Vol. LXXI, No. 46
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Single Copies 50tf
The Chowan Herald will
be closed Thursday, Nov. 25,
to allow our staff to spend
the holiday with their fami
lies and friends. We will re
open on Friday during our
regular business hours, 9
a.m. until 5 p.m.
Deadline for all news
items, photos and ads will be
noon on Friday, Nov. 26.
The annual Christmas
Candlelight Tour will be held
Dec. 10-11 this year.
Candlelight Tour
tickets on sale
Tickets for this year’s
Christmas Candlelight Tour
are available now by calling
the Robin Sams Gallery, (252)
482-1075, Edenton Visitors
Center, (252) 482-2637 or
Chowan Arts Council, (252)
482-8005.
Tickets are $25; groups of
20 or more persons, $20 per
ticket i
INSIDE
Calendar..A2
Church.C5
Classifieds.D1-4
Editorials.A10
Football Forecast.. B4
Obituaries.C 7
Society...C2
Sports .. B1-4
Society...C2
Sports .. B1-4
Official says OLF e-mails reflect tampering
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
With evidence surfacing that
politics may have played in a
role in the Navy’s decision to
put a jet airfield in rural Wash
ington County, opponents are
pushing their cause harder
than ever.
In U.S. District Court in Ra
leigh on Monday, lawyers for
the opponents filed a motion
for the court to permanently
bar the Navy from building its
airfield until the Navy com
plies with federal environmen
tal laws.
Attorneys with the South
ern Environmental Law Cen
ter also disclosed that the Navy
turned over emails and memos
as part of the lawsuit’s discov
ery process. Those correspon
dences illustrate the behind
the-scenes maneuvering that
brought the proposed 30,000
acre airfield within striking
distance of Pocosin Lakes Na
tional Wildlife refuge, Ply
mouth Mayor Brian Roth said
. ' • i
Area teens face charges after weekend vandalism spree
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Two teens were arrested
over the weekend after an al
leged vandalism spree that,
among other things, included
burning a boat.
In a press release, Chowan
County Sheriff Fred Spruill
said Central communications
in Edenton received a call at
9:45 p.m. on Saturday. The
caller reported a fire at Wharf
Landing near the Chowan
River Bridge.
“The fire was quickly extin
guished by the (Edenton) Fire
Department,” Spruill stated.
Report Card
results are
released
BY EARLINE WHITE
Staff Writer
North Carolina’s annual
school report cards proved sat
isfactory for Chowan County
Schools again this year. From
the numbers, the Edenton
Chowan District is in line with
most in the state, in some ar
eas even surpassing them.
D. F. Walker received recog
nition as a School of Distinc
tion for the second consecutive
year. This means that more
than 80% of students were per
forming at grade level. All four
schools in the district achieved
their expected growth. Cho
wan Middle School, for the
third year, was recognized as
a School of Distinction. John
A. Holmes High School was
designated a School of Pro
gress; meaning 60% of stu
dents were performing profi
ciently. White Oak Elementary
does not receive an official
summary on the NC School
Report Cards due to lack of
State testing within those
grade levels.
The primary areas in which
our youth are struggling con
tinue to be reading and math.
Students with limited English
proficiency and those with dis
abilities, performed consider
ably lower on the End of Grade
Tests than others in the states.
Teacher turnover rate is ex
actly that of the state average
See RESULTS On Page 5-A
rnoio via we imerner
The Navy's F-18 Super Hornets are at the heart of an ongoing
legal dispute between the military and Washington County resi
dents over a proposed Outlying Landing Field.
Tuesday
Roth and other opponents
have long alleged that political
pressure guided the airfield to
Washington County, and a por
tion of Beaufort County
“What this (SELC) filing
does,” Roth said, “is put into
Drint everything that the (air
field opponents) ... have
known all along.”
In August 2002 the Navy rec
The boat had an estimated
value of $75,000, Spruill added.
“It appeared that someone
had started the boat and ran it
into the dock,” Spruill stated.
“Upon the boat hitting the
dock, it jumped over the bulk
head and landing on the dock.
At some point, the boat caught
fire and was destroyed.”
Charged were Joshua Allen
Waterfield, 16. of Roper, and
Thomas Howard Baggett, also
16, of Edenton. Both subjects
were arrested on five counts of
felonious larceny with a num
ber of other charges pending
grand jury indictments,
Spruill stated. Both youths are
Council considers
funding nonprofit
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
The Edenton Town Council
must decide if funding the pro
posed new Boys & Girls Club
would then open “a can of
worms” that the panel just
may not want to open.
During its committee meet
ing held on Monday night,
council did
forward the
club’s request
for $25,200
over three
years to its
Dec. 14 regu
lar meeting.
Councilman Steve Biggs ques
tioned if the funding would set
a precedent other non-profit
groups would expect council to
follow in the future.
“I think it’s great that the
Boys & Girls Club is coming,”
Biggs, council’s liaison to the
town-county recreation advi
sory board. “(But) I personally
think we’ll be opening a can of
worms we’ll never be able to
close.”
Council ceased funding the
Edenton-Chowan Recreation
Department during the 2003-04
fiscal year. Chowan County
now assumes financial control
of the recreation department,
Town Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton said Tuesday.
Biggs said other non-profits
groups that work with chil
dren — such as the Chowan
Edenton Optimist Club —
ommended dividing the 10 new
Super Hornet squadrons
among Cherry Point Marine
Air Station in Havelock and
Naval Air Station Oceana in
Virginia Beach, Va.
The Washington County air
field site was selected for its
location between the two
bases, Navy officials have said.
Some Southeastern Virginia
residents applauded the deci
Contributed Photo
Two area teens were arrested following a weekend of vandal
ism that included burning a boat at Wharf Landing.
could be inclined to approach
council with similar funding
requests in the future.
“ (Personally), I still think
the pie is only so big,” he said
of the town’s ability to approve
a limited amount of funding
requests.
Biggs was not alone in his
concern about the request.
Finance Committee Chair
man Jerry
Parks said
governing
bodies
“shouldn’t do
what the pub
lic will do for
themselves.”
“This is seed money,” Parks
said of the annual $8,300 re
. quest that would end after the
2006-07 fiscal year.
Mayor Roland Vaughan said
the club would provide socio
logical and educational ben
efits to local youths.
“The question is,” Vaughan
added, “is it a good expense to
the taxpayers?”
Biggs and other councilors
also said the recreation depart
ment already offers after
school services to children.
But those services are limited,
due to staff aha spending re
straints, Biggs said.
Councilors also wanted as
surance that the club wouldn’t
duplicate athletic programs
already offered by the recre
ation department.
The clubs “are flexible,”
See COUNCIL On Page 3-A
sion, saying it would decrease
the jet noise they had decried
for years.
In a January 2000 letter, the
Navy wrote that “(s)ingle site
basing will result in signifi
cant cost savings ... and im
prove the quality of life and
quality of service of our air
crews and maintenance per
sonnel.”
Roth and others have per
sisted that that factor was pur
posefully overlooked by Navy
officials who made the final
decision. Roth said the “deci
sion-makers” were under “tre
mendous pressure” to appease
politicians who favored split
siting the squadrons, which
opponents say brought with it
the airfield to Washington
County.
One email, included in the
motion seeking a court ruling
without a trial, names politi
cians and Navy officials. The
email, written by Navy Cmdr.
David Sienicki, states: “(Assis
tant Secretary of the Navy
Hansford) Johnson was a
This map shows (in red) areas where satellite subscribers would
be able to view North Carolina PBS programming, if a proposal
currently before the FCC wins approval.
Commissioners back
PBS viewing proposal
BY EARLINE WHITE
Staff Writer
In an effort to bring North
Carolina PBS programming to
Edenton satellite subscribers,
the Chowan County Commis
sioners have joined their coun
terparts in surrounding coun
ties in backing a petition filed
by WUND-TV. That petition,
now in the hands of the Fed
eral Communications Com
mission (FCCJ along with let
ters of support from the pub
strong advocate for an OLF
during the (draft environmen
tal impact study). Considering
that the NC delegation has in
dicated that it would be im
proper to site an OLF in NC
without an offsetting positive
economic impact—i.e., at least
two squadrons at MCAS
Cherry Point — Mr. Johnson
believes that a split siting op
tion placing two squadrons at
Cherry Point is necessary... I
also understand that Sen.
(John) Warner (of Virginia),
Sen. (Elizabeth) Dole (of North
Carolina) and Mr. Johnson are
beginning a dialogue to dis
cuss the Super Hornet basing
and they are attempting to de
rive a political win/win for VA
and NC.”
Opponents have said the 1
win-win came at a price to
northeast North Carolina.
Roth is just glad their allega
tions of political skullduggery
now has support.
“The evidence of how this
See OLF On Page 5-A
being held in the Chowan
County Detention Facility un
der a $25,000 bond.
In addition, Spruill stated,
investigators determined that
a second boat had been broken
into. Items including a marine
radio were stolen from the sec
ond boat and thrown into the
water. An office and condo
were also broken into and ran
sacked, “with all the windows
broken out,” Spruill said.
A forklift at that site was also
found underwater in the ma
rina, the sheriff said.
“The individuals used an
See TEENS On Page 3-A
lie, seeks to relocate the UNC
TV signal to northeastern
North Carolina. This pro
posal/petition would allow sat
ellite viewers in nine counties
to access PBS aired from the
WUND station licensed to the
city of Columbia.
The proposal aims to have
Edenton replace Columbia as
‘city of license’. This change is
essentially one in name only;
the towers and broadcasting
See PROPOSAL On Page $-A