482-4418
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Hospital eyes new rehab, outpatient space in '14
By REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Vidant Chowan Hospital
plans to have its new rehab
services and outpatient spe
cialty clinic facilities com
pleted by the end of 2014.
The project will cost
about $4.9 million.
The hospital announced
last April that it was dis
continuing its skilled nurs
ing facility services. The
closure at that time was
associated with plans to ex
pand outpatient health care
in areas such as rehabilita
tion services, outpatient
specialty clinic and behav
ioral health services.
Vidant announced last
spring that the outpatient
expansion plans will pro
vide expanded space for
several service vlines. The
outpatient specialty clinic
offers nine clinics' such
as oncology and chemo
therapy, pulmonology, and
nephrology The expansion
will increase the number of
exam and treatment rooms,
and allow f6r dedicated reg
istration and waiting space
for the department.
Rehabilitation services
will also be able to increase
the number of treatment
rooms, expand the size of
the gymnasium and add
new therapeutic services.
Also, behavioral health
is currently located in sev
eral rooms on the second
floor of the hospital. Behav
ioral health will move into
the community services
building, creating easier
physical access to the ser
vice, increasing the service
capacity to accommodate
larger groups, and provid
ing a more private and
pleasant environment for
patients.
There has been some
concern expressed by the
public concerning the time
table for the renovations
and even whether they will
take place at all. .
An example of that con
cern is conveyed in a letter
by local resident Jim Carr,
which is found on the edi
torial page of this week’s
Chowan Herald.
Megan Booth-Mills, the
hospital’s director of plan
ning and marketing, said
the hospital has heard the
question from the public
concerning when the reno
vations will take place.
Because the planning for
the project has taken place
behind the scenes, it’s un
derstandable that there
has been uncertainty about
what was going on at the
hospital, she said.
But now that the certifi
cate of need is in place the
project is moving forward,
according to Booth-Mills.
Matt Gitzinger, director
of support services at Vi
dant Chowan Hospital, said
the first phase of the project
involves renovating the
former skilled nursing fa
cility as the new rehab ser
vices area and outpatient
See HOSPITAL, 2A
STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER
This climbing wall is part of the pediatric rehab gym at Vidant
Chowan Hospital.
Steinburg
seeks
funds for'
hydrilla
By REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Rep. Bob Steinburg last
week said he will seek
funding in, the state bud
get for hydrilla treatment
and indicated recreational
boaters and other water
way users likely will have
to pitch in
to help pay
for it.
V Stein
burg, R
Chowan,
met last
week with
Brad Ives,
assistant
secretary of the state’s De
partment of Environment
and Natural Resources, to
discuss the aggressive wa
ter weed, which Steinburg
has dubbed “the marine
version of kudzu.”
Hydrilla has gotten the
attention of state water
quality officials, Steinburg
said.
“They recognize that this
is becoming a problem else
where, not just where we
are,” Steinburg said.
While DENR is the lead
agency in dealing with hy
drilla—which has been ob
served in the Chowan River
and some of its tributaries,
as well as in various lakes
and streams around the
state — the weed has not
gone unnoticed by trans
portation officials.
State Transportation Sec
retary Anthony Tata said
diming a visit to Edenton
May 18 for the Governors’
Day event that he would
talk to the State Ports Board
about hydrilla.
Tata said keeping water
ways navigable is an im
portant part of his job. He
acknowledged that DENR
takes the lead role on hy
drilla but said that because
there is a potential trans
portation impact to the
aquatic weed, his depart
ment also will pay atten
tion to the problem.
See HYDRILLA, 3A
02009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
' • -
Memorial Day ■ v. tt |
Nixon notes high cost of freedom
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Vietnam veteran
Billy Nixon spoke
eloquently Monday
morning about the cost
of war and the need for a
renewed sense of patriQ
tism in America.
Nixon, who served in
the U.S. Air Force for four
years, noted that since the
Revolutionary War a total
of 1,196,793 of America’s
finest young men and
women have given their
lives to preserve freedom.
“America over the
years has given up its *
young men and women
so that we may have the
freedom that we have to
day,” Nixon said. “Those
Americans who died in
these wars did not die
in vain—they did then
duty for their country.”
Nixon said that the
sense of patriotism that
pervaded American life
during World War I and
World War II diminished
drastically when the war
in Vietnam ramped up
during the 1960s.
See MEMORIAL, 3A
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
(From left) Veterans Billy Nixon, Rev. Roscoe Poole, Gerry DiNunzio and E.C.Toppin link hands during the singing of “God Bless
the USA” on Monday during the annual Memorial Day ceremony in Edenton.
Area drug sweep nets eight arrests
From staff reports
The Edenton Police
Department began mak
ing arrests May 3 as the
result of an eight-month
undercover operation
called “Operation Street
Sweeper,” which so far
has yielded eight arrests
on drug-related charges. .
In addition, police are
looking for two people
who are wanted on drug
related charges. Anyone
with information about
the two wanted persons
should contact the Eden
ton Police Department at
482-5144 or 482-4444.
> The two wanted men,
according to police, are
Eric Terrell Vailentine, 28,
of 516 N. Oakum St., Eden
ton, who is wanted on
charges of possession of
cocaine with intent to sell
and deliver, and selling
and delivering cocaine;
and Robert Christopher
Sharpe, 23, of 307 Sandy
Ridge Road, Edenton, who
is wanted on charges of
possession of cocaine with
intent to sell and deliver,
and selling and delivering
cocaine. ■; |
Those arrested as a re
sult of the undercover op
eration:
• William Javon Dow
ell, 27, of 906 Macedo
nia Road, Edenton, was
See ARRESTS, 4A
Electronic eyes are watching the streets i
STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER
Sgt. Gerald Lassiter III of the Edenton Police Depart
ment monitors the department’s surveillance cameras
from a computer at the police headquarters.
By REOOIE PONDER
Editor
The eyes of the Eden
ton Police Department are
watching the town’s streets
— and they’re getting help
from a growing network of
surveillance cameras.
Police Chief Jay Forten
berry explained that the
town started working on the
camera project during the
summer of 2012. The first
five cameras were installed
in the fall and the system
was up and running in De
cember.
Each camera cost $2,500,
including installation and
one year’s maintenance.
The cameras are wireless.
The police can monitor the
footage live and the system
also stores images for future
reference.
“They’re set up to patrol,
so they can watch more than
one area,” Fortenberry said,
referring to the way the cam
eras pan from one spot to an
other within a larger area.
Of course, if an officer
wants to hone in on a partic
ular location, the cameras
can be set manually to stay
focused on a fixed spot.
The cameras will zoom
on close enough to allow the
police to get a license plate j'
number from the back of a h
vehicle, Fortenberry said. 1 §|
“It really helps us with the ; i
downtown area,” Fortenber- .11
ry said. ’
College of The Albemarle
has bought two cameras for
its Edenton-Chowan cam
pus.
The town bought a cam
era, Albemarle Bank bought
one, Destination Downtown
bought one, and the Hous
ing Authority bought two,
Fortenberry said.
See CAMERA, 3A
Mjm
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