PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 36, No. M
USPS 428-000
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, Mar. 6, 1980
20 CENTS
Blizzard North Poles Perquimans Co.
The worst snow storm in
recent history swept across
the northeast and the entire
state of North Carolina on
Saturday and Sunday, dum
ping an estimated 25 inches on
Perquimans County, and
bringing all activity to a
virtual halt.
The blizzard-like storm was
accompanied by winds of
nearly 60 miles per hour, and
punctuated by thunder and
lightning.
Caused by the collision of a
cold front which approached
from the west and a low
pressure center situated just
off shore, the storm easily
outstripped predictions by
weather forecasters.
Motorists scrambled for
shelter as travel on the high
ways of Northeastern North
Carolina became virtually
impassible. Four stranded
motorists were sheltered in
the Perquimans County
Courthouse.
One Edenton couple. David
and Wanda Henson, aban
doned their car and were
driven to the courthouse by a
N.C. Department of Tran
sportation Employee, ac
cording to Perquimans County
Sheriff Julian Broughton. "I
just got 'em some blankets
from home and put 'em to
bed," Broughton said.
The county rescue squad
was also called out to deliver
an expectant mother to
Chowan Hospital in the middle
of the storm, Broughton said.
The snow began falling on
Saturday and as of midnight,
an estimated 6 inches had
accumulated, according to
Glen Collins, weather ob
server at the Elizbeth City
Municipal Airport.
By Sunday morning, the
snow had quit falling, and was
being swirled about by the
wind. Then a secondary low
moved in, and the snow began
anew, this time more intense
than before.
"Most of the snow came on
Sunday," Collins said, and
total accumulation averaged
25 inches at the airport, he
said.
Gale force winds made
I know it's in here
Bill Cale digs away at the snow that has buried his MG sports car parked on Grubb Street. The huge snow dumped 25 inches on the area, and may
well have been a record.(Photo by NOEL TODD- MCLAUGHLIN)
CAMA update
Survey seeks planning input
A questionnaire designed to
gain citizen input into the
issues facing Perquimans
County in the 1980's has been
distributed throughout the
county.
Dispersed in schools, local
banks, and the courthouse, the
questionniare is part of a
series of steps required to
update Perquimans County's
Coastal Area Management
Act Land Use Plan.
' According to community
assistance planner Dan Tew,
the purpose of the plan is to
identify problems and issues
that will confront the county in
the next five years and to get
public input on how these
issues should be handled.
The questionnaire is a tool in
gaining public participation
which, according to Tew, is
vital if one wishes to have any
impact on how community
leaders will handle future
issues.
"There is a dire need to
return the questionniare as it
will have a direct effect on
how the county will grow in
the 80's," said Tew.
The surveys should be
returned by March 17, and
may be mailed to ARPDC at
P.O. Box 646, Hertford, N.C.,
27944, or may be returned to
the schools for collection.
Data gleaned from the
questionnaire will be
tabulated about two weeks
after the deadline.
The 31-question survey
gauges opinions on such topics
as industial development,
tourism, and historic
preservation. Participants are
asked what they like about
Perquimans County, and what
changes they'd like to see
made.
The survey was developed
by a citizen's advisory com
mittee appointed by the
Perquimans County Com
missioners and the Hertford
Town Council.
The deadline for final draft
of the Land Use Plan is in
August.
The county's initial land use
plan was drawn up in 1975,
following the state's adoption
of CAMA in 1974.
CAMA was designed
primarily to protect the
coastal region from poor
planning that could possibly
damage the fragile eco
system.
Women's conference slated for county
Perquimans County will be
among North Carolina's 100
counties participating in a
leadership conference
designed for women this
spring.
The conference, slated for
Saturday, May 24, will be held
from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. at
the Albemarle Regional
Planning and Development
Commission building located
on Church Street Extended in
Hertford.
"The county-level con
ference is a follow-up to the
successful statewide con
ference sponsored by Gov.
Jim Hunt in Raleigh last If ay,
and the nine regional con
fereces held across the state
last year," said Mrs. M.B.
Taylor, chairperson of
Perquimans County's con
ference. She added, "Holding
these meetings at the county
level fulfills the conferecne
objective of providing
leadership development op
portunities for women at the
local level."
The conference will afford
women the opportunity to
attend two workshops of their
choice out of a possible six
workshops. Tentative topics
include, "Women and North
Carolina Law," and "Coping
with Stress."
Mrs. Taylor said that she is
looking for the participation of
some 200 local women in the
day-long meeting.
The Perquimans County
conference is being sponsored
by the North Carolina Council
on the Status of Women and
the North Carolina Council of
Women, and the North
Carolina Council of Women's
Organizations in cooperation
with the office of Gov. Hunt.
In addition to the
workshops, participants will
have the opportunity to hear
speakers. A buffet luncheon
will also be included.
Pre-registration in
formation will be released at a
later date.
Overman seeking N.C. House seat
Leonard W. Overman of
Route 3, Hertford, a former
resident of Paiquotank
County, has filed as a can
didate for one of the two seats
in the First District of N. C.
House of Representatives.
He is married to the former
Viola Perry of Perqaimans
County. They hare four
children, Emerson of Rt 1,
Elisabeth City, Leonard. Jr.,
of Rt.l, Hertford, Anthony of
Rt 1, Elisabeth City, and
LaRoodaoftbehome.
Overman is a member of the
Hooter's Pork Pentecostal
Holiness Church, where he is
on the official board; he is
secretary and treasurer of the
ehurch, teacher of the young
adult calss, and a member of
the church choir. He has held
various offices in the church
for 30 jrea.s, including
difactor of the youth depart
He is President of
Albemarle Enterprises which
consists of a feeder pig
operation in Pasquotank
County, which he and his three
sons designed and built. He is
Vice President and General
Manager of Albemarle
Feneing and Insulation Co.,
Inc. located at 905 Halstead
Blvd., which is a 1552 sq. ft.
Heritage Log Home, he and
his sons have just finished
building.
Asked why he chose to run
for this campaign, Overman
indicated that it was because
he was interested in good
government and felt his
responsibility to contribute to
it
Rescheduled
The Hertford Town Council
meeting scheduled for last
Monday haa been re-aet for
Mooday, March 10, at 7:30
p.m.
*
As of press time, the
Perquimans Couaty Com
missioners had not
rescheduled their regular
Monday night meeting.
drifting a problem, with
speeds recorded at 58 miles
per hour at 11:30 on Sunday
night, Collins said.
The snow, added to previous
precipitation this year,
brought the 1980 total ac
cumulation to 57 inches. "I'm
almost sure it's a record,"
Collins said.
Another record may well be
the nine days of school
Perquimans County
youngsters have missed this
year because of snow. "It's a
record since I've been here,"
said schools superintendent
Pat Harrell, adding that he is
in only his fourth year as
superintendent.
Harrell said that prior to the
snow, Easter vacation had
been shortened to two days, a
teacher's workday had been
erased and four days had been
subtracted from the summer
vacation. He was unsure how
the school calendar would be
revised to account for the
three additional school can
cellations brought about by
the most recent snow.
But despite the hazards and
hardships, some good news
came along with the storm.
The N.C. Highway Patrol
reported no major accidents
in the cWnty over the
weekend.
By Tuesday morning.
Perquimans County residents
were beginning to dig them
selves out of what may well
have been the worst
snowstorm ever to hit the
county, though some still
maintained the snow of 1927
was worse.
And Broughton vowed that
more of the white stuff was on
the way. He said that anytime
it thunders and lightnings
during a snow, more snow will
come within seven days.
The weatherman, however,
disagreed. Collins said the
long range forecast calls for
rain on Wednesday and
Thursday (today), and clear
skies on time for the weekend.
Storm leaves some in
frigid darkness for hours
The second blizzard of 1980
was fun for some, but a dark,
chilling experience for others,
as parts of the county suffered
power outages as a result of
the 25 inches of snowfall over
the weekend,
Albemarle Electric
Membership Corporation
operations memeber Robert
Brooks said that outtages
were few, but weather con
ditions delayed restoration for
those areas that were without
power.
AEMC customers along Hog
Neck Road perhaps suffered
longest, as they were without
power for 17 hours. Another
outtage in the Little River
section left customers in the
dark for 13 hours.
** -t:V. ... '? -v.
New Hope resident Charles
Mims said that Durants Neck
Ruritan Club members
checked on area residents
Sunday night and Monday
morning to make sure they
were staying warm and had
food. The Ruritans also went
to work clearing roads with
tractors.
Holiday Island was without
power for some 13 hours, as an
electrical line was knocked
down by a tree limb. A
resident of the resort com
munity said it was the sixth
time Holiday Island had been
without power this winter.
Still, the damage was far
less than had been ex
perienced during the 15 to 20
inch snow that oeeured in mid
February. "We had expected
it to be worse," Brooks said.
"It was so dry it wasn't
sticking to the power lines."
He said. "If it had been wet
like the first one we'd still be
down."
Suspect nabbed
The recent outbreak of
stealing from unlocked cars in
Hertford prompted the poiice
department to "stake-out"
vacant cars within the city
limits last week.
And the watchful eye paid
off on Thursday, as Wilbcn
Lee Jones, 18, of Winfail, was
apprehended after Police
Chief Marshall Merritt said he
observed him remove a make
up case from an unlocked car
at the Hertford United
Methodist Church on the last
night of revival.
Merritt. who was hiding on
the floor board of his car, said
he then radioed officers
Eugene McLawhorn and
Robert Morris, who arrested
the suspect on the corner of
Church St. and Dooos;
Jones was placed in the Tri
County jail under $1000 bond
and charged with breaking
and entering, and larceny of a
motor vehicle, a felony
punishable by a maximum of
five years in prison.
Digging out
By Tuesday, town workers
were beginning to dig out from
the blizzard that brought
*
activity to a virtual halt on
Saturday afternoon, then
pounded the area with more
H
snow and high winds on
Sunday.