*' f ■ ' v yga
First Flight
^Invitational
Saturday.....7-A
I National press
1 focus of
discussion group
mnupi
%%;&. /:■' 'V v.'y"v
* Local Father’s
; Day features
land more
xfcfc'?"'. y- ■ ■- ■'t/'fej-'Vi.vi.’ .• •' Mi
5C-8C
I Council reviews |
budget slashes 7
proposed increase
The Edenton Town Coun
cil’s Finance Committee has
slashed the Town Manager’s
proposed 4.5-cent tax
increase by 2 cents. The
committee will continue its
review of the budget, which
is scheduled for adoption
June 23. Town Manager
Anne-Marie Knight-on
recommended proceeds
from 2 of the 4.5-cent tax
increase ($50,000) be used to
fund a capital reserve fund.
Finance Committee
Chairman Jerry Parks said
that although the council is
still committed to establish
ing a capital reserve fund,
starting one with a tax
increase was not in the best
interests of the taxpayers. “1
support the establishment
of a capital reserve fund, but
the timing is wrong,” Parks
said.
Councilman Steve Biggs
agreed. “I cannot and will
not support a 4.5-cent tax
increase,” he said. “I would
rather have the taxpayer
save his money in his
pocket, than us tax it.”
Mayor Roland Vaughan
concurred with the commit
tee’s proposal.-•‘I am not in
favor of raising taxes to put
money in a savings account;
A lot of things can change in
a year; the economy may
improve and our sales tax
receipts might come in
higher than projected,”
Vaughan said. The mayor
went on to note that he
wanted to being funding a
See BUDGET On Page 3-A
Main Street chooses Edenton
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
Staff Writer
NC Gov. Mike Easley an
nounced Monday that Edenton
is one of four communities
chosen to participate in the NC
Main Street Program. The pro
gram provides an opportunity
for smaller towns to focus on
creating new jobs and invest
ment by helping to revitalize
downtown areas.
“The Main Street program
has a proven track record of
success in revitalizing down
towns across North Carolina,”
Easley said in making the an
nouncement. “Encouraging
new business investment and
job creation, as well as sup
porting the continued growth
of our downtown areas in our
smaller cities, is vital for their
success.
According to a press release
issued by Easley’s staff,
Edenton, Forest City, Marion
and Eden, NC will be added to
the 46 designated communities
under the initiative. The re
Town Manager Anne-Marie Knighton and Mayor Roland;
Vaughan sport big smiles as they read the announcement
of Edenton's selection as a new Main Street community
(Staff photo by Bud Weagly)
lease noted that since 1980, pre
viously designated Main
Street communities have real
ized more than 2,400 building
renovations and new busi
nesses, creating more than
10,000 jobs and nearly $800 mil
lion in revenue.
For Edenton, local officials
stress, the emphasis will be on
continuing to build on what is
already a solid foundation in
the downtown business dis
trict.
“We are honored and excited
to be named as a Main Street
community,” says Town Man
ager Anne-Marie Knighton.
“The technical expertise that
we will be getting from this
program will be very benefi
cial to helping our downtown
grow. What is good for down
town E&enton is good for all of
Edenton and Chowan County”
Mayor Roland Vaughan
noted that “competition for
this recognition was very in
tense and to be chosen is a re
flection of our commitment to
do all that we can to make
Edenton a more attractive and
commercially viable commu
nity. We are excited and anx
ious to get started with the
Main Street program.”
Belinda Washlesky, former
director of the Perquimans
Main Street initiative, assisted
Edenton in its successful bid.
“I am elated and actually did
See MAIN STREET On 7-A
Local grocery will close for good
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
• Staff Writer
Family Foods IGA will close
its doors for the last time on
June 15. The supermarket,
which has been in the West
Queen neighborhood for well
over a decade, will be replaced
by a Dollar General. The
Store’s possible closing was
met with heated debate back
when the issue of terminating
IGA’S lease was proposed at a
March Board of Adjustment
meeting. At that meeting citi
zens and IGA employees were
concerned about job cuts and
senior citizens and other resi
dents “that walk to the super
market” because of the store’s
convenient location.
“It’s really going to hurt the
older residents who don’t have
the transportation to get
across town,” states IGA store
manager Louise Reed.
“I would like to see it stay It’s
convenient and they have good
Edenton's IGA/Family Foods will close its doors for good on June 15. The store is closing
to make way for a Dollar General. (Staff photo by Bud Weaaly)
specials,” says Lois Owens,
long time customer of IGA.
“They have really friendly ser
vice I’m going to miss.”
Mike Self, general manager
for IGA/Family Food who was
very adamant about wanting
to remain in Edenton, ex
pressed disappointment about
having to close the Edenton
store. “We are very disap
pointed that we have to do this
(close the Edenton store),” said
Self. “Our employees already
know.”
Self added, “We are very ap
preciative of our customers in
Edenton and Chowan County
We invite them to visit our
other locations.”
Family Foods IGA had other
benefits besides it’s convenient
See IGA On Page 3-A
Music, water
festival nears
BY ROBBIE LAUGHTON
Contributing Writer
The Edenton Waterfront
Park will be the place to be on
Saturday, June 14 from noon -
8 p.m. if you are an outdoor
enthusiast, a water sports
lover or music lover. A day
packed with canoe and kayak
demonstrations, leisure pad
dling events, games, sailboat
races, and a variety of music
and entertainment has been
planned for persons of all
ages. There will also be edu
cational displays and food
vendors on site throughout
the day making it a true com
munity event. And best of all,
most of it is free!
When organizers were plan
ning the events for the day,
they broke things down into
two segments. The first seg
ment is full of activities that
allow participants opportuni
ties to have fun and be on the
water. Instructors will be on
hand to demonstrate canoe
and kayak handling tech
niques, then will lead anyone
interested in two leisure pad
dling events. Beginners may
want to take the 2-mile ven
ture up Queen Anne Creek,
while more experienced pad
dlers may take a 5-mile paddle
up Pembroke Creek. The pad
dling demonstration's begin
at 12:00. The Queen Anne
paddle starts at 1:00 and the
Pembroke Creek paddle
starts at 2:00. All ages are
welcome in the paddle events,
but anyone under age 18 must
See FESTIVAL On Page 3-A
Chowan Middle School students made an impressive
showing at the Odyssey of the Mind World Competition in
Ames, Iowa. Shown: Liza Boehling, Danny Brusko, Christo
pher Edmundson, Chris Lane, Nikki Mitchell, Colleen Potocki
and Mary Strzyzewski, and coaches Mike Brusko and
Marvin Strzyzewski. (Submitted photo)
CMS Odyssey team 8th in world
A Chowan Middle School Od
yssey of the Mind team placed
eighth in world competition May
28 in Ames, Iowa, competing
against 39 other teams in their
category
“Helping to send these stu
dents to the world competition
proved to be a good investment,”
said Edenton-Chowan Schools
superintendent Allan T. Smith.
“They certainly represented us
well, and they had the opportu
nity to broaden their horizons
also.”
The school system paid for the
students’ registration fees and
room and board. Other expenses
for the trip were alleviated
.through fund raising and dona
tions.
The team, composed of stu
dents Liza Boehling, Danny
Brusko, Christopher Edmund
son, Chris Lane, Nikki Mitchell,
Colleen Potocki and Mary
Strzyzewski, and coa-ches Mike
Brusko and Marvin Strzyzewski,
earned the chance to compete in
the world competition by win
ning second place at the state
competition April 5. The team
won a first-place award in re
gional competition earlier this
year.
“It was a great experience for
the kids, meeting people from
other countries,” said Kathy
Strzyzewski, who helped chaper
one the students.
Teams from as far away as Po
land and Uzbekistan competed in
the tournament, Strzyzewski
said. In all, 660 teams from seven
countries participated in the
event.
The Chowan team solved the
problem, ‘A Scene From Above.”
Odyssey of the Mind is an in
ternational creative problem
solving competition. Each fall,
OM publishes 5 new problems for
teams to choose from. While the
problems are different each year,
they generally fall in one of 5 cat
egories: Vehicle-building, Techni
cal (contraptions), Balsa Wood,
Structures (that must support *
weight), The Classics (with
themes based on history or the’
arts), and Performance (empha
sis is on the creativity of the skit,
the props and the presentation).
The “Scene From Above” prob
lem required students to design
build and rim three small ve-T
hides to transport items from an
“orbit area” to an assembly sta-;
tion. The items had to be added
to a 3-D representation of a scene
from Earth as viewed from space
The team also was required to
present a humorous perfor
mance about the scene and the
changes it went througl^with thd
additions of the items. j
Each of the vehicles had to be
powered in different ways, with
one vehide carrying its energy
source and the others traveling
on the momentum caused by dif
ferent energy sources.
School board approves new plan!
The Edenton - Chowan
Schools Board of Education
unanimously approved a Ca
reer-Technical Education
Plan for the coming school
year at its Monday meeting,
expressing support for the
program’s, value in spite of
looming st.ate budget cuts that
will reduce funding by at least
$23,000.
“I wish more people knew
about what we’re doing to get
our kids ready for the work
place,” said board member
Ricky Browder. “The schools
are doing a great job in meet
ing the employers’ needs.”
The Career-Technical Edu
cation Plan targets students
from the earliest grades
through high school to prepare
for productive and successful
careers after they leave the;
school system and enter the
workforce. / »:
See PLAN On f»age 3-A