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Wednesday, March 8, 2017
50
Part-time tax administrator approved for short term
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
The Chowan County Board of
Commissioners approved Mon
day a plan to use a part-time as
sistant tax administrator during
the upcoming maternity leave for
the tax administrator.
Melissa Radke, the county’s
tax administrator, told the board
Monday she expects to go on
maternity leave sometime in
May and anticipates the leave
will last a minimum of seven
weeks and a maximum of nine
weeks.
The plan approved by the com
missioners calls for Pete Rodda,
who served last year as the coun
ty’s interim tax administrator, to
serve as a part-time assistant tax
administrator at a total cost of
$15,796.
The figure is based on a pay
rate of $33.35 an hour and a term
beginning sometime in April and
lasting possibly until July.
Radke pointed out there will
still be roughly $17,929 remain
ing in the tax office’s budget at
the end of the fiscal year after
paying Rodda.
Board of Commissioners
Chairman Jeff Smith remarked
that Rodda is very knowledge
able did an excellent job when
he was serving as the interim tax
administrator.
In another matter, the board
appointed Dr. Alex Kehayes as
a physician and citizen appoint
ment to the Community Child
Protection Team and Community
Child Fatality Protection Team.
The appointment was made at
the recommendation of Letecia
Loadholt, director of the Chowan
County Department of Social
Services.
Loadholt said Kehayes brings
a wealth of knowledge to the
work.
A motion by Commissioner
Patti Kersey to appoint Kehayes
passed unanimously.
Kehayes, a retired physician,
was a member of the county’s
board of commissioners from
2012-2016.
Narrowing It DOWN
Town moves
closer to
bulkhead
replacement
BY REBECCA BUNCH At that point, Town Fi-
One of the College of The Albemarle presidential candidates Gene Smith greets some of the COA faculty on
Monday at the Currituck Regional Aviation and Technical Training Center.
Candidates for COA president field
questions from residents, officials
BY REBECCA BUNCH
AND WILLIAM F. WEST
Staff Writers
S tudents and others interested
in the future of College of
The Albemarle have been tak
ing the opportunity to meet
the college’s finalists for president as
the candidates have visited Edenton-
Chowan and COAs three other cam
puses.
Gene Smith, vice president at
Wayne Community College in Golds
boro, spoke at the campuses on Tues
day, Feb. 28. On Thursday, March 2,
local citizens and officials had the op
portunity to hear from Russell “Keith”
Mackie, Ed.D., the executive vice
president of Catawba Volley Commu
nity College.
Deborah Grimes, senior vice presi
dent of instruction and student ser
vices at Lenoir Community College,
visited the campuses Tuesday, and the
remaining finalist, Robert Wynegar, is
scheduled to tour and speak at COAs
campuses Thursday. Wynegar is a vice
president at Western Nevada College
in Carson City.
Wynegar will be at the Edenton-
Chowan Campus Thursday at 9 am.
The four finalists are seeking to suc
ceed Kandi Deitemeyer who resigned
at the end of 2016 to become the new
president at Central Piedmont Com
munity College in Charlotte.
Smith said he’ll take a unified ap
proach to student success if COA
trustees choose him to lead the four-
campus community college.
“As president of COA, I can’t have
a favorite,” Smith said at a forum at
COAs Regional Aviation and Technical
Training Center in Currituck County
last week. “We are one team working
for one goal — and that’s student suc
cess.”
Smith said he especially sees great
opportunity in Currituck, where he
was impressed with the facility but
noted it’s not the most important thing
for helping students succeed.
During aforum at the main campus
in Elizabeth City, Smith told approxi
mately 60 attendees that he has a situ
ational leadership style.
“I will work with you on an as-need
ed basis,” he said.
Smith said some staff may need to
be left alone to do their jobs. For oth
ers who need more direction, he’s pre
pared to provide it, he said.
Smith said he’s a big believer in all
staff — from the top down — having
a great attitude about what the college
isdoing.
“That’s the first thing that students
see, is the attitude of the person that’s
in front of them,” he said.
Smith made clear his leadership
style isn’t authoritarian, though he not
ed he’ll make the hard decisions when
See CANDIDATES, 2A
Staff Writer
A public hearing on the
proposed plan to finance a
bulkhead replacement proj
ect at the downtown water-
front drew no citizens wish
ing to speak on the issue.
The public hearing was
held prior to the start of the
town council’s Feb. 27 work
session.
Prior to the hearing, Town
Manager Anne-Marie Knigh
ton gave a summary of the
project’s history including
the fact that the town has re
ceived a $100,000 grant from
the NC Division of Coastal
Management (CAMA) to
help pay for the work.
“When the grant was
awarded, CAMA required
the town to hire an engineer
to design the specifications
and bid document for the
construction of the bulk-
head,” Knighton explained.
“The engineer tested the
soils in the project area and
the samples taken revealed
that the soil was ‘peat’
which is not a strong, bind
ing soil.”
“He therefore recom
mended the pilings be driv
en 45 feet deep instead of 25
feet, which was our budget
estimate for the grant,” she
added. “The extra 20 feet
for the pilings impacted the
cost of the project dramati
cally.”
nance Officer Jennifer Bald
win solicited proposals from
banks and received two pro
posals, Knighton said.
“Southern Bank’s term of
fer is 15 years at 3.8 percent
with an annual payment
that starts at $25,000 and de
creases each year,” Knigh
ton said. “BB&T’s term offer
was for a 10 year note at
3.08 percent. The interest
paid on the BB&T proposal
totals $41,000 as compared
to $73,000 for the Southern
Bank proposal.”
Knighton and Baldwin
recommended approval of
the BB&T proposal.
“There were no com
ments from the public,”
Knighton said. “The town
council then adopted the
resolution authorizing town
staff to submit the applica
tion to the NC Local Gov
ernment Commission for
approval of the financing
agreement with BB&T.”
Knighton said the ap
plication should be on the
commission’s April meeting
agenda
“The town council would
have to authorize the con
tract for the work, which
would happen at their April
11 regular monthly meet
ing,” Knighton added. “The
contractor then has 100
days to do the work.”
See BULKHEAD, 3A
Man charged with
attempted murder
Additional groundwater work approved
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
The Chowan County
Board of Commission
ers on Monday approved
$28,950 for additional
work by Greenville-based
Groundwater Management
Associates Inc. as part of
GMAs comprehensive site
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
assessment for the county’s
Valhalla Water Tr eatment
Plant.
The county has entered
into a special order by con
sent with the state’s Division
of Environmental Quality
that requires extensive test
ing and planning leading to
action that will redirect dis
charge away from the pond
where the effluent from the
treatment process is cur
rently discharged.
County water meets all
state standards for drink
ing water. The issue that
has been flagged by state
environmental regulators is
the relatively high mineral
content of the water being
discharged into a stagnant
pond, near the plant.
The county is setting
aside about $300,000 a year
for water system capital
needs as a result of water
rate increases implement
ed a couple of years ago.
But the state-mandated re
mediation of the discharge
issue is expected to cost
anywhere from $3 million -
$5 million, so state officials
also are looking for grants
to help fund the work.
The county commission
ers voted Monday to ap
prove additional work by
GMA, including the drilling
of two additional monitor
ing wells. GMA reported
that the additional wells
were determined to be
needed in light of a recent
review of monitoring re
sults from 13 new ground-
water monitoring wells and
a discussion with officials
from the Division of Envi
ronmental Quality.
The biggest part of the
cost for the new work is a
combined $16,400 for drill
ing services and supervi ¬
see GROUNDWATER, 3A
From staff reports
A Chowan County man
has been charged with as
sault and attempted mur
der in connection with the
stabbing Saturday night of a
Pasquotank County man.
William Clarence O’Neal
Jr., 60, of 1500 River Road,
Elizabeth City, was listed in
fair condition at Vidant Med
ical Center in Greenville.
Mark Louis Lamar Good,
34, of 214 Yeopim Trail,
Edenton, was arrested Sat
urday at 11:35 p.m., charged
with attempted first-degree
murder and assault with a
deadly weapon with intent
to kill, inflicting serious in
jury, according to Sheriff
GOOD
Dwayne
Goodwin.
Good was
placed
under
$350,000 se
cured bond,
the Sheriff’s
Office re
ported.
The incident occurred
around 10:50 p.m. Satur
day in the yard of a home
at 3232 Rocky Hock Road,
Edenton, according to the
Sheriff’s Office.
The stabbing occurred
during an altercation that
reportedly stemmed from
an ongoing dispute going
back to an incident late last
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