Snowfall blankets entire community
More snow could come
as early as late tonight
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer ■
Nearly four inches of snow
fell on Friday, causing schools
to close and ushering in frigid
temperatures.
The snow began in earnest
early Friday morning and con
tinued to fall until about 4 p.m.
Chowan County schools were
closed all day. Schools superin
tendent Dr. Allan Smith said
he will discuss a makeup day
with principals this week.
“The specific date has not
been identified yet,” Smith
said Friday.
All parents will be notified
of the makeup date once it has
been said, he added.
Locally, roads did not ice
over during the daylight hours
as temperatures hovered just
above freezing.
A spokesperson with the
N.C. Highway Patrol said Mon
day that two wrecks were re
ported Friday in Chowan
County Neither wreck was se
rious, the spokesperson said.
“There was nothing major
at all anywhere,” the spokes
person said regarding traffic
accidents in the area on Friday.
A spokesperson with the
Chowan County Sheriff’s De
partment said one wreck Fri
day involved a vehicle that
“rolled over” into a ditch on
Rocky Hock Road. There were
no serious injuries reported
from that wreck.
Edenton Town Manager
Anne-Marie Knighton said the
town’s power system — which
suffered extensive damage
during a September hurricane
— withstood the wintry
weather.
“I think the accumulation
was not enough to cause us any
concern,” Knighton said Mon
day. “We did OK.”
Knighton said crews are
still trimming damaged limbs,
but that none of the remaining
hanging limbs fell onto power
lines during the snowfall. She
also said temperatures, which
remained just above freezing
until late Friday, helped keep
ice off of lines and transform-,
ers.
The National Weather Ser
vice forecast for Wednesday
through Sunday calls for a 30
percent chance of rain mixed
with snow here after midnight
tonight (Wednesday).
The first snowfall of the season left Edenton and Chowan County looking lilce a wintry wonderland Friday. And while
the snow was too wet to allow for building a really first-rate snowman, it did give the community a lovely, clean look.
And best of all, roads did not ice over during the day as temperatures hovered above the freezing mark. More snow
could fall over the area tonight, according to the National Weather Service (Staff photo by Bud Weagly)
Proposed development draws praise
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
A proposed development
along the Albemarle Sound
south of Edenton could bring
more than 1,000 new homes to
Chowan County over the next
decade.
If approved, the Sandy
Point community would in
clude single-family homes,
public beaches, boat slips,
tree-lined sidewalks, upscale
bistros, and produce gardens.
Sam Young, president of The
Fund for Sandy Point North
Carolina, LLC, told the
county planning board and 16
citizens and county officials
of his organization’s plans
Monday night.
“If I can (sell) 1,000 units
in 10 years,” Young said dur
ing the 90-minute public
meeting, “this will be a suc
cessful development.”
The 927-acre development
is planned to straddle the
Albemarle Sound Bridge and
N.C. Highway 32. Duany
__
Sam Young, standing, points to a map of the proposed
Sandy Point community development project during a pub
lic meeting Monday night. The 927-acre development could
create more than 1,000 new homes in southern Chowan
County over the next 10 to 20 years, Young told the county
planning board. (Staff photo by Sean Jackson)
Plater-Zyberk & Company — a
Miami land-planning firm
known for its fight against “ur
ban sprawl” — is the principal
developer for the project.
Young said plans will con
tinue to be tweaked. Develop
ers have yet to request “major
CAMA permits” for the
project, Young said. In addi
tion, planners will discuss the
state’s 30-foot waterfront set
back requirements with the
Coastal Resources Commis
sion, he added. Having to abide
by the requirement would re
sult in Sandy Point looking
like “any other development,”
Young said.
“We want to avoid that,” he
added.
While the developers stand
to make money, county and
town could also reap benefits
from the proposed community
of several thousand new resi
dents. In addition to expanding
the county’s property-tax base,
Sandy Point could pay for pub
lic services.
The development will use
county water but will also cre
ate its own sewer system.
Young said Sandy Point will
likely purchase electricity
from, either the Town of
Edenton or Albemarle Elec
tric, a publicly-owned coopera
tive.
Young said initial construc
tion (building roads and dig
ging harbors) wouldn’t begin
until at least the spring of 2005.
Construction won’t disturb
the site’s 300 acres of wet
lands.
“We made a conscious ef
fort,” he said, “to design the
land-plan around the wet
lands.”
The development will be
completed in phases and take
as long as 15 to 20 years to
complete. Once completed, it
could become Chowan’s sec
ond municipality, Young said.
“I believe in 20 years
(Sandy Point) may incorpo
rate as another town in
Chowan County,” he said.
The development will be
split into halves, a west and
east side. The west side will
be more “urban,” Young said,
with about 1,000 homes, a
pair of man-made harbors, a
business district with a
“main street” approach, and
public beaches. The east side
will contain about 350 homes
— larger than those on the
west side — and be more ru
See DRAWS On Page 3-A
Bowles visits Edenton
In a visit to Acoustic Coffee in downtown Edenton Mon
day evening. Democratic Senate hopeful Erskine Bowles
talked about his commitment to improving highway con
ditions in northeastern North Carolina, his opposition to
the proposed OLF in Washington County, and other issues.
Bowles hopes to replace U.S. Sen. John Edwards. Earlier in
the day, he visited other Albemarle area counties. (Staff
photo by Angela Perez)
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Commissioners approve
'storm-proofing' system
BY ANGELA PEREZ
Staff Writer
Monday morning Chowan
County Commissioners ap
proved the establishment of a
Capital Reserve Fund to storm
proof the county water sys
tem. The fund is part of an ag
gressive program to ensure the
sustainability of the county’s
water system during any type
of emergency, including that
of a hurricane.
The need for upgrading and
improving the current system
became painfully apparent
during the 4-day gap between
the time the county ran out of
water and the state’s response
to remedying the problem after
See SYSTEM On Page 3-A
wasufe -m* tana mumiMh
Herbert Ray Byrum, of Byrum Brothers Fishery, along with
his brother Bobby (not pictured) leads a group of Chowan
County officials to Holladay's Island to plant the county
flag on the newly acquired tract of land. Commissoners
visited the site on Monday. (Staff photo by Angela Perez)
Main St.
interviews
on Jan. 21
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
With Edenton now a full
fledged member of the state’s
Main Street revitalization pro
gram, plans are to install a new
local director of the program
— ASAP.
Former Edenton Main
Street director Belinda Wash
lesky stepped down last sum
mer. The deadline for applica
tions expired Jan. 9.
Richard Bunch, executive
director of the Edenton
Chowan Chamber of Com
merce, said a selection com
mittee will whittle that list
down to six applicants. Inter
views are expected to be held
Jan. 21.
“They’ve got some really
good candidates,” he added.
Bunch said the new Main
Street director will become a
part of the Chamber’s staff,
joining him, Membership Di
rector Brenda Spruill and
Tourism Director Nancy Ni
cholls. He said the Main Street
director will continue to work
from the Chamber offices on
East King Street.
“It gives us the chance to
share resources in the build
ing,” he said.
INSIDE THIS WEEK
OLF protest
undeterred
hv Frifiav’e
snow.,
Local teen excels
on playing field,
in community_5-C
CMS students
know the power
of words............... 7-C
Shedding pounds
In weight room.... 1-B