August 29,
The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 64, No. 35
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Chamber welcomes two new businesses
County natives
come home to open
two new businesses
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
They’re back home again.
Brad Hurdle, Dabney
Woodard and Melanie
Morris, all of whom grew up
in Perquimans County, have
recently opened two new
businesses in Perquimans
County.
Hurdle and Woodard each
earned bachelors degrees in
pharmacology from the
University of North Carolina.
The two, along with
Woodard’s parents, Charles
and Harriette Woodard, have
opened Family Care
Pharmacy on Church Street
Extended.
Morris also earned her
undergraduate degree in
journalism from UNC before
going on to earn a law degree
from Campbell University.
She has opened a law practice
on the corner of Punch Alley
and Grubb Street.
The Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce spon
sored ribbon cuttings at both
enterprises last week, wel
coming the trio back home
and into the business, commu
nity.
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Perquimans County government, business
and community ieaders welcomed two new
businesses to the county last week when
the Chamber of Commerce sponsored rib
bon cuttings at both Family Care Pharmacy
Morris offers high quality
work with compassion
Fed up with city life,
local attorney moves
back to hometown
Hertford’s newest attorney
chose to leave the city and
come back home to a place
where people know each
other and care about each
other to open her law prac
tice.
After 10 years of living and
working in Washington, D.C.
and Raleigh, Morris wanted
to practice law in what she
terms “a happier environ
ment.” She chose her home
town.
The Chamber of Commerce
officially welcomed Morris to
Perquimans County’s busi
ness community last
Wednesday with a ribbon cut-
tingat her Punch Alley office.
Morris graduated from
Chowan Academy before
earning a bachelors degree in
journalism from UNC. After
taking a year off from classes
and studying, Morris pursued
her desire to become an attor
ney by enrolling in Campbell
Law School. She earned her
juris doctorate in 1986.
Her first position in the
legal field was as a clerk for
the Hon. David B. Sentelle,
who sat on the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit. She then
served as a litigator with two
large D.C. law firms before
accepting a position as in-
house counsel with Ernst and
Young. In that role, she han
dled appellate litigation
across the country. Exciting
and challenging as she found
her work, she found she was
not happy living in a large
metropolitan area.
She moved to Raleigh,
where she worked for a legal
publisher while deciding
what direction her law prac
tice would take. But she
found that Raleigh in the
1990s was too much like the
city she left for her taste. So,
she opted to come home to
her family and neighbors and
hang out her shingle.
That’s where you’ll find
Morris’ now, in her office
Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5
p.m. Because she realizes it’s
sometimes difficult for work
ing clients to meet with her
during office hours, you can
also find her there in the
evening meeting with clients
by appointment.
Morris has chosen to han
dle mainly real estate trans
actions, domestic matters and
wills and estate planning. She
said she will occasionally
deal with traffic cases and
personal injury suits, but
prefers not to handle crimi
nal defense.
Back in her hometown,
Morris said she would like to
make a name for herself as an
attorney who produces high
quality work in a timely and
compassionate manner.
Morris is the daughter of
Donald and JoAnne Morris.
PHOTOS BY SUSAN HARRIS
(above) and Melanie Morris, Attorney at Law
(beiow). Both businesses are owned by
county natives who chose to come home to
live and work after receiving coliege degrees
at the University of North Caroiina.
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...
Pharmacists team up to offer complete care
Brad Hurdle and Dabney
Woodard have shared a
counter many times over the
years. Both pharmacists got
their first taste of dispensing
medicines behind the
counter at Woodard’s
Pharmacy in Hertford under
the watchful eye of owner
Charles Woodard.
This summer, the two
young pharmacists teamed
up with Woodard’s father,
Charles, and opened Family
Care Pharmacy on Church
Street Extended. Hurdle and
Charles Woodard co-own the
business.
Customers will find much
more than prescription med
icines at Family Care
Pharmacy. The store offers
blood pressure and blood
glucose monitoring, durable
medical equipment, special
ty items for patients with
diseases such as diabetes,
and carrying cases for med
ical needs like insulin and
needles.
In addition, the pharma
cists will take time to make
sure patrons understand
how to take their medica
tions, and how changes in
lifestyle can promote overall
wellness and help control
such medical conditions as
high blood pressure.
Hurdle and Woodard
would like to develop a good
working relationship with
doctors, and that doctors will
refer patients to Family Care
because of the pharmacists’
commitment to patients’
well-being and the consulta
tion services offered through
Family Care. The two want
to reinforce the advice given
by doctors to help patients
get well and stay well.
Hurdle graduated from
Perquimans High School
before pursuing his pharma
cy degree, which he earned
in 1992. He has four years
experience in the field.
He is the son of Harlan
and Brenda Hurdle of
Belvidere.
Woodard earned her high
school diploma from
Albemarle School, formerly
Albemarle Academy, before
enrolling in UNC’s pharmacy
program. She graduated in
May.
Outside
NCHP prepares for holiday
High:
Low:
High:
Low:
High:
Low:
80s
60s
80s
60s
80s
60s
PARTLY CLOUDY
PARTLY CLOUDY
PARTLY CLOUDY
Early deadline
All Perquimans Weekly deadlines for the
September 5 issue will be Friday at 5 p.m.
We will be closed on Monday, Sept 2 for Labor Day.
The upcoming Labor Day
weekend will be the last vaca
tion of summer for many peo
ple, and the Highway Patrol
wants it to be a safe holiday.
Heavy traffic is expected, and
the Patrol wUl be out in force
to assist motorists and pursue
violators.
“Speeders and drunk dri
vers are our biggest concern,
because they cause the most
accidents,” said Colonel E.W.
Horton, commander of the
Highway Patrol. “Most of bur
citizens do a good job of obey
ing the traffic laws, but we
won’t hesitate to enforce the.
law against those who are vio
lating it.”
Recent changes in some
interstate speed limits mean
motorists should pay special
attention to how fast they’re
going. It’s easy to lose track of
your speed when you’re travel
ing long distances. The Patrol
suggests using cruise control
or taking frequent breaks.
“Of course, you should
always buckle your seat belts
and use child restraint seats,”
said Col. Horton. “And per
haps the most important rule
of aU: don’t drink and drive.”
As on all major holidays,
the Highway Patrol wUl partic
ipate in Operation C.A.R.E.
The nationwide combined
accident reduction effort by
state police and highway
patrol agencies uses high visi
bility and enforcement to
reduce accidents on our
nation’s highways. The Patrol
also continues to enforce the
Governor’s Highway Safety
Initiatives “Booze It & Lose It”
and “Click It or Ticket.”
Motorists with cellular
phones may contact the Patrol
for help or to report accidents,
drunk drivers,, speeders, etc.
by calling *HP (*47) toll free
on their cellular phones.
The Labor Day holiday
weekend period begins at 6
p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, and
ends at midnight on Monday,
Sept. 2. Last year, 10 people
were killed and 1,258 were
injured in North Carolina dur
ing the same period.
County
wetlands
restored
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The N.C. Board of
Transportation will pay a
Tarboro firm $352,115 to
restore 600 acres of wetlands
in Gates and Perquimans
counties.
Barnhill Construction was
awarded the contract which
will restore wetland on Folly
Road east of Sandy Cross.
The land was once part of
the Dismal Swamp. It was
drained and cultivated by a
private owner. NCDOT bought
the land and will restore it to
its natural condition. Work is
scheduled to begin this month.
The project is part of the
state’s agreement with the
Army Corps of Engineers to
recreate wetlands in kind
when roadways are built
through environmentally sen
sitive areas, according (o Neil
Lassiter, DOT Division
Construction Engineer in the
Elizabeth City office.
During construction, safe
guard will be taken to protect
small streams and wetlands
from contamination by soil or
construction materials. Grass
will be planted to cover bare
ground caused by construc
tion.
Work on the project should
be complete in December.
Rain didn’t
wash away
success of
picnic
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Rain didn’t drench the
efforts of the Perquimans
County Historical Commission
to soak up funds for historic
preservation in the county.
Although the drizzly
Sunday afternoon weather
kept many away from the
Commission’s first annual
fundraiser last month, the
group realized a profit of over
$4,000.
The proceeds wUl be used to
apply for a matching grant to
hire an historic archives con
sultant. The consultant will
work to place several
Perquimans County communi
ties on the National Register of
Historic Places.
Working as a committee of
the Chamber of Commerce, the
Commission’s objectives are
multi-faceted. Goals for the
project include building pride
in the county, preserving the
county’s most endangered and
valuable homes for heritage,
improving the quality of life,
providing potential benefits to
homeowners, and promoting
tourism.
The commission is not seek
ing to restrict property rights
of landowners through the ini
tiative.
Despite the rain, those who
attended the picnic hosted by
Lucille Winslow at her Front
Street home overlooking the
river enjoyed fun, food and
entertainment. Partygoers
enjoyed a gouret meal, danc
ing to the jazz and blues tunes
of The Walter Plemmer Band,
and an evening riverboat
cruise.