Final Decision Made on OLF
BY ANGELA PEREZ
Staff Writer
Washington County offi
cials confirmed late Tuesday
that the Navy plans to an
nounce the location of the con
troversial proposed OLF site
will be Washington County Ac
cording to Plymouth Town
Councilwoman Mary Ann
Byers, the Mayor’s office was
notified of the decision by
Congressman Frank Ballance.
In response to the Navy’s
expected decision, which at
presstime was scheduled to be
made public Wednesday, Con
gressman Ballance issued the
following statement Tuesday
afternoon. fight to maintain the integrity
“I am deeply, disappointed of their community and I will
that the admirable el
fort of so many Wash
ington and Beaufort
County residents in
stating their concrete
objections to and mak
ing their dedicated case
against an OLF in their
community were un
successful.”
He went on to say, “I
applaud Mayor Brian
Roth of Plymouth
contmue to sup
port them in ev
ery way pos
sible as this de
cision goes for
ward.”
E d e n t o n
Town Manager
Anne-Marie
Knighton ex
pressed her
feelings about
the Navy’s de
and Bunny Saunders
of Roper and other
elected officials as well as the
hundreds of families who
joined together in a strong
cision. “I am
heartbroken,”
said Knighton. “I really
thought that the Secretary
would do the right thing and
REP. FRANK BALLANCE
choose Craven County. And I
am heartbroken for our
friends and neighbors in
Washington County. In terms
of Chowan County now that
the final decision has been
made, I am relieved that
Perquimans and Bertie coun
ties are completely off the
table.”
Chowan County Manager
Cliff Copeland responded to
the decision by saying, “We
are certainly disappointed
that one of our neighboring
counties has received this
news. However, we are also
quite relieved that the OLF is
not going to Perquimans or
Bertie counties.”
Attempts to contact the
Navy for confirmation by
presstime Tuesday were un
successful.
— ■7
Proposed site of the OLF in Washington County
Two charged with business & school break-ins
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
Staff Writer
Sound Feet Shoes and John A.
Holmes High School were both robbed
when culprits chose the working
man’s holiday to help themselves to
other’s property
On Sept. 1 (Labor Day) at approxi
mately 2:12 a.m. Officer Rhonda
Copeland and another officer re
sponded to an alarm activation from
Sound Feet Shoes on South Broad
Street. On arrival the officers found
that a brick had been thrown through
the glass window. Merchandise found
outside of the building alerted police
to the fact that a break-in had oc
curred.
After notifying the manager, the in
vestigating officers were able to estab
lish that twenty hats valued at $500
had been stolen from the store. After
further investigation and due to infor
mation received from a confidential
Chowan County residents Lamar Ferebee and Tion Johnson have
been charged with felonious breaking & entering and larceny. The
suspects threw a brick through the store window and stole $500.00
worth of merchandise. (Staff photo by Tamika Spruill)
witness who had seen the suspects in
the area at the time of the break-in
police were later able to arrest two
suspects.
According to Edenton Police Chief
Greg Bonner, Lamar Ferebee of 1352
N. Broad Street and Tion Johnson of
118 Cox Avenue were both arrested
and charged with felonious breaking
& entering and larceny. Ferebee is
being held on $4,000.00 secured bond
and Johnson on $3,000.00 unsecured
bond.
Police were able to recover all of the
hats stolen from Sound Feet Shoes
and were able to determine that
Ferebee played a key role in the un
solved Sound Feet Shoes robbery on
August 3 of this year. Ferebee gave
police vital information concerning
his involvement in that break-in. He
was later charged with two additional
counts of breaking & entering.
As a result of information received
from the Sound Feet Shoes break-in,
officers investigated John A. Holmes
High School and discovered it too had
been broken into on the night of Sep
tember 1. Police received information
about two black males seen leaving
the school campus with book bags.
Officers found that forced entry had
taken place and burglars had broken
into the principal’s office. A number
of items were stolen including a CD
player, a video camera and three ra
diophones with chargers.
Through further investigation, Sgt.
Copeland obtained another arrest
warrant for Ferebee for breaking &
entering and larceny of John A.
Holmes High School. The warrant
was served on Ferebee Sept. 8.
Ferebee was placed under an addi
tional $5,000 secured bond. Police
were able to identify the other suspect
involved but are withholding his
name pending further investigation.
Some of the stolen merchandise was
retrieved.
Teacher assistants are certified
under No Child Left Behind Act
Edenton Chowan Board of
Education recognized nine
teacher assistants at the Sep
tember board meeting for be
ing the first recipients of De
partment of Labor certifica
tion.
Each teacher assistant com
pleted a minimum of six
courses to receive the certifica
tion that satisfies the new re
quirements for teacher assis
tants under the No Child Left
Behind Act. Chowan County
Schools Superintendent, Dr.
Allan Smith expressed pride at
the dedication of the staff.
“We knew these women were
strong assets to the system
even before the new require
ments came out,” Smith stated.
“When they were called upon
to meet the new standards they
See CERTIFIED On Page 3-A
Edenton-Chowan Schools' first group of teacher assistants to receive certification un
der the new No Child Left Behind Act were honored at the September Board of Education
meeting. Shown, from left. Superintendent Allan T. Smith, Patrice Bell, Deborah Brothers,
Sharon Bunch, Rosa Carter, Annette Jordan and Board Chairman Gene Jordan. Not shown,
but also receiving certification, are Mary Williams, Genny Wells, Michelle Copeland, and
Linda Flemming. (Photo by Glenda Jakubowski, Edenton-Chowan Schools)
Commissioners
hire consultant
f* : BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
; . : Staff Writer
; The County Commissioners
had a full agenda for their
monthly September meeting
that included recognition of a
countywide communication
problem.
According to County Man
ager Cliff Copeland, the county
has received several complaints
about communication between
t: the Sheriff’s Office, Fire De
partment and 911 Communica
tlons Center.
“We have significant prob
41
lems with in-county communi
cations,” Copland stated. “To
solve the problem we will retain
a consultant to come in and help
us develop a communication plan
to address the county’s commu
nication problems.”
Another issue Copeland had
dressed in the manager’s report
was the deterioration of the
downstairs plaster in the Old
Courthouse. The plaster which
has gotten worse than origi
nally thought, will require an ad
ditional $200,000. Money that the
See HIRE On Page 3-A
/
Man, that’s some good eating
The American Legion's Shrimp Fest '03 was a huge suc
cess. Captain Bob's provided all the yummy steamed
shrimp, coleslaw, hot and crispy hush puppies and baked
beans you could eat. Great music and unlimited food and
drinks at the self-serve buffet pleased the crowd in atten
dance. Everyone left the fairgrounds full and happy.
Steamed shrimp lovers ate to their hearts content and then
took 10-15 minute breaks to prepare for the next round
of good eating. (Bud Weagly photo)
5K Peanut Run
part of Festival
The Edenton/Chowan Rec
reation Department, along
with its generous sponsors, is
proud to announce the inau
gural Edenton Run for Pea
nuts.
This 5 km road race and 1
mile fun run will be held on
Oct. 4, starting at the Court
house Green and winding
through Hayes Plantation
and Historic Downtown
Edenton.
The course is flat and very
fast, appealing to racers from
throughout the region. Regis
tration is from 7:15 am until
7:45, with the race starting at
8 am. Awards will be given to
the top 3 male and female fin
ishers, as well as the top 3 fin
ishers in each age group in
the 5 km race.
Early registration (prior to
See FESTIVAL On Page 3-A
Porter pleads guilty
to murder charge
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
Staff Writer
Jermaine Porter pled guilty
to second degree murder in a
plea arrangement for his role
in the death of Albert Young
during the murder trial in
Chowan County Superior
Court. Porter was facing a
first-degree murder charge
and accepted the plea arrange
ment when it was determined
that Young’s murder was pre
meditated and deliberate. Por
ter had a previous confronta
tion with Young in early 2002,'
when Porter was caught at
Young’s apartment that Young
shared with his live-in girl
friend, Margaret Jackson of
Hertford. Young attacked and
stabbed Porter and Jackson
with a screwdriver several
times.
Young was shot on October
18,2002 when he was called to
a vehicle driven by Porter near
the corner of Oakum and
Albemarle Street. Young later
died as a result of internal
blood loss from a gunshot
wound to the chest. Porter left
the scene in a burgundy Mer
See MURDER On Page 3-A
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