. .
482-4418
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Peebles
staying
put for
now
Corporation okays
lease extension at
downtown site
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
Peebles department store
still plans to relocate to
Edenton Commons but will
remain downtown for sever
al more years, a local official
said.
That is significant be
cause of its role as the an
chor store for the downtown
business district, said Jen
nifer Moore, executive di
rector of Destination Down
town Edenton.
“This is very good news
for us,” Moore said.
Moore said she was in
formed of the decision by
one of the building’s land
lords, Dalton Furlough.
“It is my understanding
they will remain at that lo
cation until March, 2011,”
she added. -
Moore said the decision
to stay was made by Peebles
corporate staff in Houston,
Texas.
Store manager Jadelle
Wagner said that, as a mem
ber of the DDE board, she
k. .understood very well the
fl- importance' of having a
strong anchor store in place
to keep shoppers coming
downtown.
Wagner said that business
at Peebles has remained
strong despite the shaky
economy. She said that the
store’s sales have remained
almost even with last
year’s.
“We are about where we
need to be,” she said.
Wagner said she could not
confirm whether the store
would remain at its current
location until 2011.
She did say that the store
is still committed to relo
cating to a new shopping
center, Edenton Commons,
where construction has
been delayed. Work is now
scheduled to begin in 2010.
Town officials :
to evaluate
cutting trash
collection to
once per week
A2
i89076i,44813,h 0
©2006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
FIRE CONSUMES FAMILY'S HOME
^@§6’
:• -
jmi
Want to Help?
Contributions are being
accepted in Kristie Tatem's
name at:
Southern Bank
P.0. Box 868
Edenton, N.C. 27932
For in-kind contributions
or if you have information
on available housing, call
Tatem at 333-5037.
N FUESTO#
By Vernon Fueston
Contributing Writer
James Soto and his daughter
Gabie were watching television
in their living room when he
smelled smoke, Tuesday eve
ning.
Just like that, Soto, his girl
friend Kristie Tatem and their
two children lost everything
they owned.
Their trailer, located in the
1700 block of West Queen St.,
still looks fine from the outside.
Two Halloween pumpkins sit
on the porch steps.
But Soto points out a telltale
Holmes High School renovations will have to wait
By Vernon Fueston
Contributing Writer
Long-planned renova
tions for John A. Holmes
High School will almost
certainly be among the ca
sualties this spring as com
missioners deal with the
county’s financial crisis.
Allan Smith, superinten
dent of Chowan’s schools,
said he understands that
any large-scale renovation
to the high school won’t be
feasible right now.
But it’s a hard admission
to make after seven years of
planning.
“The students need and
deserve a physical environ
ment that is conducive to
learning and that meets the
demands of today and into
the future,” Smith said.
He added that the board
of education will have to
take a hard look at what im
smoke stain that rises from the
window where the fire started
as he stands next to a trailer
load of trash that used to be the
family’s worldly possessions.
Smoke and fire damage de
stroyed just about everything.
To compound their problems,
Soto and Tatem rented the home
they were living in. Like most
tenants, they had no insurance.
Inside the home, a computer
sits in a puddle of water next to
sodden and smoke-stained fur
niture.
The couple’s kitchen cabinets
stand open, stripped of what
canned goods could be salvaged.
provements can be made in
the short term.
No room for debt
Built in 1952, Holmes
High School has already
had $5 million of short
term renovations done, in
the last few years. But mil
lions more were planned to
bring the school into line
with state guidelines and
student needs.
The exact amount was to
be determined this year as
plans were approved.
Of that money, state lot
tery funds would have cov
ered a portion, but most of
the renovation’s costs were
to come from county funds,
something that seemed
within the county’s capa
bilities.
That’s when it was discov
ered that almost $20 million
in reserve funds had been
spent, taking the county be
Outside by the porch stands a
pile of salvageable plastic toys
and wooden furniture.
It’s all pretty overwhelming.
“We’re living in pretty close
quarters, now,” Tatem said of
their situation.
The family has moved in with
her brother, putting seven peo
ple under a roof that was shel
tering three.
They’ve received some help
from the Red Cross, Bandon
Chapel and Catholic Social
Ministries, allowing them to get
a few items of new clothing and
basic necessities.
See FIRE, Page A2 >
low the re
serve limits
required by
law.
The
county,
once con
sidered
cash-flush,
was sud- Moore
denly un
able to pay its bills and in
danger of having its financ
es taken over by the state.
With new annual debt
payments totaling $881,000
due this year to cover sev
eral recent building proj
ects, incurring more debt
to renovate the high school
seems impossible.
A different era
But that means putting
up with a number of diffi
cult situations at the school,
Principal Bill Moore said
during a recent visit.
Officials
question
lobbyist
payments
“We’d definitely say we didn’t
have sufficient documentation
to justify payment.”
— J.P. Timberlake, 111, CPA, for Chowan
County
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
Chowan County’s auditor says he wouldn’t
have paid more than $150,000 in bills that a Ra
leigh-based lobbyist submitted to the county.
The invoices are among the documents state
investigators are reviewing as part of their fis
cal probe in Chowan County
The county’s contract with the lobbyist re
quired “auditAvorthy invoices,” but the coun
ty’s auditor says the bills failed to meet that
standard.
Questions raised
If his office had received
them, “we’d definitely say
we didn’t have sufficient
documentation to justify pay
ment,” auditor J.P. Timber
lake, III, said.
The Raleigh lobbying firm,
Capstra, did not immediately
respond to an e-mail request
ing specific information about the services they
provided.
“This does not pass the smell test at all,” Town
Councilman Steve Biggs said of the invoices
he has seen. “There is nothing about this that
smells right.”
Biggs is a board member of the local airport
commission which reportedly benefited from
the Capstra deal.
Current County Manager Peter Rascoe said
that County Finance Officer Lisa Jones paid
the invoices at the direction of his predecessor,
Cliff Copeland.
Copeland could not be reached for comment.
Copeland
On the record
Copies of the documents show bills for $6,000
to the Edenton-Chowan Development Corp.
were sent to Copeland each month over a 25
month period. *
Many of the invoices offer few details.
For example, an invoice dated Jan. 31, 2006
See LOBBYIST, Page A2 >
This building was built
as at a time when we were
preparing kids for jobs in
factories and farms,” Moore
said.
“Now we,have problems
meeting today’s education
al needs like installing In
ternet capacity.”
Moore said the school,
which sprawls over 36 acres,
has grown over the years to
include 12 separate build
ings. Only three of those
have running water and
bathroom facilities.
As the lunch bell sound
ed, students crammed the
hallways, rushing to and
from the cafeteria. Stand
ing in his office door, Moore
pointed out that the crush
only represented two thirds
of the student body.
The high school eats
lunch in three shifts due
to its limited cafeteria and
kitchen facilities.
Small knots of students
caused log jams in the hall
way as he spoke.
“The halls are narrow by
today’s standards,” Moore
said. “If a couple of stu
dents stop to talk, the traffic
backs up,” he said.
Deserving better
Exiting the main build
ing, Moore pointed out
three of the high school’s 10
portable classrooms.
By the time he reached
the steps to one of them,
rain had spotted his shirt.
There are no covered walk
ways to the classrooms.
There is also no running
water in the classroom
units. When a student in
one of the units needs to
use the restroom, a trip
back to the main building is
required.
Moore had no trouble
See SCHOOL, Page A2 >
Friday, Nov. 21,7:30 PM
Saturday, Nov. 22,7:30 PM _ _
Sponsored by the Rocky Hock Rurttans Relay For Life Team
ocfty Hock Opry
For Life Team
E.A. Swain Auditorium, Edenton, NC
Tickets $10.00 Available at:
Byron True Value Hardware - Downtown Edenton 252-482*2131 • Acoustic Coffee - Downtown Edenton 252-482-7465 • Nixon Family Restaurant • Rocky Hock 252-221-2244 • Edenton Coffee House - Downtown Edenton 252-482-7465
Clown'n Around - Elizabeth City 252-331-2250 • Woodard's Pharmacy • Downtown Hertford 252-426-5527 • Billy Smith • Suffolk, VA 757-925-4541 • Chowan Arts Council - Edenton 252-482-8005 * Mail orderscall 252-221-4875 or 252-340-3438
V