Miller
honored as
Teacher of
Excellence
— 6B
482-4418
50*
Chief; Parents must mane $ wear helmets
■ Organizations sought to
support bicycle helmet giveaways'
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
As the Oct. 1 deadline nears for
the JBdenton Police Department
to start writing tickets for parents
of children seen riding bicycles in
town without helmets nears, Chief
Jay Fortenbery is making one last
effort to warn them.
“Starting Oct. 1, we will begin
issuing town tickets for $10 the
first time one of our officers ob
serves a child riding a bicycle in
town without wearing a helmet,”
he said. “The next time the same
child is seen riding a bicycle with
out hearing a helmet, the parents
of that child will be issued a cita
tion at the state level. And every
other time that child is seen by
one of our officers not wearing a
helmet another citation will be is
sued.”
If parents ignore the citations
and don’t pay them, he said, they
could wind up in court.
Children seen not wearing
helmets, the chief said, will be
stopped and asked to give the
police officer the home address
and name of their parents or legal
guardian.
The town ordinance governing
the wearing of helmets reads as
follows:
“It shall be unlawful for any par
ent or legal guardian of a person
below the age of 16 to knowingly
permit that person to operate or
be a passenger on a bicycle unless
at all times when the person is so
engaged he or she wears a protec
tive bicycle helmet of good fit fas
tened securely upon the head with
the straps of the helmet,”
Chief Fortenbery said the hel
mets are available for as little as
$10. He added that in recent years
his department has given away
numerous bicycle helmets yet
children continue to be seen rid
ing bicycles without one.
During a recent town council
meeting Councilman Steve Biggs
called for tougher enforcement of
the existing laws, saying he was
troubled by the number of kids in
the community that he still saw
not wearing the required helmets.
Biggs pointed out that children
not wearing the helmets continue
to be seriously injured every day
hi communities across the state.
He encouraged the loc'al police
See MUST WEAR, 4A
Neighborly concern leads
TO SHELTER FOR BUS RIDERS
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Common threads of
community goodwill
;m< 1 concern for others
have resulted in the construc
tion of a bus shelter beside
the X-Mart — ttiso known as
the Red Apple — on North
Broad St reet.
The shelter was con
structed by Alonzo Slade and
(ieorge (1 rot her of Edenton.
Slade, brother of the late 1 )r.
.hunt's Slade, stud he frequent
ly rides buses ;md thought
it would be a good idea for
some sort of shelter to be at
the site to give people tempo
nay relief during inclement
weather as they w aited to
board a bus.
He slurred his idea with a
fellow ('howan-I’erqmmans
Habitat for Humanity volun
teer, (Ieorge tin>ther, whi>
offered to help him with the
project.
While on a trip with a
group of other senior citizens,
Slade said, he learned from
Dr. Emma Bonnet, a member
of the local Racial Reconcili
ation group, that its members
had also been discussing the
need for such a structure
during a meeting that was at
tended by Town ('ouncilnuui
Steve Biggs.
Biggs confirmed that he
had talked with the group
about their idea find had
asked Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton for assistance
with the matter.
"1 didn't do that much, just
made a phone call," Biggs
said, adding that he was
happy to have had a hand in
mov ing the process along.
Slade s;rid lit' paid for the
materials he and <1 rot ho
used ;md that they worked on
PHOTO BY BILL MILLER
The partially completed bus shelter at right stands in place adjacent to the Red Apple and
Avon on North Broad Street.
STAEF PHOTO OY REBECCA BUNCH
The completed bus safety shelter stands ready for use by
bus passengers waiting to board or being dropped off in
inclement weather.
(ho project this summer si art
ing oarly in the morning and
working until early af'tcmooi
when the heat became too
intense to continue. Kxte
nor work at the shelter was
finished Friday.
He said that they put up
the enclosed building and
the town put up two lights to
shine down on the shelter and
provide security.
Slade said that he and
Grother decider! to enclose
the building to protect bus
passengers from the ele
ments during bad weather
and that the keys were given
to the manager of the X-Mart.
According to Slade, X-Mart
employees are to open the
shelter 30 minutes before
bust's arrive and lock the
doors again once buses have
departed.
“I’m glad it’s done and I do
hope people will utilize it,”
Sla< le said.
Grother said that despite
the discomfort he and Slade
endured as a result of the
heat he was glad to have been
involved too.
See BUS SHELTER, 4A
Family acrobatic troupe to headline lair
from Mdu reports
Headlining the entertainment offerings
at this year's Cljowan County Regional Fair
will he a highly sought after family acrobatic
troupe.
The 1 lansens are booked up for tltree years
in advance, but the ('howan Regional Fair was
able to get them this year because of a cancel
lation m the group’s schedule that coincided
with the dates of the local fair, according to
fair organizers.
Hansen's Spectacular consists of Shane and
Aleeia 1 lansen ;uid their their three daughters
(ilivia, 11;
Madison, it; ;uui Ella, 5.
The fair will be Sept. at the American
I>*gion Post 40 Fairgroimds on West Queen
Street in Edenton.
See TROUPE, 4A
0
'i 2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
PHOTO COURTESY
HANSENS
SPECTACULAR
Though only
5-years-old,
Ella Hansen
takes a back
seat to no
one in the
Hansens
Spectacular
acrobatics
show. The
show is
coming to
the Chowan
County
Regional
Fair. The fair
begins Sept.
22.
Grad rate
rises, other
indicators lag
BY CORRINE SAUNDERS
The Daily Advance
The five-year graduat ion rate for John A. Hol
mes High clipped slightly last school year while
the four-year rate improved.
Meanwhile, state school report cards issued
last week pinned Cs and Ds on the four schools
in the Edenton-Chowan system.
Statewide, the four-year and five-year cohort
graduation rates for 2014-15 were 85.4 percent
and 86.2 percent, respectively. Cohort refers to
the group of students who begin high school in
•the same year and complete their graduation re
quirements in the same amount of time.
IN A RELATED STORY
■ Schools striving for max graduation rates - 3A
Edenton-Chowaii Schools’ four-year gradu
ation rate of 82.2 percent was not far below
the state average of 85.4 percent. The district’s
five-year graduation rate of 81.9 percent was
also less than the state's 86.2 percent. That rate
was also less than the year before, when the
district’s five-year cohort graduation rate was
84.3 percent.
The district’s four-year rate did show im
provement from 2013-14, however. According
to district spokeswoman Michelle Maddox, the
four-year rate that year was 78.9 percent.
'Idle State Board of Education on Sept. 2 re
leased annual school report cards, which for
years have provided detailed information on
See RATE RISES, 4A
Honors strength
training up for
consideration
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Students waiting to son if the school board
will back a proposed honors-lcvel strength
training class will have to wa.it a little longer.
The board decided after some animated dis
cussion at its Sept. 1 monthly meeting to ask
that thi1 proposal lie returned to the high school
for further consideration. John A. Holmes Prin
cipal Steve Wood brought the proposal to the
hom'd.
Wood described the proposal as “a course
witliin a course,” noting that students who en
rolled would find skills in writing and math re
inforced in the class too.
“Student-centered learning strategies ap
propriate for this course are research projects,
weight training plans, and evaluation of tech
nique," the pliui reads. "Students will be di
rected by (their) teacher but will conduct most
projects on their own while receiving feedback
from the instructor."
Wood pointed out that allowing these stu
dents to do honors level work would allow them
to find out what would be expected of them at
the college level. He added that the proposed
curriculum would include “extensive assign
ments including research papers, charts and
graphs, and weight lifting plans. Students will
also regularly act as evaluators and teachers to
other students in their class.”
But school board members declined to take
acti< >n < >n the plan after learning the honors com
mittee at 1 lolmes had not reviewed it, Guard, a
retired educator, said he felt it was vital for the
See TRAINING, 4A
w rir, CHICKEN PLATE FUNDRAISER to benefit the Edenton United Methodist Church Community Family Lite Center
Friday, September 11th at 11:00 AM -2:00 PM and 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
EUMC Community Lifo Center, 225 Virginia Rd. • $8.00 donation per plate
■
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EAT IN OR TAKE OUT