New polling places for East/ West Edenton voters
East Edenton voters will now cast their ballots at the old D.F. Walker School (see photos
above) at the, Edenton High/D.F. Walker Alumni Building, 824 North Oakum Street, Edenton.
(Staff photos by Bud Weagly)
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Managing Editor
Chowan County voters who
cast their ballots in East or
West Edenton are being as
signed new polling places. Ac
cording to Chowan Board of
Elections Director Rebecca
Lowe, voters in those areas
will soon receive official noti
fication of the changes.
Effective immediately, the
East Edenton polling place has
been changed to the Edenton
High/D.F. Walker Alumni
Building at the old D.F. Walker
School, 824 North Oakum
Street in Edenton.
West Edenton voters will be
casting their ballots at the
Chowan County Agriculture
Center Building at 730 North
Granville Street, across from
the Chowan Medical Center.
Lowe said the action was
taken for several different rea
sons. “We changed these loca
tions in an effort to better
serve the voters of Chowan
County,” she said. “Accessibil
ity for the handicapped was an
issue at our old East Edenton
location, while the West
Edenton site was not climate
controlled. Those things will
not be an issue at our new
sites.”
Other precinct locations for
Chowan County voters will re
main unchanged. They are:
Rocky Hock - Rocky Hock Res
cue Squad Bldg; Center Hill -
Northern Chowan Commu
nity Center, Tyner; Wardville -
Gliden Rescue Squad Bldg.,
Hobbsville; and Yeopim - Air-,
port Terminal Bldg., Edenton.
West Edenton residents will now vote at the Chowan
Agriculture Center on North Granville Street, across from
the Chowan Medical Center. (Staff photo by Bud Weagly)
Murder
trial starts
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
Staff Writer
A jury was selected for the
trial of Hertford resident,
Jermaine Porter during Su
perior Court on Tuesday;
September 2. .
Porter was charged on Oc
tober 18, 2002 with first- de
gree murder in the death of
Albert D, Young, who was
See MURDER Page 3-A
School year gets off to an interesting start in '03
Walker celebrates being
‘School of Distinction’
D.E Walker students—all 560
of them — recently, celebrated
the school’s recognition as a
School of Distinction under the
state’s ABCs accountability sys
tem.
Schools of Distinction earn
the honor for having at least 80
percent of their student scores
at or above proficiency on state
end-of-grade tests given to third
and fifth-graders, as well as
meeting growth standards in
students scores.
Student representatives from
each class decided how the stu
dents would celebrate their suc
cess — and they were very spe
cific.
“The students decided they
wanted a day without home
work, for (teacher assistant)
Sue Brothers to write and lead
cheers for th schools, and
schoolwide extra playground
time,” said Walker principal
Sheila Evans.
“They did such a good job all
year, not just on the end-of
grade tests,” Evans said. “I
couldn’t be prouder of them.”
To earn recognition as a School
of Excellence, a school must have
90 percent of student scores at or
above grade levels, as well as meet
its growth targets. The Walker
staff and students are up to the
task, judging by the cheers echo
ing off the school walls.
“We will be a School of Excel
lence,” Evans said, “because you
are excellent students.”
\
Walker staff and students celebrate their success
SAT scores for Edenton
Chowan Schools are out
The College Board released
the Scholastic Aptitude Test
scores for 2003 on Tuesday,
Aug. 26.
College-bound seniors tak
ing the test last year at John A.
Holmes High School received
an average combined verbal
and math score of 976. The top
10 percent of Holmes students
taking the test averaged a com
bined score of 1281. The aver
age combined scores for the
state was 1001, and for the na
tion was 1026.
“We continue to be pleased
with the number of our stu
dents taking the SATs,” said
Edenton-Chowan Schools Su
perintendent Allan Smith.
“Well over half our seniors
took the test last year. This is
an indicator of the number of
our students who intend to fur
ther their education after they
leave the Holmes family. We
know they’ll make us proud.”
Holmes principal John Will
iams echoed the superinten
dent’s pride in the entire scope
of student achievement at the
school. “I’m so proud of our
seniors,” Williams said.
“You’ll see that more of our
kids are taking the exam than
ever before.”
Williams also singled out for
special thanks Karen Molloy,
Holmes’ career counselor, who
teaches an SAT preparation
See SAT On Page 3-A
Missing man sought by authorities
BY RBECCA BUNCH
Managing Editor
The Chowan County Sher
iff’s Office is seeking help from
area residents in locating a lo
cal man who has been reported
missing.
Haywood Lee Johnson, a 49
year-old black male, was re
ported missing June 16 by his
mother, Lois Johnson. Subse
quent efforts by local law en
forcement authorities to locate
Johnson are continuing.
According to Chowan Coun
ty Sheriff Fred Spruill, John
son said the last time she had
heard from her son was June 5
when he called her from his
brother’s house.
Spruill said that officers in
vestigating the case also spoke
with Haywood Johnson’s sis
ter-in-law, who told them she
last saw him on the day he
made the call to his mother.
“Upon checking 2111 John
Hill Lane and talking with a
neighbor,” Spruill said, “our
investigators were told that
she had let him stay in a house
behind hers because he had no
place to stay and that the last
time she had seen him was
June 12.”
Spruill said that Johnson
was then listed with the Na
tional Crimes Information
Center as a missing person “in
case he was located in another
jurisdiction.”
There had been some initial
reports made of Johnson be
ing spotted in the vicinity of
Elizabeth City, but according
to the Chowan County She
riff’s Office, those reports are
now believed to be incorrect.
Anyone with information on
Johnson’s whereabouts is
asked to call (252) 482-8484.
Special feature
in today's paper
In recognition of National Literacy Month, The Chowan Her
ald has a number of special features today First of all, NIE
students begin receiving their newspapers today, and so Donna
Koppelman’s column offers a special scavenger hunt for them.
A “Making the Grade” supplement offers suggestions for read
ing success for both parents and students.
The Student Herald makes its debut for the 2003-2004 school
year, and it will showcase student worts weekly. ‘ V:.j
Additionally, our local education leaders offer a few thoughts
about the 2003-2004 school year. Enjoy!
Injuries sustained
in accident
An Edenton man was hos
pitalized with unspecified in
juries following a two-vehicle
accident on U.S. Highway 17
in Perquimans County Tues
day.
Danil Francis, 31, of 101
Tiptoe Road, was injured af
ter his sports utility vehicle
collided with a tractor-trailer
near U.S. 17’s intersection
with N.C. Highway 37 about
5:20 p.m., Trooper K.R. Briggs
said.
Details about how the acci
dent occurred are still under
investigation, Briggs said.
Both Francis and the trac
tor-trailer’s driver, 68-year-old
Tom Sawyer of 1270 N.C.
Highway 343 North, Camden,
were traveling north on the
four-lane road when one ve
hicle apparently sideswiped
the other, Briggs said. The
trooper wasn’t able to say at
press time Wednesday which
driver hit the other.
See INJURIES On Page 3-A
Prank results in lockdown
BY RYAN BURR
Cox NC Publications
John A. Holmes High School
went into lockdown Friday
when a student called from in
side the school saying that an
armed person was on campus,
police spid.
Edenton Police Department
and the Chowan County
Sheriff’s Office responded to
the school and determined the
claim to be false after an inves
tigation, according to Sheriff
Fred Spruill. She was appre
hended and a juvenile petition
will be issued.
Since the student is only 15,
her identity could not be re
leased. Spruill said she was
turned over to her parents af
ter questioning.
Spruill said that no weapon
was found on the suspect, and
that no one else was involved
in the prank phone call. No in
juries were reported.
The student made the call
from a pay phone located in the
school cafeteria, Spruill said.
The incident happened
around 3 p.m. as students were
being dismissed for the day,
said Glenda Jaku-bowski, pub
lic relations director for the
Edenton-Chowan Schools.
“We pulled all the kids back
into classrooms, she said.
The lockdown was lifted at
about 3:10 p.m.
“Law enforcement was there
literally within a minute,”
Jakubowski said.
Edenton-Chowan Schools
Supt. Allan Smith said, “We
had procedures in place, we
followed them, and they
worked. Having said that, we
will study this situation and
learn from it so that we can be
even better prepared in the fu
ture.”
Smith sent a letter home
with students Friday explain
ing the situation to parents.
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Newspapers
in Education
program
begins going
into schools.
■ l-D
Acos continue
winning
StrOSlkaanaaaaaaan
1-C
Chowan County
principals greet
the public_6-D