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THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 4>u, no. ii
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.fi., Thursday, May 23, 1991
30 Cents
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Farm:
Storing Vidalia
onions is a cinch with
pantyhose
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Sports:
Pirates whip Camden
in conference tie-breaker
19-6: Page e
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Briefs
Wc5*r«i»6(i#dto^^^
hunter safety courses
~-As of July 1, 1991, It Is man
datory for all first-time hunting
. license buyers to take a Hunters
Safety course.
" *.; 1 Due this new law, the Wild
life Resource Commission is
seeking volunteers to help teach
this course. Anyone interested
in helping needs to complete a
Hunters Safety Instructor
Course. To sign up or for more
information please call J.C. Sta
ley at 426-5662.
Church plans sale
• The New Hope United Meth
odist Church UMW will be hold
ing their annual yard sale and
. bake sale on Saturday. May 25.
. The sale will begin at 10 a.m. on
the church grounds.
Driver training sat
Bus driver training classes
will be held 8:30 a.m. to 3:30
p.m., June 12-14, at Perqui
mans County High School. If
you are interested in registering
for the bus driver training,
please contact Tom Monti at the
Perquimans County Board of
Education office at 426-5741.
Persons intersted in attending'
the training must call prior to
the workshop date to pre- regis
ter and attend all three days of
the training. This training is re
quired for anyone interested in
driving a school bus during the
1991-1992 school year.
Basketball camp sat
' The First Annual Perquimans
County Instructional Basketball
Camp will be held at Perqui
mans High School from June
17-21. The camp is set to teach
the fundamentals of basketball
to girls ages 9-13. The camp
staff will include area high
school and middle school
coaches who have an interest in
improving overall basketball
skill. Application deadline Is
June 8.
Bassball camp planned
From June 17-21 will be the
second annual Perquimans
County Baseball Camp. This
camp will be held at the high
school baseball field.
Sports Camp schadulsd t
• "The first annual Perquimans
Cpunty Sports Camp will be
held at Perquimans Middle
School June 24-July 19. This
s , camp Is set up to provide chil
i difen with a worthwhile summer
I activity, while teaching them ba
sic skills In the following activ
ities: soccer, softball, basketball,
racket sports, gymnastics, wres
tling (boys), volleyball, and track
• .and field. The camp will be held
from 8:30-12 noon.
Parents interested to any of
■. the above camps should contact
: Roger Morgan at 426-8468 or
426-7355. /
I
County grabbles with solid waste management
Solid waste management and
i its effect on the county’s budget
consumed much of the county
commissioner’s time In regular
session Monday night.
The total solid waste man
agement budget for the present
fiscal year was $132,000. That
figure will skyrocket to $227,320
in 1991-92, according to county
manager Paul Gregory.
State mandates to cut by 25
percent the amount of solid
waste deposited into landfills by
1993 has left the county with
few alternatives. Manned conve
nience centers will be built
around the county. Residents
will deliver their separated gar
bage to the centers for recycling.
There will be receptacles for
glass, aluminum, paper and
plastic, as well as for general
unrecyclable garbage.
Tentative plans for 1991-92
call for erecting three recycling
centers at a cost of $25,000
30.000 per center. Operating the
three sites will cost the county
$133,812, which is reflected In
the $227,230 in the budget pro
posal. However, the $75,000
90.000 cost to construct the
convenience centers is not In
eluded in the proposal.
One option discussed by
Gregory and the commissioners
which looks likely is assessing
every household in the county a
$25 annual solid waste fee. Gre
gory said the fee could be in
cluded on the ad valorem tax
statements mailed in September
and would be due by December
31 as are tax bills.
Even with the $25 fee. the
commissioners will probably be
forced to raise ad valorem taxes
by 2-3 cents per $100 of valu
ation. Commission chairman
Lester Simpson said that the
. -;V" ‘ Photo by Susan Harris
A Belvidera man escaped unharmed when turned on Swamp Road Monday,
this Ford wrecker he was operating over
Locals attend state education event
Education officials, commu
nity leaders and parents from
across the state traveled to Ra
leigh last Thursday to attend the
sixth annual Public Education
Day sponsored by the North
Carolina Alliance for Public Edu
cation.
A delegation of eight from
Perquimans made the trip to
hear from education and legis
lative officials about the crisis In
education and the state budget.
Trudy Blake, president of the
North Carolina Association of
School Administrators and a
member of the Alliance, told the
group that the state will not
grow and achieve without a
commitment to education. She
said that today's schools must
be restructured and priorities
must be set so that North Caro
lina can become an example for
Other states to follow.
Senate President Pro Tem
Henson Bames said that the
uenerai AssemDiy musi iacc
tough decisions in balancing the
budget for both this fiscal year
and next He said that while
budget shortfalls will affect pub
lic education, teaching children
is a state priority. He noted that
two-thirds of the state budget;
goes to education.
Bames said that there are
only two wayB to deal with the
budget deficit spending cuts or
a tax Increase. He said that his
research had found that most
people favor tax increases if ed
ucation will be the benefactor,
tt Speaker of the House Daniel
Blue stated that the state is fee
ing the worst budget crisis in
memory. He said that the state,
has a tremendous obligation to'
fulfill to its citizens, and the
state must put meaning to the
priority position of education. !
Legislators have looked fear
duplicity and waste to come up '
with ways to cut the budget.
I Blue added that federal!
mandates have crippled the
state budget. Human services
and corrections, he said, were
areas controlled in large part tty
federal legislation.
“We have cut as much out of
the budget as we can cut out of
ft,’* Ittue said. “There is no way
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Photo by Susan Harris
Eight Perquimans parents and educators attended Public Edu
cation Day in Raleigh last Thursday. Making the trip were
(standing, I to r) Ben Hobbs, Dr. Randall Henion, Henry Felton
and Linda Godfrey, (seated) Lynn Lassiter, Betty Phelps and
Jeanie UmphletL Not pictured is Susan Harris.
(to balance the budget fay cut
ting!”
Blue aaid that legislators
must find $700-800 minion “Just
to hold the status quo. Over the
next six weeks, we will come up
with some solutions, long-term
we hope.”
Blue and Barnes agreed that
the House and Senate are in
agreement on budget woes and
now enjoy the most cooperative
relationship either can remem
ber.; :
? State Superintendent of Pub
lic Instruction Bob Etheridge
said that he was pleased with
the cooperative ana committed
tone of both Blue and Barnes.
He said that the calls, letters,
and visits by parents and edu
cators had shown legislators
that North Carolinians are com
mitted to education.
“The most powerful lobby is
citizens," Etheridge said.
Other speakers during the
day included Judy Mountjoy,
chairman of the Alliance and <;.
—1
president of the state PTA and
N.C. School Boards Association
Executive Director Gene Causby.
Visits to legislators planned
for the afternoon were nixed
when the legislators convened at
noon. Thursday was the last day
for bills requiring funding to be
submitted to the legislature, and
therefore legislators were In ses
sion and unavailable to speak
with their visiting constituents.
Those who made the trip
from Perquimans County were
superintendent Randall Henion,
principal Henry Felton, school
board member Ben Hobbs, com
munity schools coordinator Jea
nle Umphlett. Hertford Grammar
School PTA co-presidents Linda
Godfrey and Betty Phelps, Cen
tral School PTA co-president
Lynn Lassiter and Susan Hams,
media representative and Cen
tral School PTA treasurer.
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budget must be balanced and
tiie county will be forced to ab
sorb state budget cuts.
Commissioners Leo Higgins
and Thomas Nixon said that the
county must give residents an
Incentive to recycle and not to
litter the county with garbage.
Higgins suggested the county
consider door-to-door pick-up on
a regular basis for white goods.
He said the residents who use
the service can be charged per
pick up.
The commissioners must de
cide how many convenience cen
ters to build, and where they
will be located. The cost of oper
ating the centers will more than
likely dictate the number to be
built.
The commissioners will meet
In a work session on May 29 to
discuss with officials from the
towns of Hertford and Winfall
solutions to the solid waste di
lemma. Gregory will also outline
the 1991-92 budget proposed by
the finance committee consisting
of Gregory, Nixon and Higgins.
Final decisions on financing
for solid waste management will
be made at that meeting.
Rain contributes to
Monday accident
Balding tires on a rain-slic
ked road caused a Belvidere
man to slide into a ditch Mon
day afternoon.
James Jacob Hall. 36, of
Route 2, Box 324, was traveling
west on Swamp Road around
12:30 p.m. Hall told investigat
ing officer N.C. State Trooper
Craig Garriss that as he came
out of a curve, he felt the back
end of the 1971 Ford wreck he
was driving slide around. The
truck left the road on the right,
turning completely over and
coming to rest In a ditch on its
top.
Garriss requested assistance
from the Winfall Volunteer Fire
Department when he noted the
truck’s gas tank leaking.
The trooper estimated the
damage to the vehicle at $1,000.
Hall was charged with im
proper equipment (tired) and not
having the vehicle registered.
Friday wreck interrupts
town electric power
A Friday night wreck at the
intersection of Edenton Road
Street and Ballahack Road in
Hertford sent drivers and pas
sengers in two vehicles to local
hospitals.
According to the accident re
port filed by patrolman Tim
Bunch of the Hertford Police De
partment, a 1988 Ford van
driven by Clifford Callis White
hurst, 44, of Elizabeth City, col
lided with a 1974 Chevrolet
truck operated by Marcus Ber
nard Downing, 34, of Hertford at
approximately 9:14 p.m. White
hurst was traveling west on
Wynne Fork Road when he
failed to stop at a stop sign, and
was hit in the side by Downing,
who was traveling north on
Edenton Road Street.
The impact of the crash
turned the Chevrolet on its side
and sent it 54 feet from the
point of impact. The van came
to rest in a field 144 feet from
the point of impact after moving
between two electric poles, strik
ing a guideline and causing an
electric line to break.
The accident caused a power
outtage in a small section of
town, and lights flickered several
times in other areas of the mu
nicipality and in the county.
Mayor W.D. “BiU” Cox said that
North Carolina Power turned off
electric current for about 10
minutes to remove the guidewire
which was resting across a
power line, and to reconnect the
broken line.
When employees with the
Perquimans County Extension
Service arrived at work Monday
morning, they discovered that
their computers would not turn
on. Further investigation re
vealed that some breakers and
surge protectors were damaged,
according to County Manager
Paul Gregory. It appears that
the interruption of power due to
the Friday evening wreck caused
the problems at the Extension
Service. Gregory said represen
tatives from the computer com
pany will arrive this week to
assess the damage.
The Hertford Fire Depart
ment was called to the scene of
the accident, and stayed for ap
proximately one and one-half
hours, according to fire chief
Edgar Roberson.
Passengers in the van were
transported to Albemarle Hospi
tal by the Perquimans County
Rescue Squad. The passengers
in the truck were taken to Cho
wan Hospital.
Bunch estimated the damage
to each vehicle at $5,000.
Whitehurst was cited for failing
to yield the right of way in obe
dience to a duly erected stop
sign and transporting a child
under the age of six without be
ing properly secured.
Durants Neck Fire Department
receives matching fund grant
Durants Neck Volunteer Fire
Department was one of 100 ru
ral fire department in North
Carolina to receive matching
fund grants as part of the Fed
eral Rural Community Fire Pro
tection Program. Governor
James G. Martin announced re
cently.
The local department will re
ceive $1,443 of the $100,189 in
federal grant funds dispersed for
the program for fiscal year
1991-92. The money can be
used to purchase a variety of
fire fighting equipment ranging
from tum-out gear and hoses to
pumps and wildland fire sup
pression equipment
Th qualify for the Federal
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Rural Community Fire Protec
tion Program, rural Are depart
ments must serve fewer than
10.000 people. Fire departments
Interested In participating In
next year’s program should con
tact the local county forest
ranger. The departments must
file an application with the Divi
sion of Fore Resources showing
need for the funds, and must be
able to match the grant re
ceived.
The program , Is administered
by the Division of Forest Re
sources of the Department of
Environment. Health and Natu
ral Resources through the U.S.
Forest Service.
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