IUO W WATER ST
EDENTON NC 27932
482-4418
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Community
group
forms
to stand
against
violence
-6B
50«
Center Hill-Crossroads Rural VFD earns improved rating
From staff reports
North Carolina Insurance Com
missioner and State Fire Marshal
Wayne Goodwin announced last
week that the Center Hill-Cross
roads has improved its fire protec
tion rating.
The department now has a 5/9E
rating, which takes effect March 1,
2017.
The improved rating is the re
sult of an inspection, conducted
by officials with the Department
of Insurance Office of State Fire
Marshal, that is required on a regu
lar basis as part of the North Caro
lina Response Rating System.
Td like to congratulate Chief
(Mike) Hamilton for the depart
ment’s performance and for the
hard work of all the department
members,” Goodwin said. Resi
dents of the district “should rest
easy knowing they have a fine
group of firefighters protecting
them and their property in case of
an emergency.”
Among other things, the routine
inspections look for proper staff
ing levels, sufficient equipment,
proper maintenance of equipment,
communications capabilities and
availability of a waiter source.
The NCRRS rating system rang
es from one (highest) to 10 (not
recognized as a certified fire de
partment by the state), with most
rural departments falling into the
9S category.
While lower ratings do not nec
essarily indicate poor service, a
higher rating does suggest that
a department is overall better
equipped to respond to fires in its
district
Higher ratings can also signifi
cantly lower homeowners insur
ance rates in that fire district.
State law requires OSFM offi
cials to inspect departments serv
ing districts of 100,000 people or
less, which makes up all but six of
the state’s fire districts.
Goodwin also wrote a letter to
Hamilton congratulating the de
partment on its achievement.
“I commend you and your de
partment for your dedication
and commitment to making your
community a safer place to live,”
Goodwin wrote in the letter.
Goodwin added: “It was the
See FIRE, 4A
STAFF PHOTOS BY THOMAS J. TURNEY
LA^eLE?e:t0n P'^fracefbrate their win over Northeastern. (Top right) Khalil Blount intercepts the ball at the end of Friday’s
in Tabor C|ty Friday for the East Regional championship. The team plans to leave Friday around noon and
supporters are urged to line Broad Street between the school and Queen Street for a big send-off. See story Insldo on 7A.
Nixon, Kehayes,
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Chowan County
Commissioners Keith
Nixon, Alex Kehayes
and Emmett Winbome
completed their service
as commissioners Mon
day night.
Kehayes served one
term on the board.
Both Nixon and Win
bome took office in 2008
as the county began to
double down on dealing
with a fiscal crisis.
Nixon said that the
financial crisis was the
biggest challenge he
faced as a county com
missioner.
“The county was
$450,000 in the hole the
day I took office,” Nixon
recalled this week. He
said he hadn’t known
about the county’s finan
cial problems until after
the Primary and didn’t
realize the full extent
of the problem until he
See COUNTY, 4A
Winbome depart county board
STAFF PHOTO BY REGGIE
PONDER
Outgoing
Chowan County
Commissioners
(l-r) Emmett
Winborne, Keith
Nixon and Alex
Kehayes enjoy
a lighthearted
moment just prior
to the board's
meeting Monday
night.
Smith elected as chairman for third year
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Jeff Smith was elected
chairman of the Chowan
C2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
County Board of Commis
sioners for a third consecu
tive year at the board’s orga
nizational meeting Monday
night
Smith’s election was
noteworthy in that a com
missioner typically serves
only two consecutive
years as the board’s chair
man. The board elects a
chairman every year but
the general practice is for
the chairman to serve two
consecutive yearn in that
capacity.
The election of Smith, a
farmer who represents Dis
trict 1, was unanimous.
Hie board also was unan
imous in electing Commis
sioner Greg Bonner as vice
chairman. Bonner, a former
chief of the Edenton Police
Department who repre
sents District 3, and Smith
are both Democrats.
Tire organizational meet
ing also included the ad
ministration of the oath of
office to three new com
missioners: Democrat Don
Faircloth and Republicans
Patti Kersey and Ron Cum
mings.
Faircloth was elected
to the at-large seat while
Kersey holds a District 2
seat and Cummings a Dis
trict 1 seat
Cummings defeated
Democrat James “Jill”
White in the Nov. 8 General
Electioa White had defeat
ed incumbent Commission
er Emmett Winbom in the
See CHAIRMAN, 4A
Mold
delays
airport
lease
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Negotiations between the
town and state officials over
a new lease for the space
occupied by DOT offices
at Edenton’s Northeastern
Regional Airport have been
temporarily halted by a re
port of excessive mold at
the site.
The mold report is part
of a workman’s compensa
tion claim filed by someone
who works in the building,
according to Town Manager
Anne-Marie Knighton. \
Knighton said that late
last week she received a
copy of a report prepared by
a N.C. Department of Trans
portation safety inspector
who was asked to conduct
sampling for the presence
of mold in response to the
claim.
“(The) report said there
were higher than normal
mold spore counts present,”
Knighton said. The report
See MOLD, 4A
Guard,
Wright
depart
board
GUARD
WRIGHT
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
For two veteran members
of the Edenton-Chowan
Board of Education, John
Guard and Kay Wright, last
night marked their final
meeting as members of the
board.
Both were on hand to
see new board members
Joan White and Paul Clifton
sworn in. A new chair and
vice chair for the board were
also due to be selected.
Guard, who served 14
years on the board and most
recently has served as its
chair since 2012, said that
leaving the board would be
a bittersweet experience.
A former educator, Guard
served as a teacher, princi
pal and human resources di
rector before his retirement.
See BOARD, 2A
IECEMBEI
& 1