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Pwudi^ Serving Bertie County fi?rl68years
Askewville * Aulander • Colerain • Kelford * Lewiston Woodville * Merry Hill • Powellsville • Roxobel • Windsor
VOL. 86-NO. 4 50 Cents
WEDNESDAY • January 27 • 2016
Superintendent search moves on
School board offers thoughts on next district leader
Good Morning,
Barbara Cherry
of Hampton, Va.
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subscribing!
Pound
11711
35906
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By Kyra Ruivo
Bertie Ledger-Advance
WINDSOR -.The search contin
ues.
At the Bertie County Board
of Education meeting on Jan.
20, Allison Shafer of the North
Carolina School Board Asso
ciation (NCSBA) presented to
the board.
In November, the board
agreed to have a community
and a staff survey done so they
can see what citizens in the
community are looking for in
the next superintendent.
“All the surveys were com
pleted and sent to NCSBA by
Jan. 4,” Shafer said. “There
were two separate surveys. A
community survey and staff
survey. Of the 50 community
surveys started, 48 were turned
in. Of the 108 staff surveys
started, 102 were finished.” ,
Of the data collected, the top
priority for the community
survey results were that the
next superintendent has ideas
and approaches to improve the
graduation rates, and prevent
drop-outs. The top priority for
the staff surveys were that the
See SUPERINTENDENT, Page A6
Sound
Commissioners
back triathlon
By Thadd White
Bertie Ledger-Advance
POWELLSVILLE - A prom
ise kept.
The Bertie County
Commissioners agreed
to get in on the ground
floor of Pound the Sound.
The county’s leaders also
agreed if the event was a
success, and drew many
to the county, they’d be
more generous in their
support.
Unfortunately, the
fledgling event needs ad
ditional funding due to
no fault of its own. One
of last year’s largest cor
porate donors - Golden
Peanut in Aulander - is
closing its doors next
month.
There also have been
price increases that pro
duced financial short
falls for the event, al
though Rotary Club of
Windsor President Todd
Lane has been confident
in finding other gener
ous sponsors.
After Monday’s meet
ing with the Bertie com
missioners, Lane expects
to be able to build on the
event rather than simply
See SDUND, Page A7
OUT & ABOUT A2
OBITUARIES A2
SPORTS B1
CHURCH & FAITH B2
LIFE & STYLE B3
CLASSIFIED .....B4
GLAUCOMA AWARENESS
m
I
* ^
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Ophthalmologists suggest checking for glaucoma through all stages of life.
Check for 'silent killer of sight'
By Leslie Beachboard
Bertie Ledger-Advance
WINDSOR - January is National
Glaucoma Awareness Month.
What is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a condition
when the pressure inside the
eye rises. The pressure is regu
lated by the balance between
the amount of fluid the duct
work produces inside the eye
and the amount that drains
from the eye. When the drain
becomes blocked then the pres
sure rises. The pressure can
crush the optic nerve, causing
permanent vision loss, and
sometimes blindness.
“Glaucoma is the silent killer
thief of sight. If you do not get
A
NATIONAL
UCQMA
checked, you will not know you
have it,” said Dr. Lady Aycock
of Eye Care Center in Wind
sor.
There are two forms of glau
coma- open-angle glaucoma
and angle-closure glaucoma.
Open-angle glaucoma; also
known as chronic glaucoma, is
caused when the drain system
in the eye does not work prop
erly.
It is the most common type
form of glaucoma, affecting 2.5
million Americans. It is dan
gerous because it rises gradu
ally, and causes no noticeable
symptoms.
Open-angle glaucoma has a
no known cause. Primarily it
is inherited, but can also come
from eye injury, advanced cata
racts or diabetes.
This form of glaucoma usu
ally responds well to medica
tions.
The second form of glaucoma
is called angle closure glauco
ma. This form of glaucoma is
caused by a structural problem
when the iris is pushed against
the cornea, so fluid cannot get
See GLAUCOMA, Page A6
Wear
red in
Women’s heart
health event set
By Leslie Beachboard
Bertie-Ledger Advance
WINDSOR - There is more
than one reason to wear
red in February.
National Wear Red Day
is held the first Friday
in February every year.
The day is to help raise
awareness about heart
disease being the num
ber one killer in women.
This year the event will
be held on Friday Feb. 5.
The American Heart
Association’s Go Red For
Women campaign advo
cates education, preven
tion, and increased re
search of women’s heart
related illnesses.
Heart disease in wom
en is the leading cause
of death in women, re
sulting in one in three
deaths per year. It is
often referred to as the
silent killer. Heart dis
ease victims often do
not know they have it, so
they do not get treated or
make healthy life-style
changes.
Statistics show that in
the five years from 2009
to 2013 heart disease rate
See HEART, Page A8
Commissioners vote for five-day extension
Policy goes into affect immediately
By Leslie Beachboard
Bertie Ledger-Advance
POWELLSVILLE - A five-
day extension is com
ing.
Bertie County Board
of Commissioners met
Thursday, Jan. 21 in
Powellsville. One item
on the agenda was the
Bertie Co. Water Depart
ment’s billing policy.
Bertie County Public
Works Director, Rickey
Spivey, stated that the
current county water
bill is due on average 2
days before some cus
tomers receive their
income source. This
causes some water bills
to become delinquent
with the department.
Spivey recommended
to the board, the possi
bility for an extension
for the time window for
delinquent water bills.
The. proposed plan is a
5 day extension would
allow more time before
the water bill would be
due to the county.
This gives some cus
tomers in the county
more time to receive
their monthly income
before their payment is
due.
The board of com
missioners voted on the
recommendation for an
extension on payment
for water bills. Com
missioner, Stuart White
motioned the proposal.
Commissioner John
Trent and Commission
er Ernestine Bazemore
seconded the motion to
approve the extension.
The commissioner
board unanimously ap
proved to extend the bfil-
ing water date by 5 days.
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