482-4418
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
50«
SEE STORY,B1
Parties drum up voters
for upcoming elections
A2
Chamber takes stance on
sales tax increase
referendum A2
Parties
to hold
voter’s
forum
Voters will have the chance
to ask questions of all 10
candidates running for the
Chowan County Board of
Commissioners at a forum
scheduled Tuesday.
Each candidate will be
given the chance to make
a three-minute statement,
Oct. 2i, before taking ques
tions from the audience in
Edenton’s Swain Audito
rium.
The forum is sponsored by
both the Democratic and Re
publican Parties of Chowan
County and will be moder
ated by Vernon Fueston, a
contributing writer for the
Chowan Herald.
This year’s election has
taken several interesting
turns.
None of the candidates
knew about the county’s fi
nancial crisis before filing
for this fall’s election. This
is also the first election in
memory where all the seats
are contested.
Chowan County’s Repub
licans filed for all available
seats for the first time in
memory and one candidate
is running as unaffiliated.
In a joint statement, the
Democratic and Republican
Parties said the evening was
all about the voters.
“This forum is for the citi
zens of Chowan County,”
the statement said. “The
two parties wanted to give
this chance to the voters to
ask these candidates about
where they stand on the is
sues.”
The forum will be held
from 7 to 9 p.m.
INDEX
A Local
Crime...A4
Land Transfers...... .... A6
Editorial ...A7
B Sports
Recreation News.B1
Outdoors....... B2
Nascar...................... B3
C Community News /
Upcoming Events.C2
Society...C4
School.........C5
Obituaries..C6
Church.C7,8
D Classifieds
Buy/Sell/Trade.....D1
Service Directory...D2
Employment.D4
02006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL
VERNON FUESTON
Cindy Rickenbaker laughs as Kelly Hudzina's pup is anointed at the Blessing of the Animals held at St.
Paul's Episcopal Church last week by the Rev. Thomas Rickenbaker.
New benefits to help unemployed
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
Twenty to twenty-five percent
of those without jobs locally
may qualify for new, state-regu
lated extended benefits.
Currently, there are almost
700 residents without work.
Checks containing those ex
tended benefits are expected to
be available starting this week.
The ‘umbrella’ is being acti
vated under state law because
the North Carolina jobless rate
has reached an average of 6.5%
for the last three months.
According to Ricky Coltrain,
manager of the-local Employ
ment Security Commission
office, the situation probably
won’t improve anytime soon.
“We are just in a cycle that
does not look like it will end in
the near future,” he said.
Town requests new study on bypass
By Vernon Fueston
Contributing Writer
Responding to citizen com
plaints, Edenton’s town council
has asked the DOT to revisit the
basic assumptions used to jus
tify a three-mile bypass of the
town.
If the DOT conducts the study,
it would probably delay the proj
ect for six to nine months, ac
cording to Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton.
Knighton had announced the
town would seek another meet
ing with DOT officials, but said
the town decided the new study
was the best method to address
concerns.
She said her decision was
made after meeting with DOT of
ficials in Raleigh.
She told council members, “By
stepping back, this does not jeop
ardize the project. ”
Coltrain said it appears the
high unemployment will extend
into 2009.
Right now, he said, there is not
a lot of local hiring going on.
Signing up
Those who are without jobs
first receive checks for a maxi
mum 26 weeks.
Then, under federal guide
lines, those benefits .may be ex
tended for 13 weeks if an appli
cant still has not found work.
This new program, which is
state regulated, will be covered
by state and federal funds.
It allows for up to 13 weeks of
unemployment checks beyond
the 39 weeks currently avail
able.
Those checks are limited to 50
percent of the amount for which
the person qualified under regu
lar unemployment guidelines.
C o n c 1 1 -
man Willis M.
Privott asked
Knighton if
the DOT was
willing to con
sider changing
the route.
Knighton
said they would
Knighton
only reconsider the need for the
project.
A traffic study done by the
state’s department of trans
portation in the mid 1990’s had
concluded that through traffic,
including trucks from Edenton’s
airport industrial park complex,
would reach an unacceptable
level by 2020.
That finding was the basis of
a plan to extend N.C. 94 and re
route traffic to one of three lo
cations on the north end of the
town near U.S. 17.
But. citizens have pointed
New requirements
But there are special stipula
tions that must be met first.
According to a news release
issued by the Employment Se
curity Commission of North
Carolina, those include:
■ In addition to being able
and available for work, anyone
attempting to receive these spe
cial benefits is required to seek
work on two different days at
two different places of employ
ment;
■ - And, the person must
maintain a written record of
whom they contacted seeking
work; that record must be pre
sented in person at the nearest
ESC office.
Anyone interested in learning
more about extended benefits
can visit www.ncesc.com.
to a reduction in truck traf
fic through the town after the
closing of some manufactur
ing businesses and shifts in the
shipping patterns of others near
the town’s airport.
The project’s supporters con
tend the town hopes to attract
new businesses to replace those
lost in recent years.
They also insist the project
was never only about truck traf
fic.
A resolution by the town coun
cil said that, “citizens (have)
voiced concerns over the need
for the road, especially given
that truck traffic has declined
recently.”
The resolution goes on to re
quest the “NCDOT conduct an
up to date comprehensive traffic
forecast to account for the recent
decline in truck traffic and eval
uate whether the original need
for the project still exists.,” -'
DISTRICT TWO
Gwendolyn Brown
DOB: May 1,1966; Age: 42
Political Offices Held:
None
Occupation: Child nutri
tion manager, After School
Plus director, Community ju
venile restitution worker
Party: Unaflliliated
Edward Goodwin
DOB: Sept. 4,1952; Age: 56
Political Offices Held:
None
Occupation: Retired Naval
Criminal Investigative Ser
vice agent, farmer, owner/
operator of a software firm
Party: Republican
Child advocate
to face retired
By Vernon Fueston
Contributing Writer
Goodwin
Second district voters will decide Nov. 4
between a retired federal agent with busi
ness and farming experience and a long-time
community and youth worker.
The race also has some unique twists. Ed
ward (Eddy) Goodwin defeated an incumbent .
fellow Republican in April’s primaries and
assumed he would be running unopposed in
the election.
Gwendolyn B. Brown filed to run against
Goodwin as an unafRliated candidate at the
urging of Chowan’s Democratic leadership
two months later.
Her announcement came days before the
county’s citizens were stunned with the
news that their surplus funds had dropped
below legally mandated levels.
General qualfications
Goodwin cited his life-long ties to the area ;
as well as his government and business expe- ;'
rience as qualifications for his run.
He was born and educated in Chowan
County but left as a draftee during the Viet
nam War, later joining the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service (NCIS).
“Having lived and worked all over the
world, I decided to move back here,” Good
win said. “That shows how much I love this
place.”
Retired now from federal service, Good
win is a farmer and also operates a software
development company in Virginia that he
started a year and a half ago with three em
ployees. Today it empldys 52.
Gwendolyn B. Brown hopes voters will
consider her long-time commitment to com
munity service in Chowan County.
Brown has worked for years with Chowan’s
youth, professionally and as an activist.
As a volunteer, she served 15 years as
chairwoman for the Old Hertford Road Com
munity Committee. The group has worked
at getting stop signs installed, setting up
community watch programs and building
playgrounds.
As coordinator of the recreation depart
ment’s Operation Santa program, she has
helped bring a day with Santa Claus to over
300 children for 10 years. i
Issues in the campaign
Brown said the county commission has a
bad reputation in the community right now.
<* See ELECTION, Page A2 > ,
LifeSpan Women’s Health Fair • Thursday, Oct. 16*
: •••• v.- - • WnMrt. s H * h
Free Screenings to include blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, body fat analysis, bone density, spine health, hearing and skin cancer.
• Skin cancer screenings will be available from 2:00 until 4:00 pm to the first 25 who register, • Hearing screenings will be available from 4:00 until COOpm,
2 pm - 6 pm @ Edenton United Methodist Church
;v
Edenfsn United Methodist Church is located nest la Cho1
m
:00pm.
. *7