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.04 482-4418 Wednesday, March 2, 2011 Broadband, energy to drive economy PHOTO BY PEGGY ROGERSON Craig Poff, senior busi ness developer for Iberdrola Renewables, discusses wind energy during Friday’s North Caro lina Northeast Commission’s annual State of the Region held in Wil liamston. Agriculture, tourism both seen as key By RITCHIE E. STARNES Editor Northeast North Caroli na’s economy could reap sig nificant dividends fi-om the future development of rural broadband Internet and wind energy, according to Friday’s Sfate of the Region message in Williamston. Between future technology and expanding the region’s existing economic mainstays, the 16-eounty northeast cor ridor could be poised to gain significant fiscal benefits, including more jobs. Busi ness and community leaders pounded home the theme at the North Carolina Northeast Commission’s annual confer ence held at the Bob Martin Agriculture Center. Bringing broadband and wind energy to this part of the state would create economic opportuni ties. •*-. The newly formed non profit Northeast Broadband plans to negotiate with the non-profit MCNC and buy trunk lines that would bring broadband to those not served or underserved in the state’s northeast, according to Paul Tine, part of the re gional group spearheading the effort. He emphasized that broadband is a vital part of business infrastructure whereby its absence trans lates into less competitive ness. “It’s going to affect every single industry,” Tine said. “It will be one of the basic things that you can’t do with out.” He said 16 percent of this region’s population has no broadband service with a majority currently under served. Tine points to the techno logical trend that suggests an increasingly dependence on broadband for education, industry, and healthcare. In 2008, 4.6 million stu dents, or 25 percent of the student population, engaged in online courses. Tine added that more textbooks are also making the transition from hardbacks to online publica tions. Healthcare is already us ing broadband for remote 3D surgery, monitoring, and di agnostics, Tine added. As many as 30 million people are working remotely from their homes at least one day a week because of broad band capability, he said. Plans include for Northeast Broadband to help bridge the See ECONOMY, 4A Polar Plunge 2011 STAFF PHOTOS BY THOMAS J. TURNEY Polar Plungers jump off the dock into the frigid water at this year's Polar Plunge at Colonial Park on the downtown Edenton waterfront, Saturday. Plungers brave 51-degree bay for Special Olympics By REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer Between 300 and 400 area residents attended Satur day’s annual Polar Plunge and watched 34 brave souls leap into the frigid waters of the Edenton Bay. Part of a yearly fundraiser for Chowan County’s Special Olym pics, the fourth annual event raised about $6,000 with organiz ers still collecting donations, according to Linda Hobbs, event co-chairwoman and director of the Edenton-Chowan Schools’ Exceptional Children’s Program. Among those splashing into the 51-degree water at Colonial Park was Virginia Wood of Edenton. “I am 80 years old,” Wood declared energetically, “and if (former President) George Bush can jump out of an airplane, I can jump into the (Albemarle) Sound!" Wood was referring to the former president’s 2009 jump in Kennebunkport, Maine in cel ebration of his 85th birthday. i.w....— i Him fii'iirniinif n——— Cayden Jensen, 2, gets his face painted at this year’s Polar Plunge, Saturday. Others, like Laura Harkins and Kim Donn of Woodville, who called their two-person team the Super PP’s (Polar Plungers), came to jump in support of a family member and friend. “This is the second year we have done this,” said Harkins. “Laura’s nephew, Luke Byrum (of Chowan County), has cere bral palsy,’’ said Donn. “We are jumping in honor of Luke and all the other Special Olympians.” Among the youngest jumpers were best friends Sara A. Grave ly, 13, and Hannah Glasgow, 12. See PLUNGE, 2A Father finds son, 13, dead in bed By REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer A 13-year-old boy was found dead in bed. “His dad went to wake him up and his body was still warm, but his dad could not wake him up,” said Larry Knox, Chris’s maternal grandfather. Christopher Lee O’Neal, a 7th grader at Chowan Middle School, was found dead Feb. 20 by his father, Roy O’Neal. The teenager’s cause of death remains unknown at this time. His family awaits the results of an autopsy Knox said that rumors Chris died of an asthma attack were not true. “We’ve (family) heard all Chowan to stop passport services By REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer Starting May 1st Chow an County residents who need a passport will have to drive out of town to get one. Superior Clerk of Court Mike McArthur said that because of a reduction in his staff, and changes in passport regulations, his office is no longer able to provide,the service. McArthur said he re gretted the action was necessary but felt he had no choice. “Helping passport ap plicants complete another step in their travel plans is something that we have done for the 16 years that I have been here," McAr thur said. “However, hav kinds of things,” he said. “I don’t know where people get these stories.” Knox said that Chris was the youngest of his daugh ter Amy’s three children. “He (Chris) had two older brothers,” Knox said. “He was the baby.” When asked how he would remember Chris, Knox replied, “He was just an average mischie vous boy, always playing pranks.” “He was a good boy, though,” Knox added. “He didn’t mind helping his granddaddy. He liked to cut grass with my mower.” Tula Polvodore, a coun selor at CMS, said that See O’NEAL, 2A ing lost three of my eight staff members to Gover nor (Bev) Perdue’s bud get cuts, I am left with no alternative but to focus our resources on the core statutory functions of the Clerk’s Office, — process ing and managing judicial responsibilities.” McArthur said that changes in passport laws, as well as increased de mands from the National Passport Service Center in terms of fees and train ing requirements, have made the processing. of passports more difficult and time-consuming. “There is a lot of liabil ity associated with assist ing an unknown person as they gain access to the See PASSPORT, 4A State budget cuts debating between buses or teachers By KRISTIN PITTS Staff Writer Local superintendents are concerned that Gov. Bev Perdue’s $19.9 billion 6 ©2009 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved budget, if implemented, - would put more funding responsibility oh the local government level. The cuts are designed to help close an estimated $2.4 billion deficit in next year’s state budget. Earlier this week, area school leaders expressed displeasure with several areas of the governor’s budget. The overriding concern appeared to be that the cuts would contin ue to deepen as the budget takes shape. During a presentation to the Elizabeth City-Pas quotank Board of Educa tion, Monday, Superinten dent Linwood Williams acknowledged that parts of Perdue’s budget look good, but that other parts are causing him to be ner vous about a hard year ahead. Williams was critical of the governor’s decision to move several financial re sponsibilities — such as workers’ compensation, and purchasing of school buses, among other things — from the state level to the local level. “She’s avoiding some of those hard calls, but she said she’s not cutting education,” Williams said. “But she’s getting local boards of education to make those calls.” Williams wasn’t the only superintendent to worry about the new local responsibilities. Camden County Super intendent Melvin Hawkins said the shifts amount to “very big burdens placed on local government.” Hawkins said he hopes the public will understand that although the gov ernor’s budget protects state-funded teachers and teacher assistants, many teachers and teacher assis tants are funded locally. “I think we’d be fooling ourselves to think that we’re going to be operating just the same as we were this year, or last year, for the upcoming year. I think anybody who thinks that See BUDGET, 5A r”".. Edenton Lions,Club - "We Serve Breakfast for the blind Edtnton Baptist Church • March 19th | 7AM ■ 11 AM $6.00»all proceeds benefit the lions Program For the Blind, T a k > '■sa'Vv* •• 4-4 M [ j
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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March 2, 2011, edition 1
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