P8/C8* * * * * *CAR-RT LOT**C 002 A0109 SHEPHERD PRUDEN LIBRARY 106 W WATER ST EDENTON NC 27932-1854 Wednesday, December 24, 2014 DRAWING BY DESTINY MENDEZ, 3RD GRADE, D.F, WALKER Letters to Santa, pages 5B-6B, 8B Long route to a Merry Christmas IBMlBjEffG'lEi St'ed Methodist DisasterResponse>wno5helped getWolley.'sT?? as severely damagedlirv last April’s^tomsWoesi^sornetirnesI break in this chair while'volunteer work team'sSwerSworl?ingfi BY REGGIE PONDER Editor Local volunteers are working alongside volun teer work teams from out of town to repair, rebuild and replace homes dam aged or destroyed by last April's tornadoes. Stephanie Hunt, the co ordinator for the United Methodist Disaster Re sponse rebuilding effort in Chowan, Perquimans and Pasquotank counties, said volunteer work teams have Former gas station site to host historic home BY REBECCA BUNCH Staff Writer Fifteen years of perse verance and hard work ended with smiles Friday afternoon at the Chowan County Register of Deeds office. Waiting to file a deed of gift for the former Etna sta tion on North Broad Street were Elizabeth Vann Moore Fund representatives Sam bo Dixon and John More head, along with Penny Binns, a neighborhood organizer who has been working with the board on the project “Penny and I have been working on fixing this site for 15 years,” Dixon said Bestowing the gift were the former co-owners of the property, Ihylor Oil of Winston-Salem and Mar garet “Peggy” Satterfield ©2009 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved been coming from Virginia and North Carolina Local ly, Open Door Church has sent volunteers twice. Hunt said she is project ed to be here through Nov. 1,2015. Chowan County Inter faith Disaster Response’s Dick Vail said all the debris from the April tornadoes had been picked up, most of it by volunteers. “Since there was no FEMA money we had to rely on the state assistance program to help folks that 1MB 1—— rn_~:iai STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH Chowan Deputy Clerk of Court Betty Venters (second from left) poses with (k) Sambo Dixon, Penny Blnns and John Morehead, while the three wait to file a deed of gift on behalf of the Elizabeth Vann Moore Fund for the former Etna Station property on North Broad Street, Friday. of Philadelphia, Pa. The tax value of the property is $67,000. The three noted that when they began their mission years ago there were several areas in the neighborhood that needed did not have insurance,” Vail said. “Unfortunately, that process took longer than we expected. In fact, it was November before the last case was resolved.” Hunt said the volun teer work teams through United Methodist Disaster Response have completed extensive work at a home on Wildcat Road. Volun teers replaced the roof and repaired walls and ceiling. United Methodist Di saster Response has three active projects in Chowan “cleaning up,” including the site where a doctor’s office stands today. The former Etna location is the final place on their list, they said. See ETNA STATION, 6A County right now, in addi tion to work in Perquimans and Pasquotank. One of the Chowan projects is a home replacement on Sandy Ridge Road, and Hunt is working with volunteers to try to have that one ready for the family to move in by Christmas. “We’re just inches away trying to get them in,” Hunt said. The family consists of a husband and wife and their three children. The other two current projects are on Burnt Mill Home visiting program for parents of newborns launched From staff reports New mothers and their babies in Chowan County now have another place to turn for health monitoring and guidance in the first few weeks after the baby’s birth. Family Connects, a home visiting program for parents of newborns was publicly launched this fall in Beau fort, Bertie, Chowan and Hyde Counties. All parents residing in the four counties may sign up to receive a no-charge home visit regardless of income or status. Visits are conducted by registered nurses shortly after birth using the re search-based “Durham Con nects” home visiting model developed in Durham. The goal of the program is to improve child and fam ily health and wellbeing by supporting parents after the birth of a new baby and by connecting them with local resources when needed. A Spanish interpreter is available. Parents may sign up for Road, she said. One is a home replacement and the other involves extensive repairs. Sally Holloway, volunteer coordinator for Chowan Perquimans Habitat for Hu manity, has helped recruit some volunteers for the re building effort through the local Habitat network. Although this is not a Habitat project, many of the Habitat volunteers have skills that are needed at these sites and there are Habitat volunteers who are STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER Nurse Beverly Twine (right) and mom Desiree Memory Interact with Infant Brodle Memory Nov. 20 during a Family Connects home visit. the program before the child is bom or shortly af ter birth - up to 12 weeks postpartum. Parents may sign up online at www.fami lyconnectsnc.org or by call ing 262-793-1806. The highly qualified home visiting nurs es are trained to help with parental supports such as: breast and bottle feeding, BY REGGIE PONDER Editor Fannie Holley is hav ing a Meny Christinas this year. While holiday festivi ties might be a matter of course this time of year for many people, she has had a tough two-year road back to Christmas cheer. Her grandson in Phila delphia was murdered two yeans ago in November. She said her close-knit family could not bring themselves to celebrate either Thanks giving or Christmas that first year, or last year. Then in April of this year the powerful tornadoes that cut across Chowan County ripped the top off her home on Wildcat Road. As awful as the damage to the house was, though, she said it wasn’t as bad as losing her grandson. Slowly, however, healing has come to the family. She said she was able to go to Philadelphia and celebrate Thanksgiving this year - they finally were ready to have another family Thanks giving. And now she is back in her home, “thanks to God,” she said. “Now I feel like Christ mas,” Holley said. “I have forgotten all about the See LONG ROUTE, 6A pitching in. Leo Fiddes, manager of the local Habitat for Hu manity Restore, helped connect Holloway with Hunt. The local churches have been very cooperative in supporting the work teams, according to Hunt. “They have been won derful,” Hunt said of local churches. The churches, for their part, have found Hunt and See VOLUNTEERS, 6A child and maternal health assessment, postpartum depression screening, home safety, childcare selection resources, access to local services and much more. The home visiting program works in conjunction with a family’s doctors to create a See NEWBORNS, 6A : ■ „„„ 10:30 PM SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MUSIC tnvtUsyou to our llj00 pM canDLElIGhT COMMUNION ST. PAUL’S, 101 W. CHURCH ST. Re%t James G. Reed, Interim Rector CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE ifThe Rev. Dr. Rob MacSwain | 10: mam ■MiX ■ ft *