Edenton Bay Challenge
, Regatta results A2
Photos from event will be featured in next week's
Chowan Hera|d
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482-4418
Wednesday, july 15, 2009
50c
Council
filings end
this Friday
By press time Tuesday,
Edenton Town Council in
cumbents Jerry L. Parks,
councilman-at-large and
Willis Privott, fourth ward,
had filed for re-election.
Political newcomer
George Grother alsd filed
for the at-large seat.
Incumbent Phyllis Brit
ton, third ward, had not
filed for re-election.
Parks was appointed in
1991; Britton in 2005; Privott
in 1980.
The filing period opened
July 3 and will close Friday
at noon.
Absentee voting by mail
will be Oct. 2- Oct. 27. Reg
istration deadline is Friday,
Oct. 9. Early voting starts
Oct. 15; ends Oct. 31,
The election will be held
Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Edenton
man charged
in shooting
From staff reports
One Edenton man is in se
rious condition and another
man is in custody following
a shooting late Monday.
Edenton police have
charged Daniel Lee
“Bootsie” Herrar, of the
200 block of East Gale St.,
Edenton, in the shooting of
Deshane Sanderlin, 25.
According to a law en
forcement press release,
Herrar fired a handgun at
Sanderlin multiple times at ‘
the corner of Oakum and
Freemason streets about
, 10:30 p.m.
Sanderlin was shot in
the leg, the release states.
He was transported to Pitt
County Memorial Hospital
in Greenville where he was
listed in serious condition.
Herrar is charged with as
sault with a deadly weapon
with intent to kill inflicting
serious bodily injury. He is
being held in the Chowan
County Jail in lieu of a
$100,000 bond.
Edenton Little Theater seeking performers
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
It’s hard enough to get
Southerners to sound like
Northerners, but in Edenton
an even bigger challenge for
the Edenton Little Theater
has been finding enough
warm bodies for its upcoming
production.
But director Carolyn Pas
torek is optimistic the vol
unteer group is equal to the
task of bringing Neil Simon’s
“Plaza Suite,” set in New
York, to local audiences.
Following auditions last
week the lead roles in the
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
County turns down loan to renovate Holmes
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
The county government’s
new policy of fiscal restraint
has led it to refuse a request
that would have helped jump
start renovations at John A.
Holmes High School.
That opportunity would
have come in the form of $1.7
million in interest-free financ
SMALL BUSINESSES ARE FOCUS OF LT. GOV. VISIT
EARUNE WHITE/THE CHOWAN HERALD
From left, local pharmacist Jim Blount, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, chamber director Richard Bunch and Mayor Roland Vaughan share a light
hearted moment during a talk about the national recession, unemployment, healthpare and the future of a small businesses.
Meeting part of state
wide tour to hear the
needs and concerns
By Earline White
Managing Editor
On Friday, Lt. Gov. Walter
Dalton met with three small
business owners from Eden
ton to discuss their needs
and concerns in a difficult
economic environment.
Dalton’s first stop was
Edenton Bay Trading Com
pany, the 2009 N.C. Main
.Street Champions, where
proprietor Malcolm' King
acted as host.
King led Dalton on a tour
of the eclectic waterfront
REBECCA BUNCH/THE CHOWAN HERAU)
Edenton Little Theater Director Carolyn Pastorek, center, explains the plot of "Plaza Suite” during auditions
last Thursday evening. Reading for parts were, from left, Rena Knickerbocker, Deborah West, Antoinette
“Toni" Heinz-Vega and Fraser Kelly. The group plans to present the Neil Simon classic this fall.
production are close to being
cast.
But additional auditions
are planned for this Friday
evening at the First Presby
terian Church, starting at 7
p.m.
Particularly needed are a
young man and woman, both
in their twenties to early thir
ing that would have allowed
the project to move forward
for the first time since 2005.
In addition, at, the end of
July, the school system will
lose out on two new interest
free bonds that are part of fed
eral stimulus funds intended
for school construction.
But agreeing to accept the
funds would mean the county
would have to incur addition
shop that continues to amaze
and amuse visitors drawn to
such a rural setting.
“A lot of new businesses
were doing fine until the cred
it crunch hit in September
[of last year],” Dalton said to
listeners King and Edenton
Mayor Roland Vaughan.
“Businesses need access to
capital.”
Dalton recently announced
the Small Business Initiative,
or Small Business Assistance
Fund, which would provide
low-interest loans to help
small businesses struggling
to access capital during the
economic and credit crisis.
The new revolving loan
fund, which will provide
loans to small businesses
ties.
A meeting for those inter
ested in working on the pro
duction crew, but not acting
in the play, will take place
from 6-7 p.m.
“If you’ve got time to spend
with us building a set, or
learning about props, we’d
love for you to come join us,”
al debt.
LINES OF COMMUNICATION
Dr. Allan Smith, super
intendent of the Edenton
Chowan Schools, said he re
cently asked Chowan County
Manager Peter Rascoe for the
chance to meet with the coun
ty commissioners’ finance
committee to discuss the op
portunity
with fewer than 100 employ
ees or annual receipts of
less than $1 million, received
$3 million in funding in the
budget passed by the Senate
recently
Unfortunately, the propos
al has stalled in the House.
The fund is modeled after
the disaster loan programs
the state implemented fol
lowing natural disasters like
hurricanes Fran and Floyd,
which were administered by
the Small Business and Tech
nology Development Center
(SBTDC).
In the last 10 years, small
businesses have accounted
for 70 percent of the coun
try’s new jobs, and 86 percent
of businesses in North Caro-.
Pastorek said.
“There’s a lot to do, there’s
a lot to learn, and we need ev
erybody to come and help us
with this.”
The play is' scheduled to
be presented on Oct. 9-10 and
again the following weekend,
Oct. 16-17.
Smith said after getting
feedback from the Local Gov
ernment Commission and
some of the commissioners,
Rascoe told him the county
could, not help; the meeting
never took place.
Rascoe said that for the
current fiscal year the board
of commissioners adopted a
budget that reflected a sub
stantial reduction in the
lina have fewer than 100 em
ployees.
Chamber director Rich
ard Bunch briefed Dalton on
Chowan’s current economic
situation — numerous boat
manufacturing layoffs, stag
gering unemployment, and
the county’s fiscal crisis.
Dalton agreed that the sto
ry rang true throughout the
state — manufacturing clos
ings, statewide unemploy
ment exceeding 11 percent,
slowing housing markets.
After all, this was Dalton’s
tenth “listening tour” since
taking office.
Steve Brown of Byrums
voiced his concerns over a
See DALTON on Page 2
Mentoring
program
must go oh
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
With their funding fro
zen, many Governor’s One
on One programs across
the state are turning to vol
unteers to keep assisting at
risk youth.
That will continue to
be the case until the state
budget is passed, accord
ing to William Lassiter, Di
rector of Communications
for the N.C. Department of
Juvenile Justice and De
Unquency Prevention in
Raleigh, which oversees the
program.
“Under the continuing
resolution that is currently
See ONE ON ONE on Pag* 2
county’s operating expenses.
“After much evaluation
during the budget process,”
he said, “one operational ex
pense which was not able to
be reduced was the county’s
debt obligations.
“If the board of commis
sioners was to decide to au
thorize more debt of any type,
then the budgets for forthcom
ing years would have to be in
creased to accommodate the
cost of paying the debt back.”
Commissioner Kenny Good
win, who chairs the finance
committee, expressed sym
pathy for the school system’s
predicament.
“I wish we could build them
a brand new school,” he said.
Goodwin said he was not
aware until Monday after
noon that Dr. Smith had asked
to meet with his committee.
If he had known, he said,
his inclination would have
been to grant Smith’s request
so the committee could at least
have been informed about the
available funds.
“I think it’s important to
keep the lines of communica
tion open,” he said.
But, in the end, Goodwin
.added, it probably wouldn’t
have made a difference.
“It doesn’t seem to me that
this is the time for the county
to incur any more debt,” he
said. “As much as we would
like to help them out, we just
can’t do it right now.”
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Dr. Smith said that in 2004
the school system applied
for and received a $2-million
QZAB (Qualified "Zone Acad
emy .Bond), the maximum
amount allowed, through a
competitive application pro
cess.
“The bond was issued by
the county commission and
was used for renovations at
the high school, primarily the
renovation of the National
Guard Armory,” he said.
The $1.7-miUion QZAB fi
nancing currently in ques
tion, he said, has already
been awarded to the school
system and the county com
mission “but has not been
issued through a private lend
ing agency.”
Smith said the intent of the
school system was to use the
funds as part of a major reno
vation and expansion of the
high school, “which has been
shelved.”
Much remains to be done
there, he noted.
“Of greatest concern are
those renovations to protect
the integrity of the building -
the gym roof, windows on the
front of the main building,
etc. If the bond is not issued
by Dec. 31, it will be lost.”
THE PLAN
The school system will be
faced with the same dilemma
when it comes to two new in
terest-free bonds that are part
of the federal stimulus pack- '';
age.
Those funds are earmarked
for school construction, and
Chowan’s allocation totals al
most $1.2 million.
“The deadline for both is
July 31,” Smith said, “and
would require board of edu
cation and county commis
sion commitment.” ;;
“It seems like forever,” Dr. ;,';
Smith said, when asked how *'.;
long the effort to get renova- ■; •
tions done at Holmes had
been going on.
He said the school system ;
began discussions with the
county in 2003.