’t be in such a hurry all the time.
Wherever you ’re going will still be
there.”
— Street sweeper operator
Raymond Griffin A3
482-4418
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Gene Jean
Jordan Bunch
“There is no “It [school
conclusive uniforms]
proof that makes perfect
[school] uni- sense — dress
forms make is part of
any high
difference. ” expectations. ”
By Earline White
Managing Editor
School children will not be required
to wear uniforms next year after a
ruling Monday night by the Board of
Education.
The vote came one month after a lo
cal survey suggested that over 60 per
cent of participating parents would
like to see a school uniform policy
Following a thirty-minute discus
sion between the board and local
administrators Monday night, the
board voted 3-3 for uniforms?
Chairman Gene Jordan, father of a
Holmes senior, broke the vote with a
resounding ‘no.'
“Some districts have shown im
provement, but uniforms w'ere only
one part of the reforms made. There
is no conclusive proof that uniforms
make any difference,” Jordan said
prior to voting.
Board members Jean Bunch, Kay
Wright and,Win Dale felt that uni
forms would be a welcome change..
“Dress is part of high expecta
tions,” Bunch said.
“I believe it would help academics,”
Wright said. “It doesn’t matter what
you wear, it’s who you are.”
Board members Gil Burroughs,
Randy Browder and John Guard vot
ed against the policy
Burroughs felt that the wording
of the parental survey — would you
vote for a standardized dress code OR
school uniform — was misleading.
Browder expressed his disappoint
ment over not hear ing from the school
PTA’s, which he felt represents the
parents.
During the discussion, local prin
cipals were asked their opinion on
school uniforms; and like the board,
they had differing views.
Holmes principal Bill Moore, a na
tive New Yorker and former princi
pal at a school mandating uniforms,
said he was not in favor of uniforms
See UNIFORMS, Page A2 >•
f
i
s
i
?
i
i
Deputy
honored
By Sean Jackson
Staff Writer
Buddy Bunch didn’t take
the standard route to don
ning a badge and gun.
•Law enforcement officers
most often begin their ca
reers in their early 20s, ink
on the di
ploma still
drying.
Bunch,
who was
named
Chowan
County
Law En
forcement
Officer of Bunch
the Year last week, spent a
number of years as a busi
ness owner before becoming
a sheriff s deputy.
“I came to law enforce
ment late in life,” Bunch
said. “I kept to my family
commitments and private
businesses” before joining
then-Sheriff Fred Spruill’s
staff in 1995.
Bunch’s son, Andy, a for
mer winner of the award, is
a veteran investigator serv
ing under current Sheriff
Dwayne Goodwin.
“I have eryoyed working
with the sheriffs depart
ment," Bunch said. “It’s
been a great ride.”
Bunch currently oversees
weapons training for the
department. He is also a K
See BUNCH, Page A2 >
INDEX
A Local
Opinion...A7
Land Transfers......A5
B Sports
Aces News.B1
Nascar.. B2
C Community News
Upcoming Events......C2
Society.C4
Obituaries...C5
Church...C6,7
D Classifieds
Buy/Sell/Trade....... D1,6
Service Directory.D2
Employment.........D3
©2006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
Eariine White/The Chowan Herald
Keith and Nancy Sorensen's home is one of the many local signs of the season.
Next crop may ease the sting of past summer’s drought
By Connie Sage
Contributing Writer
This year’s drought — the
worst ever recorded state
wide — resulted in below
average yields of corn, cot
ton and soybeans for local
farmers.
But a surprisingly bet
ter-than-average peanut
crop and an increase in the
number of acres of winter
wheat that will be planted
this fall are expected to help
ease the sting of poor har
vests.
“It’s not as bad as it could
have been,” said Mike Wil
liams, director of the North
Carolina Cooperative Ex
tension’s Chowan County
office in Edenton. “Most
years with dry weather, cer
tain crops are affected. This
year, it’s all the crops.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Last week’s rain has
helped, said State Climatol
ogist Ryan Boyles at North
Carolina State University.
But it takes “months to get
into a drought; it will take
months to get out of it.”
Since Oct. 23, 1.5 inches
of rain was recorded at the
Edenton airport, Boyles
said. Bertie County fared
significantly better with
3.68 inches in the same pe
riod. Statewide, rainfall
averages are down five-to
15 inches, making this the
worst drought in North
Carolina since records were
first kept in 1895. The pre
vious record was in 1925,
Boyles said.
No year-to-date rainfall
figures are available for
Chowan and Bertie coun
ties, Boyles said. Since Jan
uary 1, Elizabeth City has
recorded 22.8 inches of rain
down 18.35 inches, Boyles
said.
Locally, it’s the worst that
89-year-old Norman Perry,
Sr. of Colerain, has ever
Candidates have
say on Edenton
Commons, Lowe’s
By Sean Jackson
Staff Writer
Incumbent Town Councilman Steve Biggs said
he is “leaning” towards supporting a Lowe’s,
while challenger Terry Waff fully supports the
home improvement center ________________
coming to, Edenton Com- iNjcinc
mons Shopping Center. „ ,
Biggs and Waff met with Readers weigh m
about 50 residents and mem- on Lowe s
bersof the.Edenton-Chowan A7
Civic League Monday night.
The two are running in the first contested coun
cil race in 12 years.
Biggs said he isn't certain Lowe's can produce
the sales dollars it is touting, while Waff said the
company would bring much-needed jobs and tax
revenues to the town.
“I’ve already voted for it,” Waff said, referring
to her Oct. 1 vote to recommend a rezoning for
Lowe’s. Waff joined four other Planning Board
members in passing that recommendation to
council, which could vote on the issue Nov. 13.
“I am leaning that way,” Biggs said.
Biggs said he wants to see a review of an eco
nomic impact study before finalizing his deci
sion. Council is expected to receive that review
Friday.
While Biggs and Waff don’t wholly agree on
the benefits or drawbacks Lowe’s could have on
downtown Edenton, they do see eye-to-eye on
several other issues.
Both support an increase in affordable hous
ing, more activities for local youth, and expand
ing crime-fighting programs.
Waff has been a Planning Board member for
the past two years. She also serves as chairper
son of the town’s Main Street program. She is
the broker in charge of a realty company on
South Broad Street.
Biggs has served as one of council’s two at
large members for 12 years. He is the economic
development director for Bertie County.
See LOWE'S, Page A2 ►
seen, said his nephew, War
ner Perry of Edenton. Be
cause of the drought, War
ner Perry’s crops yielded
about two-thirds of what he
typically gets from the 2,300
acres he farms in the Coler
ain area.
♦ ♦ ♦'
Corn crops were hardest
hit for most area farmers.
The average yield was 70
bushels per acre in Chowan
County, according to Wil
liams, down from the typi
cal 115-120 bushels an acre.
It was even worse in Ber
tie County, where corn yield
was cut more than half. The
average yield was 120-190
bushels of corn an acre, ac
cording to Richard Rhodes,
that county’s cooperative
extension director. This
year, it dropped to an aver
age of 35-60 bushels, with
as little as seven bushels in
the comity’s western, driest
areas.
Warner Perry said while
there was a good corn crop
the year before last, it was
a “complete disaster” this
year for corn grown on non
irrigated land. One Ber
tie County farmer mowed
down 150 acres of corn, he
See DROUGHT, Page A2 ►
Vessels of Mercy, Rags to Riches, Called Out II, Mended Wings & Julie Keeter.