Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Feb. 5, 1981, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY VohHtx 37, No. 5 USPS4M-W0 Hartford, Ptquhnam County, N.C., Thursday, February 3, 1W1 20CENTS Search begins for Tri-County Center funding The search for construction money for the some $5 million Tri -County Career Center is expected to get underway soon. Finishing touches were completed last week on a prospectus designed to inform funding agencies of the project. The educational center is designed to meet the advanced vocational and academic needs of students in Perquimans, Gates, and Chowan counties. Tri -County project director Ken Stalls was expected to meet in Raleigh Wed nesday with North Carolina State Superintendent of Schools Dr. A. Craig Phillips and Joe Pell, senior assistant to Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., in order to obtain letters of endorsement for the project. Stalls said in an interview Monday that once the state officials' endorsements were obtained, the committee would begin sending the summary of the project to private and federal funding agencies. The steering committee for the Tri County Career Ct-'er met last week and approved the prospectus, which will be printed next week. The committee has narrowed site selection for the center down to some "possibilities." according to Stalls, bat will not make a final decision until construction money is located. "We do know there are sites available of equal driving distance from the 3 counties," said Stalls. Membership on the committee has altered slightly as a result of school board elections. Former Perquimans County School Board member George Baker, who did not run for re-election this year, has been replaced by county school board member Preston Steven son. Robert Hollowell of Gates County has been replaced by Emily Williams. Tbe project has so far been awarded some 173,000 in grant monies ap propriated to aid administrative costs and development of the center. Included in the appropriations was $20,000 from the Coastal Plains Regional Commission; $28,304 in federal monies from the Career Education Fund; and $25,000 from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Snow message A ItyM powdering of now on Friday lent the opportunity for a bit of windshield graffitti on the back of Winfall resident Alice White's automobile. (Photo by PAT MANSFIELD) F unds on tap for expanding county water system Over a million dollars in funding for the expansion of the Perquimans County Water system has apparently been ap proved. County officials will meet with a Farmers Home Administration official tommorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m. in a paperwork session that will make it official. The funding package includes a state clean water bond grant of $230,425, an FmHA loan totalling $440,000, and an additional $560,000 grant. A Rivers and Associates represen tative told the county commissioners on Monday morning that the money would be enough to run new water lines, drill an additional well, and construct another water treatment plant, all of the work scheduled to be included in Phase II of the water project. "We do have the funds to fund the whole project," said the representative of the county's engineering firm based in Greenville, N.C. In another matter, the board elected to advertise for bids on the extension of the county office building on Edenton Road in Hertford. FmHA supervisor Melvia Howell had sought extra space doe to cramped working conditions for FmHA employees at a prior meeting. He implied that his superiors were pressuring him to get a commitment for more space, or move his office to another county. The commissioners have also received notice that the quarters of school ad ministrative personnel are excessivley cramped, and on Monday, explored the possibility of solving both problems at once. Schools superintendent Pat Barrel! presented rough drawings for both rehabilitating the county owned Blan chard Building in downtown Hertford, and constructing a new building for the school central office staff on the same lot on which the Albemarle Regional Planning and Development Commission building is located, on Church Street Extended. Commissioner Charles Ward favored the construction of a new building, arguing that rennovatiag the Blanchard Building would cost more than new construction. Commissioner Lester Simpson lined up on the other side of the fence, arguing that perhaps it is time to do something with the Blanchard building. Obstacles to renovation include the absence of a heating system, a second floor that would require extensive bracing, and the possibility that ceilings would have to be lowered for heating efficiency. Ward said. "The only thing you've got is walls," said Ward. Either construction of a new building, or renovation of the Blanchard Building would have given FmHA office personnel more space at the Edenton Road Street building. But in the end, the commissioners opted by a 3-1 vote (Ward opposed) only to add a wing to the Edenton Road Street building for FmHA offices, and to deal with the school situation at some later date. Howell has offered one rough estimate of (15.000 for the work. Dental insurance and a cost of living 1 V Award presented Co-editor wins award PERQUIMANS WEEKLY co^ditor Nod Todd-McLaughlin received a state press award for photography at the annul North Carolina Press Association awards ceremony in Chapel Hill last Ms. Todd-McLaughlin was awarded' third place among 54 entries in the weekly newspapers feature photography category for an entry titled. "Mr. Ugly." The photograph featured ooe of the ?any distorted facial expressions that "Mr. Ugly" prftnted in an appearance ait a Perqoimans High School variety ihnw f?it raioer for the high school M(a? praised both the unique sub ject, and the technical quality of the MA very vassal picture, hut pleasing hocMao tf Ma oot-ef-th? ordinarinesa. A clear, cootrasty picture ? good technical quality," wrote the Jndges of the entry. raise for county employees became linked in another discussion. Earl Britton outlined a proposed Blue Cross dental plan for county employees and following Britton's presentation, social services director Paul Gregory said that the IS social services employees had informed him that if the plan would mean cost of living salary increases of less than 10 per cent in the coming year they would prefer to have the additional salary. Gregory said the employees had asked for 12 per cent salary increases plus the dental plan, but that he recommended 10 per cent salary increases plus the dental plan. Commissioner Charles Ward, however, said that the dental plan amounted to about a 1 per cent pay hike and that he would favor pay increases of 5 per cent with the plan or 6 per cent without. "That's not much of a raise," responded Gregory. But Ward countered that taxpaying farmers got no wage increase over the past year. Gregory will prepare his budget using various salary figures with and without the dental plan. There was some doubt as to the desireability of the dental plan after it was learned that any employee with Blue Cross-Blue Shield family health coverage would have to put the entire family on dental coverage at an extra cost of some $12 per month. In another matter, the commissioners heard a request from Donald Vicini of Compass Corparation Cable TV, for franchise rights to bring cable television to some parts of Perquimans County. Vicini's firm is seeking franchise rights in both Edenton and Hertford, and he said the firm is also interested in of fering the service along U.S. 17 between the two towns and in Winfall. The firm also hopes to look at other sections of the county to determine if cable televison service is feasible. "I'd be lying if I said I could wire up the entire county," said Vincini He said there must be an average density of 50 homes per mile of cable to make the service feasible. Aside from a basic package allowing viewers to tune in to some 11 channels, the service would also offer additional packages that would include independent stations from across the nation. Home Box Office, and Home Video. The commissioners also heard an annual report from county forest ranger John Hurdle. Hurdle said the forest dservice responded to 28 fires involving 51 acres of land over the past year. He said that 35 timber exajns were prepared or revised involving 1,743 acres and that 223 acres of forest were established. Insect and disease problems were minor, Hurdle said. Town council Plant repairs iced for present Although the town of Hertford does not have the some $8,000 needed to repair a faulty compressor at the town ice plant, the council moved at their regular meeting Monday to postpone closing down the operation for good. The ice plant, located off of Grubb Street in Hertford, has been closed since after Christmas due to the December breakdown of the compressor. Councilman T. Erie Haste recom mended that the board decide to either close the plant or make the necessary repairs. "I was talking to Tommy Miller, and he says that everyday it is down it costs additional money," said Haste, "We either need to move on it now (with repairs) or scrap it." The board directed Hertford Mayor and Town Manager Bill Cox to report fully on the town's ability to make repairs at their next regular meeting in March. The town council adopted budget amendments in early December which trimmed monies for capital outlay within the ice plant department to $1,000. There was no change on the $3,000 allotted that department for maintenance and repair of the building, grounds, and equipment. In other business, the council formally passed a resolution requiring that Hertford customers absorb Virginia Electric and Power Company's recent 1.1 increase in wholesale rates. The board had agreed at a previous meeting that the town could not absorb the Vepco increase, but no formal action was taken. Hertford customers will not feel the 1 increase until the March 1 billing, ac cording to Cox, who was notified last week that Vepco proposes to file yet another rate increase with the FERC sometime in March of 1981, which will also more than likely effect the pocketbooks of Hertford customers. It is also a possibility that Hertford customers will pay more than just Vepco's increase if the FERC allows the company to boost wholesale rates again this spring. According to Haste, the town's utilities department should be run like a business, and that means passing on any increase, and then some. "This time we're holding the increase to a minimum, but next time we need to add some profit," said Haste, "after all, it's a business." The board also adopted an ordinance allowing a cable television franchise to extend its services to the town of Hert ford. Representatives of Compass Cor poration, out of Erie, Pennsylvania, appeared before, the council in January to seek contract approval from the commissioners. Although the ordinance was accepted, the law requires that the council wait until the next regular monthly meeting to sign the franchise contract. Representing the company Monday was Don Vicini, who claimed that the town of Hertford would be receiving cable TV within the year. "We have already surveyed the area and mapping is underway now," said Vicini. "Construction can begin within a week of the franchise signing, which means that certain sections in town could be turned on (to cable) in about 7 mon ths," he added. Cable TV will offer customers an op tion of four levels of service Level one will provice the cable customer with 11 channels, at a cost of about ST per month. Level two will offer reception of in dependent television stations from <11 over the country, as well as the 11 channels offered in the basic service. Level two will cost the consumer about $9.85 a month. Level three consists of Home Box Office, which affords TV viewers an opportunity to select from a package of current motion pictures each month. Level one and two options are also in cluded in package three, at a montly cost of some $15.85. Level four will provide customers with a combination of levels one, two, and three, as well as "Cinemax." a feature that Vicini claimed would offer "two times as many movies as HBO with no duplication." The town of Hertford stands to make some money off of the cable enterprise, as the corporation has agreed to pay both, pole rental of $5 per telephone pole utilized per year, as well as 3 percent of the corporation's gross revenue. The system is designed to connect to telephone lines, either above or below ground. The council also: ?Heard an annual report from Hertford Volunteer Fire Chief Charlie Sktecr ( Continued on p*gc 2) * *
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Feb. 5, 1981, edition 1
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