482-4418
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Local boy named
Shooter of the Year y\8:
Two schools deemed
"Super Safe" see below |
50* ‘ Toppin no longer chief A2
REBECCA BUNCH/THE CHOWAN HERALD
11, Creating quite a splash during Saturday's Special Olympics Polar Plunge at Colonial Park were ballerinas Haley Koppelman, Ellie Whichard, Emma McCarthy, Theresa Strzyzewski, Molly High,
Natalie Bass, Brianna Boyce, Brianna Argenti, Annie Gray Dixon, Hannah Nixon, Emily Snell and Ashton Copeland. Their spirits were not broken, despite the 20 degree wqter in the bay.
; . . ■ , ■ ■ : . . • ■ •;
Fire dept.
raising
money for
equipment
By Rebecca Bunch
S Staff Writer
i
Louis Nixon, chief of the
Center Hill - Crossroads
Fire Department, looked
lor all the world like a new
dad on Saturday.
He was sporting a hap
py smile as he proudly
showed off the two newest
additions to the “family”
— two new trucks that will
allow the all-volunteer fire
department to do an even
more professional job in
| fighting fires in the future.
Truck 21 came first. The
I tanker/pumper truck ar
rived last April, followed
in February of this year
by Truck 25, an equip
ment/rescue truck. -
Both, he said, are based
on state of the art technol
I? ogy.
They were the star at
tractions at a barbecue
plate fundraiser the de
partment was hosting that
day
While the county paid
for the two trucks with a
USDA loan, which was
approved over two years
ago, the fire department
made a commitment to do
fundraising to pay for the
equipment aboard truck
25.
See FIRE, Page A2 >
EXTREME MAKEOVER CREW DEMOLISHES JAMESVILLE HOME IN STYLE
VERNON FUESTONrTHE CHOWAN HERALD
Ty Pennington during an action sequence, shrouded by smoke as cannon fire, during filming of Extreme Makeovers.
Construction moves steadily on Cooper home
By Vernon Fueston
The Chowan Herald
Over 500 volunteers showed up
for the demolition of Jeff Cooper’s
home in Jamesville, Sunday.
The kickoff for Extreme Make
over:' Home Edition’s project went
off with a bang, complete with a
battery of cannon and Civil War
infantry. The sequence was filmed
as part of the show scheduled to air
later in the year.
The show, hosted by builder Ty
Pennington, is shown on ABC and
builds new homes for deserving
families after demolishing their old
ones.
Four cannons manned by Civil
War re-enactors along with one can
non owned by the Cooper family,
participated in the “demolition” of
the doublewide trailer. Cooper had
requested that the family’s cannon
be used to take out their old home,
which will be replaced during the
episode.
. Cooper lives in the home along
with his wife, Clara and their two
children, Windy and Aaron. A Gulf
War veteran, Cooper suffers from
severe symptoms caused by Gulf
War Syndrome. His son also lost
part of an arm aqd sustained se
vere injuries after being run over
by a garbage truck.
Cooper has been active in lobby
ing the state legislature on behalf
of veterans. Their mobile home
had deteriorated to the point that it
attracted the attention of Extreme
Makeover’s producers.
The project is manned by hun
dreds of local volunteers, many
from Edenton where the project
was organized.
Edenton Builders, a local con
struction company, will build the
home. Over 5,000 volunteers signed
up for the project, though not all
could be accepted to work on it.
The home was demolished by
standard construction methods af
ter the cannons fired blank ammu
nition at the trailer, sparing dam
age to nearby structures.
Contributions for the project are
still being accepted through the
show’s Web site, www.extremeeb
heros.com.
Visitors are welcome at the site
in Jamesville from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
after checking in at the project’s
headquarters, the DFI manufactur
ing plant just east of Jamesville on
Hwy. 64.
60 participate as
warm weather
draws crowcbto
waterfront
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
Summer-like weather pro
ved lucky for organizers of
the Special Oympics Polar
Plunge held Saturday at the
Edenton waterfront.
Sixty brave souls—groups
and individuals — of all ages
jumped
into the
waters off
Colonial
Park to
help raise_
money for
special needs kids.
Linda Hobbs, Student
Services/Exceptional Chil
dren’s Director for the Eden
ton-Chowan Schools, said
the event raised just over
$10,000 this year.
Last year’s Plunge, the
first held here, was held in
frigid temperatures under
rainy skies. Forty people
took part, raising about
INSIDE
More polar
plunge photos
PAGE B1
$8,000.
Dr. Allan Smith, superin
tendent of schools, gathered
with some friends and made
the first jump.
His group was followed by
others decked out in colorful
costumes and wigs, includ
ing Jean Bunch of Chowan
Hospital.
“I also participated last
year, and knew it was some
thing I wanted to do again,”
Bunch said. “It was for a
great cause, the chance
to help some very special
people, and that’s what pro
pelled me more than any
thing.”
| Two Edenton-Chowan schools recognized as Super Safe last year
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
Two of Chowan County’s
four public schools were
among the 45 honored in
. Raleigh last Friday as Super
Safe Schools this year.
White Oak Elementary
©2006 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
'v- ..
School and Chowan Middle
were recognized during the
2009 Safe Schools and Char
acter Education Confer
ence.
White Oak also made the
list last year, along with D.F.
Walker Elementary.
Walker and John A. Hol
mes High School both ap
plied this year but neither
was chosen for the honor.
Holmes did not apply last
year.
In congratulating the re
cipients, state Superinten
D.F. Walker and
Holmes were not
chosen for honor
dent June Atkinson noted
that it takes a combined ef
fort for a school to achieve
that level of success.
“Keeping our schools
safe and healthy requires
a team effort from parents,
schools and communities,”
she said.
“I commend all of these
partners as well as our. Su
per Safe Schools for work
ing so hard throughout
the year to create learning
environments in which all
students can excel.”
;
How they won
Schools designated to
receive the honor must
demonstrate decreased in
cidents of crime and vio
lence.
They must also “have
made extra efforts to main
tain a safe, orderly and car
ing learning and working
environment,” according
Y
to a news release issued by
the state Department of
Public Instruction which
announced its selections on
Feb. 23.
Part of the process in
volves having parents,
students and staff answer
questions involving school
safety.
At D.F. Walker, for exam
ple, 41 percent of students
said they felt “very safe,”
while just over 60 percent of
parents said they thought
their children felt very safe
at the school. Sixty-six per
cent of staff answered affir
matively. * „
White Oak and Walked
have both had zero incf£
dents involving violence aC
their schools this year. HoI£L
mes reported a handful of*
incidents.
Kerri Albertson, director:
of media relations for the;
school system, noted that:
the Super Safe School design
nation “isn’t as much about;
the number of incidents last;
See SCHOOL, Page A2 >«~
■bike
Downtown Dog walk • Raffte^tfp , This Saturday, March 14
Goodie bags for 1sJJ|9..regt^r§«l.' m » n. i ». »a ■
Children's Area : ; PSt^PlIOOIS ffiSttVSl
HUpfeWMOttWl DAY OUT
^ Demos and much more..‘ for additional infor^dftonj
registration begins ^Ttacy
,rneifQuehn & S. Broad v.
Paraikafr^VOQ Coordin%d^, ^
£-{Siv"\r V • Postination Downtown arn‘
taHil 2. at Colonial Park Edenton-chowan Re£rea%|t