Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Feb. 7, 2007, edition 1 / Page 1
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482-4418 Wednesday,February 7, 2007 50c Doris Hughes, Leonard Small, Frances Inglis, John Sams, Jim Robison receive civic honors Pages A2,C1 Franklin Jackson at the controls at 911 Inside, A3 George C. Moore eyes closing date A few employees to transfer to company headquarters BY EARLINE WHITE Staff Writer George C. Moore Elastics Co. will close its doors April 27 leav ing all but a few of its 85 remain ing employees without a job. The remainder of the employ ees—in the customer service and design departments — will be transferred to the company’s Schools miss the mark on state tests New state standards cause decline of scores statewide BY EARLINE WHITE Staff Writer AJ1 four schools in Edenton Chowan failed to meet ad equate yearly progress (AYP) j ... Sfials last spring, compared to the year before when all but one (Chowan Middle) met the goal. New standards aiming to have all students performing at their grade level by the year 2013-2014 has recently raised the bar for N.C. students, and consequently lowered the AYP scores statewide. “Overall, I feel that the re port is positive, but it could have been better, ” Willie Koonce, director of testing and accountability with the school system said. - Only three school systems (Washington, Tyrell, and Watauga) in the state met the 2005-2006 AYP goals. AYP measures the yearly progress toward achieving grade level performance for each student group in reading and mathematics. Schools must test at least 95 percent of i students in each group and each group must meet the tar See SCHOOLS, Page A2 ► : u. W: i; I*. INDEX A Local Land Transfers.A5 Opinion.A6 ■;_ ' 8 Sports Recreation News ...... 81 Nascar.......82 C Community News Upcoming Events.C2 • Church briefs..... C3 Obituaries... C6 Church. C7 a D Classifieds Buy/Sell/Trade.. D1 Service Directory.D2 Employment...D4 • ©2006 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved headquarters in Rhode Island. “We had hoped that we would be able to continue manufactur ing a small amount of product in Edenton,” a letter from the company’s president, Goran Elovsson said. “However, after months of re view, we have concluded that the cost associated with the manufac ture of these styles is signifi cantly greater than the revenue it generates.” The company announced in November 2005 that many of its employees would be losing their jobs to manufacturing plants in r wmv,//. Sean Jackson/The Chowan Herald About 23 feet of graffiti was recently painted on the rear of Ellis Carpet & Tile Co. in Edenton. Police can't believe nobody saw 'so much writing being done' not just a police rrtanenMS . ' ■- ■ ■ “ ■■ in munity ma tter, " _ Police Chief iQ Bonner t " r v * 5 * ' laAe’ ,V i i BY SEAN JACKSON Staff Writer Edenton police are investigating who is responsible for painting pos sible gang graffiti on the back of a town business. Chief Greg Bonner said it’s un clear who spray-painted a 23-foot long collection of words, numbers and images on the back wall of Ellis Carpet & Tile Co., located at the in tersection of North Broad Street and Paradise Road. The rear of the building faces Badham Road. “I suspect it’s somebody that lives over that area,” Bonner said. Some of the symbols resemble / Edenton PD still waiting on SBI report from Thanksgiving Day blaze that destroyed home Cause of Historic District fire remains unknown BY SEAN JACKSON Staff Writer It’s been more than two months, but investigators have yet to deter mine if a Nov. 22 fire in Edenton was the result of arson. Police Chief Greg Bonner said his office has not heard back from the State Bureau of Investigation’s Arson Unit, which is probing the blaze that consumed a home on South Oakum Street. Bonner said the SBI has not in El Salvador. Plant manager, Herb Netherton confirmed that over the past few years the bulk of American textile businesses have gone to El Salvador, and what is left in Edenton can’t be profitable by comparison. This is the second time the workforce has been cut since No vember 2005. George C. Moore has been in operation since 1963 and during its heyday was one of the largest employers (with approximately 240workers) and tax contributors to the town and county those used by the Crips, a Cali fornia-based gang, officials said. Police will continue inter viewing residents of the area to try and determine who is re sponsible for the graffiti discov ered Thursday, Bonner said. So far, no leads have surfaced, much to Bonner’s surprise. “It’s unbelievable to me that, as much writing was done, that nobody saw them do it,” he said. “That goes to show you how un concerned the (surrounding) community seems to be. “This is not just a police mat ter,” he added. “It’s a community matter.” Bonner said he hopes the graf dicated when his department would hear the results of the inves tigation. “It depends on how backed up they are," he said. “Often times, it takes a while to get a response from the state, with the amount of cases they have to investigate." Without that report from the SBI, Edenton investigators have not been able to determine if the fire was intentionally set, Bonner added. Fire erupted inside the 114-year old home at 210 S. Oakum St. early on Thanksgiving morning. Investigators were on the scene the following Monday.But they had to call off their on-site probe hours later after an interior chimney and ■ Second downsizing since November 2005 ■ Displaced workers will have severance package Those employees left without a job in April will be treated to the same severance package as prior employees, covered under the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), Netherton said. Included in the package are schooling options as well as state and county benefits, Netherton said. Local officials say that a job fair will be planned for those dis placed workers looking to retool and retrain for new opportuni ties. “Losing George C. Moore in its totality is very sad,” Richard Bunch, with the local chamber of commerce, said. Bunch also flti is painted over soon. For Lori Lassaiter, general manager of the business, painting the building has been an issue since before Christ mas, when workers began fixing up the building’s exterior. The business is still in the process of finishing the work. “When something like this hap pens,” Lassiter said, “it’s just like, why bother?” Lassiter also wonders why nobody saw the graffiti going up. “That took a while,” she said. “That took some work.” Anyone with any information about the graffiti can call the police depart ment at 482-5144, or at the anonymous line at 482-5147. part of the roof began to collapse. The house was demolished that afternoon and the lot was cleared the following day. Police detectives have inter viewed Tina Rodriguez, the owner of the home, as well as her friends and family. Rodriguez was restoring the front of the home while living in the one-story rear section. Electri cal service to the front of the home had been disconnected since the re pairs began, officials said. Rodriguez was the only person in the home when she was awakened by a smoke detector. A police investigator has said no evidence was found that an acceler ant was used to aid the blaze. said that this unfortunate situa tion will-give business recruiters the opportunity to find a business to fill the void and put those af fected back in the workforce. The factory itself is already in the hands of a realtor and will be sold through corporate head quarters. t Sancty Point could mean $800M tax boost for county Project would double current Chowan tax base, Copeland says BY SEAN JACKSON The Chowan Herald The Sandy Point subdivision could double Chowan’s real estate tax revenues, County Manager Cliff Copeland said. The waterfront development is located on the Albemarle Sound, ' and is slated to add roughly 1,600 homes and condos to the county’s tax rolls. ( That could add roughly $800 mil lion to the county’s tax base, a fig ure comparable to the county’s cur rent total, Copeland said. Then there’s the retail side of the project — shops are planned for the center square — and the spin-off stores and jobs as sociated with such a large develop ment. “The economic impact will cer tainly be substan tial,” Copeland said. The project was sidetracked last summer and fall while developer Sam Young wrangled with the dis- ' covery of protected aquatic grasses where canals were sup posed to be dug. Last month, state officials ap proved Young’s plan to replace any grasses destroyed by the installa tion of the canals — which would serve an inland harbor and boats docking at home-front slips. While the development will bring in dollars to county coffers, Copeland’s also aware of the poten tial need for more services for the new residents. But he doesn’t see Sandy Point straining the county’s operations. “It will not place a burden on county services,” he said. Copeland wouldn’t speculate on the potential for future tax cuts — which would have to be approved by the county Board of Commis sioners. “I hope that it can ensure that we 4, can limit tax-rate increases in the future,” he said. But he did say additional rev enues could be used to improve county services, as well as for needs in the Edenton-Chowan Schools System. Copeland
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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Feb. 7, 2007, edition 1
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