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Wednesday, October 1, 2003
People
Airport
hard hit
BY MARGE SOPER
Contributing Writer
The devastation and de
struction from Isabel has been
felt by everybody in one way or
another. Homes and busi
nesses have suffered and life
has changed as we knew it but
the true grit of. Edentonians
will see them through the com
ing days.
Northeast Regional Airport,
once a Marine Corps and Navy
Airbase, was also the recipient
of Isabel’s fury. Housed at the
airport is the DOT (Depart
ment of Transportation). This
department had the roof
blown off the east wing. A com
puter training room, directly
under the missing roof, hous
ing 12 computers was dren
ched in water. Even the veneer
on the conference room tables
was lifted and buckled.
Many offices sustained roof,
ceiling and water damage.
Work has been going on since
the storm to get the offices and
workers back to work. New
computers have been brought
in and the cost of replacement
of computers is somewhere
around $12,000. Vehicles be
. See AIRPORT On Page 3-A
Single
'fatality
reported
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
Staff Writer
wnue nurricane isaoei aev
astated many local businesses
and homes it unfortunately
also claimed the life of one
Chowan County resident.
Angelique Lorraine Jones, 25
of the 300 block of Coral Lane
died Thursday evening, when
a tree crashed onto her vehicle
during the hurricane.
“The Sheriff’s Office re
ceived a call Thursday after
noon about a tree falling on a
car,” states Chowan County
Sheriff Spruill. “Unfortu
nately we couldn’t get to her
immediately because of the
storm’s intensity.”
The Sheriff and his crew
that consisted of deputies and
inmates were able to respond
to the call later that evening
after the storm calmed. It took
nearly three hours to cut
through the trees that were
blocking the road before the
crew was able to reach Jones’
vehicle. It was 5 a.m. before the
sheriff’s crew and rescue
workers were finished.
“It was a job well done,” says
Spruill. “Ourone regret is that
we were unable to get to her
sooner. Our hearts certainly go
out to her family”
Despite the tragedy, there
was tremendous teamwork on
the part of the deputies and
inmates. “The inmates did not
hesitate to come out and help
;us,” says Spruill. “People
would be surprised at how well
those inmates worked with us
to open the roads. Hats off to
all that were involved.”
Her son William Sebastian
Button and her two sisters
Retha Fooks and Devin
Mumper survived Jones. A
Celebration of Anqelique’s life
.was held 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26
jit Evans Funerals & Crema
tions.
•! Jones was a member of St
'Anne Catholic Church.
. *
digging out as memories of Izzy fade
Repairing damaged roofs and water leaks are high priority jobs in Chowan County these days. Filled with "can do"
spirit, local residents are taking the situation in stride and making strong progress toward cleaning up the debris left
behind by Hurricane Isabel. Electricity, phone service and safe drinking water have now been restored to most local
homes. (Staff photo by David Crawley)
Hefty price
tag coming
BY SEAN JACKSON
Contributing Writer
Chowan County and Eden
ton officials feel a $195 million
estimate will likely be close to
the final price tag for damage
caused by Hurricane Isabel.
County Tax Supervisor
Lynda Hendricks presented
that figure to the Edenton
Chowan disaster recovery
group Monday morning. The
total includes damages to all
structures in the town and
county, from homes struck by
toppled trees to the flooded po
lice station on Broad Street.
“That’s pretty close to 100
percent,” County Manager
Cliff Copeland said of the on
going assessment process.
Still, officials have shared
good news during their daily
morning meetings. Power has
been restored from Arrowhead
Beach to Cape Colony. Water
no longer has to be boiled.
Phones are ringing again.
Emergency food sites run by
the Red Cross handed out their
last meals Sunday night.
School began again on Tues
day.
County Department of So
See PRICE On Page 6-A
Historic sites are
' )•
i rom statt Reports
Its Colonial roots sunk
deep into the heart of state
and national history,
Edenton’s famed Historic Dis
trict survived Hurricane
Isabel, but not without a few
bumps and bruises.
Linda Eure, site manager
for the Historic Edenton Visi
tor Center, has surveyed some
of the sites along the Historic
District’s walking tour.
’‘Overall,” Eure said, “His
toric Edenton has much to be
thankful for. Other than the
Barker House, we will soon be
able to resume regular opera
tions.”
Located at the foot of South
Broad Street, the Barker
House was “hardest hit,”
Eure said. Floodwaters were
waist-high. Damage includes
loss of the northeast chimney
The Barker House suffered the most serious damage of
any historic site in Edenton. (Staff photo by Bud Weagly)
top, a hole in the southeast
corner of the building
(caused by flood debris), loss
of waterfront-side door pan
els (due to the pressure from
floodwater), loss of HVAC
See SITES On Page 8-A
Northeast Partnership
relocating to Martin Co.
jmsL
mmam
A worker removes boxes from the Northeast Partnership
offices in Edenton to a waiting truck for the move to tem
porary quarters in Williamston. (Tamika Spruill photo)
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Managing Editor and
SEAN JACKSON
Contributing Writer
When Hurricane Isabel
roared across the downtown
Edenton waterfront; a number
of homes and business sus
tained flood damage. Among
them was the Northeast Part
nership. In the days that fol
lowed, the Partnership began
the task of packing up and re
locating to temporary new
quarters in Williamston.
Partnership spokeswoman
Cathy Scott said Monday that
the Town of Edenton, which
owns the building, is currently
removing sheetrock wall cov
erings. (
“Most of the furniture was
damaged,” she added, “and a
lot of the files are illegible.”
She said the town is still as
See MOVING On Page 8-A
State Senator Marc Basnight listens as Chowan County
Manager Cliff Copeland talks with him about the damage
to our community caused by the hurricane. (Staff photo by
Bud Weagly)
Basnight stunned
by devastation
BY ANGELA PEREZ
Staff Wrier
North Carolina State Sena
tor and President Pro Tem
Marc Basnight visited Eden
ton late last Friday afternoon
to survey Chowan County’s
damage caused by Hurricane
Isabel. -
Arriving at the Edenton Air
port via military helicopter
with a film crew, photogra
phers, and writers for Public
Broadcasting Station (PBS),
Basnight was greeted by
Chowan County Manger Cliff
Copeland, Edenton’s Town
Manager Anne-Marie Knigh
ton, Sheriff Fred Spruill, and
Albemarle Regional Health
Services Executive Director
Jerry Parks.
Basnight came to Edenton
after visiting Hatteras Village
in Dare County, Colerain in
Bertie County, and Englehard
in Hyde County where the de
struction caused by Isabel was
equally devastating. “I am con
cerned,” says Basnight, “by
this destruction. It is much
more than I ever anticipated.
1 hope that with these visits, we
can bring national media at
tention to this area so that the
public and the people of this
nwiminwwji ^ qnftfflnti i mrii ,imw wmna Tiumfitm inwnmr jinn
state can know just how much
damage there is here.” To
show the public just how much
damage was caused by the
storm, producers at PBS are
planning to put together a 30
minute documentary showing
post-storm footing from the
region.
On his flight to Chowan
County, Basnight saw first
hand the dead fish in the riv
See STUNNED On Page 8-A
INSIDE THIS WEEK
DSntaaiiA«
■ WW Ml
ter
storm,
taenion t-isn
Hatchery weathers the
storm———._13-B
Tyner teen goes to Ro
mania on a mis
sion-...__4-B
Chowan fish kills dis
covered-.-— 13-B