Vol. LXXIII, No. 6
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Single Copies: 50c
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Report says
county 41st
in taxes paid
BY EARLINE WHITE
The.Chowan Herald
The average North Carolin
ian paid $17 more for local
government’s cost in 2003-2004
than they did one year ago, ac
cording to a recent report pub
lished by the John Locke Foun
dation. The report, By the
Numbers, calculates tax bur
den for the average taxpayer
for each county.
t/nowan uounty ranxea 4ist -
out of all 100 counties in the
state for the amount in taxes
and fees paid to the local gov
ernment ($1,139.71 per capita)
compared with Pasquotank at
28th ($1,254,06) and Dare
County which places the high
est burden on their residents
($3,572.61), according to the re
port. Gates County came in
near the bottom, ranked 98th
for $683.37 per capita, while
Perquimans was ranked 51s.t
($1,085.91).
“I think some of these fig
ures are misleading,” Chowan
County Manager Cliff
Copeland said Friday about
the top five tax burdening
counties. “Consider Dare
County, for example. The year
round population is around
40.000- 45,000 people, but in the
summer the population sky
rockets in excess of 100,000.
The property taxes and sales
taxes collected from those
100.000- plus individuals and
divided by the number of full
time residents (45,000) makes
no sense. For these numbers to
be more accurate the inclusion
of sales and property taxes col
lected by non-residents will
have to be taken out of the
equation. In reality Dare
County’s tax burden for full
time residents is among the
lowest in the state.”
Copeland said he felt, how
ever, that the numbers for
Chowan County were about
right.
“Chowan County does not
have the seasonal population
like that of Dare County so the
numbers for us are pretty ac
curate. The numbers show that
Chowan County is doing a
See TAXES On Page A2
INSIDE
Calendar.C2
Church.. C5,6
Classifieds.D1-4
Editorials.A4
Obituaries,.C4
School...A6
Society.C3
Sports.. Bt-4
Contact us
Call 482-4418
©2006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
Earline White/Ihe Chowan Herald
Investigator Dwayne Goodwin, left, registers to run for the
office of Chowan County Sheriff, as his boss, current Sheriff
Fred Sprniil, and Elections Supervisor Rebecca Lowe look
on. Spruill is retiring at the end of his current term.
One’s a deputy, one’s a police detective...
both want the chance to be your next sheriff
bY tAKLINt WHIlt
The Chowan Herald
Chowan County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Dwayne
Goodwin officially threw his hat in the ring on Mon
day for the upcoming Sheriff’s election.
Goodwin has been with the Chowan County Sheriff’s
Office since 1991 when he came on as part of the auxil
iary force. From 1991 to 2000, he served as a Patrol Of
ficer then became a State Certified Criminal Investiga
tor. He has logged over 2,500 hours of law enforcement
training, many of which have been in the area of Civil
ian Emergency Preparedness and Terrorism Security.
“Over the last fourteen years Dwayne has proven that
his is up to the challenge (of being Sheriff). This job is
a people’s choice and I feel very fortunate to have an
individual with his level of character, experience, and
professionalism asking the citizens for the opportunity
to serve us as our Sheriff,” Sheriff Fred Spruill said.
Goodwin, who grew up in the Cannon’s Ferry area
of Chowan Comity, said he has learned much from
working alongside Spruill.
“Sheriff Spruill has afforded me the opportunity to
be a part of the decision making processes from which
I have learned a great deal, especially about the admin
istrative activities,” Goodwin commented.
“Right now is an exciting time in Chowan County,
especially with the growth that is occurring on each
end of the county,” Goodwin said Monday as he stood
with his family and supporters, including Spruill, at
the Board of Elections Office. “I think we have a great
Sheriff’s Office; I want to grow on that. I want to get
more involved in the community watch programs, for
example, and reach out to the community for their help
and input.”
Goodwin is involved in investigating everything from
homicides to worthless checks. He pursues federal,
state, and local violations, collecting and preserving
See GOODWIN On Page A3
Sean Jackson/The Chowan Herald
Edenton Police Detective Sergeant Rhonda Copeland, top
right, signs up to become a candidate for the Chowan County
Sheriff’s. Looking on are her campaign manager Jeff Knox,
and Board of Elections Supervisor Rebecca Lowe.
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
Veteran Edenton Police Det. Sgt. Rhonda Copeland
filed Monday for the soon-to-be-vacated Chowan
County Sheriff’s job, pledging to run a hand’s-on de
partment if she’s elected to the post.
Copeland, 52, a Democrat, has spent the past 16 years
with Edentori’s police force, including the past two as
head of the department’s new investigations division.
“I just want the voters to be aware that I’m very seri
ous about this (sheriff’s) position,” she said shortly
after filing at the Chowan elections board office.
“I’m very serious about fighting crime,” she added.
“That’s number one on my priority list.”
Copeland said she’d been considering such a bid, her
first-ever run for elected office, for much of the past
year. The more she thought about it, the more people
approached her about becoming sheriff.
“I felt like it was the right time,” she said.
Copeland will have at least one opponent in the May
2 primary, fellow Democrat and Chowan County
Sheriff’s Deputy Dwayne Goodwin, who also filed Mon
day to replace retiring Sheriff Fred Spruill. After 20
years as sheriff, Spruill has decided not to seek re-elec
tion for a sixth term in office.
Copeland is not hoping to sway voters in her favor
because of her gender. If elected, however, she would
be the county’s first female sheriff.
“There are some people that think a woman should
not be sheriff,” Copeland said.
It’s her years with the Edenton Police Department,
and her passion for ensuring residents’ safety in
Edenton and Chowan County, that Copeland wants vot
ers to take notice of. It’s a job one has to love, Copeland
added.
“You lose so much of you family life,” she said. “You
put up with a lot out there... And you don’t sign up to
See COPELAND On Page A3
Former police
officer facing
felony charges
Gardner on indictment:
“I am innocent”
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
A former Edenton Police officer was in
dicted by a Chowan County grand jury on Feb.
6 for alleged felony possession of a prescrip
tion narcotic.
Nicole C. Gardner, of Edenton, was named
on the indictment for alleged felony posses
sion with intent to sell and deliver a schedule
II controlled substance, oxycodone, also
known as oxycontin.
Gardner was the focus of an Alcohol Law
Enforcement investigation that lead to the
indictment, District Attorney Frank Parrish
said Tuesday.
A total of 52 capsules were seized on Jan.
25th, allegedly in Gardner’s possession. She
was fired by the town the following day, ac
cording to Town Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton and Police Chief Greg Bonner.
Gardner was hired by the town, in Septem
ber 2004.
In an interview with The Chowan Herald at
the newspaper’s office Tuesday, Gardner said
the charges arenot true. “I am innocent,” she
said.
She added that she was not surprised that
the grand jury found merit in the allegations.
“(A) grand jury’s only (presented) one side,”
of a case on which to make a decision,
Gardner said, emphasizing that she has never
had a prescription for oxycontin, and has
never taken the drug.
“I’ve never seen it,” she said of the pain
killer.
Oxycontin, according to the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration Web site, is a narcotic
drug approved for the treatment of moderate
to sevei'e pain.
“It resulted from a surveillance operation,”
Parrish said of the narcotics seizure. He de
clined to discuss additional details of the in
vestigation.
Both Knighton and Bonner have also de
clined to discuss the incident, other than to
confirm the fact Gardner was terminated
from her job as a patrol officer with the town.
At press time, Gardner had not been ar
rested. According to court documents, ALE
agent Rodney Parker issued an order of ar
rest for Gardner on Feb. 6.
Bonner said Tuesday that he understood
ALE agents were making arrangements to
arrest Gardner, possibly later that day.
Gardner said Tuesday that she had not been
See POLICE On Page A2
Chowan joins effort to save more heart attack victims
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
Chowan Hospital is one of 10
Eastern North Carolina hospi
tals aiming at speeding up
treatment for heart attack pa
tients.
Last week, area health care
officials met at the Brody
School of Medicine at East
Carolina University in Green
ville to discuss potential meth
ods to provide quicker care to
hedrt attack patients. The re
gional group is part of a state
wide consortium whose Re
perfusion of Acute Myocardial
Infarction (RACE) project
seeks to boost the number of
heart attack survivors,
It’s that initial 60 minutes, or
“golden hour,” that is crucial
to surviving a heart attack,
said Chowan Hospital Emer
gency Department clinical
manager Mary Spruill. Unfor
tunately, many heart attack
victims wait longer than that
to realize what is happening to
them.
“They (often) wait several
hours before they come in,” to
the emergency room, Spruill
said. “People don’t want to ad
mit they’re having chest pains,
and maybe a heart attack, and
get to the hospital in a timely
manner.”
At the meeting in Greenville
last week, health care officials
echoed Spruill’s concern.
"In North Carolina, people
are not getting treated quickly
enough...with artery-opening
procedures by medication or
mechanical devices,” said Dr.
Joseph Babb, a cardiologist
and professor of internal
medicine at ECU’s medical
school.
“Bringing patients through
that golden hour is critical to
saving lives,” said Dr. Joseph
Shiber, a clinical assistant pro
The Daily Reflector
Dr. Joseph Babb, a
cardiologist and
professor of
internal medicine
at EClPs medical
school, addresses
those attending a
briefing in
Greenville last
week on the RACE
project.
fessor of emergency medicine
at ECU’s Brody School of
Medicine.
According to an ECU press
release, national registries
See EFFORT On A3
‘POT OF GOLD
REVERSE
DRAWING”
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