482-4418
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
As the remaining de
partments that still occupy
the county office building
continue efforts to, vacate
the premises, ideas over
the structure’s future have
become the topic of discus
sion.
Suggestions gained mo
mentum during -Monday
morning’s Board of Coun
ty Commissioners’ meet
ing when Claudia DeViney
of Preservation North Car
olina and Jennifer Harriss
of Destination Downtown
Edenton shared their vi
sions of the 1926 brick
building that originally
housed Hotel Hinton.
DeViney suggested that
the county partner with
PNC so the 113 East King
Street building could be
saved and marketed for
uses that would add to the
historic district. Such a
venture would likely in
volve selling the property
to a developer willing to
renovate the building
while adhering to protec
tive covenants outlined by
the non-profit PNC, DeVin
ey explained.
, To illustrate her pitch,
DeViney presented a slide
show of numerous proper
ties across the state that
had fallen in disrepair and
later rehabilitated under
the guidance of PNC.
, “These are more than
just old buildings,” she
said. “They mean some
thing to the people in this
county. And they have life
after death.”
DeViney pointed to the
Mill Village as an Edenton
Chowan project that PNC
restored 16 years ago, turn
ing a $1 million investment
into a residential commu
nity worth $20 million to
the local tax base.
A 1979 state bill allows
municipalities to sell prop
erties to non-profits with
out having to abide by the
normal bidding process.
But because of the sag
ging economy’s impact with
real estate, DeViney made
it clear that PNC would
not be in the position to
buy the property outright,
despite repeated inquiries
from County Manager Paul
Parker. She did, however,
advise the board that PNC
would accept the building
as a donation.
If PNC could identify
a buyer, it could negoti
ate a deal that funnels the
purchase from the county
through PNC to the buyer.
Such a deal would ensure
that future development
meet assigned covenants.
■ While county leaders
seem set on trying to se
cure compensation for the
property that currently
generates no tax revenue,
they also show an interest
in ensuring that the build
ing contributes to the com
munity.
“I think it’s important for
See BUILDING, 2A
^ VERNON FUESTON/BERTIE LEDGER-ADVANCE
Two tornados ripped through Bertie County Saturday evening, killing 11 and injuring 50. A swath of devastation stretched
about 19 miles long and left many homeless. The above house was badly damaged and the occupants’ vehicles thrust
against the structure.
Tornados rip Bertie County, kill 11
TWo twisters
confirmed
By VERNON FUESTON
Bertie Ledger-Advance
COLE RAIN — When Leon
Raynor and his wife arrived home
after an outing, he thought they’d
spend a quiet evening at home,
in spite of the gathering storm
clouds and gusting winds.
But sometime around 6:30 that
evening he said things outside
just didn’t sound right.
“I heard something like a
train,” Raynor said. “I opened
the door and I saw everything was
moving. It happened so quick.
Everything was blowing that way
I was standing by the doorway
there and something hit me in the
head. I couldn’t get back to where
See BERTIE, 4A
PHOTO BY REBECCA LOWE
Saturday’s tornados blasted Bertie County as shown here on Knowles Farm
Road near Colerain. Chowan County Sheriffs Office provided mutual aid to the
neighboring county, sending six deputies to assist. “We (Chowan) dodged a bul
let Saturday night,” said Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin. “It’s amazing the amount of
destruction in Bertie County."
Schools’ move
sparks testy talk
Confusion lingers
about IT building
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
An update during Mon
day morning’s Board of
Commissioners’ meeting
about the impending re
location of the Edenton
Chowan Schools’ central
office stoked testy talk
about the decision to let
the College of the Albe
marle take control of the
schools’ information tech
nology building.
After Superintendent
Allan Smith referred to
conflicting perspectives,
among the commissioners
about the March 21 deci
sion that gave COA control
of the IT building by June
2013, Eddy Goodwin, com
mission chairman, struck
first challenging Smith
and the board about any
lack of clarity of the deci
Seabrook contests
fatality fines
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
An Edenton business
fined $28,000 by the state
for five “serious” viola
tions that contributed to
the death of an employee
has contested the findings,
according to the Depart
ment of Labor.
Seabrook Ingredients
contested the state’s ruling
after company representa
tives met with Department
of Labor officials during
an “informal conference”
on March 1.
“The informal confer
ence did not reach an
agreement between the
sion - a vote that included
a unanimous standing by
all commissioners and not
the typical raised hand.
Commissioner John
Mitchener, a former
school board member, be
gan explaining about how
he had misunderstood the
impact of the decision and
had become caught up in
the “euphoria” of helping
COA and the D.F. Walker
Alumni Association mend
a rift and reach a compro
mise on a meeting place
for the alumni group.
Goodwin next asked
County Clerk Susanne
Stallings to recite the
March 21 vote, which she
replied was unanimous.
Minutes later Commis
sioner Ralph Cole said he
too acted hasty with his
vote.
Commissioner Keith
Nixon next took excep
tion.
See SCHOOLS, 6A
Department of Labor and
the company,” said Neal
O’Briant, Department of
Labor spokesman.
Steven Lamar Phelps, 25,
of 304 N. Granville Street
was fatally injured Nov. 11
after his safety harness be
came entangled in an au
ger while cleaning facility
apparatus.
On Jan. 24, the state
ruled that Seabrook failed
to have locking procedures
for moving parts when
Phelps’ was “cleaning a
5,000 gallon stainless steel
tank when his lanyard
became wrapped around
See SEABROOK, 6A
Forum yields business ups, downs
Real estate lags with
250 properties for sale
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Local business lead
ers discussed the ups and
downs of conducting busi
ness in a difficult economy
02009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
at a gathering Thursday
morning.
The event, promoted as
a business summit, was
held at the College of the
Albemarle’s Culinary Arts
Building in Edenton and
hosted by the Edenton
Chowan Chamber of Com
merce.
The forum enabled local
business leaders to com
ment on the state of busi
ness in the community
For most businesses, there
have been positive signs
over recent years, but there
remains plenty of room for
improvement
Among the speakers was
Joan Maxwell, president
of Regulator Marine.
Maxwell, whose com
pany builds sports fishing
boats, said candidly that
the downturn in the econo
my in recent years has had
a “trepiendous impact” on
sales and'manufacturing
in the boating industry
“People don’t have to
have a boat,” Maxwell said.
"But they do have to eat.”
Maxwell said that while
dealers to whom Regula
tor markets its boats are
beginning to place orders*,
the demand isn’t as strong
as it was just a few years
ago.
“They’re (dealers) com
ing back but in fewer num
bers,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell added that in
2008 when demand was at
its height, her company
employed more than 160
workers. Once the econo
my tanked, that number
plummeted to 11.
Now, those numbers
are beginning to rebound,
Maxwell said. By. Jan. 1,
the number of employees
in the plant had risen to 50.
See FORUM, 6A
STAFF PHOTO BY
REBECCA BUNCH
Chowan County
Commission
Chairman Eddy
Goodwin, left,
talks with Bill
Chesson at the
business summit
held Thursday
at College of
the Albemarle’s
campus in
Edenton.The
event was spon
sored by the
Edenton-Chowan
Chamber of
Commerce. ,
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