Homeowners may get help to raise their houses
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Homeowners in Edenton
and Chowan County who want
to elevate their hurricane
damaged homes may be get
ting a little financial help from
state and federal governments
to do so.
Elizabeth Bryant, planning
director for Edenton and
Chowan County, told the Town
Council Nov. 24 that two types
of grants are available
through the Federal Emer
gency Management Agency.
“There have already been a
couple of places that quali
fied,” Bryant told town offi
rials.
FEMA fully-funds the In
creased Cost of Compliance
coverage (up to $30,000). FEMA
funds 75 percent of the Hazard
Mitigation Grant Program,
with the state paying the re
maining portion of those
grants.
Since the town participates
in the National Flood Insur
ance Program, owners of
homes damaged by flooding
from Hurricane Isabel can
qualify for Increased Cost of
Compliance insurance cover
age. ICC coverage is only avail
able to a homeowner who had
flood insurance, whose house
is located in the town-pre
scribed flood plain, and whose
house sustained damages val
ued at 50 percent or more of its
market value.
Bryant said many of the
flood-ravaged homes on Queen
Anne Circle and Blount and
Water streets had such a high
market value that their dam
ages did not exceed the 50-per
cent threshold. Pembroke
Circle has the highest number
of homes that could be eligible,
she added.
Edenton-Chowan building
inspectors use a FEMA-speci
fied formula to determine the
amount of flood damage to
houses entered into the grant
application process, Bryant
said. From there, all determi
nations regarding distribution
and approval will be made by
FEMA, she said.
ICC funding requires a
house to be raised to a 10-foot
base height. For example, a
house already four feet above
that height would need to be
elevated an additional six feet,
Bryant said. The town has al
ready been requiring newly
constructed homes to be at the
10-feet level.
“It’s been in effect since
1985,” Bryant said of the eleva
tion requirement, which is
part of the town’s flood ordi
nance.
The grants won’t pay for
any needed repairs to homes.
All repairs to flood-damaged
homes must be completed
prior to elevating them, Bryant
said.
Not all homeowners may
choose to return their houses
into compliance with town and
county building codes, Bryant
said. Such cases can apply to
the HMGP’s acquisition pro
gram. Once a property is ac
quired it becomes public land,
Bryant said.
Local homeowners have
shown more interest in pre
serving their property rather
than selling it to the govern
ment, Bryant added.
“It’s hard for them to give up
that spot,” on the waterfront,
she said.
During the Nov. 24 meet
ing, Councilman Sambo Dix
on asked Bryant if any pub
lic buildings could apply for
either of the grants. He said
there has been interest in
possibly raising the Barker
House.
“Public projects will take
a back-burner,” to residential
projects, Bryant said.
The Planning Department
has set an unofficial Dec. 19
deadline for applications.
For more information, call
482-5618 or visit the Planning
Department at 108 E. King
St., Edenton.
Wassail, Groaning Board part
of Christmas Candlelight Tour
BY MARGE SOPER
Contributing Writer
The holiday season is here
and along with the excite
ment is the eternal love of
“tradition” for many Ed
entonians. This love of tradi
tion is borne out by a Wassail
Bowl and a Groaning Board
shared with the locals and
visitors during the annual
Christmas Candlelight Tour.
This year’s tour will be held
Friday, Dec. 12 and Saturday,
Dec. 13.’
A Wassail Bowl according
to Webster’s Dictionary is
“an early English toast to
someone’s health; a liquor
formerly drunk in England
on festive occasions (as at
Christmas) and made of ale
or wine with spice...”. The
tradition is carried on by the
Cupola House whose volun
teers and board members,
true to the old English cus
tom, warm the hearts and
tummies of all who visit
them during the holiday sea
son.
Not only are visitors
treated to the Wassail Bowl
but to the delicious home
A number of special events are planned in Edenton this weekend in conjunction with
the Christmas Candlelight Tour, set for this Friday and Saturday. Tour hours are 4-8 p.m.
each day. Companion events include the Wassail Bowl and Groaning Board, which will
take place from 1-5 p.m. both days of the tour. There will be Caroling on the Courthouse
Green Friday evening at 6 p.m. and the Chowan County Christmas Parade will be Satur
day morning at 11 a.m. (Chowan Herald file photo) >
made cookies made by the vol- cookie recipes are lovingly . them. The Wassail Bowl in
unteers and members of the shared and printed out for
board. Some of the delicious cookie lovers to take with See TOUR On Page 3-A
The Division of Coastal Management found major
changes and inconsistencies in the Navy's Final Environ*
mental Impact Statement. Of major significance, the DCM
found that the Navy proposed the introduction of "surge
operations" which means increased flight operations by
the F/A 18 Super Hornets (like the one pictured above),
causing noise and environmental impacts that will prove
to be much rqore severe than earlier believed.
DCM still waits
for Navy's reply
BY ANGELA PEREZ
Staff Writer
As of presstime Tuesday af
ternoon, the Office of Navy
Sefcretary Gordon England
still had no response on when
or how the Navy would re
spond to North Carolina’s re
quests for reviews of the Fined
Environmental Impact State
ment regarding the proposed
outlying landing field in Wash
ington County The Navy’s re
sponse will be crucial in how
Lowney excited about future plans for COA
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Since being named interim
director of College of The
Albemarle’s Chowan County
campus, Bob Lowney has seen
some things from a different
point of view than his prede
cessor.
For starters, Lowney’s not
in the same office that Lynn
Hurdle-Winslow occupied. In
fact, no one at the Chowan Cen
ter is where they used to be
before Hurricane Isabel.
They’ve all moved into new
digs at the old D.F. Walker El
ementary
School, shar
ing build
ings with the
local recre
ation depart
ment and
public
school staff
Lowney
ers.
“We’re do
ing great here,” Lowney, who
oversaw the campus’ culinary
technology program prior to
settling into his new role Nov.
1, said Monday.
Plans are to return students
and staff to the Edenton Vil
County farmers
still recovering
from hurricane
BY TAMIKA SPRUILL
Staff Writer
Although it was three
months ago many local farm
ers are still hurting from Hur
ricane Isabel’s aftermath.
Many area farmers have been
making their way to the Farm
Services Agency to apply for
Emergency Conservation Pro
gram(ECP)ftmdirig. ECP pro
vides emergency funding for
farmers and ranchers to repair
farmland damaged by wind
erosion, floods, hurricanes and
other natural disasters.
About 70 applications have
been received for the Emer
gency Conservation Program
See FARMERS On Page 3-A
lage Shopping Center location
by March or April.
"We don’t have a firm date
yet,” Lowney said.
In the meantime, adult stu
dents sit in front of computers
where youngsters once
learned their ABCs. Adminis
trators slog through tasks in
temporary quarters. But
Lowney is glad county officials
provided classrooms and office
space to allow the fall semes
ter to continue — with only a
10-day interruption in classes.
“Everybody helped a lot get
ting us moved here,” he said,
“and adjusted being in here.”
Most of the terminals in the
computer labs at the shopping
center site were moved before
the hurricane blew through
Edenton. That strategy spared
precious equipment from rain
damage after the building’s
roof caved in during the Sept.
18 storm. But a lot of furniture
and other classroom items
were destroyed.
“It was pretty grim,”
Lowney said of the damage at
the center.
But he’s looking forward to
the gro\ that was in store for
the campiis — which includes
both the Chowan Center site
and the old D.F. Walker school
— prior to the Isabel. Planned
program shifts from the main
COA campus in Elizabeth City
to Chowan include bringing
the electrician courses to D.E
Walker in January and locat
ing HVAC classes in Edenton
beginning in the fall semester
in 2004.
“Slowly but surely,” Lowney
said, “it looks like (the Chowan
campus) is becoming the cen
ter for the vocational stuff.”
The Walker-based culinary
program will also expand over
See PLANS On Page 3-A
An old-fashioned Christmas
Area residents had the chance Saturday to do some holiday shopping for the creative
soul on their gift-giving list at the Old-Fashioned Christmas Store held at the Ryland
Community Center in lyner. (Staff photo by Bud Weagly)
the fight against the site will
proceed.
On Friday, Nov. 21, Governor
Mike Easley’s office in alliance
with the N.C. Division of
Coastal Management (DCM),
in an 11th hour attempt, sent a
letter to England’s office that
reversed North Carolina’s ear
lier position that the proposed
OLF site was in compliance
with state coastal land use
plans. The Friday deadline for
See REPLY On Page 11-A
Caroling
on Green
is Friday
“Caroling on the Green”
will be held on Friday, Dec.
12, beginning at 6 p.m. on
the Old Chowan County
Courthouse Green during
the Christmas Candlelight
Tour.
The public is invited to
join local choirs in a sing
a-long of popular Christ
mas carols. For more info,
call 482-2637.
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Former Navy
Pilot still pas
sionate about
flying
HiiimHumHiiniiuHniHill^A
Aces bounce out 2-1
start...1-B
Local business part of
flight tribute. ,11-A
Christmas Tree Care
101
5-A