Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / March 21, 2007, edition 1 / Page 1
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Wednesday, March 21, Should it stay or go? Town to evaluate need for caution light in downtown Edenton See storv below 482-4418 Lauren Winner talks of Jewish upbringing, Christian conversion Inspiration, C8 Pet and Pedal parade Inside, A8 D. F. Walker OM teams head to state ■ competition ^ School, B3 ; - BY SEAN JACKSON Staff Writer Herbert and Bobby Byrum may be the last of four genera tions of Byrum herring fisher , men in northern Chowan. Herbert Byrum started walking and fishing at about the same time. “Daddy said, ‘You’re old enough to help, you’re old enough to go fishing,”’ the 63 year-old Cannon’s Ferry commercial fisherman said. Byrum believes a ban on catching river herring will put an end to the long tradi tion that flourished in the Albemarle Sound and Chowan River until recent years. The ban, imposed by the Marine Fisheries Commis sion last month, bars com fishermen from hauling in herring from the river and sound. Over the years, catches would yield thousands of fish. 4 State officials say herring has been over-fished. Byrum and others disagree. They say the herring have recov ered from low stock counts in the 1980s. Some local fishermen are catching up to 10,000 of the fish per day, only to have to turn them loose. Still, all the fishermen can do is pull in their nets and take home what the state al lows. Most of what is brought in is nothing more than bait Families coming to Edenton are ready to play, survey says BY REBECCA BUNCH Editor Did you know that Edenton ranks number 18 among the most desirable places in the Carolinas to live, according to a recent survey published in Carolina Living magazine? Or that 14 percent of those responding to the survey said they plan to start a new busi ness in our state, or move an existing one? Those were just two of the survey results shared with a local audience during a pre sentation by publisher Patrick Mason during a visit here last week. Mason said newcomers to the Edenton area will be col fish, Byrum said. “We’re re ally just junk fish ing,” he said. B y r u m said poli tics is the driving force behind the ban. The more herring there are in the rivers, sounds and Atlantic Ocean, the more food there is available for rockfish and tuna — two species prized by recreational fishermen. “When you put politics into anything, especially something like commercial fishing, you ruin it,” he said. “The whole thing in a nut shell is they want us out of the water.” Herbert Byrum Both Sides of the Ban Marshall Williford, * "a Chowan member of the commission, voted with the 4-3 majority to impose the ban. Williford said the move was necessary to aid the re covery of river herring stocks. “I supported the morato rium,” Williford said, “and continue to feel it is neces sary to have [with] hopes of saving the river herring.” Joey Nixon, who runs Murray L. Nixon Fishery Inc. in Rocky Hock, disagrees. Nixon believes that herring stocks have already recov ered from Chowan River pol lutants that hampered a number of fish species in the 1980s. “There’s plenty of herring here ... It’s a joke,” Nixon said of the ban. lege edu cated and will possess more dis posable in come. With an average household income of $119,000, he said, they will also be looking for more ways to enjoy leisure time and ways to spend. "These families will be ar riving ready to play,” Mason said. And, he noted, while some taking the pop quiz he pre sented to the audience pre Mason ^SSvJSitiS t i 7^ < ’ 0 '■ $ J« X^ f | ? ®p igfcfiSgg - 11II $M /$ 2Rf# 4rM#f -f 4/s s?i 8w»j over zoo fisheries once thrived along the banks of the Chowan River. Many families made their living off the day s haul, including Herbert Byrum, above. A Marine Fisheries ban could stop a once-thriving way of life in Chowan. < | I ' a. • His father, Leon Nixon, fished for years, before ven turing into another line of work — the restaurant busi ness. Leon Nixon hates to see the industry that supported his and other families for more than a century come to an end. “It’s stupid,” he said of the ban. “It’s very stupid. It’s dieted golf would be a favor ite activity, it actually came in at number 11. The number one spot on the survey went to walking paths, followed by swimming and shopping. “This town is a developer’s dream,” Mason said, when people look at all it has to of fer. All that came as very good news to Mayor Roland Vaughan, who had met Ma son and invited him to make the presentation. Vaughan said that with all the planned new housing de velopments in the works See TOURISM, Page A2> The Nixons and others point ’ out the irony that a four-day reprieve to the ban will happen in April. But only herring from the Chowan River can be caught, and those fish must be used for the Jamesville Fate of Broad Street stoplight I pondered by town officials Complaints by residents prompted Town to evaluate traffic flow BY SEAN JACKSON Staff Writer Town officials want to keep motorists from sitting at a downtown intersection after businesses have closed for the day But exactly how to do that is still not certain, Edenton Town Manager Anne-Marie Knigh ton says. Last week, the stoplights at the intersection of South Broad and King streets were set on a Herring Festival over Easter weekend. “It’s ironic, don’t you think?” said Peter Rascoe, the Chowan County special projects official who helped bring a public park and pic torial history to Cannon’s Ferry a few years ago. A Dying Tradition Frances Inglis’ grandfa ther, Frank Wood, ran the Greenfield fishery on the Albemarle Sound roughly a blinking caution mode over night. Hopes were to address the complaints from residents who said they were spending too much time waiting for green, Knighton said. “I had one resident who said he felt he’d spent half his life sitting at that intersection,” Knighton said. Comments about the two-day test have been favorable, she added. “We got three, four calls with .people saying, ‘Wow, this is a good thing,”’ she said. Police Chief Greg Bonner is still mulling whether or not the caution mode — which could run from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. — is the safest option, Knighton century ago. That fishery, about 12 miles east of Edenton, has long since closed down. Inglis grew up near that fishery. She hates to see the tradition die, with the loss of boats brimming with herring and men making a living on the water. “You can’t keep a single herrihg now," she said. “It’s such a shame.” Inglis has notes dictated by her mother, Rebecca Wood See HERRING, Page A2 >' said. And then there’s state offi cials’ opinions. The stoplights are owned and maintained by the town. i “[The state Department of Transportation] doesn’t like what we’re doing,” Knighton said, t But the state will supply 3 switch-timer for the town to use during the next round of tests, for which a date has yet to be deter mined, Knighton said. The town council will have the final say “We thought we’d try it, get some feedback, send it to council and see if they think it’s an op tion,” she said. Council would not vote on the issue until at least April,’ Knighton added. 02006 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved Mv INDEX A Local V * Editorial ..A7 . Land Transfers.A4 V V‘ * ffe B Sports/School Recreation News.B1 NASCAR.B2 School .. B3,4 C Community News Upcoming Events.C2 Society..C4 Obituaries... C6 Church.C7, 8 D Classifieds Buy/Sell/Trade...... D1 Service Directory.D2 Employment.. D3 Drug raid by sheriff's office recovers over 4 pounds of cocaine Inside, A6 "4,* * * * ; 1 Opiy EA Swain Auditorium _Edenton, NC Friday & Saturday April 27 & 28 - 7i30 PM Mail orders call 252-221-4875 or 252-340-3438 Sponsored by Rocky Hock Ruritan Relay For Life Team Tickets $10.00 Available At Byrum irue value Hardware • Downtown Edenton 252-482-2131 Acoustic Coffee ■ Downtown Edenton 252-482-7465 Nixon Family Restaurant - Rocky Hock 252-221-2244 Woodard’s Pharmacy - Downtown Hertford 252-426-5527 Billy Smith • Suffolk, VA 757-925-4541
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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March 21, 2007, edition 1
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