Wednesday, July 11,2001
CHOWAN HERALD
Log truck overturns
Reports from Hie North Carolina Highway Patrol indicate that the brakes failed on this 1989 Peter Built causing it to overturn. The
truck driven by John Lynwood Brooks of Ahoskie was headed East on Highway 32 just outside of Edenton on Thursday, July 5. At
approximately 1:55 p.m. Brooks approached the intersection of Highway 32 and State Road 1114 and was attempting to slow Hie
truck when the brakes failed. The truck overturned, losing the load of logs. Chowan County Emergency Medical and Edenton Fire
Department responded to the wreck. North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper J. H. Blizzard investigated the accident. No charges
were filed against the driver. Brooks sustained only minor cuts. (Staff photo by Helen Kerr OuHand)
Major roof repairs set for schools
BY MARIEL BETANCOURT
jCox NC Publications
Major repairs on the roofs at
both John A. Holmes High
School and Chowan Middle
School will begin during the
iext month, as the Edenton
Chowan Schools Board of Edu
cation approved a final bid for
the work at its meeting last
Monday evening.
McClure Estimating of
Williamston, NC, will complete
the re-roofing at both schools
for $1,289,574, the lowest of-six
bids presented to the board.
Originally, the project called
only for the re-roofing of the
main buildings at both schools,
but school officials have chqsen
to also repair some of the side
buildings.
“We might as well go ahead
and take care of not only any
immediate needs, but future
needs as well,” Dr. Allan Smith,
superintendent of schools, said,
as he presented the bids to the
Chowan County Board of Com
missioners, which also met
Monday.
The commissioners origi
nally allocated $1 million to the
schools for the re-roofing, so the
school system will pay the addi
tional $289,574 the project will
cost.
McClure Estimating - which
will soon complete the roof at
the new DF Walker Elementary
School - will bring its re-roofing
materials to Hqlmes High.
Schbol and ChO'wan Middle
. -"V -<# ■ -
School during the next 20 to 30
days. Construction will begin
after that, and should be com
plete within 180 days.
School will be in session dur
ing the re-roofing, Smith said.
“That’s the downside,” he
said. “It’sjustamassiveprojeci.
You can’t get it done within tne
summer months.”
School officials will work
with the construction crew to
minimize disturbances during
key time periods, Smith added.
For example, during testing
days, the school can ask that
work be done as far from class
room areas as possible.
“Roofers tell us it will not
cause a distraction at all, but
that remains to be seen, ’’Smith
said. “A roofer’s idea of ^ioise
and a teacher’s idea of noise are
two different things.”
School officials chose to ex
pand the project when, prior to
the bidding, roofing engineers
inspected both schools and rec
ommended the additional work.
Holmes - which has a leaky roof
- will be re-roofed with a low
slope, metal roof extending from
the media and English areas,
over to the two-story wing, and
also covering the cafeteria and
vocational area. The field house
will receive minor repairs.
Chowan Middle School will
also have its main building re
roofed, as well as the eighth
grade wing and the art/music
building. Some weathered sid
ingwill be replacedatthe middle
school as well.
County will
upgrade GIS
map system
BY MARIEL BETANCOURT
Cox NC Publications
Without a GIS system avail
able, a person who needs to
study county maps must pull
them out of a drawer and ex
amine the maps individually.
And these paper maps have
limited uses; there’s no easy
way for a police officer to view
a specific rural address before
answering a call, just as there’s
no way to track county trends -
such as rainfall - on one map.
But with a Geographical In
formation System, the maps
that previously took up pages
of papers fit on one computer
or one CD as digital maps.
Chowan County - one of the
few counties currently with
out this type of system - should
have its GIS complete sooner
than 2004, the target date set in
1999, according to Gail Fore
hand, land records manager for
Chowan County.
County officials have allo
cated $98,000 in the 2002 fiscal
year to complete the GIS, and
the most expensive work, tak
ing the pictures of the land from
air, has been finished. Now,
officials must purchase soft
ware to manage the maps, and
continue downloading the in
formation onto the computers.
“Everything doesn’t come at
one time, we have to do it step
by-step,” Forehand said. “We
do it as quick as we can, but it
is a process of loading one layer
of data at a time.”
Technically, the term “GIS”
refers to the computer system
that stores and manipulates
information about specific geo
graphic areas. But the term can
also include the data in the sys
tem and even the personnel
who operate it. A GIS makes it
easier on county officials to
enter information about the
area and then match it to a
specific area on a map.
Specifically, the county will
use the GIS to track property
lines and soil types, and - in the
future - to direct law enforce
ment or firefighters to an emer
gency. Now, when a person
calls 911, the caller’s address
and phone number appears on
a dispatcher’s screen.
With a GIS, the dispatcher
can access a map of the caller’s
street and even a picture of the
caller’s home, if the systemhas
one available. Dispatchers can
also better pinpoint the loca
tion of a person calling on a
wireless phone.
“It’s an excellent tool, and
not only for fire and rescue,
but for any situation where law
enforcement is required,” Jim
Carr, director of Chowan
County’s Central Communica
tions Center, said. “.. .If we have
to give directions, or if there’s
a concern about what unit re
sponded, it would give us a bet
ter idea of where they are.
“It’s just another tool for get
ting a faster response,” Carr
added.
The 2002budget also includes
$30,000 to place the GIS tax and
land records on the county’s
Web site for the use of resi
dents. Last year, the county
spent an estimated $74,000 to
gather aerial pictures of the
region for the first time since
1979. The county now has aerial
maps on both CD and paper.
“It’s something we really
needed with all the develop
ment we’ve had in the last 20
years,” Forehand said.
A fish kill discovered at Bennett's Millpond in Chowan County
in early July has been dubbed "naturally occurring" by state
Wildlife officials. (Staff photo by Helen Kerr Oufland)
Fish kill at Bennett’s
Millpond investigated
BY HELEN KERR OUTLAND
Staff Writer
ROCKY HOCK- Local resi
dents who may have planned
to use Bennett’s Millpond for a
family outing during the 4th of
July were discouraged to find
thousands of dead fish floating
on the pond’s surface.
By the end of last week dead
and decaying fish could be seen
floating on the surface of the
grayish/white water. Many
others could be seen near the
surface gasping for air or jump
ing.
According to reports from
the N C Wildlife Resources
Commission’s Environmental
See FISH On Page 4-A
All-Star
game to
be aired
The Coastal Plain
league has released the
roster for the 2001 North
ern Division All-Star
Team in preparation for
the Coastal Plain League’s
Third Annual All-Star
Game that will be played
at Historic Hicks Field in
Edenton Wednesday, July
11.
The Northern Division
is made up of five teams:
Edenton, Outer Banks,
Peninsula;, Petersburg,
and Wilson. The roster
includes at least two
players from each team.
The Northern Division
head coaches, general
managers, and media
representatives selected
the players. Two Mizuno
Hitters of the Week,
Anthony Bocchino of the
Petersburg Generals and
John Kaye of the Outer
Banks Daredevils, high
light the North roster.
Brandon Hall of the
See GAME On Page 4-A
County acquires new DARE
mobile unit to aid education
BY HELEN KERR OUTLAND
Staff Writer
Chowan County’s DARE pro
gram has a new look to it. This
past week the new DARE mo
bile unit took to the road. The
unit is a refurbished ambu
lance and is the brainchild of
Deputy Carl A. Rabe, DARE
Officer of the Chowan County
Sheriff’s Office.
^ In June of this year Rabe
completed a 400-hour Commu
nity Policing Certificate Pro
gram. As a result of this pro
gram, Deputy Rabe had to sub
mit a project that would aid
Chowan County in community
policing.
“Deputy Rabe came to me
with a proposal for a mobile
unit that totally incorporated
all the equipment and educa
tional tools needed to facilitate
Drug Awareness Education in
the county,” says Sheriff Fred
Spruill. Rabe had ddfie signifi
cant research in the acquisi
tion and use of a multipurpose
unit that would enhance the
See DARE On Page 4-A
local officials are invited to view the new DARE mobile unit for Chowan County
Gates i%LX - ■ EDENTON STEAMERS PRESENT Cam.
Open At 2001 ALL-STAR GAME ' WEDNESDAY JULY 11 Starts At
6,00 p-“- V^vC HISTORIC HICKS FIELD, EDENTON > P'm‘