482-4418
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
50«
UPCOMING
HOME GAMES
6AMES START AT 7PMI AT HISTORIC HICKS FIELD
NEXT HOME GAMES
My1Mrt^Mu^-Piic«I.EMSM(MiMy2Pmin»bPMs
Mtaor Appretiafai MgM - Active Duty Fro* (Veterans Contact the American Lafkm) I My S Nonhead CHy
Martins I Mr 7 Monhead City Marfre-Ctassic Rock Night I My 10 Peninsula Plots- Gate County MgM
Call 482-4080 For More Information I WWW.EDFNTONSTEAMERS.COM
Wood named principal at Holmes High
From staff reports
Stephen Wood has been
named the new principal at
John A. Holmes High School
effective today.
His hiring was approved
by the school board in a 5-0
vote during a special meet
ing held yesterday (Tuesday)
morning. Board members
Ricky Browder and Kay
Wright were absent.
Wood
was recom
mended for
the position
by Superin
tendentRob
Jackson
following a
month-long WOOD
application
and selection process. Wood
will follow Sheila Evans,
who will serve as Principal
of White Oak Elementary for
the school system in the up
coming school year.
“I am very excited that Mr.
Wood will serve as Princi
pal of John A. Holmes High
School,” Jackson said. “His
proven ability in providing
strong instructional leader
ship and his experience as an
administrator and teacher at
the high school and middle
school level will help to en
sure that the school contin
ues to grow academically
and move forward in creat
ing a continuum of success
ful experiences for our stu
dents."
Wood is currently an as
sistant principal in Rich
mond County, where he was
named Assistant Principal
of the Year for 2014. He cur
rently works at Rockingham
Middle School. He has also
served as an assistant princi
pal at Richmond Senior High
School and Richmond Ninth
Grade Academy.
Wood has taught in both
Richmond and Scotland
counties in the areas of math,
science and social studies at
the middle school and high
school level. He also has
been a successful athletic
coach in baseball, basketball
and football.
Wood said he and his wife
are looking forward to this
new opportunity.
“My wife and I are very
excited to be coming to Eden
ton. We are excited about
the opportunity of living in
such a beautiful and Historic
community,” he said. \
“I am extremely humbled \
to be named principal of
See WOOD, 2A
Vaughan s sold, employee among new owners
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
In a move that caught
many by surprise, the own
ers of a longtime down
town Edenton business an
nounced its sale on Friday
morning.
After 28 years as the
owners of Vaughan’s Fine
Jewelry and Gifts, Peggy
Anne and Roland Vaughan
revealed they had sold the
business to two local wom
en, Cherie Roberts and her
sister, Valerie Goodwin, and
Goodwin’s husband Marty,
who the sisters said would
not be involved in the day to
day running of the store.
Today (Wednesday) cus
tomers and friends are in
vited to stop by the store to
er\joy some refreshments as
they wish the Vaughans well
and welcome the Goodwins
and Roberts as the new
owners. It also marks the
first day of the store's an
nual July anniversary sale,
with customers eligible to
receive discounts from 28
percent to 70 percent on se
lect items.
Roberts has been a fa
miliar face at Vaughan’s
in recent years as she has
taken care of repairs, set
tings and engraving needs
in the back room of the
store. She learned her skills
from her mother, Brenda,
who worked part-time at
Vaughan’s after the death
in 2008 of the store’s long
time engraver and repair
man, Frank Halsey. When
her mother decided to retire
See VAUGHAN'S, 2A
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Valerie Goodwin (left) and her sister, Cherie Roberts, are the new owners of Vaughan's Fine Jewelry and Gifts in downtown Edenton. Former
owners Roland and Peggy Anne Vaughan announced the sale on Friday.
Freeman pleads guilty
to ’07 murder charge
From staff reports
A Tyrrell County man will
serve life in prison without
parole after pleading guilty
last week to first-degree
murder in the 2007 shooting
death of his estranged wife
in Edenton.
James Etui Freeman, 55,
of Columbia, entered the
guilty plea Wednesday in
Chowan County Superior
Court, according to District
Attorney Andrew Womble.
Freeman had faced the
death penalty in the shoot
ing death of his estranged
wife, Sharlene Mooring
Freeman, outside the Ameri
can Legion Post in Edenton,
Womble said.
Sharlene Freeman took
out a domestic violence pro
tective order against James
Earl Freeman in May 2007,
according to Womble.
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
The homicide occurred
June 18, 2007. Sharlene
Freeman was at a bingo
game at the American Le
gion with her mother and
aunt, and her estranged
husband was waiting
for her when she left the
game around 10 p.m.,
Womble said.
James Earl Freeman
had a .22-caliber rifle
and shot Sharlene Moor
ing Freeman twice in
the head, “basically from
point blank range,” Wom
ble said.
Freeman fled the scene
and was apprehended in
Dare County on June 21,
2007, Womble said.
Womble said there
were several eyewitness
es to the shooting, includ
ing Sharlene Mooring
Freeman’s mother.
The guilty plea was
entered Wednesday dur
ing pre-trial motions. The
case had been set for trial
on July 6.
Womble said the Moor
ing family had waited
See FREEMAN, 2A
FELISA BASS PHOTO
Chowan County farmer Neal Bass, left, of Beechfork Farm, shows off the season's
first cotton bloom with some help from his sons, Hunter Bass and Michael Bass,
and his dad Carroll Bass.
Bass spots first cotton bloom
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
The first reported cotton
bloom in Chowan County
was spotted June 25 in a
field off Harris Landing
Road in Rocky Hock.
Neal Bass saw the bloom
around 8 am. as he was go
ing about his work.
“I was actually irrigat
ing watermelons and I was
passing by and I saw the
bloom,” Bass said.
Like many fanners in the
area, Bass had been doing
a lot of irrigating in light of
the dry conditions that had
prevailed during the spring
growing season. He said
he was glad to see the rain
overnight on June 26-26.
Although the rain might
have been a little late for
the com, it was a welcome
sight for other crops, he
said.
Wliile the bloom was
early, Bass said he liad seen
them this early in some pre
vious seasons.
“We’ve had some this
early before,” Bass said.
Bass attributed the early
bloom to the extremely
hot, humid weather that
See COTTON, 2A
Petition
asks for
stricter
regs
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
The newly formed Citi
zens for Protective Wind
Ordinance plans to present
a petition to the Ghowan
Board of Commissioners
Monday asking the board to
adopt revisions to the coun
ty Wind Energy Ordinance
that were recommended
this spring by the Planning
Board.
Members of the group in
sist the organization is not
anti-wind energy, but favors
restrictions that will protect
public health, safety and
welfare.
Ron Cummings, a Re
publican candidate for
county commissioner in the
1st District last year and a
member of the group, also
insisted the group is not
See REGULATIONS,*2A
Chowan Edentoo Optimist CM
36™ ANNUAL
Fabulous f of July
COME TO IDENTON'S WATERFRONT
EAT DINNER AND ENJOY
NORTH CAROLINA'S LARGEST
"Over the water fireworks M
*. v " "l-1 1 1 * 111.111 .. ■ ..—..I
STEVE HARDY'S
ORIGINAL BEACH PARTY
Popular among all audiences
MECHANICAL BULL RIDING
LOTS OF FOOD,
FUN, CRAFTS,
RAFFLES AND
GAMES FOR
CHILDREN!!!
Phut Support Our Fabulous 4th of July
WE MEED VOUfl FINANCIAL HELP!
MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO
CHOWAN EDENTON OPTIMIST CLUB 4
106 Meadow Lark 0r., Edenton NC 27*12
IRS Tax Exempt ID # available upon request