r~ ' ■
482-4418
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
50*
i
Chowan fair, but not fair
weather, PAGE IB
Sheriff’s candidate explains bankruptcy
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Chowan County’s Repub
lican candidate for sheriff
says his personal bank
ruptcy several years ago
makes him more financial
ly responsible today
Tim Brabble said he has
never hidden the fact that
he filed Chapter 13 Bank
ruptcy in 2003, which was
discharged in 2006. Instead,
he touts the experience as a
humbling lessbn that forces
him to do a better job with
Rain, More Rain
' - ' • ' PHOTO BY REBECCA LOWE
It was business as usual in downtown Edenton during Thursday’s deluge that dumped 131/2 inches of rain in two days.
Nicole dumps ISV2 inches of rain in 2 days
flooding prompts
cancellations
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
■■ropical Storm Nicole dumped
I 13 'A inches of rain on
I Edenton - Chowan last week,
flooding area roads and wreaking
havoc on perennial events.
Nicole’s deluge led to swol
len waterways that spilled onto
nearby roads making passage
hazardous. A rain-swollen Pem
broke Creek resulted in a flooded
Mexico Road while Edenton Bay
spilled onto Water Street, both
frequent flooding spots during
heavy rains. Cancellations and
weather-related adjustments fol
lowed the storm’s aftermath.
“We found water levels to be
as high as a vehicle’s headlights
on some county roads,” said
Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin after
Thursday’s second consecutive
John A. Holmes High School plays the Battle of the Bands
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Martin County’s River
side High School claimed
Band of the Day honors
Saturday at the 35th Annu
al Edenton Peanut Festival
Battle of the Bands.
Riverside’s marching
band earned the top award
after posting the highest
overall score in what has
become the Peanut Fes
111
0
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All Rights Reserved
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finances.
“I learned some very
valuable lessons from my
experience,” Brabble said.
“I learned we cannot bor
row our way out of debt,
we cannot spend our way
out of debt and fiscal re
sponsibility is more than
cutting spending. ”
Brabble said he fell vic
tim to borrowing money
at high interest rates to
pay off debt. Before long,
Brabble owed more than
he could afford, prompting
him to turn to bankruptcy
PHOTO BY SUSAN DIXON
Waves from Edenton Bay pound the rocky shoreline Thursday morning at Water
Street as Tropical Storm Nicole contributed to local flooding along Chowan
County’s waterways and low lying areas.
day of heavy rain. “For the most
part, motorists are keeping off
the roads.”
Edenton-Chowan schools were
closed Friday after plans to open
tival’s centerpiece event,
which is held at the John A.
Holmes High School Ath
letic Complex.
Cape Hatteras High
School took the event’s oth
er major award of the day
' the Otis Strother Award
- after performing in the
competition for the first
time Strother was the band
director at Holmes for near
ly 20 years and played a key
role in initiating the Battle
of the Bands event.
The award that carries
Strother’s name is given to
the band that best demon
strates good sportsmanship
and a professional attitude
in the 14-band competition.
Dave Shaw, Holmes’ band
Brabble Goodwin
“It caught up to me,”
Brabble said. “Credit cards
were my biggest issue.”
By filing chapter 13,
Brabble said he was able to
on a two-hour delay. School offi
cials opted for the two-hour delay
on Thursday after some
See RAIN, 4A
director, said he was hap
py to see the award go to
them.
“This is the first year
that Cape Hatteras has
fielded a marching band,”
Shaw said, “although they
have had a music program.
So, we were their inaugural
band competition.”
Shaw also praised the
bands for making the trip
to Edenton for the competi
tion, following the two-day
deluge that caused flooding
throughout the region. A
soggy football field where
the competition usually
plays forced the. event to
the stadium’s track. The
tight quarters hampered
the bands from performing
„ ... y
continue to pay and keep
his home and vehicles.
He has posted a letter
about his bankruptcy on
his election website.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
allows the opportunity to
repay some or all of a debt
at a reduced or no interest.
An attorney, who acts as a
trustee, oversees the repay
ment. The U.S. Bankruptcy
Code gives the debtor up to
five years to repay credi
tors.
Incumbent Sheriff
their usual routines.
“Once we got going, ev
erything went off without a
hitch," Shaw said. “We are
known for having a well
run competition and with
the help of our students
and their parents we lived
up to that again Saturday.”
Poor weather conditions
prevented one band from
making the trip, Shaw said.
The Marching Wildcats
of Columbia High School
kicked off the competition
with a program that includ
ed Under an Irish Sky and
America the Beautiful.
As late afternoon moved
into evening, the stadium
See BANDS, 4A
Dwayne Goodwin, a Demo
crat seeking re-election,
said it’s imperative for the
sheriff to be financially
savvy
“Fiscal responsibility is
important as sheriff when
the sheriff is responsible
for five 24-hours a day agen
cies with more than 55 em
ployees and a $2.7 million
annual budget,” Goodwin
said.
In addition to the sher
iffs office, the sheriff is
responsible' for the jail,
Sales tax would
aid Parks & Rec,
Senior Center
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
In an effort to make the
proposed sales tax more
appealing to voters, coun
ty leaders earmarked the
V* penny increase for
Parks and Recreation and
the Senior Center.
The Chowan County
Board of Commissioners
opened discussions Mon
day night about how to
curry voter favor for next
month’s sales tax referen
dum that will appear on
the ballot in the General
Election.
Chowan banks
nearly $2M
Restores fiscal
solvency in 2 years
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Chowan County has
gone from the brink of
financial collapse to more
than 1.9 million in its fund
balance within a 24-month
period, primarily due to
reduced spending.
“To be able to add $1.9
million in this economy, in
any economy, you should
be commended,” said
Bryan Starnes, county
auditor. “1 had to check it
to make sure it-was right.
It might had been painful
and unpopular, but it was
the right thing to do.”
Starnes delivered the
audit review at Monday
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
The Manteo High School Marching Redskins are led in com
petition by drum major Caroline Lowcher.The band won first
place in the drum major category during Saturday's Battle of
the Bands in Edenton.
communications, animal
control, and emergency
management. ' ■ :
“It’s a lot like you do at
home, but on a much larger
scale,” Goodwin said.
Brabble, one of Good
win’s current deputies,
points to his securing and
handling of an $80,000 do
mestic violence grant as
proof he can effectively
manage taxpayers’ money
Instead of spending the
entire sum, he managed
See CANDIDATES, 2A
“I think citizens would
like to know where their
money is going before
they vote yes or no,” said
Commission Chairman
Eddy Goodwin.
John Sams, a Libertar
ian candidate for com
missioner, said during a
public comment that he
would not support the
tax, reminding the board
that the increase brings
the county’s sales tax rate
to 8 percent. Instead, he
chastised the board for its
timing.
See EARMARKED, 3A
night’s Board of Commis
sioners scheduled meet
ing. He added that Chow
an had risen from among
the state’s bottom wrung
of counties with little
money to among middle
of the pack, calling the
two-year feat “tremen
dous.” Chowan has gone
from having only a two
week cash flow to between
two and three months,
Starnes said. Compared to
its expenditures and the
General Fund, Chowan
holds a Fund Balance of
18 percent, nearly 14 per
cent that is immediately
available for cash.
Starnes attributed the
accomplishment to a near
$1 million more in coun
ty revenue and about
See FUND, 2A