North Carolina Newspapers

THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY Volume 62, No. 28 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thuradey^ugustjiiflj'IQM 35 Cents White's Barbecue wins men’s softball ournament: Pago 3 Winfall requests sanitary survey Winfall residents are hosting visitors this week. The North Carolina Rural Communities Assistance Project Inc. is conducting a sanitary sur vey of residences and businesses in Winfall. Residents will be asked questions relating to their water and sewer services to see if there is a need for a sewer sys tem in the town. All answers will be kept confidential. The town of Winfall requested the study, which is being per formed free of charge by the statewide nonprofit rural assis tance group. Conducting the survey are Barbara Harrell, a VISTA volun teer, and Peter Kittany, associate director of N.C. Rural Commu nities Assistance Project Funds for the survey are provided through the project’s Technitrain program, which is supported fay -the Farmers Home Administra tion, and in-kind support from ACTION, the federal domestic volunteer agency, and Economic Improvement Council Inc. Questions concerning the survey should be addressed to the Hon. Fred Yates, Town Coun cil, Town of Winfall. 426-7425; Ms. June Britt, community serv ices coordinator of Economic Im provement Council Ipc., Perquimans County Office, 426 7868; Barbara Harrell, Rural Communities Assistance Project VISTA volunteer, 357-0555; or Peter Kittany or Stephen Dear, Rural Communities Assistance Project staff, (919)542-7227. Farmers may get drought relief funds There may be some relief in sight for Perquimans County fanners whose crops were dam aged by the summer's long dry spell. Federal disaster assistance is available to county farmers who have suffered drought-related crop losses according to Thomas L. Riddick, county executive di rector of the Agricultural Stabili zation and Conservation Service, and Melvin Howell, county su pervisor of the Farmers Home Administration. FmHA’s disaster emergency loans were authorized on Aug. 10 - tty Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy in response to a request by Governor Jim Hunt. ASCS disas ter payments were made avail able when President Clinton signed disaster assistance legis lation passed by Congress re cently. The Emergency Feed, Emergency Feed Assistance. Conservation Reserve and Acre age Conservation programs may also provide additional assis tance through ASCS in some areas of the state based upon the need for these types of assis tance. Producers who have suffered losses to their crops and/or live stock should contact the ASCS and FmHA offices to find out de tails of how the agencies can be of service, Riddick and Howell said. “Secretary Espy has asked all; USDA employees to provide timely and responsive service to their forming constituency," Rid ; dick said. "We aregolng to do all we can to show our formers that the Team USDA* is working well in our area," Howell added. '.fa Both agencies plan to make every effort to get the best infor- ?. matlon and the most disaster re lief possible for farmers in Perquimans County. , 2 Application sign-up periods for ASCS services will be an nounced soon. FmHA can receive emergency loan applications how. but farmers will have until Summer learning Some Perquimans High School students had the opportunity to learn more about technology and how it affects their lives in a special vocational summer school program. Colorful projects like the one above detailed what the students learned during the three week course. (Photo by Susan Harris) PCMS students’ vacation extended Middle school starts Monday due to construction delays Perquimans Middle School students added two more days to their summer vacations due to construction delays at the school. Schools superintendent Ran dall L. Henion said Monday that his concern about the students' safety, the need to have the school cleaned well before the students return and time to have all furniture moved back into place prompted him to delay the opening. Teachers reported back as scheduled, but students will not check in until Monday, Aug. 30. Hertford Grammar, Perqui mans Central and Perquimans High school students were not affected by the delay. The middle school project was thrown about 10 days be hind schedule when workmen accidently cut into contained as 1 bestos at the site. Once the as bestos was uncontained, all work crews were required by law to vacate the building for testing, and to remain off the premises until repair work was done. Henion said when work crews returned to the middle school, every effort was made to get back on schedule, but he felt a delay was better than risking the safety of any of the school’s students. Subcontractors, schools maintenance personnel, teaching staff and even parents have worked to get the renovated fa cility back in order for students. The renovations were made possible by over $2 million in critical facilities needs funds from the state. Chief Lane helps Winfall residents feel safe By SUSAN R. HARRIS EdHor __' Anna Newton smiles and hugs the uniformed officer who stops In to chat with her. While many people are a little unconfortable when law enforcement officers stop by their houses. Newton and. many other Winfall residents welcome Winfall Police Chief David Lane. Lane initiated a program in June designed to help wid owed and elderly residents feel safer. He Introduced himself to the residents, gave them safety tips and pro vided them with his home telephone number with in structions to call him day or night if they need to. The chief asks residents to let him know when they'll be out of town so he can check on their homes. The program is popular, according to resi dents. “I was real thrilled to know that we had someone looking out for us,” Newton said. “It’s nice to know. I know that I can call him any time and he’ll be here. We’ve never had this kind of attention before. “When you live alone, it’s just a different ballgame,” she added. Newton said she feels safer knowing that Lane is keeping an eye out for her. She said the response from resi dents she has spoken with has been overwhelmingly positive. Lane said when he began patrolling Winfall in March alter taking his Basic Law Enforce ment Training, he started meet ing people and talking with him. tie realized that there were a lot of elderly residents in Win fall, and a lot of people living alone. Wanting to provide good service. Lane began visiting the residents’ homes once or twice each week. Through the pro gram, he has learned where people live, if they have health problems and a little more about them. . i “The more I know, the more help I can be" in an emergency situation. Laffe said. Lane and Newton laugh when they remember the occa sion when Lane was concerned about Newton’s safety. Spotting a strange car in her yard and seeing no signs of movement in the nouse. Lane stopped by Newton’s place of employment, casually asking what Newton was up to since she waSft't at work. Her co-workers told him that her sister was visiting from i—ihm it -m\ mtmm—aEl Winfali Police Chief David Lane stops to chat with Winfall resident Anna Newton. Lane’s program tefttovide per sonal service to residents has Newton arm her friends singing his praises. (Photo by Susan Harris) out of town. The strange car ex plained, Lane went on to his next order of business. Newton said she didn’t feel Lane “checking up” on her was an Invasion of privacy. It made her feel even safer to Know that he was looking out for her eyen . when she didn’t know it “It makes me fed safer," she said. Knowing someone is watch ing out for their mother has made Newton’s children more relaxed, too. Newton said. Although Newton has not needed to call Lane, she said she would not hesitate to dial his number if she needed him. The people who live In New ton’s neighborhood are like a family, she said, and they try to look out for each other. What they have is sort of like an unofficial community watch, and Newton said Lane’s efforts have just added to the feeling of security. ' Even when he Is not on duty. Lane has hdped commu nity residents. Winfall ABC store employee Patsy Sawyer said Lane comes out each night at 9 o’clock when the store doses to make sure the em payees get to their cars safely. “There’s just not many peo ple that are going to do that," Sawyer said. Sawyer said the Windsor 0e-Lo murders had made em ployees nervous about leaving the store. She asked Lane to come to the store a couple of times at closing time. Now he's always there, a service that Sa wyer said has eased her fear of leaving the store after dark. The bottom line for Lane is providing good service to Win fall. "I think the citizens of this community deserve as much protection as they can get,” Lane said of the program. He said the feedback has been positive. “I even had a man I didn't know stop me on the street and say, 'Chief, thank you for looking after my mother,' ” Lane said. Lane plans to hold classes on home security and imple ment community watch pro grams. In the meantime, his tele phone number beside the tele phone is easing the minds of a lot ofWinfall residents. Safety tips Lane advises residents in die town 1m serves on home se curity and safety measures. Al though the tips are especially important for those who Uve alone. Lane said everyone can benefit ffbm implementing some of these policies. His recommendations in clude: • Check your yard for dark areas which provide convenient hiding places for prowlers. Se curity tights or motion lights might be placed in those areas. • Keep your doors locked, even during the day when you are at home. • Don't answer a knock on the door, especially if you are alone at night Try to find an angle in your home from where you can look to Identify the caller. • Install deadbolt locks on door. • Keep your windows locked and Install window pins so they cannot be opened enough to allow someone to crawl through. • Make sure locks on doors and windows are placed so that an intruder cannot break the glass and unlock the door or window. • Don't leave keys outside. Someone who wants to break in your home probably knows where to look to find keys. • Stop newspaper delivery and have someone collect your mail if you’re going to be gone. • Put timers on lamps an d/or other appliances in your home. Reset them so that there is not a regular pattern every time you leave home. • Don’t identify yourself to a telephone caller. • Don't identify yourself on an answering machine. The message should say, “I can't come to the phone right now,” not “There’s no one home.” • Be wary of telephone sur veys. • Always lock your car even when it’s parked in your yard. • Glimpse in the back seat before entering your car. • Always park In well lighted areas. • Make sure the path from your car to your door is well lighted. • Have a telephone in stalled in your bedroom. • If you return to your home and fed that someone may be in your home, leave im mediately and call the appropri ate law enforcement agency. Do not return until officers have checked your home thoroughly and tell you it’s safe to go back. Dyson joins extension By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editof Why won’t my roses bloom? What type of grass would be best for my yard? How can I get rid of the fungus on my vegetables? These questions and other horticultural queries can proba bly be answered by Tom Dyson, the tri-county extension agent who specializes in horticulture. Dyson assists homeowners and commercial growers in Perqui mans, Gates and Chowan coun ties with a host of horticulture services. Dyson signed on with exten sion in June, after earning both bachelors and masters degrees in horticulture at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. His work with a lawn care company sparked an interest in horticulture. Dyson’s work will focus on grass, landscape ornamentals and vegetable crops. He said he is always on hand to advise those who need him about green houses. Insects, diseases, land scaping and other areas. If he doesn't know the answer to a problem or question, he said the extensive information available through the North Carolina Co operative Extension Service re sources will make it possible for him to find an answer. For tough insect and disease problems, samples can be sent to the test clinic in Raleigh for help with treatment options. Dyson said he loves working with people, and can't wait to meet people in Perquimans. As part of his public education pro gram, he will be submitting reg ular columns for publication in The Perquimans Weekly. Dyson is in the Perquimans office on Tuesdays, but said he is always available by telephone. He can also make arrangements to meet those who need assis tance on other days. Wash and refill pop tq It-ftavared drink bottles ess and wae when trawsl Submitted t iiijda Ood&e