482-4418
Two file for first time
for commissioner seats
SEE
BELOW
John Mitchener Earl Willis
opening
set for May
By Connie Sage
Contributing Writer
The new $3.3 million county
public library is projected to
open in early-to-mid May
The existing Shepard
Pruden Library will more
than double in size, horn
6,326-square feet to 13,104
square feet
Ground was broken for the
new two-story expansion at
the rear of the existing build
ing on Nov. 2, 2006, with the
library originally expected to
open on March 9.
Grappling with delays
Alex Givens, project en
gineer for Progressive Con
tracting Co. of Owings Mills;
Md., said the project is behind
schedule because of standard
construction delays.
He said construction work
should be finished by the
middle of April. It will then
take several weeks to get the
library ready to open to the
public
In the meantime, the li
brary, which was temporarily
closed on Jan. 15, has been re
lying on a bookmobile to keep
services open to the public.
The bookmobile is open
from 10 a.m. to noon and 1
3 pm, on Tuesdays in the
parking lot acres® the street
from the library, and the
same hours at the Northern
Chowan Community -Center
on Wednesdays.
Library staff members are
working in a College of the
Albemarle classroom
Loan to help cost
The county received a $1.8
million loan from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
in March 2006. The original
construction contract was for
$2,871 million.
Other costs include: $228,000
in architectural fees, $10,700 in
legal fees, $9?,00 for loan inter
est, $152,000 for a contingency
fund and $8,000 for contracted
services such as surveys, tree
removal and bank fees.
See LIBRARY, Page A2 >•
INDEX
A Local ,
Opinion............ A5
Land Transfers.A6
B Sports
Recreation News.B1
Nascar...B2
C Community News
Society.:.C3
Obituaries........C4
Church.................. C5,6
D Classifieds
Buy/Sell/Trade....... D1
Service Directory.D2
Employment..D4
02006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
MU \K mh
Earlme White/The Chowan Herald
Patty Madry with emergency services looks at damage sustained by James and Pat tarnrite's Country Club Drive home after
a wind storm ripped off the tops of pine trees in the yard. Two other homes werefiamaged during the storm.
David Griffin said that if he had.
• never heard the story about a tornado
sounding like a freight train then he
would have thought there was a train
station in his driveway Monday morn
ing.
At about 6 a.m., a straight line wind
storm, which is basically a tornado
without the swirling winds, came in
off the Albemarle Sound.
Due to the lack of friction over the
water, the winds gathered strength,
whipping across Country Club Drive,
leaving treetops broken in half like
pine straw across lawns, houses and
the nearby golf course.
Griffin was in the back bedroom at
the time; his wife in the den just out
side the bathroom that is now totally
destroyed.
“It was so quiet afterwards, like the
rain had sucked the wind out,” Grif
fin’ said. His neighbor’s house was left
untouched. But two doors down the
street two others — a Hayes rental and
the Carnrite’s home — sustained con
siderable damage.
Patty Madry, Chowan County emer
gency management coordinator, and
Tony Siebers with National Weather
Service in Wakefield were on the
scene Monday to make sure gas lines
and homes were as stable as possible.
Madry confirmed that the county
had never seen a wind storm/ tornado
of this magnitude, not in the past 27
years (her tenure) anyway.
— by Earline White
Run for commissioner heats up
John Mitchener, Earl Willis to run Gardner, Goodwin file for re-election
By Vernon Fueston / Contributing Writer
John Mitchener, former
member of the Edenton
Chowan school board, will
run for election to the board
of commissioners’ at-large
seat.
He will com
pete for the po
sition against
Fred Spruill.
Mitchener,
66, is a native
of . Chowan
County. A
graduate of
Yale Divinity School, Mitch
ener served for two years in
the army and is a Vietnam
veteran. He is married with
three children.
He is a pharmacist and de
veloper specializing in the
revitalization of downtown
properties.
“I am running for this
position to serve the whole
county,” Mitchener said.
“Chowan County has sup
ported our family pharmacy
for three generations. This
is one way to say “thank
you.”
Mitchener cited several
See MITCHENER, Page A2
Earl Willis will run for the
3rd District county commis
sion seat currently held by
Ralph Cole.
Willis, a native of Wan
chese, N.C.,
is a retired
history and
government
teacher with
32 years of
service in
the Perqui
mans County Willis
schools. He
is a Vietnam era veteran and
graduate of East Carolina
University.
Willis said he is running
because of his commitment
to a healthy two-party sys
tem of politics in the coun
ty.
“It’s a continuation of my
teaching government and
history. I believe it’s imper
ative to have a healthy two
party system. I had a lot of
people approach me about
running for office, and I felt
it was time to practice what
I preached.”
Willis does not feel his
See WILLIS, Page A2 ►
Bill Gardner, Jr. filed this
week for a second term rep
resenting Chowan County’s
2nd district. Gardner is run
ning unopposed.
A 7th generation Chowan
County native,
Gardner grad
uated from
Virginia Epis
copal School
and earned a
bachelor’s de
gree from the
University of
North Carolina at Wilming
ton. He works as an insur
ance broker for the Chowan
County Farm Bureau.
“I want to ensure that es
sential services pertaining
to the health, safety, and wel
fare of the citizens of Chow
an County are provided in
the most efficient manner
possible,” Gardner said.
He cited the county’s new
public safety center, a single
complex housing police,
sheriffs department, 911
service, and EMS’s in one lo
cation, as an example.
He sees a number of dif
See GARDNER, Page A2 ►
Kenny Goodwin, incum
bent county commissioner
with one year’s experience,
filed for reelection to a seat
representing the first dis
trict, seat 2. Alex Stallings
will oppose
him in the
election.
Goodwin
is a native
of Chowan
County, a
graduate of
John A. Hoi- Goodwin
mes High School, and a life
long local farmer. He is 35
and married with two chil
dren.
Goodwin said he seeks re
election, “to help do what’s
best for the county.” He cites
recent discussions with the
school system regarding im
provements to John A. Hol
mes High School as one of
the board’s most important
accomplishments.
As for challenges ahead,
Goodwin sees continued
sound management as the
board’s most important
goal. “We need to provide
See GOODWIN, Page A2 ►
Law
center
one of
a kind
Few cost overruns
for new center to
open in April
By Connie Sage
Contributing Writer .
April 10 is the projected
opening of the new $11.5
million Chowan County
Public Safety Center and
Edenton Police Department
headquarters.
Town Council members
and key law enforcement
and emergency services
personnel toured the 39,000
square-foot facility last week '
with the center’s architects.
It will house the Edenton
Police Department, Chowan
County Sheriffs Depart
ment, and the Chowan
County Emergency Manage
ment Office.
Hurricane forced move 4
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture approved a
nearly $11 million, 40-year
loan to the town and coun
ty after Hurricane Isabel
flooded the current police
department offices and 911
Dispatch Center on Water
Street in 2003.
“We had to leave here
twice” during Isabel, said
Franklin Jackson, director
of the Chowan Central Com
munications Center, which
dispatches calls for local
police and sheriffs offices;
the Edenton, Center Hill
Crossroads and Belvidere
Fire departments; and emer
gency calls for the town and
county’s electric and water
departments.
The 911 center was evacu
ated for a dozen hours dur
ing the hurricane but moved
to a mobile command center
and no calls were lost.
Jackson likely won’t have
to worry about flooding at
the new safety center, lo
cated on higher ground on
W. Freemason Street, across
from the Vine Oak cemetery
off N. Granville Street.
While the new center is
expected to open officially
on April 10, Jackson said his
goal is to relocate his staff
of 11, including eight full
time and two part-time dis
patchers, by April 4.
“We’ll be moving things
at different times so 911 will
never go down,” Jackson
said. His department han
dled an average 274 calls a
day in January, including 64
calls to dispatch fire, rescue
and law enforcement per
sonnel.
Room to grow
Not surprising, each de
partment is looking forward
to vacating the cramped
See CENTER, Page A2 >