County reaches deal with state on fixing discharge
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Chowan County officials have
agreed to move forward with a
process to bring the county’s water
treatment plant into compliance
with state regulators’ requirements
for the discharge of water from the
treatment process.
Although the county’s treated wa
ter meets state drinking water stan
dards, the water discharged from
the treatment process at the Val
halla plant into a nearby pond has
been found by state environmental
officials to be higher in some min
erals than what is appropriate for
groundwater.
For that reason, the state is call
ing on the county to stop discharg
ing the treatment by-product into
stagnant water. A likely solution will
be building a holding tank at the site
and re-routing the discharge to a
stream.
At its Sept 6 meeting the Chowan
County Board of Commissioners
voted to enter in a Special Order by
Consent with the state that requires
the county to meet a series of dead
lines for planning and implementing
a solution to the discharge problem.
Bill Diehl, a consulting engineer
who has helped negotiate the terms
of the SOC on behalf of the county,
told the county commissioners that
under the SOC the county will pay
a one-time fine of $5,000, with the
state waiving further fines as long
as the county meets the deadlines
established in the order.
The SOC requires the county to
submit to the state a report on al
ternatives by July 2017. A compre
hensive site assessment also will
be required, which will be done
by Greenville-based Groundwater
See WATER, 2A
Council president: TPP good for peanut growers
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The controversial Trans
pacific Partnership has
been panned by presi
dential candidates Donald
Trump and Hillary Clinton but
gets a vote of confidence from
one of the nation’s leading
peanut marketing experts.
“The TPP is a great deal for
American agriculture and a
really good deal for U.S. pea
nuts in particular,” American
Peanut Council President
Patrick Archer told the N.C.
Peanut Growers Association
last week at the association’s
annual membership meeting.
The meeting was held
Thursday in coi\junction with
the Peanut Field Day at the
Peanut Belt Research Station
Lewistoa The -
in
American Peanut
Council represents
peanut growers,
shelters and manu
facturers.
RELi
■ Sene
favor of
Arcner saia tne
Trans-Pacific Partnership has
gotten a bad rap in this elec
tion cycle but offers promise
to continue the expansion of
American peanut exports to
China, which totaled 150,000
metric tons in the first six
months of this year.
T.R “Dell” Cotton Jr., man
ager of the Peanut Growers
Cooperative Marketing Asso
ciation, in his remarks at the
annual meeting agreed that
China is becoming an increas
ingly important export market
for American peanuts.
“I think everybody in our in
Sponsored by
and North Carolina Peanut Growers Association.
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tor: Tide‘is turning in
agriculture - 2A
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Robert R. “Bob" Sutter, chief executive officer of the N.C. Peanut Growers Association, addresses the association’s annual membership meeting
Thursday in Lewiston.
dustry understands that China
is going to be a big player in
the U.S. over the long haul,”
Cotton said.
Archer said that in general
the export market for peanuts
is very good.
Overall exports are up 85
percent this year, he said
“Our export market has
never looked better,” Archer
said.
About a fourth of the pea
nuts grown in the United
States are exported, accord
ing to Archer.
Archer said that as recently
as three years ago the United
States exported very few pea
nuts to China But now China
is the largest export market
for American peanuts, he
said.
See PEANUT, 2A
Ross speaks at opening of Chowan Democratic HQ
STAFF PHOTO BY j
REBECCA BUNCH |
US. Senate
hopeful
Deborah Ross
is Introduced
by Chowan
Democratic
Party Chair Bill
Miller during
a campaign
appearance
In Edenton on
Thursday. Her
visit coincided
with the official
opening of the
local Democratic
Party
headquarters
here.
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
During a campaign stop in
Edenton Thursday afternoon
that marked the official open
ing of the Chowan County
Democratic Party headquar
ters, U.S. Senate hopeful
Deborah Ross spoke about
the urgent need to make sure
citizens get registered and
have the opportunity to vote.
“We need the callers
and the haulers,” she said.
“There’s a job for everybody.
We are going to win in No
vember.”
In fact, Ross added, she
was slightly ahead of her
opponent, incumbent Sen.
Richard Burr, in the most re
cent polls. She predicted her
support would only grow as
a dedicated group of volun
teers continues to work on
her behalf.
“We have the enthusiasm
factor,” she told the lively
crowd assembled to greet
her.
She asked all her support
ers to please roll up their
sleeves and get to work on
her behalf as she engages in
a fast-paced campaign de
signed to gamer her enough
support to replace Burr in
representing North Carolina
at the national level. The
stakes are high, Ross said,
but the reward could be in
having a senator that actual
ly believes in first-class con
stituent service and wants to
represent all the people of
the state.
“You know, this is the most
important election we have
had in decades,” she said.
“We have a lot of work to do
to be successful.”
Ross noted that she was no
stranger to Edenton and had
participated in a session of
the North Carolina General
Assembly held at the historicf
1767 Chowan County Court
house as a state representa
tive. She added that she had.
long admired the town’s “rich
See ROSS, 4A -
Wings Over Edenton air
show to be held Sept. 24
From staff reports
■
The 2016 version of the
Wings Over Edenton air
6
0
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
show will he held Sept.
24 at the Northeastern
Regional Airport.
A highlight of the event
will be free “Young Eagle”
rides for children from 9
a.m. to noon.
The rides are present
ed by the Elizabeth City
chapter of the Experi
mental Aircraft Associa
tion.
“It should be a fun
day,” said Mimi Reiheld,
one of the organizers of
the event.
There will be old air
craft on display, along
with old cars and some
radio-controlled aircraft.
American Legion Post
40 will have sandwiches
for sale during the air
show.

BY REQQIE PONDER ^
Editor
The Chowan County Clerk of Court’s
Office was cited in a state audit earlier this
year for not compelling the timely filing of
estate inventories.
The cleric’s office did not compel the
timely filing of estate inventories or col
lect estate fees in accordance with state
law, resulting in a delay and possible loss
in the collection of court 'costs and fees,"
the audit report states.
While Chowan Clerk of Court of Court
Mike McArthur concurred with the audit
finding and agreed to make changes to
bring the office into full compliance, he
also in a statement to the Chowan Her
ald this week attributed the audit finding
to the office’s effort to treat families with
courtesy as they deal with the loss of fam
ily members.
“For 22 years 1 have assisted families
during their most difficult times as they 4
See CLERK, 4A *4