THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
? ? X
Volume 52/ No. 31 USPS 421-080 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, August t, 1985 25 CENTS
'Practice
Makes
Perfect '
If practice does indeed
make perfect, then music
lovers are in for a real
treat this fall. The Per
quimans County March
ing Pirates have been
practicing regularly for
about six hours a day to
prepare for the upcoming
fall season. The students
will leave on Friday at
5:00 a.m. to attend a
four-day band camp at
Ferrum College in Fer
rum, Virginia. (Photo by
Tim Bryant.)
Board of Education works to
trim costs of PCHS renovation
By SUSAN HARRIS
The Perquimans County
Board of Education began
looking for ways to further trim
costs of the Perquimans County
High School Renovation-Con
struction Project during their
regular session Monday night.
Present bids and administrative
costs for completion of the orig
inal plans and specifications
would run approximately
$400,000.00 over the $2,000,000.00
bond referendum passed by
county voters.
Board memebers again stud
ied blueprints, while discussing
possible cutbacks in the total
square footage to be con
structed. Mack Nixon, a local
building contractor and board
member, told the board that de
creasing the square footage
would be the only means to sub
stantially cut the project costs.
A suggestion by architect
Sam Ashford to postpone the
addition of the new cafeteria
met with opposition as board
members expressed feelings
that the present facility is inad
equate. Also to be completed in
its entirety will be the audito
rium renovation, which will in
clude full stage lighting, flow
refinishing and seating.
Hie board agreed to find out
how much could be saved by
deleting two classrooms on the
end of one new wing, and using
the second floor of the 1928
building for band storage areas.
Other cuts will alao be studied
in order to faring the project
costs in line with the available
funds. The estimated cost per
square foot is $45 to $60.
Ashford will obtain written
estimates of cost reductions
from contractors who bid on the
project, and will present them
to the board in a special session
on Monday, August 13, at 1:00
to make
must bfe finalized by August
25th.
The 1985 high school football
team may be playing under the
new lighting system if the poles
can be delivered by August 12.
The lighting equipment was de
livered last week and a crew is
scheduled to begin assembling
the system in mid-August and
could have the lights ready for
use by August 26. The poles are
on order through Albemarle
Electric Membership Corpora
tion (AEMC), according to Su
perintendent Pat Harrell.
AEMC representative Bob
Brooks is to put a tracer on the
poles in an effort to insure their
prompt delivery.
The crew will go to another
job before installing the high
school lighting if the poles do
not arrive in time.
The Fair Labor Standards
Act and its effect on non-certi
fied school board employees
was discussed at length by the
board. Most affected will be
teachers aides. Presently aides
work 35 to 37 hours per week
and are paid for 40 hours. The
state board of education will
deal with that issue in their
Thursday session.
A contract has been awarded
for the Perquimans Union
School Flood Control and Drain
age Project. Construction will
begin on August 12 or 13, and
must be finished within 80 days
of the starting date in order to
be in compliance with the
terms of the contract.
Preston Stevenson was nomi
nated to run for v tce-presklent
of the North Carolina School
Board Association District Or
ganization.
Harrell told the board that
state budget allocations were
received last week. He an
nounced that a new mainte
nance position had been funded
by the state.
mer, Hope Stallings and Cliff
S tailings to attend Perquimans
County Schools during the 1965
86 school term pursuant to their
releases from their school dis
tricts.
i
Keaton named to fill position
as county finance officer
By JANE B. WILLIAMS
Following an executive ses
sion at the close of a Monday
morning business meeting the
Perquimans County Commis
sioners announced the appoint
ment of County Manager Randy
Keaton to fill the post of county
finance officer effective October
1, 1965.
The appointment came follow
ing the acceptance of the resig
nation of Durwood Reed which
will take effect on September
30, 1965.
Reed's letter of resignation
was received by the commis
sioners at their July 15 meet
ing, but was not accepted until
Monday morning after Reed
told the board that he was pro
ceeding with his retirement
plans. Reed has served as the
county's finance officer for 33
years.
Following Reed's departure
from the meeting Commissioner
Thomas Nixon voiced a motion
to accept Reed's resignation
"with regrets." The motion,
seconded by Commissioner
Wayne Winslow, carried unani
mously.
Keaton, who will now take on
the dual roles of county man
ager and county finance officer,
was hired by the board last
September as the county's first
manager. He began his duties
late last October. The board ap
pointed Keaton's secretary,
S h a
ron Ward, as assistant to the fi
nance officer.
With the additional duties
Keaton will receive a salary in
crease to Grade 73, Step One on
the Perquimans County salary
rate scale, while Ward will gain
an increase to Grade 58, Step
One.
In other action taken Monday
the board:
?Approved the appointment
of Becky Felton Boynton to the
Domiciliary Home Community
Advisory Committee pending
her acceptance of the position.
?Adopted the CAMA Land
Use Plan Update.
?Tabled a request from Elsie
Muse for County water until
funds are available to add new
water lines to the county water
system.
?Approved a contract be
tween Hertford Attorney John
Matthews and the Perquimans
County Social Services Depart
ment for legal services.
Death claims Sullivan
Henry Clay Sullivan, 71, of
114 N. Front Street died Mon
day morning, August 5, in his
home.
A native of Suffolk, Va., he
was the husband of Mrs. Mar
garet Dail Sullivan. He was the
retired manager of Hertford
Savings & Loan Association, the
retired manager of the Hertford
Housing Authority and the for
mer owner-operator of the S &
M Drug Store.
He was a member of the
Hertford United Methodist
Church, a member of Perqui
mans Masonic Lodge 106, A.F.
& A.M., and a former president
of the Hertford Rotary Club.
Besides his wife survivors in
clude two sons, James Clay Sul
livan of Greenville and Jerry
Jessup Sullivan of Richmond,
Va.; a sister, Mrs. Anne Taylor
of Charlotte; a stepmother,
Mrs. Jeanette O'Sullivan of
Norfolk; and two grandsons,
Bobby and Paul Sullivan.
Fuenral services were held
Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in the
Hertford United Methodist
Church with the Rev. Henry
Bizzell officiating. Burial fol
lowed in Cedarwood Cemetery :
with Swindell Funeral Home in
charge of arrangements.
HENRY C. SULLIVAN
Nominations sought
Nominations for outstanding
county volunteers will be ac
cepted through August 19, 1985
according to information re
ceived earlier this week from
North Carolina Governor James
Martin.
Locally, response to the nomi
nation procedure has been slow,
but county co-ordinator W.D.
Cox hopes that the extension i
that was granted by Gov. Mar- |
tin will give residents the op- i
portunity to send in nomi- ]
nations for their choice of ]
outstanding individual volun- <
teers and outstanding group ]
volunteers. i
The recognition for volunteers i
is through the Governor's Out- ]
standing Volunteer Awards pro- |
gram. Each county will be rep- <
resented by one outstanding
individual volunteer who do
nates their time and services to
community work, and by one
group volunteer, a church or
civic organization that goes be
yond normal boundaries to do
community service work.
Individuals wishing to nomi
nate a person or a group for
these awards should send a let
ter of nomination to W.D. Cox,
Hertford Municipal Building,
Hertford, N.C. The deadline for
submitting nominations is 5:00
Monday, August 19th. Lppai
winners will be chosen from the
Field of nominations by a local
panel, and will be honored jn
the fall at a banquet with Gov
ernor and Mrs. James Martin.
Brinrt Insurance merges with Dowd
and Associates after 30 years in business
By SUSAN HARRIS
After 30 years of operating
as Brinn Insurance Agency
the business merged on Au
gust 1 with John Dowd and
Associates.
According the Claude
Brinn, founder of Brinn In
surance, he will maintain an
ownership interest in the
company, but primary inter
est and controlling stock will
be held by John Dowd and
David Twiddy.
The merger will allow a
broader service capacity to
customers, as the property
and casualty coverage of
fered by Brinn will now ex
tend to include life, health
and hospitalization insur
ance.
John Dowd and Associates
was originally founded in
Eden ton in 1079. Hie com
pany moved to Hertford in
January of this year when
they bought out Johnson
White Insurance Company.
David Twiddy of Eden ton
will now work in Hertford on
a full-time basis as agency
manager.
The new company is
boused on the corner of
Church and Grubb Streets in
It - * -,L AJ
Hertiora, wnere renovations
have tnuMfsrmed the for
mer bus station into colo
nial-style office quartan.
Brinn hopes to have a
little more spare time now
that the full responsibility of
owning and operating his
agency is lifted from him.
He has plans to work in his
yard, especially on the wa
terfront.
Born and raised in the
Front Street home where he
now lives, Brinn, upon his
high school graduation in
1935, went away to further
his education. He then set
tled in Newport News, Vir
ginia, where he worked in
the drawing room of New
port News Shipbuilding for
20 years.
A desire to return home
spurred the decision to be
come an insurance
salesman. "I wanted to
come back home to live,"
Brinn said. A cousin in San
ford suggested he go into the
insurance business. At first
Brinn though he couldn't sell
insurance, but looked into
the possibility nevertheless.
In 1966 he struck a deal
with George Fields and
bought out Fields' agency. A
year later be purchased an
other existing company. As
Brinn explains it, "I Just
took a chance and came
down in 1956."
Brinn is known not only
for his insurance sales busi
ness, but as a staunch sup
porter of athletics at Perqui
mans County High School.
After having officiated at
football games while still In
Newport News, Brinn re
turned home and officiated
locally for one season.
Then he was asked, be
cause of his knowledge of
the game, to run the time
clock for the school's home
games when the lighted
score board was installed.
"I haven't missed a home
game in 25 years," Brinn
said.
Not only has Brinn given
his time to the school ath
letic programs, but also has
provided financial support
as well.
Brinn is a 30-year member
of the Hertford Lion's Gub.
In 1970-71 he served as Dis
trict Governor. He is also a
member of the Hertford
United Methodist Church.
He and his wife Alma
have two daughters, Claudia
and Beth, and three grand
children.
CLAUDE BRINN