THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 36, No. 16 USPS 428 080 . Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, Apr. 17, 1980
20 CENTS
Medical facilities head county wish list
Perquimans County's
' greatest need at present is
improved medical facilities.
At least that was the con
sensus of those persons an
swering a survey designed to
update the county's Coastal
Area Management Act Land
Use Plan.
Of the 2,500 surveys sent out,
408 were returned before the
March deadline, a 16 percent
response according to Dan
Tew, community assistance
planner.
Other improvements needed
in the county according to the
questionnaire (listed
chronologically according to
need) are: employment op
portunities, which ranked
second after medical
facilities; educational
facilities, which was third;
industrial development,
fourth; law enforcement,
fifth; community facilities,
sixth; cultural activities,
seventh; recreation, eighth;
land use planning, ninth; and
environmental con
siderations, ranked tenth.
69.4 percent said they would
support a statewide bond
referendum for school
facilities, should the General
Assembly decide to include
one in the November general
election. 9.8 percent said they
would not support such a
referendum.
47 percent of those com
pleting the survey indicated
that they would like to see a
substantial increase in county
growth; 28 percent indicated a
small increase, and 12 percent
would like to see the county
remain the same size.
Expanded tourism in the
county was favored by 62
percent of those surveyed; 23
percent were not in favor of
attracting more tourists.
Politicking time in Perquimans county
As the Democratic Primary
approaches, more and more
hopefuls are making their way
to Perquimans County in
I order to squeeze the flesh and
get in some last minute
campaigning. Among the
candidates politicking in
downtown Hertford last week
were U.S. Congress hopeful
Joe Hollowell, (top left); in
cumbant candidate for the
U.S. Congress Walter B.
Jones, (top right); Ed Ren
frow, (lower left) who is
running for State Auditor; and
Jim Long, who is in the race
for N.C. Insurance Com
missioner. One of Long's
opponents, John Ingram,
incumbant candidate for the
office of Insurance Com
missioner, also stopped in
Perquimans County, as did
Bill Chestnut, candidate for
State Auditor.
School land purchase being finalized
Perquimans County Board
I of Education attorney John
Matthews is in the process of
acquiring deed to the
Urquhart property, bringing
an end to a five-year struggle
to acquire the IS acres of land
adjacent to the county high
school.
Three separate tracts
comprise the purchase, which
) will cost the county $69,500.
The land was originally
sought for expansion of
parking and athletic facilities
but since that time, priority
needs at the school may have
changed, said school board
superintendent Pat Harrell,
and improvements to the
property may be delayed.
In the interim, the school
) board decided at a meeting
last Tuesday to rent some of
the property to farmers, he
said.
Another matter saw the
board move to seek further
accreditation for its schools.
"The board recognised the
value of accreditation and
would be those standards. We
would set out with a
curriculum plan as to what to
do to meet those standards,"
Harrell said.
There are certain basic
skills that every student
should be able to master, he
said. "For instance, we'd like
students to be competent in
basic math skills, certainly
basic computation," Harrell
said.
To make sure students are
learning those skills, check
points will be initiated at
various levels of advancement
in their school careers, he
said.
The county schools have
never before belonged to the
Southern Association.
Other matters of discussion
included the summer migrant
program, to be conducted at
Hertford Grammar this year.
The migrant program will
include both enrichment and
remediation courses, and will
be open to the children of
agricultural and fisheries
related workers.
Another vacation program,
the summer feeding program,
will be in operation at Central
Grammar School.
Those peraoos who meet
income eligibility
requirements will receive a
free hot lunch at the school
m an unrelated matter,
Harell announced that the
oB^wlthottt'a "mSi "in *the
4
There were few absences,
and teachers and principals
worked very hard to make the
testing a success, he said.
Board members praised the
performances of Perquimans
High School students who
traveled to Greenville to
participate in a math contest.
A five member team of ad
vanced math students from
the high school placed eighth
in competition with students
from all over the state.
In other action, the board :
?accepted a previously an
nounced |6,870 energy con
servation grant to be used for
improvements to school
buildings;
?was told that the Perquimans
County Library building had
been deeded over to the county
commissioners in years past
(clarification of ownership
had been sought for the for
mer school property ) ;
?accepted bids from two
companies of more than $6,000
each for various office fur
nishings to be used in the high
school addition;
?moved to rebid for fur
nishings for the library por
tion of the project;
?approved a change order in
the addition project of some
$10,000 to finance electrical
work in the administrative
area;
?and set special board
meetings on April 24 to discuss
the budget for the 1980-'81
fiscal year, and on April 28 for
personnel evaluations
(executive session).
Social services budget to swell
The Perquimans County
Board of Commissioners lent
its tenative approval to a
$218, S72 social services budget
for the coming fiscal year at a
meeting last Tuesday.
The budget, up more than
$20,000 over the present year's
expenditures, includes a 10
percent across-the-board pay
increase for social service
employees.
Increases were requested in
Aid to Families with
Dependent Children for
110,880, Medicaid, 91.777, and
administration, H.M3, (in
cludes salary increases).
Other spending areas,
however, war* trimmed back.
11m eoaaty has no control
over Its share of APDC and
Medicaid. But the salary fe
creases reportedly created
State representatives
Charles Evans and Vernon
James appeared at the board
meeting, and told members
that June 5 will be the deadline
for submitting local
legislation for consideration
by the state legislature.
The two said they anticipate
a short session without many
new bills to be considered.
Ellen Bowen, county
librarian, reported to the
commissioners on new
programs offered by the
library.
One such new program is
Starry Nights, a free feature
film serietf that begins
tomorrow night (Friday) at >
p.m. at Perquimans High
School with the showing of
"Larry."
Other films to be shown
include: THE BLUE
ANGELS. GASLIGHT,
BRIAN'S SONG, GREAT
EXPECTATIONS, NIGHT
2- ? ?
MUST FALL, AND ANIMAL
FARM.
In other business, a sub
division plat presented by
Tuck Webb of Webb-Hurdle
Construction was granted
final approval.
The subdivision will include
15 lots fronting State Road
1300 (the New Hope Road).
Webb told the com
missioners that his firm had
intended to build -homes on
some of the lots and put them
on the market, but with
current economic conditions,
plans are uncertain.
Mrs. M.B. Taylor appeared
before the commissioners to
detail the upcoming con
ference on leadership
development, scheduled May
Mat the ARPDC building
Accomplished professionals
will lcad^wrkjhops on
the all day conference.
Mrs. Taylor said she is
uncertain at present whether
or not any county funds will be
needed to carry out the
workshop, but she wanted to
make the commissioners
aware of the possibility.
The commissioners also
beard the results of a safety
inspection conducted by
Nationwide Insurance
Company.
Minor improvements were
recommended for some
county property, included the
addition of safety railing to the
porches and steps of county
owned mobile offices, and a
more strategic placement of
fire extinquishers in some
buildings.
In a final item, tax super
visor Keith Haskett and
Commissioner Welly White
reported on a meeting in Trap,
N.C. that concerned com
puterised tax mapping and
revaluation.
'v f
And although most in
dicated favor toward ex
pansion, they at the same time
gave the county's rural way of
life a plus.
A majority of Perquimans
county citizens said they felt
that they have an adequate
opportunity to participate in
local government and com
munity affairs, a question
which netted a favorable
response of 55 percent; 28
percent disagreed.
85 percent of those
responding felt that the ap
pearance of the county needs
to be improved, with 80 per
cent indicating that historical
assets should be preserved.
Only 38 percent felt that
Perquimans County should
remain agriculturally
oriented, with 73 percent in
dicating that more industry is
needed to supplement the
existing agricultural base.
A narrow 20 percent were
satisfied with present shop
ping facilities in the county,
with 60 percent in
disagreement.
A whopping 85 percent were
in favor of the four-Ianing of
U.S. 17, a move they indicated
would mean better jobs, an
increase in tourism, and a
boost to the local economy.
Only 5 percent were opposed
to the expansion of U.S. 17.
Environmental problems
facing the county which netted
the most attention were algae
bloom in the Perquimans
River and its tributaries,
chemical and fertilizer run-off
into the river, and the fact that
the number of fish is declining
in area waters.
Road conditions and
recreational opportunities
received the most mention
when the survey asked for
specific improvements needed
in one's own neighborhood,
street, or community.
Of the questionnaires
returned, 33 percent were
from Hertford, 20 percent
were from the New Hope and
Bethel areas each, 18 percent
were from Parksville, and 12.5
percent returned were from
Belvidere.
70 percent of those an
swering the survey had ob
tained a high school diploma,
12 percent had earned a
college degree, and 16 percent
had completed either
grammar school or junior
high.
Most of those answering the
survey were between the 26
and 45 years of age.
Tew said the next step was
to use the information gleaned
from the questionnaires to
check policy statements for
the county's updated CAMA
plan.
And although the survey
was designed to gain public
input in drawing up the plan,
Tew emphasized the fact
information obtained from the
questionnaires would be used
only as a check.
"The survey does not reflect
the attitude of the county,"
said Tew, "just those who
answered."
Under CAMA regulations,
the county is required to
upgrade the plan evey five
years and its purpose is to
identify possible problems and
issues that will confront the
area within those five years.
The plan must also reflect
present land use in the county
and project an overall picture
of desired land use in 1985.
Perquimans County's initial
land use plan was drawn up in
1975, following the state'
adoption of CAMA in 1974.
CAMA was designed
primarily to protect the
coastal region from poorly
planned development that
could possibly be damaging to
the eco-system.
Man cleared
of murder
A Chesapeake man was
found not guilty of murder
charges stemming from the
Nov. 28 shotgun slaying of a
Perquimans County resident
in a two day trial last week.
Carlton Eugene Copeland,
42, admitted under oath that
he shot Sammy Lucien
Langley of Rt. 1 Hertford on
Happy Home Church Road in
Chowan County. Copeland
said, however, that Langley,
who was married to
Copeland's ex-wife, had
threatened to kill him, and his
attorney, W.T. Culpepper, III,
argued that the shooting was
in self-defense.
The jury deliberated only 45
minutes before finding
Copeland not guilty of a
second degree murder charge.
According to testimony,
Copeland came to Chowan
( Continued on page 2 *
Police chief ,
suspect tangle
Hertford Police Chief
Marshall Merrit responded to
a call about a theft at th?
Cherokee Restaurant and
ended up brawling in the
parking lot Thursday morning
as the suspect was detected in
the laundromat next door.
According to Merritt, Ms.
Sandra Trueblood opened the
business that morning and
went to the ladies room. As
she was returning, she saw a
man leave the restaurant.
She thought nothing of it,
until she noticed that money
was missing from the cash
register when she was getting
change for another customer.
She called the police, and
identified a customer in ther
laundromat as being the man
she had seen leaving the
restaurant.
As Merritt was attempting
to handcuff the suspect, he
attempted to break away,
Merritt said, striking the law
enforcement officer oo the
chest and arms.
A crowd gathered as Merritt
subdued the suspect, and
recovered II one dollar bills
he believed to have been
stolen from the restaurant
jfc
Wilbert Lee Jones, 18, was
arrested and charged with
larceny, assault on an officer,
and resisting arrest.
He was released from the
Albemarle District Jail on
$200 bond and is expected to be
tried on April 23 in
Perquimans Counmty District
Court.
The Hertford Police
Department is also in
vestigating the Sunday theft of
a 1975 Chevrolet 4-door
automobile registered to
Mamie Hunter Peterson of 118
Wynne Fork Courts. The
automobile was later
recovered in Winfall.
Investigating officers say
they have a suspect and an
arrest may be pendinmg in the
case.
Another matter under in
vestigation is a break-in at
Jimmy's Barbecue discovered
Saturday morning.
Some person or persons
broke out a pane of glass and
entered the establishment,
removing a tip cup that held
an undetermined amount of
money, according to in
vestigating officer Robert