.THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY Volume 34, No. 8 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.?., Thursday, Feb. 23, 1978 15CENTS Citizens oppose action by Commissioners A delegation of five local citizens was present at the Monday night meeting of the Perquimans County Board of Commissioners to express their opposition to recent Board ac tion concerning funds for construc tion and renovation at Perquimans Connty High School. The delegation consisted of Clif ford J. "Pete" Perry, Henry Elliott, Wallace Cartwright, Billy Pierce, and Tommy Dail. They said they disapproved of the Board's recent action turning $500,000 over to the Perqnlmans County Board of -Education for Phase I at the school |)n the grounds that detailed plans outlining exact work are not available. The Board responded that the money would be used for construc tion and renovation at Perquimans County High School and would sup plement the $500,000 the Board of Education has on hand from the .1973 Statewide School Bond Referendum. A telephone interview with School Superintendent Pat Harrell revealed that the Board of Educa tion architect is working on the specifics of the plan, work that is necessary since the plan must be revamped following defeat of the November school bond referendum. He explained that specifics are be ing outlined for Phase I working with the close to $1 million on hand. The Board of County Commis sioners also emphasized that the money represents funds from revenue sharing and is not tax money. The $500,000 results from revenue sharing funds set aside yearly for the past four to five years for the purpose of school construc tion. The Commissioners then sug gested that the delegation meet with the Perquimans County Board of Education for more detailed in formation on Phase I of the high school project. In other action, the Board heard from George Ogg, resident of the Long Beach section of Perquimans County. Ogg requested that Long Beach be' made a bird sanctuary. The Board explained that such ac tion is taken by the General Assembly and agreed to make the request. County to receive $119,000 from highway bonds RALEIGH ? Perquimans County can look forward to receiving more than $119,000 in benefits from the highway bond funds that will be used to improve secondary roads. The North Carolina Board of ?Transportation has approved an in itial ^location of $30 million from the fiinds authorized by the State Highway Bond Act of 1977 to be used to improve the State's Secondary Rozds System. Perquimans County's share of the $30 million allocation is 9119,407 and is based on a formula prescrived by law. This formula puts all counties on an equal footing by considering the number of umpaved miles of secondary roads in any given coun ty and the relationship of this mileage tc the overall mileage of unpaved secondary roads in the State. Perquimans County has 81 miles of unpaved roads, while the total mileage of unpaved State main tained secondary roads in North Carolina is 20,476. The $30 million allocation, approved by the Board of Transportation during its February meeting in Boone, averages out to approximately 91,465 per unpaved mile. The "Bone Fond Allocation" is in addition to the 9107,601 already allocated to Perquimans County for secondary road improvements ^cartier this fiscal year. Qr are glad to be able to put Bway Bond Funds to work im mediately for the people. It was thfir overwhelming support at the poBt that made the State's Highway Bond Act of 1977 and these initial funds a reality," commented State Secretary of Transportation Thomas W. Bradshaw Jr. "It is such continued citizen participation and support that will enable us to make vast improvements in our -*fctgkw?y and transportation systems that will benefit all North Carolinians," concluded Bradshaw. The $300 million highway bond act, approved by the voters last November, directs that, over a five-year period, $75 million Will be used to improve the State's Secon dary Roads system, while $175 million is for improvements to the primary system and $50 million is for the State's Urban road system. The Highway Bond Funds will be used to meet a variety of improve ment needs on the State's secon dary roads system. These needs in clude new paving, needed widening of paved roads, improvements to unpaved roadways, the repair and replacement of substandard bridges and the strengthening of paved roads to releive present ? weight restrictions on this system. "Board members and State Highway officails will work very closely with local and county of ficials in determining the best usage of these highway bond funds and in selecting local highway pro ject priorities," explained Board of Transportation member Marc BasnightofManteo. "Once priorities are established the plan will be presented to the full Transportation Board for formal approval," added Basnight ? Lawrence . _ t), Democratic can > for U.S. Senate waa in Hert as part of a . Young Democrat* Davis will face the other Democratic can didates in the May primary to select the candidate to fare incumbent Senator Jesse Helms. (Staff photo bylathy M Npwbern ; Also present at the Monday night meeting ?ws a delegation represen ting the Hertford Business and Pro fessional Women's Club. Thejr were present to discuss a facility to house the club's loan closet program. In earlier action, the Board had ap proved space for that purpose in a building1 to be constructed. The delegation explained that the equip ment must be moved due to the con dition of the building currently housing it. The Board agreed to try to find temporary housing for the loan closet. In other action, the Board agreed to advertise positions available with the Perquimans County water system and discussed future adver tising plans for bids on equip ment for operation of the water department.