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The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 64, No. 39
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Registration
deadline for
Nov. election
i
draws near
Registration
books close Oct. 11
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
It’s the day 18th-century
colonists fought and died to
bring about. It’s election day
and it’s coming soon.
Election
A
Your Vote Counts
Lady hurricanes still causing trouble
Bertha and Fran
are gone, but not
forgotten here
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Bertha and Fran are long
gone. Or are they?
A downed power line that
put Hertford residents in the
dark Sunday morning may
have been a result of belated
damage by the two hurricanes
that blew through Perquimans
weeks ago.
Hertford Town Manager
John Christensen said
Monday that a tree limb fell on
a North Carolina Power elec
tric line at the intersection of
Ballahack Road and Edenton
Road Street around 6:10
Sunday morning, burning the
line into. The whole town was
without power for almost two
hours, Christensen said.
The line was reportedly
throwing sparks and was
smoking, Cliristensen said.
With no power, the
Perquimans County dispatch
er called Hertford Fire Chief
Sid Eley by phone. Eley in
turn used the fire department
radios to summon firefighters
to the scene.
Christensen said the two
storms weakened tree limbs
and tree root systems.
Sunday’s downed limb could
have been damaged by the
storms, but not fallen immedi
ately, Christensen said.
In another strange twist of
fate, it may have been the hur
ricanes that compounded
Sunday’s problem,
Christensen said. 'The town
lost power on Sept. 17 when a
tree weakened by the storms
fell on North Carolina Power’s
feeder line in a swampy area
northwest of Hertford. North
Carolina Power opted to
switch Hertford’s feed to the
south of town at that time.
Ironically, it was that feed that
knocked out Hertford’s elec
tric power on Sunday.
The Sept. 17 outage played
havoc with the local school
system. The town lost power
around 2 a.m. Knowing that
crews were working on the
problem, school officials opted
to roll the buses on Tuesday
morning.
Dr. Randall Henion, schools
superintendent, said he
remained in contact with elec
tric officials throughout the
morning. As buses began to
arrive at the schools, students
at Perquimans High School
and Hertford Grammar School
were held on the buses
because neither school had
electricity.
Around 8 a.m., power com
pany officials told Henion that
because the line was located in
a swampy, hard to reach area,
it could be several hours
before power was restored.
The decision was made to
close the schools, and students
were sent home. A few min
utes later, the power was
restored, at least two hours
earlier than power company
officials initially estimated.
Students will make the day
up on Oct. 14.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters
in Perquimans County wiU
make decisions impacting
county, state and federal gov
ernment. Some ballot items
include:
• 3 county commissioners
• register of deeds
• goverrnor
• lieutenant governor
• president
• state legislators
• federal legislators
• judges
• state bond referendum
The Perquimans Weekly
will focus on local races, the
state bond referendum and
voter information during the
month of October to help the
community make informed
choices in the voting booth on
Nov. 5.
Registered voters in
Perquimans County may vote
in their precincts, 6:30 a.m.-
7:30 p.m., on election day.
Precincts in Perquimans
County are Belvidere, Bethel,
East Hertford, West Hertford,
New Hope, Nicanor, and
Parksville. Polling places for
the precincts are Belvidere
Community Building, Bethel
Community Building (Ruritan
BuUding), Perquimans County
Courthouse (main building),
Hertford Grammar School
(library), Durants Neck
Ruritan Building, Whiteston
Community Building, and
Parksville Ruritan Building
(Winfall), respectively.
The registration books for
the Nov. 5 general election
close on Oct. 11. All county res
idents who are not registered
must register by Oct. 11 in
order to he eligible to vote in
the election. Registered voters
who have moved from one
precinct to another should
visit the elections office to
update their registration.
Registered voters who will
be out of town the entire time
the polls are open on election
day may One Stop Vote at the
elections office between Oct. 14
and Nov. 1.
Any registered voter who
cannot go to the polls on elec
tion day due to disability or ill
ness may apply for an absentee
ballot in person or in writing
through Oct. 29.
The Perquimans County
Board of Elections office is
located in the county office
building on Edenton Road
Street (extension building).
Hours are Monday,
Wednesday and Friday, 8:30
a.m.-12:30 p.m. The telephone
number is 426-5598. The local
elections supervisor is Eula
Forbes.
GOP opens
local
headquarters
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
It took them five months to
turn a brainstorm into a
headquarters.
The Perquimans County
Republican Party decided
last April to open a party
office in preparation for the
1996 general election. But
finding an affordable build
ing in a good location proved
difficult for the party com
mittee assigned to the task.
Finally, “at the eleventh
hour,” according to party
chairman Bobby Jones, Pete
Perry negotiated a deal with
Joseph Perry, the owner of
an empty house at 118 W.
Grubb Street in Hertford. An
agreement was reached, and
within two days, Republican
volunteers were replacing
broken windows, power
washing the exterior, cutting
down overgrown bushes, and
applying paint both inside
and out.
A week later, on Sept. 27,
the Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce spon
sored a ribbon cutting to offi-
cicdly open the headquarters.
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
The Perquimans County Republican Party
opened a headquarters on Grubb Street in
Hertford in preparation of the 1996 general
election on Nov. 5. A ribbon cutting was
sponsored by the PerquimaCounty Chamber
of Commerce.
“We’re here and open for
business,” Jones said. “We’re
really grateful to Pete Perry
and Joseph Perry.”
The Republicans had sev
eral reasons for opening a
headquarters, according to
Jones. Their first goal is to
register voters before the
Oct. 11 voter registration
deadline.
Then they will begin a
campaign to seek support for
Republican candidates, and
for Bert Hayes, who is run
ning unaffiliated for county
commissioner with the back
ing of the local Republican
party.
Ultimately the
Republicans would like to see
a strong two-party system in
the county.
“We hope to have a two-
party system in tl^ county,”
Jones said. “WeHhink it’s
healthy for the area and the
state. Both sides should be
presented so people have a
choice.”
Any unregistered
Perquimans County
resident— regardless of party
affiliation— can register at
the Republican headquarters
Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-
5:30 p.m.
The headquarters will
remain open until the Nov. 5
election. Sample ballots and
other election information
are available at the office.
Smoke
detectors
save lives
Arts league raises money at auction
PAL hopes to
bring more fine
arts to county
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The Perquimans Arts
League got some help from
friends of the arts Saturday
night.
PAL held its first fund rais
er, a successful auction held at
the Albemarle Commission
building. Nearly every item
shown was sold, according to
PAL secretary Linda Morris.
The evening was filled with
high-spirited bidding, led by
auctioneer Wallace Evans.
Among the items offered was
crystal glassware, original art
works by local artists, coins,
commemorative medals,
depression glass, antique jew
elry, collectibles, gift certifi
cates and items donated by
local merchants and formal-
wear.
“The businesses of
Perquimans proved to be sup
portive with generous gift cer
tificates and donations of their
store products,” Morris said.
“The featured item, formal-
wear, was greatly enhanced by
the modeling of these dresses
Free smoke
detectors offered
The Hertford Fire
Department, in conjunction
with the Albemarle Area
Realtors, has a limited number
of home smoke detectors to
give residents of Hertford.
To obtain a detector, call the
office of the Hertford Town
Clerk at 426-5311 during busi
ness hours.
The detectors will be given
on a need basis, first come,
first served. Senior Citizens
will be given preference.
If you need the detector
installed, the members of the
Hertford Fire Department will
install it for you.
Smoke detectors save lives,
and the Hertford Fire
Department is joining other
county fire departments and
the National Fire Prevention
Association to promote the
installation and maintenance
of smoke detectors in every
home during National Fire
Prevention Week, Oct. 6-12.
After fire prevention, smoke
detectors are the first line of
defense against fire. The appli
ances can cut the risk of dying
in a house fire nearly in half.
In recent years, roughly 60
percent of home fire deaths
have occurred in homes with
out smoke detectors. In 1994, a
total of 3,425 people died in
home fires.
More than half of all fatal
home fires happen at night.
Inexpensive household smoke
detectors can mean the differ
ence between life and death.
Detectors sound an early wan
ing in the event of fire, waking
people before they are over
come by smoke and poisonous
gases. These few moments of
warning give people time to
escape.
As of 1994, 93 percent of
homes in the United States had
at least one smoke detector
installed, but nearly half of the
house fires occurred in houses
with no smoke detectors.
Although the vast majority
of homes have smoke detec
tors, 20 percent of those detec
tors that could save lives do
not work. The primary reason
for detector failure is dead, dis
connected or missing batter
ies.
'This year’s Fire Prevention
Week is devoted to educating
the public about installing and
maintaining home smoke-
detectors. The theme is “Let’s
Hear It For Fire Safety, Test
Your Detectors!”
Fire officials recommend
testing home smoke detectors
each month. Once a year, bat
teries should be changed.
Officials suggest changing bat
teries in October when the
time changes.
Outs
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Lauren Saunders models one of the formal dresses auctioned
at the Perquimans Arts League fund raiser at the Albemarle
Commission building Saturday night.
by some of our prettiest
teenagers.”
PAL hopes to experience
continued success with fund
raising activities.
“With successes like this,
PAL will be able to bring con
certs, workshops, drama and
all aspects of the fine arts to
Perquimans County,” Morris
said.
PAL membership for indi
viduals is $10.
For information about PAL,
call president Jeri Oltman at
426-5319 or Morris at 426-7965.
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