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MARTIN COUNTY
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$1
Opinion
Enterprise & Weekly
Herald Sports Editor
Jim Green opines about
what he’s been doing to
avoid the ‘coronavirus
blues.’
Page 4
Church & Faith
Longtime Sunday
School and Women’s
Bible Study teacher
Sylvia Hughes reveals
how she studies the
Bible.
Page 5
Safety first
!(«;
Domtar held a ‘safety
blitz’ for log trucks
recently.
Page 9
GOOD
MORNING,
Brenda Rapin
of Williamston
Thank you for
subscribing!
Inside
This Edition
Church & Faith 5
Classified 7-8
Out & About 2
Opinion 4
6 *56525 10902 7
Volume 121:
No. 27
& Week^ Herald
FRIDAY* APRIL3,2020
New order allows for changes
April County Commissioners meeting will be held electronically
WILLIAMSTON - Mar
tin County continues
to remain in close and
constant communica
tion with local, state
and federal health care
and emergency re
sponse officials it pre
pares for the potential
risks posed by the con
tinuing escalation of
the Novel Coronavirus
(COVlD-19) throughout
North Carolina.
The Martin County
State of Emergency,
which was originally ef
fective March 18, 2020,
was amended on April
1, 2020 as follows:
For the purpose of
holding Board of Com
missioner meetings
electronically during
this emergency, the
limitations on remote
meeting participation /
establishment of a quo
rum as stated in Section
3a of the Martin County
Board of Commission
ers Rules of Procedure
(Adopted on May 11,
2011 and amended on
Oct. 12, 2016) has been
suspended.
CELEBRATION OF OAK CITY'S HISTORY
&.■ i
^glco
me
A-
North Carolina
it. 1891
The first-ever Goose Nest Festival has been rescheduled from May to October due to concerns from COVID-19.
Goose niest Festival
Town’s celebration postponed to October
SARAH HODGES STALLS
Enterprise & Weekly Herald
OAK CITY - As has
been the case with
so many things in the
midst of the Corona
Pandemic, organizers of
the first ever Goose Nest
Festival have backed up
and developed a plan to
proceed.
Vonetta Porter, town
commissioner from Oak
City, first pitched the
idea for a festival to her
fellow commissioners.
All agreed to move for
ward.
“We were looking to
get something going on
this end of the county,”
she explained. “And we
decided to take it back
to Goose Nest, the origi
nal name of Oak City.”
Porter and fellow
commissioner Mike Tay
lor explained the event
would be designed to
promote their area of
the county and the
town’s rich history.
Flyers went out as the
group began seeking
vendors and entertain
ment for the original
May date, but it was
not meant to be. As the
COVID crisis impacts
grew closer, the deci
sion was made to look
for a date farther out on
the calendar.
Porter confirmed a
new event date of Oct.
17 has been set. Any
one wishing to find out
more information on
being a vendor for the
event or other ways to
participate can email
GOOSE NEST
\89/
the town at oakcity204@
embarqmail.com or call
the 252-798-7721.
“1 thought it was a
wonderful way to pro
mote this area,” said
Taylor, who came back
to the county after 38
years away.
Many people may
not know Goose Nest
was the first of two
See FESTIVAL, 9
Town to adjust employee schedules
BY SARAH STALLS
Enterprise & Weekly Herald
WILLIAMSTON-Town
officials met Tuesday
night for the second
time in four days.
Due to Gov. Roy Coo
per’s ban on gatherings
of more than 10 people,
the meeting - held in
a nearly empty room -
was made available live
through a web-based
application. This will
remain the protocol
through the time of this
executive order.
Details on when fu
ture meetings will oc
cur and how to access
them via GoToMeeting
are listed on the town’s
website at www.townof-
williamston.com. Any
one with questions is
encouraged to contact
the town at 792-5142.
One of the primary
reasons for the meet-
See TOWN, 10
In compliance with
Governor Cooper’s Ex
ecutive Order No. 124,
utility cut-offs due to
non-payment in Martin
County Water Districts
No. 1 and No. 2 and ac-
See CHANGES, 9
Bertie Co.
man dies
from virus
First in area
to succumb
to COVID-19
A Bertie County
resident has died
from COVID-19, the
first death in the re
gion and the 14th in
the state as a result of
the coronavirus pan
demic.
Albemarle Regional
Health Services made
the announcement
Wednesday after
noon, saying it had
received confirmation
of the person’s death
from an area hospital.
ARHS said the
person was 65 and
died from complica
tions associated with
COVID-19.
ARHS spokeswom
an Amy Underhill
said the person died
Wednesday. She did
not identify the spe
cific hospital where
the person died.
In the press release,
the agency said no
other information
about the patient
would be released.
“It is with deep re
gret that we make
this announcement
and we extend our
sincere condolences
to the individual’s
family and friends,”
ARHS Executive Di
rector R. Battle Betts
Jr. said in the release.
“As we reflect on this
tragedy, let us remain
vigilant in the daily
steps crucial to keep
us all safe,especially
handwashing, sanita
tion, and social dis
tancing.”
Underhill also said
a fifth person in Pas
quotank had tested
positive for COVID-19
as of Tuesday. She
noted that the N.C.
Department of Health
and Human Services
See DEATH, 3
lut what
isgoifb
on?
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