More school funding cuts? State may withhold fuel money for local school system By Vernon Fueston Contributing Writer It’s adding insult to injury as far as Allan Smith is con cerned. After mak ing tough per Mr :!Wg sonnel cuts, ^en’ su' perintendent gfe^jag of Chowan ^■BKlPv County’s Smith schools, just isn’t sure how he will deal with a possible cut in state funding of $83,000 proposed recently by state education officials. A letter from the state’s department of instruction June 23 said the state is con sidering trimming $50 mil lion from the money local systems receive to cover the rising cost of diesel fuel. Part of the money will also come from what the state gives local schools to cover promised teacher bonuses. .^sState poised to cut “I don’t want to say it’s all doomed,” Howard Lee, chair man of the state board of ed ucation said, “but I do want to sound an alarm and warn ing that we’re heading in the wrong direction.” His remarks were printed in the Raleigh News and Ob server. A cut like that would be felt by the county’s schools. Smith estimates the county will have to come up with just under $83,000. “That’s dangerous,” Smith said of the proposed cuts. . “That comes to about $34 per student.” The legislature will meet this week to consider the shortfall. Hard choices It comes down to hard choices. Teachers were promised bonus packages based on school perfor mance and must be paid. But it’s not as if the county can reduce bus transporta See SCHOOLS, Page A2 ► INDEX A Local Editorral.A7 Land Transfers.A5 B Sports Recreation News, Nascar • s ..BP Z* B2 |C , Community News gfUpcoming Events......G2 ^Society.,.C3. v - Obituaries,...,...««.*..... C6 ■ Church.. C7,8 . v' ■ - v- . ■•" vi'... ; Classifieds Buy/Sell/Trade.D1 pf Service Directory, Employment m 6""89076h44813b,,0 ©2006 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved Vernon Fueston Al Gustave uses his wood lather to turn bowls, lamps and other items from wood others might burn. He's worked for years from the trees Hurricane Isabelle felled, but says the last of that wood is disappearing. Craftsman fashions bowls, urns from decaying wood By Vernon Fueston Contributing Writer “Your favorite is always the last thing you made,” A1 Gustave said as he held a bowl to the light. The finish is a deep poly urethane that brings out the subtle shades in the wood. The roots of four branch es radiate out from the cen ter of the bowl. Art from firewood Gustave makes bowls, boxes, and lamps from what others might burn for fire wood. “The wood you use for turning can be either very expensive, or it can be free,” Gustave said. He has been working for years from the aftermath of hurricane Isabel. At first what he turned was fresh wood he salvaged as crews cleared the streets, but now the real treasures are turning up. The best wood, Gustave said, is the product of de cay. “When you turn wood, you discover what’s inside it,” he said. Gustave was holding a piece made from spalted Rosie Wallio uses flash cards to teach her stu dents about spending money wisely. oak. “You can’t buy spalted wood. It takes two years-to develop the fungus thaft makes the black lines you see here.” The wood looks as if an artist drew a series of ran dom, curved and jagged lines through the wood, The lines are delicate, like those drawn with fine pen or brush tipped with India ink. Intricate battle lines A lot of trees felled by Isabel have reached their prime now. The rest have passed that stage dnd gone into decay. Gustave harvests the fallen wood where it lays in the for ests around Chowan County. When turned, the wood re veals complex battle lines drawn up between the tiniest of armies. The thin, jet black lines seem to be in motion, frozen in the wood. “Different fungi fight each other for territory in the wood,” he said. They seem to push against each other. That makes the lines.” While Gustave depends on nature to decorate many of his bowls and urns, others are meticulously laid out using several species. Their colors form designs Making every day count By Rebecca Bunch Staff Writer Davon Butler is hard to miss among the students in Rosie Wallio’s Life Skills class at COA — especially when he’s exercis ing furiously to one of Richard Simmons’ “Sweatin’ to the Old ies” tapes. Arms and legs flying in all di rections, he calls out, “I can’t help myself,” as his classmates scramble to give him plenty of room to move. “He’s like that in everything he does,” says teacher Roslie Wallio. “He really puts his heart and soul into it." in the work. Ou- urn has a Grecian pattern, another has an American Indian motif. Both were made by cut ting segments of wood to exact dimensions and an gles, then gluing it all up to form the desired shape. He likes turning wood because he loves watching the process. Nature is the artist and the lathe uncovers her work. Two artists “You can bring out the beauty and mystery of the wood,” he said. “You can’t see it any other way.” Sometimes, Gustave likes what he finds in the wood so much he takes a thin slice and frames it. He’s done that with pieces of spalted oak and a particularly stun ning slice of rare, book matched pheasant wood. Gustave knows a thing or two about wood. For 45 years he ran a custom furniture business in Arizona before retiring and moving to North Car olina. He made desks and tell er lines for banks, custom furniture for homes, and display cabinets A new life “I was a problem solver,” Gustave said. “I used to go in and figure out what a cus tomer needed and then go and make it. “Since retirement, my whole philosophy is simply that I want to create.” He likes the lifestyle now. Gustave sells his turnings at craft shows around the region. Some of his segmented bowls and urns sell for $600 to $1,200. But Gustave’s customers see his turnings as works of art and are willing to pay for it. That art is part Gustave’s and part the work Someone Else entirely. Gustave must divide his time between creating and marketing his art, but it’s worth it. His new life does come with fringe benefits. “I love it — no employees, no taxes, no regulations. I get up in the morning and decide what I’m going to do, turn, design, or take a nap.” Markeisha Blount isn’t as vo cal as Butler, but she’s hard to miss when COA first called and asked me if I was interested,” she recalls, “I Was pretty reluctant to go back to work.” Today, though, she feels certain she is where she’s supposed to be. “This is where I’m supposed to be. This is my niche.” Wallio says all the fun in her class doesn’t happen by accident. It’s part of her plan to keep them motivated and interested in get ting familiar with skills such as counting money and practicing good nutrition. “I feel really motivated to make See DAY, Page A2 >* %