Perspective
Cox considered candidate
By JANE B. WILLIAMS
The decision of Representative
Charles Evans late last week not
to seek a fifth term in the North
Carolina House of Representa
tives came as quite a surprise to
most of us in the First District.
Far several days it has been
rumored that Bill Cox, Mayor
Manager of the Town of Hert
ford, has contemplated seeking
this seat in the house. If nothing
else, this shows the good taste of
the gossips in the First District.
Opinion
Charles has served, and served
well; for that we are thankful.
Charles took with him to the Gen
eral Assembly a true love for
northeastern North Carolina and
its people. We shall miss him;
but we do hope to see his name on
the ballot again in the future.
Evans' decision has left us with
little time before the filing dead
line to field qualified candidates
to seek this seat. Many names
have been mentioned, publicly
and privately, but none have per
ked our ears quite so much as
that of one of Perquimans' own.
We know ot no one more qual
ified and concerned that could
seek this post.
Bill Cox has always been a
friend of not only Hertford and
Perquimans County, but of the
entire district. He has logged in
numerable hours of hard work
petitioning for growth and devel
opment in this area. His dedica
tion to this district is evident as
we see business and industry lo
cating in the Albemarle; high
way improvement plans getting
underway; and growth taking
place in our own community to
day.
Bill Cox has placed himself, his
talents and his energies at our
disposal. He has asked for little
in return, primarily our support
of efforts towards im
provements.
We are not in the position to
ask him to give any more of him
self than he already has; but we
realize the great benefits we
could reap from his voice in the
General Assembly.
Whether or not he will elect to
seek this office is not yet known.
There are various factors in
volved that many of us never
stop to consider. Irregardless of
his decision we shall continue to
support and uphold this man who
has done so much for each of us.
We know that he will give this
request for service a great deal
of thought; and though we would
surely miss him locally, we real
ize that his voice in Raleigh could
only be of benefit to us all.
Be careful where you park
I knew I was right but I had to
have some proof before I started
this column and put it in front of
you to see for yourself what I
knew I was right about. I needed
some cold, hard facts. I wanted a
notebook full before I sat down to
tell you about it.
Unfortunately, I got my note
book full. I simply chose a time
and place, parked my car near a
highly visible spot, and waited.
The rest was up to you.
In less than one hour I had wit
nessed eleven people using a
handicapped parking space who
got out of their vehicles and
walked, in perfect normality,
into a store. Within the next hour,
three more people did the same
thing. Then a woman settled her
big station wagon into the space,
locked her doors, checked her
back window for security, I sup
pose, and shopped for the re
mainder of the day. I worked on
other notes while I waited. I left
for lunch and returned to circle
the lot. She was still there. I kept
an appointment and returned
later. She was still there. Finally,
I gave up, and, out of pure dis
gust, went home.
Of those fifteen people abusing
this one parking space, I hate to
admit that I knew well over half
of them personally. I would
never have thought them capable
of such an uncaring attitude.
They just hadn't seemed like
folks who'd deliberately cheat a
handicapped person out of a ne
cessity of life. I guess I got a lot
more that day than 1 bargained
for, for though I obtained my
material for this column, I also
learned a valuable lesson in per
sonal ethics.
There have been several more
occasions when I've set out to in
tentionally scrutinize a hand
icapped parking space. All of
these instances netted me the
same answers, but some have
lingered on my mind ever since.
In particular. I watched an old
man on a wnlker struggle from
far back in a parking lot to finally
reach the entrance of a
store.. .out of breath, bent with
pain, and dodging traffic as best
he could all the way.
Then, there was the time a
mother tried desperately to
wedge her car between two more
and then unload a wheelchair
plus her half-grown, crippled
child without damaging the other
cars next to hers... all because
somebody who didn't need to,
was parked in the available
handicapped area.
And, I certainly haven't forgot
ten the specially designed van
that circled one parking lot for
what seemed like half an hour be
fore finally pulling up as close to
the entrance as possible among
heavy two-way traffic and pedes
trians, to meticulously unload
two grown-ups in wheelchairs.
The woman in the handdicapped
parking spot was standing by her
car, chatting with a friend the en
tire time. I followed those hand
icapped people inside and talked
with them. One explained to me
how he felt about this apparent
lack of concern.
"I can't walk in here like the
rest of them, but just because
I'm crippled doesn't mean I don't
try to live a normal life. I still
like to choose my own clothes
and select my personal things. I
like to share in the holiday excit
ement and see the new styles and
products. I enjoy browsing and
shopping for myself just like ev
erybody else. I can do a lot of
things for myself quite satisfac
torily. ..if I can only find a place
to unload my wheelchair and mo
tivate to the entrance.
Sure, I don't come here often,
but when I DO come, I NEED
that parking space. I DEPEND
on it being there. The only time it
should be in use is if there is an
other person like me using it.
When I see those folks walking
away from their cars with not
even the slightest bit of guilt as to
what they're doing, I just try to
tell myself that it's not ME that's
the handicapped one. ..it's
THEM."
If your vehicle does not display
a distinguishing license plate or
placard as provided in the Motor
Vehicle Laws of North Carolina
for the handicapped, then it is not
intended to come to rest in a
handicapped parking space. Nei
ther should you park or leave at a
standstill, any vehicle that will
obstruct a curb ramp or curb cut
for handicapped persons. There
are stiff penalties for these viola
tions, both on public and private
property, as well as the risk of
having your vehicle towed away.
So, give your illegal and uneth
ical parking habits closer per
sonal scrutiny. Think twice be
fore you drive your vehicle into a
handicapped parking space
again. Think twice and think
hard. Sure, you could probably
save yourself a bit of time.
Most likely you wouldn't get as
wet, have to walk as far or get so
frustrated maneuvering for an
open spot. But, one of these days
you, or someone you love, just
might HAVE to use that hand
icapped parking area as a neces
sity instead of a luxury, and
you'll thank God it's waiting for
you. That is... if somebody else
who doesn't heed it doesn't al
ready have it instead.
Berkeley signed land grant
Only one of the eight Lords
Proprietors of Carolina came
within as little as one hundred
miles of the vast new province
chartered by King Charles II in
1663. That one was William Ber
keley.
Berkeley was born in 1606, ap
parently in Bruton in the county
of Somerset, England. By 1629 he
had finished college (Master of
Arts, Merton) and Joined the
royal court. He earned the trust
of Charles I and the popularity
with the courtiers which served
to advance him.
Berkeley was also inclined to
literature, with a play entitled
"The Lost Lady" appearing in
IMS. The following year be was
In August, 1641, Sir William
was appointed governor of Vir
ginia, a position be would bold
during most ot the remainder of
his life. His early years in the col
ony were successful, and he es
tablished the government on a
sound footing. He also encour
aged economic progress and
crop experimentation, setting
the example on his own lands
with flax, cotton, rice, and silk.
Regions beyond the settled
area of his Virginia colony
claimed Berkeley's attention,
with particular concern for new
travel routes and peace with the
Indians. It was during his admin
istration that the first permanent
white settlers came into what is
now Perquimans County.
The governor was not without
enemies, with Quakers, Pu
ritans, schools, printing, and
lawyers receiving his strong op
position. Another enemy was the
Parliamentary government
which had stolen England from
the king. Berkeley? and Vir
ginia?eventually had to surren
der to the new order; he retired
from office and returned to Ms
plantation at Greenspring.
Soon there was a new turn of
events. Parliament was out, the
Unfortuantely, it is conceiva
ble, and it has occurred with
frenquency in area churches.
The weekend of the Gatesville
robbery, several churches in Ti
dewater, Virginia were robbed
also, though authorities don't be
lieve the incidents were related.
In recent months, churches in
Bertie County were robbed in the
same manner.
Perhaps such ncidents should
. tell us a bit about the kind of so
ft dety we have become. As ?
[ ha*e encouraged a world wiin
f liny thing goes" we shouldnTbe
surprised at what does.
While it is difficult to focus on a
single reason for the decline in
morals today, the nywt dominant
cause haf to be the lack of paren
tal and adult tMfciptinf and a
lack of attention to value. As life
proprietors entrusted Berkeley
with the immediate supervision
of their province.
In 1663 Berkeley signed the
first grants of land in Carolina.
He granted tracts in what is now
Perquimans County to George
Catchmaid, John Jenkins, and
William West. (These grants are
the first legal land titles in Per
quimans.) t
Berkeley could not give much
attention to Carolina in the 1670s,
for Virginia went through a very
troublesome period. A rebellion
under Nathaniel Bacon forced
Berkeley to flee for his life. Final
victory of Berkeley's forces was
followed by executions of rebels,
including William Drummond
the first governor of Albemarle
, (Carolina).
Even his good friend King
Charles II felt Berkeley re
sponded too harshly. A
He
His share of
to his widow (the
lady to have married in
lina as it were).
(Part 9 1
Snow Words: Mom, I've changed again.
Being fickled is a way of life
I guess we found out for sure
Monday that Mother Nature is
definitely a female. She just
couldn't make up her mind.
First there was rain, then the
sun started shining, then it
started snowing, then the snow
ing stopped and the sun started
shining again, then out with the
sun and down with the snow once
more, and by mid-afternoon it
was sunny and bright. The
woman is fickled.
She's almost as fickled as I am.
I couldn't make up my mind
whether 1 wanted the sun to shine
or the snow to fall either; but I
guess for warmth and conve
nience sake the sun was better.
It's not nearly as messy outside
on sunny days as it is on snowy
days, you know?
The snowfall did give me an op
portunity for some peace and
quiet in the office though. Every
body started abandoning the
place when the roads started get
ting covered. The trouble was I
couldn't decide whether to work
on catching up on my correspon
dance, or whether to do some of
the menial office chores I've
been putting off for a while now.
In the end I wound up doing nei
ther of the above and opted to
venture outside to take a few
snow pictures before tackling a
few of the stories I had lined up
for this week.
Pickled isn't such a bad thing
to be. Most folks will tell you that
it's a woman's perogative to
change her mind. I don't so much
change my mind that often, as I
just can't seem to make up my
mind about things every once in
a while.
When I'm sure about some
thing, I'm definite, unless of
course something happens or
someone says something to alter
my way of thinking.
Most of the time I know what I
want, or like, or just plain need;
but these things have a tendancy
to change from day to day. If I
wait long enough, say a half an
hour or so, something that was
very important doesn't seem
nearly so earth shattering as itf
did to begin with.
That brings to mind another of
my less than flattering habits:
procrastination.
I'm as good a procrastinator as
you'll ever meet. I can put off al
most anything. That would prob
ably work out fine if I'd make up
my mind to get something or the
other done, and then just put iLg
off for a little while. Not me. I'll?
make up my mind, put it off for a
while, and then change my mind
about it all together.
Speaking of changing one's
mind, as I write this column (late
Monday afternoon) the sun has
gone away again and the sky is
getting cloudy. You don't think
Mother Nature has decided to let
it snow again, do you? ^
Back to the subject at hand.
I've always told my friends and
loved ones that I want what I
want when I want it. They'd
probably understand that philos
ophy a little better if I let them in
on the rest of it. If I don't get it
when I want it, I'm apt to change
my mind about it altogether, and
then I'll never get it. f,
Lack of discipline causes moral decline
In commenting on the robbery
of several choir members re
cently at a Gatesville church, one
of the victims noted, "It is uncon
ceivable anyone would stoop so
low as to rob anyone at church."
has become more complex, we
have placed less attention on tea
ching and living the values that
were an important part of prior
generations. We can begin in
the right direction by returning
to the values that guided past
generations.
I'm reminded of the story of
the ingenious parent, who having
tired of reading bedtime stories
to his son, decided to record seve
ral of the boy's favorites on tape.
He told his son, "Now you can
i
hear your stories anytime you
want. Isn't that great?"
The boy looked at the machine
for a moment and replied, "No.
It hasn't got a lap."
We all need a Lap. We all need
the closeness of relationship. Wa|
all need to know someone carer"
for us and loves us. What better
way to show our children we love
them than to teach them the
"old-fashioned" ideals of right
and wrong, responsibility, and
most of all, respect for them
selves and others?
THE
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Established In 1932
A DEAR PUBLICATION
Published Each Thursday By Advance Publications Inc. Elizabeth City, N.C.
Second Class Postage Paid at Hertford, N.C. 37944 USPS 428-080
Jane B. Williams
Editor
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Hdvfifiisinff Minuter Circulation Manager
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