Opposition I
to OLF
voiced....... 1-C
Pioneer
Heritage
celebrated
x-Tsju 'm t .
Colonial Tennis
Tournament
held Aug. 1-3
Navy holds flyover after Edenton OLF briefing
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
Staff Writer
A scheduled flyover of a F/
A18C jet on Thursday allowed
Edenton officials to hear first
hand if flights from the pro
posed Washington County
OLF site would disturb the his
toric city’s ambience.
“Since most of the Super
hornets are on the West Coast
we used he F/A18C jet. It is
very similar to the Super Hor
net in terms of noise level,”
stated Lt. Scott Mcllnay, a Nor
folk-based Navy Public Affairs
Officer. “The difference in
noise level is about three deci
bels.”
At 11:30 a.m. the Navy ar
ranged for jets to fly at 10,000
feet and 16,500 feet. The noise
from the jets was minimal but
the new F/A 18 E Super Hor
nets are expected to be louder
and will fly four at a time.
Edenton sits directly under the
path between proposed OLF
sites in Craven and Washing
ton County. Even though noise
was minimal some town and
county officials still expressed
concern.
- “I was satisfied that the jet
noise will likely not be a nui
sance to our community,”
stated town manager Anne
Marie Knighton. “I appreciated
the Navy arranging for the fly
overs, at 10,000 feet and at 16,500.
The pilots normally will be fly
ing at 20,000 feet when they
pass over, so I was relieved. We
are still lobbying hard for the
Final Record of Decision to
choose Craven County as host
site. The OLF needs to go to Cra
ven where the economic ben
efits from the home basing of
the squadrons goes.”
The Navy authorities also
reviewed the 1,600-page Envi
ronmental Impact Statement
(EIS) issued July 18, recom
mending Washington County
for an outlying landing field.
According to one navy offi
cial, John Robusto, a former
pilot and navy consultant, the
urgency for an OLF in this
area increased because of this
year’s war in Iraq.
“The Navy needs to be able
to deploy six carriers in thirty
days,” Robusto stated. “Having
an OLF in Northeastern North
Carolina gives the navy neces
sary operational flexibility.”
If Washington County is
Cmdr. Rick Keys (left photo) gestures as he talks about plans for the OLF during a brief
ing held at the Edenton Town Council Chambers. The briefing took place on the same day
that Washington County residents organized a motorcade to Raleigh protesting plans by
the U.S. Navy to build on Outlying Landing Field in their county. (Top photo) A Navy *
spokesman is assisted by County Commissioner Jimmy Alligood in showing a map that
indicates where the field would be constructed. The Navy says the planes would fly over
Edenton four at a time, in two-week rotations, for six to eight hours a day. (Staff photos
by Bud Weagly)
chosen as an OLF site, the
Navy intends to buy 30,000
acres for $118 million. Roughly
74 homes will have to be moved
that will be in “high noise” ar
eas. To offset the yearly 155,000
tax revenue lost by the county.,
. the Navy proposes partnering
opportunities to boost the
economy
“The admiral wants to find
ways to offset the loss of rev
Boyce is state award recipient
BY GLENDA JAKUBOWSKI
Edenton-Chowan Schools
Edenton-Chowan Schools
Assistant Superintendent Rob
Boyce has been named North
Carolina’s Career-Technical
Education Director of the Year.
The Career-Technical Edu
cation mission is to prepare
students as world-class work
ers in the international
economy through basic skills
such as reading, writing and
math and fostering the ability
to think independently and as
part of a team and to use tech
nology.
“Rob is the catalyst that cre
ated the vision of a seamless
system to provide career and
technical education from kin
dergarten through high school
and beyond,” said Edenton
Chowan Schools Superinten
dent Allan T. Smith.
Rob Boyce
“Through his leadership, the
public schools, the College of
the Albemarle, the business
sector and the community at
large have come together in a
concerted effort to better pre
pare our students for the world
after high school.”
In Edenton-Chowan Schools,
CTE is seen in such areas as
Washlesky featured
Downtown business/property owners will want to at
tend the Marketplace Guild meeting next Tuesday, Aug.
12, 8:30 a.m. at the Barker House. Belinda Washlesky, ex
ecutive director of the new Edenton Main Street Program,
will provide info on what's in store during the first year.
the K-12 employability skills
curriculum emphasizing re
sponsibility, speaking skills
and workplace writing; gate
way portfolio projects in
grades three, five, eight and the
senior project; the three-ses
sion Business-Education Sum
mit held last year; the annual
Business Expo; Groundhog
Job Shadow Day; Workers and
their Vehicles Day; and main
taining a strong partnership
with the College of the Albe
marle.
Boyce credits partnerships
and teamwork for the Edenton
Chowan Schools successes in
Career-Technical Education.
“It’s so many people working
together - teachers, the Cham
ber of Commerce, the business
community and the fantastic
relationship with COA,” Boyce
said.
“Any recognition I receive
really belongs to all of them.”
More than one of Boyce’s
above-mentioned team mem
bers insists he deserves the
lion’s share of credit for the
honor, however.
“It takes a team, but leader
ship affects the team,” said
Lynn Hurdle-Winslow, dean of
the Chowan County Center of
the College of the Albemarle.
“Rob works harder than any
one I know, and it shows in
such things as the success of
our JobReady Program and in
obtaining the Tech-Prep grant.
I’m pleased the state recog
nized what we already know
about Rob Boyce.”
Regulator Marine’s Joan
Maxwell concurs. Maxwell and
Regulator Marine have been
strong partners with the
school system in the JobReady
See AWARD On Page 3-A
enue in Washington County,”
noted J. Dan Cecchini, Com
mander of the Navy’s Atlantic
division Naval Facilities Engi
neering Command.
Partnerships were proposed
in the areas of fire fighting,
local government contracting
and utility expansion.
The Navy estimated the field
construction could create 433
short-term jobs for the local
r——«-T-r— ■■■«■
economy Once the site is fin
ished,50 full and part-time jobs
would be needed for security,
refueling and fire fighting.
The annual payroll for this site
would be between $950,000 to
$1.2 million. Construction for
the proposed OLF would begin
in 2004 with a possible comple
tion date set for 2010.
(For more OLF coverage, see
pagel-Cof this edition)
work starts
Town officials announced
this week that a new residen
tial subdivision approved
nearly five years ago is about
to become a reality. Site work
is slated to begin this week at
Colonial Village, a 120-unit
planned residential subdivi
sion located off of Coke Av
enue, near E. Freemason
Street. The subdivision is be
ing developed by Colonial Vil
lage Group, Inc. of Elizabeth
City. The developers plan to
construct moderately priced
starter homes. They expect to
have houses ready for sale in
about nine months.
Town Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton noted that this is the
first major residential subdivi
sion to actually be constructed
inside the city limits since
1988, when the Oak Hill sub
division was started. “The
Town Council views this new
subdivision as a plus for our
community,” Knighton said.
“The Council’s Vision State
ment sets as a goal for our
town to grow in population
from 5,395 to 7,500 in ten years.
This subdivision could add up
to 240 new residents to our
population base over the next
five years.”
Knighton reported that all
state and local permits have
been obtained by the devel
oper and the proper bonds
posted. The landscape plan is
scheduled to be reviewed by
staff and the Tree Committee
in the next few weeks.
Local woman's body discovered
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
Staff Writer
The unrecognizable body of
a black female found last
Thursday between the Yeopim
and Perquimans Rivers was
identified as 48 year-old Cho
wan County resident Larraine
Parker. Parker resided at 221
Evans Bass Road, Rocky Hock.
“An autopsy of Parker’s
body did not reveal how she
died,” said Perquimans Coun
ty Sheriff Eric Tilley. “The
State Bureau of Investigation
is investigating her death.1'
A man working at the edge
of the Perquimans River dis
covered the decomposed body
on July 24. According to the
State Medical Examiner’s Of
fice Parker’s body could have
been in the water for up to two
weeks.
When she was found Parker
was wearing cut-off blue jeans
over a bathing suit and a white
tee-shirt with the words “God
Bless America” and a picture
of an American Flag printed
on it.
According to Sheriff Tilley,
Parker has a boyfriend who
lives in the Hertford area. The
man told investigators that he
hadn’t seen her in two weeks
and did not report her as miss
ing to the authorities.
Chowan County Sheriff ‘s
Office is helping with the case.
“We are assisting Perqui
mans County as needed,”
Chowan County Sheriff Fred
Spruill stated.
r... ..
Anyone with information on
what may have happened is
asked to call Perquimans
County Sheriff’s Office at 426
5615.
Make A Wish seeks
local volunteers
The Make -A-Wish Founda
tion of Eastern North Caro
lina is actively recruiting vol
unteers in the Chowan
County area. The Foundation
exists to grant the wishes of
children with life threatening
medical conditions that reside
in the forty-nine counties
east of Wake County to the
Outer Banks.
“Since being founded in
1986 we have had about
twenty children from Cho
See WISH On Page 3-A
YOUTH FALL SPORTS REGISTRATION
AUGUST 4th - 8th from 8 AM - 6 PM
IJjliiT:
EDENTON-CHOWAN RECREATION
CHEERLEADING FOOTBALL SOCCER
(ages 6-12) (ages 6-8 flag, ages 8-12 w/weight limit) (ages 5-15)
COST $10.00
($15 after Augs 8)
Call 482-8595 or 221-4901
for more information