SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2023
“News from Next Door”
$1.50
© SCAN ME
PAGE 3
PCHS grad
Scaff named 2023
London Foundation
Scholar
PAGE 3
Parks & Rec
announces
youth baseball,
softball champs
PAGE 4
Sheridan:
Grandmoms
keeping each
other, Ukraine,
in stitches
New owners renovating former Edenton supermarket site
Town: Today's Bank investing
$2.8M for roof, renovations
BY VERNON FUESTON
Staff Writer
EDENTON — The
shopping center that once
housed Edenton’s Food
Lion supermarket until
its move across town is in
foreclosure, and the new
owners are taking steps to
make its commercial space
available for rent.
The new owner, Today’s
Bank of Fayetteville, Arkan
sas, is investing $2.8 million
to fix the shopping center’s
roof and make other reno
vations, said Tyler Newman,
public information officer
for the town of Edenton.
A.R. Chesson of Elizabeth
City is performing the work.
Newman said the town
hopes the property will be
put back into commercial
use, perhaps with another
supermarket that might give
residents a second choice
for their grocery shopping.
“We hope these renova
tions will attract potential
tenants and merchants to
the center,” Newman said.
“North Edenton is definitely
open for business.”
Today’s Bank officials
could not be reached for
comment.
VERNON FUESTON/
CHOWAN HERALD
An unidentified worker
disposes of debris from
the renovation work
underway at the former
Food Lion shopping
center in north Edenton.
The center’s new owners
plan to invest $2.8
million in repairs at the
site, an Edenton town
spokesman said.
Paddle, Peddle, and Plod
VERNON FUESTON/CHOWAN HERALD
About 40 kayakers paddle away from the Hayes Plantation Bridge at Edenton’s Queen Anne Park Saturday
morning during the Paddle, Peddle, and Plod triathlon competition put on by the Chowan-Edenton Optimists Club.
Jacob Bond won first place overall and Tiffany ONeal placed second.
Hertford Mayor
Brown will not
seek reelection
40 kayak, bike and run at triathlon
E-Chowan Optimists event
raised money for cancer fund
BY VERNON FUESTON
Chowan Herald
EDENTON — An air
horn’s blast sent more than
40 kayakers paddling furious
ly as they pulled away from
the Hayes Plantation Bridge
at Edenton’s Queen Anne
Park Saturday morning.
Kayaking was the first leg
Byrum named Teacher of Year at CMS
Byrum has taught math for
more than two decades
BY VERNON FUESTON
Chowan Herald
“Math doesn’t change,”
Shannon Byrum says about
the subject she has taught
for 27 years. ‘Two plus two
equals four — today, just as
6 " 89076 47144
Vol. 88, No. 26
WWW.PerquimansWeekly.com
@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
of three events in the Paddle,
Peddle, and Plod triathlon
competition put on by the
Chowan-Edenton Optimists
Club.
Weather conditions and
choppy water forced the kay
ak portion of the triathlon off
the waters of Edenton Bay,
sending the boats instead on
a 1.94-mile course up Queen
Anne Creek and back
Once the racers finished
the water portion of the race,
it was time to bicycle from
it will tomorrow.”
Byrum is Chowan Mid
dle School’s Teacher of the
Year, and she is passionate
about the subject she teach
es: Sth-grade math, or what
some call “pre-algebra”.
For a lot of us, math was
never a favorite subject. It
is abstract, it is demand
ing, and it requires lots of
practice. But Byrum is a
believer in the value
of science, technol
ogy, engineering and
2 math in preparing stu
dents for a world that
is growing ever more
complex.
See TEACHER,A2
the park out to the Macedo
nia neighborhood, 7.5 miles
away, and then back for a to
tal of 15 miles.
With the bicycle leg of the
race out of the way, the tri
athlon became a foot race
as the competitors then
crossed the wooden bridge
of Queen Anne Creek, fol
lowing a course that took
them past Hayes Plantation,
a distance of 3.1 miles.
Rachael Johnson was re
sponsible for laying out the
VERNON FUESTON/CHOWAN HERALD
Shannon Byrum was recently named the Edenton-
Chowan Schools’ 2023 Teacher of the Year for Chowan
Middle School. Byrum has been teaching for 27 years.
course. She said the foot
race portion of the competi
tion was a favorite.
“It’s a beautiful course,
nice and flat,” Johnson
said, adding that the histor
ic Hayes Plantation House
brought history and beauty
to the run.
Jacob Bond won first-place
honors overall, while Tiffany
ONeal placed second. Bond
won first place in the men’s
division, while ONeal took the
women’s honors.
Hodgssto seek mayor's post,
Mimfitscti not seeking new term
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
HERTFORD — Hert
ford Mayor Earnell Brown
announced last week that
she will not seek reelec
tion in the town election
this November.
Brown said she is not
seeking reelection to a
second four-year term
“because of personal rea
sons.” She declined to
comment further.
Brown has served as the
town’s mayor since 2019.
Also on Wednesday,
Hertford Councilman Ash
ley Hodges, town council’s
mayor pro tern, said he
plans to be a candidate for
mayor this fall.
Hodges said Brown had
informed him of her deci
sion not to seek reelection.
7 say they plan
to run in Edenton
High lone candidate for mayor,
6 to seek 3 council seats
From staff reports
EDENTON — Filing
for the November non-
partisan election to fill
the mayor’s job and three
open seats on Edenton’s
Town Council doesn’t
start until noon on Friday,
but candidates are already
lining up to run.
Six candidates have al
ready announced that they
plan to file for one of the
three council seats and a
seventh candidate has said
he plans to run for mayor,
seeking to replace Jim
my E. Stallings, who’s an
nounced he’s not seeking
re-election.
Two of the council
seats — in the First
BROWN HODGES
“Although 1 will miss
working closely with her
in an official capacity, I
understand her reasoning
for wanting to take a step
back,” Hodges said. “She
loves Hertford too much
to go anywhere on us, and
I expect she’ll continue her
work for our community,
and particularly for young
people, for many years to
come.”
Hodges said he had
learned a lot from working
with Brown.
“Mayor Brown and I
See BROWN, A2
Ward and
councilor
at-large
— won’t
have an
i n c u m -
bent on
the Nov.
7 bal
lot. First
Ward
Councilor Hackney High
Jr. has already said he
plans to run for mayor
instead of for re-elec
tion to his seat. At-large
Councilor Roger Cole
man also has said he
doesn’t plan to seek
re-election.
Councilor Samuel B.
Dixon is the lone incum
bent who said he plans to
seek re-election. As yet,
no challengers have said
See ELECTION, A2