WELCOMEHOME Rob Burke names to lead Chowan men’s basketball. Page 10 ■I SCAN ME Volume 123; No. 18 REMEMBERMOM Sylvia Hughes remembers her mother at Mother’s Day. Page 5 WANDERINGLOST Sarah Hodges Stalls learns stress, infiniy and doughnuts. Page 4 Bertie Ledffer-Advance ^ THURSDAY. MAY6,2021 980 S. Academy St. Ahoskie,NC 27910 MASTERS Heating & Air Conditioning 252209.0223 s Si ill h ■rJ -i iii IS £ ^ ^*5 tanC P* Sc 143 2s> BY GENE MOTLEY For the Bertie Ledger-Advance WINDSOR - Vowing to pro vide all its students “ac cess and opportunities to reach their full potential,” the Bertie County Board of Education gave its approval to Superintendent Dr. Otis Smallwood’s 2021-22 pro posed financial plan/interim budget resolution at their monthly meeting on Tues day, April 20. “This is to ensure that our budget plan and our strate gic priorities are in line with one another,” Dr. Smallwood said in his introduction. “We want to keep our children at the forefront of everything that we do and to give them everything they need to be successful here in Bertie.” As part of this year’s plan for the student success preparation process, district leaders sought to address many of the pressing needs that exist throughout the school system. There is some good news for county taxpayers: the Board is requesting nearly $3.03 million in local fund- until '22 Memorial Day program will not be held Mike Causey WINDSOR - For another year, safety first. While North Carolina wrestles with the process of return ing to some semblance of normalcy following the COV- lD-19 shut down, it is important to continue to safeguard the health of citizens in Bertie County. For that reason, the organizers of the annual Memorial Day celebration have decided to delay the event until 2022. “It is possible we could work things out to hold the ceremony, but most of our attendees are se nior citizens and we de cided to err on the side of caution,” Bertie Ledger- Advance Editor Thadd White said. “At this point, it’s still too early to tell where we’ll be at as a state, but we needed to See MEMORIAL, 9 Askewville • Aulander • Colerain • Kelford • Lewiston Woodville • Merry Hill • Powellsville • Roxobel • Windsor School board okays interim budget ing from the Bertie County Board of Commissioners. This represents a reduction of $151,267 over last year’s appropriation to fund local budget priorities ($3.18 mil lion). See BUDGET, 3 Native will lead fisheries Kathy Rawls named to directorship RALEIGH - When Kathy Rawls becomes the new director of the N.C. Divi sion of Marine Fisheries on May 1, • \ she will have plenty of experi ence to draw on. Rawls has been CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Clockwise from top left: Bearing Fruit by Sis Haii, Eariy Spring Vases by Jaqueiine Perry and Cashoke Creek at Ship yard Landing by Bailey Phelps. Arts Council announces winners WINDSOR - The Bertie Coun ty Arts Council is pleased to announce the ribbon winners in the annual Members Juried show. The Members Juried Show is presently on display in the Gallery at 124 South King Street in downtown Windsor. Each of the award-winning artists will receive a cash prize in addition to the rib bons and praise from visitors to the gallery. All items in the show are for sale. “Bearing Fruit,” an oil paint ing by Sis Hall, was awarded the First Place ribbon by Mar gie Sawyer, the judge of the show. Sawyer, an artist and art instructor at College of The Albemarle, commented See WINNERS, 3 with the Di- Kathy Rawls vision for more than 25 years, the past seven as the Fisher ies Management section chief. She also will be the first woman to head the agency since the Fisher ies Commission Board became the Division of Commercial Fisheries in the late 1920s. “There are already a number of women in piv otal roles at the division, and 1 do feel a responsibil ity to represent them and other female colleagues, but 1 also know that gen der is not part of the job See RAWLS, 9 Alvin Smith reaches 4M safe miles CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS LEWISTON WOODVILLE — Perdue Farms truck driver Alvin Smith of Robersonville, is celebrat ing a milestone - four million consecutive accident-free miles driving professionally for Per due. to achieve the milestone, the equivalent of approximately 160 trips around the Earth. “It’s an honor driving trucks. Before each trip, 1 check the map and plan the first stop. 1 check everything to make sure it is Alvin Smith reached four million safe miles for Perdue. He’s the first company driver ready to go,” Smith said. “1 pray. 1 really believe in the power of prayer and also getting yourself prepared before each trip.” Smith, 63, started driving for Perdue in 1982 and averages about 110,000 miles a year. He See SMITH, 9 In this edition ^■* Church & Faith 5 ▼ Classified 6 I FORUFE ^ Sports 10 ( Good Morning, JoAnn Mizelle OF Colerain Thank you for subscribing! Find us on Facebook 1171f 359G6 lERTIE COUNTY RURAL HEALTH TO SCHEDULE AN AProiNl 104 RHODES AVENUE, WINDSOR NC 27893 • CALL: 252-794-3042 “OUR FAMILY CARING FOR YOUR FAMILY” ¥ V V