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Don’t forget to turn your clocks
back 1 hour before going to bed
Saturday night.
482-4418
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
50c
ite on county line
BY REGGIE PONDER
j I* - Editor
! J *
A Charlottesville, Va-based
j renewable energy company
;_f has proposed an amendment
to the Chowan County Wind
| ; Energy Ordinance that would
| i | more than double the permis
| sible height for wind turbines
| i I in the county — paving the
Officials
want info
onag
museum
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Bob Harrell’s plans
i for a museum celebrat
I ing traditional horse- and
mule-based agriculture in
Chowan County are mov
; ing slowly, but still moving
| — not unlike the draft ani
• j ' mals themselves,
i i The Planning and En
|[j terprise Committee of the
!j | " Chowan County Board of
? Commissioners on Monday
tabled — that is, delayed
action for the time being
j ■ — Harrell’s request for the
county to set aside 10 acres
I ’ near the former Albemarle
| ;• Learning Center in north
I ; em Chowan County.
;•>* The land was owned
i1 T. by W.A. Harrell, then was
4A-«nder, ownership as Har
• * -rell Farms, and later was
donated for the Albemarle
' Recreational Learning
Center. The property was
* , deeded to Chowan County
? in 2009.
Harrell told the commis
sioners during the meeting
Monday that WA Harrell
was his uncle. Harrell has
been in discussion with
county officials in recent
months about the possibil
ity of setting up an agricul
tural museum on a portion
of the property.
During the meeting Mon
day, Commissioner Jeff
Smith said he had received
an email from the N.C. Co
operative Extension Ser
vice referring to plans for
an agricultural museum in
Currituck County.
Harrell said the plan for
the Chowan museum is dif
ferent from the Currituck
proposal in that the idea for
the Chowan site is to have
a team or horses or mules
and provide live demonstra
tions of traditional farming
methods using either hors
es or mules.
Harrell said his plan is
to plant a small area with
cotton, peanuts and other
traditional crops.
Although there is a simi
lar museum in the western
part of North Carolina,
Harrell said he isn’t aware
of any other agricultural
museum in this part of the
state with plans for ongoing
live activities using horses
or mules.
Chowan Board pf C6m
missioners Chairman Keith
Nixon said he is wary right
See MUSEUM, 2A
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
way for construction of a mar
jor utility-scale wind energy
facility.
The heart of the proposed
amendment is an increase in
the maximum height allowed
for wind turbines in the coun
ty from 250 feet in the current
ordinance to 600 feet
The text amendment pro
posed by Apex Clean Energy
Setting Sail
W/, , PHOTO COURTESY KERMIT LAYTON
The Elizabeth II sails Into Edenton Harbor, Thursday. See more on the ship’s visit to Edenton on pages
6A and IB.
Animal shelter to reopen Friday
BY REBECCA BUNCH
■ Staff Writer
This Friday the Tri-County Animal
Shelter in Tyner will reopen. Neces
sary repairs to the building that hous
es homeless animals from Chowan,
Gates and Perquimans counties are
expected to be completed in the
days leading up to the resumption of
services.
. “It’s going to be a crunch,” said
Friends of the Shelter spokeswoman
Barbara Yates, referring to the work
that will need to happen for every
thing to be finished. There are still
some bits and pieces to be done.”
Yates said that flooring sealed
with epoxy to prevent the spread of
disease is now present at the shelter.
The interior of the facility has been
*
Wasp nest causes fire in council chamber
From staff reports
A large wasp nest
caused a small electrical
fire in the Edenton Town
Council Chamber at the
Chowan Arts Council
Building last week.
The unusual incident
occurred last Wednes
day.
According to Edenton
Fire Chief Craig For
lines, a wasp nest in the
back wall of the coun
Inc. is slated for consider
ation by the Chowan County
Planning Board at the braid’s
Nov. 19 meeting.
Dahvi Wilson, a spokes
woman fra Apex Clean En
ergy, said few details are
available right now since the
company has only recently
begun to assess the feasibil
ity of a wind energy project
til chamber — behind
where Mayor Roland
Vaughan and Town Man
ager Anne-Marie Knigh
ton sit during council
meetings — had grown
to about two feet by two
feet
The large nest pressed
against the electrical
wiring and caused a
small fire, according to
Forlines.
There was smoke
from the fire but no dam
in Perquimans and Chowan
counties.
“We are in the early stages
of studying the wind energy
potential of an isolated tract
of timberiand that straddles
the Perquimans and Chowan
County line,” Wilson said.
“Initial studies show that this
expansive timberiand may be
ideal for wind energy produc
GOHEEN
repainted too, she
said.
“We’ve also relo
cated the washer
and dryer so when
people come out
they don’t have to
walk through the
laundry room to get
to where the ani
mals are,” Yates said.
Shelter Manager Dana Goheen
said that she was looking forward to
seeing the facility reopen this week.
Tm anxious to get the shelter
back up and running and I apologize
for any inconvenience the closure
has caused,” she said. “I’m excited
about the improvements and hope
citizens will feel more comfortable
about coming to the shelter to adopt
age other than having to
drill a hole in the wall to
remove the wasp nest,
fire officials said.
Firefighters drilled a
two-inch hole in the wall
and removed the entire
wasp nest.
Knighton said town of
ficials briefly considered
contacting an extermi
nator but decided town
staff had the equipment
and expertise to handle
the situation.
tion due to its wind resource,
remote location, and existing
electrical transmission and
railroad lines.”
Wilson said the proposed
amendment to the Chowan
ordinance would put the
county “on equal footing with
Perquimans County.”
The ordinance would al
low a wind farm to be con
their next pet”
Goheen and Yates praised the
managers and commissioners from
the three counties for supporting the
project that she said is expected to
come in below its $25,000 budget
A $2,500 grant from the N.C. Veteri
nary Medical Association in Raleigh
is also helping to defray the cost of
the project, they said.
Yates said that help from person
nel from the three counties — and
inmate labor provided by Chowan
County Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin
— helped keep the costs associated
with the project down. Goodwin
also assisted with the project by se
curing a large storage bin from the
Northeastern Regional Airport that
See SHELTER, 3A
structed only in the A-l zon
ing district and only with a
conditional use permit
The proposed amend
ment also would increase the
amount of flexibility that a
company has in constructing
a wind energy facility in the
county.
See WIND, 3A
County
eyeing
athletic
complex
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Chowan County officials
decided Monday to form a
committee to explore long
term options for recreational
facilities in the county — in
cluding a multi-use athletic
park with fields for baseball,
softball and soccer.
County commissibneis
have discussed the possibil
ity of using the Red Banks
Farm property the county
owns along Pembroke Creek
for a multi-use facility that
could host baseball and soft
ball tournaments. The idea is
to construct a facility similar
to the South Park complex
in Elizabeth City and athletic
complexes in Windsor, Wil
liamston and Tarboro.
Recreation Director Ja
son Petersen said four fields
could be the right size facility
for Chowan County. Many
of the newer fields are con
structed so that they can be
modified for use as baseball
or softball fields.
Commissioner Greg Bon
ner said there was a question
at the Recreation Advisory
Board meeting about wheth
er Red Banks is the best loca
tion for an athletic complex.
Chowan Board of Com
missioners Chairman Keith
Nixon said he, too, wonders
whether Red Banks is the
best location for an athletic
complex. He said he would
like the county to explore all
options, including acquiring
a different piece of property
to develop as a recreational
facility.
Commissioner Jeff Smith
said the county also needs to
look at the feasibility pf get
ting rid of the other fields be
fore moving too far on a new
athletic complex. It won’t be
possible to sell the existing
fields right away, Smith said.
County Manager Zee Lamb
said he believes the county
should begin by developing
a plan for completing critical
upgrades such as updating
See COMPLEX, 3A
PHOTO COURTESY
CRAIG FORLINES
Part of a wasp’s
nest visible through
a hole drilled in the
wall of the council ,
chamber last week,
which caused a
small electrical fire
in the Chowan Arts
Council building.
RELAY
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