March 14, 12 013165 OS/17/1996 2C PE93UIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY 110 .V ACADE'^Y ST HERTFORD "C 2794A The Perquimans Weekly 350 Vol. 64, No. 11 The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people Hertford, North Carolina 27944 PAL ART SHOW AND SALE OPENS FRIDAY ' ■ iT ' P#. ^ %■ f V7i- PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS The Perquimans Arts League will open its premiere art show and sale at the Perquimans County Library Friday with a reception from 6-8 p.m. Included among the artists partici pating in the show will be Linda Morris (above), a Perquimans County painter with a love for bold colors. Morris is a professional artist who works in acrylics in her 1830s outbuilding turned studio in Bear Swamp. The show will run through April 15. Fire destroys Hertford home Kerosene heater in bathroom likely culprit By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor A mother and seven chil dren were left homeless after fire destroyed their home on West King Street Monday evening. Firefighters responded to the call around 6:08 p.m., according to Hertford Fire Chief Sid Eley. Eley said the department was on the scene very quickly, but arrived to find the two-story frame dwelling fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters had the blaze under control in 5-10 minutes of their arrival, but Eley said it was too late to save the house and its contents. The entire downstairs and most of the upstairs of the dwelling were gutted, he said. Jacqueline Thatch and her children were the home’s occu pants. Eley said Thatch told him that one of her children told her there was smoke seep ing from under the closed bathroom door. Thatch opened the door to find flames which quickly spread. Eley said there was a kerosene heater in the bath room. His initial investigation at the scene leads him to believe that articles of clothing probably got too near the heater, erupting into flames. The chief said there were three kerosene heaters in the house and two 5-gallon cans of kerosene, all of which proba bly aided in the spread of the fire. No one was injured in the blaze. Thatch and her children are temporarily staying with Thatch’s sister, Maude Kee, at 330 Dobbs Street. The family lost all of their clothes, even leaving one child without a coat. Sizes needed include girls 14, boys 5-6 and 10-12 slim, women’s 18, misses 16 and men’s 34 pants or extra large. Shoe sizes include girls 3, boys 1 and 4, and women’s 7 1/2 and 8 1/2. The children are ages 7, 11 and 15 (boys) and 8, 9,12 and 13 (girls). Anyone wishing to con tribute clothing or household items may take them to Kee’s home. Council seconds zoning board decision By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor With very little fanfare, the Hertford Town Council approved the recommendation of the town’s zoning and plan ning board on allowing group homes in the municipality. The zoning board recom mended that group homes not be allowed in C-2 and O/I zones. The board also recom mended a definition of group homes to be added to the town’s zoning ordinance. Coimcil approved both recom mendations. The town now defines a group home as a traditional housing facility for 30 or fewer residents, licensed by the state or a nonprofit corporation chartered by the state pur suant to state statute. The facility provides room and board, personal care and reha bilitative services while peo ple receive therapy or counsel ing. Group homes may have accessory uses conducted on premises, including, but not limited to, education, occupa tional training and production of good and crafts. Group care facilities provide, to name a few, care and services for indi viduals suffering from physi cal and mental impairments, autism, and nonviolent mental illnesses as well as drug and alcohol abuse. Any entity wishing to oper ate a group home in Hertford must meet the guidelines in the definition and must request that a facility be allowed in a specific zone. The town would then turn the mat ter over to the zoning board for review. History makers PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS Veteran Lady Pirates basketball team members (left to right) Alison Boone, Stacy Caswell, Kristie Roberson and Danita Whidbee are a picture of mixed emotions just after Perquimans defeated Gates County Saturday to become the first-ever Perquimans team to earn a sectional cham pionship. Please see page 7 for complete details. Family celebrates Christmas Hearing set for Keel building By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor In July 1989, the condition of the Keel buUding at the cor ner of Grubb and Edenton Road streets was addressed in special session by the Hertford Town Council. After nearly seven years and numerous attempts to work with the building’s owners to either bring the building up to code or tear it down, a hearing on the structure’s condemnation is set for April 15, according to Hertford attorney Walter Edwards Jr. Town residents have repeat edly asked the town to take action of the building which was found in violation of building codes in 1989. Outside THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY High: Low: 60s 30s FAIR High: Low: 60s 40s MOSTLY CLOUDY High: Low: 60s 40s MOSTLY CLOUDY For Navy family, holidays mean being together - whenever that is By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor There’s no place like home for the holidays, even if the holidays come several months late. Sherry Kime of Belvidere and her four children, Bryce, Brandt, Blayne, and Shiloh, celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s without husband and father. Brad. But when Brad returned home from a 6- month Navy cruise on Feb. 24, he arrived to find the Christmas tree still up and a second holiday celebration planned for him. “It was great,” Brad said of his homecoming. “I was reaUy surprised.” Even the Kimes’ friends got into the spirit. Renee Toon and Janice Layden put up signs from Morgan’s Corner to Belvidere bearing welcome home messages complete with balloons. “It was so neat. It just made me feel so good,” Brad said. The Intelligence Specialist Chief Petty Officer has been in the U.S. Navy about 15 years. He is now stationed aboard the USS America (CV 66) home- ported in Norfolk, Va. This was his second Christmas spent away from his family. Unlike many other Navy families, however, the Kimes serve double duty. Sherry is also a 17-year Navy veteran with the rank of Yeoman 1st Class Petty Officer. The Navy has been kind to the Kimes for the most part. While both have been deployed for what they figure is about 75 percent of their marriage, one is ass^ed to shore duty while the other cruises. Their chil dren have had at least one par ent at home with them every night since 1981. - • PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS The Kime family of Belvidere celebrated Christmas in February when husband and father, Brad, returned from a six-month deployment in the U.S. Navy. The family (left to right, back) Bryce, Brandt, (seated) Blayne, Sherry, Brad and Shiloh, said it’s tough being apart, especially during the holidays, but living in friendly Perquimans County helps overcome the stresses of a two Navy member family. “The Navy has been very supportive,” Brad said. “They try to keep families together.” The prospect of not being together, as a matter of fact, caused Brad to return to civil ian life in 1984 for 18 months. He was scheduled to go to Hawaii. Sherry was assigned to Nebraska. Getting out of the Navy was a choice Brad made for his family. “Family is so important to Sherry and I. It’s everything to us,” he said. Looking for a good place to raise a family is what brought the couple to Perquimans County. They spent a lot of time looking for a community that appealed to them. When they found Perquimans, they found home. “People are really down to earth here. They’re genuine. What you see is what you get,” Brad said. The Kimes said they’ve found good friends, wonderful neighbors and a community where everyone pulls together for the common good. “We’ve been here for three years and in that time I haven’t had one bad experi ence. The people here are won derful. They are so warm and so welcoming,” Brad said. “If yoq’re from here, you might not appreciate it, but I’ve been around the globe and the people here are the best anywhere. We just fell in love with the area...the people real ly. That’s what makes Perquimans County is the quality of the people. They just embraced us and made us feel welcome.” Although being single par ents 75 percent of the time is tough. Brad said he and Sherry are best friends who believe in sharing parenting and family responsibilities. So with jobs from which they can retire in a few years, a close-knit family, and a com munity they’ve come to love, the Kimes will stay in the Navy for now, even though it means being separated often. And the homecoming cele brations will continue.

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