PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W. ACADEMY ST.
August 1,
12 013165 08/17/1996 20
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD NC 27944
The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 64, No. 31
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Zoning board gives nod to bed and breakfasts
By GINGER LIVINGSTON
The Daily Advance
Hertford’s board of zoning
and adjustments gave the nod
to allow the conditional use of
bread and breakfast facilities
in R-10, residential zones,
despite the protests of several
R-10 residents.
The town council has final
approval over the change and
interim Mayor Billy Winslow
said the council rarely goes
against recommendations
from the board of zoning and
adjustments. The council will
hear the issue during its next
meeting on Aug. 12.
The board of zoning and
adjustments held a public
hearing on the issue last
Privatized
garbage
collection
begins
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Garbage collection in
Hertford will change hands
next week.
Waste Industries Inc., the
company contracted by the
town to collect garbage, will
pick up for the first time next
Tuesday. Recycling pick-ups
wiU start Thursday.
Company officials spent this
week delivering 90-gallon rol-
lable refuse containers and
smaller recycling bins to
Hertford residents, according
to spokesperson Winkie
Lassiter. Lassiter said in addi
tion to the containers, the com
pany is leaving brochures on
Waste Industries’ services and
tips on recycling.
The brochures teU resdients
to place garbage in the rel
iable, curbside garbage con
tainers only. The containers
should be rolled to the curb
and placed at the edge of the
street with the handles facing
the house on Monday evening
to insure collection on
Tuesday. The containers
should not be near mailboxes,
fences, lamp posts or other
obstructions.
All normal household trash
and garbage may be placed in
the reliable containers. Waste
Industries encourages using
plastic garbage bags and hos
ing out the containers periodi
cally.
Items that cannot be placed
in the containers are dirt;
rocks or concrete; toxic or
flammable materials such as
oil, gas or paint; hot ashes;
debris from construction,
remodeling or demolition; and
any hazardous material.
One container will be pro
vided to each residence at no
charge. The containers hold
the equivalent of three or four
normal garbage cans.
Residents who regularly gen
erate more refuse than the
container will hold may pur
chase additional containers
from Waste Industries. There
is no limit on the number of
containers a household may
use; however, only the 90-gal
lon rollable carts will be ser
viced by Waste Industries.
Waste Industries encour
ages recyling through its Be
Involved Now, or BIN, pro
gram.
The town of Hertford will
continue to pick up dead ani
mals and yard waste at no
charge. There is a charge for
town pick-up of items such as
furniture and appliances.
Thursday in the town offices.
Six of the seven board mem
bers approved the recommen
dation with Bob Clinkscales
being the lone dissenter. If the
rezoning is adopted, it would
mainly impact neighborhoods
along Market and Front
streets and a portion of North
Chimch Street.
Perquimans County’s
Economic Developement
Director Robert Baker, who
said he was acting as a private
citizen, requested the zoning
change.
“It can trigger a clean-up, it
can trigger a development” of
Hertford, Baker said.
Baker said despite public
perceptions that bed and
breakfast facilities decrease
property values, an examina
tion of several properties near
bed and breakfast inns in
Edenton show astronimical
rises in property values. One
property value tripled in a
seven-year period. Rezoning
opponents said bed and break
fast facilities had little to do
with the dramatic increases in
Edenton property values.
“We’ve got to become major
players in the entire north
east,” said Sandra Smith,
Executive Director of the
Perquimans County Chamber
of Commerce. “We’ve got to
look at Hertford. This is a
dying little town. People who
stay at bed and breakfasts are
upscale travelers, they are
looking for unique lodgings.
We’ve got to take steps to be
ready for these travelers.”
Rezoning opponents said
they are not against the bed
and breakfast concept, but
believe the town, based on his
tory, will not be aggressive
enough in controlling people
who might violate the condi
tions placed on a bed and
breakfast permit.
“The purpose of a zoning
ordinance is to sustain a quali
ty of neighborhood,” Jo Ann
Morris said. “Perhaps if town
officials had been more force
ful in enforcing previous zon
ing we wouldn’t be apprehen
sive.”
Resident Brian Piontka,
who moved to Hertford from
New York, said a resident in
Meet the chancellor
The Perquimans County Chamber of
Commerce was busy last week. On
Wednesday evening, the Chamber hosted a
reception honoring ECSU Chancellor Mickey
Burnim at Aibemarie Piantation. The
Chamber’s Historic District Commission
sponsored a picnic Sunday afternoon on the
Front Street lawn of Lucille Winslow to raise
funds to establish historic districts in the
county to be included in the National
Register of Historic Places. Both events
were well-attended.
Chamber gears for Festival
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Layers of homespun fun
iced with the famous Bill Deal
and Ammon Tharp are being
cooked up by the Perquimans
County Chamber of Commerce
Indian Summer Festival
Committee.
“We want to offer so many
opportunities to people to have
fun that they won’t want to
miss Indian Summer Festival
next year,” said executive
director of the Chamber,
Sandra Smith. “Festival chair
man Paige Eure and vice
chairman Diane Stallings are
doing a wonderful job with
Indian Summer ‘96. Many of
bur members have called and
offered to help in any way they
can. With all this enthusiasm
and willingness to work, we
think this year’s festival will
be the best ever.”
Festival ‘96 wHl kick off on
Friday, Sept. 20 at Perquimans
County High School with a
barbecue supper and Miss
Indian Summer Festival
pageant.
The format for Saturday
will change from that of the
past few years. Events will
take place in historic down
town Hertford, where festival-
goers will be able to purchase
a variety of handmade crafts,
shop in the friendly atmos
phere of hometown stores, and
enjoy a wide variety of enter
tainment on the courthouse
lawn stage. Hunger pangs can
be cured at Corner Cuisine, a
Bill Deal and Ammon Tharp, the original Rhondels, will take the
stage at the Indian Summer Festival street dance on Saturday,
Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. The Virginia Beach duo boasts one of the
most popular beach music bands along the East Coast.
food court featuring treats to
delight the taste buds.
Entertainers will include the
Perquimans County High
School Marching Pirates band,
the Flatland Cloggers, local
vocalists, bands, and dance
groups.
Opening the festival down
town will be band, August,
sponsored by CableVision.
Children and teens will love
all the activities in store for
them at the Waterfront
Pavillion behind the Hertford
Town offices.
Festival events will culmi
nate with the most famous
band ever to grace an Indian
Summer Festival stage. Bill
Deal and Ammon Tharp, the
original Rhondels.
“Engaging Bill Deal and
Ammon Tharp is really a big
step for us,” Smith said. “But
our Chamber board felt that
bringing a big name group for
the street dance will show our
commitment to making the
Indian Summer Festival one of
the premiere small town festi
vals in the state. We want to
bring people from all over to
Perquimans County and let
them see for themselves what
a wonderful community this
is, and therefore, encourage
them to come back.”
Applications to rent booths
will be accepted until Aug. 10.
For applications, call the
Chamber office at 426-5657.
his former neighborhood ran a
so-called bed and breakfast.
Piontka did not say what the
business was, but said, “She
just murdered the system.”
Iris Heatherington said sev
eral times the town had tried
taking down or rezoning
homes along Market Street but
were stopped by citizen
protest. One home the town
tried rezoning was eventually
bought by Piontka, who reno
vated the house and now lives
there with his family.
Julian Winslow, who lived
near the now-defunct
Gingerbreak Inn Bed and
Breakfast, said the facility
never created problems for
him and added that several
empty houses along Market
and Front streets would bene
fit from being turned into bed
and breakfast facilities.
“I and anyone in this room
would be in favor of having a
bed and breakfast next to them
rather than the scum that lives
next to me,” Market Street res
ident Renee Skinner said.
Marge Ambrose, who fought
the town council for several
years over enforcing the zon
ing regulations impacting
Stancil’s Bi-Rite Supermarket
when it was located on Dobbs
Street, agreed with Morris that
the council and zoning board’s
history did not support
enforcement.
Council will meet in regular
session on Monday, Aug. 12 at
7:30 p.m.
2020 Coalition gets
incubator grant
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Edito
The county’s economic
development program
received a boost with the
receipt of a $65,000 grant from
Rural Economic and
Community Development, for
merly FmHA.
Perquimans 2020 Vision
Coalition submitted the suc
cessful grant application,
which will be used to help
fimd a business incubator.
According to Perquimans
Coxmty Economic Planner and
Developer Robert Baker Jr.,
the incubator project is called
Albemarle Region Incubator
and Business Enterprise, or
ARISE. Business incubators,
which have been successful in
other areas of the state, pro
vide space for several small
businesses to get a healthy
start under one roof. Incubator
occupants share expenses for
such items as copiers and com
puters.
As the business grows and
is able to operate in its own
headquarters, the business
moves from the incubator,
making room for another
small business to get its start.
Baker said.
“I’m a firm believer that the
talent does exist (in the area)
to start businesses and grow
businesses,” Baker said.
What Baker, the 2020 Vision
Coalition, and the Perquimans
County Economic
Development Commission
hope to see is an incubator in
the county’s commerce center.
With success, businesses
receiving assistance from the
incubator project could
become commerce center occu
pants, providing jobs and
expanding the local tax base.
Baker sees the incubator
project as an investment.
“If we invest in our own
people, I believe we will see a
big payoff,” Baker said.
The economic developer
said he would like to see the
approximately 500 people who
drive to Virginia to work each
day be able to get jobs locally.
“I’d like to see those people
who go to Hampton Roads to
work each day use their time
and talents here,” Baker said.
The initial grant is not
enough to cover the cost of an
incubator. A grant application
for $200,000 has also been sub
mitted to the North Carolina
Technology Development
Authority.
Baker said the state agency
has received six grant applica
tions, but he believes
Perquimans’ application has
the best chance of funding if
the legislature makes the
monies available.
Baker said he is asking
everyone with any contacts in
Raleigh to push for the coim-
ty’s funding.
“I see it (the grant) as seed
money to jump-start the com
merce center,” Baker said.
“It’s a way of getting
Perquimans County’s share of
our tax money back.”
Baker is hoping the county
can present itself well when 50
officials with the North
Carolina Department of
Commerce visit Northeastern
North Carolina in September,
along with some prospective
developers.
“It’s a great opportunity to
show off who we are and what
we have,” Baker said.
Several areas of
Perquimans County, including
the downtown area, Hertford’s
industrial park on Don Juan
Drive, the future commerce
center site and Albemarle
Plantation, will be on tour dur
ing the officials’ visit.
Baker said he would like to
see everyone work together to
clean up and fix up the county.
Pride in the county evidenced
by well-kept businesses and
homes is one thing prospective
commerce center clients con
sider when deciding where to
locate. Baker said.
Outside
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