Training exercise: The Chowan County Sheriff’s Office will conduct a training exercise this morning, Aug. 21, in
conjunction with Edenton-Chowan Public Schools, local emergency services and state agencies. The exercise will
be held at D.F. Walker Elementary School and is closed to the public. Any emergency services activity in the
Sandy Ridge Road area will be due to this pre-planned training exercise.
REGION
Columbia man pleads guilty to mislabeling
180,000 lbs. of foreign crab meat as domestic - A5
ARTS
Chowan Arts Council to offer workshops
throughout the fall - A7
School hearings set
Public encouraged to
speak about JAHNS’ future
BY NICOLE BOWMAN-
LAYTON
Editor
Two public hearings
about the future of John
A. Holmes High School
will be held in September.
Two business organiza
tions already expressed
their support for keeping
Chowan County’s only
high school within Eden
ton.
The Chowan County
Board of Commissioners
and Edenton-Chowan
Board of Education an
nounced two special
meetings for public hear
ings.
The purpose of these
hearings is that as both
boards begin the process
to discuss the
SUBMITTED PHOTO
John A. Holmes High School
Meeting
Saturday
on algae
Resident: Algal blooms
came early this summer
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff writer
The green stuff is back
in our waterways, but it
never really left us.
For the fifth year in a
row, green algae has in
vaded several miles of the
Chowan River, its tribu
taries and perhaps Eden
ton Bay.
“The algae showed up
earlier than in past years,”
said Nita Criner of Arrow
head Beach. “It arrived Me
morial Day weekend this
year. It’s the first time since
living here that Memorial
Day, opening day of sum
mer, canceled many fami
lies activities in Arrowhead.
It was really sad to see.”
Green goo causes folks
to shoo.
“It’s very disappointing
when you wait all year, in
vite family and friends
from out of town to come
visit to enjoy the water
ways of Edenton only to
wake up on Memorial Day
to green stuff at your pier,”
Criner said. “Having to ex
plain what the green gunk
in the water is, makes peo
ple fearful to ever want to
come back. It’s gotten to
the point now, that we do
not invite guests during the
See ALGAE, A3
,—
Council gets
water plant
info updates
Beaver Hill project slated
for Oct.-Nov. completion
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff writer
Edenton Town Council
received an update as to
the progress underway at
the water treatment plants.
During the Tuesday
(Aug. 13) meeting, Public
Works Director Corey
Gooden said the Beaver
Hill plant will be com
pleted between mid Octo
ber and early November
while the Freemason wa
ter treatment plant will be
completed in January.
Gooden showed slides
and shared intricate details
as to the progress that
would make Bob Vila of
“This Old House” fame
smile, particularly the
See HEARINGS, A6
NICOLE BOWMAN-LAYTON/CHOWAN HERALD
A girl waves her hands in the air as she triumphantly makes her way down a Camp Cale inflatable slide
Saturday during Edenton United’s Back to School Bash at John A. Holmes High School.
Community helps ready kids for school
Over 1,000 backpacks
given away at bash
BY NICOLE BOWMAN-
LAYTON
Editor
The community came
together this past week to
make sure its youngest
residents area able to go
to school equipped for
the new academic year.
Activities began Aug.
13, as hundreds of people
from various schools,
churches and other orga
nizations gathered at
Edenton United
Methodist Church to stuff
over 1,000 backpacks for
Edenton United’s third
annual Back to School
Bash.
Tables were set up on
either side of the living
center for volunteers to
stuff backpacks with
notebooks, crayons, pa
per, ear buds and other
school supplies.
A few days later, the
backpacks- full of
See SCHOOL, A6
OPEN HOUSES
Edenton-Chowan Schools will
host open houses Thursday,
Aug. 22. The schedule is:
* 4-6 p.m., White Oak, D.F.
Walker schools
See COUNCIL, A5
'89076
44813 1
Vol. 84, No. 33
©2019 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
MILES LAYTON/
CHOWAN HERALD
The Rev. J.
Malone
Gilliam (left)
blesses the
backpacks
of children
at St. Paul's
Episcopal
Church
during the
Sept. 18
service.
* 5-7 p.m., Chowan Middle
School
* 6-8 p.m., John A. Holmes
High School
School starts Monday, Aug. 26.
Tyson new Edenton UMC pastor
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff writer
Good news: there’s a new pastor
in town.
Valerie Tyson is the new pastor
at Edenton United Methodist
Church - welcome!
Tyson is the first lead female
pastor at Edenton UMC. On any
given Sunday, except for maybe
during the height of beach sea
son, between 150-200 souls wor
ship in the pews that include
some of the movers and shakers
of Chowan County.
Tyson’s husband Gene is the
pastor at Hertford United
Methodist Church. Prior to
Edenton and Hertford, the cou
ple served as associate pastors at
Fuquay-Varina United Methodist
Church.
Meh Your Neighbor
A few months ago, this dynamic
duo came in our neck of the
woods. On that note, they live in
the parsonage in Hertford.
Back to Valerie, a small town
girl who discussed her roots,
Scripture and her call to serve
the Lord. Growing up in Fair-
field in Hyde County, Tyson
said, she loved visiting Eden
ton, so she was very happy
when Bishop Hope Morgan
Ward, who grew up in nearby
Gates County, assigned her to
Edenton UMC.
Question: What drew you to
Edenton?
Answer: Cheros Chicken Salad.
See TYSON, A5
MILES LAYTON/CHOWAN HERALD
Meet Valerie Tyson, the new
pastor at Edenton United
Methodist Church.
WhaUsHappeninginChrrwari County
Like
us on
Facebook at
/TheChowanHerald
Food Lion
offering curside
pickup — B4
Obituaries — A3
Jonathan Edward Baxley
William C. Furgerson
Virginia F. Williams
tv 4
Armory’s
future
discussed
NC National Guard
consolidating locations
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff writer
RALEIGH - State and lo
cal leaders met Tuesday to
discuss the future of the
NC Na
tional
Guard’s
Sgt.
Jeremy
Hardison
Readiness
Center in
Edenton.
NC Na
tional
Guard is
reducing and/or consoli
dating the total number of
armories within the state.
There are now 84 armories
in operation in North
Carolina. Over the next
decade, the National
Guard plans to reduce the
number to about 50 or 60
locations, according to
See ARMORY, A2
STEINBURG
Board
to seek
counsel
Commission OKs getting
bids for school bond adviser
BY MILES LAYTON
Staff writer
Chowan County Com
missioners took a step
closer toward plans that
may result in repairs, reno
vations or possibly a new
school to replace the 70-
year-old John A. Holmes
High School.
During Monday’s meet
ing, the board approved
plans to seek out bids to
hire a bond counsel that
will advise the county and
the Edenton-Chowan
Board of Education on the
work needed for any
school project.
An expanded version of
this stoiy will appear on-
line at the Daily Advance’s
website.
Based on a similar
school project, bond coun
sel fee’s may be around
$12,000. Firm must be
hired at the outset of the
project, whether it moves
forward or not, because a
lot of paperwork and fi
nancing mechanisms are
See BOND, A6
Calendar B3
Classifieds... .B7-8
nnPY Community.... B4
IIUUA Obituaries A3
Opinion A4
Sports Bl