THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 58, No.11 USPS 428-080 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C. Thursday, March 14, 1989 30 CENTS
Sports
Pirate baseball, softball
seasons begin
page 8
Feature
A brief history of St. Pat rick
' 1
page 9
School
PCHS students shares
art work
page 7
Local
Briefs
Boosters plan
Old-Timers
double-header
Mark you calendar! Spring is
just around the corner and the ex
citement of baseball is almost
here. The Old Timers Baseball
Game, an annual event put on by
the Perquimans County Athletic
Boosters Club, is scheduled for Sat
urday, Mary 13 at 7:15 p.m. at Per
quimans High School. Tentative
plans are underway to double your
entertainment. If all goes as
planned, a double-header will be
played. The two games will each
last five innings. In the first game,
former stars of the Perquimans
High Baseball Team will play the
current team members. In the sec
ond game, ball players from the
1960s will go up against ball play
ers from the 1970s. Any person in
terested in participating should
contact either Phil Woodell or
Tommy Dale. Ticket prices for the
games are:
Under six years of age - Free
Ages 6-12 - 11.00
Ages 12 and Over - $2.00
Kicking off the afternoon and
evening of fun will be a chicken fry
from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Remember!! Reserve Saturday,
May 13, 1989, for the Annual Old
Timers Baseball Game.
Jaycees to
sponsor annual
bass tourney
. The Perquimans County Jaycees
are busy making plans for their
semi-annual Perquimans River
Bass Tournament. Boats will
launch from the Hertford Munici
pal Boat Ramp at 7:00 a.m. and re
turn at 4:00 p.m. to Missing Mill
Park.
The tournament offers $1,050 in
guaranteed prizes. First prize is
$500, second prize is $200, third
prize is $150, fourth prize is $100,
fifth prize is $50 and the lunker will
receive $50.
Teams for the tournament will
feature two persons per boat. No
one can fish alone, and there is no
restriction on boat horsepower.
Size limit of fish is 14 inches in
length or over. A two-ounce pen
alty will be given for fish under 14
inches brought to weigh-in. All en
tries must make an effort to keep
fish alive, and no bass on ice will be
allowed. Only articial lures may be
used, no live bait will be allowed.
There will be a two-ounce dead fish
i penalty.
Registration fees for the tourna
ment are $25 per person. Starting
times will depend upon the time the
entry fees are received. Each boat
will leave the ramp in approxi
mately 15-second intervals.
Entries for the tournament will
be taken up until tournament start
ing time on April 15. For more in
formation or to obtain entry forms,
contact Nancy Perry, Route 4, Box
193, Hertford, NC 27944 or call (919)
264-3640.
Eure honored
with award
A Hertford woman was honored
recently for outstanding perfor
mance in handling her job duties
and responsibilities. Paige Eure
was presented with a cash award
and certificate of Merit for attend
ing to her duties in a manner well
above average requirements.
Eure is an Adricultural Stabiliza
tion and Conservation Service pro
gram tyssistant. She is in charge of
price support, conservation pro
grams and forestry incentive pro
grams.
She is married to Burt Eure of
White Hat, and is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Billy ElliottSbe and
her husband have two children,
Neal and Amber.
Inside this issue
Church news.
Beyond the weeds
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Community happenings
Court news
Obituaries
Police Chief Marshall Merritt resigns
H.P.D. has two vacancies
Hertford Mayor Bill Cox offi
cially announced the resignation of
Police Chief Marshall Merritt at
Monday night's town council meet
ing.
Merritt tendered his resignation
Friday. He has been out on sick
leave for several weeks. Cox told
the councilmen that Merritt's doc
tor anticipates releasing him on
April 19. Because of accumulated
sick leave and vacation time due
him, Merritt's last day of employ
ment will be May 19.
The resignation falls on the heels
of Patrolman George Long's de
parture from the department.
Long left this week to accept a posi
tion with the Department of Cor
rections. He will be employed at
Maple Correctional Facility in Cur
rituck.
To add to the town's dilemma,
department secretary Diane Cope
land also resigned effective March
24 to accept a position with the N.C.
Marine Fisheries Department.
The resignations leave the de
partment with only three active of
ficers: Tim Spence, Steve Thomas
and Robert Harvey. The council
voted to begin advertising for the
chief and patrolman positions im
mediately.
I *
Unsafe buildings discussed
Building Inspector Aubrey On
ley, Jr. and County Fire Marshall
Charlie Skinner, Jr. reported to the
board on their inspections of seve
ral unsafe buildings in Hertford.
They told the council that there are
a number of structures in the city
limits that violate the town's mini
mum building codes.
"We looked at a few," Only said.
"We didn't look at as many as need
to be looked at."
Onley has spoken with the own
ers of some of the buildings. A few
have indicated their desire to com
ply with the ordinance. Others are
uncooperative and the town will be
forced to initiate condemnation
proceedings.
Skinner said that he fears for the
safety of pedestrians as they pass
some of the structures. He cited
loose brick and window panes as
his main concern. Roping off the
areas might help until further mea
sures can be taken. Skinner said.
"Something needs to be done
quick," Onley stated. "One brick
falling could kill somebody,"
Onley also noted that the cam
paign to make the town safer will
also offer cosmetic advantages
which will be a plus in courting new
businesses to the area.
Cosmetic work to the structures
is not enough to alleviate the prob
lems, Onley told the councilmen.
Everything must be brought to
code when remodeling is under
taken.
In the case of some of the build
ings, the cost of tht% extensive re
pairs might not be economically
feasible, Onley stated.
According to Onley and town le
gal advisor Walter Edwards, the
condemnation process is involved.
It could take up to 12 months to get
some of the problems resolved.
The council asked Onley to up
date them at their monthly meet
ings on progress and stumbling
blocks encountered in the process
Junk car ordinance passed
After months of study and dis
cussion, the council adopted an
abandoned and derelict motor ve
hicle ordinance. This ordinance
was passed in conjunction with the
board's effort to clean up Hertford
Under the ordinance, the town
could also require discarded items,
farm equipment, household and
kitchen furniture, clothing, paper,
wood or paper boxes, chinaware,
building material, machinery, fix
tures and equipment as well as
junk automobiles be removed from
public or private property.
Councilman Jesse Harris voted
against the ordinance because it
contains a provision that would al
low the town to label a vehicle on
which there is no valid license
plate and-or no current North Car
olina inspection sticker derelict re
gardless of the condition of the car.
He said that the town may have a
problem defining "junk."
Mayor Cox and the other coun
cilmen said that their concern is
the removal of unsightly, and in
most cases inoperable, auto
mobiles which sit for extended pe
riods.
Councilman Erie Haste told Har
ris, "If the town council and his
neighbors think it's junk, then it
doesn't make any difference what
he thinks, it's got to go."
The council discussed the old
Texaco Station on the corner of
Hyde Park and Dobbs Street.
According to Hertford's zoning or
dinances, the location is not zoned
for a junk yard. After some dis
cussion, the council decided to ask
the owner to remove the bodies of
the vehicles after stripping the us
able parts from them.
Coin menial fishing law
Eldon Winslow asked the board
for an update on the no-wake Jaw
between the Perquimans River
bridges that was at one time dis
cussed "They get out there and
run wild," Winslow said of some of
the boaters on the river. Mayor
Cox told Winslow that the matter
had been turned over to the countv.
Winslow also asked the town to
consider action restricting the use
of the river between the bridges.
The causeway is practically lined
with nets at the present time, he
said.
^They've got from the other side
of that (U S 17 Bypass) bridge the
whole way to the ocean to set
nets." Winslow told the coun
cilmen. He added that the nets pose
a safety threat.
The board asked Walter Ed
wards to draft legislation eliminat
ing net fishing between the
bridges The proposed law must be
in Raleigh for introduction prior to
March 16.
When asked about the time (ac
tor, Mayor Cox said, "We can cer
tainly give it a shot "
You can 't go this way!
Traveling from Hertford to Winfall is a little incon
venient due to the causeway closing. Signs an
nouncing the detour are prominent on both sides
of the river. Commuters are in for a long six
months of "driving around the long way."
Mayor Cox proclaims Employ
the Older Worker Week
Hertford Mayor Bill Cox has
joined with Governor James Mar
tin in declaring March 13-18 Em
ploy the Older Worker Week. The
purpose of the declaration is to fo
cus attention on the employment
needs of middle age and older
workers of the community and to
recognize that mature employees
bring both ability and experience
to the labor market.
Under the auspices of the North
Carolina Divison of Aging, the Al
bemarle Commission has a Senior
Employment Services depart
ment. Sharon Robinson of the de
partment works closely with the
Edenton Job Placement Office
Manager Kathy Keefe in placing
older workers.
Robinson speaks with potential
employees to determine what, if,
any marketable skills they have.
Some are referred to a community
college to obtain a GED or to hone
skills, she said. Others are asked to
file an application with the Job
Placement Office.
The Albemarle Commissions's
senior employment division has
adopted the slogan, "Hire the expe
rienced - it pays!" Robinson cites
the older worker's wealth of knowl
edge and dependability as their
greatest assets.
Some of those seeking employ
ment are looking for something to
fill empty hours spent alone at
home. Others find It financially
necessary to enter the work force.
4
"Social Security checks just
don't make ends meet," Robinson
said. She added that some people
receive only around $200 per
month. That amount of money will
not pay their living expenses in
many cases. When there is no fam
ily to help out financially, the se
niors suffer.
Robinson said that although she
has made numerous attempts to
place seniors in jobs, she has not
had much luck. She has been able
to place about 40 people in her 10
county region, meeting her goal of
21 people per fiscal year.
Some businesses are very willing
to hire the older worker and have
even requested additional assis
tance from Senior Employment
Services after a successful first
placement. Others are uninte
rested in hiring seniors. General
lack of jobs in the area is probably
the most difficult problem to be
overcome here, Robinson said.
Many of those interested in em
ployment are housewives and re
tired farmers who feel that they do
not have any marketable skills,
Robinson stated. Those people
usually fear interviews because
they've never looked for a job be
fore.
"Perquimans County needs to
realize tht we see all these senior
adults here , .and many of them do
want to work," Robinson said. She
added that recently, many well-ed
ucated and trained people have
moved into the area, broadening
the employee base.
Robinson calls on businesses in
an effort to enlist their support of
her program. She also presents
program to civic groups and orga
nizations to let them know how the
system works.
Age discrimination does surface
in Robinson's field. Although she
said no suits have been filed lo
cally, there have been cases of age
discrimination reported to her.
Robinson gives annual training
sessions on topics of interest to po
tential senior employees. Last
year, older workers were able to
train to provide home health care.
The workshop involved 30 hours of
classwork spread over several
weeks.
This year, a job readiness
workshop will be held once per
week for one month. The sessions
are designed to prepare people to
enter the work force. Covered will
be personal assessment, resume
writing, application completion, in
terview readiness and job-finding
skills.
Robinson asks that all businesses
who find themselves in need of full
or part-time employees consider
hiring a senior worker She can be
reached for further information
about the program at 426-5753
"Night on Broadway"
dazzles ball-goers
For one night, the bright lights of
New York City came to Edenton as
the 27th Annual Chowan Hospital
Ball, featured the theme: "A Night
on Broadway."
For the 290 people who attended
the festive occasion February 25 at
the Edenton National Guard Ar
mory, it was a night out of dining
and dancing. However, the high
light came later when the Chowan
Hospital Auxiliary-who sponsors
the event-presented Chowan Hospi
tal with the proceeds that help pur
chase medical equipment.
"That's the purpose of the Ball;
to raise monies to help thehospital
purchase equipment," said Auxil
iary President Mary Rawls.
The formal evening began at the
four patron parties hosted by Mr.
and Mrs. Bruce Jones, Dr and
Mrs. Bernie Baker; Dr. and Mrs.
A. F. Downum, Jr. and Mr. and
Mrs. Chris Bean.
The National Guard Armory was
decorated by Barbara Nixon of
Hertford and her committee that
included Bert Stagaard, who made
the signs in front of teh patron
homes, Bob Beaumont, Walt Gar
man, Jim Hart. Sid Stickles. Ed
Nixon, and Chris Godfrey.
The talented art and drama stu
dents at John A Holmes High
School, under the direction of tea
cher, Lynn Whitehurst, created the
billboards depicting Broadway
shows such as 42iui St ret, Les Mis
erables, and Song and Dance.
One of the highlights of the Ball,
along with the live band. "Reign"
from Virginia Beach, was the per
formance of the Ballet Academy of
Edenton under the direction of
Wanda Rossman.
Mrs. Rawls also thanked Muriel
Hart, Hsopital Ball Chairman:
Thelma Smith, committee chair
person of the patron parties and
food at the Ball, and Shirley Par
ker and Ann Parrish, who headed
the seating and reservations com
mittee:
Mrs. Rawls added, "The ticket
sales went well, and we appreciate
everyone who patronized the ball.
It was a lot of hard work as the ball
is the largest project of the Chowan
Hospital Auxiliary."
Several businesses donated
materials and time to provide the
success of the Ball. Those special
thanks go to Leslie Kirby of Kirby
Electric, who donated supplies and
service. Also, Gregory Poole do
nated fork lifts for the decorating
committee.
Those attending from Perqui
mans County were Dr. and Mrs.
Joe Haskett, Dr. and Mrs. Robert
Earl Lane, Mr. and Mrs. Donald
Morris, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Nel
son, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Nixon, Mr
and Mrs. Robert Riddick and Mr
and Mrs. Charles Woodard.
wm
Hertford Mayor Bill Cox and Edenton Job Placement Office Man
ager Kathy Keefe review a proclamation Cox earlier signed declar
ing March 12 through 18 Employ the Older Worker Week in Hert
ford.