CHOWA^HERALD 482-4418 Wednesday, March 13, 2019 75c INSIDE Obituaries 3A School 2B Opinion 5A Calendar 4B Community 6A Church 5B Sports IB Classifieds 7-8B Future of John A. Holmes facility still unclear Board of Education discusses lack of progress BY MILES LAYTON Staff Writer Like a middle-age man who has fallen off the exer cise wagon since New Year’s Day but decides to get back to running in March, the Edenton-Chowan Board of Education is ready to get moving again on formulat ing future plans for a new high school or renovating the decades old John A. Holmes High School. For months now, a joint com mittee of school board members and county commission- BROWDER ers has met, listened to experts and dis cussed the matter. Progress hasn’t moved too much, be cause it is a big decision to make and questions about funding sources remain un clear. Recent meetings indi cate a more distant timeline BURROUGHS JORDAN than the near future for any such project “I went from being op timistic to pretty disheart ened,” BOE member Ricky Browder said during the March 2 Board of Education meeting. BOE Chairman Gene Jor dan said when the commit tee got to the point where a decision had to be made as to when hire an architect, plan ning slowed because ftinds must be available to pay for costs that are not expected to be cheap. “From there, things kind of slowed down to a slog,” he said. “I’m not quite as pessi mistic as Ricky. I feel better about things. I don’t know if the facts support my think ing or not, but it seemed that in talking to commissioners that they are a little more op timistic - that’s my impres sion.” Though BOE member Gil Burroughs is not a member of the joint committee, he has attended each meeting the group has held since the committee formed in 2018. Burroughs looked at Browder before he said, “You took the words right out of my mouth. We’ve seen that every single time. And my impression from the county manager is that they would be very happy if we ever got around to it We got to drive this thing. This board has got to drive this train. The way I look at it, it is our responsi bility to figure out what we need and then it is the coun ty’s responsibility to see how we get that.” Browder stressed that it is important to get the public involved in pushing this proj ect to fruition. “They need to be a voice that speaks loudly—if that is the desire of this committee to do something about the facility that we have at the high school,” he said. “That’s See FUTURE, 2A Rizzo to lead Food Pantry Retired lawyer to start new job as director April 1 From Staff Reports The Edenton-Chowan Food Pantry Search Com- I mittee announced that Joe Rizzo, a native of Long Island, New York, will be come director of the non- profit effective April 1. “We had several tal ented candidates for the I position,” said Gerard Cooney, president of the Food Pantry Board, “but the search committee’s final choice of Joe Rizzo was unanimous.” Rizzo is a graduate of Amherst College and Hof- stra University School of Law. He was the general counsel and director of a hotel chain in New York City and served as an adjunct professor at the State University of New York before retiring sev eral years ago. He and his wife, Shirley, settled in Edenton last year after moving from Hilton Head, SC. “I’m in a new, beautiful community that maintains a significant organization that provides a valuable service to the region,” Rizzo said. “I have the energy, resources, expe rience and dedication to follow the Board’s vision for the future.” See RIZZO, 3A PHOTOS BY NICOLE BOWMAN-LAYTON/CHOWAN HERALD Girls who attend White Oak Elementary School are accompanied by family members and friends in the community Monday during the school’s “Tea for Two” event. ‘Tea for Two’ celebrates White Oak’s girls From Staff Reports The girls of White Oak El ementary School took time out of their day to learn how to be the best they can be Monday afternoon during “Tea for Two.” The school’s 228 girl stu dents were accompanied by educators, family members and members of the com munity in the school’s gym nasium and cafeteria. They eryoyed some delicious cookies and “tea,” apple juice, and some presenta tions during the event. The John A. Holmes High School cheerleaders taught the audience a few cheers. They also took questions from the audience, empha ¬ sizing that practice and get ting good grades in school were the keys to their suc cess. Meredith Wood, an as sistant Extension Agent of 4-H Youth Development in Pasquotank County and executive lead director of LimeLight By Alcone, spoke to the girls about pursuing their dreams. She noted that when she was little, she wanted to be an N.C. State cheerleader. While working hard to achieve that goal, she suffered a setback when she hurt her knee during cheerleading prac tice. Wood underwent sur gery and spent about seven See TEA, 2A Follow us on Instagram at ©THECHOWANHERALD Like us on Facebook at /THECHOWANHERALD 6 B9076 H 44813' 0 ©2019 The Chowan Herald All Rights Reserved Prison safety A John A. Holmes cheerleader teaches girls at White Oak Elementary School how to do a cheer Monday during “Tea for Two.” — 1 — Residents urge county to rethink project County holds forum on Valhalla plant proposal BY NICOLE BOWMAN- LAYTON Editor Chowan County resi dents urged the county to go back to the drawing board in regards to a project that will help the Valhalla water treatment plant become compliant with state regula tions. About 50 citizens, includ ing the Chowan County commissioners, attended a special forum to discuss the issue on March 7 at the Pub lic Safety Center. Because the commissioners were not going to take any action at the forum, they were not allowed to speak. County Manager Kevin Howard, who moderated the forum, noted that the state has not approved the project’s permit, which would dispose of the plant’s wastewater into the Chow an River. Currently, drones are surveying the proposed route of a five-mile pipe before leaves form on the trees, making it harder to See PROJECT, 4A NICOLE BOWMAN- LAYTON/CHOWAN HERALD Greg Churchill, with Rivers and Associates Inc., discusses the Valhalla Water Treatment Plant wastewater project Thursday at the Chowan County Public Safety Center. RELAY FOR UFE FRIDAY,MARCH_15™ 11 AM to 2PIVI & 4PIVI to 7PM Beriefit Lunch & Dinner AUCTION-7Pin until M fl A group meets Senate committee listens to researchers, prison director BY MILES LAYTON Staff Writer RALEIGH - A new state Senate committee tasked with making prisons safer met Monday for the first time to begin the job of reforming the state’s De partment of Corrections system. Led by state Sen. Bob Steinburg, R-Chowan, the Senate Select Com mittee on Prison Safety will meet during the next few weeks, after which he hopes to make some initial recommendations. “I was very pleased with the first meeting, which was generally an overview of the depart ment,” Steinburg said. “We will be meeting j weekly on Mondays for See PRISON, 3A Lawmakers: Funding for schoolsa priority Steinburg, Goodwin meet county commission BY MILES LAYTON Staff Writer State Sen. Bob Stein burg and Rep. Ed Good win, both R-Chowan, spoke to the Chowan County board of commis sion about their legisla tive goals. Among the initiatives this dynamic duo seeks is acquiring funding for a new school, expanding broadband coverage, sup porting Vidant Chowan Hospital in the wake of proposed healthcare changes and potentially expanding the commu nity college reach into the local school system. As space is tight in this See SCHOOLS, 4A BPM til /PM limner Music by Bi« Daddy Sam Motto” arid Darryl StaMm^s: ^ LEON NIXON’S CATERING Sponsored by Rocky rock ruritan relay for life team FOR TICKETS OR INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 333-8567

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