482-4418 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 50* Holmes EOG tests drop leaving school’s rating low By Vernon Fueston Contributing Writer j i 1 ! • With fewer than 60 percent of its students passing their end of grade tests, John A. Holmes High School had its jrating reduced one level to that of “Priority School” by the state. The rating is second from the bottom of five classifi cations starting with “Low Performing” with “School of Excel lence.” The rat ings are part of what the state calls its Performance Composite, fa part of its ABC program. The rating is based entirely on test scores. A score of 60 was required for the high school to retain its standing as a school of progress. In the 2006 to 2007 school year, Holmes High scored a 63.8. This year’s score is 59.92. The numbers represent the percentage of students who made a passing score on the standardized tests. The change in ratings means that teachers at the school will not receive state performance bonuses. The same end of course tests that generate the rat hig also determine whether or not a student passes or fails a course. Students must pass the standardized tests in order to advance. ; Bill Moore, Holmes High’s principal, said students who failed the tests will receive several chances to retake it and raise their scores. ■ He said that in the end, 80 to 90 percent of the stu dents will pass the tests, but that won’t increase the high school’s rating. That initial pomposite score of 59.92 will stand. - The state’s Performance (Composite is one of two ba sic measurements the school system is rated by. The father, a measurement, man dated by the federal govern jnent’s No Child Left Behind program, is called Expected Growth or Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). • Holmes did meet federal AYP targets for last year. AYP measures a school’s progress toward goals, re gardless of how well or poorly the school’s students pcored in the initial round of testing for the No Child Left Behind Program. • Moore said the school > See SCHOOL, Page A2 > and endmg Moore 6 "*8 9076*44813,w 0 ©2006 The Chowan Herald ^ All Rights Reserved Here's the real bird deal Locai organic farmer raises 100% all natural birds By Vernon Fueston Contributing Writer Peter Kelsey loves the taste of a good turkey, but he doesn’t have any use for the kind you buy in a grocery store. Kelsey grows what he calls the real thing, “heritage tur keys.” Kelsey and his wife, Tessa, raise all kinds of livestock on Peace and Plenty Farms, a 20 acre tract in Tyner. Peace and Plenty is what Pe ter calls a sustainable farm. All of his animals live in relative freedom and free from feed ad ditives and pesticides. With Thanksgiving just' around the corner, Peter and Tessa took a moment to share a little of what they know about really good turkeys and how to cook them. An ail-natural bird The Kelseys raise their birds commercially selling them at farmer’s markets and to a wait ing list of eager clients willing to pay $3.99 per pound for an all-natural bird. • This year’s Thanksgiving crop sold out months ago. There is a waiting list for any of the farm’s 20 birds that aren’t picked up. When it comes to turkeys, the term “all natural” takes on a different meaning all together at Peace and Plenty Farm. Peter said the bird you’re likely to pull from the freezer bin in your supermarket just isn’t what the good Lord had in mind when He designed tur keys. Today’s birds are bread to provide plenty of the “white meat” .that most mass-mar ket consumers demand, Peter said. That means the birds grow up with extra large breasts that make it impossible for them to fly, walk or, well, even mate for themselves. Peter has no use for the breed of turkey he calls the “broad breasted industrial white.” He doesn’t like the way they look, the way they are raised or even the way they taste. Long-time businessman George Byrum dies By Rebecca Bunch Staff Writer One of Edenton’s most devoted •public servants is gone. George Alma Byrum, president of Byrum Hardware Co., died Wednesday, Nov. 19 in Chowan Hospital’s Skilled Nursing Facil ity. He was 83. Byrum spent his life doing all he could to help the community he loved realize its full potential. “We’ve lost a giant,” said fel low Edenton Rotary Club member Livy Goodman, of Byrum’s pass ing. “He served in about every part of this community’s life,” Good man added. “He was in Rotary for more than 50 years, I think. He’s the kind of man you don’t see come along all that often. We’ll miss him greatly” Business know-how Chamber Director Richard Bunch praised Byrum as one of Peter Kelsey with one of his Bronze heritage turkeys. ciVvT1 Ditterent taste “You know how they have those fast-growing pine trees third great for growing wood fu$p, but not much else?” he said. * “Well, comparing a heritage tur key to an industrial white bird is kind of like comparing one of those pine trees to wal nut or cherry wood.” Tessa said the INSIDE Tessa Kelsey’s pe can stuffing recipe A2 meat on a heritage turkey is a little darker and also more flavorful than industrial birds. She said most peo ple can tell the difference. The turkeys roam free on the Peace and Plenty Farm most of the year. But right now the turkeys are in pens. Because the birds look too much like wild turkeys, Peter’s afraid hunters might shoot them. Cooking the bird When asked how they cook then own Thanksgiving bird, Peter said the community’s strongest busi ness leaders. “His vision and understanding of retail and the overall business climate was an asset to our busi ness community,” Bunch said. And Alton Elmore, owner of Edenton Furniture, recalled meeting Byrum over 46 years ago during his first week in Edenton when he went by the hardware store to introduce himself. He and Byrum found over the years they shared a mutual inter est in helping the downtown area continue to prosper, and became blends, Elmore said. “He was a good organizer, a good leader and a good business man,” Elmore said. Community service Byrum served as mayor dur ing the 1970s and on the Edenton Town Council for 16 years. Current Mayor Roland Vaughan said he would miss Byrum on a personal, as well as professional, level. he s pretty particular. First, he suggested soaking the bird in a brine solution for two hours to insure the turkey is moist. From that point, Kelsey said pa tience is a virtue. “I’m into the slow food move ment,” he said. “I’m not into throw ing a bird into the oven at 400 de grees and leaving it there. Cooking a bird slowly makes it more flavor ful and moist.” Peter suggested browning the turkey in a hot oven at 450 to 500 degrees for about twenty minutes. Then he bakes it slowly at 225 de grees for as long as four hours. He likes to put strips of bacon on the bird to provide oil that moistens and crisps the skin. He suggested wrapping the bird in tin foil and putting a little wine in the bottom of the pan for mois ture and flavor. Tessa, a native of England, said no southern bird should be cooked without a pecan stuffing. Her recipe with her holiday wishes are on A2. “George Byrum was not only a great person al friend but a mentor in many ways through his devotion to Edenton as both a mer chant and as a town council- Byrum man and mayor,” Vaughan said. Another former mayor, John Dowd, also served on the Edenton Historical Commission with By rum. He described Byrum as “a mod el for how someone should be in volved in their community.” Highlights of Byrum’s career in public service included helping with the relocation of the Barker House to its current downtown waterfront location. As chairman of the Edenton Historical Commission, Byrum See BYRUM, Page A2 > assxnm£sp& wsmst Walgreen’s Pharmacy proposed for town By Vernon Fueston Contributing Writer A Walgreen’s Pharmacy employing up to 50 people is planned for a vacant lot at the corner of Broad Street and Virginia Road in Edenton. Gordon Kolb, spokesman for the GHK Development Co. said the store will be 14,820 square feet in size and should take eight months to construct, employ ing about 150 construction workers. Before the process can begin, obtain ing all the permits required for con struction can take as much as a year, Kolb said. But he said the pharmacy is set to go, pending approval by the town. “We’re definitely moving on it,” Kolb said. “We have approval on the deal from the Walgreen’s committee. One hurdle the company will face is cleaning up the site’s soil. Kolb said the lot, which was occupied by a warehouse that was destroyed by fire, has some chemical contamination. Those chemicals will be removed dur ing construction. Kolb said the company has not settled on a design, so cost estimates on the project weren’t available. He said the pharmacy would have a drive-through window. The development company will pres ent its application for a conditional use permit to the town planning board Dec. 1, Help feed the hungry By Bob Piazza The Chowan Herald publisher The Chowan Herald and two of its sister papers are teaming with the Food Bank of the Albemarle to feed the hungry. Far too many people in Albemarle commu nities struggle daily to find enough to eat, and we are asking for your support. In today’s Herald, you will find a self-ad dressed envelope to make donating easy. Envelopes will be inserted in the newspaper again Dec. Piazza 10. No'donation is too small to make a dif ference. For every dollar collected, the Food Bank can provide about 5 pounds of food, or four meals. The campaign is being called Albe marle Food Relief: Hunger Hurts, Giv ing Heals. The Daily Advance and Per quimans Weekly also are participating. Donations can be made online as well. Go to DailyAdvance.com and click on Albemarle Food Relief. Thank you in advance for your gener osity. THE CHOWAN HERALD OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED THANKSGIVING DAY. WHAT ARE WE THANKFUL r FOR? YOU, OUR LOYAL READERS, FOR YOUR SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS.

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