'sHEpS"pf;UDENUBRARY
E°DENTON NC 27932-1854 _
our
Health
and
Fitness ;
section i
50c
Howard named new county manager
■ New administrator
coming from Caswell County
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
County officials have
tapped the county manag
er of Caswell County in the
state’s Piedmont region to
be Chowan’s new county
manager.
Kevin B. Howard is
From staff reports
Chowan County has been
awarded a state grant to de
sign and build a bulkhead,
two piers, kayak launch
with gangway and other
improvements at Pembroke
Creek Park.
The $150,0000 grant was
awardedby the Public Beach
and Coastal Waterfront Ac
cess Program, which is part
of the N.C. Coastal Manage
ment Program.
The county’s receipt of
the grant was announced
during the Jan. 6 meeting of
the Chowan Board of Com
missioners.
Recreation Director Ja
son Petersen, who is the
county’s administrator for
the project, spoke to the
commissioners briefly about
the grant
“It’s great news for us and
for the county and all the
people in our area,” Peters
en said.
Chairman Keith Nixon
noted at the meeting that in
addition to the work done by
county staff, the Albemarle
Resource Conservation and
Development Council also
was instrumental in the de
velopment of the project
proposal.
Nixon asked Linda Pe
terson, a member of the Al
bemarle RC&D Council, to
stand and be recognized on
behalf of the council Com
missioners applauded when
Peterson stood to be recog
nized.
The 5.43-acre park site at
716 W. Queen St features
roughly 1,100 feet of shore
line along Pembroke Creek.
See GRANT, 2A
C2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER
Chowan County has
received a grant for
improvements to
Pembroke Creek Park,
shown here on a recent
afternoon.
County
receives
grant for
park
scheduled to begig work
here on March 3. His start
ing salary will be $87,000
a year, plus a travel allow
ance of $300 a month.
Howard replaces Zee
Lamb, who began as Nash
County’s county manager,
Jan. 1 after two years as
county manager in Chow
an.
Chowan Department of
Social Services Director
Clifton Hardison is serving
Big snowfall expected by today
From staff reports
Seven inches or more of
, snow was expected to fall
in Chowan County over
a 24-hour period as the
Chowan Herald was going
to press.
The National Weather
Service forecast from the
weather station in Waverly,
Va, at presstime Tuesday
was calling for snow dur
ing the day on Tuesday,
mainly after noon. The high
temperature was predicted
to be near 29, with a north
wind at 13 to 15 mph. The
chance of precipitation
during the day was 100 per
cent.
This week’s expected
snowfall comes on the
heels of a lighter snow last
week and in the midst of an
extended period of unusu
ally cold temperatures for
this area
The forecast called for up
to two inches of snow dur
ing the day Tuesday, plus a
possibility of three to five
additional inches of snow
Tuesday night.
The low temperature
Tuesday night was expect
ed to be around 23, with a
north wind at 13 to 15 mph.
Today, snow remains
likely until early afternoon,
according to the forecast.
The forecast calls for cloudy
conditions today and a
high temperature near 29..
A north wind is expected
at 8 to 13 mph. Chance of
precipitation today is 70
percent.
Meanwhile, cold temper
atures have led to an unusu
ally high number of reports
of frozen and burst pipes.
Town and county offi
cials have received many
reports of frozen pipes and
New reading requirements challenge schools
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Under new Read to
Achieve requirements, only
21 out of about 160 third
grade students in the Eden
ton-Chowan Schools would
currently be considered on
track to demonstrate read
ing proficiency at grade
level
Linda White, director
Medical helicopter to be based at local airport
BY REGGIE PONDER
. Editor
A medical emergency he
licopter soon will be based
at the Northeastern Region
alAirport
Kevin Justice of Air Meth
ods confirmed last week
that the company would be
basing a helicopter in Eden
as interim
county
manager.
Howard
has been
Caswell’s
county
manager
for six HOWARD
years and
nine months. Before that
he was county manager in
Hyde County about a year
and a half.
k - y • *
PHOTO COURTESY JOY HARVILL
Molly Harvill, 7, steers the sled as Bree Thatcher, 6, hangs on for the ride during last week’s snow. See mote
photos from the snow on page 4A.
burst pipes at homes in the
community.
According to town of
ficials, residents should
call the town right away if
a pipe bursts so that town
staff can shut the water off.
of elementary education
for the school systen^
discussed those findings
and the challenges that lie
ahead for implementing
Read to Achieve with the
school board during its an
nual retreat last Thursday.
Read to Achieve is a
North Carolina law passed
to ensure that elementary
school students can read
at or above grade level by
ton.
Airport Manager Harry
Davis said having the heli
copter based in Edenton will
be a lifesaver in cases where
it enables someone to get to
a high-level treatment cen
ter within the one-hour criti
cal period for < emergency
response, Davis said.
“We are most fortunate
The board selected How
ard following a nationwide
search that drew 42 appli
cants.
Chowan Board of Com
missioners Chairman Keith
Nixon said the county had
a lot of good candidates
for the position.
The commissioners
were looking for profes
sionalism, leadership,
local government experi
ence, proven financial ex
Town staff said that call
should be made first, prior
to calling a plumber.
The number for Town
of Edenton residents to re
port a burst pipe is 4824111
from 7 am. to 4 p.m., and
the end of their third grade
school year. It is part of the
Excellent Public Schools
Act that became law in July
2012.
Board chair John Guard
noted that the new measure
has created a great deal of
concern in school systems.
“There’s a lot of concern,
not just here,” he said.
White agreed but said
the school system has no
in this community of about
5,000 people to have an air
medical helicopter onsite
here at our airport,” Davis
said. “It’s like a miracle.”
Air Methods is expected
to begin operations at the
airport on a limited basis by
the middle of next month,
with 24-hour operations in
place by mid-March.
pertise and someone able
to communicate well with
the public, according to
Nixon.
Nixon said the board
also was looking for some
one who will live in the
community, be involved in
the community and would
like to stay in the commu
nity for an extended period
of time.
Nixon saidjlie commis
sioners put a lot of time into
4824444 during evening
hours.
A water pipe burst at the
Hotel Hinton building, also
known as the former Chow
an County office building
on King Street. Insurance is
choice but to follow the
law.
“We know what we’ve
been given, our task is to
make it happen,” she said.
Efforts to make sure stu
dents can read at grade lev
el by the end of third grade
under Read to Achieve,
will start when .they enter
kindergarten at White Oak.
They will be given an en
try assessment within the
The airport is installing a
helicopter landing pad for
use by Air Methods.
Crews on the helicopter
will include a pilot, para
medic and flight nurse.
The helicopter will be
housed in an 80-foot by 60
foot hangar. The company
also will locate a trailer at
the airport that will serve as
the process of selecting the
new county manager. Com
missioners reviewed each
individual application and
had numerous meetings on
the matter.
He said be believes the
board has selected the best
person for the job.
“I feel like we’re going to
be in good shape,” Nixon
said.
See MANAGER, 2A
expected to cover the water
damage to the structure.
It is recommended that
water faucets be left drip
ping during very cold times
to help prevent frozen and
burst pipes.
first 30 days of enrollment,
White said. They will also
be assessed at the middle
and end of the school year,
she said.
White added that instruc
tional methods used by
teachers will be modified
as necessary to meet the in
dividual needs of students
and that feedback would be
See READING, 2A
living quarters for on-duty
flight crews.
Air Methods is headquar
tered in Englewood, Colo
rado.
According to the com
pany’s website, it has op
erations from Alaska to Key
West, Fla The company has
more than 300 bases of op
erations in 48 states.
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