Vol. LXXII, No. 17
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
Alligood, Privott are among Rescue Squad honorees
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
In 1965, the newly formed'
Edenton-Chowan Rescue
Squad sped around in a 1948
Pontiac ambulance, ferrying
patients seeking medical atten
tion.
Fast-forward 40 years, and
the town-county organization
staffs roughly 60 paid and vol
unteer emergency medical
technicians, who transport
patients in six ambulances
from four response locations.
Commission
okays hike
in taxation
BY EARLINE WHITE
The Chowan Herald
The word most dread to hear, taxes,
was on the tips of tongues at the
Chowan County Commissioners
meeting Monday. Though the ap
proved occupancy tax will not affect
the residents of Chowan County, the
property reassessment revaluation
most likely will.
The Occupancy Tax that has found
its way through Town Council and
onto the desks of the Commissioners
was approved 4 to 3 Monday morning.
The occupancy tax is one that is
placed upon hotels, motels and B&Bs.
The monies generated from the tax
are used for local promotional efforts
like brochures and billboards. Unlike
other tax hikes, this one will not af
fect locals — only those who may opt
to stay in one of the local ac
comodations like Super 8 or The
Granville Queen. By increasing the
occupancy tax by just 1% to 4%, the
tax would generate $20,000. After
much consideration and talk, the
Chowan County Commissioners
voted to increase the occupancy tax
by 2% and request a capped total of
5%. Regionally, Pasquotank County is
seeking authorization to increase
their occupancy tax to 6%; Dare
County remains at 5%.
With the recent tax evaluation, Tax
Administrator Lynda Hendricks and
others have found that the tax value
of sites in Chowan County differed by
as much as 15-75% of their sale price.
As mandated by the state statute, ev
ery 8 years NC counties must reassess
real property and all property is to be
assessed at 100% market value. The
county will therefore be looking at a
reappraisal within the year. Pearson
Appraisal Company, under the super
vision of Robert Ezzell who con
ducted the last revalue in 1998, is cur
rently 60% complete with the field
review. A schedule of values will be
presented to the Commissioners in
June or July. A public hearing will be
set concerning the schedule of values
See HIKE On Page 2-A
INSIDE
Calendar.*.C2
Church.,..C4
Classifieds.01 -6
Editorials... A6
Learning.B5-6
Obituaries.C6
Society...C3
Sports.B1-4
On Page Cl ...
A tribute to TV Moms
Happy Mother's Day
Times have changed, said
retired EMT Willis Privott, one
of a number of founding mem
bers of the first rescue squad
unit on hand for the annual
banquet honoring rescue
workers Monday night at Leon
Nixon’s Catering.
“We got started piece by
piece,” Privott said of the
group which first met at the
old Chowan County Court
house on Friday, May 14,1965.
“We had to work for what we
got,” said Privott, who was
honored after his retirement
last fall with 39 years of ser
vice. “People were good to us.”
For starters, the charter
group had to> scrounge up the
money it needed to pay for a
charter.
“We had to pass around the
hat about three times,” Privott
told the approximately 120
people on hand for the annual
awards banquet, which in
cluded the installation of new
officers for the 2005-06 year.
Though times have changed,
services and equipment have
expanded, the spirit of EMTs
has remained the same, Privott
indicated. He hopes rescue
workers “continue to work as
sisters and brothers” in then
life-saving occupations.
County Manager Cliff
Copeland, the event’s feature
speaker, said EMTs are an in
valuable asset to the commu
nity. Copeland, himself a
former trained EMT, related
stories of how rescue workers
responded to and dealt with
the devastation from Hurri
See SQUAD On Page 2-A
Staff photo by Sean Jackson
Chowan EMS Director Doug Belch, at left, looks on as Jimmy
Alligood, at right, accepts a 25-year service award from Lynn
Hobbs during the annual appreciation banquet.
DOING TIME
L_^ .11 MTTf M
Staff photo by Earline White
Over 50 people, including Chowan Hospital Foundation Executive Director Ginny Culpepper,
were placed behind bars on Friday April 29. But all for a good cause. The Edenton United Meth
odist Church Relay for Life team hosted a daylong Jail-a-thon in downtown Edenton. There was
terrific participation and most participants even turned themselves in rather than waiting for
Deputy Cord Palmer to come and 'arrest' them. A special thanks goes to the Chowan County
Sheriff's Department for their help, to East Coast Deck and Fence of Edenton who donated the
'jail', and especially to all those who came out so generously and donated to help 'bail' their
friends out of jail. The efforts of the Edenton United Methodist Church Jail-a-thon raised over
$6,000 for the Relay for Life. The effort was organized by Edenton United Methodist Church
committee members: Tom and Jean Credle, Go and Curtis Baker, Bob and Jan Germain, Kay and
Kenny Donaldson, Richard and Jean Bunch, Paul and Silvia Peterson.
New principal hired for JA Holmes
Edenton-Chowan Schools announced today the
appointment of an innovative educator with ex
perience in building “Family Friendly Schools”
as the next principal of John A. Holmes High
School.
William J. Moore, Jr., from Yonkers, New York
will be the school’s next head administrator,
bringing to a close a nationwide search for the
position. Moore received unanimous Board of
Education approval for his appointment at
Monday’s school board meeting. He begins his
duties at Holmes on August 1.
“We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Moore to
our Edenton-Chowan Schools family,” said Supt.
Allan T. Smith. “His proven experience, dedica
tion and community outreach will be a tremen
dous asset to John A. Holmes staff, students and
parents.”
As principal at Roosevelt High School in Yon
kers, Moore implemented programs based on the
Family Friendly School model, designed to in
crease family engagement in student learning.
Moore also worked with Brown University in its
Breaking Ranks Program for Smaller Learning
See HOLMES On Page 2-A
Man faces drug charges
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
i
A Chowan County man was
[ arrested at an Edenton apart
ment complex last month after
a police detective found co
caine the suspect allegedly hid
t inside a hallway wall outside
an apartment.
Marcus Antonio Logan, 17,
< of 234 Happy Home Road,
Tyner, was charged with pos
session with intent to sell and
deliver cocaine, possession of
cocaine, resisting a public of
: fleer, giving false information
I to police, and second-degree
trespassing.
He was jailed at the Chowan
County Detention Facility un
der a $6,500 secured bond, po
lice Chief Greg Bonner said
Tuesday
Logan was arrested on April
21 after being spotted by Det.
Aaron Davidson outside the
400 building of Edenton Manor
Apartments. Logan had been
banned from the site, Bonner
said.
Davidson approached Lo
gan, who ran.
“(Logan) knew he was tres
passing,” the chief said.
Davidson found crack co
caine stuffed in a purple cup
concealed in a shelf in the
wall, Bonner said.
Logan was later appre
hended that same day.
In a separate incident, an
other Chowan County man
was arrested Friday on drug
charges after being spotted in
a known drug area in Edenton,
Bonner said.
Det. Dwight Rawlins spotted
Jeffrey Thomas Bass, 20, of 720
Chambers Ferry Road, in the
driver’s seat of a black
Chevrolet truck on Dr. Martin
Luther King Avenue late Fri
day afternoon. A “known drug
dealer” was in the passenger’s
seat of the truck, Rawlins
stated in his incident report.
Rawlins went around Bass’
See CHARGES On Page 2-A
BOE greets new
TeacherAssistants
Staff photo by Earline White
Newly certified teacher assistants Gail Bain, Gloria
Carter, Mary Rayner, Sadie Riddick, and Sarah Wills were
recognized by the Board of Education Monday night, seen
here with Dr. Allan Smith and Gene Jordan.
BY EARLINE WHITE
The Chowan Herald
The central office conference room was filled to the
brim Monday night at the EdentomChowan Board of
Education’s monthly meeting, several special recogni
tions on the agenda.
The JV and Varsity cheerleaders from John A.
Holmes were the first to be recognized for their out
standing efforts that took them to the National Compe
tition hi Williamsburg, VA this past spring. Board mem
ber Ricky Browder expressed his awe of the student
athletes that performed so professionally at all of the
competitions.
“These ladies are just as good athletes as the others *
at Holmes and they certainly deserve the trophies they
received and the recognition,” Browder said. The JV
team was recognized as the first runner up at the na
tional competition; Varsity as second runner up. Eleven
ladies also received All-American bids to perform in
Hawaii, including Lauren Small who made the jour
ney and returned second place prize in hand.
Michelle Maddox introduced the three NC Teaching
Fellows recipients from Holmes. Sara Elliott, Hannah
Murphy and Graham Elmore each the recipients of the
most prestigous program in NC stood before the board
Monday night and told the former educators of their
future.plans and in what field and on what level they
would like to teach.
“Assisting students with their Teaching Fellows ap
plications and helping them prepare for this is a part
of my job that gives me the most pleasure,” Maddox
said. “All of these students are outstanding young
people, dedicated and professional. I am excited that
they’ve chose teaching as a profession and while I hope
they return to teach in Chowan County I am proud that
they will be teaching a future generation of young
people.”
See FELLOWS On Page 2-A
Stabbing results
in woman's arrest
An Edenton woman was
arrested April 21 and charged
with a stabbing at the inter
section of Dr, Martin Luther
King Jr. Avenue and South
Moseley Street.
Alicia Danielle Bowe, 25,
was charged with assault
with a deadly weapon with
intent to kill inflicting serious
injury, police Chief Greg
Bonner said late last month.
Bowe allegedly stabbed 21*
yeur-old Shanita Evans in the
face during an altercation
■' V" t •J-jV’, J . I- r.J-*;,
then fled the scene, Bonnet
said.
Police received a descrip
tion of Bowe from Evans.
Bowe was arrested and placed
under a $75,000 secured bond.
She made her first court ap
pearance on April 26.
Evans’ stab wounds were
“pretty deep,” the chief said.
She was treated and released
from Chowan Hospital on the
day of the incident, he added.
“She’s going to be OK,”'
Bonner said of Evans.