Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Nov. 17, 1988, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY Volume 54, No. 45 USPS 428-080 Hertford, Perquimans Com Volume 58, No. 46, November 17, 1988 30 CENTS LOCAL Special program honors 50 volunteers see pg. 7 FEATURE NCSU creates environ ment for crops on Mars see pg. 14 COMMUNITY ~ County interested in fishing reef see pg. 13 Progress seen in Perquimans voting change HERTFORD ? County commis sioners are one step closer to devel oping a system that will change the way officials are elected in Perqui ihans County. The house counting process in Perquimans County to gather infor mation to be usea to formulate a new proposed voting system has been completed, county commis sioners were told last week. Charles Skinner Jr. said the work of putting houses on a map with a designation to show whether a black or white family resides there has been completed and the infor mation has been forwarded to the Rural Development Institute in Greenville ana attorney Michael Crowell. Crowell, a private attorney who has represented or advised more than 25 counties involved in voting rights issues, has been retained by Perquimans County commission ers. Questions were raised about the county's at-large voting system with residency requirements for candidates by the local chapter of the National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People. NAACP attorney Ronald Penny of 1 Elizabeth City said the present vot ing system does not allow for sin gle-shot or block voting and has the effect of preventing minorities from being elected. i The NAACP threatened a lawsuit againt the county after commis sioners appointed Durward Reed to '? vacant seat on the board of com missioners last January. NAACP representatives had requested that a minority be apointed to the va i cant seat. Penny told commissioners that voting statistics in Perquimans County and in many other counties show that white residents vote for white candidates. With blacks com prising approximately 38 percent of the county population, a black can didate is unable to win an election under the present jU-large voting stsMm, Penny said, adding that a black has not been elected for a I Perquimans County office in this century. Crowell has said that in the east ern portion of North Carolina, most counties are or have been involved with changes in at-large voting sys tems, and most of the time this is a result of a lawsuit or threat of a lawsuit. Though Crowell said only a handfull of such suits have gone through litigation, no government has successfully defended an at large election system such as exists [ in Perquimans County. In Northeastern North Carolina, at-large election systems have been changed in Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County, and Chowan County has proposed a new district voting system and is waiting for ap proval from the U.S. Justice De partment. Penny told commissioners last May that alternatives to the pre sent system include a district vot ing system in which only residents in a district vote for a candidate from that district, a total at-large system in which there is no resi dency requirements for candi dates, or some combination of those two systems. 1 A district voting system would al ? low blacks to elect a candidate 5 from a black majority district. The ; U.S. Justice Department, which J must approve any change in the i voting system, requires that at least one district have a black ma jority population of at least 60 per cent. Also, the Justice Department requires that populations within all voting districts be close to equal. ; A total at-large system would al ? low all balck voters to line up be ? hind one candidate while the white - vote is split among the other candi dates, thus allowing a minority to - be fleeted. This does not happen in I an at-large system with residency \ requirements for candidates be cause voters cast ballots for each : vacant seat on the board instead of 1 voting for just one candidate. I Commissioners conducted the - house counting process because I existing township boundaries could : not be used under a district voting - svstem because none of the town : ships has a Mack majority popula > tion. Thanksgiving deadlines Due to Thanksgiving D: Holidays, The Perquimans Weekly will hive an early - deadline for advertising y and news copy. ? Advertising deadline will be Thursday at 5 p.m. and news copy deadline will be Friday at 3 p.m. Perquimans County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mary Jo White addressed an assembly of students and staff Monday at Perquimans Middle School in observance of American Education Week. National Education Week opens in ceremony at Middle School To kick off National Education Week (Nov. 13-17), Dr. Mary Jo Martin, Superintendent of Per quimans County Schools, pre sented a program to students at Perquimans Middle School on Monday. Martin spoke on the theme "America's Schools.. .Invest in Your Future." She told students, "education in the vehicle you need to get you where you want to go." Reminding students to keep a good attitude, wear a smile, question, dream and plan for your future. Martin was welcomed by Adrian Frierson, Vice-President of the PMS Student Council and introduced by Deana White, President of the Student Council. Prior to her talk, Mr. Charles Skinner, a representative of Woodmen of the World, pre sented the student body with two flags, one of the United States and the second, a North Carolina flag. Pirates look toward game with Camden Top Jamesville 39-0 in playoff Perquimans County will try to keep its playoff momentum flowing Friday night when the 7-4 Pirates face Camden County in the second round of the 1-A state football play offs. After dominating the Jamesville Bullets 39-0 last Friday, head coach Spencer White believes his team can play with the best of them . "It all comes down to our kids playing up to their capabilities," White said. "I've felt all along we cm play with the teams like Bath if we play up to our potential." White won't have to worry about Bath, following their 30-33 upset loss to the Bruins. Camden, playing on the road against the top-ranked 1-A team in the state, took control of the game early and never had to look back. While Camden remains formida ble, White also has a few aces up his sleeve, specifically a strong rushing game and a tough de fensive team. Against Jamesville, the Pirate rushers had little difficulty grind ing out the tough yards. Tyvoice Cos ton (15 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns) and Michael Jor dan ( 16 carries for 123 yards ) led an assault that netted 355 total yards rushing. The Pirate defense, meanwhile, allowed the Bullets only 66 total yards offense, recovering two fum bles and intercepting one pass. Camden got the ball rolling on its initial series, driving some 63 yards for their first score, the only one they would really need for the game. Tyvoice Coston rambled 45 yards for the first touchdown. Per quimans missed a two-point con version and the Pirates led, 6-0. On its next possession, Perqui mans bullied its way for a second score as Darnell Mallory punched in from the 5-yard line. Perqui mans again missed a two-point con version and the score was 12-0. Tyvoice Coston truly put the game away in the second quarter with his second score. Starting out on a left sweep, Co6ton literally carried four defenders into the end zone, showing exactly how over matched the smaller Bullets were. Jevone Coston scored on a two point conversion and the score was 20-0. In the second half, Perquimans picked up where it had left off. A 70 yard, 12-play drive ended when Hertford gets planning grant for waterfront A long-range plan for development along the Hertford waterfront will be developed thanks to state grant funds that have been awarded to the town. Mayor Bill Cox announced at this week's town council meeting that the town has been awarded grant funding from the Coastal Area Management Agency for water front planning. Cox said the state will provide $6,700 to be matched by $1,650 from the town and $1,650 from in-kind services, such as work by town em ployees on the planning project. Cox said a public hearing will be held before the planning process is completed. Sewer plant Work is almost completed on the expansion of the town's wastewater treatment plant. Cox said the final inspection of the plant by state offi cials is set for Tuesday, Nov. 22. The cost of the project was $582,000, and the local share of the funding came from a $200,000 gen eral obligation bond approved by voters last fall and $97,000 in funds from retained earnings in the sewer system fund. The remaining funds are provided by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. Police department Council members discussed two matters concerning police activ ities; the need to have two police officers on duty on Friday and Sat urday nights, and the need to have a provision established that would require that officers not be held lia ble if damage is done to a car door that is being unlocked by police at the request of the car owner. Council members asked that Po lice Chief Marshall Merritt sched ule two officers to work on Friday and Saturday nights instead of hav ing two officers on duty during other nights of the week. Merritt agreed to adjust the schedules to accommodate the request. Also, Merritt reported that offi cers were called on 60 times to un lock car doors during October. Council members asked the town attorney to bring a proposed ordi nance before the board that would state that the officer could not be held liable if a car is damaged while an officer is unlocking it for the owner. Electricity After Councilman Jesse Harris told commissioners that Elizabeth City and Edenton were saving up to $120,000 a month by using new peak generation systems, council mem bers agreed that the town should in vestigate the possibility of reaching an agreement to allow Hertford to also benefit from the peak genera tion systems. Cox said he is investigating the possibility. "I don't think we can af ford a generator, but maybe we could tie into their systems," Har ris said. Condemnation Council members instructed at torney Walter Edwards to proceed with the condemnation of the "Buck" house in Market Street. Note of thanks Council members passed a reso lution in appreciation for the years of service turned in by Gina Jepson, managing editor of the Perquimans Weekly newspaper who recently re signed. Jevone Costen picks up yardage against Jamesville during last week's first round playoff game. quarterback Derrick Rogers threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jojo Parker. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the score stood at 26-0. Jevone Coston and Scottie Mitch ell culminated the game with touch down runs of 10 and six yards, respectfully. Perquimans rescue squad hones skills in drill The first call went out at 7:30 p.m. that a two-car accident had occured on Ballahack Road in Per quimans County. Within four minutes, the first am bulance arrived at the scene dis covering six victims. Although the situation was treated seriously, luckily, it wasn't a life or death situation as the Per quimans County Rescue Squad staged their first major disaster drill, November 7th. Perquimans County Rescue Squad member Kay Boyce, who coordinated the drill, wrote a sce nario that depicted four teenagers in vehicle number one returning home from a party where alcohol was involved They were traveling at a high rate of speed when the driver Toaes control, crossing the center line hitting a second car head-on. The first vehicle continues on II ????ImmiIbi irn In m (MMi overturning in a neia. vciucw nun ber two is off the highway on the shoulder, and burning. When the rescue squad arrives, one victim (driver) in the vehicle one is DOA. The other three victims have se rious injuries, and all are pinned in the vehicle. In the second vehicle, one victim has 2nd and 3rd degree burns to 50 percent of the body while the other victim, an infant, Is DOA, after be ing thrown from the vehicle. Five vehicles responded to the scene including two ambulances, two fire engines, and a heavy res cue crash truck. Along with the res cue vehicles, a highway patrolman and a Perquimans County Deputy Sheriff, responded to maintain crowd control, which had also been incorporated into the drill by Mrs. Boyce. When the situation was assessed, it was all business for the rescue and fire personnel as their perfor mance was being evaluated by an out-of-town KMT team. The 10 EMT personnel that re sponded, immediately began life Rescue workers on the job. saving procedures for victims. When the fire department arrived, they began immediate steps to ex tinguish the burning vehicle along with attempting to free the trapped victims in vehicle one. With one hour of arriving at the scene, all victims, Including the DOA infant, were transported to Chowan Hospital, with the first am bulance arriving at 8 : 26 p.m. Mrs. Boyce, who was at the scene noted. "This is our first major di saster drill, but we hope to do it on a routine basis. We can see there is a need. We have ? lot of new people," Mrs. Boyce said. Hertford Horizons schedule mooting; on Issues Nov. 30 The HERTFORD HORI ZONS Steering Committee invites the public to attend a meeting regarding their three major areas of activ ity: Downtown Business and Commerce, Industrial Development and Perqui mans River Quality. The meeting will be held Nov. 30 (this meeting was previously scheduled for Oct. 19) at 7:30 p.m. at the Perquimans County Court house. Hie purpose of the meeting will be to discuss progress in the three areas listed above. There will be a display of drawings of the Downtown Revitaliza tion proposal which is a part of the Downtown Busi ness and Commerce Com mittee.
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Nov. 17, 1988, edition 1
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