Vol. LXXII, No. 3
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Single Copies 50#
Council pledges to work with businesses on solution
Oakum Street
parking now
in question
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
George Rowsom has been operating
his funeral home at 104 N. Oakum St.
for four decades, and he’s frustrated
that his patrons will have to park in
the street for future memorial ser
vices.
And Rowsom is not alone in his frus
tration.
King's legacy
is celebrated
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
Although he stepped out of
the public eye in November,
the Rev. Jerald I. Perry was
back in front of a crowd early
Monday afternoon. -
Perry, who served 15
years on the Edenton
Town Council before
leaving the board more
than three months ago,
was the keynote speak
er at the annual Dr. Mar
tin Luther King Jr. cel
ebration inside Swain
Auditorium. With about
200 listeners on hand,
Perry touted the slain
civil rights leader’s de
sire to effect change,
without the need for
notoriety. Perry agreed
with King’s united
stance for change.
“It matters to me less
who gets the credit,
than who gets the job
done,” Perry said.
During his audience
rousing address, Perry
urged his listeners to go
home and read King’s
1967 book Where Do We
Go from Here: Chaos or
Community? and the
writings of Harlem Renais
sance poet Langston Hughes,
who also rallied against racial
and social injustices.
Perry, himself a minister for
the past 14 years, said some of
the social equalities King
worked for have been achieved.
But now is not the time to rest,
he added.
“I’m of the opinion,” Perry
said during the 90-minute cer
emony held on the state and
federalchgfidqy observed in
King’s honor, “mat it’s time to
assess where we are.”
Continuing to seek equality
in public education — namely,
eliminating the racial achieve
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On Page 81...
Community Wellness
Van to make its
appearance Feb. 3
Rowsom and Doris McLean took
their concerns with the loss of park
ing on North Oakum Street to the
Edenton Town Council during the
board’s Jan. 12 meeting. Renovations
to four blocks of the street have re
moved considerable chunks of park
ing space from the street.
“It looks to me now that everybody
has to park in the street,” Rowsom told
town officials.
Begun last fall, the project is about
half completed, Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton told Rowsom. Two
blocks are completed, with only as
phalt overlay remaining. The work has
included the installation of curb and
gutter along the street. Landscaping
will also be added, officials have said.
ment gaps that currently
plague public school systems
— is the best place to begin that
assessment, Perry said.
Edenton Mayor Roland
Vaughan agreed that educa
tion “is the great equalizer.”
He said the arrival of a new
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr/s message
of brotherhood and nonviolence was
remembered Monday during a spe
cial service at Swain auditorium.
Boys & Girls Club in Edenton
— expected to open programs
later this month — could play
a role in leveling playing fields
for youths.
“We need to reach more chil
dren at that formative age,”
Vaughan said.
Unity will bring more
change than using varied ap
proaches, Perry said.
“When we all learn the same
lesson,” he said, “we can move
on with the power and author
ity ... that we know we are
there (working) for the cause
of humanity.”
See KING On Page 3-A
Divers find body of Cahill, 24, missing tugboat worker
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
Divers found the body of a
tugboat worker missing in cold
Chowan River waters for 10
days early on the morning of
Jan. 12.
The clothed body of Aaron
Cahill, 24, of Elizabethtown,
Pa., was found a half-mile from
the Bertie County shoreline at
4:30 a.m., Peter Rascoe, spokes
man for the search efforts, said
early Wednesday morning.
Cahill reportedly fell from the
“Nancy B,” a 68-foot Norfolk,
Va,-based tugboat, on the
morning of Jan. 2.
“The (Cahill) family is re
“The project is very nice,” McLean,
owner of a convenience store at 103 N.
Oakum St., admitted.
Still, McLean said, the loss of park
ing could have an adverse affect on
business owners in the renovation
zone.
“This is our livelihood,” she said.
Knighton said she, police Chief
Greg Bonner, and officials with the
state Department of Transportation
would seek to “accommodate” the af
fected businesses. Temporary parking
could allow Rowsom to let clientele
park in the street during funeral ser
vices, she said.
“I think the only option right now is
to put some on-street parking diming
times” when it’s needed, she said.
Staff photo by Earline White
Jeff Dial, Director of Support Services, stands with Chowan Hospital President, Jeff Sackrison,
in front of the newly waterproofed facade. The project that will replace the roof and waterproof
the walls will be completed in early March.
Hospital's new look about
more than beautification
BY EARLINE WHITE
The Chowan Herald
Over the past few weeks,
passersby may have noticed
the fresh new appearance of
Chowan Hospital. On first
thought the new crisp facade
may appear to be just a fresh
coat of paint. Don’t be con
fused; the new look is not
paint or stucco, but a weath
erproofing system to protect
and weatherproof the brick
outside.
During Hurricane Isabel
wind gusts over 100 miles per
hour caused rain to leak in
side of the hospital through
the walls and the bricks. “One
wall in the Emergency De
partment looked like a water
lieved,” Ra
scoe said. He
telephoned
Michael Ca
hill, Aaron Ca
hill’s father, at
his home in
Baton Rouge,
La. shortly af
ter 5 a.m. Wed
Cahill nesday.
/Cahil’sbody
was located in water roughly
17-feet deep. Water tempera
tures have remained below 40
degrees since Cahill went over
board, Rascoe has said. He was
found in the Mount Gould
Landing area the search had
targeted since rescue and re
Mayor Roland Vaughan noted that
the parking used prior to the project
was on the town’s right-of-way
“The parking was out of habit,” he
said, “not out of ownership. The town
owns the right-of-way.”
Vaughan said the town is aware of
the impact the loss of parking will
have on affected businesses. He also
noted that the street’s new look does
include “cutaway” parking areas, in
cluding one near McLean’s store.
Knighton said the town’s intent was
to improve that four-block section of
North Oakum Street, the town’s hub
for African-American small busi
nesses.
“The intent was not to eliminate
parking,” she added.
fall,” Mary Katherine Ohan
eson, PR of Chowan Hospital
said. “I didn’t even know a
brick could leak,” she added.
“Employees were vigilant
during the storm in covering
up the equipment so that no
damage would come to it,” Jeff
Sackrison, President of Cho
wan and Bertie County hospi
tals said. “Most of the damage
was to the ceiling tiles and the
walls,” Sackrison added.
Because of the age of the
building (over 30 years) and
the lack of construction done
for its upkeep other than occa
sional patching, the University
Health Systems (UHS) and
Chowan Hospital decided that
it was time to undergo analy
sis of the roof and walls.
covery efforts began, Rascoe
said. It was near the area
where Cahill’s work gloves,
boots, and hearing protection
were found shortly after he fell
in.
Wednesday night, “cadaver
dogs” turned up two alerts,
Rascoe said. A “sidescan” so
nar also detected something on
the riverbottom, he said. Cra
ven County Emergency Man
agement Coordinator Stanley
Kite and Bertie Sheriff Gregg
Atkins then made the decision
to call in a dive team from
Sydney. Those divers got in the
water around midnight and
located Cahill’s body several
hours later.
“The roof was 5 years away
from being replaced when
Hurricane Isabel came
along,” Sackrison said. “After
the storm, the roof was ana
lyzed and the leaks during the
storm were found to be com
ing from the bricks,” Sack
rison said.
“Although existing leaks at
Chowan Hospital greatly
needed repair, the amount of
damage and water penetra
tion experienced during Isa
bel dictated that action be
taken,” Jeff Dial, Director of
Support Services, said. “In
concert with UHS Design and
Construction, an outside ar
chitecture and design firm
See HOSPITAL Page 3-A
The Bertie sheriff’s office
transported Cahill’s body to
the state Medical Examiner’s
Office in Greenville.
At the height of the search,
29 local, state and federal agen
cies were involved in the
search. More than 500 man
hours were logged in the recov
ery efforts, Rascoe said Tues
day.
He was reportedly hosing
down the boat’s deck when he
went overboard. None of the
other three crewmembers saw
Cahill go overboard, officials
have said. The boat was be
lieved to have been about a
mile from shore when Cahill
disappeared, officials have
Rowsom and McLean also said they
would have liked to receive more no
tice of the impending work, prior to,
council’s approval of the project more
than three years ago.
DOT used flashing signs to alert resi
dents of the information meeting held
in 2001, the town manager said.
“Unfortunately” she added, “not ev
eryone who was affected came” to that
meeting.
McLean said she only received a let
ter stating that the project would happen.
Despite the businesses contentions
about the loss of parking, the project has
moved forward.
“(DOT is) hoping in the next few weeks
that the project will be completed,”
Knighton said.
Clark leaves
CAC for new
adventure
BY REBECCA BUNCH
The Chowan Herald
For the past seven years,
New Jersey native Sue Clark
has called Edenton home. But
this spring, she will pack her
bags and move on to a new ad
venture down life’s highway.
She and her faithful canine
companion, Lucy will be moving
to Ashe-ville,
NC to find a
new home -
and a new life
- with Sue’s
soon-to be
husband,
musician
Timmy
AbelL
Clark ,
who has for
med many
friendships in the community
during her years as executive
director of the Chowan Arts
Council, informed the mem
bers of the CAC board of direc
tors of her decision in a letter.
In the letter, dated Jan. 12,
Clark commented, “As most of
you know, I will be getting mar
ried at the end of May. I will be
moving to Asheville and start
ing a company with my new
husband offering arts educa
tion performances and resi
A dencies in schools. I will also,
at long last, have some consis
tent time available to address
my own artwork.”
In her letter, Clark also ex
pressed great pride in the con
tinued growth being experi
enced by the nonprofit arts or
ganization. “I am very proud
of the tremendous growth of
our organization over the past
several years and of the repu
tation that we have earned lo
cally, regionally, and across the
state,” she wrote. “We have met
challenges with determination
Clark
See CLARK On Page 5-A
said.
His death is being investi
gated by the Bertie County
Sheriff’s Office, Rascoe said
last week. The incident is
also being investigated by the
U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine
Safety Detachment from
Elizabeth City and N.C. Wild
life Resources officials.
Cahill had planned to
marry his fiancee Jennifer
Hoffman later this year, fam
ily members have said. Ac
cording to Peter Rascoe,
Aaron Cahill’s drowning
death in the Chowan River is
the first to be investigated by
Chowan officials in about 15
years.