Weekly Perspective
Our view
Firing criticism
ranges too far
Perquimans County Board
of Education members have
probably caught a little more
flack than they deserve over
the replacement of Celvin
Webster as coach of the high
school football team .
Recent news accounts have
lent the impression that board
members failed to do their
homework properly before
taking action on the matter.
But by law the replacement
of a coach is the responsibility
of the principal of the school
involveid, rather than of the
school board.
In light of this fact, we
wonder why the board took
any action at all.
And we can understand the
no comment answers given to
questions from the press and
the public. A detailed public
explanation could be an
embarassment to the coach
and could interfere with the
performance of his remaining
duties at the high school.
Those who wish to criticize
should stick to defenses of
Webster's coaching record
and leadership qualities and
leave personal barbs out of it.
Looking back
FEB.1M2
by VIRGINIA WHITE
TRANSEAU
NEXT WINTER'S FUEL
WOOD SHOULD BE CUT
RIGHT NOW : Transportation
is going to be one of the bot
tlenecks of the war program of
the United Nations, R. W.
Graeber, Extension Forester
of N. C. State College says,
and farmers can help to solve
the problem by cutting their
next winter's fuel wood right
now. "You will be saving wood
and work by cutting your fuel
supply now," Graeber
declared. "Tests reveal that
green wood has from 10 to 35
precent less heating value
than wood cured nine months
to a year. Even wood seasoned
under favorable conditions for
only six months has an ad
vantage over wood freshly
cut." The forester said that
tie-up of railroads and other
forms of transportation in
hauling war materials may
mean difficulties in obtaining
coal and other types of fuel.
Therefore, he said, the local
market for fuel wood should
experience a "boom". In
general, a cord of Hickory,
oak, beech, birch, hard maple,
ash, elm, locust, longleaf pine,
or cherry is equal in heat
value to a ton of coal. Species
such as shortleaf pine,
western hemlock, red gum,
sycamore, and soft maple
require about one and a half
cords to equal a ton of coal in
fuel value. Two cords of cedar,
popular, cypress, basswood,
spruce and white pine are
required to equal a ton of coal.
Graeber said that farmers can
cut fuel wood by thinning their
forests. He warned against
sacrificing potential saw
timber to meet the rising
demand for stove and furnace
wood, and said that county
farm agents of the Extension
Service will be glad to help
landowners select the trees to
be cut for fuel wood.
BIRTH A N
NOUNCEMENT: Mr. and
Mrs. Robert S. Stallings, of
Route 3, Hertford, are
receiving congratulations on
the birth of twin sons, born
Monday, January 26, 1942.
SARAH BRINN NAMED
SUPERVISOR COUNTY
WELFARE DEPARTMENT:
Miss Sarah Brinn, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. R. T. Brinn, of
Hertford, has been appointed
by the County Welfare Board
to fill the position as Super
visor of County Welfare, left
vacant by the resignation of
Mrs. Ruth Blanchard. For the
past two years Miss Brinn has
been employed as a case
worker in the Welfare Dept. of
Northampton County.
Women 's caucus
presentation set
The first general meeting of
the recently organized Nor
theastern North Carolina
Women's Political Caucaus
will be held Thursday,
February 14, at 7:30 p.m. in
the Pasquotank-Camden
Library in Elizabeth City. The
library is located on Main
Street across from the
courthouse.
Candidates for governor, Lt.
governor, the North Carolina
House of Representatives and
Senate and the United States
House of Representatives
have been invited to send a
woman to speak briefly and
inform aly in behalf of each
candidate.
Lucille Winslow of Hertford
mil speak for Rep. Charles
Evans.
Elaine Williams, of
Elisabeth City, will represent
Gov. James Hunt.
: Other candidates and their
rfepresentatives are: Pat
James, a teacher in the
Elisabeth City school system,
speaking for Rep. Vernon
James; Annette Gregory of
Elizabeth City will speak for
Bob Scott, a candidate for
governor; Patricia Dorsey of
New Bern will represent I.
Beverly Lake, also a guber
natorial hopefull; Adna A.
Sawyer of Elizabeth City will
speak for Rep. Walter B.
Jones, incumbent for the U.S.
House; Lois Jordan of
Edenton will speak for Joe
Hollowell, also a candidate for
the U.S. House; and Beverly
of Elizabeth City will
represent Winnie Wood, a
candidate for the N.C. Senate.
The public is invited to at
tend.
THE PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY
COURTHOUSE SQUARE.
HERTFORD. N.C.
27944
MIKE McLAlKHUN
NOEL TOOO-MclAUGHLIN,
CIIICUUITKNI MAIIMER
ADVANCE PUMJCATKMS
QJZAKTM COT, NX.
Letters...
The other side of Webster's firing
Editors, THE PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY,
I'm tired of hearing people
who really do not have all the
facts discuss the why's and
where for's of the recent
release of Celvin Webster as
football coach at Perquimans
County High School. There are
usually two sides to every coin
and I think it's time someone
stood ground in favor of the
action!
To begin with, neither THE
DAILY ADVANCE nor their
Sports Editor have ever been
so gracious to the Perquimans
County High School teams (in
any sport) as to give them
such coverage on anything
until now. . .they get front
page stories, editorial com
ments, and complete follow-up
(on one side of the issue. )
This editorial slander leaves
me cold. And seemingly,
Webster has become some
"glorified hero" almost
overnight.
I question that if
Perquiamns County has had
such good sports programs
and such good coaching all
these years, why haven't they
had the coverage of large
headlines, multiple pictures,
games on the radio, and front
page sports stories that so
many of the area schools have
had?
Also, Webster's record is 36
30-6 or 36 wins and 36 losses
(you may as well say). What's
so great about a 50-50 record?
The old law of averages
predicts that!
Another thing, Mr. Williams
keep* harping about the losses
of previous years at
Perquiamns County, before
Webster. Webster came in
1*71. To the best of my
memory, six years previous
would have been back to 19(5,
BEFORE consolidation. And
before consolidation, there
were TWO high schools in
Perquimans County! Don't
you think you should have
recorded both the schools'
records and not just the worst
record, Mr. Williams? Or was
that just another "editorial
oversight"?
In regard to the "worst
conditions possible", I en
courage any of you readers to
visit the high school and see
for yourselves. The field
DOES have adequate lighting,
progress IS being made on the
bleachers, and the field does
NOT look like a WWI bat
tlefield (which I doubt few
people in this generation
would know about, thank
goodness!).
As for Webster's "hard
ships" in coaching, he knew
what he was stepping into
when he came seven years
ago, plus he was being paid for
his time and efforts. If that
didn't suffice, he should have
stepped down long ago!
It has been mentioned that
Preston Stevenson had not
talked to Webster in the seven
years he has been coaching.
Why should Stevenson have
talked to Webster? Neither of
his sons played football and
anyway, Stevenson hasn't
been on the board seven
years! I believe any of us
could call around Perquimans
County and find many people
(including teachers) who have
not talked to Webster in his
seven years as coach! I would
like to ask how many school
board members has Webster
talked with? If he had
legitimate gripes and talking
was the all-important issue
that it seems, Webster
definitely should have sought
the school board himself. TWa
"talking street" is TWO
WAY!
It surely seems if Webster
has the serious doubts and
concerns he is saying he has,
Webster should have gone to
these men and gotten the
answers before turning
anything over to the "un
biased and all-knowing"
press, allowing them to babble
on with man-concocted
opinions and few real facts!
I have a feeling that the key
to Webster's dismissal goes
deeper than what's on the
surface. And because those
responsible for the
releasement are truly
"gentle" men, they are giving
Webster a chance and he
doesn't even recognize it!
I tend to agree with Mr.
Winslow, "Coaching is more
than winning!" Besides,
Webster did not lose his job
with Perquimans County. He
just lost an extracurricular
activity. He still has his
teaching position and his
basketball and track teams,
minus "hardships" and the
"worst conditions
imaginable." He should be
counting his blessings !
Sincerely,
Mrs. C.L. White
Hertford
Mrs . Frierson acknowledged
Editors, THE PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY,
I would like to acknowledge,
with my warmest personal
thanks, Mrs. Marion B.
Frierson of the Belvidere
Community, for the excellent
contributions to the Extension
Homemakers program within
Pequimans County, the
Northeastern District, and the
State of North Carolina.
Mrs. Frierson is an out
standing Extension
Homemaker. Her leadership
ability has been demonstrated
through many capacities in
our Extension Homemakers
Organization.
Her most recent leadership
appointments are District
Recording Secretary, and
State Council Public In
formation Chairman.
Mrs. Frierson's news
releases not only made local,
district and state headlines
but the national news also.
Because of her excellent work,
Mrs. Frierson was selected as
one of the North Carolina
delegates to attend the
National Extension
Homemakers meeting held in
Seattle, Washington.
In January of this year,
Mrs. Frierson was elected to
serve as the State Extension
Homemakers Council
Recording Secretary. She was
a recipient of the A & P
Leadership Award in 1978.
Hearty congratulations and
best wishes for your continued
success, Mrs. Frierson.
Mrs. M.B.Taylor, retired
Home Economics Extension
Agent
My turn
kike Mclaughlin
Women's basketball.
When you think of the sport
you think of errant passes
rolling out of bounds, poorly
selected shots missing rim,
backboard and all, and
basketballs bouncing off knees
and feet as hands made for
slicing and dicing attempt to
dribble.
Well, not exactly.
We took a road trip to
Norfolk to see the opening
round of the Optimist-ODU
Classic women's basketball
tournament.
It was the first time I had
witnessed women's basketball
on the collegiate level, and
what I saw was a visoin of
what women's sports can
become when they get the
same kind of emphasis the
mnen's teams get.
Nearly every seat was taken
in ODU Field House (It would
fill up on Saturday for the
finals) and the crowd was not
restive. These were true fans,
as in fanatic. The officials
came in for abuse just like in
any men's game, and when
things were going right, the
crowd was roaring.
The first game pitted ODlTs
Lady Monarchs against
Valdosta SUte of Georgia. '
Each time IT' Monarch
center Ann Donovan got the
ball inside the crowd would
yell, "Skyhook! Skyhook!," 0
and often Ma. Donovan would
oblidge, gracefully sending '
the hall swishing through the
nets.
Though they did not run as
fast or Jump u high as the
boys do, the girls were just as
fundamentally sound. Shot
selection was good, passes
were well executed and ;
usually found their targets, O
and shooting percentages
were high.
Of course, we're talking
about the best. ODU puts
women's basketball on equal ?
footing with the men, and it
shows. The team is as exciting
and competitive as any team
I've seen. '
The Lady Monarchs are ^
proving that, given the op
portunity, women can carry
their own weight in the
traditionally male dominated
world of college basketball.
Control sought
Hertford Mayor Bill Cox
told the town council last
Monday night that the Hert
ford Housing Authority had
chosen to apply for
management of 16 of 32 sub
sidized housing units included
in Hertford's housing
assistance application.
Rev. Ben Wolverton,
Housing director, told Cox
that the Authority was con
sidering the Wynne Fork area
as a possibile location for the
16 units planned for low in
come families.
Cox said that a private
developer has also applied for
management and ownership
of the 16 units.
The 32 units fall under
Section 8 of the Federal
Department of Housing and
Urban Development and are
part of Hertford's housing
assistance application which
would also include rent sub
sidization of 40 existing
structures in Perquiamns
County.
The remaining sixteen units
would provide housing for the
elderly. And because of
elderly inhabitants, HUD
would require the structures
to be within walking distance
of banking, shopping etc.
In another matter, Cox
informed the board of a
citizen's request to change
Hertford's firearm ordinance.
George Bullock, proprietor
of Hertford Fire Extinguisher,
said that someone had fired a
shot into his home. According
to Cox, Bullock said that the
shooting was the second such
occur ance, and although he
didn't believe the shots were ^
intentional, he felt the or- V
dinance should be changed.
William Bentley, town at
torney, said the present or
dinance allows the shooting of
firearms only within a
licensed shooting gallery or
for the shooting of obnoxious
birds or animals upon one's
own property.
Bentley also added that it ?
would be an infringement of
constitutional rights if a
perosn were limited the right
to protect his or her own
property, noting that the way
the law stands now, one could
be held criminally libel if a t
firearm's bullet inadvertently
hits a person or goes into a
building.
The council agreed that to ?
change the gun ordinance
would infringe upon con
stitutinal rights and moved to
retain the present law.
Hertford Police Chief
Marshall Merritt said that his
force ahd developed some
possible suspects in the
shooting incident
Merritt also reported that
because Patrolman James ?
Carlton Boyce had put in for
retirement, there was an
opening on the force.
Boyce, 44, of Church St,
Hertford, suffered a heart
attack last Dec. and was
admitted to the Chowan
Hospital. He was transferred
last week to Norfolk General
Hospital. ^
Boyce served the Hertford *
Plice Department for almost
15 years.
County gets bus money
Perquimans County will
receive an additional $8,200
from the state to operate its 33
school buses during the school
year, far short of the $11,300 in
additional funds requested by
the county school board.
Schools superintendent Pat
HarreD said the money would
not be enough to operate the
buses during the remainder of
the school year, but was op
timistic- that mm money
would be forthcoming from
the state.
"The 18,000 we received will
be used for gas and main
tenance," HarreQ said. The
money will be added to an
original allocated at 132,5*7.
"The monies were allocated
on a past formula that is no
longer adequate," Harrell
said.
Transportation to the
schools is state funded, with
no county tax mooey budgeted
for that purpose, Harrell said.
He does not see the funding
shortfall as an effort to shift
some of the responsibilities for
transportation to the counties.
"It's Jut a question of
economies," Harrell said.
"Transportation has beeome
far more costly than was
anticipated."
NRHD A will appeal
(Continued from page one)
ford Mayor Bin Cox, aad alio
from "nearly every company
aad buiaeu in Pcrqrfaans
County."
Perqaimani County
Commissioner Chairman Joe
Nowell did not dispute that the
board had agreed to leaae
property to NRHDA in early
indteattcw of a change in tfri*
Nor did Cox dispute that be
?d written
ofNRHDA.
be submitted again to Atlanta,
and K refused, that NEHDA
Washington, D.C. level
White abo Mid that there
was tone hop* tor alternative
somes tf toting.
"We tid not want to go that
direction ontil this (HKWs)
1 wteJ? tealSi .
said White.
-.<? .
,
Digging it
m :?k "
. i:.'- V
SBQj
. . ?S
"> i. ?? r
Last wMk'i now meant a day
off far aome folks, bat over
time for Departmrat of
Transports emptoyaea. AO
available equipnwt was tmi
to clear county roada,
beginning wltb primary
17. (Photo by NOIL TOBfc
KeLAUGHLIN)
c