THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
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Volume 61, No.47 _ Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C.,Thur«day, November 19,1992
35 Cents
Middle school students
celebrate National Red
Ribbon Week: Pagec
Party hosts:
Beware law
Court rules hosts can be
liable for drunk drivers
Hosts should think seriously
about collecting car keys along
with coats when they welcome
party guests this holiday season.
A new interpretation of North
Carolina law could make hosts
liable for damages caused by a
guest who drinks too much,
drives and gets in an accident.
according to
the North
Carolina In
surance News
Service.
In Septem
ber. the N.C.
Supreme Court decided that a
social host could be liable for
damages caused by a drunk
driver. If a host serves a guest al
cohol knowing that the guest is
Intoxicated and may be driving,
then the host may be sued for
damages.
The case which prompted the
ruling was Hart v. Ivey. A group
of teens hosted a keg party. A
teenager left the party drunk,
crossed the center line while
driving home and collided with
another car. seriously injuring its
driver.
The injured person sued the
teenage driver, his father (the
owner of the car), and the teens
who hosted the party. There was
no precedent in North Carolina
for holding social hosts liable.
The case was first appealed
" to the state Court of Appeals.
That court ruled that since state
statute prohibits serving liquor
to anyone under 21, the teen
hosts were negligent as a matter
of law and therefore, liable.
In its next test, the case went
to the N.C. Supreme Court The
higher court based its opinion on
a broader negligence theory,
opening the door for lawsuits
against adult social hosts who
serve alcohol to adult guests who
drive drunk and cause personal
Injury or property damage.
Tarty hosts and people who
drive after drinking should be
very careful," said Lewis Evans,
manager of the Perquimans
County office of North Carolina
Farm Bureau Insurance. "Hosts
should consider their liability in
light of the new interpretation of
the law. Drivers need to remem
ber that their insurance rate will
go up dramatically if they get a
DW1. "
Evans said the six-month
premium for one of his clients
jumped from $200 to $1,504 as
the result of one drtvlngwhile In
toxicated conviction. That pre
mium covered (me vehicle and
included liability coverage only.
“That (premium Increase) will
certainly get your attention,”
Evans said.
Experts say It is best to serve
no alcoholic beverages, but offer
several recommendations to
those who decide to add alcohol
to their party menus.
•Serve some non-alcholic or
low-alcohol content beverages;
•Serve plenty of food;
•Don’t continue to serve
someone who is obviously drunk;
•Collect guests’ car keys re
• turn them only if a guest is not
| planning to drive drunk;
•Call a cab or designate a
non-drinking driver.
Hosts can avoid liability and
help keep drunk drivers off the
| highways by following' common
sense rules.
HOLIDAY
DEADLINE"
Friday ^
3:00
Newt
Advertisement
The
ferqoEaa&l
Weekly
C1©s«m1
Thanksgiving
Da*
Nev. 26th y
Mattie Madrey holds the masterpiece of her 80-plus
years of tatting - an American flag that took about
six months to tie. The 91-year-old great-great-grand
mother’s work adorns baby caps and dresses, pil
low cases and handkerchiefs she has given as gifts
over the years. (Photo by Susan Harris)
Nimble fingers create
tatting masterpiece
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor _
Her nimble fingers move effortles
sly, creating delicate, looping designs
that draw praise from those en
tranced by her talent
Mattie Madrey is tying tatting, a
skill appreciated by many, but per
formed by few. The 91-year-old great
great-grandmother is one of only a
handful of county residents who
make handmade lace by looping and
knotting the thread wound on a hand
shuttle.
Mrs. Madrey has tied a sad knot
since her grammar school teacher
taught her to tat over 80 years ago.
Her fine handwork edged the collars
and cuffs of many of the outfits her
two daughters wore as children. She
has trimmed baby caps and dresses,
linen handkerchiefs and pillow cases
over the years. She also makes book
marks and Christmas trees.
Mrs. Madrey’s tatting masterpiece
is an American flag completed this
fall. The flag is hung on a white
background in a navy blue frame.
Each of the 50 white stars that dot
the blue square in the comer of the
flag were made separately and at
tached to the flag. The craftsman
worked on and off for six months
making the colorful piece.
Family and friends are not the
only people who appreciate Mrs. Ma
drey’s talent. Travelers browsing
through downtown Hertford saw
some of Mrs. Madrey’s Christmas
tees waiting to be framed on a velvet
background by Willie Ainsley. They
were impressed, and asked if they
could buy one. Ainsley telephoned
Mrs. Madrey, and the tourists
stopped in Hertford to pick up their
heirloom on their return trip.
Tatting is not Mrs. Madrey’s only
talent. She sewed all her daughters’
clothes when they were young,
quilted, embroidered and hooked
rugs.
“I don’t know how in the world I
found time to tie tatting with babies,
but somehow I did,” Mrs. Madrey
said.
Hazel Jackson, Mrs. Madrey’s
daughter, remembers her mother’s
hours spent sewing.
“Until I was in the first year of
high school, I didn’t have a dress
that I know of that was not hand
made,” Mrs. Jackson said.
Mrs. Madrey confirmed the
statement.
“I made everything my girls wore
- two piece suits, coats," she said.
Many examples of Mrs. Madrey’s
work accent her home, and many
others were shared with friends, her
three children, eight grandchildren
and 11 great-grandchildren.
Arthritis stopped Mrs. Madrey’s
handwork last winter, but bedrest
and medicine boosted her back to
health. Now she sits with her tatting
after supper. Mrs. Madrey said it
takes her one evening between sup
pertime and bedtime to tat a book
mark. In two nights, she can tie a
Christmas tree.
Mrs. Jackson lives with Mrs. Ma
drey on Swamp Road, where they are
looking forward to the holidays, a
time when all the extended family
will gather, including Mrs. Madrey's
other daughter, Reba Sigmon, and
son. Bill Madrey, both of Portsmouth,
and as many of the grandchildren as
can make the trip to Winfall.
And in the middle of all the com
motion, Mrs. Madrey will probably
sit, shuttle and thread in hand, cre
ating yet another treasure.
Tech prep prepares students for high-tech jobs
Educators are passing the word along: A high
school diploma is no longer the ticket to a good
Job.
Today's jobs require scientific and technical
skills, and that trend is expected to escalate in
‘ the 21st century, said Camell Lamm, coordinator
of the Northeast Albemarle Tech Prep Consortium
organized by College of The Albemarle and seven
Albemarle area school systems, including Perqui
mans.
Tech Prep is a course of study designed to,
serve high school students who may not pursue a
four-year college degree, but who could benefit
from a two-year community college like CQA.
“Society needs to consider the idea that a per
son’s education should span at least 14 years -
high school plus two years at a good community
college," Lamm said.
Lamm said employers demand workers who
can solve technical problems and operate high
tech machinery. Skilled laborers can move more
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easily into the Job market . .-v*
Perquimans County High School is building a
course of study in its Tech Prep program that will
help students develop a firm foundation both aca
demically and technically. Courses offered in the
Tech Prep area presently are computerised ac
counting. keyboarding, algebra I, algebra n, trlgo
Students check the vital signs and comfort this “patient” In
Mary Woodall’s health occupations class at Perquimans High
School. Health occupations is one of the Tech Prep courses
designed to prepare students to enter a workforce which de
mands technical skills. (Photo courtmy COA.)
nometry and health occupations. Students who earn at
feast a “B” in those course, except for health occupations,
can get credit at COA toward a two-year degree.
Perquimans County Schools Vocational Director Aim
White said applied mathematics and principles of technol
ogy will be added to the high school curriculum within the
next two yean.
Students are preparing for Jobe In the
care field through the health occupations
occupations I and H introduce students to the
choices in the medical field, and offer ham*
through classroom exercises and Internships.
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health
Health
career
Two big trials
will drain
sheriff’s staff
By TRACY E. G ERLACH
The Daily Advance_
Two high profile trials scheduled to be held In
Perquimans County this month will leave the
sheriffs department with virtually no men to pa
trol the streets. Sheriff Joe Lothian said Monday.
The situation, brought about by the schedul
ing of the Little Rascals Day Care child sex abuse
trial in Hertford and the Vivia Darvis Burke first
degree murder trial set to begin Nov. 30. is the
second time in six months court dates have ham
pered the de
partment. *
“There's
not going to
be anyone on
the streets to
answer calls.”
Lothian said.
Lothian
and two dep
uties will be
required to be
present dur
ing the Burke
murder trial
— a death
penalty case
— because
the defendant
is dangerous.
Lothian said.
The cho- Joe Lothian
wan County Sheriffs Department will provide one
of the two required deputies for the trial of former
Little Rascals Day Care worker Kathryn Dawn
Wilson. The case originated in Chowan County.
Perquimans County will also have a deputy in
the court room four days-a-week during the trial
which began Monday and is expected to last as
long as three months.
The situation underscores a staffing shortage
in the Perquimans County Sheriffs Department.
If deputies aren’t tied up In court, they’re
transporting prisoners or serving warrants, Lo
thian said. He said there are "more nights than I
care to let the public know” that he can’t have a
deputy on the street.
Eric V. Tilley, a deputy of five years, will re
sign from the department Nov. 18 to take a job
with the Elizabeth City Police Department, leav
ing Perquimans County with three deputies and
Lothian. Tilley had to ask the Board of Commis
sioners Monday to be paid for more than 300 va
cation hours that he was unable to take when he
wanted this year due to the short staff.
Youth petitions
for cable TV
By TRACY E. Q ERLACH
The Daily Advance __
PARKSVILLE — A Perquimans County youth,
fed up with limited television selection In the
area, has taken to the streets in a one-man pett:
tion drive for cable services.
He showed up before the Perquimans County
Board of Commissioners Monday with 295 signa
tures and a convincing speech on why cable
should be extended into the outer areas in the
county. He has been working on the petition
drive for about two months.
“This is a small county and you want it to
frow,” said Walker, a junior at Elizabeth City
tate University and a resident of Hurdletown
Road.
Commissioners voted to write another letter
to Multi-Vision Cable out of Williamston and in
clude Walker's petitions.
Other attempts to bring cable into the more
rural areas of the county have been unsuccess-'
ful.
Earlier this year, commissioners met with the
cable company but were told that the serviced
could not be extended to areas with less than 25;
houses per mile.
"We should still bombard them with letters,'1;
said Commissioner Leo A. Higgins. If the com
pany doesn’t respond, the county can look to!
other franchises, he said.
Some of the people who signed Walker’s pett- •
tkms already had cable but wanted to see othera
have the same opportunity, he said. Others who
signed, receive only a few limited channels. ,:
“There are more people in this county than to :
the city limits.” he said referring to theTbwns of;
Hertford and Wtofell. both of which have cable
services. •*
Snug Harbor also receives cable. I
Walker also expressed concerns that rest--:
dents of the newest development. Albemarle Plan-;
tation. will receive cable services before others in
the couqty who have been asking for the service:
for years.
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