482-4418
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
50*
Parrish declines to charge supt.
Ex-asst, principal
files complaint
By WILLIAM F. WEST
Staff Writer
Two more area residents,
including a former admin
istrator with the Edenton
Chowan Schools, have filed
complaints with the Supe
rior Court calling for the
suspension or dismissal of
District Attorney Frank
Parrish.
Mary Felton, a former as
sistant principal at John A.
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Ionday’s start of the
filing period created a
flurry of activity at the
local Board of Elections.
Two political newcomers ful
filled their plans by filing to run
for county commissioner while
a pair of undecided incumbents
wasted little time returning to
the political fray by registering
for re-election bids. Another
county incumbent filed for re- '
election while a local Republi
can hopes a second attempt at a
state House race proves fruitful.
Although Keith Nixon and
Emmett Winborne said last
week that they were still
mulling over whether to seek
another term on the Board of
Commissioners, both opted to
use the first day of the filing
period to settle the matter.
“I think we’re getting things
done and hopefully the citizens
will see fit to put me back in
office,” Nixon said.
Winborne echoed a similar
sentiment.
“I feel like there’s still hard
work to be done,” Winborne
said. “If the citizens so choose,
I’m willing to give four more
years.”
Winborne, a Democrat, first
served as commissioner from
Butterfield opposes Chowan FSA closing
From staff reports
Congressman G.K. But
terfield on Thursday said
fee is urging U.S. Depart
ment of Agriculture Secre
tary Tom Vilsack to recon
sider plans to close several
Farm Service Agency of
ftces in North Carolina, in
cluding the Chowan office
Holmes High School, and
Kenneth Eugene Brooks
filed sepa
rate com
plaints in
Pasquo
tank Coun
ty Supe
rior Court
on Friday
Felton’s
complaint Parrish
accuses
Parrish of refusing to in
vestigate her allegations
related to her termination
from the Edenton-Chowan
Schools. Brooks’ complaint
94- 98 before successfully run
ning again in 2008.
This marks Nixon’s first at- .
tempt at re-election. He said a
busy career kept the Republican
from serving earlier.
“I couldn’t get out and do
much community service when
I was trying to build my busi
ness,” Nixon said. “Chowan
citizens have been good to me
and I feel like this is a way for
me to give back.”
As planned, GOP newcomers
Alex Kehayes and Tim Phelps
filed to run for Eddy Goodwin’s
in Edenton.
“Each of these FSA
offices
serves
counties
with di
verse pop
ulations,”
B u t -
terfield
wrote to
Vilsack.
Butterfield
“Hertford and Warren are
both majority African
American counties, and
Chowan is a 35 percent Af
rican-American County.”
Last month the Agri
culture Department an
accuses the district attor
ney of refusing to prosecute
the man Brooks claims as
saulted him.
Parrish could not be
reached for comment Sat
urday He previously has
said that ethics rules pro
hibit him from addressing
complaints against his of
fice. Felton’s and Brooks’
complaints are the fifth and
sixth filed with the court
against Parrish since Jan.
20.
In her complaint, Felton
accuses Parrish of failing
to investigate her allega
nounced plans to close
259 FSA offices nation
wide, including the Eden
ton office that employs
two. Those workers will
be given the option to re
locate to the Perquimans
FSA office, which will re
main open.
The department said
the closings would reduce
its annual budget by $150
million.
Chowan commission
ers passed a resolution
opposing the Chowan of
fice closure.
Butterfield, D-N.C.,
issued a press release
tion that Edenton-Chowan
Schools Superintendent
Allan Smith falsified her
medical records. Felton
further accuses Parrish of
failing to investigate her al
legation that two or more
school employees conspired
to ruin her career after she
filed a complaint against
the school district with the
federal Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
The EEOC, the federal
agency that investigates
civil rights complaints
in the workplace, found
on Dec. 30, 2011, that the
Tim Phelps listens to instructions from Board of Elections Director Rebecca
Lowe on Monday as he becomes the first candidate to file for office. Phelps,
a local contractor, is seeking to become county commissioner.
District 2 seat as the four-time
county commission chairman
leaves the board for a bid for
secretary of state. Kehayes
and Phelps will face-off in the
Republican primary.
Republican Bob Steinburg,
of Edenton, also filed Monday
to rim for the newly drawn
N.C. House District 1, which
serves the counties of Chowan,
Perquimans, Camden, Curri
tuck, Tyrrell, and a portion of
Pasquotank. Rep. Bill Owens,
. See RUNG, 2A
Thursday in which he
said the offices in his dis
trict targeted for closure
provide “critical access
to USDA services for hun
dreds of farmers, many
of them African-Ameri
can.
“Eliminating FSA offic
es in these counties will
severely limit access to
USDA services for black
farmers in eastern North
Carolina, which is a step
in the wrong direction,”
he wrote.
He asked Vilsack to re
consider the planned clo
sures.
'i
*
Edenton-Chowan Schools
discriminated against Fel
ton when it transferred
her from ah assistant prin
cipal’s job to a position as
career development coordi
nator. The EEOC also found
that the school district had
retaliated against Felton,
who is black, by firing her
following her complaints
about discrimination.
School officials have
maintained that Felton’s
dismissal was appropriate.
They have dismissed the
EEOC’s ruling as inaccu
rate.
RLE PHOTO
This Cessna 172-S crashed July 17,2002, in a Tyner cotton field
during aerial surveillance in Chowan County, killing all three law
enforcement officers on board, including sheriffs deputy Rich
ard “Rick” Edward Ashley. Ashley will be among public safety
officers to be honored with a local memorial.
Plans afoot to erect
officer memorial
Fallen deputy first
to be honored
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Plans are under way to
erect a memorial at the
Public Safety Center dedi
cated to officers killed in
the line of duty.
A committee has been
working to bring recogni
tion to local officers who
were killed while perform
ing their job and any other
officers killed in the line
of duty while working in
Chowan County. Those
to be recognized include
Richard Edward Ashley,
Benjamin Henry Smith and
John W.
Hollowell,
all from
Chowan,
and Maj.
Robert S.
Kennedy
of Boone
and Sgt.
Anthony
Scott Futrell from Char
lotte.
The move comes nearly
10 years after Chowan
sheriffs deputy Ashley, 36,
Kennedy, 46, of the Boone
Police Department and
Futrell, 38, of the Char
lotte-Mecklenburg police
were killed in a plane
crash while conducting an
Ashley
Man charged in ,
local stabbing
From stqff reports
A Chowan County man
has been charged with the
stabbing
another p--. 111
man .on
Feb. 6.
Domi
nic Duron
Gay, 21, is
accused
of stab
bing Der
rick Molek Parker, 35, at
Felton claims she first
took her complaints about
Smith and other school em
ployees to Parrish on May
11,2010, but the prosecutor
did nothing with them. She
says after she contacted
Parrish a second time — on
Aug. 18,2010—the prosecu
tor assured her he would
contact the State Bureau
of Investigation to look
into her allegations against
Sn)ith.
“He(Parrish)commented
at our August meeting that
See MRRISH, 4A
aerial search for marijua
na fields. Their fatal crash
occurred July 17, 2002 in
the Icaria community near
Happy Home Road.
Ashley will be the first
deceased officer to be rec
ognized with a dedication
of the U.S. 17 bypass bridge
that spans across N.C. 32,
or Virginia Road. The N.C.
Department of Transpor
tation will soon erect a sign
bearing Ashley’s name at
the bridge.
Ashley’s surviving fam
ily members welcome the
recognition and are among
those helping to see the ef
forts through.
“I don’t want anyone
to forget the sacrifice he
made for the community.
This is a way to keep his
memory alive,” said May
Ashley Campen, Richard
Ashley’s widow who has
since remarried.
Richard and May Ash
ley had been married for
18 years at the time of his
death. They had two sons,
Richard (Rick) and Steven.
All were present at the Feb.
6 Board of Commissioners
meeting when it gave a re
sounding endorsement of
the memorial efforts.
Raleigh Ashley, Rich
ard’s father, said he appre
ciates the honor.
“He (Richard) enjoyed
his job and he worked hard
See MEMORIAL, 2A
the 800 block of Cabarrus
Street around midnight,
records show.
Gay is charged with as
sault with a deadly weap
on. He is being confined
at Chowan County Jail in
lieu of a $40,000 secured
bond.
Chief Jay Fortenbery,
Edenton police, said offi
cers began investigating
after receiving a report
See STABBING, 3A