U.S. Homework Outsourced As 'E-tutoring' Grows

by Reuters - September 29th, 2006 - C/Net News.com

Private tutors are a luxury many American families cannot afford, costing anywhere between $25 and $100 an hour. But California mother Denise Robison found one online for $2.50 an hour--in India.

"It's made the biggest difference. My daughter is literally at the top of every single one of her classes and she has never done that before," said Robison, a single mother from Modesto.

Her 13-year-old daughter, Taylor, is one of 1,100 Americans enrolled in Bangalore-based TutorVista.com, which launched U.S. services last November with a staff of 150 "e-tutors" mostly in India with a fee of $100 a month for unlimited hours.

Taylor took two-hour sessions each day for five days a week in math and English--a cost that tallies to $2.50 an hour, a fraction of the $40 an hour charged by U.S.-based online tutors such as market leader Tutor.com . . . .

This is why we MUST get high speed broadband in Bertie County, and all other areas of the Inner Banks as well. Distance Learning is just one of the changes in our world that mean our local citizens can keep up with anyone . . . IF we have high speed broadband Internet. "E-tutoring" is one example of why I keep touting distance learning as a key to solving our education problems.

Access to tutors that can explain things so any child can understand is now a trivial expense. There is no need for the tutor to live anywhere near the Inner Banks. With the Internet and a little practice you can chat or talk with an expert any time you want, 24 hours a day. $2.50 an hour? Who cannot afford a tutor at that rate? In fact TutorVista.com is currently running a special of $49.99 a month for unlimited hours, which with regular use is about $1.00 per hour. $1 per HOUR!

For as long as education has existed the rich have had the advantage that their children can get a tutor anytime they fall behind. Alexander the Great was tutored by Aristotle 2,000 years ago. Now anyone can take advantage of tutors. Why should our children be last in the state when we can provide them access to tutors?

Inner Banks Scenic Parkway Presented To Windsor Rotary

Dean Stephens presented the Inner Banks Scenic Parkway presentation to the Windsor Rotary Club today. This great new transportation artery being proposed for the Inner Banks will run down the eastern edge of Bertie County, and bring many tourists to our beautiful part of the world.

Dean Stephens Discusses The Inner Banks Scenic Parkway

This was the same presentation recently presented to all of the county governments along the Scenic Parkway route. The concept has been well received and most people seem excited about this novel idea. The route will be intermittently scenic parkway and regular rural roads that already exist, much as the Natchez Trail was done next to the Mississippi.


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Colerain's Famous Seagull Cafe Fall Season In One Week

The Seagull Cafe will open in one week for its traditional Fall Season, Wednesday, October 4th. The hours of operation are (as usual) from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM. The Seagull is only open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays.

Perry-Wynns Fish Company, Inc.

They specialize in Salt Herring, Trout, Shrimp & Oysters.

Herring Plate

My Personal Favorite Dishes, Shrimp and Oysters


The Seagull Cafe is a favorite place for the many farmers and workers in the area.


The view from the Seagull shows the Chowan River at its best. The small Cafe is located by the river near the end of River Road, close to the Colerain Beach Club.

Chowan River In Fall Colors

The Seagull Is Not Open For Sunrise, But The View Then Is Also Spectacular!


The trout is prepared incredibly and they make the most delicious shrimp you will ever taste. The cooks are simply the best.

Delores Forehand (Chef) And Betty Peale Are Part Of The Great Seagull Staff

Mike Perry and Linda Wynn are always on hand to welcome everyone to a unique dining experience. Don't miss it!


The Seagull Cafe is affiliated with Perry-Wynns Fish Company, Inc.

L.C. Hoggard Elected To Statewide Board

Bertie County Commissioner Lewis C. Hoggard, III was elected to a two-year term to the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners during the NCACC’s 99th Annual Conference in Forsyth County, which was held Sept. 7-10. Mr. Hoggard will represent District 2, which includes Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Martin and Pitt counties.

Lewis C. Hoggard, III

Mr. Hoggard is in his second term as a member of the Bertie County Board of Commissioners. He earned a B.A. in Sociology in 1980 from Elizabeth City State University.

A District Director is responsible for staying in touch with commissioners from the district to discern issues that need to be brought to the attention of the Board. They are responsible for keeping Association staff informed about matters of interest or concern in their districts and are responsible for representing the Association with other interested parties and organizations at the local level, such as municipalities and regional planning organizations.

The Association’s Board is comprised of five officers, 18 district directors, five at-large appointees and 11 other members who either serve on the board of the National Association of Counties or chair Association committees.

The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners is the official voice of all 100 counties on issues being considered by the General Assembly and state and federal agencies. The Board of Directors meets several times throughout the year to develop statewide policy goals in such areas as taxation, agriculture, environment, criminal justice, human resources and public education.

For more information, contact Director of Communications Todd McGee at 919-715-2893.

Riverside Baptist Church Homecoming

It Was A Beautiful Day For Riverside Baptist Church's Homecoming

Today was the day. Riverside Baptist Church held their annual Homecoming Day Service. Pastor Al Jarrell led most of the service, but Pastor Woody Copeland delivered the sermon on coming home. Both were in great form.

After Service Everyone Lined Up For The Food

Bonnie Adams led the choir in some beautiful songs on the meaning of coming home.

Many People Worked Hard To Prepare The Food

After the service, the traditional annual dinner was served. Everyone had a great time catching up with old friends who had come by for this annual event.

Tables Loaded With Food

I have been coming to this service almost since I first became a part of the Spencer Adams family over 20 years ago, and it has always meant great times with great friends. Riverside Baptist Church is a very special place.

Eating On The Pavillion

Pastor Al Jarrell Keeping Things Loose

MacBook Shutdown Site Continues Its Mission

by Scott Ferguson - September 14th, 2006 - eWeek.com

About a month after its launch, macbookrandomshutdown.com is continuing its mission of bringing attention to what it claims are random shutdowns of Apple Computer's MacBook notebooks.

The site is now receiving about 5,000 visitors a day and has totaled 100,000 page views since it launched on Aug. 15, according to site creator Matthew Swanson, who lives in Atlanta.

Swanson started the site after his wife bought a new 2GHz MacBook for her business. About a month after the purchase, the MacBook began suffering from what Swanson calls "RSS"—Random Shutdown Syndrome.

The new Apple MacBooks are crashing so frequently that Apple has had to acknowledge the problem on their company web site. These are the computers that were recently touted by our local Board of Education and Superintendent as being so superior to Microsoft Windows computers that they did not even look at Microsoft as a candidate to supply computers for the Bertie County project.

Chicken On The Cashie

The Annual Bertie County Fire Department benefit called the "Chicken on the Cashie" was held yesterday at the Cashie Golf and Country Club. Though weather was threatening all day, the golfers managed to get in a great day of golf with only a few small sprinkles. The weather kept the temperature down so it was actually a pretty comfortable day.

Entering The Cashie Golf & Country Club For The Chicken On The Cashie Golf Tournament

Making a tour of the course, we found quite a few different styles of play were being used. Here are a few of the players making their shots.

Phil Sissler

Dale Evans

Joel Nolan

R.D. Matthews

A few of the teams were dressed up like professionals with team colors and all. Here is one of the better dressed groups.

One Of The Three Embarq Teams - Truett Miller, Robby Mills, Eddie Lynch And Larry Drue

The players on the teams were entertained all day by a mother deer and her two fawns. They were enjoying playing on the golf course and they kept dashing out and crossing the fairways all day long.

All Day These Two Fawns (And Their Mother) Kept Crossing The Golf Course

As the tournament wound down, the volunteers started to prepare for the evening meal that is part of the event. The weather which had been threatening all day seemed more and more likely to turn into rain and everyone was concered about whether they could get the meal in.

Chief Billy Smithwick And Mayor Jay Jenkins Talking About When The Rain Will Start

Volunteers simply hoped for the best and kept preparing the chicken that would be needed if the rain held off. These people are simply the best. They work to save our lives all year long, and on this day, they prepare the best chicken in the world. I got to sample some of the chicken and it was awesome.

Askewville Fire Department Preparing Their Chicken

Windsor Fire Department Volunteers Cooking Great Chicken

A very special thank you to all the volunteers and recognition for the great job they do for our community. We owe them all!

Inner Banks Scenic Parkway Well Received By Commissioners

Inner Banks Scenic Parkway

A group of Inner Banks citizens are so excited by this proposal that they are taking on the task of communication of the concept to all of the government entities affected. They are also forming a group of eco-tourism interested parties to take over promotion of the idea to the NCDOT and state government. This group is called the Inner Banks Scenic Parkway Task Force. So far they have presented their plan to Hertford County and Washington County last week, and yesterday presented to Gates County, Beaufort County and Bertie County Commissioners.

In all cases, the presentation was positively received. Everyone agrees this is a great idea and needs to move forward.

Gates County Commissioners And Management

Beaufort County Commissioners

Bertie County Commissioners And Management

You can see an updated proposal on the Inner Banks Scenic Parkway Task Force web site by clicking on this link http://scenicparkway.blogspot.com or on the title above.

The balance of the schedule of presentations to county governments is as follows:

Monday - September 18th @ 8:30 AM - Craven County
Monday - October 2nd @ 7:30 PM - Pamlico County (Rescheduled)

The group also will be presenting to the Northeast Partnership and the 2 RPO's for the area in Hertford and Washington.

Anyone who is interested in environmentally friendly development for the Inner Banks is invited to join in this worthy cause at the task force kickoff meeting, October 7th at 5:00 PM at the Golden Corral in Washington, NC.

Map To Golden Corral 10-07-06 Meeting

Click on the map for a larger version

Hosea Wilson Is New Tax Administrator

Bertie County Commissioners voted to approve appointment of Hosea Wilson to a one year term as Tax Administrator last night at their September Meeting.

Immediately thereafter, Clerk of the Court John Tyler conducted the swearing in ceremony.

Hosea Wilson (In The Middle), His Wife, And Clerk Of The Court John Tyler

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin Killed By Stingray

Staff - September 4th, 2006 - The Australian

Steve Irwin, arguably the most famous Australian, is dead after being struck in the heart by a stingray while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.

Here was a guy who would fit in well in Bertie County. He loved animals, loved the wild, loved his "mates" and loved showing off. It is sad when someone who lives life on the edge doesn't make it. He made our lives better for showing us what it is like to really live. He took chances, however you could see he was trying hard to not get hurt. He loved life.

This article has some great tributes to him and explains a lot about why he was so popular all over the world.

Steve Irwin, Dead At 44

Thanks, Steve, for bringing God's awesome wild animals into our lives for a while. May God comfort his family and friends.

Tropical Storm Ernesto

It may have been just short of a hurricane, but local residents still suffered damage.

Walter White's Boat Started The Storm In A Boat House On The Chowan River But Ernesto "Freed" It From Its Confines