482-4418
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Aces
announce
football
awards, 7A
50«
Edenton home to state’s oldest house
Wood used dates
back to 1718
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Edenton can now add
being the home of the old
est house in North Caro
lina to its list of histori
cal assets.
The news was officially
confirmed by dendro
chronologist Michael
Worthington of Balti
more-based Oxford-Tree
Ring Laboratory to a
small group of onlookers
at noon on Friday.
Steve Lane, who along
with his wife, current
ly owns the property
— a one and a half story
house at 304 East Queen
Street — said they were
amazed to learn that the
house dates hack to 1718.
Worthington was on
the front porch of the
home Friday flanked by
Steve Lane and former
owner Ruby Vopelak to
announce the results.
“This is one of the most
exciting moments in my
career,” Worthington
commented after the an
nouncement. He said
that dendrochronology
— using tree ring dating
— diming the past two de
cades has become a high
ly accurate tool for dating
historic buildings.
Also present for the
announcement was Reid
Thomas, a restoration
specialist with the east
ern division of the State
Historic Preservation Of
fice. .
See HOUSE, 3A
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Reid Thomas (left), a res
toration specialist with the
eastern division of the State
Historic Preservation Office,
listens as Steve Lane (center)
talks about the East Queen
Street house he bought three
years ago that has just been
declared the oldest known
house in North Carolina. Look
ing on are former homeowner
Ruby Vopelak (seated, at right)
and her daughter Mary.
Schools
rank tech
as top
priority
Golden LEAF
to fund initiative
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
School board mem
bers voted unanimously
on Jan. 7 to focus on the
school system’s technolog
ical needs when prioritiz
ing the three projects they
are hoping to fund through
Golden LEAF
An increase in funds
for a secondary STEM
(science, technology, en
gineering and math) cur
riculum and the creation
of a cultural arts/distance
learning center comprise
the other two projects. To
tal cost of all three projects
is $1,862,500, Smith said.
The original amount
requested by the school
system came in at $62,500
above the $2-million avail
able but Smith said changes
in the engineering design
for the proposed cultural
arts/distance learning
center would allow them to
ask for the lesser amount.
John Guard, board chair
man, said if secured the
funds would help pay for
a new One to One technol-'
ogy initiative for students
at Chowan Middle School
and John A. Holmes High
School.
“The initiative, if we get
that (Golden LEAF funds),
would help us put an elec
tronic device in the hands
of every student in grades
8-12,” Guard said.
Board member Gil Bur
roughs noted that there
was an urgent need for the
funds so that implementa
tion of the initiative could
move ahead. At present,
he said, the school system
only has enough funds to
pay for a pilot program at
Holmes that includes three
classrooms.
“I certainly agree whole
heartedly with making
the technology needs our
number one priority,” Bur
roughs said. “I would hope
that at least that one (from
among the school system’s
proposals) would make the
See LEAF, 3A
813
02009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
High gas prices irk consumers
•MM
PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
As of Tuesday, the price of regular unleaded gas throughout Edenton-Chowan stood at $3.47
per gallon, as shown here at Exxon Bridgetum.The price of fuel routinely runs higher in Eden
ton-Chowan than neighboring towns, like Elizabeth City and Williamston.
EC, Williamston
have lower prices
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Questions are mounting
about why gasoline prices
are higher in Edenton than
neighboring towns.
Last month the Edenton
Discussion Group mailed a
letter to the various gas sta
tions in Edenton question
ing why fuel prices here
are routinely higher than
places like Elizabeth City
or Williamston. The ques
tion was also volleyed at
last month’s Town Council
meeting.
Jim Badger, chairman
of the Edenton Discussion
Group, said he has yet to
receive an answer from any
of the dealers about why
gas prices run as high as 20
cents higher than in Eliza
beth City or Willimaston.
He argues that the pricing
disparity is adversely af
fecting local commerce.
“People see the price
of gas from the road (U.S.
Highway 17) and think I’ll
stop farther down the road
where they plight also eat,”
Badger said. “This is hurt
ing our businesses.”
Steve Taylor of Bridge
turn Exxon said the fluctu
ating cost is primarily due
to the volatile nature of
any commodity
“Gas prices change every
day like the stock market,”
Taylor said. “You might get
lucky with the price and
you might not.”
Bob Cheek of the re
cently closed Shell Station
echoed the point.
“The price (wholesale)
changes every night at 6
(p.m.). That’s the rack price,
then there’s transport
costs,” Cheek explained.
When asked if he be
lieves gas distributors are
charging local stations
more for fuel, Taylor said
“They say not. They’re sup
posed to charge us 1 penny
over their cost. Sometimes
freight runs a little more,”
For his last delivery Tay
lor paid $3.35 per gallon for
his regular unleaded gaso
line. His station posts a cur
rent retail price of $3.47.
“I might make 5 cents a
gallon, sometimes less,”
Taylor said.
Other stations in Eden
ton are selling gas at $3.45
per gallon.
On Tuesday in Elizabeth
City the price of unleaded
gasoline could be found
as low as $3.35 per gallon.
See GAS, 3A
Town secures Lighthouse access funding
Grant to complete
interior restoration
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
The Town Council unani
mously voted at its Jan. 8 month
ly meeting to approve a grant
agreement with state officials
that will fund an access system
to the 1886 Roanoke River Light
house.
With that approval in place,
work on the access portion of the
project should begin again fair
ly quickly, according to Mark
Cooney, who is managing the
project for the N.C. Department
of Cultural Resources. Cooney
said that A.R. Chesson Construc
tion that completed earlier phas
es of the project would also build
the access system. Since work on
the interior constitutes a sepa
rate phase of the project, Cooney
said, a bidding process will soon
open to contractors interested in
taking on the project.
Town Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton said that Cultural Re
sources would provide $131,000
to cover the cost of interior resto
ration to the historic structure.
And through the grant agree
ment the town will be able to se
cure an additional $125,000 from
the North Carolina Public Beach
and Coastal Water Access Pro
gram to provide a public bridge
from land to the structure that
sits atop pilings over the water
in the Edenton Bay.
“We did not want that treasure
(lighthouse) not to have any ac
cess available to the public,”
Knighton told council members
at the meeting.
Knighton added that the grant
required matching funds but said
that the agreement would allow
the town to count the Cultural
Resources funds as its match.
She explained that the grant calls
for a 25 percent match but allows
that match to come from sources
other than the applicant.
See LIGHTHOUSE, 3A
PHOTO BY MARK RIDLEY
Work will soon begin at the 1886
Roanoke River Lighthouse to install a
public access system.
Thieves break into Agriculture Center
From stuff reports
Count the Chowan Ag
riculture Center as the
area’s latest crime victim,
according to Edenton po
lice.
As workers returned to
work at 7 a.m. Monday it
was discovered that some
one had broken through a
small door-side window
and then unlocked the
door. Several items were
taken and the offices ran
sacked, said Capt. Tim
Hickman.
Laptops were left just
outside the point of en
try, police say. Evidence
suggests the suspect left
on foot toward Virginia
Road.
Offices currently
housed in the agricul
ture building located at
the corner of Granville
Street and Virginia Road
includes: N.C. Coopera
tive Extension, Board of
Elections, Soil and Water,
and National Resources
Conservation Services.
Only the Cooperative
Extension appeared to be
victimized. Four offices
there were ransacked
with a credit card and
camera reportedly stolen,
said Tim Smith, exten
sion director.
“They left the com
puters and rummaged
through the offices, but
it could have been a lot
worse,” Smith said. Oth
erwise, the vandalism
was limited to strewn ma
terials.
Smith said the break
in had to have occurred
Sometime Sunday night
because an extension em
ployee had been in the
building during the af
ternoon and reported not
seeing any damages at
that time.
A shovel was found out
side the broken window
and may have been used
to break the glass. I
Last month someone
broke the front glass of
the Nothin’ Fancy restau
rant and stole $10, leaving
merchandise untouched.
If you have information
about these crimes, call
Edenton police at 482-5144.
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