V
Volume 62, No. 40
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, December 23, 1993
35 Cents
Companies
must give
parents
eave
By QINQER LIVINGSTON
Dally Advance staff writer
Working parents who need
time to attend their children's
school functions now have that
right.
Starting this month. North
Carolina businesses are required
to give their employees at least
four hours of school involvement
leave per year. Education leaders
think the leave could mean big
returns for parents and children
since parent involvement is im
portant a child's success in
school.
The new law was adopted by
the General Assembly this sum
mer. State employees, will be
granted eight hours leave per
year.
The leave must be at a mu
tually agreed upon time between
the employer and employee. Em
ployers also have the option of
making the leave paid or unpaid.
“As their child’s first teach
ers, parents play a very impor
tant role in ensuring success in
school,” Bob Etheridge, state su
perintendent of public instruc
tion. stated in a news release
explaining the leave policy. “ I
believe that parents are the key
to better schools. But, parents
need help in being supportive
and doing the kinds of things
they must do to help their chil
dren.”
Officials with local industries
support the concept of parent in
volvement in school. However,
many do not like the idea of it
being mandated by the state.
“I kind of resent the govern
ment having to mandate some
thing that common sense and
common decency would tell you
to do." said Mac Hux Jr., plant
manager at George C. Moore
Company in Edenton.
George C. Moore employees
can take leave whenever they
need to visit to their children's
school, Hux said.
Carl Terranova, president of
Apricot Inc., a sportswear man
ufacturing industry, said his
company has always allowed its
employees to take leave for their
children’s school activities.
"We have a lot of women with
younger children working for
us." he said. "There are some
times, like the first day of school,
that you have got to expect them
to take some time. As an em
ployer you have a moral obliga
tion to your people."
Some employers wonder why
the state needed to mandate
school involvement leave.
“Businesses that can’t afford
to give their employees four
hours a year.” Terrancrva said.
“There’s something wrong.”
United Piece Dye Works LP.,
a Chowan County industry, also
Srovides leave time to employees.
[owever, the industry, “does not
support nor condone government
mandated regulations that dic
tate," the operation of their in
dustry, said Marshall Kearns,
director of human relations.
Kearns feels the state passed
the law to give teeth to its call to
get parents involved in their
child’s education. He thinks it
might give reluctant employees
. permission to ask for leave.
“Any business that has any
foresight in die future and its
employees will grant leave." he
said. “These (children) are the
employees they will get tomor
row." f ,f
Educators are excited and
encouraged by the law. . ■'
, One-on-one conversations al
low parents and teachers to com
municate on a different level,
said Dr. Randall Henion. super
intendent of Perquimans County
Schools. He said this commu
nication almost always has a
positive impact on the student..,:;S
V •• . , \ ■ ■ ' ... ... : • . \;
• • " V ' ■ '■ ■ ■ ■ • ■ ■ ■ ,.v
Winter wonderland
Holiday visitors of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Chappell are treated
to a winter wonderland under the Christmas tree. Mrs. Chap
pell spent 15 years making and collecting a ceramic holiday
village complete with every accessory you would expect to
find in a country landscape. It stretches out for 12 feet
across the end of her living room and is bordered by a split
rail fence. When lit, the scene is amazing. (Photo courtesy
Nancy Chappell)
Chappell creates ceramic
winter wonderland
Virginia Chappell has a
beautiful Christmas tree In
her living room. The problem
is, folks are so taken by Mrs.
Chappell’s elaborate ceramic
village surrounding the
evergreen, it’s hard to
remember there’s even a
Christmas tree there.
me village sireicnes across a iz-iooi
room and is approximately 4.5 feet wide.
Inside a split-rail fence are roads, stores,
churches, houses, snowmen, carolers,
farms, ponds, street lights, snow-topped
trees, a mill, even a train sitting atop a
bridge.
Mrs. Chappell has no idea how many
pieces she has under her tree. They've just
added up over the past 15 years. But sne
knows how much a part other family’s
holiday tradition the growing ceramic
village has become.
“It’s myhusband's Christmas,” Mrs.
Chappell said. "He and my children look
forward to seeing it every year.”
Mrs. Chappell started making ceramics
ixl 1977 v'hen her doctor suggested she
take up a hobby. She’s enjoyed the craft off
and on since that time, accumulating more
and more pieces as time went by.
A church with stained glass windows
was one of the first items she made. She’s
see pieces she liked in catalogues and craft
shows, and if she couldn't find the
greenware to paint, she learned to alter the
greenware to make what she wanted. For
Instance, one of Mrs. Chappell’s Victorian
houses was a haunted house before she
went to work on it, taking a coffin off the
front and replacing Halloween items in the
windows with Christmas symbols.
Making all the ceramics was a breeze
compared to setting up the village every
year, Mrs. Chappell said. After putting up
her Christmas tree, she strings white lights
across the floor around the tree. Next
comes the fluffy cotton over the lights.
Then she begins setting up the buildings
and figures, pulling lights up through the
cotton layer to shine through the windows
of the buildings. There are
roads weaving throughout the
village, with dny toy cars and
trucks making their way along
the by-ways. A mirror under
the train trestle reflects light
just like a slick river at night.
Mrs. Chappell said before
her arthritis started bothering
her, she even used to make little footprints
In the snow around the park, complete
with a slide and park benches. With
arthritis taking its toll, family members
now help set up the elaborate Christmas
village.
She might think about leaving the
village packed up next year, but it’s evident
from the smile on Mrs. Chappell's face as
she remembers making each piece that the
village is veiy much a part of her holiday
tradition. The safe bet is that every.
Christmas will find Mrs. Chappell - or
someone under her direction - crouched on
the floor setting up the village, and
continuing to make holiday memories.
“It's my husband’s Christmas. He and my
children look forward to seeing it every year."
Virginia Chappell
Offices,
banks close
for holidays
Christmas is coming
soon...only one more day before
Santa arrives.
Holidays mean time off from
work and office closings. Follow
ing is a brief run-down on govern
ment and financial institution
holiday schedules.
Perquimans County - All non
emergency departments will be
closed on Friday. Dec. 24 and
Monday. Dec. 27.
Town of Hertford - Offices will
be closed on Friday. Dec. 24 and
Monday. Dec. 27.
Garbage pick-up will follow
the regular schedule.
Town of Winfall - Offices will
be closed on Friday, Dec. 24.
Emergency calls to any county
or municipal department should
be made to the county dispatch
department at 426-5751.
Perquimans County students
will be on holiday break until
classes resume on Monday, Jan.
3.
Hertford Savings Bank will
close at 1 p.m. on Friday. Dec. 24
and re-open on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
NationsBank and Centura Bank
will stay open until 6 p.m. on
Thursday, Dec. 23, close at 2
p.m. on Friday, Dec. 24 and will
be closed all day on Monday,
Dec. 27.
Inside
Sports
Page 3
Next week
Sisters celebrate
special Christmas
THE
PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY
DEADUNES
• News Release
Monday - 3:00 p.m.
• Advertising
Monday - 3:00 p.m.
Conservation district wins national award
Thei Albemarle Soil & Water
Conservation District was hon
ored as a Grand Award District
in the 46th annual Conservation
Awards Program sponsored by
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Company and National Associa
tion of Conservation Districts.
Floyd Mathews of Hertford
represented the district during a
work/study program for award
winners Dec. 2-5 in Scottsdale,
Albemarle was one of only 49
local conservation dlsrlcts across
the country chosen as grand
award winners based an 1992
achievements. Nearly 3,000 soil
and water conservation district
nationwide were eligible for the
award.
*■ The Albemarle District, with
offices in Perquimans. Chowan.
Pasquotank, Currituck and Cam
den counties, emphasizes con
serving soil and water resources
and protecting the environment
Since 1947, the Goodyear
/NACD Conservation Awards
Program has encouraged and re
warded local eilorts to protect
and conserve soil, water, forests.
wildlife and other natural re
sources. Winning districts are se
lected on the basis of their
success In developing and imple
menting an annual plan for de
livering district programs and
services.
“The success of conservation
districts Is vital to the protection
of our country’s natural re
sources.” said Goodyear’s David
Fulton, director of the Conserva
tion Awards Program. “This prpr
gram assists local districts In:
their efforts to Serve the commu
nity and recognizes those that
have done an outstanding Job of
delivering quality conservation
progams and services."
The Albemarle District will
receive a plaque recognizing Its
accomplishment at the North
Carolina Association of Soil and
Water Conservation Districts an
nual meeting Jan. 2-4 in Raleigh.
Also on tap during the meet
ing is the 50th anniversary cele
bration of the North Carolina Soil
and Water Conservation Dis
tricts. The first soil and water
conservation district in the world
was the Brown Creek District in
Anson .County, North Carolina,
formed in 1937. Governor Jim
Hunt will deliver an address dur
ing the conference.
The North Carolina Associa
tion of Soil and Water Conserva
tion Districts was formed in
1944. Programs of the Associa
tion are carried out tty 488 Dis
trict Supervisors. Each county is
represented tty a district
Supervisors work with farm
#prs and landowner^ an the Agri
i culture Cost-Share Program on
v Nonpoint Source Pollution arm
ways to control erosion, nutri
ents. animal wastes and pesti
cides.
District are also responsible
for developing annual and long
range plans of conservation and
resource development, using
funds from both public and pri
vate sources. *
The districts are supported
tty the Division of Soil and Water
Conservation in die Department
of Environment, Health and Nat
ural Resources.
The Albemarle District cele
brated its 50th anniversary ear
lier this year.
Floyd Matthews of Perquimans County accepted a national
conservation award on behalf of the Albemarle Soil and Water
Conservation Service. The local unit was one of only 49 in the
country tpjreceive hdnors. (Submitted photo)
'.si-*