Sixty-two percent of surveyed parents
say students should wear uniforms
School officials will
discuss issue Oct. 29 A2
482-4418
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
50*
TAKE NCC
CROWN
Team heads to regiona
Greenville this weekend
Mayor saj
Developer may be
luring other
grocery chains
By Connie Sage
Contributing Writer
Mayor Roland Vaughan
said this week that it doesn’t
appear likely that Farm
Fresh is interested in open
ing a store in the proposed
Road repair
on horizon
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
The Chowan County Com
missioners will spend more
than $900,000 during the
coming fiscal year to repair
damage to roads at Drum
mond’s Point and Indian
Trail.
County . Manager Cliff
Copeland said he would be
glad to see the work get un
derway.
“We certainly appreciate
the patience of our citizens
because both of these roads
are in very bad shape,” he
said. “We also appreciate
DOT for putting the plans in
place to get these roads fixed
as quickly as possible.”
Unhappy residents had
repeatedly complained dur
ing public meetings that
construction crews and
heavy equipment moving
to and away from new con
struction were causing dam
age to their road and their
vehicles.
One Indian Trail resident,
Les Kersey, said that during
a 90-day period about 45,000
tons of materials were
moved over those two roads
at speeds of 50-55 mph.
“We had multiple road
breaks (in the asphalt) on
both roads,” he said.
Kersey, who led an ef
fort among his neighbors
to speak out publicly about
their concerns, said he felt
that county officials, in par
ticular Copeland, had been
responsive to the concerns
they aired.
The secondary roads con
struction funds were ap
propriated during a special
meeting Oct. 9.
Repairs to Drummond’s
Point Road are scheduled to
See ROADS, Page A2 >
INDEX
A Local
Opinion.......A7
Land Transfers.....A5
B Sports
Recreation News.B1
Nascar..... B2
' C Community News
Upcoming Events.C2
Society.!............C6
Obituaries.....C7
Church.:.. C8,9
D Classifieds
Buy/Sell/Trade.D1
Service Directory.D2
Employment.D4
i
,89076"44813"" 0
©2006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
'S Farm Fresh may not come to Edenton Commons
Edenton Commons shop
ping center.
The developer has taken
down the Farm Fresh sign
at the site, he said.
And while Lowe’s Home
Improvement representa
tives attended the Oct. 1
meeting of the Planning
Board, which recommended
approval of the shopping
center, Farm Fresh did not.
“If Farm Fresh won’t
OCTOBER IS COLONIAL HISTORY MONTH
iaasasBss aaeaaa • sen
Earline White/The Chowan Herald
Fourth graders Cydney Sanders and Tessaun Basnight dip candles at the James Iredell State Historic Site's Colonial
History Days in celebration of October as Colonial History Month. Hundreds of school children from Chowan,
Perquimans and Pasquotank counties venture to the site to learn about colonial dress, games, food and chores
as part of their N.C. History curriculum.
Strategic plan needed to protect Edenton s downtown
By Connie Sage
Contributing Writer
To remain competitive, a
strategic blueprint is criti
cal for downtown, said Town
Manager Anne Marie Knigh
ton, who will recommend that
a consultant be hired to draw
up a plan.
“The whole downtown
needs to be looking strategi
cally to become a more vi
brant, more lively, more sig
nificant part of the economy,”
she said.
It is particularly impera
tive that downtown start po
sitioning itself now, she said,
because of anticipated town
growth.
A final permit has been is
sued for the 1,600-home Sandy
Point subdivision; the pro
posed 38-acre Edenton Com
mons shopping center comes
before Town Council for ap
proval on Nov 13.
At a crossroad
The town’s Main Street pro
gram also is at a crossreads.
Jennifer Harriss, executive
director of Destination Down
town Edenton, which oversees
show its hand when Lowe’s
is on the ground, what’s it
going to take?” Vaughan
asked.
Farm Fresh is reviewing
its store development plans
and has no information to
release at this time about
the Edenton location, Farm
Fresh spokeswoman Susan
Mayo said on Tuesday.
Town Council approved
a conditional use permit a
the Main Street program, re
signed on Sept 28.
In a letter to the board, Har
riss said it was “impossible
for the Destination Downtown
board to fully support its mis
sion under the current con
figuration.”
“I think Jennifer had a
problem with the Main Street
program being housed at the
Chamber(of Commerce)when
the Chamber board voted to
support Edenton Commons,”
Knighton said. Opponents of
the proposed shopping center
claim it could destroy down
town businesses.
While Knighton and Mayor
Roland Vaughan lauded Har
riss for her work, Vaughan
said the Main Street board had
not been vocal about Edenton
Commons and “didn’t issue a
statement in support or oppo
sition to” the proposed shop
ping center.
Terry Waff, who chairs Des
tination Downtown, said there
is “no reason” why downtown
Edenton “can’t survive a
Lowe’s. We want to keep the
businesses we have down
town and we want to bring in
more.”
year ago for Norfolk, Va.,
developer Jon Wheeler to
build the shopping center
off of Hwy 32 North, which
he said would include a
Farm Fresh.
Wheeler was required to
get town approval for a re
vised site plan after Lowe’s
Home Improvement said it
was interested in becoming
a co-anchor at the shopping
complex.
Harriss
Knighton
Taking a stance
Waff is a former downtown
business owner and a member
of the town Planning Board.
Five of the six town Plan
ning Board members, includ
ing Waff, recommended the
proposed Edenton Commons
shopping center on Oct. 1,
which includes a Lowe’s home
improvement store, and sent it
on to the Town Council.
Vaughan said the Destina
tion Downtown board needs
to have a clearer vision of
what the Main Street program
is and “to take strong posi
tions when necessary if there
is going to be any impact on
downtown, either positive or
negative.”
Harriss could not be
reached for comment
Edenton is one of 53 com
munities chosen by the North
Carolina Department of Com
merce since 1980 for a Main
Wheeler said at this
month’s Planning Board
meeting that he has a letter
of intent with Lowe’s home
improvement but not with
Farm Fresh..
He had no comment Tues
day about Farm Fresh.
Town Manager Anne Ma
rie Knighton said that at the
developer’s request, she has
See COMMONS, Page A2
Street program, modeled after
one developed nationally by
the National Trust for Histor
ic Preservation.
Its purpose is to restore
prosperity and vitality to
downtowns and neighborhood
business districts.
Edenton, which was added
in 2003, spends $45,000 a year
on an executive director’s sal
ary marketing, travel and of
fice expenses to promote its
downtown.
State advisors step in
After Harriss resigned,
Knighton said she contacted
the state’s Main Street Center
in Raleigh and asked that a
representative come to Eden
ton to advise the Destination
Downtown board, especially
about the proposed Edenton
Commons.
“Are there other communi
ties who have dealt with this
successfully that we can get
lessons from?” she asked. The
meeting will be held here Oct.
30.
Knighton said the town has
always invested in its down
town.
“We have a strong historic
INSIDE
Town Councilors debate
need for another* Lowe’s
review
PAGE A2
BELOW
Town Manager Knighton
recommends hiring con
sultant for plan to keep
dowtown competitive
Gangs & gang
activity forum
to be held
Eighty gang-related
incidents over past two years
By Sean Jackson
Staff Writer
Edenton has the potential for a gang
problem in the future, but right now
it’s just a matter of dealing with “wan
nabes,” officials said last week.
A consultant hired by a local gang
abatement group said she has found lit
tle evidence of organized gang activity
in town.
But that’s not to say it couldn’t crop dp
down the road, Linda Hester told group
officials. \
“There’s been some new activity since
Augu-d,’' Hester said. \
Most of the activity over the past'
couple of years was the product of wan
nabes, Hester added. While more- as
sessments are to be undertaken, Hester
outlined some steps to curb the violence
and crime — which she said is chiefly
the product of youths ages 13 to 22.
A public forum is scheduled for tomor
row (Thursday) night at the D.F. Walker
School gym on North Oakum Street in
Edenton to discuss the consultant’s re
view.
A second forum is set for Nov. 1 at the
Noi'thern Chowan Community Center
in Tyner. Both meetings will begin at 7
p.m.
Hester’s assessment suggested that
the following action plans could be un
dertaken to stem the problem:
■ Forming community watch groups
■ Create a tip line for law enforce
ment
■ Requiring school uniforms
■ Establishing parenting programs
See GANGS, Page A2 >
district, two national land
marks within a block of each
other, a beautiful bay and a
downtown park,” she said.
“I’m excited. The opportuni
ties that downtown has right
now are phenomenal but we
have to go ahead. These are
critical times.”
Last year the Town Council
updated its vision statement
for the next decade.
Number one on the list was
to “develop a viable downtown
business district supplement
ed by quality shopping centers
and a diverse industrial mix in
outlying areas that will trans
late into job opportunities and
expanded tax base.”
Moving the lighthouse to
the waterfront was a big'step, *
Knighton said.
A consultant also could ■ >/■.
address specific topics to
promote downtown, includ
ing outdoor dining, how the
downtown can branch out
from Broad Street to incor
. porate side streets, whether a
parking deck is needed, and if
artists can live, work and sell
their art downtown. “You don’t
want it to become a downtown
full of offices,” she said.