P8/C8******CAR-RT LOT**C 002 A0092 SHEPHERD PRUDEN LIBRARY -106 W WATER ST EDENTON NC 27932*1864 Newinghams celebrate 10 years —3A 50 Board: Teachers don’t have to obey DNR BY REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer The school board unani mously adopted a policy Monday night stating school personnel—includ ing nurses at the county’s four schools — will not be required to honor do not resuscitate orders. The board adopted the ; tip® Pi ■■■■ ® I?' PP Lifesaving - ' iP Mining STAFF PHOTOS BY REBECCA BUNCH Firefighters and members of the Rocky Hock Rescue Squad work together to free a person whose foot Is stuck during training exercises this past weekend, instructors and organizers said that learning teamwork that would carry over into emergency situations was one of the key elements of the training that took place at CA Perry and Son over the weekend. First responders practice skills for farm emergencies BY REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer Center Hill-Crossroads Fire Department and other area emergency responders spent the weekend learning skills that could save a life in a farm or agribusiness emergency. Thirty-six area firefight ers and emergency medi cal technicians took part in training exercises over the weekend in Chowan Coun ty at C.A. Perry and Soa The majority of the train ees were young firefighters Howard sworn in at county meeting BY REGGIE PONDER Editor St County Manager Kevin Howard took the oath of of fice last week at a meeting of the county commission • ers that had been resched uled because of inclement weather. Howard, whose first day as Chowan’s county man ager was March 3, had been slated to be swom in at the March 3 meeting of the Chowan County Board of l89076,44813 ©2009 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved - i - *■■■.* 1 policy during its regular monthly meeting. Under the new policy, responsibility for imple menting a DNR order will fall to emergency medical personnel responding to the school. The policy states that a student’s parent or guard ian may provide to the school’s principal a com and EMTfe from Chowan County with the Center Hill-Crossroadg, FlcB^e partment, EddntonFfre De partment and Rocky Hock Rescue Squad taking part in the training exercises that simulated farm-related accidents. Other firefighters were from Belvidere, Elizabeth City and Sunbury. Elizabeth City firefight er Walter Copeland, who helped supervise the train ing exercises, said that most of the scenarios were based on real events. Commissioners. But a brief episode of wintry wetrther caused the March 3 meeting to be rescheduled to March 5. At the commissioners’ March 6 meeting, Howard took the oath of office with little ceremony shortly after the meeting began. Susanne Stallings, clerk to the board of commission ers, administered the oath of office to Howard. The board and staff then went to work discussing budget amendments, repair projects and other county business. An informal reception at the county’s Public Safety Building on the afternoon See HOWARD, 2A pleted DNR order for their child signed by a medical doctor, or a Medical Order for Scope of Treatment (MOST), or both. “In this situation the offi cial document will be kept on the student’s person while under the supervi sion of school personnel,” the policy reads. “A team consisting of, but not limit “Most of the scenarios we are practicing have hap pened, such as the five men who got trapped in a grain bin in Camden County last year,” Copeland said. Center Hill-Crossroads Fire Chief Mike Hamilton, who has been a firefighter for 25 years, said the pur pose of the training is to prepare firefighters — es pecially younger, less expe rienced ones — for dealing effectively with real life emergency situations they could encounter. ’ “It gives them a sense of ecf to, the school nurse (li censed registered nurse), parent/guardian, and other appropriate school person nel ... will create/review the student’s individual health care plan.” The policy goes on to say that the student’s health care plan will include a statement that the pro vided DNR and/or MOST Firefighters ( assist an I injured man in simulated emergency training exercises ■ that focused on potential ' farm-related • accidents I on Sunday \ afternoon at ■ C.A. Perry and Son. what- they might run into,” Hamilton said. Hamilton added that the sessions that began Friday evening and continued through Sunday afternoon also allowed participants to use tools they may not have used before and to learn the value of teamwork. Hamilton said the week end’s sessions began with some classroom work fol lowed by training sessions. The final step, he said, would be a written test See TRAINING, 2A STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER Susanne Stallings, clerk to the Chowan County Board of Commissioners, administers the oath of office to County Manager Kevin Howard during the commissioners’ meeting on March 5. form will not be honored by school staff in the event that the student is in a car diac or pulmonary arrest situation, “but rather pro vided to emergency medi cal services personnel when they arrive on the scene (in case of) a medi cal emergency.” A copy of the health care plan will be provided to Saturday attendance low, learning stays ^ on agenda BY REGGIE PONDER Editor Attendance at the Edenton-Chowan Schools rare Sat urday session this past weekend was predictably below average daily attendance. Officials with Edenton-Chowan Schools reported that average attendance is between 90-95 percent at each school on a daily basis. In contrast, Saturday’s attendance was 73 percent at White Oak, 70 percent at John A Holmes, 68 percent at D.E Walker and 65 percent at Chowan Middle School. .■// White Oak Elementary School managed to beat the low attendance trend somewhat through a “psyama day” event in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday week. “It was a really good day,” said White Oak Principal Mi chelle White. The school had a productive day while trying to make it „ extra fun for the kids with a “happy Saturday dance” and the pajama day celebration, according to White. The school had its literacy block as usual, she said. The school probably had better attendance than it might have had otherwise because students were excited about the pajama day, White said. . Chi Friday’s “Cubby TV” broadcast at the school, See ATTENDANCE, 4A STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER Rachel Ward, who teachers freshman science at John A. Holmes High School, goes over a lesson with student Whitney Pierce during the last class period of the day on Saturday. Solar projects planned in Perquimans County BY PETER WILLIAMS The Perquimans Weekly The same company that first proposed building a 100-acre solar power proj ect in Perquimans County more than three years ago was back before the county planning board this week to ask for conditional use per mits for two more. Solar Green LLC’s original project wasjpff U.S. 17 near the Perquimans-Chowan County line. One of the ones being reviewed was in Winfall and the other Was a 92-acre site near County Line Road and south of Drinking Hole Road. The Winfall board held a public hearing Monday. Ad ditionally, the county plan ning board met Tuesday night The county has already approved three other solar projects, including the origi nal. Combined the five solar projects would cover 627 acres, the largest of which the parent or guardian, the policy states, and a copy will also be maintained 'in the student’s health re cord. School board member Jean Bunch, a registered nurse, assisted school per sonnel by reviewing and making suggestions to the draft policy developed by school system personnel. being 155 acres. Thai’s small compared to the potential footprint of the wind farms that have been proposed. The Desert Wind project that would straddle die Per quimans-Pasquotank coun ty line would cover 25,000 acres. It’s been stalled and no construction has taken place. f A second wind farm has been proposed on the other side of the county. Apex Clean Energy, Inc. has pro posed a 10,000-acre facility that straddles both Perqui mans and Chowan counties. Eighty percent of the proj ect is in Perquimans. That plan has been reviewed by Chowan County officials but has yet to go before the Perquimans County Com mission. Perquimans has a zoning ordnance that would allow structures of that size, while Chowan does not At this point none of the . renewable energy projects f , See PROJECTS, 4A , !