Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Feb. 9, 2011, edition 1 / Page 1
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Local celebrates 100th birthday, PAGE 3B 482-4418 Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Butterfield warns of ‘painful’ cuts Congressman to help local initiatives By REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer Congressman G.K. But terfield, D-N.C., told com munity leaders during a visit to Edenton last week to anticipate painful bud get cuts in the year ahead. Butterfield, who stopped in Edenton during an area swing, said that Congress has committed to cutting the federal deficit that now stands at $14 trillion. # He said Congress is com mitted to cutting the bud get by $1 trillion, regard less of the impact. He said that philosophy has the support of many Ameri cans who are tired of the government spending more than it takes in. “A lot of people are say ing, no new spending,”’ Butterfield said. “Please know that the future is not going to be terribly encouraging for municipalities,” Butter field added. “Tough times are ahead for those of us who are policymakers, too. But I hope that working to gether we (Americans) can climb out of this hole we are in.” “We’ve got a lot of dif ficult decisions to make,” he continued, adding that he was trying to get input from his constituents prior to returning to Washing ton. Butterfield also defended the use of stimulus funds. “I can tell you if (the American Reinvestment Act) had not passed, we would be fii a depression. We are not where we would like to be, but we are see ing some signs of improve ment.” Closing the trade gap was another issue Butterfield addressed. In response to a question from Councilman Willis Privott, Butterfield said Congress needed to do everything possible to make it less appealing for American businesses to move overseas. “We need to create dis incentives for American businesses to take jobs away,’ Butterfield said. The problem as it cur rently stands, Butterfield said, is that an American company might be able to hire a Chinese worker, for example, at $6 a day as op posed to the $80 a day the company would have to pay an American to do the See BUTTERFIELD, 8A Chamber presents annual awards By REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer Community spirit was clearly the by word at this year’s Edenton-Chowan Cham ber of Commerce awards ceremony. Held at the Chowan Golf & Country Club last Thursday evening, the ceremony honored the recipients of 5 awards — the Destination Downtown Main Street Champion; the Snooky Bond Excellence in Tour ism Award; the Marvin S. Barham Humanitarian of the Year Award; William . P. “Spec” Jones Volunteer of the Year Award; and the John A. Mitchener, Jr. Business Person of the Year Award. The recipients were: • Jean Brown — recipi ent of the Desti nation Downtown Main Street Champion Award. Brown, who operates Byrum’s Gift Shop, a family-owned business, was praised by Destination Downtown Edenton Director Jen nifer Harriss for her dedication to promoting See CHAMBER, 7A Cheros serves last meal Eatery closes amid sluggish economy By RITCHIE E. STARNES Editor A waterfront eatery is the latest downtown business to close in the wake of a sluggish econ omy. . Cheros closed its doors Thursday after eight years, marking the third Edenton business in a week to announce clos ings,. Owners Lisa and John Douglas declined to com ment about going out of business, even as work ers carried furnishings from the restaurant. A visibly shaken Lisa Douglas darted away when asked to talk about closing the West Water Street restaurant ©2009 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved STAFF PHOTOS BY LESLIE FOREHAND Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce board member April Layton (top, left) presents the William P. “Spec” Jones Volunteer of the Year Award to Pat Fngan during the Chamber’s annua! awards ceremony, Thursday, Earl Nixon and wife Abi (bottom right) were jointly awarded the John A. Mitchener Jr. Business Person of the Year Award during the event. The Nixons are co-owners ofW.E. Nixon Welding & Hardware. Jack Evans (center) surrounded by members of the Rocky Hock Opry cast, holds the Marvin S. Barham Humanitarian of the Year Award. best known for its tasty chicken salad that had been touted in Southern Living. News of the closing first surfaced last Mon day, but when asked then, Lisa Douglas denied any plans of closing. She added, however, that an announcement would precede a closing. Before declining com ment, John Douglas said the sour economy in a town saturated with res taurants in relation to its population was too much to bear for the es tablishment. He warned that other downtown businesses are teetering on a simi lar fate in the face of fi nancial uncertainty. Cheros had begun to try different remedies to jumpstart its business. Most recently, Cheros served a Sunday brunch when no other downtown restaurant was open for business. While it appeared to have a respectable lunch crowd, evening atten dance seemed to dwin die. Several months ago, Cheros quit serving mixed drinks, opting to offer beer and wine as its only choices of alcoholic beverages. John Douglas ex plained that mixed beverage sales failed to offset the cost of the state-required liquor li cense and tax per bottle. Just a few weeks ago in an interview with the Chowan Herald, Lisa Douglas said there were fewer holiday parties this past holiday season. In March 2004, Lisa Douglas lost her busi ness partner to a sudden death. Nancy Hagan, who was a well respected caterer, died at age 44. In addition to a closed sign, there are signs posted outside the build ing that housed Cheros, advertising a clearance, and property sale. . Rick Ebersole, co-own er of Waterman’s Grill, said that while overall sales have been down See CHEROS, 8A Hospital’s MRI facility now open $1.5 million Open Bore MRI replaces mobile unit By RITCHIE E. STARNES Editor Chowan Hospital began treating pa tients at its new $1.5 million Open Bore Magnetic Resonance Imaging facility last Wednesday, marking the hospital’s latest medical facility upgrade. Instead of patients having to wait for the availability of a twice weekly mobile MRI unit contracted by the hospital, the recently completed free-standing imag ing building will be able to handle pa tients daily. The open MRI is larger in diameter than a conventional MRI, thus less intimidating for those uncomfort able with tight quarters. It’s also faster and provides a clearer resolution. Jeff Sackrison, hospital president, called the addition essential for* today’s healthcare. v\ v “It gives us the availability of MLRT'r-1 v services every day, 24-7,” Sackrison said. “The minute a doctor says MRI, you want it then. • “It’s a tool doctors need to have in their kit to provide healthcare to a com munity,” he added. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create images of organs and structures inside the body Doctors use images from the exams to make diagno ses. A patient lies on a table that slides See MRI, 3A . Planet Video, Edenton’s only video store, to close By REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer Planet Video custom ers expressed disappoint ment after store officials announced last week that it would soon be closing. Store manager Val Bridgett said she thought the downturn in the econ omy as well as competi tion from Netflix and Red box had played a role in management’s decision to close the store, located at the Edenton Village Shop ping Center. Last Tuesday, store employees posted signs that read “store clos ing, everything must go.” Bridgett said no exact closing date has been set. At this point, she said, store employees are just trying to deal with a surge customers buying ev erything from marked down videos to television sets and fixtures from the store, “Everything is for sale, all of it,” said Bridgett, “I was shocked when I saw the (closing) signs. I think it’s terrible. I think Redbox and Netflix are just ruining everything, and the bad economy isn't helping either. ” Brenda Lawson Regular customer of Planet Video who marked her 10-year anniversary with the store on Jan. 13. Customers shopping for bargains at the store said they hated to see Eden ton’s only video store, close its doors. They also expressed concern that the announcement comes on the heels of Griggs Lumber closing , and ru mors that other local busi nesses are experiencing fi nancial straits that could net additional closings. Brenda Lawson of Edenton said she and her husband have been regu lar customers at Planet Video. “I was shocked when I saw the (closing) signs,” Lawson said. “I think it’s terrible. I think Redbox and Netflix are just ruin ing everything, and the bad economy isn’t helping either.” Nikki Edwards, also of Edenton, said that as a regular customer she See VIDEO, 3A 'V* \ 53#*-* ‘ w. • :l FRIDAY, FEBRUARY im2011 SUPPER: 5 PM TO 7 PM AUCTION: 7:30 PM U ROCKY HOCK COMMUNITY CENTER ALL YOU CAN EAT - $6.00 SPONSORED BY ROCKY HOCK RURITAN CLUB • FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 252-340-3438 • '■ $1!
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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Feb. 9, 2011, edition 1
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