Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / May 27, 2009, edition 1 / Page 1
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482-4418 Wednesday, May 27, 2009 50* Most recent revised budget option posted By Vernon Fueston Staff Writer The county’s finance de partment posted a working budget proposal that includes changes suggested by its com missioners. That budget will be the starting point for discussions to be held at a public meeting of the commissioners. The revised budget is al most $3.5 million smaller than the county’s original budget requests listed in Op tion E, one of five options proposed by County Manager Peter Rascoe. Option E would have preserved county pro Remember... Thank... Support America’s Unsung Heroes BIAIR CURRIE “And the days dwindle down to a precious few!” As the process of attrition takes it toll, the above line might be applied to the surviving World War II veterans. As a tail gunner on B-17’s, James Bond of Edenton flew on 23 missions over Nazi Germany. He received many awards in recognition of his bravery, including the Air Medal with three clusters. Bond is a modest man who smiles remains unchanged in state bounty jobless rates to be released Friday North Carolina’s unemploy ment rate held steady in April at 10.8 percent, according to statistics released Friday, May 22 by the N.C. Employ ment Security Commission. Employment made a small gain, while the number of un 6 B1141 id" 0 ©2009 The Chowan Herald | :% All Rights Reserved grams and spending with few changes. The proposed budget comes $413,000 short of balancing the budget without trigger ing an increase in property taxes. But the new budget is hard ly a done deal. Several of the commis sioners indicated they could not support some of the cuts made to the county’s central communications center, the library and recreation depart ments, among others. The budget will be dis cussed today in a public hear ing to he held in the COA’s Culinary Arts Center. employed workers slightly decreased. “Our state’s unemploy ment rate has remained pret ty steady over the past three months,” said ESC Chair man Moses Carey. “And while a gain in em ployment is nice to see, this global recession continues to affect many citizens in our state. “The ESC will continue to provide services to those needing assistance with job search and the filing of unemployment insurance claims.” 5 Proposed cuts listed in Option E Schools $911,000 > School Capital Reserves 400,000 Social Services 373,000 Recreation 184,000 Sheriff’s Department 176,000 Public Safety Department 95,000 Jail Operations 92,000 Library Operations and Debt 80,000 Animal Control 71,000 Senior Center 62,000 Central Communications (911) 58,000 Data Processing 49,000 Administration and Finance 47,000 when complimented on his service to his country, but to many locals and friends, he is an honored exemplification of an unsung hero. Pictured above, James Bond is compli- ' mented by Coast Guard Captain Edward Gibbons, the guest speaker at Edenton’s Memorial Day sen/ice hosted by the American Legion Post 40 at the Chowan County Veteran’s Memorial Monday. Seasonally adjusted em ployment increased by 26,857 workers to 4,087,728. Unem ployment decreased by 815 workers, to 492,785. The'num ber of workers who were un employed, but actively seek ing work, remains near an all-time high. Since this time last year, unemployment has in creased by 234,421 people. Employment is down by 171,865 workers since April 2008. The state rate in April 2008 was 5.7 percent. Seasonally adjusted, total non-farm industry employ Memorial Day 2009 By Rebecca Bunch Staff Writer Hundreds of local citi zens crowded the grounds around the Chowan County Veterans Memo rial Monday morning to remember lost loved ones and friends. Capt. Edward Gibbons, of the Elizabeth City Coast Guard Base, was the keynote speaker. He spoke of the sense of sacrifice and duty that has been heightened since 9/11 and the result ing combat overseas. “Everyone in this audi ence has been touched in some way,” he said. “The last eight years have giv en us many heroes. Many have given their lives, or limbs, in service to their country. Gibbons, commanding officer for the USCG Avia tion Logistics Center at the base, also spoke, about the sense of pride that his men feel as they strive to make each aircraft as safe as possible for their com rades to fly The call to order, and greetings, were ' offered by Cmdr. Dale Wright, American Legion Post 40. He also introduced the speaker, Capt. Gibbons. The invocation and benediction were given by Rev. Roscoe Poole, Jr., Post 40 chaplain. “The National Anthem” and “God Bless America” were performed by Jerry Swanner. Service wreaths and memorial wreaths were laid by organizations in cluding the Legion and theDAR. The American flag on the grounds was flying at half-mast, waiting to be raised by the Post 40 Honor Guard at the con clusion of the service. Roy Mollenkopf and Larry Privott performed “Taps”. ment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey, decreased by 7,900 jobs over the past month and has decreased by 203,200 since April 2008 - to 3,947,400. The largest over-the-month increase occurred in Edu cational & Health Services (+4,100). The largest decrease was manufacturing (-4,600). The next unemployment update is scheduled for Fri day, May 29, when the county unemployment rates for the month of April will be re leased. Recreation focus to remain “quality of life” VERNON FUESTON/THH CHOWAN HERALD Robbie Laughton, director of the Edenton-Chowan Recreation De partment has done his part to help with the county’s current fiscal crisis, cutting the department’s proposed budget from $534,000 to $350,000. “The hardest thing I have to worry about is the kid who can’t afford to do an activity.” By Vernon Fueston Staff Writer As Chowan’s commission ers search for discretionary dollars to cut from the couh ty’s budget, Robbie Laughton knows his department has been the subject of more than a little scrutiny over the last year. With the county’s budget more than $3.9 million out of balance, the recreation department’s $534,000 budget request listed on the coun ty’s budget option E makes a tempting target as pencils are sharpened. But Laughton is a believer in his department’s value to the “We provide activities for a lot of kids who would put their energies into destructive things,” Laughton said. “Our leagues bring constructive or ganization into a kid’s life.” VERNON FUESTON/THE CHOWAN HERALD Virginia Byrum receives instruction on using a stationary bicycle from the senior center’s director, Connie Parker. Senior Center continues providing during crunch By Vernon Fueston Staff Writer When a series of recent budget proposals for Chowan County suggested cuts to a number of county services, few of those changes drew more fire than a proposal for eliminating its senior citi zen’s nutrition programs and another for cutting funding for the county’s senior center all together. But with an initial budget request of over $190,000, ex cluding the cost of its space in the county-owned Swain building and the lack of any federal or state mandate to provide senior services at all, the center was an attractive Charged with the care and maintenance of 13 ball fields and 9 tennis courts, the youth programs Laughton supervis es serve over 3,000 kids who play on 1,200 teams and 1,100 other organized activities. Laughton said Chowan’s recreation program is one of the largest in the area, partly because of the scope of what the department tries to do. He said Chowan, as North Carolina’s smallest county, has tried to run its sports through a central department rather than just providing facilities and leaving the organizing to private leagues and clubs. He said the system has been a success. “There has never been a push to going outside of our department to do these kinds of things,” Laughton said, “and I guess that is a testimo See. RECREATION on Page 2A place to look lor cuts. After trimming its budget request by $61,000 to $129,000, most of the center’s funding seems safe for now, though the commissioners are still reviewing the county budget. Connie Parker, the center’s director, hopes the day never comes when the county’s el derly have to do without the support her program pro vides. Probably the best known of the center’s services are its nutrition programs, which Parker said include home delivered and congregate (served at the center) meals. The center doesn’t prepare food for its clients. That is See SENIOR on Pap 2.
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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May 27, 2009, edition 1
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