County making plans for road improvements
BY ANGELA PEREZ
Staff Writer
Preliminary plans for im
proving stretches of NC 32 and
US 17 in Chowan County are
in the early stages of develop
ment.
Money for these improve
ments has been granted
through the N.C. Department
of Transportation’s Moving
Ahead! Project. The project
was initiated in February of
last year by Gov. Mike Easley
to bring a new level of safety
and mobility to the state’s
transportation network by at
tacking the state’s most criti
cal needs-maintenance, mod
r
ernization and public trans
portation. Easley claims that
the initiative will result in
nearly 30,000 new jobs and
have a $4 billion impact on the
economy
The project will: (1) provide
$700 million for highway
maintenance, modernization
and public transportation
over the next two years, (2) in
crease the highway mainte
nance budget by 45 percent
over the next two years, (3)
jump start the highway mod
ernization program with a 25
percent increase and (4) in
crease public transportation
funding by about 25 percent
over the next two years.
For 2004, Chowan County
has been granted $400,000 to
widen and resurface the 3.2
miles of road from SR 1231 to
SR 1222 (Dillards Mill Road),
and $250,000 to widen and re
surface the 1.5 miles of road
on US 17 Business from SR
1132 to US 17 Bypass. For 2005,
Chowan County has been
granted $900,000 to widen and
resurface the 6.1 miles of road
on NC 32 between US 17 Busi
ness to NC 37, as well as
$4,500,000 to widen and resur
■ face the 10.4 miles of road on
NC 32 from SR 1224 to the
Gates County line.
“All North Carolina coun
ties were given an opportunity
for their input on the state’s
transportation plan,” said
Barry Hobbs of the Chowan
County DOT office. “We hope
that'this will be more than a
two year program.”
According to Hobbs, each
county was given a very short
period to develop improve
ment projects under the Mov
ing Ahead! initiative. Because
of this narrow time frame, the
initial projects tackled by
Chowan County’s DOT had to
be the simplest ones, those
that did not have right of way
or complicated environmental
issues.
Making improvements on
Hwy. 32’s stretch of road from
AN ICY MESS
For the second time this month, a wintry blast cancelled school and made local roads hazardous to navigate. Early
Sunday afternoon, snow began to fall throughout the area. Between two and four inches of snow and sleet fell
before the storm ended, the National Weather Service in Wakefield, VA reported Monday. By late afternoon Sun
day snow changed over to sleet before changing to freezing rain for the overnight hours. Cold drizzle continued
through Tuesday morning. Slush greeted those morning commuters willing to test road conditions Monday. Unlike
other areas of the North Carolina, there were no serious accidents or traffic-related fatalities reported in Chowan or
surrounding counties, according to 1st Sgt. J.S. Hardison of the NC Highway Patrol. Only one power outage was
reported locally; a transformer blew on Granville Street Sunday night. "(Town utility crews) went out and fixed that
in a real short time," said Town Manager Anne-Marie Knighton. Edenton-Chowan Schools were closed Monday, to
the delight of local youngsters (above) who took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a snowball fight. School
resumed Tuesday morning after a two-hour delay. (Staff photo by Sean Jackson)
Students
to shadow
workers
Remember the first time an
adult opened your eyes to a ca
reer that made you think,
“That’s what I want to do!”?
Now, you can provide the same
opportunity for a student in
your community.
On Monday, Feb. 2, employ
ers all over Chowan County
will be participating in the sev
enth annual National Ground
hog Job Shadow Day by bring
ing students into the work
place for a firsthand look at
how the skills they learn in
school are relevant to the real
world. Helping America’s
youth understand the value of
work, and what choices and
benefits it brings with it, is a
critical part of their learning
process.
It’s easy to get involved. If
you’d like to host a student in
your workplace on Monday,
Feb. 2, please call Julie Perry,
School Counselor, Chowan
Middle School, (252) 221-4131.
Give a job shadow a place in
the sun!
Kermit Layton, left, gestures for his wife Laney to join him at the podium as they are
introduced by John Dowd, right, as joint recipients of the Businessperson of the Year
award at the annual Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce dinner. (Staff photo by
Angela Perez)
Chamber honors local
businesses at gathering
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
A business couple was
tapped as the Business Persons
of the Year at the annual
Edenton-Chowan Chamber of
Commerce banquet on Jan. 22.
Kermit and Laney Layton
were presented the John A.
Mitchener Jr. award by John
Dowd. The Laytons own
Edenton Office Supply on
South Broad Street. The busi
ness was flooded by Hurricane
Isabel on Sept. 18, but was re
opened shortly thereafter.
In addition, Johnson Biggs,
an employee with the Town of
Edenton, was named Young
Business Person of the Year.
However, not all the winners
of the William P. “Spec” Jones
Volunteer of the Year Award
were on hand. Turns out that
all 14,000-plus citizens of
Chowan County were chosen
for that award, due to resi*
See LAYTONS On Page 3-A
SR1224 to the Gates County
line is one of the most vital
parts of the Moving Ahead!
Project, says Hobbs.
“We recognize that there is
narrow pavement on this
road. Improvements on this
road will require a lot of
planning,” he said. “We
didn’t concentrate on im
proving this area first be
cause of drainage issues.
Routine resurfacing would
not solve the problems on
this road.”
In the past, improvements
to this road have been im
practical due to drainage
costs.
“With this money,” said
Hobbs, “we can lengthen cul
verts and hopefully get 24
feet of pavement. Right now
it’s about 20 feet of pave
ment. At the outset it was
fine but now there is a lot of
truck traffic through there.
It really needs the most atten
tion.’’
The N.C. Department of
Transportation believes that
the new transportation im
provements will strengthen
the state’s economic competi
tiveness and attract new in
dustry. Locally, officials hope
that these improvements will
prove to be critical first-steps
towards long-term economic
solutions in this area.
Chief Bonner
recognized for
his dedication
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
While home from Okinawa
during leave from the Marines,
a 19-year-old Greg Bonner was
approached by police Chief
J.D. Parrish about joining his
force.
“He was very convincing,”
Bonner, now Edenton’s top cop,
6aid of Parrish’s pitch in 1972.
Bonner has been in uniform in
Edenton for 30 years and
counting. But it wasn’t a ca
reer he’d planned on pursuing.
“In fact,” Bonner said last
week, “police work was the last
thing on my mind.”
His thinking is different
now.
“I’ve found that this is my
calling,” Bonner, 50, said.
But it was a military life
that first interested Bonner. He
was in the U.S. Marine Corps
for about 18 months when
Parrish made his pitch. The
military allowed Bonner to
exit early and join the Edenton
Police Department.
He’s been there ever since.
“1 feel like I’ve been an as
set to the Town of Edenton, to
the citizens here,” he said.
Times have changed since
Bonner first walked the beat as
a rookie. Laptop cotnputers
have wedged their way into
Police Chief Greg Bonner
patrol cruisers. Radar guns are
high-tech now. Sobriety tests
don’t require hauling drunk
driving suspects into the sta
tion. The bad guys have more
guns.
Bonner recalls the days
when cops weren’t as scrupu-'
lous with rules and regula
tions as he says they are today.
It wasn’t that police disre
garded citizens’ rights, but
more emphasis is being placed
on such rights in modern po
licing, he said.
In addition, departments
now interact with citizens in
myriad ways, from chatting
with kids in classrooms to
speeches at Rotary meetings.
See CHIEF On Page 5-A
Council to pay for
Partnership repairs
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
The Edenton Town Council
moved ahead Monday night
with plans to refinance a new
and existing loan to pay for re
pairs to a town-owned building
damaged by Hurricane Isabel.
With an estimated $225,000
to the Water Street Building—
leased to the Northeast Part
nership prior to the Sept. 18
hurricane — Town Manager
Anne-Marie Knighton sought
to refinance an existing
$105,856 in debt from renova
tions to the building in the
mid-1990s. Knighton also
sought to borrow money to pay
for storm-related damage to
the building, once the home of
the Edenton Police Depart
ment.
But staff from the N.C. Lo
cal Government Commission
balked at Knighton’s plan and
suggested a 1-cent tax hike,
which would raise an esti
mated $25,000 annually
“They wanted to keep our
existing debt at what it was,”
Knighton said. Last week,
Knighton met with LGC and
again proposed borrowing
new dollars to pay for the re
pairs. That money would be
See REPAIRS On Page 3-A
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Taylor The
atre to re
o p o n
soon.._
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streak.-1-B
Traditional Irish mu
sic in Edenton 10-A
Wine 101 classes spon
sored by library.....2-B
mmmmmrnmrnMtxnmmmm.