HELPING HANDS ■
"I especially.love mowing the grass. I like looking
back and seeing what I've done. I take pride in
doing a good job.” —James Ferebee INSIDE, A3
WHO'S GOT THE BIGGEST
DOG, HOUSE, CHURCH FAMILY, TREE
IN CHOWAN COUNTY? community,q
Steamers take
Daredevils 5 to 4
Remain near top spot
in division sports, b.1
Bertie invites Wal-Mart ■
to build in Merry Hill
Site is 10 minutes from
downtown Edenton
Smaller project was
rumored for here years ago
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Nearly a decade after some local
businessmen crusaded against
Wal-Mart coming here, Bertie
County officials are inviting the
mega-retailer to a site nearby
The proposed site is in Merry
Hill beside Black Rock Deli, about
one minute from the Chowan Riv
er Bridge.
“Bertie County is prepared to
work with Wal-Mart to expedite
permits and approvals necessary
for development and construction
of new retail facilities at this lo
cation,” Bertie Commissioners
Chairman Rick Harrell said in his
March 6 letter to the Chapel Hill
based developer.
In 1998, some Edenton busi
nessmen rallied against a rumor
that Wal-Mart was considering a
location on the northern edge of
town.
The property owner requested
that his land be rezoned to allow
for large-scale retail develop
ment.
The owner’s request was de
layed as town officials drafted
Edenton’s first Unified Develop
ment Ordinance. The owner ulti
mately pulled his request.
The proposed Bertie 841-acre
project is tentatively named Mi
mosa Plantation, straddling U.S.
Highway 17 just minutes from
downtown Edenton.'
The developer, Marcus Jackson
of Jackson Stoddard Associates
LLC, declined to comment about
the Mimosa Plantation project.
“We just can’t comment on be
half of our client,” said Jackson,
who also declined to say who his
client is.
California-based develop
ment company Vicinages lists
Mimosa Plantation on its Web
site. The four-phase project in
cludes “big-box” retail in the first
See WALMART, Page A2
Taxes will
increase
Alligood vows not
to vote for an
increase next year
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Chowan County commis
sioners unanimously ap
proved a 1.5 cent property
tax increase Monday night
despite concerns raised by
a small group of residents
at the meeting.
Residents who spoke
questioned the wisdom of
raising property taxes in
the wake of a revaluation
carried out last year that
more than doubled many
homeowners’ tax bills.
Copeland said he sympa
thized with people in the
community, particularly
retirees living on a fixed
income, who were increas
ingly finding it difficult to
make ends meet.
“You never recommend a
tax increase unless you’re
absolutely certain it is
needed,” he said.
Commissioner Jimmy Al
ligood vowed that (he) “will
not vote for a tax increase
next year.”
Town Councilman Steve
Biggs was among those who
spoke against the tax rate
increase.
Many people, he said, “are
ready to put their houses on
the market and leave town
... I absolutely beg of you,
give us a break.”
He pointed out that in
addition to the revalua
See TAXES, Page A2 >
INDEX
A Local
Opinion...A7
Land Transfers...........A5
B Sports
Recreation News.B1
Nascar..... B2
t
C Community News
4 Upcoming Events.C2
| Society.C3
M Obituaries.C6
Church.~..C7,8
D Classifieds
Buy/Sell/Trade.....D1
. Service Directory.D2
V Employment....D4
©2006 The Chowan Herald
.Ail Rights Reserved
First cotton blossom spotted
Earline White/The Chowan Herald
Benson Byrum, 5, son of Butch and Rachel Byrum of Tyner, poses with the first cotton blossom in Chowan
County found in his father's crop Monday.
Butch Byrum planted this prima cotton crop in April. The prima crop, which has a longer growing season
than the typical cotton crop in this area, is popular among brides for decorations.
Byrum has been shipping his cotton and its bolls as far away as Singapore for wedding and educational
purposes. .
Local youth saves two friends from drowning
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Dean Heffernan calls a young friend of the fam
ily a hero, saying the 13-year-old saved his and his
son’s lives.
Heffernan, his 19-year-old, son William, and
Winston Blackledge had just finished mowing the
Heffernan lawn when the boys decided to take a
dip in the pond out back.
A refreshing idea quickly went awry as William
panicked after going under in 12-foot-deep water.
His father, fully clothed, jumped in to rescue him.
But he needed Winston to keep William from
drowning.
“I gave up,” Dean Heffernan said. “I made peace
with the Lord when I thought William was gone.”
William, who had graduated from John A. Hol
mes High School just nights before, had gone un
der three times and had been down for a couple of
minutes before Winston reached in and pulled his
older friend to the surface.
“He's a hero,” Heffernan said of Winston. “If
it wasn’t for him doing that, William would be
gone.”
Winston just grinned sheepishly and shrugged
when asked if he felt he was a hero.
“Maybe a little bit," the rising freshman at John
A. Holmes said.
Like his father, William said there’s no doubt
Winston is a hero. Just minutes after William and
his father collapsed on shore, emergency officials
arrived.
William’s mother, Sandra Heffernan, had called
911.
“I told them my son \iqas drowning.” she said. ’
‘ r
Local woman
shot to death
Warrant issued for alleged
gunman; no arrest yet
BY EARLINE WHITE
Managing Editor
The Chowan County Sheriffs office is
looking for the estranged husband of an
Edenton woman who was killed Monday
night.
James Earl Freeman,
46, of 6578 Newlands Road
in Columbia, is charged
with fatally shooting his
wife, Sharlene Morring
Freeman, just after 10
p.m. Monday at the Amer
ican Legion fairgrounds.
According to witness reports, a 1992 white
Plymouth Voyager was spotted in the park
ing lot of the Legion fairgrounds during
bingo.
“I don’t think anyone realized who he
was,” Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin said of
Freeman.
Freeman allegedly wait
ed in the van parked beside
his wife’s car until bingo
was over.
As she was getting into
her vehicle, Freeman fired
two or three shots, Good
win said. Freeman
Witnesses said that the
gun used was a rifle, but the caliber and
See SHOOTING, Page A2
Sean Jackson/The Chowan Herald
Dean Heffernan, left, and son William, right, stand proudly with the friend that saved their
lives, Winston Blackledge.
Dean Heffernan worked for 17 years with EMS
staffs in Pasquotank and Chowan counties. He is
currently a maintenance supervisor at Davis Place
Apartments in Edenton.
“I never thought I’d need to call on them,” Hef
fernan said of the EMS crews that rushed him and
his son to Chowan Hospital that night. Both were
9
h"
released within several hours.
William slept hard that night, while his
father only caught a brief nap in a chair.
Waking up the next morning, the scope of
the incident hit William hard.
“I cried and cried,” he said. “I didn’t real
ize how close I’d come to death.”