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PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
514 S CHURCH ST
HERTFORD NC 27944
Currituck, 5
"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018
75 cents
Plan developed to protect, grow agriculture
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A group has developed a six-
point plan to protect agriculture
in Perquimans County and help it
grow.
The document developed with a
grant from the North Carolina Ag
ricultural Development and Farm
land Preservation Trust Fund, sets
down timelines and what agencies
need to be involved for each of the
six items.
Stan Dixon, one of the consul
tants who developed the plan, said
most of the challenges Perquimans
faces are not unique.
One of those deals with “transi
tion planning” for when farmers
are too old to continue on.
The average Perquimans farm
er was about 54 years old when a
survey was done in 2012.
Dixon said according to the
farmers Surveyed for his report,
none have formal farm transition
plans.
“Additionally, interviews with
farm lending authorities showed
the lack of farm transition plan
ning as a leading concern about
the future of agriculture in the
area.”
“In every county there has been
an issue of family not coming back
to the farm, and a way to deal with
it is estate planning,” Dixon said.
The report calls for a series of
workshops that use a variety of
specialists and agencies to pro
vide information on farm transi
tion and estate planning.
The study recommends the Per
quimans County Agricultural Ad
visory Board, Perquimans County
Extension, Perquimans County
Farm Bureau, Ag Carolina/Farm
Credit, University of Mount Olive,
local attorneys and agricultural
economic specialists play a role
in dealing with estate planning is ¬
sues.
The other topics include:
■ Support measures to protect
and promote forest and farmland
in Perquimans County
“Though residents largely sup
port agriculture, added education
and understanding is needed,” the
report said.
■ Promote and increase enroll
ment in the Voluntary Agriculture
See PLAN, 2
State
selects
election
boards
From Staff Reports
The new N.C. State Board
of Elections and Ethics En
forcement filled the ranks
of all 100 counties’ boards
of elections last week.
In Perquimans County,
Republicans John McGowan
and Jacqueline Hobbs and
Democrats Marjorie Dufek
and Mary Boone will make
up the board. McGowan
previously served on the
board. Leaving the board is
Democrat Vera Murrill.
All county board mem
bers were selected based
on recommendations of the
Republican and Democratic
parties, as has been past
practice.
A new change in the
selection process is that
boards are now evenly split
between Republicans and
Democrats.
Republican lawmakers
reconfigured county boards
and the state board itself
following the election of
Democratic Gov. Roy Coo
per in 2016. Cooper has
challenged the changes in
court, leading to delays in
filling the SBE and county
offices.
SBE Executive Director
Kim Strach said all newly
appointed county board
members would serve until
July 2019.
Returning to the Pasquo
tank County Board of Elec
tions is Bonnie Godfrey, a
Republican who’s chaired
the board since 2013. Join
ing her is a new appointee
from Republicans, Lynn
Childs, and Democratic ap
pointees Jacquelyn Brown
and Michele Aydlett. Ayd-
lett has previously served
on the board, and chaired
it prior to Godfrey. Stepping
down from the board are
Jimmy Ownley, a Republi
can, and William Skinner, a
Democrat.
In Chowan the board will
consist of Republicans Rob
ert Reiheld and Linda Tiller,
and Democrats Stella Broth
ers and Jerald Perry Sr.
EASTER Egg Hunt
VM
STAFF PHOTOS BY
PETER WILLIAMS
Top, Brenda
Atkins smiles
at grandson
Austin Atkins
on Monday
after he put
his Easter
basket on his
head before
the start of
an Easter
egg hunt
at the new
Perquimans
County Library.
Right, Graysen
Byrum, 5,
checks out one
of the eggs he
found during
an Easter
egg hunt
Monday at the
Perquimans
County Library.
Current
election
system
questioned
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Is there a better way to
elect county commissioners
in Perquimans?
One commissioner things
so, but he admits he doesn’t
know the answer.
Kyle Jones raised the
issue at a recent board re
treat.
The current system was
adopted in 1993 and took ef
fect with elections in 1994.
It was a home-grown solu
tion to a national problem
— minorities weren’t given
achance to win an election.
For decades white men
dominated the board. Had 
the county not acted, the i
Justice Department would |
have imposed changes.
“It was probably need
ed at the time, and it has
worked,” Jones said. “For
the past couple decades,
Perquimans County has had
the most diverse board in
this corner of the state.”
However the system
means if three people are
running for office voters
only get to cast they vote for
one. Jones called the system
“absurdly-convoluted” and -
outdated.
Jones wants a system
with some members voted
by those in their district and
others voted at-large by ev
erybody in the county.
“In fairness, the system
that was put into place was
largely done in order to help
ensure minorities could get
elected to the Board, which
I am proud of.”
Now he says it does not
serve all the citizens of the
county
“I have recently been
thinking more about wheth
er or not it would be advan
tageous for the county to go
to a district system of voting,
like most other area coun
ties (and for that matter, like
most places in general).
To make the plan work
the districts would have to
be created and using cur
rent precincts as a model
See ELECTION, 2
Ground penetrating radar to be used in search for old home
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
In late April, experts will
be using ground-penetrating
radar to try and find the lo
cation of the original home
of Joseph Scott.
Scott owned the property
where the Newbold White
House now stands and died
in 1685. The house was
89076
47144
2
standing at that time.
Abraham Sanders ac
quired the property in 1726
and Sanders built the house
that still stands today.
Scott’s home was wood
and didn’t last. It’s Scott’s
house that John Ernest
is looking for. Ernest is a
member of the Perquimans
County Restoration Asso
ciation and he is heading up
this month’s project.
“We’re hoping to find
traces of it,” Ernest said. “It
would be wonderful to build
a replica of the house, may
be not the exact house, but
a replica of a house from
that period.”
Unlike the brick home,
Sanders home was simple.
Ernest said it likely started
with four posts erected at
the corners with panels
erected for the walls. Er
nest hopes they will be able
to find the hearth because
that will provide even more
clues.
Ernest said it’s possible it
had a dirt floor.
Ground penetrating radar
can be used to detect and
map subsurface archaeo
logical artifacts, features,
See RADAR, 2
Historic house to reopen this week
From Staff Reports
The Newbold-White House, a 1730-era
Quaker homestead in Hertford, will re
open for the season on Thursday.
The Visitor Center and historic home
stead are open from early April until the
end of October from Thursday through
Saturday from 10 am. until 4 p.m.. Be
sides the oldest brick house in North
Carolina, the site contains a visitor’s
center with exhibits, a film, gift shop, the
Periauger workboat, colonial garden and
smoke house and recreational trail.
This year the 1730 Quaker Homestead
is involved in the celebration of the grand
“350th Anniversary of Old Albemarle”
and the original Carolina Charter. Perqui
mans is one of the original four Precincts
carved out of the larger 1665 Albemarle
County.
Special Perquimans County Passports
will soon be available at various locations
(including the Newbold-White House
Visitors Center) on which residents and
out of town visitors can receive a special
See HOUSE, 2