March 7,
013165 08/17/1996 20
12 rnilWTY library
PEROUII-ANS COUNTY
■no N
^ERT^ORD t'JC
The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 64, No. 10
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Residents oppose group home
Planning board
denies request
allowing facility
By GINGER LIVINGSTON
The Daily Advance and
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
There will be no group
homes allowed in Hertford’s C-
2 (commercial) and
office/institutional zones if the
Hertford Town Council
accepts the recommendation
of the town’s planning and
zoning board.
The recommendation came
on a 5-2 vote at the end of a
two-hour, intense, often mean-
spirited, public hearing
attended by well over 100 peo
ple at the county courthouse
last Tuesday night..
Now the matter rests with
the Hertford Town Council.
That board will discuss the
issue at its regular monthly
meeting on March 11 at 7:30
p.m. It is unlikely that the
council will throw out the
planning board’s recommen
dation, based on recent histo
ry.
The decision wasn’t a com
plete victory for the oppo
nents, however. While the
board’s vote, with council’s
blessing, will keep group
homes out of C-2 and 0/1
County
gets WWII
medal
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Perquimans County
received what might have
been the only award of its kind
Monday.
On behalf of the national
Veterans of Underage Military
Service, Jack Hoffier present
ed the county commissioners
with a 50th Anniversary of
World War II Commemorative
Medal. The award was accept
ed for the county by commis
sioner Charles Skinner.
Skinner praised Hoffler’s
efforts last year, when he
brought national figures to
Perquimans County for a com
memorative Flag Day celebra
tion at Perquimans High
School.
Skinner credited Hoffier
with having the contacts nec
essary to cut through military
red tape and secure represen
tatives from all branches of
the armed forces for the cele
bration.
Hoffier said he did not know
of another county that had
received a medal.
zones, it will not automatically
block requests for those facili
ties in other zones. A request
to allow group homes in anoth
er zone would be forwarded to
the planning board for review.
The public hearing was
scheduled in response to a
request to add group care facil
ities on Sunrise Lane, the
street connecting Grubb Street
Extended and Don Juan Road.
The advertisement for the
hearing stated that the board
wouid consider adding group
care facilities to the use dis
trict and permit their use in C-
2 and O/I zones.
The meeting was also sched
uled to add the definition of a
group care facility to the
town’s zoning ordinances.
Just prior to the hearing,
Hertford officials discovered
an error on their zoning map.
The property advertised for
the hearing was chosen in part
because it was zoned commer
cial on the map. It turns out,
however, that the house lot is
zoned agricultural/residential,
according to town manager
John Christensen. Even
though the Sunrise Lane site
could no longer be considered
for a group home at the hear
ing, the planning board still
debated whether group homes
should be allowed in the C-2
and O/I zones.
The Criminal Justice
Partnership, a subagency of
sil
li
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
The old courtroom in Perquimans County overflowed with
county residents during iast Tuesday evening’s pubiic hearing
and joint meeting of the Hertford Pianning and Zoning Board
and the Town Council. The planning board was asked to amend
its zoning ordinances to allow group homes in two of the
town’s commercial zones. The board recommended that the
town council not approve the request.
the Albemarle Commission,
had asked FIRST (Forsyth
Initiative for Residential Self-
Help Treatment) to operate a
two-year residential drug
treatment program in its six-
county area. Albemarle
Commission Assistant
Director Dick George said the
proposed site on Sunrise Lane
came closest to meeting
FIRST’S requirements.
FIRST program directors
Steve Young and Mary
Hogden, both recovering
addicts themselves, were invit
ed to attend the hearing to
explain their program.
FIRST is a non-profit orga
nization operating a two-year
treatment program. Residents
take educational courses,
learn job skills and work on
beating their addiction during
the time. The organization
operates its own businesses in
Forsyth County and other
areas to provide jobs for resi
CELEBRATION/ M.B. Taylor Day
'mm
Children waited along Dobbs Street duirng
Monday’s M.B. Taylor Day parade to waive
at Dr. Taylor. The parade featured the
Perquimans High School Marching Pirates,
representatives of area churches, town offi
cials and a Hertford fire truck. The celebra-
PHOTO BY BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN, THE DAILY ADVANCE
tion climaxed with a banquet at the high
school with guest speaker the Right
Reverence Clarence Carr, presiding bishop
of the second Episcopal District, African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church of St.
Louis, Missouri.
Phillips named acting tax assessor
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Veteran Perquimans
County Tax Department
employee Cheryl Phillips was
named acting tax assessor and
tax collector Monday by the
board of county commission
ers.
Phillips has been fulfilling
the duties of both tax assessor
and collector since former tax
administrator Tony Jordan
resigned in October.
According to county attor
ney John Matthews, state law
required that the county
appoint someone to fill the
position of tax assessor in the
event of resignation or retire
ment through the end of the
previous assessor’s term. The
appointee is named acting tax
assessor. Jordan’s term ends
Aug. 1,1997.
In small counties like
Perquimans that employ one
person to fill both tax assessor
and tax collector posts, the
combined position is known as
tax administrator.
The commissioners praised
Phillips’ work since asssum-
ing Jordan’s duties. She and
her staff were credited with
reorganizing the department
resulting in more efficient
organization.
Work in the tax department
is running behind however,
because no one was hired to
fill Phillips’ position when she
assumed Jordan’s duties.
November-March is the
department’s busiest time of
the year, and Phillips told
commissioners there are 216
hours of compensatory time
now on the books as a result of
being short-handed. The com
missioners authorized imme
diate advertising for a clerk.
While commissioners told
Phillips that help with the
back-log was on the way, they
seemed surprised by Phillips’
request for a pay increase to
accompany her increased
responsibility and state train
ing requirements. (Phillips
must earn state certification
as a tax assessor).
The problem seemed to be
the facttliat Phillips is making
$2,500 more per year than
Jordan was due to her 20 years
with the department.
Commissioners chairman
Mack Nixon said the board
will review budget figures and
consider Phillips’ request at
its AprU meeting.
dents and help sustain it finan
cially. FIRST wants to operate
a 10-12 bed facility in the
region.
The program does not
accept violent or sex offenders,
according to Young and
Hogden. While the courts can
sentence people to the pro
gram, FIRST has the right to
reject anyone they deem
unsuitable.
Hogden said residents come
to FIRST after completing a
drug detox program. They can
not use drugs like methadone
to cope with their addictions.
FIRST officials began meet
ing with the partnership about
nine months ago to discuss the
program. As a good faith ges
ture, they accepted eight area
residents into their program.
Young said. Two are from
Perquimans County.
Residents who spoke
against the group home cited
reasons for their opposition
such as bringing a bad element
into a community already
struggling with a drug prob
lem and taking local jobs.
Young said FIRST’S work pro
gram is self-contained.
Some of the comments at
the hearing were personal.
One attendee referred to the
recovering addicts as “drug
gies;” another questioned the
quality of the directors’ cloth
ing.
Misinformation could also
have been a factor in the oppo
sition to FIRST. Although
FIRST stated a desire to oper
ate a 10-12 bed facility, word on
printed materials circulated
throughout the county stated
that the program wanted to
bring 30 recovering addicts to
the county.
Some county residents
called The Perquimans
Weekly prior to the hearing
and called the facility “a
prison without bars.” Callers
said the residents would be
allowed to roam freely and
would take jobs away from
county businesses. Callers
were opposed to locating the
facility near Brian Center,
Miller and Meads Mobile
Home Park and the Riverwood
subdivision. Some feared prop
erty devaluation if the home
were to be located in their
neighborhood.
While the planning board
turned down the request, at
least two members said they
are not totally against allow
ing a group facility in
Hertford. Board chairman
Carlton Davenport said a
group home could operate
under a conditional use per
mit. Member Bob Clinkscales
said there was support at the
hearing from some people for a
group facility. He wondered if
education about treatment
programs would change the
minds of opponents.
Students go on
Odyssey of Mind
PCHS filled with
competitors
Saturday
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
All six Perquimans County
Odyssey of the Mind teams
earned the right to compete in
the state competition in April
at the Coastal Regional OM
Tournament hosted by
Perquimans County Saturday
at the high school.
OM is designed to enhance
the creative development of
students by promoting prob
lem solving, team effort, perse
verance and sportsmanship.
The long-term competition
requires students to work as a
team to complete several tasks
ranging from building a mov
ing vehicle or structure that
supports bUliard balls to writ
ing poems to performing plays.
Students must also compete
in a spontaneous category.
Team members enter a room
with only the judges and are
given a problem they must
solve together quickly. They
do not know what the problem
will be until they enter the
room.
Over 40 teams from as far
away as New Hanover County
traveled to Perquimans for the
tournament. Teams competed
in three age divisions in five
problem categories. The first
and second place team in each
division in each problem cate
gory earned the right to com
pete at the state level at UNC-
Charlotte on AprU 12-13.
Perquimans has been
involved in OM for seven
years; however, this was the
first time the county has host
ed the tournament.
“Was was just thrilled with
the tournament,” said co-direc
tor Jeanie Umphlett.
“Everyone worked together so
well. We got compliments from
OM officials, coaches and par
ents from across the region on
our nice, clean school and
organization.”
Suzy Swindell co-chaired
the tournament.
Perquimans earned first
place in the balsa wood struc
ture problem in all three age
divisions. The high school
team took second place in the
invention problem. Central
Schools’ team earned the sec
ond spot in the Classics prob
lem. In the tall tales competi
tion, the middle school
claimed second place.
AU Perquimans coaches are
parent volimteers.
Outside
THURSDAY
t
High; Low;
60s 40s
CHANCE OF RAIN
FRIDAY
High; Low;
50s 40s
BREEZY, CLOUDY
WilMifitn
f*
High; Low;
40s 30s
COLD AND DRY