THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volumo 39, No. 3? USPS 42*-OiO Hertford, P>rquim?n* County, N.C., Thursday, September 79, 1983 ? 20 CENTS
At the fair....
(TOP) J mod Winslow, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy
Winslow, casts a wistful
glance at the "big kids" rides
while taking a spin on the
Merry-go-round.
(LOWER LEFT) Jeanne
Harvey of Pantego was
crowned Northeast Pork
Queen by last years queen,
Cheryl Stallings of Belvidere
during the second Annual
Pork Queen contest at the
Chowan Co. Fair.
(LOWER RIGHT)
Torrence Mack of
Perquimans County was one
of the many area contestants
at the 4-H Talent Show held
each evening during the fair.
Safe Roads Act effective Saturday
By JANE WILLIAMS
The Sale Roads Act, which will
become effective on Saturday, Oc
tober 1, IMS, repeals the present laws
on drunk driving in North Carolina
and replaces them with the single
offense of "driving while impaired ?
V DWI."
DWI can be proven in one of two
ways:
By proving the driver's physical or
mental faculties are appreciably
impaired by alcohol, drugs or a
combination of both: or
By proving the driver's alcohol
concentration is 0.10 or more at any
relevant time after driving.
) Under the new law if a person is .
charged with DWI the charge cannot
be reduced to a lesser sentence.
-A driver charged with DWI who
refuses to be tested or who has an
alcohol concentration of 0.10 faces an
automatic and immediate ten day 1
revocaion of his license, and limited
driving privileges may not be ob
tained during this period. If a driver
registers this amount or more on a
chemical test, or refuses the test, he
V will be taken before a magistrate and
his license will be suspended.
If the magistrate determines that
the driver is too impaired to be
released, he is empowered under the
act to hold the driver for up to 24
hours or until a responsible? sober
adult will take responsibility for him.
The problem of impaired drivers is
a serious one. Of 144,543 reported
fc automobile accidents in North
Carolina in 1882, 21,896 were known to
have been alcohol-related; 8.183 were .
suspected of being alcohol-related;
SSI people were killed and U.310
were injured in known alcohol
caused accident*; 418 people died
and 3,591 were injured in alcohol
suspected accidents.
If a driver is taken to court and is
convicted of driving while impaired,
the law requires the judge to hold a
sentencing hearing where Grossly
Aggravating Drunk Driving (GADD)
factors, aggravating factors and
mitigating factors are presented by
the prosecutor and defense at
torneys. The judge must weigh these
factors in imposing sentence.
If two GADD factors (a prior
impaired driving offense in the past
seven years, driving while license
are revoked for an impaired offense,
causing an accident resulting in
serious injury to another) are
present, there is a mandatory
minimum jail term of 14 days and the
driver can be fined op to $2,000. If one
GADD factor is present the driver
faces a mandatory minimum seven
days in jail and a fine up to $1,000. If a
driver has two or more prior con
victions for driving while impaired
within seven years, punishment is
the same as if he had two GADD
factors.
If no GADD factors are present,
the judge weighs the aggravating
and mitigating factor*. If
aggravating factors outweigh
mitigating factors, a driver can be
sentenced to a minimum of 72 hours
in jail, or 72 hours of community
service or W days without driving or
a combination af all. He also faces a
fine of up to $900. If aggravating and
mitigating factors balance oat, the
driver faces a sentence of 4$ hours in
jail, 4$ hours of community serivce
or 60 days without driving privileges
or a combination of all. Additionally,
the driver can be fined up to $250.
Drinking among youth in North
Carolina is increasing at an alarming
rate. Three out of five teenagers
drink once a month, and about three
out of ten who are in the tenth
through twelfth grades have drinking
problems according to the last
national survey.
Automobile accidents are a leading
cause of death among those 16 to 19
ye.ars of age.
Arrest figures for 1982 in North
Carolina for driving under the in
fluence hint at the extent of the
problem among the young. 4,695
drivers IS years and younger were
arrested last year for DUI. Between
the ages of 19 and 25 the figure
jumped to 35,297 arrests.
Only a small percentage of
drinking drivers are arrested, so the
situation is far worse than these
figures indicate.
Under the new Safe Roads Act the
legal age for drinking or possessing
beer or unfortified wine will be raised
to 19. If a provision licensee (16 or 17)
ia convicted of DWI, refuses to
submit to chemical analysis, or is
caught driving with any amount of
alcohol or drugs (excluding
prescriptions taken in lawful
amount), his license will be revoked
until he is IS, or for 45 days,
whichever is longer.
The statute provides a one-year
license revocation if:
?an underage person attempts to
purchase or purchases an alcoholic
(Coatinaed oa p*gt t)
Festival evaluated at board meeting
...
the premiere g*!a.
"It tehes a tot of people to do this
thing;" HarreU commented. The
Chamber expressed their staeere
appreciation to all thoat who helped
make the festival a success.
Chamber of Commerce secretary
Mary Sue Roach reported that the
to 9|M effective September i.
at K
The date of the Chamber banquet
waa aet for December 5. No other
plana have been made tar the annual
affair.
A report from the merchant's
of which Ben Berry i*
waa heard. The com
mittee met en September 12 at
Angler's Cc?e, and wiH meet qnar
I In October, the Chamber
wfll meet at T;M rather than $ p.m.
held en the fourth
a
Tax assessments increase
200 % for county residents
By JANE WILLIAMS
The recently-completed
reassessment of real estate holdings
ip Perquimans County has a
projected property value increase of
more than 200 per cent over previous
assessments.
The independent appraisal firm of
Pearson Appraisal Company,
Wilson, NC, was contracted by the
Perquimans County Commissioners
to place properties at their ap
proximate market value in ac
cordance with state requirements
that properties within each county be
re-assesed every eight years.
According to Joe Nowell, Chair
man of the Perquimans County
Commissioners, the Wilson firm was
selected from a list given to the
Commissioners by the state after
they submitted the low bid.
Tax Department personnel said
that the appraisal increases do not
necessarily constitute tax increases.
"The base tax rate of $1.20 for 1983
should be reduced for 1984," said
Keith Haskett, Supervisor V of
Perquimans County Tax Depart
ment. "The rate will adjust itself to
the appraised value."
"I don't know to what extent it (the
tax rate) will be lowered, but I feel
certain that it will be. Hopefully
there will be no increase in the
amount of taxes paid," Nowell said.
"The reason for a property value
increase is that the January 1, 1976
assessments were very low in
value," Haskett said. "The purpose
for re-assessment is to tax each in
dividual equally according to
properties owned."
Only one major change in real
estate tax status has been enacted,
according to a tax department
spokesperson. Mobile homes that are
permanently located on the owner's
land will now be classified as real
estate and mobile homes that are
located on rental property with ad
ditions or those that appear to be
permanently located will also be
considered real estate. All other will
remain classified as personal
property.
Perquimans County property
owners will be notified by mail of
their re-assessment values during
the week of October 1. These values
will take effect on January 1, 1984.
Representatives of Pearson Ap
praisal Company will be available to
answer any questions that property
owners may have concerning their
re-assessments October 17 through 21
by making an appointment through
the Perquimans County Tax
Department.
Drought conditions termed
disastrous for county farmers
(Editor's note: The following is an
article written by Governor Jim Hunt
last Friday concerning the drought
and its devestating impact on North
Carolina farmers.)
"Even in the best of times,
scratching out a living on a small,
family farm is a difficult enterprise.
As one who grew up on a small farm
in Wilson County, I have seen first
hand how a prolonged drought can
destroy all the hard work that goes
into raising crops and livestock."
"But this summer's drought is the
worst in my memory. It threatens
this nation's continued economic
recovery, and it has parched North
Carolina's usually rich agricultural
land to the tune of a staggering $430
million."
"Losses to the tobacco crop, the
backbone of our agricultural
economy, amount to $80 million. We
lost $190 million in corn, $105 million
in soybeans, $23 million in peanuts,
$15 million in hay and pasture, $9
million in sweet potatoes, $6 million
in cotton, and $2 million in poultry
and livestock."
"A good many families will cer
tainly get out of farming altogether.
Others are no doubt wondering how
they are going to make ends meet
through the winter."
"On September 1, I asked U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture John Block
to formally declare all of North
Carolina a disaster area so we could
quickly help farmers become eligible
for federal disaster relief loans."
"What has happened ? and what
has not happened ? since that
request was made is an all too
familiar case study in how slow and
unresponsive the federal
bureaucracy can be."
"Before a disaster declaration
could be issued, the law required that
damage assessments be submitted to
officials in the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. All of those reports were
in the hands of federal officials by
Monday, September 12."
"Still, by September 19, we had
received no response, so I wrote a
letter that day to Pres'dent Reagan,
seeking his personal intervention. I
asked the President to appoint a full
time drought coordinator with the
authority to cut red tape and speed
up the process."
"I also asked the President to
establish an emergency livestock
feeding program."
"As this article is being written, we
are still waiting for a federal decision
on our request for disaster
designation. Under Secretary of
Agriculture Frank Naylor, mean
while, has stated that the federal
government has no plans to intitiate
the emergency feeding program."
"I was particularly incensed by a
statement made on September 21 to
the Senate Agriculture Committee by
Under Secretary Naylor. He told the
committee that his office had not yet
received the damage assessment
reports from North Carolina."
"He made that statement nine
days after those reports had been
delivered to Washington."
"Perhaps I am being overly op
timistic, given the federal govern
ment's track record, but I believe our
request for disaster relief will in the
end be granted."
"Acting on the assumption that
that will eventually happen, I, along
with the Commissioner of
Agriculture Jim Graham, have
designated Dr. A. Frank Bordeaux
Jr. as this state's drought relief
coordinator."
"We have assinged him to work
with our farmers and with state and
federal agencies to help make the
process of obtaining disaster relief
loans as quick and simple as
possible."
"Farmers who have sustained crop
or livestock losses and have
questions about obtaining disaster
relief can reach Dr. Bordeaux at
(919) 733-7125."
"I hope that many of you, par
ticularly farmers, will take a few
minutes to write President Reagan
or to Secretary Block, urging them to
streamline federal procedures for
providing disaster relief. A
devastating drought is bad enough
without entangling the federal
response in red tape."
Perquimans County was notified
on Monday that the area had been
designated as a disaster area by the
United States Department of
Agriculture, according to Bill Jester,
Perquimans County Extension
Chairman.
This designation will enable area
farmers to apply for low interest
loans through Farmers Home Ad
ministration, and some area farmers
will be eligible for an Emergency
Livestock Feeding Program, if the
USDA approves this program.
Albemarle EMC
schedules annual meet
"Albemarle EMC will be holding
ita Annual Member Meeting on
Saturday, October 8, at 2 p.m. in
Hertford at the Perquimans County
High School. Members may begin
registering at 12 noon. The business
meeting will start at 2 p.m.," said
James A. Whitehurst, President of
the EMC Board of Directors.
Members who register before the 2
p.m. meeting will receive a Susan B.
Anthony dollar. Members who
received service in 1NMI may also
pick up their capital credit check.
Manager Dorris B. White stated
that the EMC will be refunding some
$54,800 to members for the years 1988
and 1188. Members may pick up
checks from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and
then after the meeting.
The business meeting will include
reports from the General Manager,
pins the new Load Management
Program, and the election of three
directors.
A Nominating Comiqitte, com
prised of eight members, ma* on
August 8. They will be presenting the
following members aa nominees tar
the three vacndes daring the
District 1, Camden Comity. George
H. Canfield Jr., Bt. 1. South Mills,
and W. Eafl Meiggs. (incumbent).
Star Bt 1 Camden; District 8,
Chowan County, Joseph A. Byrum
(incumbent) Rt. 1, Tyner, and Paul
C. Williams, Rt. 2, Edenton; District
4, Perquimans County, C. T.
(Tommy) Harrell, Rt. 1, Hertford,
and Floyd Mathews Sr., (incumbent)
Rt. 4, Hertford.
Albemarle EMC will launch a drive
to sign up members for its new load
management program. Members
who attend the Annual Meeting will
see a load management display and
view a slide program on load
management.
Albemarle EMC along with 28
other electric cooperatives in North
Carolina will be promoting the North
Carolina Electric Membership
Corporation statewide load
management program.
According to local sources, this
load management system will be one
of the largest such systems in the
nation. Members Interested in
signing up for load management can
do so before tad Just after the
meeting en October !.
Member* who are unable to attend
the meeting can sign up in the office
in Hertford or by using a coupon in
the EMC's newsletter.
The local EMC covers portions a i
five counties, Chowan, Perquimans,
Pasquotank, Currituck, Camden, and
serves better than i,m member
*
Subscription
increase
Effective October 1, 1983 the
cost of a subscription to THE
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY will go
to $8.50 for county residents and
$9.50 for non-county residents
The single issue cost will rise to
25 cents per copy.
THE PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY strives to keep costs
down for its customers, but due to
the rising costs of printing and
postage, the increase must be
implemented. This is the first
rate increase since November
1976.
Renewals may be made at the
current rate through October 15;
however, all new subscriptions
will be charged at the new rate
after October 1.
NEW HOURS
The staff ?( THE
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY haa
changed its office hours. The
office is now open from I a.m. to 5
p.m. on Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday. The office
Is closed from l to 2 p.m. daily.
Office hours for Wednesday art
from ? a.m. until 1 p.m.
The deadline far all news and
advertising has been changed to I
p.m. on Monday prior to
publication on Thursday.