October 2,1997
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: -JliA.NS COUNTY LI:;RA9Y
11 G A C A D E Y 3 T
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79 4^
The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 65, No. 39
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Inside
Euia Forbes,
What DO you
do? by
Sean Jackson
Pages
Kidz’ Worid,
20/20 team up
for summer
youth programs
Pages
Pirates claim
first season
win over
Plymouth
Page 6
Perquimans County
an
All of Us
Community
September’s theme:
Have patience
and listen
Lieutenant governor visits Hertford
Wicker presents
awards for area
civic group
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Lieutenant Governor
Dennis Wicker traveled to
Perquimans County High
School Saturday to present 17
community activism awards
on behalf of the Eastern North
Carolina Civic Group during
the organization’s 21st annual
banquet.
Wicker was introduced by
state Secretary of Crime
Control and Public Safety
William Dudley.
“I just want to let you know
that I’ve examined him
(Wicker) and what I’ve seen
had been good,” Dudley said.
The secretary characterized
Wicker as a family man who
believes in community ser
vice, faith in God, and has a
vision for North Carolina. He
has a desire to make a differ
ence in the lives of children,
Dudley said.
Wicker said he believes in
what he coined “the North
Carolina promise.” The
promise is that if you focus on
your strengths, recognize your
weaknesses and work hard to
overcome those weaknesses.
North Carolina will give you
every opportunity to succeed.
Wicker said he understands
the value of a good education,
especially after spending his
childhood working on his fam
ily’s tobacco farm. He said the
importance of a good educa
tion is one reason the state
must pay teachers well and in
exchange hold them to high
standards.
Wicker also said the state
needs to look at the condition
of some school buildings and
help fund capital projects.
“Surely to goodness if we
can find the money to build
prisons in this state, we can
find the money to build
schools,” he said to applause.
Wicker touted the impor
tance of technology in the
classrooms and safe schools.
He said he introduced an ini
tiative recently to get drugs
and alcohol out of the state’s
schools, focused at the middle
school level. In the last decade,
drug use is up 500 percent in
North Carolina, he said. This
year, the state’s schools have
already suspended numerous
students for drug violations.
He said the initiative will
give special training to teach
ers and principals on dealing
with youth drug use. Today’s
youth will become tomorrow’s
drunk drivers, drug addicts
and prison residents unless
action is taken now, he said.
Another part of Wicker’s
North Carolina promise is to
strengthen the community col
lege and university system to
give North Carolinians the
resources they need to succeed
economically.
“We must make sure the
promise is fulfilled,” Wicker
summed up his comments.
The lieutenant governor
then presented the community
awards on behalf of the civic
group. Among the recipients
was Estelle Felton of
Perquimans County, president
Hopeline fights
domestic
violence
Albemarle Hopeline joins
other agencies nationwide this
month to observe Domestic
Violence Awareness Month.
Every nine seconds, a
woman in this country is
abused, according to Hopeline.
Domestic violence fills emer
gency rooms and morgues,
contributes to juvenile delin
quency and destroys families.
About on third of the chil
dren who witness battering
demonstrate significant
behaviorial and/or emotional
problems. Of adolescent boys
who commit murder, almost
two-thirds murder the men
who were beating their moth
ers.
/To report a case of abuse in
your own family or in another
family, call Albemarle
Hopeline at 338-3011. Help is
available 24 hours a day, seven
days each week from trained
volunteers.
ITI3
P—fUErw
The Perquimans County High School Marching Pirates have kicked off a busy October,
chocked full of performances, in September, the group performed at four home football
games and the annual Perquimans County Indian Summer Festival.
October busy for PCHS band
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
October will be an espe
cially busy month for the
award-winning Perquimans
County High School
Marching Pirates Band.
The 92-member group
began the month with a per
formance at the PCHS open
house on Oct. 1.
Two competitions are
scheduled for the Marching
Pirates. Saturday, the group
will participate in the
Peanut Festival in Edenton.
Two weeks later, the band
will compete at the Colonial
Classic in Washington.
Perquimans has brought
home numerous awards
from both competitions over
the years.
The band has been invited
to participate in homecom
ing festivities at both
Elizabeth City State
University on Oct. 11 and
East Carolina University on
Oct. 25.
October will end for the
Marching Pirates with a spe
cial halftime performance
during the annual PCHS
homecoming game.
Already this season, the
band has performed at four
home football games and at
the annual Indian Summer
Festival in downtown
Hertford.
October schedule
Oct. 1: PCHS open
house
Oct. 4: Peanut Festival
Oct. 11: ECSU
homecoming
Oct. 18: Colonial Band
Classic
Oct. 25: ECU
homecoming
Oct. 31: PCHS
Homecoming
1997 is a milestone year
for the band and director
David Ziemba. Ziemba came
to Perquimans County in
1977 to begin an instrumen
tal music program. Since
that time, the Marching
Pirates have earned numer
ous awards and honors at
competitions, festivals and
parades for their outstand
ing performances up and
down the East Coast.
They have performed at
Disney World, the
Philadelphia Thanksgiving
Day parade, and the presi
dential inaugimal parade for
George Bush, among other
places.
This year’s show is titled,
“A 20-Year Celebration.”
Included in the program is
music that has been an
important part of the band’s
history.
The opener, “In The
Stone,” is from 1983, the first
year Perquimans was named
Band of 'The Day in competi-
tion. “On Broadway” was
part of the 1982 show, the
year the band won its first
First Place in Class honor.
'The drum solos goes back to
1989 when the band was hon
ored with its invitation to
the presidential inaugural
parade.
The show closes with “I’ll
Be There,” made famous by
Michael Jackson and the
Jackson Five.
Audiences at both football
games and the festival indi
cated their positive response
to the 1997 show with
applause and cheers.
The band is sporting some
new instruments this season,
including percussion and
brass equipment. Band
Boosters spent $35,000
replacing aging instruments.
Senior Summer Warden is
serving as drum major this
season. She earned grand
champion designation at
drum major camp at Wake
Forest University this sum
mer. Understudies Justin
Beamon, Kim Stallings and
Natasha Vlasaty also attend
ed the camp. All four
Perquimans students earned
superior ratings.
0
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
Perquimans County resident Estelle Felton receives a commu
nity service award presented by Lt. Governor Dennis Wicker on
behalf of the Eastern North Carolina Civic Group.
of the local NAACP, and a ded
icated volunteer in both
church, civic and school pro
grams in the county.
Flu shots can stop
needless deaths
Flu,pnemnonia
5th leading causes
of death for elderly
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Senior citizens in the
Albemarle area are dying
needlessly.
“Pneumonia and influenza
is the fifth leading cause of
death in the Albemarle area
older adult population,” said
Virginia Bailey of the
Perquimans County Health
Department. “Although many
of these deaths can be prevent
ed by vaccinations, these
potential killers continue to
pose a major health problem.”
Bailey added that senior
adults are more likely to devel
op life-threatenine illnesses
from pneumonia and influenza
than the general population.
The PPCC District Health
Depairtment will participate in
Senior Vaccination Sunday on
Oct. 12 as part of a statewide
campaign to prevent deaths
from these diseases. In
Perquimans County, clinics
will be held at the senior cen
ter, and New Hope and Bethel
fire departments from 11 a.m.-
4 p.m.
Arrangements have been
made with Medicare Part B so
most Medicare consumers wiU
have no out-of-pocket costs for
the vaccinations. Those taking
advantage of the clinics should
take their Medicare cards to
the sites.
For information, call Bailey
at 426-2113 or Jill Jordan at
PPCC District Health
Department at 338-4483.
What started
the program
In 1995, more than
2,400 North Carolinians
died of influenza and
pneumonia, of whom 88
percent were age 65 or
older. Many more had to
be hospitalized due to
complications or more
serious illnesses arising
from the flu.
Yet, among people age
65 or older who are cov
ered by Medicare Part B,
inly 45 percent of whites
and 22 percent of
African-Americans got
flu vaccinations that
year. Less than 30 per
cent of all adults over 65
received pneumonia vac
cinations.
In 1996, the Division of
Health Promotion,
Medical Review of North
Carolina and a coalition
of 40 organizations and
agencies launched the
state’s first campaign to
increase the rate of
influenza and pneumo
nia immunizations
among people age 65 and
older. On Nov. 3, 1996,
nearly 55,000 vaccina
tions were given on
Senior Vaccination
Sunday across the state.
The shots do not cause
influenza or pneumonia
and are very safe and
effective with few side
effects. Health officials
say the risks from the
diseases outweigh any
reaction to the shots.
Outside
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