Change for America - Edenton seeks to better our community through projects which may immediately benefit local residents. The current focus is a food collection drive to support our local Food Pantry.

Change for America - Edenton is a recently formed non-partisan grass roots organization which is informally affiliated with a national effort. Everyone is invited to become involved. For more details contact Nancy Reilly at 312-7251 or e-mail her at piccoloart@aol.com

Edenton Yacht Club member Brian Berry shows Badham Dixon how to form an epoxy fillet on an Optimist Dinghy being constructed in College of the Albemarle’s boat-building lab. In this class, taught by Bob Baker, yacht club members are building three Optimists and one of them will belong to Badham. The club hopes to build at least six for public use in teaching local kids how to sail, in cooperation with the town/county Recreation Department.

The yacht club is sponsoring construction of the first 3 of what we plan to be an initial class of 6 boats and as many more as we can find sponsors for--we will allow advertising on the boats for businesses, clubs (any Optimist Club members reading :), or individuals who sponsor a boat--materials cost is about $1500. We are allowed to advertise by Optimist Class rules. Even if someone donates $100, we can put a logo on a boat.

Last Saturday close to 100 area residents gathered at the Edenton Presbyterian Church as the Chowan / Edenton Environmental Group, http://www.green.embarqspace.com/, opened its third year. The presentation by Cy Rich, Ph.D, laid out the future energy challenges that face all beings on our planet. The challenges are to build a new non carbon based economy and renewable energy infrastructure.

Dr. Rich lives in the county on a solar powered farm and has a deep personal and professional interest in sustainability. He opened his talk with the observation that our northeastern North Carolina estuary has recently been identified as the most environmentally sensitive coastal region in the nation - at the very time that it is responding to drastic changes. The pressures of locally increasing population and residential development, of groundwater depletion, loss of topsoil, agricultural monoculture, waste dumping, and burning of fossil fuels contribute to the undesirable changes occurring within our biosphere.

Most folks, including smokers, would agree that smoking is not something to be emulated or encouraged. However, our elected leaders, who set policies regarding tobacco products on county property should think about all sides of the issue before issuing policies that completely ban smoking. Why? Below is a copy of an email I recently sent our elected leaders following Monday night's Commissioner Meeting where they approved a ban on all tobacco products in the county health center AND on its "campus." I don't smoke and I wish no one did, but I think there is a larger issue here....

To all Commissioners,

At the 1/5/09 County Commissioner meeting there was more discussion about the 2009 Budget and a Citizens Oversight Committee. Before the meeting the names of who will be on this committee were being discussed privately by commissioners. At the meeting several citizens spoke about the desirability of having a cross section of citizens, not just those judged okay by Board members. Chairman Goodwin agreed and asked that citizens interested in serving on such a committee contact their Commissioner and make their desire to serve known. If you want to be involved call the commissioner you know best and ask to be considered. They were talking about picking 12 or so people.

The Green Initiative is this Saturday (the 10th), at 11 am at the Presbyterian Church here in Edenton. Please invite anyone who you think may be interested.
Kind Regards
Nancy Riley

Nancy may be reached at - piccoloart- at - aol.com
Thought I'd pass this on. Philip

Chowan County Board of Commissioners
Regular Meeting
Monday January 5, 2009
6:00 pm
Chowan County 1767 Courthouse
East King Street

AGENDA:

THANK HEAVEN ...
"for little girls,"; as Maurice Chevalier sang; "they grow up in the most delightful way." And so they do. It's fun to dress them up and to play Go Fish or make cookies with them. And thank heaven for little boys, too, especially when they pull a frog out of a pocket before you put their play-clothes into the Maytag. As we celebrate our many blessings at this pre-game warm-up to the Christmas season, let us give thanks.

Members Juried Exhibit Exibit runs November 21 - January 5 2009

• http://www.vbgov.com/file_source/dept/planning/Document/JLUS_Ch4.pdf
The Navy has maintained (lately) the OLF is needed to support Field Carrier Landing Practices (FCLP) due to exceeded capacity to OLF Fentress. Clearly the above document reveals FCLP operations are restricted at NAS Oceana. Here we have the East Coast Master Jet Base with four runways that are designed for high performance aircraft unable to perform the mission for which it was intended, training our jet fighter aircraft pilots. Please read the Hampton Roads Joint Land Use Study.