Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Oct. 29, 2014, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
P8/C8****4j m,nc, °°! Wednesday, October 29, 2014 Students say no to drugs during Red Ribbon Week — 8A Moore pleads guilty to first-degree murder ■ Plea means he will not face death penalty; sentenced to life BY REGGIE PONDER Editor William Joseph Moore en tered a guilty plea to first-de gree murder Friday in the 2004 stabbing death of Pamela Joye Virzi. Under the plea agreement that was approved by Judge Tea Trot Winner PHOTO COURTESY JOHN COLLINS Edenton Historical Commission President Sally Francis Kehayes (right) congratulates Rachael Merritt of Plymouth for winning the grand prize in the Tea Trot event, which was part of the 240th celebration of the Edenton Tea Party. She won a luxury weekend for two at the Parsonage Inn bed and breakfast in Edenton. Looking on is her husband Justin. See story page IB. County OKs development agreement for Riversonnd II BY REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer The county commis sioners by a 5-1 margin last week approved a proposed development agreement for Riversound phase II that limits the density of de velopment and establishes mandatory timetables for installation of roads and other facilities. The agreement is a vol untary -but legally binding - pact between Chowan County and Yeopim Part ners, the developers of phase D of the Riversound project This is the first develop ment agreement the coun ty has entered into under a 2005 state law that allows such agreements. 0 ©2009 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved Jerry Tillett in Chowan County Superior Court, Moore was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Had Moore been con victed of first-degree murder by the jury in this trial, he could have faced the death penalty. After asking Moore a series of questions pertaining mainly to his state of mind, Tillett de Commissioner Emmett Winbome cast the lone dis senting vote. Prior to the vote,-Win borne noted that he had never been shy about speaking his mind. Tm about being consis tent,” Winbome said during the discussion, which took place at the Oct 20 meet ing of the Chowan County Board of Commissionerss. “Here we are looking at Phase' II, and we don’t have Phase I up yet It’s been a mess. Tm just wondering, Mr. Chairman, what are we doing? It looks to me like we need to get Phase I go ing first” Phase I has been plagued by persistent problems related to road construc tion and wastewater treat ment Among other things, the facility-related snags resulted in the county call ing the bond on the project in order to complete the installation of the public termined that the guilty plea was Moore’s “in formed choice.” When Tillett asked Virzi’s daughter, Lydia, if the plea agreement was what she wanted the court to do, she re MOORE plied that it was. H.P. Williams, the special prosecutor who argued the state’s case in the trial, said after the trial that Virzi’s family facilities. ’ During the Oct 20 meet ing, commissioners were the only ones allowed to comment on the proposed contract. County Attorney John Morrison reminded the commissioners, and those seated in the audi ence, that a public hearing on the proposed contract had already occurred so no public comments would be received that evening. “Tbnight you will not receive public comment,” he said. “It would not be appropriate. If you did you would in effect be having a second public hearing.” What the commission ers could do, he said, was to ask questions of county staff, the county attorney and Riversound attorney Hugh Franklin. Morrison said that one change had been suggested that would require owners See RIVERSOUND II, 3A had wanted to see an end to the case - including an end to ap peals. “This case was overturned by the N.C. Supreme Court in June of 2008,” Williams said. *“It was not calendared for trial until August of 2014, and from the beginning the family has asked that we do everything we can to get him to plead to first-de gree murder with life without parole so that the case would Early voting moving ahead of pace BY REGGIE PONDER AND REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writers One-stop voting in Chow an County in the 2014 Gen eral Election so far Is ahead ■of the pace for pne-stop voting in the 2010 mid-term election. As of the end of the day Monday, there had been 1,094 one-stop Votes cast in this election. In 2010, which was the last mid-term election before this one, there were 2,382 one stop votes cast in Chowan County. There were 113 hours of early voting in the county in 2010 and j there had been 40 J hours in this elec- 1 tion as of the end \ of the day Monday. That’s an average of 27 votes per hour in this election, compared with 21 per hour in 2010. Of the votes cast so far in this election, 546 of the vot ers have been Democrats, 284 Republicans, 263 unaf filiated and one Libertarian. One-stop voting is being conducted at the Chowan County Board of Elections Office, which is located in the Ag Building at the inter Community joins Wreaths Across America BY REGGIE PONDER Editor Local residents have an opportunity to honor the sacrifices and service of America’s veterans by participating in Wreaths Across America on Dec. 13. Organizers are amassing more than 830 wreaths in order to decorate the be over.” Williams said family mem bers understood that if he were sentenced to death there would be constant appeals. “They wanted it over with,” Williams said. “Their feelings are that as long as he is behind bars and cannot harm their children - Lydia’s children - then they are satisfied with this See MOORE, 2A Tax credits could affect wind power projects BY PETER WILLIAMS The Perquimans Weekly The future of state tax incen tives to develop industrial-sized wind power plants may play a role in the future development of two wind power projects in northeast ern North Carolina, but developers aren’t saying that’s the only factor. Plans for two industrial-scale wind power projects in Perqui mans County have not moved for ward, but representative of both Iberdrola Renewables and Apex Clean Energy were in Perquimans County this month. TVson Utt of Apex attended a Business Expo hosted by the Per quimans County Chamber of Com merce on Oct 16. The 12,000-acre Apex project would straddle the Perquimans-Chowan county line. Craig Poff, a representative of Iberdrola, went before the Per quimans County Commission last week and asked to revise the time table for the construction project known as Desert Wind, the 20,000 acre project that would straddle both Perquimans and Pasquotank counties and by some estimates would cost about $600 million. Wind turbine farms are being developed in the U.S., but not so much in the southeast, said David Ward, deputy director for strategic communications for the American Wind Energy Association. “It looks pretty bare once you look past Virginia, ” Ward said. That doesn’t mean North Caro lina doesn’t have an investment in See WIND FARM, 3A section of Virginia Road and Granville l Street. I Early voters in Chowan have ex pressed particular nterest in the race lor district attorney, N.C. House and U.S. Senate, and In die proposed consti tutional amendment that if approved, would allow de fendants in non-capital cases in Superior Court to waive their right to a jury trial. Retired college professor Ben Speller, who described himself as a “moderate See EARLY VOTING, 4A graves of service members in beaver Hill, Vine Oak and Providence cemeter ies following a noon ceremony at Beaver Hill Cemetery. Barbara Graybill, who is heading up the local effort, said nearly 500 wreaths have been sold so far. More than 830 See WREATHS, 3A ( RELAY FOR LI Ft; ROCKW HOCK Sponsored the Rocky Hock s\ FRIDAY, DECEMBER S™, 7:00pm. Tickets $10.00 ■m E.A. SWAIN AUDITORIUM : SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6™, 7:00pm EtENTON, EC Tickets Available at various locations or call 252*221-4875 or 252-340*3438. Email rockyhock opry@live.com f
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 29, 2014, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75