Stylist Eric Swenson
showcases his artwork
this Saturday — IB 5
482-4418
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Two killed in Yeopim boating accident
From staff reports
A Chowan County man
and a man from Perqui
mans County were killed
Friday in a boating acci
dent at the mouth of the
Yeopim River.
Pronounced dead at
Chowan Hospital shortly
after the accident were
Daniel Manke, 50, of Hert
ford, and Blaine Weyant,
48, of Edenton, according
County
votes
down tax
cut plan
By REQGIE PONDER
Editor
The Chowan County
Board of Commissioners
on a split vote Monday re
jected a call for a one-cent
reduction in the county
property tax rate in the
2013-14 county budget.
Commissioner Emmett
Winborne’s motion to
reduce the property tax
rate from 68.5 cents per
$100 property valuation to
67.5 cents failed 4-3, with
only Winborne, Chairman
Keith Nixon and Commis
sioner Alex Kehayes vot
ing for it.
The recommended bud
get presented by County
Manager Zee Lamb main
tains the county’s current
property tax rate of 68.5
cents and also keeps water
rates and other fees at the
current levels.
Winborne apparently
has not given up on the
one-cent tax reduction pro-'
posal. He indicated to his
fellow commissioners dur
ing the meeting Monday
night that he thinks the
idea might catch fire with
the public over the~next
couple of weeks.
The board held apyblic
hearing Mond^^on the
recommended budget for
2013-14. No one from the
public spoke during the
hearing.
Lamb praised the com
missioners for their fiscal
responsibility in recent
years.
“Over the past five years
the board has come a long
way in digging itself out of
■ a big hole that the county
was in," Lamb said.
The county has rebuilt
its fund, balance and will
save taxpayers some $10
million by paying off debt
in 2024 rather than 2048, he
said.
Lamb suggested that
any funds the county has
in excess of the 25 percent
that county commission
ers have established as a
goal for fund balance —
the money the county has
available for emergency
expense^ — be set aside
as a tax rate stabilization
fund to cushion the blow
next year when the new
See COUNTY, 2A
Q2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
to law enforcement author
ities. /; "'"./V,.’
Another boater in the ac
cident, Edward White, 47,
of Hertford, was released
from Albemarle Hospital
after being flown there
from the scene by a Coast
Guard rescue crew from
Elizabeth City, according
to N.C. Wildlife Resources
Commission Officer Wil
liam Laton.
Laton said he is still
trying to determine what
caused the accident. No
charges are pending, he
added.
“We’re still investigating
everything, looking at all
the evidence, putting piec
es of the puzzle together,”
Laton said.
The accident happened
around 1:45 p.m. Friday
when the boat ran aground
in the Yeopim River, ac
cording to a news release
from the Coast Guard.
Perquimans first • re
sponders assisted the Coast
Guard in treating White at
the scene.
Chowan County Sher
iff Dwayne Goodwin said'
the 17-foot Sea Ray ran
aground and struck a tree.
The accident occurred in
southern Chowan County.
The Yeopim River divides
Chowan and Perquimans
counties.
The Coast Guard report
ed that Washington Coun
ty emergency dispatchers
contacted the Coast Guard
around 1:45 p.m. to report
a boating accident with
three people aboard.
The Coast Guard dis
patched a 25-foot response
boat and a 24-foot shallow
water special purpose craft
from Coast Guard Station
Elizabeth City, as well as
the Jayhawk helicopter
A LITTLE WATER AND FOOD
BILL MILLER PHOTOS
The band Sojourner plays during the Music and Water Festival on Saturday. See photos on page 4A and see story on IB.
I ~- ' 7” r : ‘"'gjgt mirm—
The Coast Guard patrols the waterfront during the Edenton Music and Water Festival. Children enjoy having their faces
painted by Isabelle the Clown at the Music and Water Festival in Edenton on Saturday.
Three injured in Sunday shooting
From staff reports
Edenton police are seeking the
public’s help in determining who
shot three people on a street in
town early Sunday morning.
At 12:11 a.m., police responded
to a reported shooting at the inter
section of Martin Luther King and
Cox avenues, according to Police
Chief Jay Fortenbery.
Police saw a large crowd and
learned that the victims had been
transported to Vidant Chowan
Hospital by friends prior to police
arriving, Fortenbery said.
Fortenbery said about 50 people
were present when the shooting
occurred, and wit
nesses need to
come forward and
tell police what
happened.
“We need the
public to help us,”
Fortenbery said.
One of the vic
tims, Kenyatta
Stevenson, 26, of Tyner, suffered
gunshot wounds to the arm and ab
domen and was airlifted to Vidant
Hospital in Greenville, according
to police. Stevenson was in stable
condition Monday, according to
police.
■ Also, Rayshawn White, 28, of
Fortenbery
Edenton, who suffered a gunshot
wound to the abdomen, was being
treated at Vidant Chowan Hospi
tal. White was in stable condition
Monday, according to police.
Thomas White Jr., 27, of Eden
ton, was treated and released at
Vidant Chowan Hospital for a gun
shot wound to the leg, according to
police.
Police and investigators with the
State Bureau of Investigation are
asking for help from anyone who
witnessed the crime or who may
have information.
Witnesses should contact Eden
ton Police Department at 482-5144
or 482-4444.
from Coast Guard Air Sta
tion Elizabeth City
A crew from Harvey
Point Rescue also respond
ed by assisting the injured
man from shore, where he
was hoisted into the Jay- ,
hawk helicopter and flown
to the hospital.
The Chowan County
Sheriffs Department is
assisting the Wildlife Re
sources Commission in in- •
vestigating the accident.
Town
holding
budget
hearing
Hearing to take
place June 11
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
For the seventh consecu
tive year the town council
will be presented with a
proposed budget that in
cludes no increase in ad
valorem taxes.
A public hearing on the
budget is scheduled for
June 11 at 6 p.m. at the
town council chambers.
The proposed budget will
be posted on the town’s
website and will also be '
available for viewing at
Town Hall.
The budget ordinary
will be presented for adop
tion at a special meeting of
the town council on June
24.
The proposed budget cov
ers the fiscal year begin
ning July 1, 2013 and end
ing June 30, 2014. It calls
for keeping the current tax
rate of 29 cents per $100
property valuation.
Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton said’that
the town staff had worked
diligently to, hold the line
on the town tax rate undeY
challenging circumstanc
es.
“For a small town in ru
ral North Carolina to be
able to continue to provide
services for seven years
in a row without a tax in
crease is quite an accom
plishment,” Knighton said
in her budget message to
the council. “This is even
more significant when we
acknowledge the economic
downturn of the last five
years.”
Knighton noted that the
local economy continues
to struggle forward with
recovery, with unemploy
ment hovering at around
the 10 percent mark.
That has led to a cautious
See HEARING, 2A
Town Council eyes crime-free community
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
The desire to become a crime
free community took center stage
as the town council met May 30
met to conduct its annual review
of its 10-year vision statement.
The statement sets priorities
and constitutes an action plan for
carrying out those priorities.
Much of the council’s discus
sion during the meeting in the
council chambers in downtown
Edenton centered around the
councilors’ desire to see the town
become a crime-free community
through education, enforcement
and vigilance on the part of citi
zens and the police,
“I think our citizens would like
to see that (strategy to clear crime
from the community) as a prior
ity,” said Councilman Bob Quinn.
Part of the strategy adopted by
the council focuses on working
aggressively with Neighborhood
Watch groups in Edenton to ex
pand the level of communication
between the police and citizens,
educating citizens about safety
and crime prevention, and tough
er enforcement of laws and regu
lations.
“We cannot do a thing else with
the vision statement without
tackling crime,” said Councilman
Steve Biggs.
As part of the town’s crime
prevention strategy, the council
wants a focus on reducing the
number of uninhabitable and
dangerous structures in town that
have been abandoned or boarded
up. Those places tend to serve as
gathering spots for criminal ele
ments and illegal activities, the
council noted.
Part of the problem with an
increase in crime in Edenton is
See VISION, 3A
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.Saturday morning 10 AM - Antique parade through
fdenton - TraH Riders
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