Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / March 8, 2006, edition 1 / Page 1
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Vol. LXXIII, No. 10 Wednesday, March 8, 2006 Single Copies: 50c r USDA loan funds library expansion BY EARUNE WHITE The Chowan Herald A USDA loan for $1.8 million for the Shepard-Pruden Memo rial Library expansion project was approved at the March meeting of the Chowan County Commissioners, clear ing the way for the project to move for ward. The to tal project cost is an esti mated $2.6 million which will be used to double the square foot age of the li Miller brary, double the number of shelves, triple the number of computer stations and provide additional storage for ar chives, equipment, etc. Rosalie Miller, County Li brarian, spoke on behalf of the Trustees and Friends of the Library, shared her excitement concerning the upcoming project. “As you know our county li brary is more than 40 years old,” Miller said, “so it is defi nitely time to expand and im prove.” Miller also mentioned the comity’s increasing popu lation (7.6% each decade) as a motivating factor for pushing ' forward with the project. The expansion design is one that was reviewed over a year ago when the project was first on the table, prior to Hurri cane Isabel, Peter Rascoe, Spe cial Projects Officer for Chowan County explained. And the land behind Town Hall that will be needed for the ex pansion is currently in the pro cess of transfer from the town to the county, Architect Jerry Traub said. Many members of the Friends of the Library spoke in support of the project and praised the commissioners for approving it. The USDA loan has a 4 1/2 % interest rate for the 30-year See LIBRARY On Page A3 INSIDE Calendar.. B2 Church.85,6 Classifieds.... B8-10 Editorials..A8 Obituaries.B4 School....;.A4 Society.B3 Sports.A5-7 Contact us Call 482-4418 ©2006 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved White Oak preschool earns five star rating BY EARLINE WHITE The Chowan Herald Meeting the state-mandated needs of the area’s preschool youth has resulted in a five star licensing for White Oak Elementary, the highest rate that can be achieved. The pre school licensing requirements and news of the local achieve ment was presented to the Board of Education Monday night at their March meeting. White Oak Principal, Linda Mathias explained the mini mum requirements required by the Department of Public Instruction and the State of Passion for learning Dr. P has high hopes for his AG students; pushes them to expand their horizons During NIE Week March 6-10, we profile one of many local teachers who are mak ing a difference in the classroom everyday. BY EARLINE WHITE The Chowan Herald Like all great teachers Dr. Mel Pekofsky has a vision for his young stu dents. Each week his academically gifted (AG) classes go beyond the ‘nor mal’ curriculum -drafting original dic tionaries, composing poems modeled after the great writers in history, and learning about the water cycle’s role with regards to soil and recycling. Each week they learn the origins of a com monplace phrase, “turning the tables” for example, and study word parts for their new vocabulary words. By push ing them forward, Dr. P, as he is referred to by his students, he is hoping to ignite passion for learning. “What I hope for them to learn is to put two and two together. Maybe one day they’ll hear the phrase “raining cats and dogs” and remember that it has to do with the days when roofs were thatched and animals slept there to stay warm. When it rained the roof would become slick and the cats and dogs would fall to the ground....I want them to understand and recognize word parts so when in science class they will be See LEARNING On Page A2 Up to 300 homes tagged for district expansion Tax credits will help lower-income families deal with added expense of inclusion on national register BY REBECCA BUNCH The Chowan Herald A proposal before the Edenton Town Council that would expand the bound aries of the National Register Historic District would offer tax credits for homeowners and businesses in those ar eas if they qualify, but would regulate any changes to the exterior of those prop erties. The interior of the homes/busi nesses could be altered without restric tion. For example, the council was told dur ing a recent committee meeting that vi nyl siding and vinyl windows would be considered inappropriate and that prop erty owners would not be allowed to in stall them within the proposed district. Storm windows, those connected to the project said, would be allowed because they would be considered in keeping with the original character of the neighborhoods in See DISTRICT On Page A3 North Carolina, which in cludes meeting standards for health, safety and education. “When a facility meets the Linda Mathias minimum need it receives one star, beyond that the facility has to apply for additional stars,” Mathias said. Three areas of standards are scored: program standards, staff education and compli ance history “From the beginning (Super intendent) Dr. (Allan) Smith said that he wanted 5 stars which is very difficult to achieve,” Mathias added. “These licensing requirements are not set up for schools, but for daycare facilities. So the difficulty was meeting the 5 star goal without compromis ing our belief about early childhood education. The re sults were a system-wide effort with everyone from the custo dians to the central office staff working together.” Currently the White Oak preschool program serves 45 students or 25 percent of the preschool age children in the county. Mathias’ goal is to open up the preschool program to the whole county so that the program will serve even more children. Funding for the preschool program comes from the Ex ceptional Children’s Program, “More At 4” a statewide initia tive to assist those in ‘at-risk’ Earline White/The Chowan Herald Dr. Mel Pekofsky works with Ttywon Bond, one of the students in his academi cally-felted class to draft completely unique dictionary based on Latin etymology. Heavy blue lines indicate the local neighbor hoods tentatively scheduled to be included in the National Register under the current proposal. situations and local monies. Smith added that in the 11 counties served by the licens ing inspector who came to Edenton-Chowan Schools, only two comities received the 5-star rating, “so I think this says a great deal about the top notch program students in Chowan County are able to re ceive,” he said. In other business: The Student Accountability Policy which require students to make a passing grade in their class in addition to a level 2.5 on their EOG/EOC (end of Byrum, 19 j charged in arson case j BY EARLIKE WHITE . - J The Chowan Herald With the assistance of neigh bors in the River Road community, ' \ the suspect believed to have started an arson fire last Thurs day has been a p p r e - hended and is now await ing trial. Just after 6 p.m. on March 2, a call was put in to the I Chowan County Sheriff’s Office J reporting a fire at 231 River Road. , i With Center Hill Crossroad Fire Department on the scene extin guishing the blazes and law en- ,'t forcement on the way, neighbors 4 called the Sheriff’s Office with a j description of the likely arsonist, 4 who was seen running from the t scene of the crime, Deputy : Dwayne Goodwin said. ' The suspect, Kevin Wade Byrum, 19, of Old Ferry Road, had ; allegedly set a fire at the back and front of the house, owned by Rubin Roberts. After setting the ; fires it is believed that Byrum ran i through the woods, setting another fire on the way. Byrum reportedly ] Wi yi: See ARSON On Page A2 ’4] Slain family pets found Local authorities need help to find killers BY EARLINE WHITE The Chowan Herald The killing of two adored fam ily pets in the Yeopim area has the entire community outraged and local Animal Control officers on the hunt for information about the crime. Tim and Janine Bunch’s two dogs, a four year-old Husky named Keira and her 9-month old pup Onyx were found on a hunting path beside Yeopim Road on March 1, both fatally shot. A call to Chowan Animal Control was dispatched around 9 a.m. When See PETS On Page A2 "r.f? •4r MCAKE7& ausag^i SUPPER 2006 *5-7 PM AUCTION 7:00 PM - UNTIL lift* AU You Can Eat $6.00 r\ HOCK COMMUNITY CENTER SPONsSkiO ** ROCKY HOCK RURITANS 1 V ’ 1
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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March 8, 2006, edition 1
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