The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, November 25, 1995            TAG: 9511250243
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY                     LENGTH: Short :   40 lines

CHERRY SAYS HE'LL PUSH FOR KNOBBS CREEK SITE

An incoming city councilman says he will push to resolve the city's ongoing fire station issue by motioning to build a station on Knobbs Creek Drive.

``If it's not taken care of before I get there,'' 1st Ward Councilman-elect Donald Cherry said Friday, ``I will do such - unless there's some information that hasn't been delivered to me.''

Cherry and Zack Robertson will be seated Dec. 4. They will replace Councilmen W.L. ``Pete'' Hooker and David P. Bosomworth, who did not seek re-election.

Cherry has watched the City Council's recent debates on where to build a second fire station, an issue that has gone unresolved as some council members press for a downtown site that experts recommend against using.

The council appeared ready to build on city property at Knobbs Creek Drive and U.S. 17 last spring, when they rezoned the parcel to put a fire station there.

But during the summer, the council revisited the possibility of rebuilding the Elizabeth Street station that was deemed unsafe for use more than a year ago.

The council reviewed preliminary drawings for the Knobbs Creek Drive property on Monday, but the Public Safety Committee declined to act despite recommendations by Mayor H. Rick Gardner to move forward.

On Thursday, Cherry said that after listening to all sides of the issue, ``I have concluded that it is imperative that the city proceed at once to construct Fire Station No. 1 at the Knobbs Creek site.''

The city has had only one operating fire station - on Halstead Boulevard in the southern part of town - since the downtown station was abandoned last year. by CNB