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482-4418
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Gleaning helps fill
needy cupboards B1
Concerns grow over salary disparities
bnerin earns
county’s top salary
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
A candidate for the
Chowan .County Board
of Commissioners used a
forum last week to attack
the sheriffs annual salary,
adding that his high pay re
Chowan Mourns Sudden Loss
■&.?-.■
STAFF PHOTO BY RITCHIE STARNES
Chowan County sheriffs deputies John McArthur (left) and Allen Browder rehearse folding the American flag outside the
Public Safety Center in preparation ofTuesday’s funeral of C. Franklin Jackson. A wreath hangs on the building’s entrance
in memoiy of the 46-year-old communications director who was killed Saturday in a hunting accident.
911 director dies in hunting accident
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Chowan County’s 911 Com
munications director was
killed in a hunting accident
with his family Satin-day after
noon, the first day guns were
permitted for deer season.
C. Franklin Jackson Jr. was
shot in the chest around 2 p.m.
off Longridge Road in Plymouth,
according to Lt. Kevin Sawyer, an
investigator with the Washington
County Sheriff’s Office. Jackson
and his son, Carlton Jackson III,
were checking their weapons to
ensure the rifles were unloaded
and safe for travel when the
younger Jackson’s .30-.30-caliber
rifle discharged and struck his fa
State races stoke
Legion’s 1st forum
Senate, House seats
draw fiery barbs
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Sparks flew at last
Wednesday’s Meet the
Candidates forum at the
American Legion Post 40.
Twelve of 13 candidates
seeking an elected office
that will represent Chowan
County participated in the
Legion’s first forum. About
60 attended the event that
allowed questions from the
W' ■
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
mams the
byproduct
of a past
good ol’boy
network.
Repub
lican chal
lenger
Robert
Hutchins
singled out
Goodwin
Hutchins
Sheriff Dwayne 'Goodwin’s
annual salary as a residue
ther, Sawyer said,
the 46-year-old
Franklin Jack
son was taken
to Washington
County Hospital
where he was pro
nounced dead.
Also present at
the fatal shooting
were Franklin
Jackson’s daughter and father-in
law. The shooting occurred at a
family’s member residence.
An investigation by the Wash
ington County Sheriffs Office
and the N.C. Wildlife Resources
Commission remains ongoing,
Sawyer said. No one has been
charged and no charges are pend
ing at this time.
audience, which pitted in
cumbents against their re
spective challengers. The
area’s state races provided
the more heated debates as
four candidates exchanged
barbs.
Still stinging from a Per
quimans County forum
days earlier when state
Sen. Ed Jones, D-Halifax,
told voters that they should
check with him first before
listening to his opponent,
Rich Halbert.
“When I start lying,
raise your hand," Halbert
barked at Jones during
the opening minutes of
the forum. The Edenton
Republican proceeded to
pepper the audience with
statistics. He railed about
how North Carolinas has
See FORUM, 2A
of a county
regimethat
contrib
uted to the
Chowan’s
near finan
cial col
lapse three
years ago.
Although
Hutchins’
figures were incorrect, his
remarks represent a grow
ing bone of contention that
some Chowan department
heads are over paid, com
pared to surrounding coun
ties.
Since Chowan County’s
financial meltdown, there
have been no merit raises,
according to county offi
cials. Before then, however,
former County Manager
Cliff Copeland handed out
generous increases to his
News of Franklin Jackson’s
sudden death soon spread among
his Chowan County peers. He had
worked for the county for more
than 22 years, most recently serv
ing as the director of Chowan’s
911 communications. Those who
knew him called the title an
understatement to his contribu
tions.
“He was one of the best in
terms of information technology,”
said Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin,
who oversees the department. “He
designed the 911 center here.
“He loved his job. 1 could call
Franklin anytime, day or night,
and he would come in,” Goodwin
added.
See JACKSON, 4A
Sheriff, commission candidates air platforms
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
For the first time this election sea
son, candidates vying to represent
Chowan County faced off together
in last Wednesday’s Meet the Candi
dates forum at the American Legion
Post 40.
Twelve of the 13 candidates seek
ing office took advantage of the
Legion’s first candidate forum to
air their platforms. Six of the candi
dates on hand hope to secure three
seats on the Board of Commission
ers while two others pursue to be
come the county’s top cop.
Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin, defend
ing his incumbency against one of
his own deputies, has emerged as
one of the county’s more interest
ing races.
Commission hopefuls there in
cluded Jeff Smith, Douglas Hollow
ell, and Robert Hutchins for Dist. 1,
Seat 2 John Mitchener and Chris
Brabble for Dist. 2, Seat 2, and John
Sams who is dueling Ellis Lawrence
for Dist. 3, Seat 2. Lawrence did not
department heads.
“Just looking at the se
ries of events, it appears
(Copeland) gave them liber
ally and often,” said Paul
Parker, interim county
manager.
When Goodwin was first
elected sheriff in 2006, his
salary went from $48,363 an
nually to $77,500. Chowan’s
base salary for the office of
sheriff is $55,000, which is
tests seen as
ineffective
Superintendent:
Policy ‘unnecessary’
By KRISTIN PITTS
The Daily Advance
A recent decision by the
State Board of Education
has put an end to perfor
mance gateways that have
linked grade promotion
and graduation to end-of
grade and end-of-course
tests.
The pol
icy, which
was imple
m e n t e d
more than
a decade
ago, was
removed
in part be- Smjth
cause of
what some board members
said was the policy’s inef
fectiveness.
A press release from
the Department of Public
Instruction reveals that
board members ended the
policy for three reasons:
the gateways policy did
not make a significant dif
ference in promotion or
retention patterns; state
law gives principals the
authority for placing stu
dents; and, the waiver pro
cess was time consuming
and had “little noticeable
benefit for students.”
On the local level, area
superintendents hit on a
few of those issues in re
sponses to the accountabil
ity gateways change.
. STAFF PHOTO BY RITCHIE STARNES
Twelve of 13 candidates vying to represent Chowan County partcipate in the Meet
the Candidates last Wednesday at the American Legion Post 40. The forum marked
the Legion’s first.
attend the forum.
Roughly 60 that attended the fo
rum listened as Republican Tim
Brabble explained why he wanted
to unseat his Democrat boss.
“I don’t have the luxury to move
also the rate the Board of
Elections uses to calculate
the sheriffs filing fee, re
cords show..
Copeland later gave
Goodwin a salary increase,
bumping his annual sal
ary to its current amount
of $83,002 - the highest „
salary among all current
county employees. Goodwin
See SALARY, 2A
Edenton-Chowan Su
perintendent Allan Smith
stopped short of calling
the policy ineffective. In
stead, he said the policy
was unnecessary.
“The promotion and
retention of a student is
influenced by numerous
factors,” Smith said. “It
would be inappropriate
for a single end-of-grade or
end-of course to be the sole
criterion in making this
determination. The state
accountability policy was
never intended to serve
that purpose and the policy
correctly left the final deci
sion at the school level.
“Grade placement and
retention of a child is a se
rious decision which can
have long-term effects and
should be reached only af
ter all factors are consid
ered, including summative
assessments such as end
of-grade tests,” he added.
Currituck County
Schools Superintendent
Meghan Doyle said she felt
that the performance gate
ways in many cases put a
major burden on educa
tors.
“The gateways policy
was overly burdensome on
teachers if it was done cor
rectly because of the evi
dence that teachers needed
to collect and produce to
support a promotion and
in some cases a retention
decision,” Doyle said.
Perquimans County
Schools Superintendent
See TESTING, 4A
up the corporate ladder," Tim Brab
ble said.
“There are some things that I
think I can do better,” he added.
See PLATFORMS, 2A
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