Coming next week
Results/photos from the Colonial
Invitational Tennis Tournament
Dig at Iredell House
uncovers artifacts
Community, C1
.i
No. 30
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
50c
TWo BOE
seats up
for grabs
Jean Bunch and
Win Dale battle
incumbents
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
Two first-time candidates for
elected office insured that the
local school-board races will be
contested in November.
Jean Bunch and Win Dale
* signed up Friday, shortly be
fore the filing period closed, for
the Nov. 7 non-partisan elec
tions. Bunch
will face in
c u m b e n t
Randy White
for the
board’s Dis
trict 1 seat,
while Dale is
challenging
incumbent
Tom Abbott
for the at-large post.
Bunch, of Tyner, com
mended the current Edenton
Chowan
Board of
Education’s
commitment
to local chil
dren. She
said she has a
similar com
mitment to
education in
the county.
“There will continue to be
ever-changing challenges in
meeting the educational expec
tations that we all want our
youth to demonstrate when
they graduate,” Bunch said.
“The experiences that I have
gleamed from my years of
community and school in
volvement has provided me
with effective leadership skills
that will contribute to the task
See SEATS, Page A2 ►
INDEX
A Local
Opinion .........
Land Transfers
A6
A7
B Sports
Nascar.....i..B2
C Community News
i. Upcoming Events .....C2
Society.. C3
Obituaries.. C4
: Church....... C7,8
D Classifieds
Buy/Sell/Trade.D1
Service Directory...... D2
Employment.D4
Contact us
Call 482-4418
02006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
THE 'BOUQUET' FROM EDENTON BAY
Greg Brown rakes the sludge to Mickey Watson who vacuums it up at the Edenton Bay
waterfront. Both are employees of the Town of Edenton's Public Works Department.
Obnoxious odor has local
citizens going ‘Phew!’
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
The summer sun and heat has brought more
than uncomfortable temperatures recently.
The torrid conditions of late have also aided
the growth of a smelly aquatic plant in Edenton
Bay Knows as milfoil, the plants have been
blooming near the banks of the bay for several
weeks.
But it’s the effects of their demise that has
fouled the air of late, Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton said Monday. The weeds die
and wash up on shore.
“The decomposition process creates the aw
ful smell,” Knighton said.
Add in a wet June and a blistering July and
the recipe for stench is ripe.
“With the high temperatures and no wind,”
Knighton said, “the odor just hangs over the
town.”
It happened in 2002. Knighton said agriculture
and aquatic specialists have said that the plant
grows rapidly when conditions are hot, wet and
still.
Dry summers equal the infusion of saltwater
into Edenton Bay via the Albemarle Sound.
“With all theSrain we have had,” Knighton
said, “the salt intrusion has been held back.”
In recent weeks town workers have donned
wading boots and climbed into the bay to scoop
out the decaying weeds with large, flat shovels.
It’s been the town’s only recourse to stemming
the stench.
“The state tells us there is nothing we can do,”
Knighton said, “except hope for a good north
east wind to blow the weed out of here.”
In the meantime, workers will continue
their efforts to rid the shoreline of the stinky
weeds.
“Those guys deserve combat pay,” the town
manager said.
Future foY
new grocer
looks rosy!
Shopping center with Farm
Fresh anchor gets the nod
from local Planning Board
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
A majority of town councilors say they are
leaning towards approving a permit for a
Farm Fresh-anchored shopping center just
north of Edenton.
The Chowan Herald’s poll this week of the
council followed a recent unanimous vote by
the local Planning Board to recommend the
project.
“I think it’s pretty much a go,” Councilman
Jimmy Stallings said. “I don’t think it’s going
to be a problem.”
The center, to be lo
cated beside the Hamp
ton Inn off the U.S.
Highway 17 exit at N.C.
Highway 32, would be
anchored by a Farm
Fresh, with a number of
other retail stores and a
gas center also planned.
The Town Planning
Board approved the per
mit for the development at its July 26 meet
ing. Council has a public hearing on the per
mit scheduled for its Aug. 8 meeting.
Councilwoman Phyllis Britton, whose dis
trict is closet to the proposed center, said she
supports the arrival of a new shopping center
“I think it will be good
for us,” Britton said
Tuesday
Brit^on^said she
hopes the developer,
Norfolk, Va.-based
Wheeler Development,
will abide by the stipu
lations requested by the
planning board.
“I’m in favor of it as
long as they stand by
their agreements,” she said.
Councilman Willis Privott also said he fa
vors the plan as long as it sticks to town guide
lines.
“There’s always going to be some questions
and little bugs that need to be worked out,” he
said.
Overall, Privqtt is looking forward to the
arrival of Edenton Commons.
“I’m definitely leaning towards (approving)
it because it’s going to be a great asset for
Edenton,” Privott said.
In addition to more shopping choices, the
center would bring in additional revenues to
the town.
“It’s going to take our hands out of the taxpay
ers pockets,” Privott added.
Councilman Jerry Parks also said he agrees
with the planning board’s recommendation to
approve the permit.
“I am leaning towards (approving) it,” he said.
Councilmen Steve Biggs and Sambo Dixon
could not be reached for this story
to Edenton.
Parks
Britton
Design phase ‘wrapping up’ for new public safety center here
BY SEAN JACKSON
The Chowan Herald
Edenton officials are one
step closer to moving the po
lice department out of the
flood zone and into new digs a
few blocks away from the wa
terfront.
During their recent commit
tee meetings, town councilors
agreed to vote on a lease agree
ment with Chowan County for
the new public safety center.
Edenton’s
share of the
cost would be
$4.4 million,
Town Manager
Anne-Marie
Knighton said.
The project is
almost ready to
be put out to
bid for construction,” Kni
ghton said during the July 24
meeting.
“We’re wrapping up the de
Rascoe
sign phase right now/' Peter
Rascoe, special projects direc
tor for the town and county,
said Tuesday. Once bids are
received, they’ll be forwarded
to the state Local Government
Commission for approval in
October.
In addition to the police de
partment, the Chowan she
riff’s office and 911 central
communications staff would
be housed at the new facility,
slated to between West Free
mason and West Carteret
streets.
With financing added, the
total cost of the facility is
nearly $17 million, Knighton
said. The police department
would occupy 7,600 square feet
of the building.
It is slated to be completed by
the fall of 2008. The town
would begin its annual debt
payments the following year.
The top floor of the two
story building would have
space available for expansion,
if other public safety agencies
needed to use space there,
Knighton said.
Councilman Steve Biggs had
no qualms about the 30-year
agreement, which renews au
tomatically at the end of that
term.
The county will receive a fed
eral loan to pay for the
facility.The town would jaay
See DESIGN, Page A2 ►