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Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Third holiday robbery strikes Super 8 Motel
3 armed robberies
since Thanksgiving
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
News Editor
The holiday season was again
marred when an armed gunman
robbed the Super 8 Motel, mark
ing the third armed robbery in a
month.
On Dec. 22 a
light-complex
ioned black
male, wearing
a dark-colored
hoodie and a
mask entered
the motel at 10:20
p.m. brandish
ing a handgun
while demanding
ing to Edenton Police Chief Jay
Fortenberry
cash, accord
Fortenbery. The suspect fled in
an unknown direction with an
undisclosed amount of cash.
One week earlier on Dec, 15 at
6:11 a m. a masked black male
wearing a distinctive white and
red leather jacket robbed a lone
female clerk at the Edenton Shell
station. The suspect fled on foot
toward First Street.
On Thanksgiving night, a
masked black male wearing a
multi-colored hoodie used a knife
to rob the ETNA Snack Mart be
fore he too ran away on foot.
Fortenbery acknowledges that
the crimes could be connected,
but he has doubts.
“I think they’re all different
people,” Fortenbery said. “The
suspect in the ETNA robbery
seems skinnier than the one at
the Shell.”
Fortenbery said he also be
lieves the ETNA robber may be
younger.
In the Shell robbery, Forten
bery said they’ve been circulat
ing photo images captured from
a surveillance camera in hopes
someone identifies the sus
pect who was wearing a jacket
that had the No. 72 displayed
in large numerals on-the back.
See ARMED, 3A
Class held at
Senior Center
By REBECCA BIlftCH
Staff Writer
ml Reynolds had
never visited the
Chowan Senior
Center until the fall day
when he went there to
talk with site manager
Connie Parker about
starting a woodcarving
group.
Reynolds, 74, of Eden
ton, said he wasn’t sure
what to expect. After
listening to his pitch
for a $tart-up group for
seniors, Parker looked
at him and said, “Let’s
give it a try.”
So Reynolds sched
uled a presentation
about the group and
what it had to offer.
Twelve people came and
about half of them are
still coming.
“I’d love to see more
- people get involved,
both men and women,”
Reynolds said. “Women
do really well with
carving, I think because
they pay a lot of atten
tion to detail.”
Reynolds, who has
won awards for his
woodcarvings, said that
while he does provide
guidance to those who
attend, the group does
not represent a class in
a traditional sense. No
one is getting graded or
pushed to complete a
project, and the objec
tive is to relax and have
a good time while learn
ing a new skill.
That’s exactly what
appeals to retiree Ron
Musante who is one of
the new group’s mem
bers.
Musante is an artist
who has painted in oil,
watercolor and pastels.
His subjects have in
cluded portraits of his
wife and other family
members.
Musante initially
learned to carve by
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Instructor Al Reynolds (left) teaches Ron Musante during a woodcarving class that Reynolds oversees at the Chowan
Senior Center in Edenton. Musante is wearing a glove on his left hand to prevent cutting himself.
creating decoys which
is far different from the
type of carving he is
doing now.
But, Musante said,
he was tired of the
exacting requirements
for carving decoys and
thought that the type of
carving Reynolds taught
would be relaxing
rather than stressful.
“Woodcarving, in my
opinion, has been taken
to the point now where
it’s very technical,”
Musante said. “It’s no
longer fun.”
Musante said once
he attended Reynolds’
presentation he had
no doubt that this was
something he would
enjoy
“He (Reynolds)
seemed like such a nice
fella, and very tal
ented,” Musante said. “I
was interested and my
wife wanted to get me
out of the house, so she
encouraged me to go.”
Musante said that
decoy carving involves
the use of a band saw
and other machinery
whereas Reynolds’ class
offers a much simpler
format—just a carv
ing knife and a piece of
wood.
“This is true carv
ing,” Musante said.
Musante said that
Reynolds has a gift for
teaching and that he is
enjoying learning a new
skill.
“A1 doesn’t get upset
if you make a mistake,”
Musante said. “He is
This relief carving by At Reyn
olds shows a baby cradled in
its mother’s hands.
patient and forgiving.
He’ll keep correcting
you until you get it
right.”
And Reynolds is a
master at woodcarving,
he added.
“Every time I think
I’ve done something
good he comes up and
makes a few more cuts,
and that makes all the
difference,” Musante
said.
Musante said that
when'Reynolds held
his presentation at
the senior center his
attention was caught by
three figures carved as
caricatures of moun
tain people wearing
slouch hats and with the
toes ripped out of their
boots.
“They were just terrif
ic,” Musante said enthu
siastically. “I thought
to myself, that’s what I
want to do; I want to be
able to carve things like
that. Every
See CARVING, 3A
Stores cite
uptick in
holiday sales
Surge credited to more
local shoppers, visitors
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
While holiday shopping overall
appears to have been lackluster for
retailers, local merchants report a
busy Christmas season due to those
who opted to shop at home.
They also credit the town’s 300th
anniversary celebration and the
success of the 2012 Christmas Can
dlelight Tour with bringing more
shoppers — in the form of visitors
that translated into increased sales
for merchants.
Heather and Paul Newingham,
owners of the Christian Book Sell
er, credited holiday visitors for in
creased business at their store. *
“Friday, the first day of the Can
dlelight Tour, we were especially
busy,” Heather Newingham said.
“We were really slammed. The tour
definitely helped us.”
Destination Downtown Edenton
director and business owner Jen
nifer Harriss agreed that both the
shop at home strategy and the in:
creased number of visitors played
a role.
“I think that people who live here
are becoming more and more aware
of the importance of supporting
our local businesses by shopping at
home,” Harriss said. “I also think
they’ve made a real effort this
Christmas to find out what is avail
able in our little town.”
■ Harriss added that “Have a Down
town Christmas,” a special holiday
promotion carried out by partici
pating downtown merchants, also
was popular with shoppers.
During the promotion, which
took place Nov. 23 to Dec. 21, shop
pers were provided cards to fill with
five stickers from participating
businesses. Once a card was filled it
could be dropped in a ballot box at
one of the businesses. Two weekly
winners took home over $100 in gift
certificates provided by stores tak
ing part in the promotion.
“That promotion was very suc
cessful,” Harriss said.
See UPTICK, 3A
Request to dismiss
racial-bias case denied
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
News Editor
A federal judge has de
nied the Edenton-Chowan
Board of Education’s re
quest to dismiss the case
claiming it used racial bias
in the firing of a former
school administrator.
Judge James C. Fox
signed the order Dec. 10,
refusing to dismiss the
case filed by attorneys on
behalf of Mary E. Lyons
Felton. The July 31, 2012
lawsuit alleges that the
School system violated the
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
Civil Rights Act by dis
criminating against her
because she is black.
Court documents show,
however, that Felton has
amended her original com
plaints and is no longer
suing school leaders indi
vidually
A trial date has been set
for March 10,2014.
Felton, a former as
sistant principal at John
A. Holmes High School,
claims that she was denied
an opportunity to inter
view for the principal’s job
at the high school, instead
demoted with a reassign
ment as a counselor at
Chowan Middle School.
School officials went out
side the system and hired
Jamie Gillespie, a white
SeeMSMISS^A
300th anniversary highlights 2012
Editor's note: Following is a list of the top 10 local news stories from 2012. These stories were
chosen primarily because of newsworthiness and the overall impact on the community.
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
News Editor
Hands down the 300th an
niversary of the founding
of Edenton marks the top
local story for 2012. Not just
for the monumental birth
day that three centuries
represents, but
for all that
the 14
i month
long
c e 1 •
ebra
tion will
bring to
Edenton-Chowan. Early
proof lies in the strategic
marketing that contributed
to the record-setting ticket
sales of the recent Christ
mas Candlelight Tour,
which by all accounts could
qualify as one the year’s top
stories on its own merit. In
stead the tremendous feat
falls in the fold of the anni
versary’s recognition here.
This rare birthday will
likely serve as a catalyst of
more success throughout
2013, including the upcom
ing biennial Pilgrimage in
the spring.
If not for local leaders
uniting and forging a mar
keting campaign for the
300th celebration we mgy
not have realized the full
potential of this opportu
nity.
Tourism has been iden
tified as the economic
linchpin for Edenton
Chowan with visitors
spending $17 million here
during the previous year.
Many of our new residents
first learned of Edenton as
tourists and by bolstering
its appeal should continue
to pay dividends for future
years. • .#
Sure there were settlers
here well before the found
ing of Edenton, but the
300th anniversary puts us
in rare company in both
the beginning of North Car
olina and early America.
Ironically, the 300th cel
ebration nearly escaped
due recognition when
town leaders thought the
anniversary could conflict
with the town’s official
incorporation that didn’t
occur until 10 years after
Edenton’s founding. For
tunately, the decision to
celebrate the event woo
over and then gained mo
mentum. By all appear
ances the anniversary sl»
nals a harbinger for other
prosperous events.
.--.'V'f