Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Sept. 16, 1982, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY Volume tt, No. 37 USPS 428-Otd Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, September 1?, lttt M CENT Town adopts 15% utility cut The Hertford Town Council voted unanimously to approve a IS percent cut in residential electricity rates, effective for next month's billing, at their regular monthly meeting Monday night. Seventeen Hertford residents and merchants crowded into the council room k> witness the vote, which had followed about an hour of discussion between the citizens and the coun citmen. The citizens complained of enor mous increases in their utility bills in recent months ? some of them claiming their bill had doubled ? though the rate the town charges for electricity hasn't changed since October. 1K1. Others expressed dismay over recent newspaper reports that Hertford residents pay one the highest electricity rates in the state, a statement which the council didn't deny. The council's vote will change the present charge for electricity from $85.31 per 1,000 kilowatts to 73.51 per 1,000 kilowatts. Commercial rates will remain unchanged. The council decided on the reduction during a work session held last week. "This should make our rates more competitive with other areas," noted Mayor and Town Manager Bill Cox, who added that the commercial rate ? lower than the residential rate ? was already compatible to those charged in Edenton and Elizabeth City. Cox admitted that the town's action was somewhat overdue. Since the town began receiving a portion of its power from the North Carolina Municipal Power Agaacy No. 3 earlier this year, they have had a reduction in their cost of fuel, a reduction they haven't passed on to the town's customers. This is the First reduction is rates since the town joined NCMPA3. Cox explained that ' they hadn't passed on the savings, which he said has been evident for about the last two months, because the price the town pays for power had only begun to stabilize in recent weeks. Nevertheless he admitted "we have been a bit slow in reducing our rates." Councilmember Jesse Harris added, "I can only speak for myself, but I think we've been a little slack in what we've done tonight. This is something we should have done four months ago." Concerning the comparitively high price of Hertford power, reported by other newspapers. Cox said, "historically, our rates have been higher," because the town uses utility revenue to fund the town's general operations. Cox defended the use of utility money ? roughly $150,000. he reckoned ? for town operations by saying that if the town were funded wholly by property taxes, electricity rates would decrease about 25-30 percent, but property tax rates would increase 75 cents per $100 valuation to about $2.25 per $100. Some of the residents at the meeting were upset at what they believed was an unexplainable in crease in their electricity use. Some said that even though they had cut down on their usage, their meter readings increased several hundred kilowatts. One resident, Billy Nixon, said that from discussions with persons familiar with utilities, the only way this could have happened was if the meters, rather than being read each month, were read only every few months and estimated the rest of the time. Low estimates, he had been told, would make his kilowattage rise when the meter was finally read. Cox said the meters were being read each month, and explained that the increase in some resident's usage was probably cause by reeent hot weather, along with an additional three to five days on the bill due to late billing. In other action, the council: ?Appointed Assistant Fire Chief Pete-Riddick to fill the unexpired term of retiring chief Charlie Skin ner, effective October 1. ?Agreed, on Skinner's recom mendation, to sign a mutual fire fighting aid agreement with Eden ton. ?Voted to hold a public hearing on October 11 at 7:30 on changes in the parking ordanance. ?Approved a $100 donation to the county Industrial Development Commission's Committee of 100. ?Reappointed Police Chief Mar shall Merritt as Chief of Police, and approved a police department policy giving Merritt the authority to allow officers to drive police vehicles home while standby. Schools to receive accreditation teams The Perquimans County school system Is in the process of making more dreams come true this week as they host an on-site inspection of Perquimans High School and Perquimans Union School by visiting teams from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. If all goes well, and the school officials feel confident it will, the teams will recommend that the two schools be accredited by the SACS, as were Perquimans Central Grammar and Hertford Grammar Schools and the system's central office last spring. One team visited the high school and sat in on each teacher's class Tuesday, while another team will go through the same process at Union School today. During their visitation, the team members judge the each school's performance in light of their completed self-studies, which explain the schools' strengths and weaknesses, and detail long- and short-range plans for the schools' improvement. At a banquet held Monday for the high school's accreditation team. School Superintendent Pat Principal William Byrum, accreditation team chairman Boy love, and School Soperistendent Pat Harrell expressed his excitement at the coming visitation to the school's teachers and the county officials present. Recalling the television com mercial for "Baseball Fever: Catch It," Harrell said, "For the last two years, this schools system has had accreditation fever, and we've all caught it." Harrell added that with reports from local representative in Raleigh that future funding for schools "is not very bright," this accreditation drive will help the system "take a look at maximizing the resources we have." Reminiscing, Board of Education Chairman Clifford Winslow noted that having spent his school years in a one-room school a mile-and-a-half walk from his home that taught seven grades, "all makes me appreciate Perquimans County schools even more. "This is another step." be said, "in the completion of a dream that Perquimans County has had." The visiting teams will corn plate their written evaluation of the schools and present their recommendations to the state accredidation committee by October, at which Ume the schools will dad out whether they have made the grade. The viaitetion team members for the Ugh school an: Roy Rowe, assistant superintendent for instruction at Elizabeth City Pasquotank Schools; Wilma Flood, English teacher at Nor theastern High School in Elizabeth City; Robert Truitt, principal at Gates County High School. Also John Perry, superin tendent of Gates County schools; Johnny Phillips, principal of Lexington High School; Marjorie Stutzman, librarian at John Holmes High School in Edenton; Hattie Blue, consultant for the Division of Vocational Education, State Department of Public In struction; Barbrra Riccardo. professor of foreign languages at the College of the Albemarle. Also Linda Nichols, health and physical education teacher at Chowan Junior High School; Augusta White, consultant for the Division of Vocational Education, Home Economics at the SDPI; Louise Sutton, professor of math at Elisabeth City State Univer sity; William Holley. professor and chairman of art education. East Carolina University. Alto Dorothy Thomas, associate professor of biology, ECSU; Cleveland Hawkins, director of vocational education. Elisabeth City-Pasquotank Schools; Gaynor White, director of txcepttonal education, Camden County Schools; Lee Bass, english teacher at John Holmes; and Linda Hotter, social stndtes teacher at Gates Conaty High School Last chance A couple wades in the Albemarle Sound at Holiday Island for what may be their last swim of the season. But the weather service predicts warm, hazy weather for the weekend, so perhaps they'll have another chance. Phase n County accepts bids for water project The Perquimans County Board of Commissioners approved bids to three contractors at their regular meeting Tuesday to construct Phase II of the county's water system. Work will begin on the $1.22 million project as soon as the contracts are signed and approved by the parties involved ? which include the board, the contractors, the Farmers Home Administration, and the state government. According to Ron Sessoms, county water system consultant with Rivers and Associates of Greenville, the signing should be completed in about six weeks. Once the contractors have the green light, Sessoms expects the work to be completed by mid summer. The project, several years in the making, calls for three wells to be dug on a county site near Winfall, a water treatment plant constructed, and pipes carrying the new water to several locations nc?t now served by the county system, including Holiday Island. The board granted the contract to dig the wells to Water Systems Inc. of Virginia Beach, Va. for $53,189.97. The contract states the work must be completed within 90 days of the signing The board awarded the contract to lay new pipe to Hendricks-BarnhiU Co. of Greenville for $567,961 That work must be completed within 365 days of the signing. The contract for preparation and building the treatment plant was awarded to Peters & White Con struction Co of Chesapeake, Va. for $4<M.400 They also have 365 days to complete the work Sessoms said that the work should be completed "in a lot less time than that" The money for the project is funded partially by a loan from FHA, a grant from FHA and a grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Bond Act U.S. 17 improvement priorities study released A consultant to the state Depart ment of Transportation recommends the four-laning of U.S. IT through Perquimans County as a middle priority item in its study of the U S 17 corridor. The consultant, Kimley Horn & Associates, also recommends the four-laning of the Hertford bypass as a low priority, long range project. Those recommendations were presented to the sute Board of Transportation at its meeting in Raleigh September 10. The con sultant also recommended the eventual four-laning of U.S. IT from Virginia to South Carolina, at an estimated cost of $450 million. Of the three projects proposed for Perquimans County, the Hertford-to Edenton four-laning would cost of $10 8 million, the four-laning of the highway from Hertford to where the four lane now ends near the county line would cost $7.2 million. No cost estimate was given for the four laning of the Hertford bypass Catagorizing future projects as -tti. y | i, in,, t n,: , ..fa.. % n. eiiMr momy 1, rnomy z, nwnjr 3 or Long-range, the consultant listed the Hertford -toEdeoton and Hert ford-to-Pasquotank County projects as "Priority V and the Hertford bypass as "Long-range." All future projects in the Albemarie area went of the CWwan River ? including bypassing road tran Mm Hn to the rivnr ? were labeled either "Long-range," or "Priority 2.'' The recommendations followed about a year of study of the corridor, including analyzing traffic pattern, conducting surveys of the residents, and holding public hearings. "Although no formal action was taken by the transportation boa>-d at this time." said Secretary of Tran sportation William Robersoo. "the information provided by the study will assist the board in future programming of U.S. 1? im provements in a timely manner for the greatest regional benefit." This tveek The Perquimans Pirates lost a disappointing game last Friday night. Tun to Wli W eat her Warm aad mnggj tfcrwfk fee ?MkMi wHk a ckaace of itwiii ?cfcfay. to tte mM W am d kmt fci tktmlMta. k
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Sept. 16, 1982, edition 1
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