INSIDE
Albemarle
Magazine
features
what’s
best about
Autumn.
50*
Victim, 77,
fights back •
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor 1
A 77-year-old Tyner
woman is recovering af
ter a teenager broke into
her home and slashed
her throat, according to
Chowan County Sheriff
Operation Saber Support
4' W'.
STAFF PHOTOS BY THOMAS J. TURNEY
a N.C. National Guardsmen from the 690 BSB Alpha Co. fuel a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter during a training mission at'
the Northeastern Regional airport, Friday. ,
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
The 690th Brigade Support
Battalion’s Alpha Company
of Edenton performed first
time training maneuvers Friday
aimed at refueling helicopters
during combat.
Dubbed Operation Saber
Support, some 88 soldiers from
Edenton’s N.C. National Guard
practiced the drill at Northeast
ern Regional Airport. In addition
to combat preparations, the exer
cise could result in the Edenton
unit becoming a hub for search
and rescue efforts in the after
math of storms and flooding.
“That’s the. long-term goal
- that we could be that in the
event of a hurricane,” said Capt.
Neely Mahoney.
Since the National Guard unit
already serves as a distribution,
supply, and a fuel and water
platoon, Friday’s exercise gave
the soldiers additional training
in refueling helicopters.
“You train to do something,
then you get an opportunity to do
it makes it all worthwhile,” said
Area has good start to early voting
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Voters have steadily filed
into the Chowan County
Board of Elections, mak
ing for a brisk start to
Tuesday’s Election Day.
As of the end of Mon
day's early voting, 1,249
voters had cast their bal
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved ».
Dwayne Goodwin.
Ruth Mansfield was
taken to Pitt Memorial
Hospital in Greenville
with a knife wound
to her neck Thursday
night, Goodwin said. She
returned home Friday to
recover from her inju
ries.
Deputies charged
Dashawn Gregory, 17, of
531 Sandy Ridge Road
with first
degree at
tempted
murder
and bur
glary in
the attack,
records
show. He
is being
held in the
Chowan County Jail in
lieu of a $300,000 bond.
Gregory
A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter takes off after being fueled by N.C. National
Guardsman from the 690 BSB Alpha Co.during a fueling training mission at the
Northeastern Regional airport . Friday.
Sgt. Madison Phillips.
Soldiers began the morning >
with specific instructions about
their assigned duties.
“The Army is big on crawl,
walk, then run to minimize the
room for error," Mahoney said.
“We are looking to expand
lots at the Board of Elec
tions, according to direc
tor Rebecca Lowe. Another
77 have mailed in their bal
lots.
“We’ve had a good steady
flow of people and some
times a line,” Lowe said.
“The longest wait has been
about five minutes.”
In addition to a fiery
election season, Lowe at
tributes the increasing use
of one-stop voting to famil
iarity and convenience.
“It’s more well known
and voters are realizing
See VOTING, 7A
. ■
Ruth Mansfield and
her husband, C.T. Mans
field, were watching TV
at their Center Hill Road
residence when the home
suddenly went dark
around 9 p.m. C.T. Mans
field had gone outside to
see what happened when
Gregory attacked Ruth
Mansfield in a doorway,
Goodwin said.
Gregory had appar
the MOS (military occupational
specialty) training of these
soldiers,” she added. “Aviation
assets will train those who are
non-aviation, giving the soldiers
an advantage with additional
See SABER, 7A
PHOTO BY RITCHIE STARNES
Marshall Creighton takes advantage of early voting Monday at
the Chowan County Board of Elections as her 4-year-old son,
Charles, stands by in his muscle man Halloween costume.
ently tripped a breaker
to extinguish the lights
in the home, Goodwin
said. Gregory used a
knife from the Mans
fields’ kitchen to stab the
victim.
Ruth Mansfield man
aged to strike Gregory
with a flashlight, Good
win said. The suspect
then fled the scene.
Deputies responding
SUBMITTED PHOTO
N.C. Rep. Tim .Spear has apologized for using Nazi soldiers in a
campaign mailer touting his legislative support for the military.
Spear apologizes
for soldiers ad
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor:
N.C. Rep. Tim Spear, D
Washington, riled military
veterans and the Republi
can Party with a campaign
mailer that touts his legis
lative support for soldiers,
but depicts a photo of
World War n Nazis.
Some 10,000 people in
House District 2 received
the flyer in Monday’s mail.
One side included a photo
showing the backs of Ger
County to hire
Parker as the
county manager
From staff reports
Parker
Chowan County has ini
tiated hiring negotiations
with the interim county
manager for the perma
nent job with a formal
announce
m e n t
slated for
Monday.
The
Board of
Commis
sioners
met in
closed ses
sion Oct.
19, voting to authorize that
Chairman Eddy Goodwin
began salary negotiations
with interim County Man
ager Paul Parker. Both
Parker and Goodwin con
firmed the negotiations.
On Friday, Goodwin
insisted that the negotia
tions are still ongoing with
an official announcement
planned for Monday’s com
missioners’ meeting.
County sources, speak
ing on the condition of ano
nymity, said an agreement
has already been reached
with Parker. Sources also
-Saicl Parker’s wife, Rox
anne, has begun seeking
a job in Chowan County.
She had been working for
the Pender County Clerk
to the 9X1 call observed
Gregory, dressed in all
black, riding a bicycle in
the area, Goodwin said.
He was later charged af
ter learning that Grego
ry matched the suspect’s
physical description.
A family member who
answered the telephone
at the Mansfield resi
dence declined to talk
about the incident.
man soldiers moving afoot
over terrain. The other side
includes a photo of Spear
and comments about how
he has been working on be
half of the state’s military
personnel. It read in part,
“one legislator is covering
our soldiers’ backs.’’
Spear acknowledged that
’the photo was a “horrible
mistake” and was made a
part of the flyer without
his final approval.
See SOLDIERS, 7A
of Court.
The Parkers still have a
house in Pender County
and have been alternating
weekend visits between
there and Chowan.
Since accepting the
interim post on July 1,
Parker has repeatedly
said he hoped to parlay
the temporary job into the
fulltime position. Chowan
had received 70 applicants
for county manager with
Parker assisting with the
selection process.
Parker, 55, previously
worked as an assistant
county manager in Pend
er County, thrice serving
there as interim county
manager.
Chowan has been pay
ing Parker an annual
salary of $75,000 and pro
viding him lodging in a
county-owned house. Last
week Parker said he would
accept the same salary to
keep the job permanently.
The county, is expected to
keep the rate of pay con
servative and less than the -
former County Manager
Peter Rascoe’s $118,000 an
nual salary.
Parker became interim
county manager after Ras
coe resigned to accept the
position of town manager
at Southern Shores.
FRIDAY, NOV. 19, 7:30 DM
SATURDAY, NOV. 20, 7:30 PM
E.A. SWAIN AUDITORIUM
EDENTON, NC
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