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is 11 Celebrate freedom and democracy
Have a happy 4th of July!
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
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Volume 61, No.27
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, July 2,1992
35 Cents
The week
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7 • 9 10 11 12 1!
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21 22 23 24 28 26 21
28 29 30
By Tracy E. Barlach
The Dally Advance
Bill catches up
A $193,000 bill Perquimans
County has avoided paying to the
state Department of Transporta
tion for more than four years has
caught up with officials here.
The unpaid bill has been for
warded to the state Attorney
General's office to be resolved, a
spokesperson for the DOT said
last week. The bill, for work per
formed tty DOT to move water
and sewer lines during highway
improvement work to U.S. High
way 17, was forwarded to the
state’s legal division after the
DOT received no response to
three different invoices were sent
to the county.
Poverty drops
The percentge of people living
In poverty In Perquiman County
dropped by 2.89 percent in Per
quimans County between 1980
and 1990, according to an analy
sis of 1990 census figures by the
North Carolina Rural Economic
Development Center. Statewide,
the number of people living in
poverty decreased by only 10.000
in the 1980s. compared to a de
crease of 158,000 in the 1970s.
Hertford budget adopted
Hertford residents were still
interrupting the council's final
vote on the 1992-93 budget Mon
day to call for a zero increase.
But the town board, claiming
to have cut the budget as low as
it could to continue operating the
town, unanimously adopted the
spending plan as recommended.
The budget represents a
$26,321 increase in the general
fund and an 8 cent decrease in
the tax rate. The town was able
to reduce the tax rate based on
an anticipated increase in tax
revenues next year from a total
revaluation of all county prop
erty. The revaluation is expected
to generate an additional
$35,139.34 for the town. Town
Manager Bill Cox said.
New life in downtown
Two new businesses have
; purchased buildings and plan to
; open soon in downtown Hertford.
A Norfolk-based book com
pany is expected to move into the
former Eagles variety store, and
Papl-dr, and Anna Smith have
purchased family-owned W.M.
Divers and Sons Jewelers.
Ramp fee considered
Administrative obstacles have
kept the Hertford Town Council
from implementing a fee for us
ers of the town’s boat ramp, but
discussions last week indicated
that the issue is still being ex
plored.
Two things have held up the
Implementation of a fee —
whether the fee would outweight
the cost of collection and
whether to charge residents and
non-residents equally.
Landfill vote slated,
The Perquimans County
Board of Commissioners is ex
pected to act officially on an ordi
nance forming a regional landfill
authority at one of its next two
meetings. County Administrator
N. Paul Gregory said.
Fourth losas spark
The Perquimans County Jay
cees will not hold their annual
fireworks display this year due to
a lack of membership and fund
ing. president Bobby Winslow
said.
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Birthday celebration
Photo by Susan Hants
Brian Center residents, family members, staff and
volunteers gathered Monday evenings to celebrate
Brian Center’s fifth anniversary. A covered dish sup
per, fellowship and music by the New Beginnings
gospel music ministry completed the festive mood
set by the balloons and flowers decorating the din
ing halt.
Face of downtown gets new wrinkle
Smiths purchase Divers Jewelers
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
It’s not an opening or a closing, but
the face of downtown Hertford Is set for
a new wrinkle.
Paul and Anna Smith finalized a
deal last Wednesday which made them
the new owners of W.M. Divers & Son
Jewelers on Church Street.
“I am so excited,” Mrs. Smith said
about the business venture. "I just
can’t wait to get in there full-time. I’m
going to give the place a facelift.”
Divers has long been a fixture in
downtown Hertford. The Smiths pur
chased the business from the grand
daughter of the store’s founder, Toni
Divers Stallings. Stallings told The Per
quimans Weekly in late December that
she would consider getting out of the
business if sales did not improve.
Mrs. Smith’s enthusiasm about
owning her dwn business is not damp
ened by Stallings’ earlier negative re
port.
“All I see are positives,” Mrs. Smith
said. “I see no negatives at all. I believe
that the store can be successful. I plan
to offer a wide variety of jewelry and
gifts and provide good customer serv
ice. People want to shop here if they
can find the products and services that
they desire.”
The Smiths are now getting a crash
course in the jewelry business. Mr.
Smith is learning jewelry and watch re
pair so that the store can once again
offer the service on-site. The couple
plan to learn to operate the engraving
and embossing machines to further ex
pand on-site offerings.
“I want to carry a wide variety of
merchandise,” Mrs. Smith said. “I’d
like for people to come in and find the
perfect gift for every occasion. I plan to
nave party supplies. Helen Steiner Rice
cards, all sorts of things."
The planned facelift and changes in
the business will not take place over
night, Mrs. Smith said. Because the
business will not close during the
change-over, the couples’ plans may
take some time.
,“I hope people will be patient with
us during our learning period,” Mrs.
Smith said. “Our plans won't all be re
alized overnight, but people will notice
new window displays, decor and mer
chandise each time they visit. It will
take some time, but it’s going to be
wonderful.”
The only bothersome aspect of the
business purchase for Mrs. Smith is
working out her notice in the Perqui
mans County Tax Department. She is
counting down the days until she can
dive head, long into creating the store
of her dreams.
Group works together to fight project crime
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
An open discussion between
a diverse group of Hertford Resi
dents may result in beefed up
efforts to halt trespassing and
the associated problems on
Wynne Fork Courts property.
Six members of the Hertford
Housing Authority Residents As
sociation met at their request
“Everything that goes on over there (in the
mobile homes parks) seems to come over
here (Wynne Fork Courts).”
Elaine Stepney
President, Hertford Housing
Authority Residents Association
cant, and right now I’ve
turned four people
down,” said White,
Ward added that al
though he. like the other
park owners, tries to
make sure that tenants
adhere to regulations, he
has encountered legal
difficulties in his guest to
evict some tenants.
with Hertford town councilmen. Mayor
John G. Beers, Town Manager W.D.
“Bill" Cox, Hertford Police Chief; Aubrey
Sample, Perquimans County Sheriff
Joe Lothian and owners of mobile
home parks at the intersection of U.S.
Highway 17 Bypass and Wynne Fork
Road Monday night to discuss solu
tions to problems residents say are
spilling over from the mobile home
parks into their neighborhood.
“Everything that goes on over there
tin the parks) seems to come over here
(Wynne Fork Courts)," said Elaine
Stepney, the residents association -
president
Allegations of drug dealing and fir
ing guns by mobile home park resi
dents were lodged by the residents
association. Residents maintain that
park residents are perpetrating these
crimes on Wynne Fork Courts prop
erty. More police presence and better
background checks on park rental ap
plicants were requested by the associa
tion to help stoi
ip the open drug
dealing, weapons discharge and tres
passing that has Wynne Fork residents
concerned for their safety.
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Most of these women are afraid.
Stepney said of the Wynne Fork Courts
residents, most of whom are single
mothers.
It's not only safety, but the' knowl
edge that drug dealers are using the
children who reside in the neighbor
hood to run drugs that has residents
concerned.
“The small kids are peddling the
stuff." said an unidentified association
member. "They’re using the small kids
to run this stuff from one to another."
tV - Leroy and Katie Lightfoot. Jim
White and Charles Ward, owners of the
mobile home parks across from Wynne
Folk Courts, all said they screen rental
Applicants and have written contracts
signed. They also reported making pe
riodic checks to make sure renters ad
here to policies. * ! . ,:V
; The Lightfoots, who own rental
property in both Perquimans and Pas
quotank counties, inspect their prop
erties each month to make sure tne
homes and grounds are clean, accord
ing to Mrs. Lightfoot Violated rules re
sult in evictions, she said.
"I've got one lot right now that’s va
nfou don t have any rights if you
own property, I’ll guarantee you that.”
Ward said. “The renters have all the
rights.”
Both Lothian and Sample said the
owners are sometimes unaware that
mobile homes are being subleased or
that people other than those listed on
the lease are residing on the property.
“They (unauthorized tenants) go (home)
late and leave early,” said Lothian.
“You (property owners) have no way of
knowing that”
The law enforcement officials also
backed Ward's assertions of encounter
ing legal difficulties over evictions.
Two measures were agreed upon as
first steps toward alleviating the prob-j
terns in the neighborhood - broader
rental applicant screening and in
creased police patrol.
- V. ,
The park owners accepted an offer
by the residents association to assist
with screening. Both the association
and law enforcement officials agreed
Please see Crime. Page 2
State audit
recommends
changes
Personnel, policies top list
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Changes will be in store for Perquimans
County Schools if the superintendent and board
of education adopt recommendations set forth by
the state auditor’s office recently.
A performance audit completed last month at
the request of the system superintendent Randall
L. Henion focused on organization and staffing in
the schools’ central office.
The report outlines problems in eight areas -
central office structure, policies and procedures,
job descriptions, performance evaluations, com
munication, maintenance, purchasing policies
and workshop expenses.
Current central office structure is not the
most effective for a small school system, the re
port maintains. The superintendent's wide span
of control, staff reporting responsibilities and un
clear lines of authority are noted as snags pre
venting effective decision-making and good
communication.
Lack of an organizational chart and failure to
develop a system for documenting employee
workloads has, according to the report, made it
difficult to justify staffing needs or measure pro
ductivity or accountability. In turn, management
is unable to document either a need for additio
nal staff or put a finger on any areas of overstaf
fing or inefficiency.
The report suggests limiting the superinten
dent’s span of control with a proposed organiza
tional chart redirecting some reporting
responsibilities.
Staffing changes recommended were combin
ing the maintenance and transportation depart
ments and assigning only one supervisor.
Richard O’Neal and Lloyd "Pete” Riddick are pres
ently maintenance and transportation supervi
sors, respectively. Also recommended was
reclassifying the co-principals at Perquimans
Middle School - Heniy Felton and Morris Kome
gay - to become principal and assistant principal.
A cost savings of $45,133 would result from the
changes, along with the eliminaion of confusion
over authority, the report states.
Implementing the audit's recommended
changes could result in further staff reduction at
a later date.
The lack of clearly written, specific policies
and procedures also hampers operations. The
board anticipates adopting the recently-com
pleted policies and procedures manual this
month.
Problems caused by the lack of speefic job de
scriptions include confusion over reporting re
sponsibilites, confusion over job duties, improper
organizational placement and inconsistency in
job titles.
"The majority of existing job descriptions
were written for the individual in the position
rather than for the position." the report states.
Also lacking is cross-training.
To correct the situation, job descriptions
should be prepared and appropriate salary
ranges assigned. Cross-training should also be
implemented.
The central office should develop job-specific
performance evaluations to be used at least an
nually. A review of personnel files found that
some employees have never been evaluated. Em
ployees should also know their specific duties
and responsibilities. Assistance for those per
forming below par and procedures to remove em
ployees for failure to perform should be
established.
Lack of communication has led to blurred
lines of authority at the central office. Clearly
drawn lines of authority should be laid down,
and expectations explained, the report states.
Further, instructional supervisory staff should be
required to set a school visitation schedule and
respond to individual requests for help.
Ineffective time management is a problem in
the maintenance department, according to the
audit. Although the department has a compute
rized work order system for job scheduling, the
audit found that it is not being fully utilized.
Frustrations over the responsiveness of mainte
nance to address needs on the school level were
common on both staff interviews and surveys.
A time management system to include esti
mating and tracking time requirements for all
work orders to measure employee productivity,
maintain control over manpower resources and
ensure accomplishment of maintenance plan
goals was suggested. In addition, the auditors
recommended a review of the current work order
system to provide better internal controls over
managing maintenance jobs, resources and per
sonnel.
An examination of sample vouchers indicated
that purchasing policies were not being followed
by all employees. Reduced purchasing control re
sulting from credit card use by several employees
was also noted.
The development and implementation of poli
cies and procedures was recommended, along
Mease see Audit, Page 2 - w i :