482-4418
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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
TOUR TIME IN EDENTON
Sprucing up for
the Pilgrimage
Locals working in gardens,
homes for flocks of weekend
visitors to biennial event
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Editor
N
ancy Reilly may
have looked re
laxed but she was
really hard at work.
Sipping coffee and still
wearing her pajamas, she was
working on preparing short
bits of historical and architec
tural information about her
home to share with Pilgrim
age visitors.
The house is ready and
awaiting only the arrival of
fresh flowers she plans to buy.
“I’m going for a natural
look,” Reilly says, “not a lot of
elaborate arrangements.”
Several blocks away,
Frances Inglis was working in
the garden at the Homestead,
where generations of her fam
ily have lived.
Getting ready for the tour
makes homeowners more
aware of how their homes will
look to others, Inglis says.
“You start to notice things,
like piles of books sitting
around that you haven’t done
anything about.”
Gardening galore
All over town, homeowners
were getting ready to greet the
thousands expected to visit
during the Pilgrimage.
Rodeo reels in crowd, riders at Top Notch ring
Rocky Hock arena
hosts first of seven
sanctioned events
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Jonathan Stevenson of
Hertford was pumped before
he even hopped atop his bull
Saturday night.
Stevenson, 18, would be the
first rider out of the gate at the
rodeo at Top Notch Ranch &
Arena in Rocky Hock. Nervous
physical energy is good, he
said, but a positive frame of
mind is a must.
“You want to ride the eight
seconds and win the money,”
Stevenson said with a grin
shortly before the event began.
Stevenson did just that.1
Riding his bull Eject, Steven
stayed atop for eight seconds,
winning the Intermediate Di
©2006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
Extra coats of paint are be
ing added and yards are being
readied.
Over at the Shepard-Pruden
Library, Master Gardener
Sandy Granger was tidying up
the grounds.
Some plants there were
damaged by an unexpected
frost and needed replacing.
Local plant nurseries are
getting calls from home-own
ers who, mindful of the frost,
want them to hold plants un
til just before the Pilgrimage.
Setting out new flowers will
happen before Friday — just
not too quickly.
“Judging by the number of
calls we’ve had,” said Sandra
Halsey of Halsey’s Lawn and
Garden, “we’re expecting a re
ally busy week.”
Busy businesses
Downtown at Acoustic Cof
fee, owner Anita Andersen
said her shop would stay open
later Friday evening and that
she was going to try to have
special music on Sunday after
noon as well. •
She’s just returned from va
cation, is relaxed and ready to
greet Edenton’s special guests.
“I had to go take a rest to get
ready for it,” she joked.
See TOUR, Page A2 >•
vision event with a 70-point
ride.
Cody Howard of Bear Grass
also had a full ride, atop his
bull Dairy Queen.
“I’ve been at it for about a
year,” Howard, 17, said before
posting a 64-point score in the
Intermediate Division before
nearly 300 fans.
It was the first event at Top
Notch sanctioned by the South
ern Extreme Bull Riding Asso
ciation. Top Notch official Joey
Nixon, like the riders, was
psyched about the event.
Nixon just opened Top Notch
last spring.
“We just want to have a good
show,” Nixon said.
That they did.
With fans of all ages seated
in the bleachers, 21 bull-riders
and a host of women barrel
racers thrilled the crowd on a
cloudy, cool night.
The object is to appeal to
See RODEO, Page A2 >
m 4-T '*■ .■ igive
INDEX
A Local
Opinion.A10,11,12
Land Transfers......... A7
V. <krk*«&&)**?
Earline White/The Chowan Herald
Gabriel Williams weeds in the yard of the home of Jim Farr, the Skinner
Paxton House, on West King Street. The home is one of 16 on the tour.
Sean Jackson/The Chowan Herald
From left, Jonathan Stevenson, John Eure, and Cody Howard await their turns on
rodeo bulls Saturday at Top Notch Ranch & Arena in Rocky Hock.
B Sports/School
Recreation News.B1
NASCAR.B2
\ School...... B4
• ' '' ; '■
C Community News
Upcoming Events.C2
Society.. C4
Obituaries........*....... C9
: Church........C10.11
%
D Classifieds
Buy/Sell/Trade..D1
Service Directory.D2
Employment.. D3
Bank's Broad
Street plans
draw concern
Inside, A3
Bull riders
compete at Rocky
Hock rodeo
See below
Town
Hall fire
treated
as arson
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Thieves broke into the town
manager’s office yesterday,
stole computers, and started a
fire.
The incident is being investi
gated as arson, a break-in, and
larceny
“We’re looking at it as an ar
son,” Police Chief Greg Bonner
said, as town and state Bureau
of Investigation investigators
combed the building’s front
room.
Yellow crime-scene tape
blocked residents from entering
the building.
“Somebody tried to do seri
ous damage, that’s for sure,”
Town Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton said.
Town Finance Director Ja
net Hines discovered a fire at
the counter in the front of the
building when she arrived for
work, Bonner said.
Although the fire was quickly
put out, smoke and fumes - in
addition to the ongoing investi
gation — forced town employ- '
ees to set up temporary quar
ters in the adjacent Gateway
Bank building, Knighton said.
Town staff moved into the
Chowan County Water Depart
ment offices in the county office
building later in the day.
“We don’t know how long
we’ll be out of the office,”
Knighton said, adding that it
could only be a matter of a day
or two.
Bonner said it appears at
least two suspects broke out a
window in Knighton’s office —
in the rear of the building —
stole three computers, then set
a fire at the counter.
A pipe or similar object was
used to break out the window
in Knighton’s office, Bonner
said. The suspects apparently
left out of a back door, he
added.
Hines made the call to the
fire department around 8 a.m.,
See FIRE, Page A2 >
Shepard-Pruden library
celebrates expanding
future
Community, C1
Hod&Ofmq
EA Swain Auditorium
Edenton, NC
Friday & Saturday
April 27 ty 28 - 7:50 PM
Sponsored by Rocky Hock Ruritan ■
Relay For Life Team
Mail orders call 252-221-4875
or 252-340-3438
Tickets $10.00 Available At
Byrum True 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 757-9254541