November 6,1997
01JU5 10/09/1”8/“°
NOV 0 6 1997
12 rniiNTY library
PERQUIMANS COUNTY
11C W ACADcMY Si
HERTFORD NC 27944
Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 65, No. 44
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Inside
J.C. Cole
discusses the
job of a judge
Pages
Cross country
teams run well
at state meet
Pages
' Perquimans County
an
All Of Us
Community
November’s theme:
Show a positive
attitude.
Halloween in
daylight treat
for town police
PCHS
celebrates
homecoming
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The royal court was
crowned Friday night when
Perquimans County High
school capped its week-long
homecoming celebration dur
ing halftime of the
Perquimans-Northside football
game.
Crowned were Jennifer
Rountree, queen; Clif
Stallings, king; Ravann
Horton, princess; Travis
Hurdle, prince; Brandi
Dennison, Miss Class of 2000;
Clifton Jenkins, Mr. Class of
2000; Wendy Pierce, Miss Class
of 2001; and Darion James, Mr.
Class of 2001. Also chosen to
represent their classes on the
court were Laura Matthews,
Tavarus Ferebee, LeAnn
Feirell, Jerriell Perry, Sheura
Lee, Ryan Woodell, Lucretia
Sellers and Dyron Hardy.
Themed days including
Pajama Day, Class Colors Day,
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
There were no tricks for
Hertford Police on Halloween
this year.
Interim Chief Dale Vanscoy
said the Hertford Town
Council’s decision to designate
Saturday afternoon as the time
to trick-or-treat in Hertford
resulted in a very positive cel
ebration.
“We had absolutely no calls
to report vandalism or people
cutting through yards or any
thing,” Vanscoy said. “It was
absolutely wonderM.”
The interim chief said he
patroled down every street in
town, and was pleased with
what he saw.
“In some neighborhoods it
was like a big block party.
Parents dressed up to take
their kids out, teenagers were
dressed up giving out candy
and jiunping out from behind
bushes, and people were stop
ping to talk as they walked
down the street. I am really
pleased with how well every
thing went. It was just great.”
Several businesses in the
downtown area participated in
the afternoon trick-or-treat,
including some that are not
open on Saturday.
The Saturday afternoon
trick-or-treat time was
designed by action of the
Hertford Town Council as the
major component of a
Halloween Safety Initiative
spearheaded by The
Perquimans Weekly newspa
per. Homecoming at
Perquimans High School,
including a 4 p.m. parade, was
set for Halloween. The
increased traffic brought by a
home football game, coupled
with the serious
vehicle/pedestrian accident
that occurred in Hertford last
Halloween, was a concern dis
cussed by several people in the
community. Upon hearing the
concerns voiced. The
Perquimans Weekly began
calling government, school
and civic groups asking for
their support to change the
designated trick-or-treat time.
The Hertford Council, with
the backing of the newspaper,
the Family Support
Partnership, Snug Harbor
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
Jennifer Rountree and Clif Stallings were crowned homecoming
queen and king, respectively, during halftime festivities at the
Perquimans County High School football game Friday night.
Blast From the Past, Black and
Gold Day and Dress-Up Day
led up to the big night. Friday
featmed-almost the entire stu
dent body dressed up in the
school colors of black and gold,
a car decorating contest, a pep
rally and a parade.
Timber!
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
Town of Hertford crews and inmates from the state
Department of Corrections work to clean up the oak trees
that had to be cut down on Academy Square. Both the
town and county called in experts from several agencies
who determined that the stately old trees were diseased
and could not be saved.
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
These unidentified creatures were among those spied trick-or-
treating in Hertford Saturday afternoon. Hertford’s interim
police chief Dale Vanscoy said in some parts of town, the cele
bration resembled a block party.
Youth Program, Stepping
Stones/Beacon Academy,
Hertford Police Department,
Chamber of Commerce,
Perquimans County
Commissioners, NAACP,
Perquimans County SherifFs
Department, Town of Winfall,
Kidz’ World Inc., Hertford
Housing Authority,
Perquimans County Athletic
Boosters, Hertford Fire
Department, Perquimans
Learning Center, PCHS SADD
Club and Perquimans County
Board of Education, opted to
change the time in the interest
of public safety.
Schools get grant
In honor of the occasion, the
Marching Pirates presented
special pre-game and halftime
performances.
Homecoming is sponsored
by the PCHS Student Council.
The parade is sponsored by the
PCHS SADD Club.
Businesses
wary of map
service
Several local businesses
have had billing problems
with a map company calling
on business people in the area.
Larry Swindell of Swindell
Funeral Home and Swindell
Monuments said D&L Map
Service is calling businesses
regarding local maps. Swindell
said he has dealt with the com
pany on two previous occa
sions, and has been double
charged both times. He added
that he has spoken with sever
al other business owners who
have encountered the same
problems.
The company is insinuating
that its product is endorsed by
the Chamber of Commerce,
but Swindell, a Chamber board
member, said the Chamber
has not endorsed the product.
Project Wingspan
aims to improve
performance
Project Wingspan, a perfor
mance-based research pro
gram aimed at improving stu
dent performance at the mid
dle and high schools, was
awarded to Perquimans
County Schools by the N.C.
State Board of Education.
Perquimans will pioneer
total quality performance
results and strategic plans to
improve teaching methods and
to raise test scores for students
in grades 6-12. This $75,000
renewable grant will focus on
mathematics, language arts
and other end-of-course exams
established as part of the ABCs
program and the Excellent
Schools Act.
Research Triangle Institute,
an independent, nonprofit
research organization, will
serve as a resource partner in
Perquimans’ effort to raise test
scores. R'TI, established in 1958
as the cornerstone of the
state’s Research Triangle
Park, has extensive experience
in research and development
on school performance
improvement.
A service called RTI Vector
will provide administrators
and teachers with tools to
interpret test data and find
opportunitites for perfor
mance improvement.
“There is an excellent set of
tests in place to measure how
students are progressing,” said
Suzanne Triplett, director of
RTFs School Management
Program. “What’s lacking is
an interpretation of test
results that provides specific
guidance for improving the
overall instructional program
within the school. Vector does
this sort of interpretation.”
The Wingspan project will
help school principals and
staff prepare to evaluate their
schools’ performance.
A major goal is to gather
comprehensive information on
student performance, the
school environment, faculty
and staff, the cfimmunity, and
both technical and financial
resources. All this information
will be compiled into a format
that can be used to plan an
integrated management sys
tem for improving school per
formance.
Principals and teachers will
receive assistance, such as
comprehensive training, to
help them use this information
to improve school culture, con
ditions, and climate for stu
dents, parents, and teachers.
The ABCs of Public
Education is a comprehensive
plan to reorganize public
schools in North Carolina
around three goals of strong
accountability, an emphasis
on the basics and high educa
tional standards, and on pro
viding school districts with as
much local control over their
work as possible.
In 1995, members of the
General Assembly looked at
public schools in the state and
found that many improve
ments had taken place, but
that change was not fast
enough to meet the demands of
the workplace and of higher
education.
Legislators passed a law
that directed the State Board
of Education to “examine the
structure and functions of the
state public school system
with a view to improving stu
dent performance, to increas
ing local flexibility and con
trol, and promoting economy
and efficiency.” In response to
that mandate, the state board
developed The New ABCs of
Public Education.
The focus of Wingspan will
be to specifically provide infor
mation and analysis of test
data and ABC performance
results and develop specific
strategies to improve the qual
ity of teaching and ultimately
improve student achievement.
Reid,
Eley win
Hertford
council
seats
Write-in votes
almost change
Winfall totals
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
EditOT
Single-shot voting was a key
factor in the election of the
first African-American mem
ber of the Hertford Town
Council Tuesday.
Horace C. Reid carried the
East Hertford Precinct with
204 votes to Sid Eley’s 124 and
T. Erie Haste’s 98. Many of the
ballots had only one candidate
marked. There were two seats
open and each voter was
allowed to vote for two of the
three candidates.
In West Hertford, Eley col
lected 92 votes; Haste, 74; and
Reid, 71.
Including absentees, the
final totals were Reid, 275:
Eley, 220; and Haste, 175. Tlie
totals are unofficial until the
canvass later this week,
according to Perquimans
County Board of Elections
Supervisor Eula Forbes.
The number of voters who
went to the poUs was not avail
able at press time.
Eley was the only candidate
to visit the elections office
Tuesday evening.
“I feel very fortunate to
have been elected,” Eley said.
“I look forward to serving with
Horace and I enjoyed serving
with Erie. Both of them are
friends of mine, and I didn’t
run against either of them. I
ran for the office.
“I don’t think anyone ran
against anyone,” Eley added.
“I think we all ran for the
office.”
The Town of Winfall had no
races on the last day of filing
for office, but almost had an
upset thanks to a strong write-
in vote for present councilman
William Ray Miller. Miller
opted not to run for re-elec
tion, but received 54 write-in
votes for council and three for
mayor.
Incumbent Willie B. Moore
collected 80 votes and newcom
er Joan Mansfield, 59. Stanley
Winslow also received a write-
in vote for council.
Mayor Fred Yates also ran
imopposed to keep his seat, tal
lying 87 votes. In addition to
the three write-in votes for
Miller, Jarvis Ward received
four, and Durwood Barber and
Carol Cooper, one each.
'The Winfall totals are unof
ficial until the canvass.
Outside
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
High: Low:
50s 40s
CHANCE OF RAIN
High: Low:
50s 40
MOSTLY SUNNY