Wednesday, January 17,2001
the North Carolina coast
Single Copies 50#
Services
held for
father,
daughter
, BY MARIEL BETANCOURT
' Cox NC Publications
n
t
•ROCKY HOCK - A father and
daughter were buried Saturday,
nearly a week after a house fire
ended their lives.
Bf?ian Taylor, 28, and TreChonda
Taylor, 2, of2231 Rocky Hock Road,
were laid to rest after a joint fu
neral at White Oak Baptist Church
in Tyner.
Trekita Williams, Brian’s ex
girlfriend and TreChonda’s
mother, remembered Taylor as
someone with a good heart.
“He was a very outgoing person.
Everything he had he would give
to-you, if you needed it,” Williams
$aid. “And if you’re a stranger and
you start talking to him, you
(would) become good friends.”
Williams, who did not live with
Taylor, said there were countless
times that he helped her family or
fiends, but one especially im
pressed her: when he gave her
brother $30 on the night of his jun
(,^'r prom, so that he could take his
n
See SERVICES On Page 3-A
Community leaders join hands to sing "We Shall Overcome" during a ceremony celebrating the lifeand work
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. here Monday. (Staff photo by Derrick Armstead)
King’s legacy is remembered
BY DERRICK ARMSTEAD
Staff Writer
EDENTON—The conclusion of
Monday’s Martin Luther King, Jr,
birthday celebration would prob
ably have been just as valuable to
the late civil rights leader as his
1964 Nobel Peace Prize award.
That scenario involved local citi
zens from a variety of socioeco
nomic and racial backgrounds
joining hands for a moving rendi
tion of the hymn, “We Shall Over
come,” a selection long regarded
as the anthem of the civil rights
movement.
Prior to that moment, Elizabeth
State University educator, Lynn
Jordan delivered a soul-searching
message aimed directlyat present
day America.
“King and his visit to
Edenton...got me thinking, who
will take a stand today,” said Jor
dan. “Because taking a stand re
quires great sacrifices and it re
quires us to reaixze that not every
one will agree with you, and you
don’t always get people on your
side.”
Town councilman Willis Privott
also addressed the impact of the
late civil rights leader’s journey to
Chowan County.
“When I think about the great
est accomplishment (it) was back
in ’63, ’64 when Dr. King was in
vited to come to Edenton,” said
Privott. “He came and left a foun
dation for us to build on. Goldie
Frinks was, a nail in that
foundation...! think today we can
See KING On Page 6-A
ii Chowan first in line for natural eas service
R. . "'V-' ■ /
HSUSK. • •* • * • rr^7-- ■ ■'•y5 "
BY blRRICK ARMSTEAD
Staff Writer
EDENTON—A lengthy battle to
obtain natural gas service for
northeastern North Carolina could
be a thing of the past by as early as
spring, according to Chowan
County manager, Cliff Copeland.
More specifically, preliminary
plans call for a three phase con
struction plan that begins along
Chowan County’s western bound
ary.
“We are still working with envi
ronmental (agencies),” said
Cqpeland. “We are optimistic that
we will have (the project’s)
groundbreaking in the spring. And
we (Chowan) are in the first phase,
so we’ll be the first one to get gas.”
As far as possible setbacks are
concerned, protection of the wet
lands is at the top of the list.
“It will not affect the wetlands,
we will go under (those areas),”
Copeland said. “Main thing is go
ing to be the Chowan River ...and
that shouldn’t be a problem be
cause we will go under the river
bed.”
t
Copeland
With the ex
pected arrival
of natural gas
to the region,
Copeland ad
dressed the
behind-the
scenes action
involving the
current
project, as well as past attempts.
“It was always an issue that we
tried to address with NCNG (North
Carolina Natural Gas),” he said.
“NCNG said it wasn’t a good plan
to invest in. But it was sort of like
the ‘chicken and the egg’ setup. We
couldn’t get businesses in to use
the natural gas, because we didn!t
have it.”
Copeland went on to talk about
the differences between then and
now.
“This went on for about 15
years...and that’s when Sen. (Marc)
Basnight stepped in with his in
volvement in the bond,” said the
county manager. “Without the
bond issue, without the infusion of
bond revenue we wouldn't have
had it (become available).”
The project wiirbe controlled by
Progressiye Energy (formerly
CP&L) and APEC (Albemarle
Pamlico Economic Development
Corporation), both of whom will
maintain 50 percent ownership
rights.
In addition to Chowan County^
Phase I includes Gates, Per
quimans, Pasquotank, Camden,
and Currituck counties. There is
an estimated $51 million construc
tion price tag attached to the open
ing stage.
Completion of the project will
result in an estimated 142 miles of
transmission and 74 miles of dis
tribution pipeline, which will di
rectly impact the availability of
the fuel source.
“In Chowan County there will
be approximately 16.1 miles of dis
tribution,” said Copeland. “This
will enable us to get it through to
the schools, which will be a big
help.”
Several other areas are included
within the plan.
“We haven’t finalized all of the
plans but I can give you a rough
idea of every thing,” Copeland said.
“Roughly, in Edenton there is go
ing to be some distribution around
Cape Colony, the Dye Plant, and
the airport.”
Promoted as a clean burning fuel
source, Copeland outlined the ex
pected benefits of the natural gas
plan that is expected to include
over 1,000 residential, 100-plus com
mercial and up to 10 industrial
signees.
“It’s hard to say right now,” he
said. “This extreme winter has
thrown everything off. Normally,
the number is usually 30 percent
less than other beating sources,
but that’s only an estimate on my
part.”
“It’s also a very good thing from
my way of thinking because the
northeast has never had the infra
structure similar to other areas
and this is just one more step to
show that our infrastructure is
becoming as good as any other
area,” he added.
As a member of the local board
that will ultimately decide upon
several factors relating to the natu
See PIPELINE-On Page 3-A
Sheriff’s Dept, insurance
company sponsor event
BY REBECCA BUNCH
'Editor
Chowan County Sheriff Fred
Spruill is hoping parents turn out
with their children in large num
bers for an upcoming program be
ing co-hosted by his department
and the Jefferson-Pilot Insurance
| Company.
Sheriff Spruill said that partici
[ pation in programs such as this
|are targeted particularly to chil
| djren up to age 12, as they are most
|often the targets of abduction or
f other illegal acts.
“Of course, no one likes to think
fabout those things,” he said, “but
I'every parent needs to be prepared,
gnd this is one important way we
can help them do that.”
During the event, which w ill take
place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on
|an. 20 at the American Legion
adding in Edenton, parents will
■fceive standardized, h igh quality
hotos of their ch ildren along with
a KidCare ID booklet in which they
can also record and keep current
vital statistics about their children.
The Project KidCare program
was developed by Polaroid Corpo
ration in conjunction with the
National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children (NCMEC). The
initiative was created in an effort
to enhance awareness of child
safety concerns and to provide par
ents with an effective means of aid
ing law enforcement officers in a
search for a missing child.
In a news release from Jefferson
Pilot, figures indicate that one in
seven missing children is found
because of a photograph distrib
uted by NCMLC, making a stan
dardized, current photograph “the
single most important tool in find
ing missing children.”
Anyone interested in more in
formation about this event may
contact Tom Bateman at the Eliza
beth City office of Jefferson-Pilot
Insurance by calling(252)338-2196.
Celebrate milestone
Businessman Alton Elmore is joined by by his wife, Elizabeth (center),
and stepdaughter Carole Bass (left) as his company, Edenton Furniture,
celebrates its 55th year anniversary. The business has long been a fixture
in the downtown business district. (Staff photo by Derrick Armstead)
Three arrested as
a result of police
drug crackdown
BY DERRICK ARMSTEAD
Staff Writer
EDENTON—Recent activities
by the Edenton Police Department
(EPD) prove one thing.
If you are involved in the drug
scene, it is safe to say that your
name may be at the top of a short
list.
Unfortunately, this is not a great
place to be, according to EPD Det.
Sgt. Rhonda Copeland.
“Now that the holiday season is
over,” said Copeland, “we are
working harder on drugs...and we
will be cracking down (on those
involved).”
Recent developments support
Copeland’s comments.
In addition to last week’s raid
that netted 41 “small” bags of mari
juana, two subsequent investiga
tions have also taken place.
Copeland addressed the most
recent incident, which occurred at
approximately 8:30p.m. onFbiday,
Dec. 12, at 307 N. Granville St.
“The searching of this (place)
had a lotto do with officer observa
tions and the amount of traffic
(seen there),” Copeland said in ref
erence to the residence shared by
Gloria Ann Wilder, 45, and her 23
year-old son Robert Wilder. “A lot
of those people seen there were
known users or dealers. The ve
hicle traffic was tremendous.”
Copeland outlined the process
involved with the operation.
“Based on my observations and
other info that I had learned, I
spoke to the district attorney,” she
said. “He advised me that I had
enough to obtain a search war
rant.”
And according to pol ice reports,
officials were correct.
Found at the location were a to
tal of 11 crack “rocks” that had
been placed in two different bags
located in a pile of folded up laun
dry.
An even larger amount .of con
traband had been collected during
the previous night’s raid, which
resulted in the arrest of Joslin
Bentley, 46, and Frank White, 43,
both of whom reside at 115 W.
Peterson St.
“Officer (John) Siegel found two
film canisters in a pair of tennis
shoes,” said Det. Copeland. “They
had large pieces of crack rocks,
See DRUGS On Page 3-A
Patricia Timberlake Angie Lewis
Christine Fleming
Jennifer Bass
Local teachers earn
national certification
Four teachers in the Edenton
Chowan school system have
earned certification from the Na
tional Board for Teaching Profes
sion Standards. They are: Angie
Lewis, a seventh grade teacher at
Chowan Middle School; Jennifer
Bass, a first grade teacher at White
Oak Elementary School; Christine
Fleming, a grades 3-5 multi-age
teacher at White Oak Elementary
School; and Patricia Timberlake,
fifth grade teacher at D.F. Walker
Elementary School.
With the recent recognition of
these teachers, there are now 10
National Board Certified teachers
in the Edenton-Chowan school sys
tem. Several teachers are pursu
ing the certification designation
this year. The Edenton-Chowan
school system is one of only three
school systems in the state that
has a National Board Certified
Teacher teaching in each school in
the school system.
National Board Certification for
teachers is a voluntary process. A
teacher who wishes to become
National Board Certified must first
meet minimum eligibility require
ments and successfully complete a
two-part assessment designed to
examine talent, skills, and knowl
edge. Teachers must also compile
a school-site portfolio that reflects
various facets of teaching, includ
ing student work with teachers’
written comments, lesson plans,
and videotapes of interaction with
a class. Teachers must also par
ticipate in twd days of perfor
mance-based assessment center
activities, such as simulations,
structured interviews and colle
gial discussion.
North Carolina currently pays
application fees for any teacher
who wishes to pursue National
Board Certification. Teachers who
obtain National Board Certifica
tion will receive a 12 percent bo
See TEACHERS On Page 3-A