THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 61, No.36
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, September 3,1992
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Feature:
Digging roots means
opening your heart
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CONTEST
SEE PAGE
8
High com yields expected
despite extended August rains
By TRACY E. G ERLACH
The Daily Advance
Perquimans County corn
growers are breathing a little
easier this week, relieved that
the summer's heavy rains hap
pened after most of the com was
already mature and Hurricane
Andrew stayed in the south.
While heavy rains last month
caused problems for some of the
other crops, especially peanuts,
com is expected to produce a
higher yield this year than last.
Cooperative Extension Director
Lewis Smith said.
“We’re well above what we
normally have,” Smith said.
"There was reasonable good
moisture - we didn’t go through
prolonged drought periods as we
have in past years.”
Com yields were estimated
at 92 bushels per acre last year,
Smith said. This year, the county
could see as much as 110- 115
bushels per acre, he said.
"That may be conservative,”
Smith said. “It looks like a whole
lot better year yield wise.”
The bigger problem facing
com growers this year will be the
prices they will get on the crop,
which may be the lowest they’ve
been In five years. Smith said.
Most com growers , will begin
harvesting the crops next week,
allowing a longer period for the
com stalks to ary. Smith said. A
few, however, will start this
week.
Com crops were spared from
damage after last month’s heavy
rains because most of the crops
were already mature. Most of the
extended rain occurred after the
critical growing periods for com,
which fall in May and June.
The only problem extended
I
Gene Perry finishes harvesting a cut of com
Monday just off Center Hill Highway. Accord
ing to County Cooperative Extension Director
Lewis Smith, corn yields are expected to be
high, even though August brought soggy
weather to Perquimans. Peanuts and cotton,
Smith said, might not fare as well. (Photo by
Susan Harris.)
periods of rain may cause for
mature com plants is stalk rot.
Smith said. Stalk rot causes
plants to break before they are
harvested’
“If the hurricane had come
through, it would have put our
com crop on the ground,” Smith
said.
Peanut farmers weren’t as
T
lucky last month. The extended
rain caused a number of peanut
diseases to show up or worsen In
the plants, Smith said.
“It caused peanut diseases to
just explode In most fields," he
said.
Although some of the dis
eases can be treated. Smith said
there will likely be a decrease in
peanut yields this year.
Perquimans County has
more than 3200 acres of pea
nuts.
“For some farmers. It’s their
only cash crop with com and
soybean prices this year,” he
said.
1
Winning stance
U.S. Senator Terry San
ford, who is campaigning
for the November general
election, swept through
the Albemarle Friday,
stopping in Hertford to
meet with Democratic
supporters at the Senior
Citizens Center. Sanford
(second from left) is pic
tured with county com
missioner Leo Higgins,
lOrmer Democratic Party
Chairman Julian ‘Little
Man’ Broughton, county
commissioner-elect Shir
ley Yates and Hertford
Town Manager W.D. ‘Bill’
Cox. (Photo by Susan
Harris).
Recognition for
a job well done
Three cited for service
from Staff Reports
Three Perquimans County
residents known for giving of
themselves, got a little rack
Tuesday.
Vera R. Murrill, John T.
Blggers and Mack E. Nixon
each received the 1992 Gover
nor’s Award for Outstanding
Volunteer Service at a recep
tion Tuesday.
Murrill, a 3rd grade teacher
with Edenton-Chowan Schools,
was nominated for the category
of education and literacy. She
is a member of the north Caro
lina Association of Educators
and the National Education
Association Parent Teacher’s
Association.
As a den leader of Cub
Scout den 155, and a member
of Saunders Grove Missionary
Baptist Church, Murrill takes
on some of the major problems
feeing youth today —drug use
and teenage pregnancy. She
talks to youth in local
churches.
She also organized a youth
choir and volunteers to help
the handicapped.
Winning the award has
shown Murrill that her efforts
have been fruitful.
“It was a chance of a life
time that someone would think
that much of me," she said.
Diggers,
who retired as
superinten
dent of Perqui
mans County
Schools after
17 years of
service, was
also honored
for education
and literacy
volunteerism.
Biggers
He serves on the American
Cancer Society Board of Direc
tors.
As a member of the Lions
Club, he solicited white cane
funds for the blind, collected
used eye glasses and delivered
them to the N.C. Lions Foun
dation, delivered radios to the
sight impaired, split and deliv
ered fire wood for the Lions
Club and delivered brooms and
light bulbs to the sight im
paired.
Biggers assisted Social
Services in delivering food to
the elderly and financially de
serving families in the county
and delivered meals-on-wheels
to shut-ins and the elderly.
He helps the Perquimans
County Restoration Association
show the Newbold-White
House and helped the Ruritan
Club prepare and deliver bar
becue meals to raise funds for
a family with large hospital
bills.
He helps with the Special
Olympics and volunteers to
transport patients to doctors
and hospitals.
"It is estimated that he
serves as much as 10 hours
per week in volunteer service,"
the Hertford Lions Club wrote
in his nominating form.
Among his many offices
throughout the community,
Biggers is Treasurer and a for
mer president of the Hertford
Lions Clnh. i-1
Nixon was
nominated for
his role as
chairman of
the building
committee of
the Elizabeth
City Chapter
of Habitat for
Humanity and
ilia uivuivc' nixon
ment In the site selection and
construction of the chapter’s
first home.
Sonja W. Hibbard, chapter
president, nominated Nixon for
the award.
He also serves as Chair
man of the Perquimans County
Board of Commissioners.
“Once a site was chosen,
he organized a group of un
trained volunteers to work side
by side with professional build
ing tradespeople at the con
struction site,” Hibbard said in
the nomination statement.
“The chapter set aside 8 a.m.
to 1 p.m. on consecutive Sat
urdays for the construction
work and Mr. Nixon was pre
sent at all times - often before
and after volunteers were at
the site.”
Habitat for Humanity Inter
national is a ecumenical Chris
tian housing ministry that
seeks to eliminate poverty
housing and to make decent
shelter a matter of conscience
and action.
Trash reduction goals too high
By TRACY E. Q ERLACH
The Daily Advance __
A lack of places to market re
cydables Is Keeping Perquimans
County from meeting a state
mandate to reduce its landfill
waste by 25 percent by July of
1993. County Manager N. Paul
Gregory said.
“There’s no way," Gregory
said. “Nor will any other county
in North Carolina meet it”
The county opened its first
recycling center this year in New
Hope. One other has opened and
three others will be operating by
the end of the year. Even with
newspaper, glass, aluminum,
tires and appliances removed
from the waste stream, the
county will not meet the goal.
Items like plastic soda con
tainers, and tin cans are not be
ing recycled here because there
Is no where get rid of them. The
closest market for plastic con
tainers is in Pennsylvania, he
said.
White goods and tires are not
put in the landfill, but under
state regulations, cannot be
counted as a reduction in waste,
Gregory said. ; *
Only two things will enable
Perquimans County to reduce its
waste by 25 percent, Gregory
said. There must be a place to
market the recyclables and man
ufacturers need to begin pack
aging their products differently.
County leaders are banking
on discussions of changes to the
state and federal guidelines. The
percentage reduction required
may be changed, or there may
be an extension, he said.
“It’s got to go that way,” Gre
gory said. “Legislators are going
to nave to work with us on this
one. We've done what we can
do."
Dexter Matthews, Solid
Waste Section chief for the
state’s Division of Solid Waste,
said the 1993 goal is ‘Just that”
The only mandates local gov
ernments are facing were to
implement a recycling program
by July of 1991 and to develop a
comprehensive solid waste man
agement plan once the state has
developed guidelines for the
plans. That plan will outline how
the county will meet the 25 per
cent reduction, he said.
“Once the rules are com
pleted, local governments will be
given time to develop and submit
the plan to the state,” Matthews
said. “If it Is not submitted and
approved, it could be a viola
tion."
Perquimans to open third recycling center
By TRACY E. Q ERLACH
Ttie Dally Advance
The third of Perquimans
County’s five recycling centers
-will open within the next two
weeks, giving residents of the
western portion of the county
and the Town of Hertford a con
venient place to get rid of their
trash.
The new center is located on
Center Hill Highway. Centers in
New Hope ana U.S. Highway 17
North are already operational.
. In addltloh to aluminum,
glass, newspaper, yard waste
and white goods, the new site
will accept corrugated cardboard.
A fourth center on U.S. High
way 17 South will most likely be
open by October, County Man
ager N. Paul Gregory said. The
last center to be constructed will
be In Behrtdere.
As each of the centers are
opened, green dumpsters which
were available for residents to
dump their trash are removed,
Gregory said. Each of the recy
cling centers is equipped with a
trash compactor as well as recy
cling bins for residents to dump
their household waste, he said.
While the public has ire
Recycling: How to do it
and where to leave it
■.. Worn Staff Sports
The following Is a list of
f Items that can be recycled at
| Perquimans County Recycling
centers and what homeowners
need to do before they drop
the items off.
Residential, but not com
' mercial yard waste Is accepted
at all the sites.
Newspapers are accepted
in bundles or in a paper bag
at all sites. Colored insertions,
magazines and phone books
; are not accepted.
||; Aluminum beverage cans
li are accepted at all sites. Pie
plates and aluminum foil con
taminated fay food will not be
accepted.
; Rinsed dear, brown and
green glass from beverage bot
tles and food Jars Is accepted
at all sites. Au lids should be
removed. Labels do not have
to be removed.
Corrugated cardboard, but
not cardboard from shoe
boxes, cereal boxes, will be ac
cepted at the Center Hill High
way site. All braces should be
broken down.
Waste Oil from cosnventio-'
nal combustion engines, will
be accepted at the two sites cm
Highway 17 North and South.
White goods, meaning old
household appliances, are ac
cepted at all sites. White
goods from commercial opera
tions or appbanoe dealers will
not be accepted.
sponded well to the centers so
far, Gregory said there have been
some problems with residents
leaving bags of trash and recy
dables outside the fenced in
sites when they are closed.
Inspection of the trash re
vealed ttye names and addresses
of the dumper, Gregory said, and
he has written letters explaining
the center’s operating hours.
“Later on 111 ask the board
for a penalty If people continue
to do this," he said. “It’s like
filing to the store. You don't
break into the store because it’s
not open yet.”
Each of the centers is open
from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday. They are also open
from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.' on Sun
day.
By closing the centers one
day out of the week, the county
was able to save $20,000 - half
the cost of building the fifth cen
ter, Gregory said.
None of the sites accept plas
tics at this time, because there is
no market for the county to sell
the recycled product, Gregory
said. AU of the sites, however,
have been built large enough to
accommodate new recycled
products as markets become
available, he said.