Vol. LXXIII, No. 23 1
e
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Single Copies: 50c
-
I Rocky Hock
bridge will !
be replaced
Sean Jackson/The Chowan Herald
BY EARLINE WHITE
'* The Chowan Herald
• The N.C. Board of Transpor
f tation recently awarded a con
tract to replace the bridge over
Rocky Hock Creek along
'"V Rocky Hock Road.
The $820,000 contract was
awarded to Carolina Bridge
Company Inc. of Orangeburg,
S.C. Work and work is sched
i uled to begin in July with
' I completion set for November.
“Bridges throughout this
.4 area are a vital part of our
state’s transportation system,”
See BRIDGE On Page A2
Sean Jack*on/The Chowan ffesuld
NC Highway 32 from Valhalla to
Smalls Cross Roads will be closed
starting June 12 while NCDOT
replaces drainage pipes under
the roadway.
j
Section of Hwy.
32 to be closed
. From staff reports
Beginning June 12, NC High
way 32 from Valhalla to Smalls
Cross Roads will be closed
while the NC Dept, of Trans
portation replaces approxi
mately 4 drainage pipes under
the roadway.
“Several pipes need to be
See CLOSED On Page A2
Holmes graduation is Friday night
If the weather forecast
holds, Friday evening will
mark John A. Holmes High
School’s Class of 2006 com
mencement, beginning at 7
p.m. Graduating students must
report to the Holmes Com
mons by 6 p.m.
If the weather doesn’t coop
erate, the commencement will
take place on Saturday at 10
a.m., on the Athletic Complex
if it’s sunny, or in Swain Audi
torium if it’s not. About 150
seniors are expected to gradu
ate.
The guest speaker for the
event will be Chowan County
Alex Boehling
Commissioner Ralph Cole, in
troduced by Salutatorian
Ashley Klein. Valedictorian
Alex Boehling also will speak.
Rehearsal for; the ceremony
is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Fri
day, and is re
quired in or
der to partici
pate in the
evening Com
mencement.
Seniors will
receive four
tickets qach
at the Friday
rehearsal. If
Friday even
ing’s skies remain clear, the
tickets will not be necessary, as
the Athletic Complex likely
can seat any number of guests
a graduate invites. But if the
ceremony moves to Swain on
Ashley Klein
Saturday morning, guests will
need tickets to enter the audi
torium.
If the commencement cer
emony needs to be rescheduled
to Saturday, graduating se
niors should meet in the Com
mons area at 9 a.m.
If it’s still raining on Satur
day morning, commencement
will move to Swain Audito
rium at 10 a.m. The Swain au
ditorium will open to the pub
lic at 9 a.m. Guests should park
in the courthouse lot or in city
lots; all Swain parking spaces
See GRADUATION Page A2
Graduates
. H
A salute to the seniors in
the Class of 2006 at John A.
Holmes High School and
Lawrence Academy can be
found in on Pages 5-C, 6-C
and7-Cof this week’s paper.
The Chowan Herald
would like to express its ap
preciation to all those who
sponsored this special trib
ute.
For younger readers, we
have included a Kids Corner
on page 3-D of this edition.
A Glorious bunset
Rebecca Lowe
The beauty of the Chowan River is reflected in this photo taken at dusk just as the sun was setting. Golden and
orange hues cast a glow across the water as a lone cypess tree stands watch. The sky reflects shades of pink and blue
dotted with white clouds that also add beauty to the horizon.
Proposed tax
hikes part of
town, county
budget drafts
Sean Jacksonville Chowan Herald
County Manager Cliff Copeland is assisted by
county clerk Nancy Morgan as he discusses the
proposed budget during Monday night’s meeting.
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
Edenton Town Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton and Chowan County Manager Cliff
Copeland have both called for property tax
hikes in their proposed budgets sent to coun
cilors and commissioners late last week.
. Both Knighton and Copeland cited such pro
jected increases as spending for fuel and insur- '
ance costs as reasons for calling for the rise in
the tax rates. Copeland said increases in
worker’s compensation costs, $231,000 in addi
tional EMS spending, and $300,000 in match
ing funds for a recreational facility grant also
See BUDGET On Page A2
INSIDE
Calendar.C2
Church..C9,10
Classifieds.D1-4
Editorials.A8
Obituaries.C8
Society..C3
Sports.B1-4
r
I
Contact us
Call 482-4418
0
02006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
Teacher won't be returning to class this fall
f BOE declines to renew
contract of educator
; under investigation
| • -
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
I ■
A John A. Holmes High
i School teacher under investi
| gation by Edenton police for
alleged pornographic material
on his home computer, as well
as an alleged incident involv
ing a female student, did not
have his contract renewed for
the next school year by the
Edenton-Chowan Board of
Education on Monday night.
The teacher in question will
not be returning to the class
room at Holmes in the fall, Su
perintendent Allan Smith said
Tuesday morning.
“The board voted (unani
mously) to not renew his con
tract for next year,” Smith said,
adding that teachers who do
not have “career status” with
public schools in North Caro
lina have their contracts re
newed on a year-to-year basis.
The teacher’s official last
day as an Edenton-Chowan
school system employee is
June 13, spokesperson Glenda
Jakubowski said Tuesday. He
was suspended from the school
system in mid-May when the
investigation began. He began
working at Holmes in the fall.
The teacher’s home com
puter was confiscated by police
following an incident at a local
restaurant on May 13, when he
allegedly approached a female
student from Holmes and en
gaged in what officials have
characterized as potentially in
appropriate conduct.
Police Det. Sgt. Rhonda
Copeland said Monday that of
ficials at a State Bureau of In
vestigation lab in Raleigh were
still conducting tests on the
teacher’s home computer
which had initially been taken
to an SBI lab in Greenville fol
lowing the May 13 incident.
“We’re still waiting on (get
ting) information back on that
{computer),” Copeland said.
“We hope to hear something
back this week.”
As of press time, the teacher
had not been charged with any
crimes.
Copeland has not ruled out
the possibility that the teacher
could be charged, pending the
outcome of the search for child
pornography material on his
home computer.
Smith said Monday that he
was aware of the police inves
tigation and search of the
teacher’s computer. He de
clined to comment when asked
by'The Chowan Herald about
any concerns he might have •
about the search for child por
nography on the teacher’s
computer.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate
for me to respond; there’s an
investigation going on,” Smith
said.
Smith also declined to com
ment on why the school board
essentially terminated the
teacher before the investiga
tion was finished.
“I can’t get into those person
nel issues," he said.
Several attempts to contact
the teacher haye been unsuc
cessful. He did not reply to an
email left at his email address
at Holmes last month and he
has an unlisted phone number.
Minor injuries
sustained in
accident
BY EARLINE WHITE
The Chowan Herald ,
A multi-car accident slow
ed early morning traffic on
Hwy 32 for nearly an hour
Friday.
At approximately 7:50 a.m.
Cody Madrey, 18, of Tyner
was heading south in a 1992
Chevrolet truck when he
stopped in the lane of traffic
for a school bus near Frog’s
Crossing. Christopher En
glish of Edenton, a teacher at
John A. Holmes High School,
stopped his white Blazer be
hind Madrey’s truck. Dana
See ACCIDENT Page AS