THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 60, No.2
USPS 428-080
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, January 10,1991
30 Cents
Sports:
Pirates lose in close
\ Currituck game
Feature:
The Pulse of Perquimans: a A
Locals speak on the issues
v Page 4
Briefs
Workshop slatod
A gifts and wills workshop will be
held at the Hertford United Meth
odist Church on Sunday, Jan. 13.
beginning at 6 p.m. with a covered
dish dinner. The Reverend Douglas
L. Byrd, executive director of the
United Methodist Foundation will
be on hand to conduct the workshop
from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the church
fellowship hall.
You will learn some important
things about your will, such as how
to provide adequately for your fam
ily; how to maximize benefits to
heirs and other beneficiaries; how
to minimize taxes and other costs;
and how to avoid pitfalls with your
wifi. You will also receive some
helpful information and valuable
materials which will be useful in es
tate planning and learn some crea
tive ways of giving, many of which
canbenefit the donor as well as the
charitable cause.
Anyone interested in attending
this workshop should call the Hert
ford United Methodist Church of
fice at 426-5467 by noon Friday.
(group piano trip
A bus and van will be leaving
Elizabeth City on Tuesday, Jan. 22
to go to the annual March for Life in
Washington, DC. The purpose of
the March is to protest the Jan. 22,
1S7S Supreme Court decision which
legalized abortion on demand. Hie
marchers will ask Congress to re
store legal protection to unborn
children ana stop tax funding of
abortion. For more information
call Mimi Weeks at 426-7653 or Li
nus Riehle at 330-4782.
Cancer fundraiser set
The Perquimans County Chapter
of the American Cancer Society
will hold their annual pancake and
homemade sausage fundraiser on
Saturday, Jan. 26. The all-you-can -
eat feast will be served three times
during the day: 7-10 a.m., 11 a.m.-l
p.m., and 5-7 p.m. Take-out plates
will be available. Entertainment
will be provided during the evening
serving session. Centura Bank do
nated a $50 savings bond to be given
as a door prize.
Tickets for the meal, which will
be prepared by county Ruritans,
are .$3.50. They are available at
Centura Bank, Hertford Savings &
Loan, and The Perquimans
Weekly.
Shareholders to meat
The Annual Shareholders meet
ing of the Perquimans Credit union
wm be held Wednesday, Jan. 16, at
7:30 p.m. in the Albemarle Re
gional Building and Development
Building.
School menus
"rThe menu for Perquimans
Cbuhty Schools for Jan. 14-18, is as
follows:
' Monday- Breakfast- eggs with
toast or cereal, fruit or juice and
milk. Lunch- Pizza or fish sand
wich, potato wedges, greens, green
limas, mixed fruit andmilk.
. Tuesday-Breakfast- jelly donut
or cereal, fruit or juice and milk.
Lunch-Fried chicken with a hot roll
or hot ham and cheese on a bun,
Flinch fries, green peas, apple
sticks, fruit and milk.
Cyfednesday- Breakfast-cinnamon
raisin biscuit or cereal, fruit or
juice and milk. Lunch- Cheese
burger or meatball sub, shoestring
fries, corn, baked beans, orange
sedges, and milk.
-'Thursday- Breakfast-waffle or
cereal, fruit or juice and milk.
Lunch- Chicken pot pie with a hot
roll or pork cboppette on a bun,
sweet potatoes, broccoli, peaches,
ijuitjuke and milk.
• Friday- TEACHERS WORK
AC-' • V x '*
Trash: It’s a dirty word Perquimans County
Tr&ih is a dirty word in Perqui
mans County as county commis
sioneis begin in ernest to wrestle
with the growing problem of solid
waste disposal ana complying with
SB-111.
The state has mandated that the
county reduce the volume of solid
waste taken to the landfill by 1993.
In order to comply with the legis
lation, the county will construct
convenience centers in the county
and will initiate a tipping fee at the
tri-county landfill.
Numbers are the biggest prob
lem facing the county atthe outset:
How many convenience centers are
needed? How many can the county
realistically afford to build? How
many people will voluntarily sepa
rate their solid waste?
County manager Paul Gregory
told commissioners Monday that
the time has come to consider the
A.
location of the first convenience
center. “It will be crucial...in de
termining all the sites,” he said.
“These centers, once set up, will
run somewhere from $42,000-50,000
per year per site” to operate, Gre
gory told the board. Tne trade-off,
Gregory said, is that once the con
venience centers are all operatio
nal, the green dumpsters presently
sitting in approximately 15 loca
tions around the county will be re
moved, and therefore the expense
of upkeep and pick up from those
sites will not have to come from
county coffers.
Gregory suggested that the com
missioners consider constructing
the first convenience center some
where along U.S. Highway 17. He
said that the road bisects the
county and most residents travel
that.particular road more than any
other in the county.
He also said that the commission
ers may want to consider setting up
some sites in conjunction with
Gates and/or Chowan counties
near areas where the counties
meet. “It may be feasible to (der
ate one together,” Gregory saidL
Commissioner Mack Nixon said
that before making any decisions,
the commissioners should study
maps of present dumpster sites and
identify the most-populated areas
in the county. “I think to make
some intelligent decisions, we’re
Kto need some background in
ition on it,” Nixon said.
Commissioner Leo Higgins
agreed, and added that he would
also like to know the location of
property owned by the county.
Board vice chairman Thomas
Nixon is not sure county residents
will cooperate in the effort. He said
it took a long time to get people to
stop dumping trash in the woods
and to use the green dumpsters.
Cost is another issue that con
cerns Nixon. “How many of them
(convenience centers) can we af
ford?” he queried during the dis
cussion.
“I think the bigger question is,
‘How many sites can we NOT af
ford?’” Nixon responded. Nixon
added that even with the large
number of dumpster sites in die
county now, there are still roadside
dumps. Nixon also said he feels
that there should be a dumping fee
at the tri-county landfill imple
mented immediately. He stated
that residents and businesses from
Pasquotank County have begun us
ing Perquimans dump sites and the
landfill since Pasquotank began
charging to dump. This just in
creases the local problem, Nixon
said.
Community involvement and
making citizens aware of the poten
Work begins on Blanchard building renovations
(§ Work has finally begun on the
controversial renovation of the ;
Blanchard building adjacent to
the courthouse proper.
A.L. Chesson, who was
awarded the $400,000-plus bid last
. moria, began work Monday, a
week before the start date agreed
upon by Chesson and the com
' missioners. Workmen started
with interior dismantling on what
ph expected to be an eight-month
: Project. -
When completed, the building
will house the county’s second
courtroom, the; commissioner’s
room, and the sheriffs, dispatch, ■
. and building inspection depart-. „
meats. Included in the project is
the addition of an elevator to al
low handicapped access to the
second-floor courtroom facility.
Chesson requested that the
county consider allowing him to
purchase builder’s risk insur
ance through the county’s self-in- ft'
durance fund. County manager
Paul Gregory told commission-ft
S ets Monday that many counties
are agreeing to purchase insur
ance for construction projects
provided that the contractor pays
: me premium. Gregory said that
the insurance coula be purchased
by county at a much cheaper rate ft
than that the contractor will pay.
Commissioner Mack Nixon said
that the county should consider
: the possible future liability to the
county of allowing Chesson to go
through the county’s insurer
'ft??}.1 ^ ' \ < .ft*,. . &SS5 ft > ‘ '
Photo by Nancy Royden—Clark
Jack Hurdle (left) and Ray Winslow watch as crews from A.L. Chesson begin inside renovations on
the Blanchard building.
Nixon said that it anyone was hurt
on the premises Airing construc
tion, the county could ultimately
be tweed to sue itself, in effect, for
damages. Nixon, who is himself a
building contractor, said that
i.nnii.. im.ii.i,.. . ..mini..
while it is common in the industry
to request insurance through a
county government on a public
project, he felt that the liability to
the county would be too great He
further stated that all contractors
jn,., :ii,^,.n,i/.
include the cost of builder’s risk
insurance in their project bids.
County attorney John Matthews .
agreed that Nixon had a valid
point. The commissioners re
jected the request
Higgins cited for service to meals program
Leo Higgins has been named vol
unteer of the month for December
for his outstanding service to the
local home delivered meals pro
gram in Perquimans County.
Higgins has been volunteering
for the home delivered meals for
over one year. He delivers meals
once or twice a week, depending on
the need. Higgins feels the home
delivered meals program is one of
the best and most needed programs
in this area.
Tbe program is designed to main
tain or improve the health of elk
derly citizens by providing
nutritious meals. It makes it possi
ble for many older county citizens
to continue living in their own
homes. For some of the elderly, the
program makes it possible for ear
lier discharge from hospitals, nurs
ing homes, or other residential
facilities.
i Without volunteer support, this
program would not be possible.
Many of the recipients would not
have that hot noon meal. Votttn
teen are needed Monday through
Friday. It only takes an hour each
time volunteers deliver meals. Vol
unteers can opt to deliver each
week, twice a week, or even once
per month.
Anyone interested in volunteer
ing for this valuable service should
contact Minnie B. Taylor, site man
ager, at 426-8309, or Elisabeth
Chappell, home delivered meals
coordinator, Albemarle Commis
sion, at 426-5753.
Chamber plans
annual banquet
The Annual Banquet of the Per
quimajs County Chamber of Com
merce will be held at Angler’s
Cove Resturant on Monday, Jan.
21, beginning with a social hour at
6:30 p.m. (non-alcoholic) and din
ner at7:30p.m.
The guest speaker will be Ho
race Davis, Director of Devel
opment and Community Relations
for Carolina Power & Light Com
pany. His topic will be “Giving It
Your Best.”
In both his professional life and
bis personal life, Davis demon
strates how he cares for other peo
ple. As a member of the Carolina
rower & Light Company Speakers
Bureaus, he speaks frequently of
what each of us gains personally
when we take time to be involved
and care about our local commu
nities. He also speaks on ways that
we reaffirm our commitment to
excellence and quality.
Davis has held leadership post
ions in the Garner Chamber of
Commerce, the N.C. Cancer So
ciety, the Garner Economic Devel
opment Corporation and
numerous other oganizations. He
has served as Governor of N.C.
District East Civitan. Garner
Civic organizations have honored
him with such awards as Civitan of
die Year, Outstanding Chamber
Member, and Outstanding Citizen.
The N.C. Division of the American
Cancer Society named him Volun
teer of the Year in 1969.
Also on the agenda will be recog
nition of the 1990 Directors and the
1961 Directors. Hie Charles M.
Harrell Jr., Business Person of die
Year Award, given by Harrell’s
family, will also be presented.
Tickets for the banquet may be
purchased at the Chamber office
or reserved by calling the phone at
426-6657. ■
tial costs to the county, and subse
quently the taxpayers, if the state’s
mandates are not met are the keys
to unlocking the waste manage
ment cycle, the commissioners
agreed.
Gregory estimated that 50 to 70
percent of the county population
will recycle to some degree. “Ev
ery little bit helps with the total,”
he said.
Nixon said county governments
need to pressure legislators to put
deposits on bottles, cans and other
recyclable materials to encourage
recycling. There also must be a
market for recyclables, he added.
“Until they start working to
wards it (deposits and markets),
we can’t do much,” he said.
Gregory will provide the demo
graphic information requested by
the commissioners. A decision on
the location of the first convenience
center should be reached soon.
State program
helps citizens
buy homes
First-time home buyers in North
Carolina can obtain $46 million in
below-market-rate mortgages as a
result of a tax-exempt bond issue
sold Dec. 7 by the N.C. Housing Fi
nance Agency.
The loans were made possible be^
cause mortgage revenue bonds sur
vived the congressional budget ax
in November and were extended for
one more year. During the budget
negotiations, all 13 of North Caroli
na’s senators and congressmen
signed delegation letters support
ing the program, which has helped
almost 25,000 North Carolina fami
lies with low and moderate in
comes.
With an interest rate of 8.15 per
cent, the new mortgages will be
about 1.35 percentage points below
the current market rate. They will
be available statewide beginning
Jan. 9, from 40 lending institutions
and their branches. Centura Bank
and First Wachovia Mortgage Cor
poration both have N.C. Housing
funds to lend, according to com
pany spokespersons.
Don Jennings, vice president at
Centura Bank in Elizabeth City,
and Carolyn Winslow, loan origi
nator at First Wachovia, said their
institutions have money available
to prospective home buyers in Per
quimans County.
“The new bond issue will provide
30-year, fixed rate, FHA-insured
mortgages for approximately 835
first-time home buyers,” said Wil
liam T. Boyd, chairman of the N.C.
Housing Finance Agency. “The 8.15
percent rate will enable a family
taking out a $70,000 mortgage to
save more than $800 a year over the
cost of a market-rate mortgage. ”
In addition, the agency’s mort
gage certificate program (MCC)
continues to be available through
most mortgage lenders. MCCs re
duce the cost of buying a home by
allowing a federal tax credit for
part of the mortgage interest
amount. The program is based on
the same federal legislation as the
bond loans.
The low-interest loans can be
used to finance new or previously
owned single-family detached
homes, townhouses or condomini
ums. The loans can also be used to
purchase new doublewide man
ufactured homes that meet FHA in
surance standards and are land
home transactions.
The N.C. Housing Financ
Agency is a self-supporting state ;
agency created by the General;As-'
sembly. Since 1973, it has issued X
$1,88 billion in tax-exempt bonds: * ■
and tax credits, producing mote ■■
than 44,000 affordable homes and. -
apartments. - X^
The agency operates tax-exempt■ -
bond programs, federal housing ;
subsidy programs, federal tax •
credit programs and the state’s!
housing trust fund. It pays its sala-'
ries an operating expenses from its > ■
earnings, and also uses earnings fo.
help local governments and nonprfh
fit organizations produce better ..
housing for low-income citizens.