-I k.
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 5t, No. 50 USPS 4M-0M Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C. Thursday, December 1, 198? 30 CENTS
LOCAL
Perquimans Chamber
banquet set for next Tuesday
See page 2
FEATURE
Mark Williams advises on
preventing forest fires
See page 2
COMMUNITY
Hertford Grammer students
learn about Thanksgiving
See page 3
i) .
'Horizons'
discussion:
new plans
v HERTFORD ? Revitialization of
k-1 the downtown area, industrial re
cruitment efforts and plans to im
prove the quality of life in the town
were among the Hertford Horizons
program discussed last night.
The meeting was set for 7:30 p.m.
at the courthouse, and the purpose
of the meeting was to discuss pro
gress made so far in the program
and future plans. Work on the pro
gram has been going on for more
than a year.
I' Three committees, under the di
rection of an eight-member steer
ing committee, have been
appointed to study three issues;
downtown revitalization, industrial
development and the quality of life.
The town's program is in con
junction with the state Division of
Community Assistance STEP pro
gram ? the strategic plan for eco
nomic progress.
,, As part of the downtown revitali
* zation efforts, architecture stu
dents at East Carolina University
drew plans for storefront remodel
ing based on what the appearance
of the buildings was when most
were originally constructed ap
proximately 70 years ago.
The drawings were completed
more than a year ago, and little
progress has been made so far.
Chamber of Commerce Director
Mary Harrell said one of the prob
I lems being confronted is the lack of
available contractors to do the
work at a reasonable price.
This and other issues being dis
cussed by the various committees
were presented to the public at
Wednesday's meeting.
Christmas
parade
Saturday
Hertford residents will
line the- streets on Satur
day for the annual
Christmas Parade.
The event, sponsored by
the Jaycees, will begin at 2
p.m., and a special visit by
Santa Clause is antic
ipated. The procession will
begin at the high school,
march down Edenton
Road Street, turn right on
Grubb Street, turn right on
Church Street, turn right
on Dobbs Street, and
march back to the school.
Hero Jack Dalton, portrayed by Del Potter, talks with his true love Bertha Blair, portrayed by Christine
Carson, while the hard-hearted and jaded vixen Anna Alvarado, portrayed by Kim Barret, spies on the
conversation. The scene was part of the recent performance of "Curse You, Jack Dalton!" for the
Holiday Island Civic Club's dinner theater. This was the second performance of the play by the local
community theater group, the Perquimans Playhouse.
Subdivision raises
citizens' concerns
\
The environmental impact of the
proposed 650-acre Albemarle Plan
tation subdivision was a main topic
of discussion at a public hearing
last week in Hertford. The hearing
was attended by more than SO area
residents.
The first phase of the devel
opment includes 914 housing units,
an 18-hole golf course, a clubhouse,
and a land-application sewage sys
tem. It is this first phase that in
now in the permit review process.
Future plans include a second 18
hole golf course, a motel, a marina,
a theater, a shopping center, and
tennis and horse riding facilities.
The proposed development is lo
cated on the Albemarle Sound at
the mouth of the Yeopim Creek in
the Bethel Township of Perqui
mans County.
Helen Matthews, president of the
Holiday Island Board of Governors,
was concerned about the county's
ability to provide water for the de
velopment. She said if either of the
two water plants in the county is
shut down, there will be a shortfall
of 152,000 gallons per day. The wa
ter supply in the county would only
last for four days in this event. She
also said the present six-inch water
supply line to the area of the
county, which was paid for by Holi
day Island, could not possibly serve
both developments.
Carolyn Hess, a Holiday Island
resident and founder of the Albe
marle Environmental Association,
submitted five recommendations :
? Maintain all present wetlands in
their natural state. The wetlands
act as a buffer against nutrients
and chemicals reaching fishing wa
ters.
? Relocate the fairways to allow
for a 100-foot buffer between wet
lands and greens.
? Monitor the types of chemicals
being used on the golf course.
? Place groundwater monitoring
wells on the golf course and periodi
cally monitor surface waters for
toxic chemicals.
? Increase the proposed residential
lot sizes to 15,000 square feet.
"The golf course complex has
been compared by its developer to
Hilton Head, S.C. and we under
stand that area is having problems
with groundwater and surface wa
ters," she said.
"We would like to suggest that
the first major development in an
area sets the tone for future devel
opments. Wetlands can be chopped
away little by little until they nave
been drained and replaced by de
velopments and parking lots. The
decision must be made now to ei
ther protect the valuable wetlands
we have in Perquimans County or
to give them away to developers,"
she said.
A
Two agencies
recommend
permit denial
HERTFORD ? Concerns
expressed by local residents
about the construction of
ponds on wetlands in a pro
posed 650-acre waterfront
development have been
echoed by two agencies
which have recommended
that the permit from the Di
vision of Coastal Manage
ment be denied.
John Parker, permit coor
dinator with the Division of
Coastal Management, said
there are 15 state and fed
eral agencies now involved
in the permit review proc
ess. Though the permit is for
a bulkhead at the devel
opment, it may be denied be
cause of these other con
cerns.
Two of those agencies, the
federal National Marine
Fisheries Service and uie
state's Division of Marine
Fisheries, have already rec
ommended that the permit
not be granted because if in
adequate information pro
vided for the permit applica
tion.
The NMFS recommended
that the authorization for the
construction of the bulkhead
not be provided until ad
equate information is avail
able to assess impacts of
proposed development and
large-scale marina facili
ties. This recommendation
was supported by the Army
Corps of Engineers.
The DMF stated that the
project poses a serious envi
ronmental threat and has
the potential to significantly
damage the wetland habitat
of the area.
The planned development,
Albemarle Plantation, is lo
cated on the Albemarle
Sound at the mouth of the
Yeopim Creek in the Bethel
Township of Perquimans
County.
Water conservation
is Farm-City topic
HERTFORD ? Without water no
life could exist on earth, yet the res
idents of the planet often take such
a valuable resource for granted,
according to the speaker at Perqui
* mans County Farm City-Week Ban
quet last week.
Just how valuable that resource
is and what should be done to con
serve and preserve it for future
generations was the topic discussed
at the annual Farm-City banquet,
held at the Perquimans County
v High School cafeteria.
Guest speaker Frank J. Hume
nik, a professor at N.C State Uni
versity and an agricultural
engineer with the N.C. Agricultural
" Extension Service, spoke about the
, need for everyone to better manage
! water <?age.
"We all have to change our atti
tude," be told the more than 200
people gathered in the cafeteria.
''How much do you all pay for wa
iter? You all treat it like it is free."
He said there are 326 million, mil
lion, million gallons of water on this
planet. "To get an idea of how
much that is, If you were in a fire
brigade passing gallon buckets ev
. ery second, it would take you 10
million, million years. But 97 per
cent of that water is salt water, he
said
Most of that freah water, 96 per
cent, is found under ground, and
Humenik said SO percent of the pop
. ulation at North Carolina depends
.. on water from ground sources.
He said goals at N.C. State in
clude devising methods to use wa
ter more efficiently for agriculture
and forestry, and to preserve the
' natural reaourcea. He alao said in
dividual citizens, whether fanners
or urban dwellers, can help attain
. k
those goals.
An important lesson that few peo
ple realize is that water is con
stantly recycled on the planet, he
said. It is a closed system. "We all
need to realize there is no ultimate
sink," he said.
Humenik discussed the Agricul
ture Cost Share Program which
provides incentives for farmers to
implement water control mea
sures, and he called the program a
model for other states to follow. In
an experiment conducted at N.C.
State, he said two test sites were
selected. At one site, water conser
vation practices were put into
place, and none were used at the
other site.
Where the conservation practices
were used, there was SO percent
less runoff from the Lnd, 80 per
cent less nitrogen and phosphorus
lost to runoff, and 99 percent less
sediment runoff. He said the
farmer who used the conservation
practices had his fertilizer bill re
duced from $10,000 to $2,000 be
cause animal waste was sprayed
onto the fields.
As for those who do not live on a
farm, Humenik said the grass is al
ways greener over the septic tank.
"In North Carolina, we have more \
septic tanks than any other state,
yet we are not blessed with good
soils for septic tanks use. We nave
tremendous problems with septic
tank use," he said.
He said that people should use de
vices that conserve water use in tbe
home to prolong the life and effec
tiveness of septic tanks. He said de
vices exist for toilets, shower heads
and faucets. "Yon can save 90 to 90
percent of water use in the home
with these devices," he said.
*
Northeastern District Agriculture Extension Director Tom Hobgood presents Mayor Bill Cox with an
award for the town being more than 200 years old. The award was presented at the Farm-City Banquet
last week. Also pictured are councilmen Erie Haste Jr. (left) and John Beers. Hertford, charted in 1758, is
the fifth oldest town in the state and the award was presented in conjunction with the statewide Farm-City
Week celebration.
County gets $30,000 for senior center
HERTFORD ? A new addition
will be added to the Perquimans
County Senior Citizens Center as a
result of a $30,000 state grant
awarded to the county and town of
Hertford, County Manager Paul
Gregory reported last week.
The new addition will be a new
dining area for the meal program,
and it will enable thf center work
j >
ere to move the present site at
Wynn Pork to the senior citizens
building. Hie addition, which will
be built adjacent to the senior citi
zens building, will also include a
kitchen and bathrooms.
Gregory both the county and the
town of Hertford will match the
grant with $3,000 apiece.
Commissioners accepted the res
ignation of Johnny Caddy from the
Industrial Development Commis
sion.
Exit signs
Commissioners agreed to request
that the state Department of Trans
portation Install entrance and exit
signs for Hertford and Winfall
along theU.S. Highway 17 Bypass.
i
Schools plan
before, after
sehool care
HERTFORD ? Parents will be
able to leave their children in the
care of school employees before
and after school under a plan now
being investigated by Perquimans
Board of Education members.
Superintendent Mary Jo Martin
reported that school officials will be
sending a survey home with stu
dents for parents to indicate if they
are interested in the program.
The care will be provided from
6:30-8 a.m and from 3-6 p.m. Martin
said the survey will also be used to
see if there is any interest for the
program to be held on teacher
workdays in the morning hours.
Parents will have to provide trans
poration for the students for all
days the program is offered.
Martin said it has not yet been de
cided where the program will be lo
cated. "It will depend on the survey
results," she said.
A state grant of $30,000 will be
used to set up the program and the
county will charge parents a fee f<?
the service. That fee has not yet
been determined.
It will not just be a babysitting
service, Martin said. "Students will
do homework, arts and crafts, and
work on computers. There will be
many enriching activities," she
said.
For more information on the pro
gram, parents are asked to call the
central office at MM74I.
Martin reported that Brenda Taf
ranova, assistant pricipal at Per
quimans Middle School, will
assume new duties as the director
of instructional support services. :
\ : I