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V/ 111/ I SHEPHERD PRUDEN LIBRARY
X A T X X J 106WWATERST
EDENTON NO 27932-1854
482-4418
Wednesday, April 1 7, 2019
75*
INSIDE
Obituaries 3A Prom 3B
Opinions 5A Church SB
Community IB School 6B
Sports 2B Classifieds 7-8B
County inks lease with new Steamers owner
Edenton-Chowan Foundation
to pay for use of Hicks Field
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff Writer
Chowan County Com
mission approved a lease
with the new owners of the
Edenton Steamers during
Monday’s meeting.
In March, Steamers an
nounced that the franchise
was to be sold. The team is
expected to compete in the
Coastal Plain League in 2019,
but not in 2020.
The Edenton-Chowan
Foundation, a nonprofit, will
manage the Steamers in 2019
and take outright ownership
of the team in 2020.
At the meeting, the county
terminated its lease agree
ment with Edenton Baseball
LLC and approved a new
lease with the Edenton-
Chowan Foundation to use
Hicks Field. Compensation
will be provided in annual
expenditures and improve
ments for the use of the
park.
The details of the lease
were not discussed dur
ing open session. After the
meeting, Commissioner Bob
Kirby said the lease had been
approved with a few minor
legal tweaks to be made.
In other news, commis
sioners approved sending a
list of proposed amendments
to the solar ordinance to the
county’s Planning Board for
review. Planning Board will
make its determination in
May for the commission’s
consideration in June.
Commissioners expressed
concerns about 1,500-foot
setbacks, choosing the type
of foliage needed to hide
these solar facilities from
view, adding more stringent
procedures up front regard
ing the costs of any future
decommissioning and deter
mining whether these places
should be required to moni
tor the presence of hazard
ous materials.
Due to space and time
See OWNER, 3A
Remembering And MAKING HISTORY
Pilgrimage
offers a
‘little bit of
heaven’
Virginia Wood’s Greenfield
among 17 homes on tour
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff Writer
About two years ago after
Pilgrimage, Virginia Wood
visited the offices of the
Chowan Herald to welcome
a new editor and perhaps
drop off some cookies.
Wood noted that her
home, Greenfield, was on
the tour and invited me any
time to visit. Who can deny
this lady, an exemplar of
Southern charm and hospi
tality.
This year’s Pilgrimage
offered an opportunity to
see her stately manor home
nestled deep within the
woods of Chowan County,
between the Yeopim River
and Albemarle Sound.
Thousands of folks came
to Chowan County on Fri
day and Saturday to ex
plore similar homes that are
steeped in history. During
the last Pilgrimage, in 2017,
my daughter Samantha and
I explored Sambo and Gray
Dixon’s home Beverly Hall
— there’s old bank vault in
side and a peacock or two
Community benefits
from weekend events
BY NICOLE BOWMAN-
LAYTON
Editor
This past weekend’s
flurry of activities kept resi
dents and local government
agencies busy.
While Pilgrimage and
Boogie on Broad kicked
off Friday, planning for the
events started much earlier,
with meetings, phone calls
and volunteer sign-ups.
Destination Downtown
Edenton has hosted Boogie
on Broad for 13 years. Di
rector Jennifer Harriss said
NICOLE BOWMAN-LAYTON/
CHOWAN HERALD
A child energetically
dances during Boogie on
Broad Friday in downtown
Edenton.
'89076
44813 1
©2019 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
MILES. LAYTON/CHOWAN HERALD
Virginia and Benbury Jr. welcomed guests into their home, Greenfield, during
Pilgrimage this past weekend.
INSIDE
See more photos from
Pilgrimage, Boogie on Broad
and Blessing of the Fleet on
page 7A.
on the grounds.
Saturday, my wife Nicole
and I fulfilled a promise
that 40 volunteers are need
ed throughout the event to
keep things running. The
sign-ups went out about a |
month ago, but details con
stantly evolved right up to
the event.
While she didn’t have an
exact number of the amount
of people attending the
event, she said The Tams
estimated that 2,000 people |
attended.
“It was a great show and
the event went well,” she
said. “The Tams really loved
See EVENTS, 3A
0
made to Wood to visit, so
we joined about 200 visitors
who explored the historic
mansion that has been in her
family for 10 generations.
“I think that people who
come here are seeing a little
bit of heaven. I really do be
lieve that,” Wood said.
Though I’ve seen pictures
of Greenfield, a plantation
house built in 1752, noth ¬
MILES LAYTON/CHOWAN HERALD
Gay McClelland Chatham (center) welcomes folks to
the Presidential Ball.
Monroe visits
modern Edenton
Friends of Historic Sites
hosts Presidential Ball
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff Writer
The Presidential Ball
was a smashing success
worthy of a Founding Fa
ther.
Held at the 1767 Chow
an County Courthouse
ing quite compares to the
experience of exploring
the home in person. A vast
expanse of land around the
place offers a sense not only
of privacy, but it beckons
back to a time when land
had more value than it does
today because people were
closer to the earth.
See PILGRIMAGE, 2A
green, the event celebrated
the 200th anniversary of
President James Monroe’s
visit to Edenton. Folks
who attended the ball
were dressed to the nines
in either Colonial period
clothes or attire fit for a
black tie affair.
The gala event featured
a speech from Monroe that
See MONROE, 2A
Residents remember
iconic Notre Dame
Cathedral is popular tourist
spot in ‘City of Lights’
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff Writer
Chowan County mourns
with others around the
world as historic Notre
Dame lay in ruined in Par
is.
Though the Gothic ca
thedral took 200 years
to build, it was in ruins
Monday within about nine
hours — the time it took
firefighters to extinguish
the blaze.
The fire’s cause has not
been determined, but offi
cials suggested it is related
to ongoing renovation ef
forts at the church that
was completed in 1260. In
recent days, a dozen Cath
olic churches have been
vandalized across France.
The spires inspired lit-
Agencies honor public
safety dispatchers
BY NICOLE BOWMAN-
LAYTON
Editor
Chowan County’s emer
gency management agen
cies are celebrating dis
patchers during National
Public Safety Telecommu
nicators Week.
The dispatchers work as
part of the Chowan County
Sheriffs Office, in a room
at the county Public Safety
Building. Sheriff Dwayne
Goodwin said a total of
nine dispatchers work
12-hour shifts year-round
Sweep Chowan
SUBMITTED PHOTO
(L-r) Edenton Lions Craig Miller, John Mitchener and
Jim Hodges worked around US 17, Exit 230, recently
as part of the Sweep Chowan initiative. Not pictured
are Jay Swicegood and Roger Coleman. According to
Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce Executive
Director Win Dale, businesses, organizations or
individuals participated on 15 projects. So far, a
total of 83 individuals have worked 169 hours and
collected 156 bags of trash. To join the Sweep
Chowan effort, call Dale at 252-482-3400.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Flames and smoke rise
as the spire on Notre
Dame cathedral collapses
in Paris, Monday.
erature from Vigo Hugo to
Marcel Proust and famous
artwork graced the walls
are but memories. Though
the cathedral is a charred
See NOTRE, 3A
to ensure that the 15,000
people living in Chowan
County receive prompt re
sponse from law enforce
ment and EMTs. Currently,
eight people are on the
staff and Goodwin is in the
process of hiring for the
empty position.
“They are a great group
of folks. They are very
knowledgeable and skilled
at their jobs,” he said.
There are times when
the office may not have a
call for hours, Goodwin
See SAFETY, 3A
■Al,
W
FRIDAY, APRIL 26 th , 7:00 f M „
American
Cancer
Society
' Ruritan’s Relay for Life Team
Tickets
$10.00
f SATURDAY, APRIL 27% 2:00pm & 7:00PM
JOHN A HOLMES
HIGH SCHOOL
AUDITORIUM
EDENTON, NC
Tickets Available at various locations or call 252-221-4875 or 252-333-8567. Email rockyhock opry@live.ctMn