Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Aug. 9, 2006, edition 1 / Page 1
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Vol. LXXIII No. 32 Wednesday, August 9, 2006 50c Coming next week Edenton Aces 2006 fall football preview; new coaching staff, players Officials deep six town's plan for removal of . 'stinky weeds' •■■■ ■ : - ! ■ > ; V .. - ■T-V - : • .: V Story Below Sandy Point project collides with environmental roadblock ■ The concern: aquatic vegetation found near project site ■ Project has hundreds of homes 0 and some businesses BY SEAN JACKSON ; The Chowan Herald ' The huge Sandy Point project is running into envi ronmental problems that could jeopardize the future of the project, officials say. Doug Huggett, permits coor dinator for the state Division of Coastal Management, said Monday that he expects the developer to ask for the project’s permit to be put on hold. But Sam Young, the devel oper, said Tuesday that he cur rently has no such plans. ’ “I don’t know exactly where Kids beat the heat BY EARLINE WHITE The Chowan Herald “Turn on the water”, the kids screamed as temperatures hit record numbers in town last week. An afternoon trip to the hot playground was the furthest thought from anyone’s mind. Meanwhile the kids were ev erywhere, splishing and splash ing all over town. Those who didn’t have a pool found refuge in others’ pools or opted to get wet the old fashioned way—the trusty waterhose. They would spray each other •and even turn it on themselves just for a few minutes relief from the sweltering heat. Even at the Kids Being Kids Camp (sponsored by the recre ation department) last week, ev ery morning was filled with wa ter activities—water games, wa ter guns and slip and slide fun. In the afternoons the 20-plus par ticipants would cool down with homemade smoothies and watch movies in the A/C. Many seemed more concerned about their animals and the heat than their own person. “I give my two dogs fresh wa ter twice a day and doggy ice cream,” Carolann White said. Jaylan Boyce lets his pet turtle out every day to run around and then treats him with cold food afterwards. Increases in funds equals more teachers in the classrooom BY EARLINE WHITE The Chowan Herald An increase in state and local allocation will allow for ■ two new core classroom teachers at White Oak, one at John A. Holmes, and one at D. F. Walker in the upcoming school year. Superintendent Allan Smith is pleased with the addition of staff in the class room which he feels confi L INDEX A4 i ' «r l A local ^ Opinion • ■»«»•«••»****» «; land Transfers.. A6 *■ ■ W-B Sports * Recreation News.B1 | Nascar..—........82 m'i: we are at the moment,” Young said. The problems stem from the recent discovery of aquatic vegetation near the shores of the Albemarle Sound. “We’re trying to figure out how to deal with that,” Young said. The 930-acre project, to in clude hundreds of homes in addition to some businesses, sits on the sound just south of Edenton. It involves 1.6 miles of shoreline, 200 feet of which are impacted by the plants, Young said. But could the problem jeop ardize the expensive subdivi Jaylan Boyce, 8 Water ballons, slip 'n slide staying wet How do you stay cool? Keibrea Holley, 7 Go inside the house with the A/C and watch TV Shanna Armstead, 9 Eat ice, wear short sieeves, stay in the A/C Davis Marshall, 7 Eat lots of vanilla ice cream, watermelon and cantaloupe Carolann Carolann White, 10 Swimming pool, eating popcides, and playing on the slip 'n slide Keibrea Davis dent will make a real differ ence to curb class size in the schools. “The state allotted a sub stantial increase this year, which Will allow funding for three additional teachers (because of the rising aver age daily attendance),” Smith said. An additional person for instructional support will See FUNDS, Page A2 ► C Community News . Upcoming Events. Society. Obituaries.. Church.„..C5,6 D Classifieds . s - Buy/Sell/Trade..._;,D1 Service Directory.D2 Legats, Jobs ....... D3, D4 003 “There’s an aw- •... ful lot of money tied up in that, [project] and we’re aware of that.” Doug Huggett, permits coordinator Sion? “Potentially, it could,” Huggett said from his Morehead City office. “But, also potentially, there could be some solution to work out.” Barline WhitelThe Chowan Herald Robbie Emijiinizer heads for the cool relief of a blowup pool during his ninth birthday party Saturday. Officials tell town to halt weed removal; plants beneficial to aquatic life, they say Public Works staff had been digging in effort to kill odor on waterfront BY SEAN JACKSON The Chowan Herald The stinky weed bloom in waters in and around Eden ton is something people will just have to put up with for a while. N.C, Division of Coastal Management officials last Contact us Call 482-4418 ©2006 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved Young didn’t rule out an and to the project. “Anything is potential,” he said. “But if I thought they were going to stop it, I’d pack up and go. We haven’t given up yet.” Chowan County Manager Cliff Copeland also sees Sandy Point happening. “At the end of the day,” Copeland said, “we’re going to have a project.” The protected plants would be affected by proposed dredg ing for the project, Huggett said. The plants are in a heavy bloom this summer, while last summer they were more week told the town to put the brakes on efforts to scoop the weeds out of Edenton Bay. The milfoil and other plants growing along the town’s shoreline is consid ered a plant that benefits other aquatic life. “We were told to cease and desist from raking or digging out any of the vegetation,” Town Manager Anne-Marie Knighton said early Monday. “If the weed was washed up on the rocks, dead and de caying, we would remove that. But that is it,” she added. But could the town, as some residents have sug gested, put nets out in the bay next year to traps the _ weeds? “The state said that would be an absolute no-no,” Knighton said. The good news is, she said, is that the weeds typically don’t hang around too long. “It is likely not to be this bad in future years,” the sparse in numbers, Huggett said. State agencies have called for developers to draft a miti gation plan regarding three types of underwater plants near the shoreline. State offi cials have reviewed that plan. “A lot of discussion is going back and forth,” Huggett said. “As of right now, I’m not how sure it’s going to work out.” Huggett said it is -not un usual for developers to ask for a hold to be put on a permit application. The state has a deadline to meet to either ap prove or deny such applica tions, he said. He’s seen such town manager said. The weeds reportedly bloomed in large numbers this year due to excessive heat, still conditions, and low salinity in the Chowan River and Albemarle Sound. Mike Williams, agriculture extension agent for Chowan County, said improvements in the quality of area waters also aided the plants’ arrival. Clearer water allows sun light to reach the bottom of a body of water, where nutri ents have gathered. “As we learned in grade school,” Williams empha sized, “plants need nutrients, sunlight and water to grow.” The bright side of the mat ter is that the plants provide habitats for fish and water fowl. “You may have noticed all the ducks that like to stay right in the middle of the mass of weeds that float into Edenton Bay,” Williams said. And the plants, which in clude naiad and eel grass, delays take from a week to sev eral months. “They can keep it on hold as long as they need to,” he said. Huggett was unsure how much the problems with the plants — and the potential de lay in the permit application— would cost the developers. “There’s an awful lot of money tied up in that [project] and we’re aware of that.” Young said the discovery of the plants has been costly. He’s worked with biologists, envi ronmental experts and college See PROJECT, Page A2 >■ also play a role in the aquatic food chain. The plants attract aquatic insects that become food for small fish, which are consumed by larger fish. The big fish then become meals for osprey and bald eagles. “It’s well worth an early morhing canoe ride on still waters,” Williams said, "to quietly paddle over these aquatic weed communities and observe the abundance of life from small minnows and insects to the larger predatory bass and all in be-, tween.” The downside, besides the stench,’ is that the weed masses can be hazards to mo torized boats. “Boat traffic has to worry about fouling propellers in the thick vegetation,” Will iams said. “And everyone near the water has to deal with the odor as the weeds wash onto ;S -V shore and decompose,” Will iams added. Av
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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