Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Single Copies 50
Vol. LXXII,
Coston
cops a
plea
BY SEAN JACKSON
. The Chowan Herald
An Edenton man charged for
his alleged role in a 2003 mur
der outside of an apartment
complex pleaded to lesser
charges on May 2 in Chowan
County Superior Court.
Kenyatta Coston, 25, pleaded
guilty to being an accessory af
ter the fact in felonious assault
and for possession of a firearm
by a felon in the November 2003
slaying of 21-year-old Jamel
Coston outside of Edenton
Manor Apartments.
Coston was initially charged
with second-degree murder.
Boyce was shot after an argu
ment involving the other sus
pects charged with his murder,
police have said.
Assistant District Attorney
said Coston would likely be sen
tenced in the fall. The next
scheduled criminal court ses
sion is set for October, Johnson
said Tuesday.
But with nine other suspects
still to appear in court, and at
least three other murder trials
pending in Chowan County, an
additional court session is not
out of the question.
“It wouldn’t be unusual to
have another session sched
uled,” the prosecutor said.
“We’ll just go with whatever
uates the court sets.”
Also charged in Boyce’s mur
der are Jamil R. Johnson, Ken
neth Bond Jr., Jermaine A.
Bland, William M. Bland,
Darrell A. Bentley, Sharif K.
Byrd, Dwight A. Coston, Deon
C. Copeland, and Edward L.
Hill.
Post office
part of
food drive
Mail carriers for the
Edenton and Tyner Post Of
fices, in conjunction with the
United States Postal Service,
will be col
lecting non
perishable
food items
like canned
meats and
fish, canned
soup, juice,
pasta, veg
etables, ce
real and rice on Saturday, May
i4th to help families in need in
See FOOD On Page 2-A
INSIDE
Calendar...B2
Church.B4
Classifieds.. B10-14
Editorials.A8
Learning.A9-10
Obituaries...B5
Society...B3
Sports.A11-13
Legislators conduct first business here in nearly 300 years
NC House prepares to convene at
Old Chowan Courthouse May 25
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
State Rep. Bill Culpepper pointed to a South
facing upstairs window inside the old Chowan
County Courthouse and told Denise G. Weeks,
the state House’s principal cleric, to take a look.
“It’s the finest view in North Carolina,”
Culpepper told Weeks last week as he led an
hour-long tour for her and Patrick Clancy,
House Speaker Jim Black’s director of citizen
affairs, through the historic courthouse built
in 1767.
Weeks, Culpepper, Clancy, and most of the
House’s 120-members will get a first-hand look
at the courthouse on May 25, when North Caro
lina Representatives convene there. It’s the
first time state lawmakers are to conduct offi
cial business at the site since the state Colo
nial Assembly met inside the building just
before the opening salvos of the Revolution
ary War, or roughly 230 years.
With legislators, their staffs and - yes - lob
byists expected to arrive in town the night
before the scheduled session, local hotels and
inns have been booked solid.
“We’re going to have a good response,” from
Raleigh, Culpepper, an Edenton attorney serv
ing his sixth full term in the House, said.
“I know we’re going to hit 200,” people, he
added, “from what I’ve been hearing.”
Much of the May 6 tour focused on the seat
ing for the upcoming session. Where would the
lawmakers sit? Who would sit where? Would
r7~WT~ '
Six sites in Chowan County considered for new trail
BY REBECCA BUNCH
The Chowan Herald
Chowan County is joining commu
nities across North Carolina in devel
oping potential sites to be included
along a state Coastal Birding Trail
While not a trail in the traditional
sense, the sites would involve a series
of stops within a community at loca
tions perfect for observing a wide va
riety of birds.
According to Nancy Nicholls, ex
ecutive director for the Chowan Tour
ism Development Authority, earning
a place along the state-designated
trail makes tremendous sense both
from an economic and tourism stand
Photo at left, state House Principal Clerk Denise G.
Weeks, state Rep. Bill Culpepper of Edenton, House
Speaker Jim Black's citizen affairs director Patrick Clancy,
and Chowan County Special Projects Officer Peter
Rascoe view the upstairs of the old Chowan County
Courthouse, where Culpepper and fellow House mem
bers will meet on May 25, in the first-floor courtroom.
The 1767 Chowan County Courthouse (above) pro
vides "the finest view in North Carolina," says Rep. Bill
Culpepper, D-Chowan.
Democrats and Republicans sit on opposite sides of the .
courtroom? , i
Culpepper said partisan seating wouldn’t happen.
And Black would sit in the judge’s seat on the raised
platform that faces the gallery
“I think we need to come up with some kind of peck
ing order,” for other top-ranking House members, he
told Weeks.
See COURTHOUSE On Page 2-A
£#V- *•
Taking
aim
during
May Play
Day
Bryce Kime, kneeling at left,
helps a youngster hit the target
during the archery activities at
May Play Day in Rocky Hock on
Saturday. Youths and adults alike
ventured out to the Rocky Hock
Community Center for the
children's games and entertain
ment at the Rocky Hock Play
house.
Staff photo by Sean Jackson
point." Nicholls, who admits to having
a “passion” for nature and nature
based tourism initiatives, is heading
the local steering committee for the
project.
Nicholls noted that her group,
which began meeting only a few
months ago, has submitted six differ
ent sites for consideration by the
North Carolina Wildlife Commission,
which is overseeing the project.
“We are all really enthusiastic
about this initiative and the potential
benefits,” she said. “We have a lot of
really good plans already, including
doing a waterproof brochure that
See TRAIL On Page 2-A
BOE budget
draft reflects
potential cuts
BY EARLINE WHITE
The Chowan Herald
During last week’s monthly Edenton
Chowan Board of Education meeting Super
intendent Dr. Allan Smith told the board that
he wished he had better news about the pro
posed 2005-2006 Edenton-Chowan School sys
tem budget.
According to Smith, drastic cuts loom in the
future. Though what was discussed last Mon
day is not the final budget, the budget contin
ues to look grim. The final draft hinges on what
the state legislature and Chowan County Com
missioners are able to provide to the county
for the next school year.
According to Smith the school system is fac
ing a deficit of $1.5 million for the next school
year. “The good news is that the 4% reduc
tion in state funding last year has been re
duced to 2 1/2% for next year. However the
bad news is that the state is also rolling in
discretionary deductions (approximately
$131,000) including sales tax with that 21/2 %
(approximately $60,000),” Dr. Smith told the
board. Normally sales tax comes back to the
county to be used in various ways; that’s not
an option this year.
Like last year, this year’s budget may need a
transfer from the fund balance in order to
manage the budget. Factors that have con
tributed to the rise in budget requests are
state and federal reductions, proposed sal
ary increases of 3%, the decline in number
of students (a federal reduction), a raise of
10% in employer contribution to the state
health program, an expansion request for
Walker School’s science materials, and
other items totaling approximately $375,000..
In order to fill the deficit while keeping the
system operational, Smith looked into a vari
ety of things, but the proposed outcome
brought moans from citizens in the audience
at the meeting.
“Sadly, we are looking at cuts in personnel
See SCHOOL On Page 2-A
State Senate
comes through
with COA funds
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
The state Senate has ap
proved funding for the con
tinuation of renovations at
College of the Albemarle’s
Chowan County Center.
Senators approved a $17
billion budget on May 5,
which included $1 million for
upgrades to the center,
Chowan County Manager
Cliff Copeland said Monday The money will help
with upgrades to Building 3 and an adjacent
See COLLEGE On Page 2-A
Holloman
Cannon's Ferry Riverwalk is among the trail sites nominated