THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Voluw St, No.M USPS 42>-0<0 Hertford, Ptrqulmam County, W.C. Thursday, April 20, 1989 30 CENTS
Farm
Local 4-Hers will compete
in livestock show
page 12
Feature
We live and die by law
yers' rules
page 4
Community happenings
and weekly calendar
page 2
8 Local
Briefs
Kindergarten
p signup set for
end of April
April 24-28, 1989
7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Perquimans Central Grammar
. School
Hertford Grammar School
Kindergarten registration will be
held at Hertford Grammar School
and Perquimans Central Gram
mar School, Monday through Fri
| day, May 24-28, from 7:30 a.m.
through 4:30 p.m.
Parents should register their
children with the school secretary,
Mrs. Symons at Hertford Gram
mar School, or Mrs. Winslow at
Central Grammar School. The par
ents need to bring the child's birth
certificate to verify that the child
will be five (5) years old on or be
fore October 16, 1989.
k Newspaper will
feature county
civic groups
Perquimans County has many
civic organizations which do a tre
mendous amount of volunteer and
charity work. We wish to recognize
these groups in a series of articles.
Our plan is to run weekly fea
? tures this summer highlighting
* each civic organization. The arti
cles will include membership qual
ifications, the puipose of the orga
nization, a brief history of the local
chapter and other interesting fea
tures of the group.
Please have a spokesperson
from your organization contact Su
san Harris at the PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY office to set up an inter
view so that-you ean be included in
H this series.
Stop smoking
class to begin
at hospital
Edenton? A third smoking ces
sation program, "FRESHSTART
GUIDE", co-sponsored by the
American Cancer Society and Cho
? wan Hospital, will begin Thursday,
? May 4th.
The four one-hour sessions will
conclude Thursday, May 25th. Ses
sions are broken down into: (1) un
derstanding why and how, (2) ma
naging the first few days, (3)
mastering obstacles, (4) enjoying
it forever.
Sessions begin at 7:30 p.m. in the
Chowan Hospital classroom. A $5
incentive fee - returned upon com
petion of the course - will be
v charged. To register, call Pam
Stallings at 482-8764 or Claire Mills
at 482-8451, ext. 219 or Pete Rogers
at ext. 359.
Hertford Police
make arrest on
DWI charge
k Hertford Police were called to
W Hardees Restaurant to investigate
the driver of a car that had teen
idling at their drive-up window for
quite some time. Officer Tim
Spence answered the April 15 call.
When Spence arrived, he found
Norman Lee Hill, who listed his ad
dress as Route 4, Box 14, Edenton,
asleep under the wheel of his vehi
cle with the motor running. Spence
noticed a moderate odor of alcohol
and found a partially-empty can of
? beer in the driver's lap.
A breathalizer confirmed Hill's
intoxication. He was arrested and
charged with driving while im
paired.
Senior Center
sponsors trip
The Perquimans County Recre
ation Department and Senior Cen
Pter is sponsoring a cruise to the
Carribbean, June 18-15, 1989. We
will depart from Norfolk, fly to Mi
ami and then board the S. S. Sea
breeze, for our seven day cruise.
We will visit Nassau in the Baha
mas: San Juan, Puerto Rico: and
St. Thomas St John in the Virgin
Islands. The cost of the trip is $899
? .n <-??*?? i-i n Tltifl nfHAA iimrnrr
per person, itub price covers
roundtrip airfare and the cruise
r" which includes all meals and port
taxes Registration is limited, so
call now to reserve your spacc For
more information or to make res
ervation* call 436-5404.
Tuesday blaze claims life of woman
Second fire destroys business
A Tuesday evening fire took the
life of a Hertford woman last week.
Dorothy Tucker was pronounced
dead on the scene by Dr. Robert
Earl Lane. The cause of death, es
tablished by autopsy at Pitt Memo
rial Hospital, was smoke inhala
tion.
The Hertford Volunteer Fire De
partment received the call at 6:44
p.m. and responded with 28 fire
fighters. Assistance was requested
from the Winfall Department. One
Intercounty fireman responded.
Upon their arrival, firefighters
found the back of the house which
contained the porch and bedroom
areas involved. Within five min
utes the brigade had the blaze un
der control. The body was found af
ter firemen donned airpacks and
entered th dwelling. Tucker was
found on the bedroom floor.
Officer Steve Thomas of the
Hertford Police Department was
the first to arrive on the scene. He
saw William "Rip" Brothers and
Guam Skinner making valiant ef
forts to reach the victim; however,
the would-be rescuers were unable
to enter the dwelling due to smoke
and active blaze.
Because the fire involved a fatal
ity and because the police and fire
departments had questions about
the incident, the State Bureau of
Investigation arson department
was called. David Campbell, who
was described by police Sargeant
Tim Spence as "the best arson in
vestigator in the state," conducted
a thorough review of the burned
dwelling, and ruled the fire acci
dental.
The cause of the fire was deter
mined to be a faulty electric
heater. Responding to rumors of
arson, Spence commented, "At
this point, it's not even questiona
ble as far as I'm concerned."
Tucker occupied the first floor of
the 100 W. Railroad Avenue dwell
ing with McKinley Jones. Jones
was not at home at the time of the
fire, nor was a man identified only
as Forehand who rented the up
stairs. The house is owned by the
Bertha Lane estate.
Spence commended Brothers
ana Skinner for their courage
shown trying to enter the burning
house in their rescue attempt. He
also said that the fire department
went above and beyond the call of
duty in assisting with the investiga
tion. He said that the SBI agent
was very pleased with the profes
sionalism shown by the depart
ment. Campbell said that they did
an excellent job. The Perquimans
County Sheriff's Department as
sisted by handling the Hertford Po
lice Department's cases in court,
which enabled an officer to be near
the scene at all times awaiting the
arrival of u-e state investigators.
Friday at 2:13 a.m. the Hertford
Fire Department answered an
other call in town. Cannon Clean
ers, owned by Elizabeth Harrell of
Hertford, was reported to the Per
quimans Dispatch as being on fire.
Fireman arrived at the site to
find smoke billowing from the
structure and the windows black
ened. Back-up was requested from
Winfall.
After forcibly entering the back
door, firefighters contained the
blaze located on the east wall adja
cent to Alexander Appliance. Next
the department forcibly entered
the front door. The fire was under
control in less than 10 minutes
according to Fire Chief Edgar Ro
berson. The cause of the blaze is
still under investigation.
The fire department notified the
police department of some suspi
cious areas in the dry cleaners. Po
lice arrived and found evidence of
a break-in, according to Officer
Spence.Spence said that the de
partment does have some leads in
the case. A reward has been of
fered for information leading to the
arrest of the party responsible for
the incident. The caller does not
have identify himself in order to re
ceive the reward, but should con
tact the Hertford Police Depart
ment.
While fighting the Cannon Clean
ers fire, the Hertford department
received a call to respond to a fire
at 204 Wynne Fork Court. The
caller indicated to the dispatch of
fice that a child was trapped in a
burning department. Two trucks
left the fire at the cleaners to an
swer the Wynne Fork call. Bethel
was also dispatched.
Firefighters arrived to find no
evidence of fire, nor anyone who
knew anything about the call. The
incident is under investigation.
Forest service has new policy
County Forest Ranger Mark Wil
liams of the North Carolina De
partment of Natural Resources
and Community Development's Di
vision of Forest Resources has an
nounced a change in Forest Law
Enforcement Policy. The primary
objective of North Carolina's forest
fire statutes has always been to
prevent forest fires. Ranger Wil
liams said that the new Forest
Service policy assures that all vio
lators of the forestry laws will be
treated fairly and equally.
Present policy requires forest
rangers to issue a written warning
ticket or a citation to any person
who violates one of the forestry
statues or permits a fire to escape
control. Wuliams said that until re
cently, policy permitted Rangers
to give violators a verbal warning
or a written citation. The new pol
icy requires a written warning or
citation. The policy requiring a
written warning will assure equal
treatment of all parties.
A warning ticket may be given to
first offenders when the Ranger de
termines that the party allowed a
fire to escape due to ignorance,
carelessness, or accident. Second
offenders must be given a citation
for violation of a specific statute.
Ranger Williams said that first of
fenders who allow a fire to escape
due to negligence, indifference, or
deliberate set must be given a cita
tion.
William would like for all citi
zens to realize that the purpose of
the forestry statues is to protect
our forests and people from the
hazards of wildfire. Anyone may
pick up a copy of the forestry laws
from County Ranger Williams at
his office at Winfall or call him at
426-5551 for more information.
Students win state competition
A group of Perquimans Middle
School students captured first
place in the North Carolina State
Odyssey of the Mind finals held this
past weekend at Carnage Middle
School in Raleigh.
The Cause and Effect team won
the Division II competition and
earned the chance to compete at
the University of Colorado in Boul
der in the World Finals May 24-28.
Coaches Paul Gregory and Lydia
Perry were extremely pleased
with the students' efforts. Perry at
tributed the win to the cooperation
of the group. She said she and Gre
gory bad been very impressed with
their willingness to work together
as a team, which is part of the phi
losophy of Odyssey of the Mina.
The Perquimans County Board
of Education received the news at
their Monday night meeting. Su
perintendent Dr. Mary Jo Martin
commented, "It is an outstanding
example of what parental involve
ment can bring about in a school
system."
Board member Clifford Towe re
flected the feelings of the board in
his statement, "We're certainly
proud of them." Towe said he felt
one of the program's merits was
that any student who wishes to par
4 X m I win amm |> at n n a immiwIi j|
ucipate can oecome invoivea in
O.M. Grade point average or en
rollment in specific classes is not a
requirement which allows a cross
section of students to compete,
rather than Just a certain sector,
he added.
"Any time you win a state com
petition, that's really a great
honor," said board member Ben
Hobbs.
Although the cost of the trip has
not been determined, Wayne How
ell said he felt the board should try
diligently to pool all available re
sources to funa the trip to Colo
rado. "This is something they've
earned," he said, not something
they've been invited to or some
thing they just want to attend.
The Odyssey of the Mind philoso
phy is based on team effort. Com
petitive activities are performed
as a team including the long-term,
spontaneous, and style categories
Divergent thinking is rewarded.
The O.M. competition encourages
the development of individual cre
ative problem-solving skills.
Parents of the students coach the
teams. This provides an excellent
opportunity for parents to become
involved in the education process.
The program has grown tremen
dously over the past 11 years. In
1978, 38 high schools and middle
schools comprised the entire O.M.
membership. This year, over 5,000
elementary, middle and high
schools are O.M. members. Teams
from most states in the U.S., Can
ada, Mexico, China and West Ger
many will be competing along with
Perquimans Middle School in the
World Finals
Members of the winning team
are Christopher Gregory, Buddy
Hollowell, Troy Higgins, Tanya
Everett and Denise Perry.
Also competing on the state level
was the Classics... Ye Gods team
who won second place in the Re
gional in Wilmington in March.
Members of that group included
Keisha Brown, Abby Corprew,
Missy Umphlett, Chemise Overton,
Denny Wallace, Jenny Hurdle and
Beth Boynton. Jeanie Umphlett
served as their coach.
Both teams represented the Per
quimans County Schools well.
Commitment, diligence and hard
work was displayed by all team
members.
This group of youngsters won the state Odyssey of the Mind com
petition last weekend. They are Tanya Everett, Christopher Gre
gory, Troy Higgins and Buddy Hoilowell. Not pictured is team mem
ber Den lee Perry.
The aftermath of the Cannon Cleaners fire was
clothing and other items scattered on the ground.
All the clothes were damaged by smoke, fire or
water. The blaze is still under investigation.
A house fire at 100 W. Railroad Avenue last Tues
day claimed the life of 38-year-old Dorothy
Tucker. The fire was declared accidental.
Atmetic director updates
school board Monday
Athletic Director Spencer White
brought to the attention of the
board of education several prob
lems in school athletic facilties and
equipment at the board's regular
Monday night meeting.
White told board members that
the old locker rooms in the gym
have leaking pipes and ceilings. He
said that uniforms stored there
must be moved constantly in order
to avoid water damage. He recom
mended refurbishing the areas so
that the facilities can be used as
they were intended.
He told the board that it was em
barrassing and inconvenient to use
only the two newer locker rooms
during basketball season. Three
teams, junior varsity, girls and
varsity, must take turns dressing
and showering due to inadequate
facilties.
It took White three weeks, he
said, of working all day to clean the
locker rooms when he was hired
last summer to serve as athletic di
rector. He reported that there were
cobwebs and filth everywhere in
the areas.
Part of the problem, he noted,
was student athletes not being
made to clean up after themselves.
That situation is being rectified by
White and the other members of
the coaching staff.
Another problem White encoun
tered in his efforts to clean and or
ganize was poor planning and
maintenance by his predecessors.
He said that football helmets must
be reconditioned every five years
according to regulation. He found
some helmets that bore a 1974 re
conditioning date. The unsafe hel
mets were reconditioned where
possible or discarded.
He told the board that there are
not enough helmets for the number
of students who play junior varsity
and varsity football. However,
White said that there were too
many shoulder pads.
Conference rules state that foot
ball teams wear white uniforms to
away games, but the athletic direc
tor was forced to call teams who
hosted Perquimans and ask for a
change, because the junior varsity
team had no white uniforms.
The condition of the junior var
sity basketball uniforms as well as
the track uniforms are also a ma
jor concern, according to White.
He told the board that the junior
varsity basketball team wore a
combination of four uniforms dur
ing this year's games, because
there were not enough of any one
uniform to dress the entire team.
"We're in bad shape with uni
forms at the present time," White
summed up the situation.
His remedy to the uniform crisis
is two-fold. First, he recommended
purchasing new uniforms for the
teams on a five-year rotating ba
sis. Secondly, he asked the board to
institute a policy of withholding 25
percent of a coach's local supple
ment until all of the uniforms and
equipment from the coach's sport
were turned in. He said that he had
already spoken with Superinten
dent Mary Jo Martin and PCHS
Principal William Byrum regard
ing his plan, with positive feed
back. The board will review the
policy for implementation.
White has inventoried all uni
forms and equipment in writing so
that he knows what is available,
and its condition.
"We're trying to get a lot more
organized," White said of his ef
forts, adding, "It'll take a couple of
years to fully organize."
Because of interest expressed,
White has reorganized the girls'
track team. When no coach could
be found, he decided to tackle the
job himself. Although the team is
not winning their meets, he sees
this year as a building season, and
predicts great success next year
No track meets can be held in
Perquimans because of lack of fa
cilities. White has estimates of
$10,000 to upgrade the field. Al
though there is no money to put
into the program at present, the
board felt that it was helpful to be
aware of the need.
See Board, page 9
Heritage Day set at
county historic site
Perquimans Heritage Day on
May 6 will be an observance of two
of the most important events in 300
years of the state's history. There
is no known record of any historic
date when a first settler came to
Carolina, so, no birthday.
Captain John Smith recorded for
posterity the 1607 arrival of settlers
at Jamestown, Virginia. Thirteen
years later the Pilgrims landed on
Plymouth Rock, and duly recorded
a 1620 birthdate.
Earliest records show that un
happy settlers from both colonies
began coming south to the Albe
marle, in what is now North Caro
lina, in the early 1650s. They were
seeking available land, and more
freedom than the former two set
tlements offered. When Charles II
gave these lands which they had al
ready occupied to eight of his cro
nies in 1663, there was a natural re
sistance to any form of
government and taxes imposed by
them. The territory given in the
Carolina Charter of 1663 also in
cluded land now known as South
Carolina, and the Proprietors tried
to rule the northern and southern
areas as one Carolina. Suffice it to
say that several attempts to have
joint rule failed, and in 1689 Philip
Ludwell was appointed "to govern
that part of Carolina lying north
and east of Cape Feare". Grad
ually "northern Carolina" and
"North Carolina" came into gen
eral usage.
One historian has said that
"North Carolina is a state in
search of a birthday". And so 300
years after Ludwell's appoint
ment, the Perquimans Cunty Re
storation Association is rather ar
bitrarily having a 300th birthday
celebration for North Carolina,
complete with cake cutting on May
6. .
One hundred years after this
birthday, in 1789, North Carolini
ans joined together in Fayetteville
to ratify the new Constitution of the
United States of America. George
Washington also became tahe first
President of the new Republic in
that year, giving it double signifi
cance. Appropriate ceremonies
will make this milestone in the
state's history.
The Newbold-White site now con
sists of three properties: the 1685
Newbold-White House, the 1820 Da
vid Newby Coastal Cottage, and
the recently completed Visitor - In
terpretive Center. This Center will
be named and dedicated in cere
monies beginning at 1:00 p.m. on
May 6. The exercises will be held
on the lawn between the buildings,
following which the three will be
open to the public.
The principal speaker will be
Senator Marc Basnight, First Dis
trict North Carolina General As
sembly. Also appearing on the pro
gram will be Mrs. Walter Spaeth,
National President General, Colo
nial Dames Seventeenth Century;
Mrs. Wiley William Jordan Ellis,
President, North Carolina Society
Colonial Dames XVI1C; Mrs. Wil
liam Nixon, Regent, Edenton Tea
Party Chapter, Daughters of the
American Revolution; Represen
tatives Vernon James and R. M.
"Pete" Thompson; the Hertford
Fifes and prums; and Charles T.
Skinner, Jr., representing Albe
marle Lodge 463, Woodmen of the
World Life Insurance Society in the
presentation of a flag pole to the
site. Dr. David Martin will portray
North Carolina's first governor,
Philip Ludwell, assisted by his
wife, Dr. Mary Joe Martin, Super
intendent of Perquimans County
Public Schools.
The public is cordially invited to
attend the ceremonies and share in
the birthday cake cutting in the
new Heritage Center at the conclu
sion of the program.
1