INSIDE TODAY —Indian
Summer Festival guide
482-4418
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Golden LEAF stakeholders identify 2 priorities
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Community stakeholders
wasted little time narrowing
their scope in pursuit of $2 mil
lion in grant money from the
Golden LEAF fund.
At Golden LEAF’S most recent
meeting held at the College of
The Albemarle’s Edenton cam
pus, stakeholders chose to focus
on two specific areas: economic
development/
infrastructure
and education/
workforce devel
opment. By do
ing so, the group
eliminated as
many as seven
other previously
selected targets,
including those
trated more on
services.
that concen
human-related
Dan Gerlach, Golden LEAF
president, said last weekthat the
group’s unity is a good sign.
“I think the group is showing
great consensus,” Gerlach said.
“They’re coming along at a great
pace.”
Neither was Gerlach surprised
at the group’s top choices.
“Economic development and
education are pretty common,”
he added. “I’m not surprised
these are the key areas.”
Attendance has been strong
at the community meetings. Af
ter stakeholders selected two
focal points, the group was di
vided into halves and separated
into different rooms. One group
brainstormed about economic
development while the other dis
sected education. Part of each
group’s objective was to assign
goals that are measurable.
“We just ask folks what, they
want to see happen and whether
or not the investment moves
the needle,” said Pat Cabe, vice
president of Golden LEAF’S pro
grams.
Gerlach cautioned that future
objectives should refrain from
being too specific, broad enough
to generate more ideas.
“Some of the goals need to be
aspirated,” Gerlach said. “No
one project is going to meet all
See LEAF, 3A
Opening day goes
with few glitches
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Jadelle Wagner sus
pected that her 7-year
old son, Loghan was
really looking forward to
seeing school start again
on Monday
But she found out just
how excited when the
youngster woke her up ex
tra early that morning so
he could be sure he wasn’t
late for his first day.
“He got up at 5:30 this
morning, and was soon
dressed and ready to go,”
said a smiling Wagner.
For Melissa Oliver, it
was her son Darius’ inau
• gural day of school ever.
The 5 year old attended hi!
first day of kindergarten
at White Oak Elementary
as school opened for the
new year.
“He (Darius) was ex
tremely excited,” Oliver
said with a grin. “He
smiled all the way here.
He was especially excited
to be seeing all his friends
again.”
Edenton-Chowan school
officials said that other
students had an equally
pleasant experience on
their first day with only a
few glitches.
“I think it was probably
one of the smoother back
to school days that we’ve
had,” said Brad Bass, .
maintenance and trans
portation director for the
school system.
“We did have two buses
that ran a few minutes
late this morning,” Bass
said. “One was due to a
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STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Students await their teacher’s assistance as they wait to board buses after ending their first full day of school at White Oak Elementary, Monday.
new driver and the other
was caused by a minor
mechanical issue that was
taken care of quickly.”
Bass said that even the
rerouting of four of the
school system’s buses
made necessary due to
unfinished work on the
Queen Anne Creek bridge
replacement did not create
headaches.
“It went very well this
morning,” Bass said of
the detour “We had the
police department gra
ciously show up at the end
of the (Hayes) bridge to
help with any potential
problems but everything
went fine.”
John A. Holmes High
School principal Sheila
Evans said that even the
earlier start time of 7:45
a.m. that will be the norm
at her school this year
worked out fine. Most of
See SCHOOL, 4A
Steinburg questions
I Luton’s business practices
Democrat denies
accusations
By REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Republican State House
candidate Bob Steinburg
has accused Democratic
candidate Bill Luton of "a
reckless pattern of mis
management and disre
gard for the law with his
businesses,” but Luton
says Steinburg is “making
things up.”
State and local officials
corroborated Luton’s ac
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
count of
his busi
ness activ
ities. But,
records
also indi
cate his
business
Luton
es were
dissolved
for failure, to file annual
reports.
An Aug. 16 press release
from Steinburg is headed
by the statement, “Can
Taxpayers Trust Bill Lu
ton With Their Money?
The Luton Record: Failure
to Pay Taxes, Dissolved
Businesses.”
The statement claims
that a business incorpo
rated in Luton’s name and
another incorporated in
the name of his wife, Brit
ney Luton, were both dis
Steinburg
solved by
the N.C.
Secretary
of State
office in
August
2010 for
failure to
file annu
al reports,
and that one of the busi
nesses also was placed on
a revenue suspension by
the N.C. Department of
Revenue in 2010.
The statement claims
the Secretary of State took
"punitive” action against
Luton for failure to file
reports and pay fees for a
family winery business. It
also claims the state dis
solved Britney Luton’s
business, Flash Grill and
See PRACTICES, 2A
Minges’ talk sparks 300th plans
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Lynn Minges, assistant secretary of tourism, marketing and
global branding for the North Carolina Department of Com
merce, talks about the importance of tourism statewide, and in
Chowan County, during an Aug. 21 luncheon held at the 1767
Chowan Courthouse in Edenton.
NC ranks as nation’s
6th most visited
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Last year visitor spend
ing in Chowan County to
taled $17.2 million up 4.4
percent over the previous
year, according to Lynn
Minges, assistant secre
tary of tourism, market
ing and global branding
for the North Carolina De
partment of Commerce.
Occupancy taxes col
lected in Chowan County
amounted to $95,930, she
said.
Minges was the key
note speaker at an Aug.
21 luncheon and tour
ism program sponsored
by the Edenton Chowan
Partnership. Partnership
See3QOTMA
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3:00am -12:30pm
• ’ «r’ J *-v Stoijj $ M>
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