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SHEPHERD PRUDEN LIBRARY
106 W WATER ST
EDENTON NC 27932-1854
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UPCOMING
HOME GAMES
GAME STARTS AT 7PM AT HISTORIC
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SEASON OPENER
Gates open at 6:00 pm
May 31st: vs. Petersburg Generals
Vidant Hospital Night
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Council awards contract for new station to AR Chesson
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
The town council voted 4-1 Mon
day night to award the contract for
the new police station to A.R. Ches
son Construction of Williamston.
Councilman Steve Biggs voted
“no” and Councilman Sambo Dixon
was absent from the special meet
ing, which was held prior to the
council's May work session.
Biggs said that, he could not in
good conscience vote for Chesson to
receive the contract due to the tardi
ness of other work the company had
performed. He cited a recent news
paper report concerning a Hertford
County project that went 239 days
past its completion date as well as
a project Chesson had worked on
upstairs at Edenton’s Town Hall that
also had encountered delays in be
ing completed.
Town Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton said that in the case of the
Edenton project there were delays
due to an elevator required to com
plete the project and other unfore
seen circumstances.
But Biggs said he did not feel the*
$ 100 a day penalty for tardiness that
the town was attaching to the police
station project was sufficient He
noted that Hertford County had a
$250 a day penalty in place.
“I just don’t think $100 a day is go
ing to even cover the interest,” Biggs
said. “I think we need to change
that.”
Knighton replied that she had
talked with the architect for Eden
ton’s police station project who said
that die $100 a day charge was in
line with what other communities
were requiring.
“He couldn’t believe they had a
rate that high,” she said.
Knighton also pointed out that
the project had already been bid
and that the town would have to be
gin the entire process again should
Chesson balk at paying a higher late
fee than the already agreed upon
$100 per day.
“Chesson would have to agree,”
she said. “If he didn’t we’d have to
rebid the project.”
Biggs countered that while he
didn’t think the town’s police station
project would be likely to incur the
kind of delays seen with the costlier
Hertford County project, “you just
See STATION, 2A
STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE PONDER
During a press conference April 28 announcing the new ownership of the Edenton Steamers, (l-r) General Manager Tyler Russell speaks as
a Coastal Plain League Commissioner Justin Sellers listens intently. The Steamers, who are the defending Petitt Cup champions, open their
season at home May 31 against Petersburg. See story, photos 8A and 9A.
Officials
seek
to trim
budget
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
A majority of the Chowan
County Board of Commis
sioners is seeking to trim
the recommended county
budget for 2016-2017 in or
der to avoid at least part of
the four-cent property tax
hike required to balance the
budget.
County Manager Kevin
Howard said m^jor cuts
identified during the com
| missioners’ May 18 bud
i get work session included
! $14,500 for a driveway at
! the Emergency Medical Ser
vice building and $80,000
from Information Technol
: ogy capital outlay.
Howard said that in pre
paring the recommended
budget he was tom between
aging equipment and sala
ries.
The budget as recom
mend calls for a four-cent
See BUDGET, 4A
Museum Trail of Edenton Historic Sites ribbon cutting tomorrow
NANCY NICHOILS PHOTO-'CHOWAN COUNTY TOURISM
Lincoln Adams, left, and William Davidson, right, of the town's Public
Works staff, install a historic marker near The Homestead, home of
Frances Inglis.
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
omorrow (Thursday) at 5
p.m. a ribbon cutting will
A be held at the Penelope
Barker House Welcome Center
for the town’s new Museum Trail
of Edenton Historic Sites.
Town councilman Bob Quinn,
who along with a small group of
other citizens undertook the proj
ect in 2011, said he was pleased
to set' the project completed with
such satisfactory results.
“It is open to everyone," he said
of the trail. “We want people to
come. The signs are really there
for people to enjoy the town and
appreciate our history."
Markers documenting sig
nificant places and people in the
town’s liistory include: the 1782
Penelope Barker House Welcome
Center; Hewes Monument/Can
nons; 1905 Edenton Tea Pot Sculp
ture; 1767 Chowan Comity Court
house and Jail; 1800-1827 James
Iredell House; Kadesh AME Zion
Church; 1736 St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church; 1758 Cupola House; Jo
sephine Leary Building; 1886 Roa
noke River Lighthouse.
Quirni said the walking muse
um trail will help tell the 300-year
liistory of the community that in
cludes its architecture, its original
downtown, its waterfront park
and allow visitors to experience
the friendly smiles and waves with
which locals will greet them.
The opening of the trail coin
cides with the anticipated release
of a new edition of the guidebook
published by the Edenton Wom
an’s Club that features walking
tours including that of the new
Museum Trail. Quinn said the tim
ing could not have been better as
the signs have now been erected
by the town's Public Works staff
and are already attracting notice
from those who pass by them.
"These signs will engage visitors
to our community and tell them
why these sites are important to
our history,” he siiid. “Each sign
contains historical information
See MUSEUM, 4A
Biggs to speak at Memorial Day service on Monday
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
A well-known local
preacher will be the fea
tured speaker for Chow
an County’s annual Me
morial Day service on
Monday.
The service is orga
nized by the Edward C.
Bond American Legion
Post 40. It will be held
6
0
'< 20(W The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
at 11 a.in. at the Chowan
County Veterans Memori
al at the corner of Queen
Street and Court Street.
This year’s speaker is
the Rev. Thomas Biggs,
who serves as pastor of
Cape Colony Church of
Christ and as volunteer
lead chaplain at Vidant
Chowan Hospital. Biggs,
who served in the U.S.
Air Force from 1951-1955,
lias previously spoken for
a Veterans Day, but this
will be his first time as
the keynote speaker for
the community’s Memo
rial Day program.
Biggs plans to chal
lenge citizens to remem
her the sacrifices of those
who have died in service
to the country.
“My main focus is going
to be on the theme of not
forgetting what all our
service people died for,”
Biggs said this week.
The pastor said too
many people fail to re
member the price paid by
fallen service members.
“I think somewhere
along the line we have
lost our sense of true pa
triotism,” Biggs said.
Biggs is a Washington
County native but came
to Chowan in 1973. Most
of his 58 years of Chris
tian ministry have been
at Cape Colony Church i£
of Christ.
He has served as Cape
Colony’s pastor for 37
years. In addition, he has
been the hospital chap
lain for more than 25
years.
Biggs also has been ac
tive in the Kairos prison
ministry and Walk to Em- |
maus. J|
Biggs is married and |
has four children, nine gj
grandchildren and 10 j
great-grandchildren. I
The Memorial Day pro- 1
gram also will include pa- I
triotic music, prayers and 1
a number of solemn acts 1
of remembrance. 1
SUBMITTED
PHOTO
The Rev.
Thomas
Biggs,
pastor
of Cape
Colony
Church
of Christ,
will speak
at the
community
Memorial
Day
program
Monday.
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52-482-0300 mm