Fired employee: EIC compromises safety
Worker awaits
department probe '
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
A former employee of the
Economic Development Council
says the agency puts the bottom
line ahead of employee safety.
Dale Jernigan, 39, a former su
pervisor, alleges EIC first demot
LOST at SEA
PHOTO COURTESY OFTHE U.S. COASTTORD
This 2003 Regulator 26, built in Edenton in 2002, washed ashore two weeks agq in Spain three-and-a-ha/f yesrsf after
rough seas tossed its two-man crew off the coast of Nantucket. Covered in barnacles and rust, the vessel reijained
amazingly intact. f
Regulator-made boat washes ashore 3.5 years later
By BECKY BRATU
msnbc.com
/
/ •
(Editor's note: msnbcgranted the
Chowan Herald permission to rerun
their digital story that first broke last
week.)
NEW YORK — As he swam
toward the coast of Nan
tucket, Mass, in August
2008, Scott Douglas, 58, watched
his yellow fishing boat disappear,
carried away by the swelling surf.
He thought it would be the last
time he’d ever see the Queen Bee.
But last Wednesday, more than
three years after Douglas and his
brother-in-law were tossed off
the boat by a wave, the U.S. Coast
Audit: Town on sound footing
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
The town of Edenton’s
audit for 2010-11 shows it is
on solid financial ground,
according to auditor Jim
Winston.
Winston, of the Oxford,
NC-based accounting firm
of Winston, Williams,
Creech, Evan£ and Com
pany, LLC, told the Town
Council at its Jan. 23 meet
ing he had no problems to
report.
“It’s all good news, we
had no findings (con
cerns),” Winston said.
“Everything was fine.”
The $18.8-million budget
included net assets that
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
ed then fired him after he filed
a worker’s compensation claim.
He hasn’t been able to find work
to provide for his family since
the EIC terminated the former
weatherization auditor.
Although the EIC challenged
Jernigan’s attempt at unemploy
ment benefits, the Equal Em
ployment Security Commission
recently ruled in his favor, add
ing that EIC failed to show Jerni
gan was fired for misconduct as
Guard called to say the vessel had
washed up on the Spanish coast.
It was rusty and covered in
barnacles, but intact.
“It looks entirely different,”
Douglas said upon seeing the
photos. “That’s amazing.”
Douglas shared his amaze
ment by calling Regulator Ma
rine in Edenton where the 2003
Regulator 26 was manufactured
in 2002.
Workers at Regulator assem
bled by the telephone to listen to
the extraordinary tale about how
one of their crafts survived three
and half years adrift at sea.
“It’s amazing any boat could
survive that long at sea, but to
learn it was one of ours makes
were up $1.9-million over
the previous year.
“Our (town’s) assets
improved,” Winston said.
“That’s the way we want
it to go.”
Winston also pointed
to an improvement in the
amount of sales tax col
lected during the fiscal
year. ,
He said tax collections
rose by $32,000 over 2009
2010. Total sales tax re
ceipts for- the fiscal year
2010-2011 equaled $430,136.
“Maybe we’re seeing a
little uptick in the econ
omy,” Winston said, with
regard to the increase. "I
hope so.”
The town’s general fund
balance of $2.2-million re
flected a gain of $224,000
during the fiscal year,
Winston said.
“That gives you a little
cushion if something
comes up you want to do,”
alleged.
The ruling marks the first sign
of vindication for Jernigan who
claims he has been mistreated
since his reported ankle injury
on Aug. 22, 2011. He also awaits
the findings of an investigation
by the N.C. Department of Labor
after Jernigan filed a claim un
der its Retaliatory Employment
Discrimination Act.
“I’m just trying to put some
light on this,” Jernigan said.
us especially proud,” said Joan
Maxwell, Regulator president.
Douglas remembers the water
was restless on the day he set
out to sea, and the fish weren’t
biting. He tried to keep the boat
stationary, bracing himself as
huge rollers crashed into it.
“At all times, it’s a very
sketchy area,” Douglas told ms
nbc.com. “You wouldn’t want to
be dumped in the ocean there.”
But that’s exactly what hap
pened when a rogue wave
knocked Douglas and his broth
er-in-law, Rich St. Pierre, off the
boat and into a sink-or-swim
fight for survival.
See BOAT, 7A
Winston said.
The largest expenditure
reflected in the budget, at
73 percent, was the pur
chase of electricity from
Electricities.
That cost was $10.8-mil
lion. Second, at 45 percent,
was public safety; that
includes equipment and
salaries for the police and
fire departments. That
cost was $1.9-million for
the year.
The town currently has
a reserve fund balance of
33 percent, Winston said.
He noted that the town’s
audit went out on time and
has been accepted by the
LGC (Local Government
Commission).
“Edenton is in good
shape financially,” Win
ston said. “I think that
says a lot, for the difficult
times we’re in.”
See AUDIT, 3A
“What they’ve done is wrong.”
Meanwhile, Doris James, ex
ecutive director of EIC, denies
that Jernigan has been a victim
of any type of job discrimina
tion. She claims, instead, he is a
victim of his own devices, which
continuously hindered agency
progress.
After Jernigan rolled his ankle
at a job site in Hyde County he
reported his injury for a work
er’s compensation claim. At the
Three hopefuls
want Britton’s seat
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Three residents of Eden
ton’s ward 3 spent just over
an hour Monday evening
undergoing Town Coun
cil interviews in hopes of
filling the unexpired term
of the late Councilwoman
Phyllis Britton.
Those interviewed by
the mayor and council
members were the Rev.
Roscoe Poole, Amelle
O’Leary and Norma Simp
son. Councilman Sambo
Dixon was absent.
“This is an open process,
as you can tell,” Mayor Ro
land Vaughan said as he
opened the special public
meeting.
“There will be no deci
sion made this evening,”
Airport nets part
of $2.8M grant
From staff reports
Edenton’s Northeastern
Regional Airport will be
among seven beneficiaries
of $2.6
million in
grants dis
tributed
in eastern
North Car
olina.
C o n -
gressman
G. K. But- Butterfield
terfield (NC-01) announced
Thursday the Federal Avia
tion Administration (FAA)
and the N.C. Department
of Transportation (NC
time of his injury, Jernigan said,
he was told that he would have
to exhaust his sick and vacation
time.
“I was told then that if I had to
file a worker’s comp, their rates
would skyrocket,” Jernigan
said.
Jernigan said he eventually
filed a worker’s compensation
claim himself online when EIC
See EIC, 2A
Vaughan said, referring
to filling the vacancy. “We
will make a selection at a
later date, after consider
ing the candidates’ an
swers.”
Candidates were asked
a variety of questions in
cluding why they were in
terested in filling the seat.
Poole, who serves as
chaplain for American
Legion Post 40 in Edenton
and works part-time at
Elizabeth City State Uni
versity as a rehabilitation
construction advisor, said
he had decided to come
forward because of his
desire to serve the com
munity.
“I am a part of Eden
ton because I live here, I
See WARD, 4A
DOT) will be awarding the
grants to seven airports to
be used for several criti
cal upgrades. In addition
to Northeastern, the other
airports include: Martin
County Airport, Tarboro
Edgeconibe Airport, Tri
County Airport, Warren
Field, Oxford-Henderson
Airport and Plymouth Mu
nicipal Airport.
Plans calls for $585,000
in runway apron improve
ments at Northeastern,
according to Anne Marie
Knighton, Edenton town
manager. The grant will
See GRANT, 7A
Vidant Birthday
VIDANT
Chowan Hospital
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Hospital officials and local dignitaries show off the sign bearing the name Vidant Chowan
Hospital, which became official Jan. 25, when a celebration was held marking the new
name’s official “birthday.” Above are (from l-r) Lynn Lanier, vice president of financial ser
vices for Vidant Health; Mayor Roland Vaughan; County Commission Chairman Eddy Good
win; Jeff Sackrison, hospital president; Dr. William C. “Skip" Hope, chief of staff at Vfdant
Chowan Hospital; the Rev. Thomas Biggs, hospital chaplain; Anne-Marie Knighton, town
manager, were among 100 who attended. “For years, the name University Health Systems
has stood for the highest level of care in eastern North Carolina. As we continue to evolve
and strengthen our integrated system, the time has come to evolve our name as well,”
Sackrison told the crowd.
John A. Holmes FEBRUARY 10, 2012
BASEBALL •1 6:30 - 9:30 PM ' ..
-ESSSSBlL. TKKnS: S20. NTERE8TH) IV OTTENDHG? CONTACT COUCH
FUHURAIoEH Bftl JORDAN 333-8048 OR IHW liXOH'8 CATBH6.
4 a:, .. w
• -
Foatorod Speaker: Tommy Smith, of Raleigh
former major league baseball player 1
Entertainment: Rocky Hock Opry Quartet
Silent Auction: Donations from local businesses & individuals
Dinner: Shrimp, barbecue and fried chicken
■ ■ .. ., -■ '../ >
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