Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Industry
grant
received
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
The Northeast Economic
Development Foundation has
received a $121,250 grant to cer
^ tify potential industrial sites,
‘and Rick Watson believes it
will help push development
along. v
Watson, president anci CEO
of the Edenton-based North
bast Partnership, said Tuesday
that the grant — handed down
by the Golden LEAF Founda
tion — is “one of the most im
portant grants that the north
east region (of North Caro
lina) receives.”
Six sites will be affected by
the grant. A 100-acre site is lo
cated adjacent to Northeast
Regional Airport, just south of
Edenton. The grant will help
with costs for certification of
the park.
Specifically, Watson said, the
monies.will be used for envi
ronmental testing. Often, he,
said, a client is eager to de
velop a site and land is not
properly tested for environ
mental compatibility — espe
cially since environmental
regulations have stiffened in
recent years.
“This (grant) enables us to
get through a first phase (of
development) and know that
the site is genuinely useable, ”
^ y Watsop said, “so the client will
mot-be disappointed.”
/' The Partnership has already
V certified eight to 10 sites in the
past couple of years, Watson
added.
The Golden LEAF Founda
tion is equally pleased to be
able to help create jobs in the
northeast.
“Job creation is a high pri
ority for the Golden LEAF
■ Board of Directors,” Valeria
Lee, Golden LEAF president,
said in a June 28 press release.
The board, Lee said, recog
See GRANT On Page 3-A
Chowan hits bottom in number of Hispanic voters
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Chowin County is tied for
the bottom in North Carolina
among counties with Hispan
SpLish SpUsh
Photo for The Chowan Herald by Bud Weagly
Rain puddles provided a fun place to play during the July 4th festivities on the
Edenton waterfront. Sponsored by the Chowan-Edenton Optimist Club, the event
featured lots for kids to do include pony rides and rides aboard the Optimist Club
train. A spectacular fireworks display topped off the day's events.
ics registered to vote.
• Just one of the county’s 8,735
registered voters is Hispanic
— less than one-tenth of one
percent. The 2000 Census
counted 219 Hispanics in
Chowan, or 1.5 percent of the
total population. Hispanics ac
count for about 4.5 percent of
the state population.
Voting may not be a high pri
ority issue for newly arrived
Staff photo by Saan Jackson
Shell Station closes its doors
$ A popular full-service gas station do$ed its doors June 29, yellow tape wrapped around
its pumps, its windows darkened for the near future. The Edenton Shell Service station,
located at the intersection of North Broad Street and Virginia Road, closed last Tuesday,
town officials said last week. Sources have said the Winston-Salem-bdsed owner of the
property increased rent costs, forcing station owner Tommy Forehand to shut down his
business. Forehand could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The station's closing leaves
just one full-service gas station in Edenton, Bridge Turn Exxon, located at the intersection
of West Queen and South Broad streets. Bridge Turn owner Ed Taylor said Tuesday that
the case was much different 40 years ago. "At one time," said Taylor, who has been in the
service station business for 43 years, "there were seven of them" in Edenton.
Hispanics and Latinos, Maria
Garcia, executive director of
the Northeastern Community
Development Corporation,
said Monday.
"Right now we’re trying to
meet their other basic needs,”
said Garcia, whose agency
works closely with Hispanics
and Latinos, “such as housing
... They’re just trying to earn
some money and get decent
housing ... We haven’t gotten
to that point yet” of urging
Hispanics to register to vote.
Garcia, one of 266 Hispanics
on Pasquotank County’s voter
rolls, wasn’t surprised that
School board ~
moves to alter
current rules
BY EARLINE WHITE
Staff Writer
The Edenton-Chowan Board
of Education met Monday,
June 28 to discuss the renova
tion update, financial report
and the high school alternative
program.
Dr. Allan Smith reported on
the new alternatives to long
term and short-term suspen
sion and second chance alter
native to replace the current;
programs. The revision was
prompted by the need to re
duce the number of students
out of school. “The current
program operates during
school hours but does not meet
the needs. The revision will
move toward those who need
help, not just behavioral prob
lems,” Smith said
Under the alternative to
long-term suspension, stu
dents will report to class at 2
p.m. until 5:45 p.m Monday
through Thursday. A possible
three credits per semester may
be earned while under the su
pervision of an assistant or
Roads Program
be discussed $
on July 12
North Carolina Department of Transportation
(NCDOT) Division Engineer Don Conner and Division
staff members will meet with the Chowan County Board
of .Commissioners in the Chowan County Courthouse
in Edenton Monday, July 12, at 9 a.m., to discuss the
county’s 2004-2005 Secondary Roads Improvement Pro
gram.
A copy of the proposed Secondary Improvement Pro
gram, together with a map, is posted in the Chowan
County Courthouse in Edenton. ’ 'f
All interested persons are invited to attend the meet
Chowan has just one regis
tered Hispanic. Many of her
agency’s clients aren’t yet eli
gible to vote.
“A lot of the clients I deal
with don’t even have Social
Security numbers,” she said.
Johnnje McLean, deputy di
rector of the state Board of
Elections, said a potential
voter must first be a United
States citizen.
“Some (Hispanics) may not
have citizenship status,” she
said.
Axel Lluch, director of His
panic affairs for the state of
North Carolina, said the voter
n?;
»
Habitat meeting
July Mat *
Council Chambers
f?-; j,
4 » *
Chowan County residents are being urged to attend a meet
ing the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natu
ral Resources has planned to gather public input on a series
of recommendations for the Qoastal Habitat Protection Plan
a plan to protect important coastal fish habitats.
Proposed steps include: improved enforcement o environ
mental rules, larger buffers and setbacks along waterways,
and comprehensive state plans to direct beach re-nourishment
Jets and marina construction.
I The meeting will take place Wednesday, July 14, at 7 p.m. in
the Town Council Chambers, 500 South Broad St., downtown
Edenton. Everyone is welcome. v
two teachers, depending on the
time. Teachers (1 English and
1 Math) will work each day and
change groups of students
around 4:30 or will work 2 days
per week. This program is
aimed toward those students
assigned long-term suspension
(more than 10 school days) who
are not a threat to the safety of
others. There were 8 students
in the 2003-2004 school year
who fell under this program.
Second chance alternative is
for students who have not been
successful during the regular
school day due to a.combina
tion of reasons; primarily stu
dents who are repeating 9th
grade. These students will re
port to third period as usual
and stay at school until 5:45
p.m. Monday through Thurs
day and on Friday until 3 p.m.
A total of four credits may be
earned during the semester.
Twenty-two freshmen did not
go into the 10th grade in the
2003-2004 school year.
The alternative to short
See RULES On Page 3-A
registration process could it
self be to blame for the fact
that so few Hispanics are iden
tified on voter rolls.
“In the past,” Lluch said Fri
day, “the board of elections did
not have a box (on registration
forms) to classify (a voter) as
Hispanic.”
Ricardo Velasquez, presi
dent of the Hispanic Demo
crats of North Carolina,
pointed out that there are both
multigenerational Hispanics
and Latinos who are native to
the U.S., and first-generation
See VOTERS On Page 3-A
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Images of
Edenton’s
4th.._1-B
OLF legal
debate
rolls on................. 5—A
Steamers claim 1st
half title_9-B
Lion of the year
named......_...... 7-A