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Wednesday, January 5, 2000
Single Copies 50$
Britthaven resident Lucille Blount welcomes in the year 2000 at
the nursing care facility in Edenton. Blount, born in 1895, is the
oldest resident there. She is 104 years old and according to
Britthaven Activities Director Patricia Casper, is still going strong.
"When asked what she thinks has kept her alive for so long,"
Casper says, "her answer is, 'I just love everybody.'"
1999 was a year of
progress for county
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Editor
The past year has been one of
mainly good news and steady
progress for our community.
In early 1999, State Heritage
Tourism officials met here with
residents of the Yeopim com
munity in an effort to empha
size the importance of partici
pation by all segements of the
county’s population in identify
ing previously untapped sites
that have potential tourism im
pact. To date, several sites have
been identified and plans are
underway to restore some of
them. ^
In February, local resi(|dnt|
had an opportunity to meet and
talk with Rep. Walter Jones of
Farmville, NC. Jones, whose
mother was a native of Chowan
County, had this county in
cluded as part of the Third Dis
trict that he serves as a result of
a court redistricting decision.
Also in February, local offi
cials announced that a grant
from the North Carolina Depart
ment of Transportation would
enable trolley service to r^tffin
here. The trolley remains a
popular attraction, once again
offering Historic District tours
and community routes.
In March 1999, local cable pro
vider MediaCom announced
plans for a proposed fiber optic
upgrade and the addition of
more channels to its line-up. The
announcement came after
county commissioners okayed
an 8-year extension of its con
tract with MediaCom which was
due to expire in 2006. The exten
§jon grants MediaCom, the cable
provider, the right to provide
cable service in Chowan County
until 2014.
li} April, local residents and
visitors were treated to a huge
celebration of the 50th anniver
sary of Edenton’s Biennial Pil
grimage which was a huge suc
cess. The month also brought
the Chowan Arts Council’s
“Soup and a Bowl’’ fundraiser.
The first-time event was sug
gested by new CAC Executive
Director Sue Clark.
May Play Day drew large
numbers of excited children and
parents to the Rocky Hock Com
munity Center the next month.
From delicious food to
children’s games, this event had
it all.
In celebration of National
Tourism Week, May 2-8, the
Chowan Tourism Development
Authority announced plans to
present the first Snooky Bond
Excellence in Tourism Award
to the Edenton Woman’s Club
for their outstanding contribu
tion to tourism in Chowan
County. The 1999 Biennial Pil
grimage, hosted by the club,
brought over 1,500 visitors to
town, raising over $21,000 to be
used primarily for historic pres
ervation projects.
June brought a new face to
town as Cliff Ogburn was nflmed
to head the Edenton-Chowan
Recreation Department. Also,
during the month, members of
the Yeopim Ruritans found a
home of their own when the now
disbanded Edenton Jaycees
handed over the keys to their
building on Soundside Road to
the club.
In July, Chowan Hospital’s
Wellness Program was selected
to receive the Governor’s Award
See YEAR On Page 3-A
Only minor glitches reported as
Chowan survives Y2K deadline A
Board of Election
computer dies;
Y2K glitch may
have caused it
BY JEB CAUDILL
AND REBECCA BUNCH
Publisher /Editor
Chowan County officials said
they were prepared for potential
Y2K problems and, like the major
ity of the region and country, they
escaped most serious complica
tions from themuch -heralded com
puter bug.
“Everything went along fine,”
County Manager Cliff Copeland
told the Board of Commissioners
Monday morning. “There could
have been problems, but thanks to
our people, there weren’t.”
On Tuesday, however, County
Board of Elections Supervisor
Rebecca Lowe’s 1995 model com
puter died. Lowe said that her com
puter worked as usual on Monday.
Tuesday morning she went to
work, turned on her computer, and
then proceeded to do some other
things.
“I really didn’t pay much atten
tion, until I got ready to use it,” shfe
said. “Then I noticed that instead
of the stuff that’s usually thfere,
there was a message on my screen
say ing, ‘ Y ou may now turn off your
computer.’ That really got my at
tention.”
Lowe said that shortly thereaf
ter a second message came on her
screen alerting her that there was
a problem. She said she quickly
contacted the county’s computer
expertS'for help.
“I just thought, oh no, this can’t
be happening,” she said. “Then I
got on the phone and called for
help...fast.”
Lowe said that at present she is
not sure whether her computer was
a victim of Y2K or would have died
anyway. She said that she was just
grateful that Chowan County In
formation Systems Director
Phyllis Cranfonkhad backed up
her files prior to year’s end.
“We really don’t know exactly
what happened,” she said. “They
will be working on findingandfix
ing the problem iffiOss^E?
County personntebspent the past
six months preparing for the date
change from 1999 to 2000, working
to ensure they would be able to
keep their computers operational
and not lose any of their depart
mental files. Last week, they ran a
final check on personnel comput
ers and main frame operations.
Friday night, New Year’s Eve„ at
11:30 p .m., back up generators were
idling on standby, but they were
not needed.
“At midnight, it didn’t even
blink,” said Cranford.
Chowan County Sheriff Fred
Spruill said his department did not
witness any unusual activity re
lated to the millennium.
“It was real quiet,” he said.
Edenton Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton said that town
employees began preparing a year
ago to make sure their transition
into the new year went smoothly.
And, she said, she was relieved to
report Monday that it had, That
smooth transition: did, however,
cost the town some money,
“We did end up spending about
$10,000 to replace two‘of our com
puters,”-she said. Knighton said
the PC’s were very old and there
were definite concerns about their
being made Y2K compliant.,
-She said that the town also beefed
up its law enforcemerft presence
on New Year’s Eve, putting extra |
officers out on patrol.
“Thankfully, no unusual prob- j
lems occurred,” Knighton said.
Knighton added that Hawk
Crummey and Bill Potts frorti the
Utilities Department remained on
fcall late into the night in case any
problems developed with the ar
rival of the new year.
“They did get lots of calls/’ she
said, “including everybody from
the state Utilities Commission, to
Electricities, to me, checking
things out. But, I’m happy to re
port everything is just fine.”
Members of the planning committee for the 2000 Chowan-Perquimans Relay for Life
Chowan-Perquimans committee
begins planning for 2000 Relay
While most folks were gearing
up for the holidays, a dozen
Chowan-Perquimans American
Cancer Society Relay for Life Com
mittee members had visions of
springtime dancing in their heads'
The committee gathered on Dec.
6 for a planning and organ izational
meeting for Relay 2000, set for April
28 and 29 at John A. Holmes High
School. Lori Snell and Lynn
Bassett, both of Edenton, are this
year’s general co-chairs.
The group is akin to Santa: They
give to others. This spring, the
Chowan-Perquimans Committee
expects to raise $95,000 for the
American Cancer Society. Be
tween now and April, literally hun
dreds of residents in the two coun
ties will be working to meet that
lofty goal.
Last year, the teams raised over
$87,000. In addition to raising the
monetary goal, the committee
wants to increase th^ number of
teams and the number of survi
vors in 2000.
Relay for Life is a nationwide.
fund raiser for the American Can
cer Society, and functions sort of
like a walk-a-thon and pajama
party combination.
Groups of 10 or more people form
a team to raise money for ACS.
They have bake sales, auctions,
raffles, concerts, car washes, yard
sales and a host of other activities
to raise money. Many teams are
composed of faniily members, co
workers or members of civic orga
nizations. Some coin themes and
mottos for their teams.
„ The actual relay usually begins
around 3 p.m. on a Friday. Teams
set up the area that will be their
home for the next 20 hours or so,
putting up tents, screen rooms and
cabanas filled with sleeping bags,
lawn chairs and food.
Team members begins walking
and at least one member of each
team must be walking at all times
throughout the relay. The evening
hours generally .bring a survivor’s
walk and a ceremony in honor of
survivors and memory of those
who lost their cancer battles. There
is often entertainment and team
challenges.
In addition to raising money
with fundraisers, committee mem
bers contact businesses for sup
port.
The Relay Committee will offi
cially kick-off Relay 2000 on Jan. 31
with a dinner at Cfeekside Restau
rant in Edenton. All those inter
ested in finding out more about
Relay for Life are invited to attend.
Those interested in forming a
team may contact team recruit
ment co-chairs Dawn Hare, 141
Mexico Rd., Edenton, NC 27932,
phone 482-3218 (business hours) or
Brenda Newbern, Rt. 2, Box 910,
Hertford, NC 27944, phone 426-8349
(evening hours).
In addition to Snell, Bassett, Hare
and Newbern, Relay committee
members are corporate sponsor
ship, Vic Alexander, Mike Hare;
corporate underwriting, Cindy
Small; registration, Doris Larsh;
accounting, Frances Hammer,
See RELAY On Page 3-A
SAVAN has
reassured •
NC victims
i ■
BY JEB CAUDILL '
Publisher
A statewide automated tele
phone system instituted last spring
allows victims to keep tabs on
criminals as they move through
county and state incarceration and -
probation facilities.
The Statewide Automated Vic
tim Assistance and Notification
(SAVAN) program was launched
by the Governor’s Grime Commis
sion. Since its inception in 1998,
North Carolina counties have been
equipped to submit information to
the SAVAN network. Last May.
Chowan County joined the SAVAN ■
network.
Chowan Sheriff Fred Spruill told
the county Board of Commissions
Monday morning that the program
is a reassurance to victims of
crime, and that participation in
the program is funded by Federal
and state grants and costs his de
partment nothing.
Spruill showed a seven-minute
video that outlined how to use
SAVAN. Crime victims can call
the 24-hour, toll-free SAVAN num
ber (1-877-627-2826, 1-877-NC
S A V AN) and enter the name of the
offender to find out information
See SAVAN On Page 3-A
Reminder
The Chowan Herald will be
closed all day this Friday (Jan.
7) in observance of the New
Year. Holiday production
schedules did not permit the
staff to have a day off earlier.
Also, effective Wednesday,
January 19, new production
deadlines are being put into
place to ensure that the paper
gets to the printer on time.
Please see the ad on page 3r A
of today’s newspaper for infor
mation on when ads and news
items need to be submitted.
Friday, Jan. 7
7:30 p.m.
SPECIAL BINGO FOR "RELAY FOR LIFE"
__American Legion Back Bldg.
_■ • h
Sponsored by
American Legion Family
Relay For Life Team