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PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
514 S CHURCH ST
HERTFORD NC 27944-1225
Rec League Volleyball, 7
"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2019
75 cents
County
considers
library
lease
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County will
hold a hearing next month
on a plan to lease the old
Perquimans County Library
to Historic Hertford Inc.
Commissioners were pre
sented with a copy of the
lease in advance of Mon
day’s meeting. They were
asked if they wanted to
make any changes to it and
none did.
The lease sets out an ini
tial term of five years with
the option to renew it up
to five more times in incre
ments of one year each. In
exchange the county wants
$1 a year for lease pay
ments.
The building has stood
vacant since the Perqui
mans County Library moved
from 110 W. Academy St. to
anew $2.5 million facility on
Church Street in 2018.
The Town of Hertford
expressed interest in the
old library for a police sta
tion, but ultimately county
officials agreed to extend
the offer to HHI and the
Carolina Moon Theater
Group. The county board
directed County Manager
Frank Heath and Commis
sion Chair Wallace Nelson
to oversee the lease of the
old library and talk to their
counterparts at the town.
Hertford Mayor Pro Tern
Quentin Jackson made an
appearance at Monday’s
county meeting to speak.
Hertford was holding a
town workshop meeting
at the same time. Without
naming names, Jackson
said the town wasn’t being
considered.
“They seem to want to
talk to only those they want
to talk to,” Jackson said.
“This is something we’ve
wanted to discuss for five
months.”
Heath said he and Nel
son did meet with Hertford
Town Manager Pam Hurdle
and Mayor Horace Reid,
and while they expressed
an interest in the building,
they didn’t offer specifics
on what the building would
be used for.
HHI and Carolina Moon
currently leases two build
ings from the Town of Hert
ford that may no longer be
needed by the groups if the
library lease moves forward.
HHI uses one part of a build
ing that once housed the
Perquimans County Senior
Center on Grubb Street.
Carolina Moon’s theater is
in another part of the same
building. Carolina Moon also
uses a town-owned building
across Grubb Street to store
props and costumes.
While she didn’t speak
See LIBRARY, 2
Riverbash
STAFF PHOTOS BY PETER
WILLIAMS
Top, a crowd takes off
down Market Street for
a Star Wars-themed fun
run during the Riverbash
Festival in Hertford
on Saturday. Right, a
group assembles the
boats for a paddle event
at Winfall Landing
Park that was part of
Riverbash. Bottom left,
a radio-controlled car
takes flight after going
over a ramp at the
Riverbash Festival in
Hertford.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Bottom right, people
sit outside at the
Perquimans County
Recreation Center for a
jazz concert Sunday as
part of the Riverbash
- Festival.
Schools
seeking
$4.1M
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
Schools system is asking the
county for $4.1 million in op
erating and capital funds for
the next school year.
That’s an $800,000 in
crease over the $3.3 million
the schools got last year.
Of that $2.9 million was for
operating costs, or “current
expense” and $475,000 for
capital costs, for things like
buildings or vehicles.
The $4.1 million the
school is seeking for next
year breaks down to $3.3
million for operating and
$764,000 for capital.
The State of North Caro
lina largely funds the sala
ries for classroom teachers,
but counties are responsible
for capital expenses. Most
counties also pay a local
“supplement” on top of the
state salary to try and attract
and retain quality teachers.
The current supplement
of 3.25 percent costs about
$126,000. The new budget
proposes raising that to 4
percent, increasing the total
to $156,000.
Three new positions
would be added in the new
budget. Two of them are
for mental health workers.
One would be funded for
two years by a grant and the
second would be funded for
one year with another grant.
There is $50,000 in this pro
posed budget to fund the
one-year position for a sec
ond year.
Assistant Superintendent
James Bunch said there is a
shortage of licensed school
psychologists. Bunch was
interim superintendent
when the budget was put
together.
When the last psycholo
gist left, Perquimans school
system, the district hasn’t
been able to find a replace
ment. The mental help so
cial workers will help fill a
gap.
“Mental health is a grow
ing concern for not only for
our district, but other dis-
See BUDGET, 2
Trent to be honored at holiday parade
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Dr. Maria Trent, a Perquimans
County native and award-winning
doctor at Johns Hopkins will be the
grand marshal in an Independence
Day parade in Hertford on July 6.
Trent earned her medical degree
from the University of Chapel Med-r
ical School in 1995 and a PH degree
from Harvard School of Public
Health. She was named one of the
nation’s 100 most influential Afri
can-Americans for 2013. She and
TRENT
her fellow honor- field.
ees — including “I grew up in a small rural town
President Barack in North Carolina as part of a large
Obama, Kerry extended family, so caring for chil-
Washington, Mag
ic Johnson, Harry
Belafonte, Marian
Wright Edelman
and — were cel
ebrated at New
York’s Lincoln
dren and aging relatives came with
the territoiy. I attended the North
Carolina School of Science and
Mathematics in Durham, which has
an intense curriculum and early ex
posure to health-related courses,
so a health care career was a natu-
Center.
But her roots are in Hertford. In
a Baltimore Sun article she talks
about why she got into the health
ral progression.”
A mqjor focus of Trent’s research
and professional interest has been
on adolescent and young adult re ¬
productive health with specific fo
cus on fertility preservation among
high-risk youth.
Dr. Trent provides primary
and subspecialty clinical care to
children, adolescents, and young
adults as a part of the Harriet Lane
Program in the Johns Hopkins
Children’s Center.
The Perquimans County parade
will be held July 6 starting at Hert
ford Grammar School. The route
goes down Dobbs Street, takes a
Murphy, Perry to face
off in second primary
From Staff Reports
Two Republicans who are
physicians will face off in
a second primary this sum
mer for the right to take on
Democratic nominee Allen
Thomas and the nominees
Day of Prayer
of the state Libertarian and
Constitution parties for the
vacant seat in North Car
olina’s 3rd Congressional
District.
Dr. Greg Murphy, a uro
logic surgeon from Green
ville, and Dr. Joan Perry, a
pediatrician from Kinston,
will compete for the GOP
nomination in a runoff elec
tion on July 9.
Murphy, who is also a
See ELECTION, 2
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Students from Perquimans County High School
sing during a National Day of Prayer event last
week on the Perquimans Courthouse lawn. For
more, see the May 15 edition of The Perquimans
Weekly.
See PARADE, 2
ADAMS SAJE RIEGER BEAUCHAMP
Comedy to start Thursday
From Staff Reports
The Carolina Moon The
ater will present “The Sa
vannah Sipping Society” on
Thursday, Friday and Satur
day at 7 p.m. each night.
The play is a comedy
about four unique Southern
women, all needing to es
cape the sameness of their
day-to-day routines. They
are drawn together by fate
— an impromptu happy
See COMEDY, 2