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
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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.
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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.