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“News from Next Door^ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020 $1.00
Forest Represents ‘North Carolina Values’
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
EDENTON—Lt Gov. Dan
Forest shook hands with peo
ple Saturday as he walked the
streets of downtown Edenton
before speaking to a gathering
of regional GOP leaders at the
Inner Banks Inn.
Forest is seeking the Re
publican nomination for gov
ernor in the March 3 prima
ry. But in his appearance in
Edenton he virtually ignored
the primary contest, focusing
on his bid to replace Gov. Roy
Cooper, a Democrat
Forest spoke with local
notables, some of whom hail
from Perquimans County.
“It was a great event,” said
Dianne Layden, a longtime
GOP activist from Belvid
ere. “The real movers and
shakers along with other in
terested parties were there.
Sometimes out here the main
players attend and then dis
seminate the info out to the
counties. Loved it that the
Chowan sheriff (Dwayne
Goodwin) is endorsing him.
Dan has a good message — a
message ofhope.”
During Cooper’s bid for
re-election, he has raised
$605,649 — 7% of his 2019
campaign funds — from res
idents of New York and Cal
ifornia, based on a Carolina
Journal analysis of his cam
paign finance reports.
This was but another point
of disconnect not lost on
many Republicans who say
Cooper ignores North Caro
lina values on issues ranging
from his veto of the “born
alive” abortion bill to favoring
the interests of illegal immi
grants over basic public safety
See FORST, A3
PHOTO BY
DIANNE LAYDEN
Lt. Governor
Dan Forest
visited
northeastern
North Carolina
on Saturday
to talk with
supporters in
Edenton. (R-L)
Forest’s wife
Alice, Nancy
Schulze, Forest
and retired
congressman
Dick Schulze.
Round-up
Ruvarac,
S-Bridge
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
A round-up of all
things Perquimans
County-
Attended Sunday’s wor
ship service at Hertford
Baptist Church. Good ser
mon by pastor Dario Ruv
arac.
A story featuring the
church will appear in next
week’s newspaper.
Interesting fact about Ru
varac - he’s originally from
Croatia, a nation located
in Central and Southeast
Eur ope on the coast of the
Adriatic Sea.
Ruvarac’s resume says,
“In 1993, Billy Graham
had a crusade in Germany,
which was broadcast in
Croatia. Hearing the Gospel
for the first time, I trust
ed Jesus as my personal
Savior. Growing up in a
Communist country and
meeting Christ as Savior
during Yugoslavia’s civil
war greatly affected my
desire to communicate the
Gospel in ways that engage
both the heart and mind.
Being called by God into a
pastoral ministry, my vision
is to encourage believers
in their journey to become
fully devoted disciples
who impact others through
personal, local, and global
ministry. I am committed
to preach the Word of God
with passion, to equip the
saints with enthusiasm, and
to shepherd the flock by
example.”
Church has been there
since 1854. Among the
members of the congrega
tion include former mayor
See LAYTON, A2
PHOTO BY JOHN LASSITER
Above: Five-year-old Emily Grace Lassiter. Right:
Nixon Winslow, 10, built this snowman all by himself
in the front yard at Cedar Stretch Road in Hertford.
PHOtO BY LEARY WINSLOW
Do You Want
to Build a Snowman?
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Perquimans’ first snowfall, maybe
the last, of winter offered a chance to
build a snowman.
Do you want to build a snowman?
It doesn't have to be a snowman -
From the movie Frozen (Try getting tlrat
song out of your head.)
Temperatures dipped into the 20s
as about 2 inches, maybe more, of the
white stuff fell across tire region Thurs
day evening. Depending on where you
live, the winds churned a bit but it was
no Nor’easter.
Food Lion grocery stores were jam
packed with people who bought enough
food to last what seemed to be billed as
snowpocalypse, but ended up melting
away by Saturday. Temperatures were
in the 50s Sunday and it was sunny, so
many people were out and about
Perquimans schools had an early dis
missal Thursday. School was canceled
on Friday.
Folks from here, there and every
where sent in their photos, so see page
A8 - more are posted on the Perqui
mans Weekly’s Facebook page. Much
thanks!
PHOTO BY JOHN LASSITER
Election
Ahead
for BOE
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Four candidates are vy
ing for three seats on the
Perquimans Board of Ed
ucation in
LASSITER
SILVA
PHOTO BY SHANNON BRITTON
Elena Monnseratt
Three-year-old Erianne Gwen Lassiter.
PHOTO BY TIFFANY HARRELL
WINSLOW
election
held March
3.
Can
didates
are Leary
Winslow,
Russell
Lassiter
and Arlene
Yates, all
of whom
are seeking
re-election,
and Joseph
Silva.
Born
and raised
in Perquim
ans Coun
ty, PCHS
Class
of 1997,
Winslow
was elect
ed in 2016.
He is pres
ident of
Macon Turf
Farm, Inc.,
a business/
farm he
started in
2004 in
the coun
ty. He has
two chil
dren in our
schools - a
son attend
ing Hert
ford Gram ¬
mar School and another son
attending classes at PCHS.
Hattie, 1, in the snow on Swamp
Rd in Hertford. Love this photo!
See BOE, A2
Chowan OKs Gun Rights Measure
PQ Commission to discuss
gun rights at March meeting
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
EDENTON — The Chow
an Board of Commissioners
last week became the latest
governing board in North
Carolina to adopt a resolu
tion supporting a citizen’s
right to bear arms under the
Second Amendment to the
Constitution.
Commissioners voted 6-1
to adopt a gun-rights reso
lution similar to those ap
6 89076 47144 2
proved in Pasquotank, Cam
den, Currituck and more
than a dozen other North
Carolina counties.
Perquimans County Com
mission discussed the mat
ter at the February work
session and a resolution
is scheduled to be on the
agenda March 2. Read Per
quimans Weekly’s columnist
Claude Milot’s thoughts on
the matter on page A4.
Commissioner Larry Mc
Laughlin cast the lone “no”
vote against the resolution.
Chowan’s resolution,
drafted by Commissioner
Ron Cummings, states the
county governing board will
“take all necessary steps
within its power” to ensure
laws aren’t enacted that af
fect citizens’ right to bear
and use firearms for “tradi
tionally lawful purposes.” It
also mandates those steps
include “lobbying of legis
lative delegations and in
tervention in litigation” that
challenges those laws.
Cummings said adopting
the resolution was import
ant because it “tells the
people of Chowan County
that we support the Con
stitution” and “we will do
whatever it takes to support
that Constitution and all its
amendments.”
Cummings said the
founding fathers, including
Chowan County’s own Jo
seph Hewes, put the Second
Amendment into the Con
stitution to “protect them
selves against their own
government.” If somehow
See RIGHTS, A2
Rising N.C. Farm Bankruptcies
Could Signal Broader Rural Crisis
BY JULIE HAVLAK
For the Perquimans Weekly
RALEIGH — Family
farm bankruptcies are on
the rise in North Carolina, a
signal the rest of the state’s
farm economy could be in
trouble.
North Carolina saw a
33% increase in Chapter 12
family farm bankruptcies
from 2018 to 2019, with 16
filings, says a study by the
American Farm Bureau, a
trade association that advo
cates for farmers.
That might not seem like
a lot, but spikes in fami
ly farm bankruptcies can
represent the broader farm
economy, which is suffering
from years of bad weather,
FILE PHOTO
Across the nation, family farm bankruptcies jumped
nearly 20% in 2019, an increase not seen since the
year after the Great Recession, says John Newton,
American Farm Bureau chief economist.
low crop prices, and the
fallout from the trade war.
Across the nation, family
farm bankruptcies jumped
nearly 20% in 2019, an in
crease not seen since the
See FARM, A2