa Perry show some of the winter coats collected for area flood victims. More than 100 coats were donated to the project, which was sponsored by NC Social Services Association. (Staff photo by Rebecca Bunch) County starts process of records’ restoration BY REBECCA BUNCH Editor Some of Chowan County’s most important documents are a little safer today, thanks to Register of Deeds Sue Rountree and the Chowan County Commissioners. Rountree said Monday that docu ments her office oversees, includ ing handwritten deeds and maps, prepared on acid-based paper, were becoming increasingly fragile and worn - both because of the type of paper on which they were prepared and the large amount of handling they received. Her office is a popu lar research site for area geneaologists and history buffs alike. But those documents, including land transfers dating from the late 1600s to about 1878, have now been submitted to a process that dea Register of Deeds Sue Rountree cidifies the paper on which they are prepared - thereby preserving See RECORDS On Page 3-A tion resulting irom aggressive ue havior. The figures clearly show that 99.97% of Walker students have not been involved this school year in incidents involving disci plinary infractions that resulted in suspension.” During the 1998-1999 school year, information released by the school system indicates there were 558 students attending White Oak El-' See SCHOOL On Page 12-A Holiday closing I The Chowan Herald will be closed all day Thursday, Dec, 23, and Friday, Dec. 24 to allow employees to spend time with their families during Christ mas. The office will resume regu lar business hours on Monday, Dec. 27. ; Items for the Herald’s New» Year’s edition may be dropped* in the mail slot in the office door closest to Waterman’s Restaurant or brought to the newspaper prior to noon Mon day. The newspaper will be closed on the afternoon of Dec. 31 and all day on Friday, Jan. 7, in observance of the New Year’s holiday. Please plan to submit items accordingly. Merry Christmas! Nursery Services To Be Provided Special Music Observance of Qhristmas (Eve QandieVxftht tSe cEtfenton Cgaptist Church • 7 o’ctock p.m vice
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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Dec. 22, 1999, edition 1
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