Wednesday, June 13, 2007
50c
Sincere Mullen *—
An early arrival
INSIDE, A3
Anna Miln
continues helping
students :
INSIDE, A10
Local family gets
chosen for Habitat house
COMMUNITY, Cl
Father's Day photo
contest winner
COMMUNITY, C5
1
V
Copeland explains
county tax increase
Public invited to
share comments at
Monday’s hearing
BY REBECCA BUNCH
,i Staff Writer
A public hearing on next
year’s proposed county bud
get will take place Monday.
The proposal includes a 1.5
y cent property tax increase,
which County Manager Cliff
Copeland says would cost the
owner of a $200,000 home an
additional $30 per year.
. C v- How many dollars
k would the tax increase
r< generate?
The 1.5 cent tax increase
would bring in $201,655. A
one cent increase would
equal $134,437, and a half
cent, $67,218.
Why is the tax increase
necessary?
Copeland says the tax in
crease is needed to help bal
r- ance the budget. In his bud
get message, he notes that
sales tax revenue “remains
extremely flat” while ex
1 . penses continue to rise.
Some local residents have
questioned whether the
county could cut expenses to
i avoid raising taxes.
Why are expenses ris
ing?
A ■ For one, a 5 percent in
mmMi. ■
INDEX
A Local
Crime.A4
m
w
Opinion .A7,8
Land Transfers.A6
B Sports
Recreation News.B1
Nascar...................... B2
: ■:
C Community News
Upcoming Events ,....C2
if?. r
Society..C4 :
Obituaries....,.-.. C8
Church.. C9.10
1 '
D Classifieds
Buy/Sell/Trade.D1
Service Directory.
Employment
****•*»#■***
'ic- -‘V-v r'- , • •
D2
D4
482-4418
6 ""8 907 6"4 4 813B" 0
02006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
crease in healthcare benefits
will cost the county $2,800
during the 2007-08 fiscal year.
■ County employees are
scheduled to receive a 2 per
cent cost of living raise.
■ There is also a $76,000 in
Public Hearing
When — Monday
night at 6 p.m.
" V:
Where —The 1767
Chowan Courthouse
-
Who Can Speak —
Anyone
To See the Budget —
www.chowancounty
nc.gov
crease in the workman’s coim
pensation and the general li
ability funds included in the
budget.
■ Also, a 5 percent increase
in funding for the Edenton
Chowan Schools totals al
most $179,000. The school
system had requested an in
crease of about $535,000.
What are some of the big
ticket items?
■ $300,000 to complete
funding for the new addition
to the Shepard-Pruden Li
brary.
■ $500,000 as part of the
matching grant for develop
See BUDGET, Page A2 ►
Despite odor,
BYSEAlsl JACKSON
Staff Writer
A retired hydrologist
says local drinking water
is fine to consume, despite
its unpleasant odor.
And John Powell hopes
that Edenton and Chowan
County officials keep the
water safe as proposed new
residential developments
arrive in years to come.
Powell, who spent much
of his career with the U.S.
Geological Survey, told 20
local residents Saturday
that town and county water
supplies are perfectly safe
to drink.
“We’re actually doing
good," Powell told the
members of the Citizens
Environmental Steward'
ship Group. *>
During his 90-minute
presentation, Powell — an
T
Photo Illustration by Debbie Collins
The ninth annual Edenton Music and Water Festival at Colonial Park will begin Saturday morning at 8:30
with kayak/canoe races. Afternoon entertainment will feature, among others, the Gale Street Baptist Church
Choir.above. Saturday's expected high is 83 degrees with a 10 percent chance of rain.
Music and Water festival Saturday
. ' *A . •
In the water
8:30 a.m. Canoe/kayak USCA race & eco-tour registration
10 a.m. Race start for sanctioned races
10:15 a.m. Eco-tour paddle led by Kitty Hawk Sports
12-4 p.m. Paddling demos, Eastern 4-H Center
1:30 p.m. Paddle with the Periauger
2 p.m. Sunfish sailboat races
4 p.m. Guided paddle with Kitty Hawk Sports
Winds 10 -15 knots, diminishing to 5-10 knots. Waves 1 ft.
At the park
12 - 2:30 p.m. Jazz, folk, traditional, originals
2:30 - 5:30 p.m. Gospel, bluegrass, country, classic folk rock
5:30 - dusk Classic rock & roll, contemporary Christian
Artists lineup includes Mary Rocap, Strings Attached, Peter
Boehling, Other Voices, Ancient Men, Gale Street Baptist Choir.
There will also be food, educational and craft vendors on site.
Local remembered for brilliant mind, big heart
Life of tennis star,
active youth, rising
junior cut short
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
John A. Holmes High
School tennis coach Allen
Hornthal says former player
George Parrish will be re
membered for more than his
victories on the courts.
Parrish died in a car wreck
last Thursday morning while
apparently on the way home.
His car ran off the road into
a water-filled ditch and burst
-into flames, officials said.
The cause of death in the
accident was drowning, a
spokesperson at the medical
Edenton resident
since 2003 — dis
cussed the reasons
behind the unpleas
ing smell and taste
of local tap-water.
The facts are
simple, according to
Powell. The under
ground water comes
from aquifers containing
some saltwater, which con
tains chloride ions.
The ions are high in the
aquifers under the town
and county, residing in de
cades-old water that has
seeped underground. Ions
have strong taste and odor.
“It’s probably been that
way since who-knows
when,” Powell said of the
high ion levels.
• ' ♦ ♦ ♦
Local water-treatment
plants, especially Eden
ton’s, use chemicals to
examiner’s office in Green
ville said.
Parrish was buried Satur
day at Beaver Hill.Cemetery
in Edenton. He was 20.
“It’s been tough on these
young kids,” Hornthal said.
“They’ve all had to do some
growing up this last week,
and deal with things that
young people don’t often
have to deal with.”
Parrish and his twin
brother Dan graduated from
Holmes in 2005. They came to
the high school while still in
eighth grade at Chowan
Middle School.
Both were sharp-minded
youth, Hornthal said.
Parrish was a rising junior
at N.C. State University,
where he majored in busi
ness administration
Powell
treat the water
that comes from
our taps, Powell
said.
Those chemicals
also add taste and
odor that most
people frown at. ,
While it’s safe to
drink now, group
members questioned if a pro
jected 40-percent population
hike over the next decade
could strain the aquifers’ sup
plies.
Powell said there is no sure
fire answer.
But he did say Edenton and
Chowan officials should team
up with Bertie County officials
(Edenton’s main aquifer’s wa
ter supply originates in Bertie)
to ensure the supplies stay
drinkable.
“We’re all in this together,"
Powell said, “and need to part
ner-up and figure out how to do
things.”
■ : ^7 ■ - >' Vf..
ELSEWHERE
George Parrish obituary.
Page C8
“He was one of the smart
est kids I ever coached,”
Hornthal said. “Just a bril
liant mind.”
Parrish also had a strong
will, Hornthal said.
“You can’t coach heart,” he
said, “and George had one of
the biggest hearts of any kid
I’ve ever coached.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Then there was the young
man’s zest for life.
“George loved life and al
ways made things interest
ing,” Hornthal said. “He was
a lot of fun to be around.”
County Manager Cliff
Copeland said Chowan
officials are confident
that new subdivi
sions — including
1,500-home Sandy
Point won’t
strain the local wa
ter supply.
“Obviously, the
County would
never have approved
the new subdivisions
without an adequate
supply,” Copeland said,
“and rest assured there
will be an adequate supply 1
for future generations." •
♦ ♦ ♦
Chowan County and
-Edenton both imple
mented tap-on fees for new
water customers a couple
years ago.
Those fees should gener
ate money to upgradew
and potentially build nsw
W:
mm
Parrish wrecked his 2002
Volvo at 2:23 a.m. last Thurs
day, state Highway Patrol
First Sgt. C.D. Gould said.
Parrish had been travel
ling east on N.C. Highway 32
as he approached the inter
section with N.C. Highway
37.
“He crossed the center line
as he entered the curve, lost
control, and overcorrected,”
Gould said.
The car spun around 180
degrees, the rear end strik
ing a culvert, setting the ve
hicle ablaze, Gould said. The
car came to rest upside-down
in a water-filled ditch.
“From what I understand,”
Gould said, “he was dead at
the scene.”
See PARRISH, Page A2 >
. .
, « y, ■>, w ■
if ■ if 4;
'•— water systems in future
years, Copeland and Town;
Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton.said. “
“We estimate the [1m
pactj fee will general
about $io million to $11
million,” Copeland said;|
“We are already in discus!
aions about the design of