THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 57, Wo.Sl USPS 42?-0?0 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, December 10,19<7 m <
LOCAL
t
Academy honor roll
see pg. 2
FEATURE
i
4-H convention set
see pg. 3
COMMUNITY
Tax news
see pg. 10
Hertford receives
' good audit report
Hertford town officials got some
good news last Monday evening as
they received the 1986-87 town audit
report.
According to Terry Chappell, the
town's accountant, this is the best au
dit report that the town has received
in several years.
> "It is the best audit report for the
town that I can remember, since I
have been working for the town,"
said Chappell.
Mayor Bill Cox stated his pleasure
with the audit report referencing in
creases in the town's cash levels, and
total assets. Mayor Cox also stated
that this year's audit reflects the best
financial situation for the town in
several years, and with the upcoming
projects planned by the town of Hert
' ford, such as the water treatment
plant renovations, Monday's audit
report was welcomed news.
According to the audit report, total
assets for the town increased from
$4.74 million to $5.06 million this year
for a total increase of $318,800. Re
flected in that increase are increases
in additional cash and investments,
accounts receivable, and fund bal
ances.
All of the excess money reflected in
the audit report will be used to fund
the planned sewer plant project,
which is expected to use $97,000 in lo
cal funds, and the town's planned
project to upgrade electrical system,
which is expected to cost the town as
much as $130,000 in local money.
Mayor Cox stated in an interview
last week that he hopes the town will
not be forced to raise town taxes to
finance these projects, and the
town's financial position at this time,
as reported in this year's audit, will
hopefully make that possible.
Chamber banquet held
Celebrating 25 years of service to
Perquimans County's business com
munity, the Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce held their
25th annual Chamber of Commerce
banquet and anniversary celebration
Monday evening.
Highlights of Monday 's banquet in
cluded recognition of the chamber's
past presidents, who provided high
lights from their year as president of
the Chamber of Commerce.
Memories of Perquimans County's
business achievements flooded the
room Monday, as the past presidents
shared highlights of their year in of
fice. Things such as working to have
U.S. Highway 17 four laned from Vir
ginia to South Carolina, the location
of Apricot, Inc. and Don Juan, re
cruiting of the nursing home, estab
lishment of Indian Summer Festival,
co-ordinated sale days for mer
chants, and many more events
brought back fond memories and
laughs from the crowd of over 125
chaiuber members and guests.
The gathering also voted, Monday
evening, overwhelmingly to pass an
amendment to the chamber by-laws.
The amendment deals with the elec
tion of the chamber's board of direc
tors. Under the present system the
board of directors are elected by
township, two directors from each of
the five townships. According to H.R.
Christensen, this form of electing di
rectors has often caused problems
due to limited businesses in several
townships.
The amendment passed, Monday,
calls for the election of five members
of the board from the five townships,
one from each township, and five
members of the board to be elected
at-large. Hopefully this will allow the
chamber to seek directors, who are
anxious to serve in some capacity.
New officers and the new directors
for the upcoming year were also an
nounced Monday evening. The cham
ber officers will include: Larry Swin
dell, president, Charles Woodard,
vice president, Mary Harrell, secre
tary, and Pat Ward, treasurer. The
1988 board of directors includes
Larry Swindell, Cecil Winslow, Caro
lyn Winslow, Pat Ward, Burt Eure,
Charles Wjodard, Ray Twine, Doug
las Layden, Joe Brickhouse, and
Donald R. Park.
Entertainment during Monday's
banquet was provided by the Bob
Thomas Trio.
Governor Jim Martin
addresses A AD A banquet
School, roads, jobs, and the eco
nomic outlook for North Carolina
highlighted Governor Jim Martin's
speech last week at the Albemarle
Area Development Association's an
nual awards banquet.
An enthusiastic Martin told the
crowd gathered from the ten county
Albemarle region that he is working
diligently and is committed to im
proving the school, road and job situ
ation in northeastern North Carolina
and throughout the state.
During the meeting Thursday,
Martin was presented with resolu
tions from local government agen
cies urging the governor to work for
four lane development of U.S. High
ways 17 and 64 in the area. Martin
thanked everyone for taking time to
prioratize highways 17 and 64 and
stated he would continue to work on
getting funding for such projects.
Martin also stated that his admin
istration would continue working to
wards getting additional funding for
school facility needs and construc
tion through the use of bond issues
and mortgages. Plans were also an
nounced Thursday for the location of
a regional Commerce Department
office in Elizabeth City pending fund
ing by the North Carolina legislation.
Also during Thurday's banquet the
AADA honored several Perquimans
County organizations for their contri
butions to economic development in
the county.
Dr. Robert E. Lane, MD, PA was
this year's Perquimans County recip
ient of the award in the business cat
egory. Dr. Lane recently began an in
dependant medical practice in
Hertford, which has done much for
the county's economic base. Dr. Lane
serves as the Perquimans County
medical examiner, serves as chair
man of the Perquimans County Chap
ter of the American Heart Associa
tion, and is active in numerous civic
and community organizations. Dur
ing Thursday's awards, presentation
of a short video highlighting Dr. Lane
and his family's contribution to the
county was presented to the gather
ing.
This year in the community devel
opment awards category, under ru
ral community development, two
Perquimans County organizations
received honorable mention for their
contributions to the county. The two
groups honored were the Happy Day
Senior Citizens Club, and the Bay
Branch Homemakers Association.
Senior citizens urged
to prepare for cold weather
Raleigh? A state official on Aging
has advised older adults to prepare
for the colder weather ahead. Elaine
Stoops, Assistant Secretary of the
N.C. Department of Human Re
sources' Division of Aging, reminds
older citizens that their bodies do not
regulate temperatures as well as
they once did, making them very vul
nerable to the cold. There are other
cold weather hazards for older adults
as well, Stoops added, such as devel
oping dry, cracked skin and falling
on icy walkways.
When the body's inner thermostat
becomes less able to adjust to ex
tremes in temperature or to hypoth
ermia, a medical condition develops
characterized by an abnormally low
body temperature. Stoops, a regis
tered nurse, said this condition can
cause lasting damage to body organs
or death. An estimated 2.5 million
Americans are susceptible to this
condition, she added.
Hypothermia can come on quickly
and quietly and many cases go unde
tected because the symptoms are
? (
similar to those of a stroke or di
abetic coma. Some drugs are known
to increase an older person's suscep
tibility to hypothermia. These in
clude medication used to treat anxi
ety, high blood pressure and
migraine headaches.
The symptoms of hypothermia are
a cool or cold skin; unusually stiff
muscles, particularly in the neck,
arms and legs; a puffy or swollen
face, poor coordination; and jerky
movements. Hypothermia is not eas
ily recognized and the condition is of
ten dismissed as simple disorienta
tion. Shivering in response to cold, is
often absent. When hypothermia de
velops, the person's body mint be re
warmed immediately, and quick
medical attention is necessary.
Stoops advises that no one should at
tempt to rewarm the victim without
medical supervision.
T? avoid hypothermia, Stoops said,
older persons should dress warmly in
layers of loose clothing, wear a hat,
eat nutritious foods, and keep the
room warm but not hot
It's Christmas time!
Santa Claus visited Hertford on Saturday following the parade, and children lined up in front of
the courthouse to whisper what they wanted to the jolly old man. Above Jackie Symons (grand
daughter of Jack Symons) visits with Santa Saturday.
Apricot, Inc. re-locates factory
After two long years of waiting and
sometimes wondering Apricot, Inc.
has finally moved to their new fac
tory and begun production.
The move and the company's plans
to hire an additional 200 employees in
the coming months has the compa
ny's owners, employees, and town
and county officials excited.
The company began operation at
their new location in the Hertford In
dustrial Park next to Don Juan two
weeks ago, after moving from their
previous location on Grubb Street in
Hertford.
According to Carl Terranova of
Apricot, Inc. the transition went ex
tremely well. " Everyone co-oper
ated," said Terranova.
Apricot, Inc., a ladies garment
manufacturing company opened in
Hertford approximately five years
ago. The company, which came from
New Jersey to Hertford, began oper
ating with just 15 employees, and
currently employs approximately 110
workers. Apricot hopes to have their
new employees hired and in place as
soon as possible, and the company
also has plans to implement a train
ing program in conjunction with the
College of The Albemarle, sometime
after the first of next year.
Apricot's move was made possible
due to funds received from a commu
nity development grant. Apricot, Inc.
applied for the grant when their fa
cilities in downtown Hertford be
came inadequate for their expected
expansion.
Apricot's new factory was de
signed to handle the company's cur
rent and expected expansion. The
new factory features sophisticated
machinery, and was designed with
Apricot's employees in mind.
It features zoned heating and air
conditioning, zone controlled music,
special lighting in employee work
areas, which prevents glare, private
bathrooms, and a large lunchroom
for the employees convenience. Carl
Terranova, co-owner of Apricot, Inc.
says that his employees deserve a
nice place to work in and a place that
they can be proud of. In a addition to
the special features mentioned
above, Apricot's new factory also
features back-up heating and air con
ditioning systems, a loading dock,
and a master computer system,
which will eventually tie all of Apri
cot's machinery to a computer in the
New York Sales Office, thus provid
ing up to date production informa
tion.
Terranova stated recently that
Apricot's business is good. The com
pany was recently forced to turn
down some work because of produc
tion schedules, and as the holiday
season gets closer the demand for
garments will increase.
On Sunday, December 20th, Apri
cot, Inc. will hold a ribbon cutting
and open house at their new facility.
Man arrested in conjunction with robbery
The Winfall Police Department has
announced that they have arrested
Frances Patrick Jones of Hertford in
conjunction with the recent robbery
at Melton Grove Church.
On November 17th at 8:30 p.m. it
was discovered that the church had
been broken into, and that the organ
valued at over $12,850 had been sto
len.
Following a joint investigation by
the Winfall Police, Perquimans
County Sheriff's Department, and
the Norfolk, Virginia Police the or
gan was recovered, and Jones was
arrested. A physical investigation is
continuing in the robbery, the police
expect to make some additional ar
rests in this case.
Jones is currently in jail on $10,000
bond. His probable cause hearing has
been set for December 23rd
In other police activities, the Hert
I
ford Police Department has reported
a breakin at Darden's Dept. Store.
According to police reports which fol
lowed an investigation into the mat
ter it was discovered that Darden's
was broken into sometime after 12:00
a.m. on Friday, December 4th.
The person or persons who broke
into Darden's entered through the
back window where the bars had
been pried up. They entered the store
and took approximately $35 in
change from the open cash register,
and $1,000 in merchandise, all
menswear.
Police are continuing their investi
gation, some fingerprints were lifted
at the scene of the break-in.
The police have also reported an
attempted break-in at the Hertford
Cafe on Monday, December 7th. The
attempt to break into the cafe was
made sometime after midnight on
the 7th. Entry was not obtained.
An investigation into the matter
continues.
Bookmobile scheduled
December 29, 1987
3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
Hertford Methodist Church
\
Open house
scheduled
This Sunday, December 13th, at 2:00
p.m Perquimans County High
School will hold a Christmas open
house and program for the commu
nity.
Dr. Craig Phillips, Superintendant
of the state's public schools will be on
hand to speak at the event, and the
high school chorus and band will pro
vide entertainment during the af
ternoon.
Everyone from the community is
invited to attend the open house, and
view the new school facilities.
Light refreshments will be served.
Make plans now to come and join
everyone at Sunday's high school
open house
Telephone
rates to
be reduced
Carolina Telephone customers in
their January 1988 bills will receive a
one-time refund and a rate reduction,
it was announced today by G.T. Pate,
the company's public relations exec
utive. A plan for passing onto cus
tomers the savings resulting from
the federal Tax Reform Act of 1986
was filed with the state Utilities Com
mission on Nov. 30, 1987
'"Depending upon the size of the ex
change in which a customer resides,
our plan calls for a one-time refund
ranging from $2.83 to $4.49 for single
line residential customers, and from
$6.92 to $10.87 for single-line business
customers," Pate said "The continu
ing rate reduction in monthly bills
will range from 47 cents to 75 cnets
for single-line residential customers,
and from $1.15 to $1.80 for single-line
business customers, according to our
plan."
The proposed refund is based on to
tal 1987 tax savings plus interest of
$3.68 million, and the continuing rate
reduction is based on 1988 tax savings
of $7.33 million, Pate said.
The refund amounts to approxi
mately 44.4 percent of a customer's
monthly basic local service rate. The
rate reduction amounts to approxi
mately 7.4 percent of a customer's
monthly basic local service rate.
The refund and rate reduction are
applied only to the basic local service
portion of a customer's service. Pate
said. The refund will be in the form of
a reduction in the customer's Jan
uary telephone bill.
Early
deadlines
set
Due to the Christmas holiday The
Perquimans Weekly will observe
early deadlines for the Christmas
edition of the paper.
The paper will be going out on
Wednesday, December 23rd.
Copy deadline will be Friday, De
cember 18th at 5:00 p.m.. All ads for
the special Christmas edition must
be received in the office by Wednes
day, December 16th. All ads for the
regular paper must be received by
Friday, December 18th at 3:00 p.m..
The paper will resume regular dead
lines for the new years eve edition of
the paper.
For more information on the dead
lines please contact the paper at 426
5728. We appreciate everyones help
in this matter.
WEATHER
Weekend
Forecast
Weather forecasters are predict
ing partly cloudy weather for the
end of the week with a slight
chance of rain on Friday and Sat
urday.
Temperatures will feature
highs in the mid to low 60s, and
lows in the 40s.
Sunday should bring cool
clearer weather.