482-4418
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
50*
Chowan hires Bertie’s manager
Lamb takes
pay cut here
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Chpwan commissioners’
search for a new county
manager ended Thursday
just across the Chowan
River.
Commissioners voted
unanimously to hire Ber
tie County Manager Zee
Lamb for Chowan’s vacant
county manager’s job.
Lamb, who is scheduled
to start work Jan. 1, will
replace interim County
Manager John E. White
hurst. Whitehurst was
hired in September after
commissioners fired Paul
Parker.
Lamb’s employment
contract with Chowan
calls for $116,000 in annual
compensation, plusthe use
of a county-owned home
as a residence. He’ll also
be paid $600 per month in
travel-related expenses.
In Lamb, Chowan lands
an experienced county
manager and a trained
attorney who also served
three terms as a county
commissioner in Pasquo
tank County from 1988
1997, before leaving for a
job in Raleigh.
He served as chairman
1994-96 and vice chairman
1992-94. Lamb, 53, also
served as counsel for the
Office of Lieutenant Gov
ernor from 1997-1998, and
as attorney for the State
Board of Elections from
1998-2000.
Chowan commissioners
called Lamb, 53, an ideal
fit for Chowan.
"If you look at his re
sume, credentials, and
references, he’s the right
man for the job. And he’s
been a commissioner, so
he knows what it’s like
from the other side of p
the house,” said Chowan jj
County Board of Commis- j
sioners Chairman Eddy j
Goodwin.
Commissioner John
Mitchener also praised j
Lamb’s hiring.
“He’s dedicated to coun- I
ty government,” Mitch- j
ener said. “This is not a j
climbing stone for him. j
He moved Bertie County )
ahead in many ways, par- 1
ticularly in financial ser- jj
vices.” j
Part of Lamb’s resume I
package includes graphs '
. 4
SUBMITTED
PHOTO
Bertie
County
Manager
Zee Lamb
was
hired as
Chowan’s
new county
manager.
f
County
fires
1 finance
j officer
By RITCHIE E, STARNES
Editor
i ’
The Chowan County
Board of Commissioners
voted unanimously Thurs
day morning to fire its fi
nance officer - the same
day it voted to hire a new
county manager.
Commissioner John
Mitchener made the mo
tion to terminate Lisa
Jones for failure to per
form her assigned duties
thereby ending her 26
year tenure as a county
employee. Commissioners
declined to comment on
the firing, citing personnel
confidentiality Instead,
they deferred questions
to the county’s attorney
John Morrison.
“It was a situation
whereby the board felt
she was not meeting ex
pectations, Morrison said.
“That’s within the discre
tion of the board.”
Morrison explained that
the county’s finance offi
cer is an at-will employee
and works at the pleasure
of the board. Other at-will
employees include the
county clerk and county
attorney.
I After beginning her
county employment with
. the Department of Social
Services on June 15, 1985,
Jones transferred to the
| finance office on Sept.
16, 1998, according to the
county’s human resourc
es. She was sworn in as
the finance officer on July
12, 2004. Jones was earn
ing an annual salary of
$66,107.
| Jones began her stint
as finance officer under
former county manager
Cliff Copeland. Once Co
peland’s leadership took
Chowan to the brink of
bankruptcy and after his
sudden retirement in 2008,
i taxpayers questioned what
and when Jones knew of
the county’s impending
financial peril.
I See JONES, 4A
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
Butterfield Skeptical
of 'Super' Panel
STAFF PHOTOS BY THOMAS J. TURNEY
Congressman G.K. Butterfield of the 1st District of North Carolina speaks at a town hall meeting at the Shepard
Pruden Memorial Library, Nov. 09.
Congressman addresses Edenton
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Don’t look for the nation’s
economic woes to get any
better anytime soon, U.S.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-NC, said
Nov. 9.
“It’s going to be a rough ride
for the next four or five years,”
Butterfield said.
Speaking at a town hall
meeting at the Shepard-Pruden
Library in Edenton, Butterfield
said he wanted to make sure lo
cal government officials as well
as school personnel and law
enforcement officials in the
See BUTTERFIELD, 4A
John Mitchener (right) talks with Congressman G.K. Butterfield after the lat
ter spoke at the Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library, Nov. 09.
Alcohol
led to
fatal
crash
From staff reports
Alcohol contributed to
the single-car fatality that
killed a 30-year-old Chow
an County woman, accord
ing to the N.C. Highway
Patrol.
Jessica Marie Haynes
of 202 Chowan Trail was
killed when the car she
was riding as a passenger
slammed broadside into a
tree at 3 a.m. Saturday, said
Trooper Steven C. Heath.
Driver Myrna Jimenez,
39, of Edenton, lost control
of her car while driving
south on Rocky Hock Road
toward N.C. 32, Heath said.
Trooper Kevin Briggs
said Tuesday that alcohol
contributed to the fatal
crash. Jimenez has been
charged with driving while
impaired, Briggs said. Her'
blood alcohol level was
not immediately available,
pending further analysis.
Other charges are also
pending, Briggs said.
Also injured in the crash
was passenger Alfonso
Sandoval, 48, of Belvidere.
He was airlifted to Pitt Me
morial Hospital with criti
cal injuries.
Jimenez was taken to
Chowan Hospital with mi
nor injuries.
Jimenez serves as a
bilingual translator for
court proceedings at the
Chowan County Court
house.
The crash occurred in a
curve near Bennetts Creek
where ditches flank both
sides of the road.
Aces face state champs and state’s top player
By CHIC MEBEL
Sports Editor
Remember a few weeks ago
when Northeastern and Eden
ton met in the biggest game in
Edenton in nearly a decade?
Well, now that showdown
doesn’t even rate as the game
of the season.
That’s because Friday night
the undefeated Aces will host
two-time defending state 2A
champ Tarboro in a state play
off quarterfinal that would get
the blood pumping in any fan.
Not only will the Vikings
jiy;- . . . . ' ^ 1
| Friday's J
j Game i
| , Tarboro (9-2) at Aces (11 *0),'
7:30 p.m. ■ •
| t
(9-2) come in with one of the
best reputations in the state to
challenge the Cinderella Aces
(11-0), who were 3-8 and last
in the Northeastern Coastal
Conference a year ago, they
will bring along a player the
See ACES, 6A
RLE PHOTO
Tarboro’sTodd
Gurley dodges '
an attempted
tackle by
Carver's Terrrell
Thompson
during the
NCHSAA2A
State Champi
onship game,
Dec. 11.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBfR1*T*t7:50w?
Tickets 'SZtAJjz
^•E.A. SWAIN
'& AUDITORIUM
$10.00 %
EKNTOH. M
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER t9,H. 7:30pm
Tickets Available at various locations or call 252-221-4875 or 252-340-3438. Email rockyhock opry@live.com
t :
...a,{