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PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
514 S CHURCH ST
HERTFORD NC 27944-1225
1,7
“News from Next Door”
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020
$1.00
Jackson, Mayor spar over policy
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Heated discussion dom
inated debate Monday
during Hertford Town
Council’s marathon work
session meeting.
Instead of sitting with
council during the first por
tion of the meeting, Coun
cilman Quentin Jackson sat
with the crowd before tak
ing his seat, joining coun
cil. Soon after Jackson sat
down, he raised one, then
two hands in the air in an at
tempt to gain approval from
the mayor to speak.
Brown wasn’t having any
of it as she looked over at
Jackson and said, “We’re go
ing to continue to function
in a very respectful way.
You’re not being very pro
fessional. Councilman Jack
son, do you have something
to say?”
The topic that council
had been discussing was
planning for training for
new council members.
Jackson asked the mayor
to explain why this training
should be considered man-
datory as only ethics train
ing is necessary for council
members.
Mayor Pro-Tem Ashley
Hodges said before attend
ing any such training, coun
cil would need cost data
and more information so as
to better decide whether to
approve travel costs.
Brown wanted the re
cord to reflect, “Make sure
to put in the minutes that
Mayor Brown articulated
mandatory training but it is
the training for new council
members.”
Later, Jackson ques
tioned whether council had
made any official decision
to live-stream the meetings,
perhaps starting in March
on the town’s web page.
Brown answered that be
cause the matter is under
discussion during the work
session, no decision about
live-stream has been made.
Councilman Frank Nor
man said while there have
been thousands of dollars
in costs incurred and con
tract negotiations associat
ed with the planning stages
needed to develop a means
See POLICY, A2
Round-up
Allison
Platt
and dogs
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
A round-up of all
things Perquimans
County...
Citizens for the Pres
ervation and Growth of
Hertford will meet be
tween 10 am. and 12 am.
and again between 2 p.m.
and 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan.
11, at the Town of Hertford
Community Center, located
at 305 West Grubb Street.
Noted Urban Planner Alli
son Platt will present the
proposed master plan for
the waterfront development
and community plan. This
is an open meeting so feel
free to invite those who are
interested.
Platt, a senior landscape
architect/project manager
with Rivers and Associates,
has drafted a concept plan
to identify how best to
utilize the town’s water-
front. Platt has worked on
projects that have trans
formed New Bern and little
Washington’s waterfronts.
Perquimans County
Commission approved a
resolution in early Novem
ber supporting a strategic
plan to develop Hertford’s
waterfront. Hertford
Town Council has en
dorsed Platt’s plan.
Platt said that by the
county and town support
ing these plans, it will be
easier to attract grant fund
ing that is needed to pay for
the transformation.
In other news, Hert
ford Rotary co-president
Karen Throckmorton has
an interesting biography.
A lot of the people that
come to these parts from
whereabouts have amazing
stories.
Near as I can remember,
Karen was a major league
nurse who worked all over
the globe. And she’s trained
dogs in a K9 search and
recovery unit for 9 years
in Virginia. She handled 3
dogs, now retired.
That last part about the
dogs peaked my interest
in Karen. Back in the day,
I was a reporter at a large
daily newspaper in a Penn
sylvania coimty that tended
to need the use of “cadaver”
dogs from time to time, like
the ones Karen trained.
These special dogs
would be called out when
ever a body went, well-
missing for various reasons.
If a kayaker had a fatal
ending in the Youghiogheny
See LAYTON, A2
6 89076 47144
2
Hertford United Methodist Church
PHOTOS BY MILES LAYTON
Hertford United Methodist Church is the fifth Methodist Church in Perquimans County and the first Methodist
Church in Hertford beginning in 1822. Sunday School starts at 9 a.m. and the worship service starts at 10 a.m.
‘Inviting, loving, growing, sharing’
Hertford United Methodist Church Pastor Gene Tyson
gives the Sunday sermon on Epiphany.
Grayson Byrum is region’s Baby New Year
BY NICOLE BOWMAN-
LAYTON
Chowan Herald
EDENTON — Grayson
Byrum’s later-than-sched-
uled arrival marked the
region’s first baby born
in 2020.
Byrum was born at
2:38 p.m., Friday, at
Vidant Chowan Hospital,
the son of Hope How
ard of Elizabeth City
and Jacob “Jake” Byrum
of Edenton. Grayson
weighed 8 pounds, 8
ounces and was 21^
inches long at birth.
“He’s probably 22 if
he’d stretch out all the
way,” said a smiling Jake
Byrum, who works at
Feyer Ford in Edenton.
Howard’s due date was
scheduled for Dec. 28,
which would have pos
sibly made Grayson one
of the region’s last babies
born in the last decade.
Now, he’s the first
of this decade, noted
great-grandmother Peg
gy Byrum, who was vis
iting her newest family
member at the hospital.
Grayson’s parents noted
that many family mem
bers have visited since
his birth.
Howard said she was
at the hospital on Thurs
day, but was told to go
home because the baby
wasn’t ready. A few
hours later, she and her
grandparents, Milton and
Theresa Howard, drove
down — “at 100 miles
an hour,” Hope noted —
from Elizabeth City to
the Edenton hospital.
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Editor’s Note: From
time to time, Perquim
ans Weekly will feature
churches through the
county, perhaps with the
goal in mind of getting
more souls in the pews.
Brick church on Dobbs
Street has been a famil
iar site for the faithful in
Hertford and Perquimans
County for generations.
Stained-glass windows
and the woodwork within
the sanctuary speak vol
umes about the congre
gation who worships at
Hertford United Methodist
Church.
Sunday’s Epiphany ser
vice as offered by Rev.
Gene Tyson was top notch.
Dressed in a blazer with a
small cross hanging down
over his chest, Pastor
used the word “authentic”
during his sermon. The
word seems to fit every
thing about this church
and faith that still has wise
men seeking Christ.
On any given Sunday,
HUMC is the real deal - au
thentic - or as the timeless
song says, “Give Me that
Old Time Religion.”
“We call this a spirited
traditional service,” Tyson
said.
Hymns sang by the choir
and congregation are clas
sic hits that echo an eterni
ty - “We Three Kings” and
“Go Tell It on the Moun
tain” - a video snippet of
this hymn is available on
the Perquimans Weekly’s
Facebook page.
HUMC’s worship ser
vice starts at 10 a.m. on
See HUMC, A2
Changes
to zoning
on hold
Proposed amendements
sent back to planning board
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Prior to the scheduled
Town Council meeting on
Monday, there was a pub
lic hearing to discuss text
amendments to provide
more guidelines for princi
pal and conditional use as
well home occupations as
it relates to zoning permits.
Hertford resident Edgar
Salvo, who shared his ex
tensive knowledge of the
zoning code, asked council
to refer the matter back to
the Town’s Planning/Zoning
Board to better address in
consistencies he sees in the
proposal.
“I feel it’s my civic duty
to be involved when I see
things that I feel are not cor
rect or don’t benefit the cit
izens of Hertford,” he said.
After much discussion,
council opted to send the
matter to the Planning/
Zoning Board for further
review.
Councilman Jerry Mim-
litsch said the intent behind
the proposed changes was
to bring zoning more into
compliance with the exist
ing ordinances.
“I think we have to do
something to bring our town
in compliance because right
now, we are completely
out,” he said.
Councilman Frank Nor
man noted that there are
quite a few businesses who
may not be in compliance
with the ordinances. He cit
ed One-Stop as operating il
legally according to the zon
ing ordinances, but no one
has done anything about it.
As to the changes, Nor
man said, “If we decide to al
low this to go through, then
we still have to go through
See ZONING, A2
PHOTO COURTESY
BRIAN WHITE
Newborn baby
Grayson Byrum
sleeps during
a photo with
his mother
Hope Howard,
of Elizabeth
City, and father,
Jacob Byrum,
of Edenton, at
Vidant Chowan
Hospital,
Saturday.
Grayson was
the region’s first
baby born in
2020.