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Schools open year with $2.5 million ip cuts
$1.5 million reduction
in local funding
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
What will we do if some
thing breaks and there’s no
money in the budget to fix it?
Will teacher training be can
celled due to lack of funds?
Will students have to give up
field trips this year?
Those are just three of the
many questions that Eden
ton-Chowan Schools Supt. Dr.
Allan Smith is facing as kids
head back to the classroom
this week.
r
Back to the grind
EARUNEWHITE/THE CHOWAN HERALD
Teaching assistant Pearlie Parks (left) helps Jamie Seymour, 9, and her new student Thomas Seymour, 5, put together a puzzle. This is Parks’ 30th year teaching.
People hope to keep ECDC alive with city support |
By Rebecca Bunch
Staff Writer
Those hoping to keep the
Edenton-Chowan Develop
ment Corporation alive are
looking to the Town of Eden
ton to provide life support.
That support would come
in the form of an annual
$36,000 appropriation that is
expected to be voted on at the
council’s September board
meeting.
The county, which had pro
vided $46,000 in annual funds
for the ECDC, recently pulled
out of the agreement and
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
“Certainly, we’re going to
have to be more aggressive in
protecting the things we have,”
said Smith. “But even with all
the challenges
we will face,
I’m lt>oking
forward to
school start
ing again.”
That philos
ophy is shared
by staff, too,
according to
Spanishteach
er Barbara Cavanaugh and
Laura Houseal, who teaches'a
Family and Consumer Science
curriculum more commonly
known as “Home Ec”.
While Cavanaugh has
Alien
removed its two representa
tives from the ECDC board.
At Monday night’s Town
Council meeting, councilors
got their first look at the or
ganization’s proposed bud
gets for 2009/10 and 2010/11.
They also received copies of
current ECDC bank records
and a list of specific goals
for FY 09/10. .
Getting started
A reorganization of the
ECDC began with the group
opening its own bank ac
count and hiring its own ac
counting firm.
The Edenton-Chowan
Chamber of Commerce
loaned the ECDC $4,100 in
start-up money so it could
open a checking account.
The county’s July contri
bution to the ECDC - $3,833.37
* also went into the account.
taught a total of 13 years, sev
en of them at John A. Holmes,
and Houseal just two at the
high school, both are optimis
tic about the challenges they
face.
“Things may be a little
leaner this year,” Cavanaugh
observed, “but we’re not going
to just throw our hands up in
the air and say ‘I can’t do this’.
We will find away.”
Staying on track
Keeping computers in good
working order will be a prior
ity, as well as making sure the
air conditioning and heating
systems operate efficiently,
Smith said.
Maintenance supervisor
Paid out during the month
were $2,000.02 each for July
and August on a bank note
for a spec building owned by
the ECDC; $2,477 in liability
insurance; $386.91 in insur
ance for the spec building;
and $200 for July CPA fees.
As of Aug. 24, that left a to
tal of $869.42 in the ECDC’s
account.
Yet to be released is a
$10,500 contribution in funds
from the town. Those funds
will be paid out once the
town votes to approve the
expenditure. The remain
ing town funds will be paid
out in increments later this
year.
Continuing on
Noticeably absent from
the plan presented Monday
night was any funding for a
director’s salary.
Brian Bass will note any nec
essary repairs and work or
ders will be issued.
“Even though we lost .our
county technology appropria
tion,” Smith noted, “we are
looking at ways to fund the re
placement of old computers.”
He said that each room in
each school is inspected prior
to the start of school. Addi
tional inspections are carried
out twice a year.
Smith noted that there is
one bit of good news where
funding is concerned. He said
that several of the schools
have received federal grant
funds that include a technol
ogy component.
Those include the IMPACT
In the past, Chamber Di
rector Richard Bunch has
also served in that capacity
for the ECDC.
During the past year the
Chamber received about
$30,000 for ECDC work, in
cluding lights, phone, insur
ance, and other basic operat
ing costs. Of that amount,
about $20,000 was used to
pay Bunch’s ECDC salary.
At Monday night’s meet
ing officials said they hoped
Bunch would continue to as
sist the ECDC with econom
ic development efforts in an
unpaid capacity.
Bunch was not at the meet
ing and declined to comment
when contacted afterwards
except to say that the Cham
ber still strongly believes in
economic development and
will continue to carry on
those efforts.
grant awarded to D.F. Walker
and the NC Quest grant from
N.C. State University funds
given to Chowan Middle
School. Both schools are now
in the second year of their re
spective grant cycles.
“Our ratio of students to
computers is above the state
average,” Smith said, “and we
want to keep it that way.”
• He added distance-learning
programs utilized via the In
ternet at John A. Holmes were
“a vital part” of the learning
process for students.
Chance to leam
The Internet, too, will in
creasingly play a larger role in
helping teachers to take part
Helping out
Part of the ECDC’s sur
vival strategy will rely on a
newly forming group called
the Committee of 100 being
organized by Mayor Roland
Vaughan.
Vaughan serves as chair
man of the ECDC board.
Being developed as an ef
fort to acquire public funds to
help replace those withdrawn
by the county, the Committee
of 100 will be made up of lo
cal citizens who wish to con
tribute to help keep the ECDC
alive.
Anyone interested in con
tributing to the effort may
send a check to the Edenton
Chowan Development Corp.,
P.O. Box 245, Edenton, NC
27932.
Contributions are tax-de
ductible since the ECDC is a
501c-3 nonprofit organization.
in training workshops and
seminars.
Smith said that with the
lack of dollars to fund teacher
travel in the coming year, edu
cational opportunities would
still be available but not in the
same way as in the past.
“We will still try our best
to help teachers take part in
those types of opportunities,”
he said. “We will just have to
use a bit more creativity.”
He cited as an example a
recent Title I initiative that
allowed travel for four mem
bers of the Edenton-Chowan
Schools family. Those four
came back to Chowan County
See FUNDING on Page 7A
Harvin %
awarded
$ 126K for
incident
By Reggie Ponder
The Daily Advance
An Edenton man wounded
in a 2005 shooting incident
in which his ex-wife’s lover
was killed has been awarded
$126,000 in damages, accord
ing to a civil judgment filed in
Camden Superior Court.
The judgment entered by
Superior Court Judge Jerry
R. Tillett in Camden County
Thursday found that Thomas
K. Harvin in had met the
burden of proof by. greater
weight of evidence that Dawn
Teachey had entered into a
civil conspiracy with Stacey
Bayles to cause bodily injury
to him.
“I feel that Judge Tillett’s
ruling has vindicated me,”
Harvin said Friday “There’s
no doubt in my mind that
Dawn was behind the whole
thing.”
Harvin and Teachey are
divorced. Teachey has been
described in court records as
having been involved in a ro
mantic relationship with Bay
les.
Tillett’s judgment cites
cell phone records and wit
ness testimony as evidence
that Teachey and Bayles had
planned an attack on Harvin.
In a struggle between Harvin
and Bayles outside Teachey’s
home on Ivy Neck Road in •
Camden on April 7, 2005, Bay
les shot Harvin in the face
with a .22-caliber handgun.
Harvin then wrestled the gun
away from Bayles and shot her
fatally.
District Attorney Frank
Parrish later determined Har
vin acted in self-defense.
Teachey was charged with
conspiring with Bayles to
have Harvin killed. Parrish
dismissed the charges against
Teachey in April 2006.
Harvin, who has a bullet
lodged in his face from the
shooting and has been treated
for post-traumatic stress disor
der. The $126,000 he was award
ed are compensatory damages,
the court judgment states. -
Branch W Vincent HI, thp ;
attorney representing Harvin,
declined to comment on the
judgment or any aspect of the
case.
Edward O’Neal, the attorney
representing Teachey, could
not be reached for comment.
Teachey also could not be
reached for comment.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER T2TH,i2009
5:00 - 7:00PM - FOOD & DRINKS • 6:00 - 9:30PM - MUSIC & DANCING
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Tickets: American Legion Clubroom 482-2097
(Randy), Dixie Auto, United Country, Colony;
Tire, Westover, Albemarle Motors
Legion Office 482-4057
www.chowanfair.com 'j