CHO’
P11/C8******CAR-RT LOT**C 002 A0038
SHEPHERD PRUDEN LIBRARY
106 W WATER ST
EDENTON NC 27932-1854
482-4418
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
75*
Aces cruise to win over Red Barons - IB
Blackbeard remembered
Chart your course
to Ocracoke for the an
nual Blackbeard’s Pirate
Jamboree Oct. 25-28,
2018 to commemorate
the 300th Anniversary
of Blackbeard’s historic
last battle directly off
the shores of Ocracoke
Island. — 7B
Walk shares legends
Maybe you couldn’t
see dead people walk
ing among the living,
but you could certainly
imagine them during
the annual Historic
Edenton Ghost Walk.
After 350 years of his
tory, there was bound
to be some haunted
sites here, there and
everywhere. —6A
Lady Aces’ volleyball
team fell to Manteo and
Perquimans in recent
matchups. — 3B
Speller speaks to NSDAR
The Albemarle region
is celebrating the 350th
anniversary of its found
ing this year through a
variety of commemora
tive activities, including
special events in each of
the northeastern coun
ties. — 7A
Bands perform well
Big wind discussion blows through candidate forum
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
The Chowan Herald
hosted a county commis
sion candidate’s forum
Thursday at the 1767 Court
house.
Candidates addressed
questions about wind en
ergy, school building needs
and jobs.
For a complete record
of what the candidates
said in the forum, go to the
Chowan Herald’s Facebook
page.
Republican Bob Kirby is
running against Commis
sion President Jeff Smith,
a Democrat, for District 1,
Ribbon cutting held for
‘Showplace of the Albemarle’
BY NICOLE BOWMAN-
LAYTON
For the Chowan Herald
When you look at the
Taylor Theater in down-
town Edenton, you are
immediately struck by the
clean white and glass sur
rounded by brick, old-look
ing buildings. Since Eden
ton was once a Colonial-era
powerhouse, you’d expect
some historical charm at
play at the Chowan County
seat.
When you look up, you
see the big sign, “Taylor,”
in lights. One after another,
the letters blink on and off
in sequence until they all
start flashing at once. It’s
retro, hip. The Showplace
of the Albemarle is alive
and well after being closed
for almost a year.
In June 2017, a storm
damaged an already worn
roof, making the Taylor
Theater, then under the
management of Belinda
and Ryan Repass, close its
doors. The property owner
refused to repair the dam
age. So the community ral
lied to save Edenton’s icon-
ic and only movie theater.
After a city council meet
ing in November 2017 in
which the theater’s fate
was discussed, community
members gathered enough
money to buy the building
and restore it. Destination
Downtown Edenton helped
find grant money to help re
pair the theater’s facade.
The blinking lights are the
handiwork of Ryan Repass.
He and his wife Belinda be
came the mangers/owners
of the Taylor Theater and
were instrumental in the
restoration process. While
the late Paul Waff and his
crews repaired the building
Seat 2.
Larry McLaughlin, an un-
affiliated candidate, is run
ning against Commissioner
John Mitchener, a Demo
crat, for District 2, Seat 2.
Due to the space de
mands associated with
publishing a comprehen
sive story, the story will be
divided with the first part
about wind energy while
the second part will tackle
whether the county needs
to build a new school.
Mike Ervin, executive di
rector of the Edenton His
torical Commission, served
as the forum’s moderator.
After brief introductions
to introduce themselves to
PHOTOS
BY NICOLE
BOWMAN-
LAYTON
popcorn
during the
theater's
grand re
opening
and ribbon-
cutting
ceremony.
Ryan
Repass,
who owns
the Taylor
Theater
with
his wife
Belinda
Repass,
hands out
from the roof down to the
carpet, Belinda and Ryan
lined up vendors and called
film-making companies to
get the latest films.
It opened a little over a
year later—July 6—show
ing two family-friendly,
super hero movies — “Ant-
Man and the Wasp” and “In-
credibles 2.” .
On a recent October
evening, the movie the
ater opened its doors for
its grand re-opening and
ribbon-cutting. The walls
are fresh, white — free of
See TAYLOR, 3A
the audience who attended
the forum, candidates ad
dressed an open ended
question about wind en
ergy as it relates to the pro
posed Timbermill project.
Mitchener, who is run
ning for re-election, served
with the commission when
decisions were being made
to greenlight the project,
pending federal and state
permits.
Mitchener said commis
sion listened to the public
and educated itself so as to
make the best decision.
“I think the commis
sioners did a good job for
See FORUM, 2A
Visitors attending the Taylor Theater’s grand re
opening talk while waiting in the lobby for the
ceremony to start Thursday.
PHOTO BY NICOLE
BOWMAN-LAYTON
Mike Ervin,
executive director
of the Edenton
Historical
Commission,
deserves praise
for his service as
moderator for the
county commission
candidate’s forum
on Thursday at
the 1767 Chowan
County Courthouse.
A gentleman to
the core, Ervin
guided the forum
with civility and
diplomacy.
Residents
cast ballots
in early
voting
BY NICOLE BOWMAN-
LAYTON
For the Chowan Herald
Early voting is already way
up for next month’s mid-term
eiection, with election offices
in Chowan and Washington
counties already reporting
more voters in three days
than cast ballots during the
entire early voting period
prior to. election day for the
May 8 primary.
Total votes cast for the Nov.
6 election in Chowan County
as of Friday afternoon was
704, according to Chowan
County Director of Elections
Terry Meyers. That’s nearly
six times as many voters
— 121 — who cast ballots
during the first three days of
the primary.
Tyrrell County reported
that voting has remained
steady, with 132 ballots cast
on Friday.
While the exact numbers
weren’t available at press
time, Washington County
Board of Elections Director
Dora Bell said the office has
been really busy. She said
that she estimated that the
Plymouth facility has had
about triple the amount of
ballots cast compared to the
primary.
One-stop voting for the
Nov. 6 general election con
tinues at county board of elec
tions offices weekdays from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday,
Nov. 2 in Chowan County. In
Tyrrell County, one-stop vot
ing is from 9 am. to 5 p.m.
Monday-Friday. Washington
County’s hours are 8:30 am.
to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. All
three counties will hold one-
stop voting from 8 am. to 1
p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3.
After wowing crowds
with a top notch perfor
mance during Friday’s
halftime show, Jolm A.
Holmes High School’s
Marching Band took
top honors at Saturday’s
Panther Band Classic
at Pasquotank High
School. — 9A
‘On my honor’: McArthur
leads Cub Scouts Pack 164
BY NICOLE BOWMAN-
LAYTON
For the Chowan Herald
Like us on Facebook at
/THECHOWANHERALD
l 89076 ll 44813 l
©2018 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
On Oct. 17, 1996, John
McArthur became an Eagle
Scout after spending many
nights at the Boy Scout
Lodge in front of John A.
Holmes High School.
These days, the father
and detective of the Chow
an County Sheriffs Office,
is at the building along
Broad Street to lead cub
scouts.
Some days, McArthur’s
uniform can get a little
hot in the lodge. His long-
sleeved khaki shirt is deco
rated with various patches.
He wears the olive green tie
his father—longtime coun ¬
ty clerk Mike McArthur —
wore as John’s scout mas
ter, and olive green pants.
The sleeves can be rolled
up to provide a bit of com
fort, but like the uniform
McArthur wears during the
day, the scout master uni
form matters. Cub Scouts,
youths ages 5 to 10, matter.
According the Pack 164
committee member Alex
Kehayes, scouting matters
because it instills honor in
our youth. During a recent
trip to Georgia, he watched
as a great-nephew received
his Eagle Scout cord. The
speaker talked to Kehayes
about what scouting pro
vides.
See SCOUTS, 3A
Edenton Daily News offers
time capsule history lesson
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Every now and then,
someone comes across a
rare historical find that of
fers a glimpse, maybe an
explanation, into times
long since gone.
Most recently, Millard
Bond discovered what
most people thought had
been long lost to history —
the Edenton Daily News.
“I was floored at the in
formation that was avail
able then,” Bond said.
“What was kind of neat
to me were the phone
See NEWS, 4A
MILES LAYTON/
CHOWAN
HERALD
Once upon
a time,
Edenton
had its very
own daily
newspaper.
Copies
of that
newspaper,
long lost to
history, are
few and far
between, but
Millard Bond
found a few
hidden in
an antique
mirror.