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482-4418
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Edenton police to relocate
Town to build
own station
By RITCHIE C. STARNES
Editor
Town leaders have de
cided to move the Edenton
Police Department out of
the Public Safety Center.
In an unanimous vote
Monday night, the Town
Council made the decision
official. Part of a long
term cost
savings
move, the
council
opted to
terminate
the town’s
1 e a s e
agree- KnittMnn
ment with Knighton
the county for space in
the Public Safety Center.
Edenton police uses the
7,000-square-foot space to
house its offices, located
adjacent to the sheriffs
office.
The Board of Commis
sioners recently modified
its debts and refinanced
various loans in exchange
for lower interest rates
and shorter terms for a
savings of more than $10
million. Since the coun
ty had a lease with the
town on one of those refi
nanced buildings (Public
Safety Center), the town
was then offered several
options. The options in
cluded: staying with the
current lease term of 40
years, returning to the
original term of 30 years,
modifying the lease to an
11-year lease term to fol
low the. county’s modified
refinancing plan, or to mu
tually agree to terminate
the lease.
“There’s no rift between
the town and county,” said
Anne Marie Knighton,
town manager. “They’re
being very kind to let" us
out of the lease.”
Because the payment
options would have cost
the town more than the
expense of constructing
its own building, Edenton
leaders decided to end the
lease and pursue another
site.
A 40-year option at 4.25
percent interest would
costs town taxpayers $5.8
See POLICE, 2A
Chamber Presents Awards
PHOTOS COURTESY JEREMY GROVES
Donna McLees, (left) owner of The Shoppes on Broad, accepts the Business Person of the Year Award from Jean Brown at Thursday night's Edenton Chowan
Chamber of Commerce 2013 annual Meeting & Banquet " ' , v
McLees earns Business Person of the Year
Standing ovation
greets tourism director
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
"Editor
■■here were a few worthy
I surprises at this year’s
■ Edenton-Chowan Chamber
of Commerce’s annual awards
ceremony
While each award shared an
appropriate winner, they also
shared the distinction of special
recognition. It didn’t take long
Thursday evening for the sold
out meeting and banquet at the
Chowan Golf & Country Club .
to realize the 2013 awards event
was one of a kind.
Although the award was not
listed on the event’s program, a
surprise recognition for Out
standing Achievement in Tour
ism was presented to Nancy
Nicholls, director of Chowan’s
Tourism Development Author
ity. With more than 20 years
service to the area’s tourism,
Nicholls received a standing
ovation.
“Nancy Nicholls is the most
respected tourism director in
the state,’’.said Giuliano Gian
none, a local bed and breakfast
owner who presented her with
the award.
For the Excellence in Tourism
Award, Mayor Roland Vaughan
singled out a town councilman
that also volunteered his time
as committee chairman that
launched Edenton’s 300th an
niversary.
“He works so hard he had a
heart attack,” said Vaughan,
referring to Bob Quinn who
See BANQUET, 5A
Nancy Nicholls, (second from left) receives a congratulatory embrace after she
was awarded with a special recognition - Outstanding Achievement in Tourism.
BOCCto
consider
shorter
terms
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Just because the Board
of Education voted to keep
its term lengths at six years
instead of the convention
al four years doesn’t mean
it’s a forgone conclusion,
at least in the view of the
Board of Commissioners.
Former commissioners’
chairman Eddy Goodwin
appeared before the board
during last week’s work
session and requested that
county leaders consider
asking the state legislature
to reduce Edenton-Chow
an’s school board term
limits by two years dur
ing its scheduled meeting
Monday night.
“Six years, in my opin
ion, is too long,” Good
win said. “I think having
some new faces, some new
ideas, is a good thing on a
board.”
Current Chairman Keith
Nixon said he too had long
been questioning the value
of longer terms, particu
larly when only five of
the state’s 115 school dis
tricts still support six-year
terms. Pitt County’s plan to
switch to Jour-year terms
will leave only four in the
state using six years.
“My biggest question
is what is making Eden
ton Chowan Schools bet
ter by not adhering to the
state’s norm,” Nixon said.
“I’m still trying to be sold
on why six years is better
than four, but I’m still do
ing my homework.”
Research is what Nixon
asked his board members
to do before revisiting the
matter Monday night.
Commissioner John
Mitchener, who also served
two six-year terms on the
school board, prefers the
decision remain in the
hands of the school board.
Only school board repre
sentatives know what’s
required to keep abreast of
their duties, he said.
“Once you’re on the in
side, you find there’s a lot
more to learn than you
could ever have known
from the outside,” Mitch
ener said. “Personally, I
found six-year terms very
helpful.”
The school board voted
against reducing term lim
its in December.
Schools’ Superinten
dent Allan Smith said he
hopes commissioners will
respect the school board’s
See TERMS, 2A
E-Chowan school board lists capital-outlay priorities
Holmes’ activity bus
might have to wait
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
, During its annual retreat
last Thursday the Board
of Education identified
its 2013-2014 capital outlay
budget priorities.
5 Among the most urgent
peeds is the renovation of
ftudent restrooms in the
sixth grade at Chowan Mid*
; 02009 The Chowan Herald
<•* All Rights Reserved
M- M
die School,
and the in
stallation
of water
saving de
vices in all
restrooms,
Superin
tendent Al
lan Smith
Smith
said. That project has an
estimated cost of $40,000.
Another recommended
priority is ftmding a re
curring effort to rotate the
replacement of carpet and
ftirniture among the coun
ty’s four schools, Smith
said. During the budget
cycle in question, the plan
calls for six classrooms at
White Oak, D.F Walker,
and the middle school to
have carpet replaced at a
cost of $30,000. White Oak
and Chowan Middle School
would each receive $10,000
to fund furniture replace
ment.
High priority projects
identified at John A. Hol
mes High School included
creating handicapped ac
cess to the school’s band
room at an estimated cost
of $16,000, as well as refin
ishing the gym floor at an
estimated cost of $12,500
— something that has not
happened since 1998, Smith
said.
Reworking the track at
the high school so that worn
areas could be repaired
would cost about $3,000,
according to an estimate
secured by the school’s ath
letic department, „ $
Considerable discussion
centered on the purchase
of a new activity bus for
Holmes at an anticipated
cost of $95,000.
Brad Bass, schools’ main
tenance director, said that
the last activity bus bought
at the high school was pur
chased in 2010. The oldest,
he said, was purchased in
1987 and has 200,000 miles
on it.
“We send these buses on
long distance trips,” Bass
said. “We have three buses
that are carrying in excess
of 150,000 miles, which
leaves us with three buses
we can really count on.”
"If we don’t do it (pur
chase a new activity bus)
this year, we would have
to do it next year,” Smith
said.
“Are there other things
on this list that could wait,
more than the activity
bus,” asked board member
John Guard. “That’s the
question.”
Delaying the purchase
of a new bus for one more
year would not constitute a
safety issue, Smith said.
“I’m OK with that (delay
ing the purchase) if it’s not
a safety issue,” said board
member Glorious Elliott.
Smith and Bass recom
mended to the board that
a protocol be established
whereby the school system
would purchase a hew ac
tivity bus every four or five
years to avoid any potential
safety issues.
Smith added that based
on the discussion at the re
treat, his staff would look
at the key projects identi
fied, recheck the costs in
volved, and bring the list
back to the school board at
its March meeting for ap
proval.
Smith said that based on
conversations he has had
with County Manager Zee
Lamb, he felt it would be .
in the school system’s best
interest to identify capital
outlay priorities for the
commissioners in March
in the future.
“We need to begin that
work (on capital outlay
projects) the day students
walk out for summer va
cation,” Smith said to