Inside Today See our annual Progress & Review edition. ’’?r 482-4418 Wednesday, March 20, 2013 Golden LEAF hears final pitches 11 projects vie for $2M By RITCHIE E. STARNES Editor One final pitch to Golden LEAF officials left 11 final ists excited about their re spective chances to secure project funding. Last Wednesday ap r Honoring the Fallen STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH Members of the North Carolina Chapter of Rolling Thunder display a POW-MIA flag that was' later presented to surviving family members of the late CpI. William Coffield, the first Chowan County casualty of World War II. The ceremony was held at American Legion Post 40, Sunday. Trust listing could aid Kadesh repairs Damages caused by Hurricane Isabel By REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer The Town Council unanimously passed a resolution that could lead to additional resourc es for the restoration of Kadesh A.M.E. Zion. The March 12 resolution supports the nomina tion of the 1897 church — which sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Isabel in 2003 — to the National Trust for His toric Preservation’s list of America’s 11 most endan gered historic places. The National Trust began maintaining the list in 1988 and has so far identified 242 sites that warrant saving. Councilman Sambo Dixon, who is a member of the National Trust’s Advisory Council, made the request for the resolu tion. “Kadesh is in jeopardy r “ ' ' 'f ’ . Bill would shift school property under county By REOaiE PONDER The Daily Advance Edenton Chowan Schools 6""89076* 11 nil aaak 48i3,J ©2009 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved plicants appeared before Golden LEAF leaders at the non-profit’s Rocky Mount office where they made last ditch presenta tions while also fielding questions about their proj ects. All of the Chowan County entities hope to secure funding from the Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative. “I think everybody did of not being restored,” Dixon said. Dixon said that if suc cessful the effort to add Kadesh to the list could bring new resources to the table that could result in the completion of restora tion work at the church. “It’s an enormous honor to get on that list,” Dixon added. Members of the con gregation continue to worship together at a new location on Badham Road, but they still consider the old Kadesh church on East Gale Street their spiritual home, Dixon said. He said that while the historic church needs significant work before it can resume its original purpose, “They (mem bers) hope and feel that (the Badham Road site) is a temporary location. Anything we can do to help them come back home, we need to do.” Councilman Bob Quinn agreed that the congrega tion would benefit from the church’s restoration. is among area school dis tricts concerned about proposed state legislation shifting ownership of some school property from a local board of education to the county board of commissioners. The Edenton Chowan Board of Education voted unanimously Monday night to support a resolu an excellent job of present ,ing their cases. They left everything on the court,” said Dan Gerlach, Golden LEAF president. Applicants were given only four minutes to make their final pitch, followed by a series of questions from Golden LEAF staffers and a board member. “As the meeting unfold ed it became quite clear So, too, he said, would the town. “It would mean a tre mendous amount to the community,” Quinn said. In 2011, die Rev. Edna Lawrence, who was serv ing as pastor at Kadesh when the hurricane struck, said that the 65-member congrega tion would have had to raise $800,000 to fund the necessary repairs in two phases. Phase I of the project that cost about $267,000 re sulted in the stabilization of the church’s foundation as well as repairs to the roof and other parts of the building where water leaks were a problem. The congregation was able to pay for that work with the aid of insurance funds and a $200,000 bank loan. Despite subsequent fundraisers over the years, church members have not been able to raise the additional funds necessary to restore the church’s interior. tion opposing Senate Bill 236. Currituck’s Board of Education voted last week to oppose the proposal on the recommendation of Currituck Schools Super intendent Allison Sholar. The Elizabeth City-Pas quotank Board of Educa tion was scheduled to talk about the proposed legisla tion during its committee that each of the Chowan presenters were well versed in their subject and since there were in-depth questions on each proposal it was a great opportunity to clarify anything that remained unclear,” said Cy Rich, chairman of the Edenton Chowan Partner ship and one of the appli cants. Golden LEAF’S feedback CHOWAN HERALD RLE PHOTO Kadesh A.M.E. Zion Church member Fred Joyner looks at boarded-up stained glass windows in the sanctuary following Hurricane Isabel. Above, the ceiling also shows damage from the hurricane’s heavy rainfall. meetings Monday. Sholar reported to die Currituck school board that Currituck County Manager Dan Scanlon had told her Currituck County officials oppose the pro posal. Pasquotank County Manager Randy Keaton said last week that the county commissioners in left project representatives optimistic about their prospects. “The presentations went very well,” said Edenton Chowan Schools’ Super intendent Allan Smith. “Strong arguments were given for each of the 11 proposals. The feedback from Golden LEAF staff and board member was positive. Hopefully, Golden Pasquotank haven’t dis cussed the issue at all. Keaton pointed out that Pasquotank owns a lot of the school sites in the county anyway since the construction of some of the newer school build ings is still being financed through the county See BILL, 2A LEAF will be able to fund all of the Chowan County proposals.” Golden LEAF has ear marked as much as $2 mil lion in funding toward as sisting Chowan County’s economic development. At $2.3 million, the 11 propos als exceed the financial commitment. See PITCHES, 2A Driving record nixes taxi permit Applicant can reapply next year By REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer An Elizabeth City man withdrew his application to operate a taxicab ser vice ip Edenton after it was revealed that he had a suspect driving record. The March 12 decision by applicant Cory White, 25, came after several council members expressed reluc tance to grant the permit. Police Chief Jay Forten bery also said he could not recommend that the per mit request be granted. “After reviewing the town ordinance (governing such permits) and looking closely into the criminal ahd drivers history of Mr. White, I canrtot recom mend him for a taxi permit in the town of Edenton,” Fortenbery told the town council. Records show White’s criminal history included a possession of marijuana conviction in 2004 as well as a conviction for misde meanor breaking and en tering the following year. In 2006, White had a proba tion violation. 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