Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Town Council will try to pare down tax hike
From Staff Reports
The Edenton Town Council
is considering a move to cut
a proposed 2.5-cent tax hike
more than half.
Council’s finance commit
tee has met twice to discuss
the 2004/05 fiscal year
proposed budget drafted by
Town Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton. They have tenta
tively recommended a 1-cent
property tax increase. The
current tax rate is 42 cents
per $100 of a property’s
value.
Last week, committee .
chairman Jerry Parks
admitted council found little
room to decrease funding
requests.
“The (town’s) department
heads have really held the
line on spending,” Parks said
at the June 8 meeting. “The
police chief suggested
buying used highway patrol
cars instead of new cars,
saving us $26,000. The fire
department staff will
repaint the station (them
selves), saving $10,000 in
labor.”
Instead of cutting spend
ing, the committee — which
includes the entire council
— said it would not endorse
Knighton’s recommenda
tion to cut a cash transfer
from the Electric Fund to
the General Fund by $35,000
“The Hurricane put a
strain on everyone’s bud
get,” Parks said, “the
town’s, taxpayers alike, by
holding the line on the
transfer, we can avoid (an
additional) 1.5 cent tax rate
hike” to the 1-cent increase
being considered.
The finance panel also
said it would recommend
using some of the town’s
electric rate stabilization
fund to offset a planned 1.2
percent electric rate in
crease.
“By tapping into the Rate
Stabilization Fund,” Parsks
said, “we can put off a rate
increase for our electric
customers during the cold
months of the year.”
Instead of raising rates in
November, the Council will
tap into the stabilization
fund to cover the wholesale
rate increase. Retail rate
increase would become
effective in March 2005.
Councilman Steve Biggs
said the purpose of the fund
was to help offset rate
increases, even if just for a
few months.
“When we set up the fund,
we had this type of situa
tion in mind,” Biggs said.
Councilman Willis Privott
noted that customers have
more challenges trying to
control consumptions
during the winter months.
“It’s easier to save on
electric consumption
during warmer months
than it is in the winter, I am
all in favor of using the '
Rate Stabilization Fund to
help our customers get
through the winter,”. Privott
said.
Council also conducted a
public hearing on the
proposed budget. Edenton
pharmacist John Mitchener
asked Council to impose an
additional 4-cent tax raise
to begin saving for placing
electric lines underground.
Council is expected to vote
on the budget at its June 28
meeting.
Council approved a 2.5
cent tax increase last year
for the current fiscal year,
which ends June 30.
Chowan Regional
Hospital changes
status, not service
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Managing Editor
“The bottom line is, it’s all
about the bottom line.”
With that simple sentence,
Chowan Hospital Public Rela
tions Director Mary Kay
Ohaneson summed up in. an
interview last Thursday the
hospital’s decision to convert
from a community hospital to
a critical access care facility. It
is a decision that more small,
rural hospitals are making in
order to continue to operate in
a cost-effective manner.
F
The changeover, which be
came official May 25, was not
one that Chowan Hospital
made without careful thought
and consideration. After all,
Ohaneson said, while the new
designation means that the
hospital will be able to receive
federal reimbursement from at
a higher level, patient care re
mains an important consider
ation.
Chowan Hospital President
Jeff Sackrison said that pa
tients entering the hospital for
See HOSPITAL On Page 7-A
Chowan Hospital is now a critical access care facility
SUMMER FUN ON THE WATER
Chowan Herald file photo
Edenton's Waterfront Park will be the place to be this Saturday, June 19 for the Com
munity Music and Water Festival. Whether you like racing for the competitive spirit or
require instructions for the beginner, there is something for all ages beginning at 10
a.m. Canoes and kayaks will be available for use during the morning and early after
noon hours. Children under age 18 need a parent's permission to be on the water.
Come check out all the action, vendors and food; then end the day with the free music
concert. Festival hours are from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. (See related story on page 7-A)
Twister touches down in Chowan County
BY CHRIS WHIPPLE
Cox NC Publications
The severe storms that
passed through the pastern
and central parts of the state
Friday touched off a tornado
in Chowan County, officials
determined Monday.
Doug Belch, emergency ser
vices director for Chowan
County, said that the tornado
caused damage in the Rocky
Hock, Valhalla and Paradise
Road sections of the county,
causing property damage but
no injuries.
Belch said the National Wea
Talking
politics
Paul Cox, a representa
tive from the Erskine
Bowles senate campaign,
was among the special
guests at Saturday's
meeting of the Chowan
County Democratic Women
in Edenton. District Chair
' Mary Swartz was the
featured speaker. (See
inside today's edition for
more campaign news)
!*'e:p
m,
.it,
SSit'i s?;
Special Message to
County Residents...
Since Friday night’s storm (June 11,2004) it has come to
the attention of the North Carolina Department of Transpor
tation (NCDOT) that numerous property owners are bring
ing the debris to the state’s right of way for removal by other
parties.
NCDOT representatives and Chowan County officials
would like to remind everyone that there will be no FEMA
pickup or NCDOT pickup of this debris.
Landowners are responsible for the removal of their own
Storm debris,
--— £
—*_—
ther Service launched straight
into a tornado warning for the
county at 9:43 p.m., Friday in
dicating an imminent threat. A
watch is just below a warning,
meaning that the danger is
likely but not certain.
The bulk of destruction oc
curred shortly thereafter, be
tween 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.,
Belch said.
Belch was touring the dam
aged areas with Tony Seiberts,
station manager of the Wake
field, VA office of the National
Weather Service Monday. The
Wakefield station is whei-e
warnings and watches, for the
northeast corner of the state
originate.
Seiberts was in Chowan
County to examine the damage
and determine whether or not
a tornado passed through the
area. Seiberts determined the
damage was caused by what is
termed an “intermittent tor
nado,” one that stays mostly
above the tree tops and touches
down sporadically if at all.
Belch said the tornado
knocked down power lines and
that the Macedonia section of
the county was without power
See TWISTER On Page 6 A
Gun used in fall
murder recovered
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
A man already facing mur
der charges has been arrested
for possession of the gun alleg
edly used in the November
slaying.
Sharif Kiplin Byrd, 28, of
1204 Vann St., Edenton, was
charged with weapons, drug
and traffic charges after being
stopped by police Det. Mike
Davidson just after midnight
June 5, police Chief Greg
Bonner said.
Davidson had stopped Byrd
for a routine traffic violation,
Bonner said.
“Upon further investiga
tion,” he said, “the weapon was
identified as the weapon that
was there (at the scene) on the
night of the murder of Jamel
See GUN On Page 6-A
Seniors
Out to
Lunch
BY EARLINE WHITE
Staff Writer
The Edenton-Chowan Board
of Education met in regular
session Monday, June 7 to dis
cuss the possiblity of off-cam
pus lunch and the John A.
Holmes summer renovation
update.
Tanner Bloom, rising senior
and member of the Student
Government Association at
John A. Holmes presented to
the board an excellent argu
ment for granting off-campus
lunch to seniors. The seniors
who meet the eligibility re
quirements (maintaining a 2.0
GPA, buying a pass, acquiring
a parent’s permission) will
have the opportunity to leave
campus for lunch one day a
week. Seventy-four percent of
the senior class makes grades
at Holmes rendering them eli
gible for the lunch. Bloom ar
gued that the lunch would
See LUNCHES On Page 7-A
Announc
...see page 5-C
ITURDAYJUNE19
AM-9 PM
LJU
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