weekly Perspective Guest editorial High values placed on education \ By GOVERNOR JIM HUNT North Carolinians have always placed a high value on education. Parents in particular have seen education as the way for their children to have greater op portunities than they had. That still holds true, but there is developing across this land a new sense of urgency about excellence in education. There is also a demand among our people for greater ac countability by our public schools. Education for its own sake is no longer enough. People rightly want to know what kind of education their children are getting in return for those hard earned tax dollars. North Carolina is taking the lead in asking those questions and searching for the answers. Last Thursday, we began a massive statewide effort aimed at deep and lasting change in our state's public schools. On that day, I appointed 50 citizens ? including business executives, educators, legislators, local and state government leaders, parents and students ? to the North Carolina Commission on Education for Economic Growth. Over the next five months, this commission, which I will chair, will listen to our people, take a hard look at what is happening in our schools. We will develop recommendations for action by our legislature, by businesses, by parents, by citizens, by students and by educators. We are doing this because North Carolina and America cannot con tinue to grow and prosper if we don't have excellent public schools. Our future and that 01 our children depend as never before on good schools. North Carolina has already taken giant steps in education ? steps that other states are striving to copy. We have a primary reading program, testing programs, tougher requirements for graduation, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. But much remains to bt done. We must pay teachers in a way that will attract and keep the best. We must make the curriculum more rigorous. Classroom time must be used more productively. We must make homework more valuable. We must reduce the dropout rate. In short, we must do a better job of preparing today's students for tomorrow's world. The Commission on Education for Economic Growth will hold its first meeting on Thursday of this week in Raleigh. That will be followed by regional hearings, on dates yet to be determined, in Raleigh, Asheville, Greenville and Charlotte during the fall and winter. In February, there will be a day long meeting to hammer out our recommendations. In March, we will issue a final report. Your participation in one or more of these regional hearings is urgently needed. Whether you are a parent, a teacher, a student, a business operator, or from any other walk of life, you have a stake in the direc tions our schools take. I hope you will plan to come to one of the regional hearings and tell us what is on your mind. You will be listened to, and your ideas will be carefully considered by the com mission. In this way, you can do your part to see that our nation retains its leadership in the world and whether this generation of children will have a better life than ours. Coroner's inquest used to determine mortality rate Other than the Mortality Schedules of the Federal Census, the principal source of information regarding causes of death in Perquimans before this century is cornoers' inquests. _ The coroner was a public official, appointed by the County Court prior to 1868 and elected by the voters thereafter. It was common in the years just before the Civil War for Perquimans to have two coroners at one for each side of the river. F!ew of the county's coroners were doctors. # ' ;Ante bellum law declared: "It (ball be the duty of... coroner s'.. whenever they have knowledge of themselves or are informed by others f&at any person is slain or suddenly 4(pad,... to.. .summon a jury of good ^d lawful men,.. .(to) make Inquiry, when, how, and by what means such deceased person came to hii death,..." The jury gathered at an inquest would view the body, looking for signs of violence or obvious causes of death. Testimony might be taken from persons having knowledge of the matter at hand; opinions might be sought from doctors. death to have been natural, ac cidental, or deliberate. Silvy Nixon in 1842 "died by the visitation of God, in a natural way." Caroline Godfrey died of heart disease in 1869. Joseph Stallings, found dead on a June morning in 1857, came to his end "by fatiguing himself after a calf." Accidents frequently involved drowning. Ishmill (Nixon) and Benton Kelley, in separate incidents in 1840, both drowned in the upsetting of canoes. A body which floated ashore near Benjamin S. Skinner's landing on the north side of Perquimans River in July 1847 was found to be that of a slave named Oliver from Roanoke Island; he had drowned while bathing. Trees and animals often figured in accidents. Jonathan W. Kirby ws killed by a tree falling upon his body in 1840. A three-year-old named Joe was run over by a cart pulled by a yoke of oxen who had not been well broken. Some deaths were deliberately caused, either by the self (suicide) or another party (murder). In August 1836 John T., by jumping into Skin ners Cretk, "himself Voluntarily and Feloniously drowned." John M. heroically escaped bullet and can nonball through the Civil War, but destroyed his own life in 1902. Murder was, unfortunately, no stranger to Perquimans. On New Year's Day IMS, William K. was found dead on Little River road, his lungs, stomach, and legs pierced by swan slut. The inquest found he had been killed by Richard W. aad Alfred T. On Christmas Day ISM, the body of the said Richard W. was viewed by another inquest, which determined he had been Wiled by Calvin H. County residents to get new directory The search Is on in Perquimans County for the name of every business or individual that has merchandise to sell or a service to offer. A Chat With Jane By Jane Williams THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY and the Perquimans County Chamber of Commerce are currently compiling a list of businesses and individuals that are interested in being included in a county-wide Service Directory. The Perquimans County Service Directory is an idea that was formed through the efforts of the Merchants Association of the Chamber of Commerce. Earlier this year the Merchants Com mittee under the leadership of Ben Berry began a series of general memebership meetings to discuss ways to improve the business relationship in the county. During the course of these meetings, the membership split up into several different groups to try and find ideas that would enable them to work together more efficiently while increasing the interest of local residents in county businesses. The Perquimans County Service Directory is the "brainchild" ol the committee headed by Allen Winslow. The purpose of the Service Directory is to let the people of Perquimans know what types of goods and services are available in the county. Any business or individual with merchandise to sell or a service to offer will be given the opportunity to obtain a listing in the directory. The directory will be com prised of listings, much like those found in the yellow pages of the telephone book, and advertising. Emergency numbers will be listed in large print at the front of the directory and listings will also be available to churches and civic groups. The directory will be distributed free of charge throughout Perquimans County by means of mass mail campaign scheduled by THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY. Copies of the directory will also be placed throughout the county at any business wishing to stock them. The directory will be printed in a handy booklet form that you can keep by your phone as a guide to merchandise and service availability in the county. Hopefully, the directory will encourage local shoppers to look towards businesses in Perquimans County for their wares before heading out of town , to shop. The county merchants ask that individual shoppers take the time to make them aware of any merchandise that they need that can't be found in the county. If the merchants are made aware of community needs, they are better able to stock their stores to fill these needs. We encourage each business or individual that would like to participate in the Perquimans County Service Directory to contact THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY at 426-5728 at your earliest convenience. For additional information about the directory contact the paper or the Perquimans County Chamber of Commerce. Letter to the editor Editor THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY On behalf of the Perquimans County Extension Homemakers, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who helped to make the 1963 Festival of Skills a success. We especially appreciate all of the visitors who attended ? both local and those from out of the county ? Plymouth, Windsor, Kitty Hawk. Virginia Beach and Elisabeth at*, just to name a few. Also, we are indeed grateful to the exhibitors who participated and to the many volunteers who assisted. Thanks to Jackie Hobbs and Thelma Rogerson for their TV ap pearances and to the Perquimas Weekly, Daily Advance, Shopper and radio stations for publicity. Thanks to each merchant who sponsored the beautiful double page ad for the Festival o( Skills. A special thanks to Mayor Bill Cox and Town of Hertford who made arrangements for the Street Banner and seven (7) roadside signs (provided by The Coca Cola Bottling Company) to be displayed . Looking back MYmt* Afo By VIRGINIA WHITE TRANSEAU BANDON PLANTATION IN CHOWAN COUNTY DESTROYED BY riBX: Om