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The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol, 66, No. 47
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Hertford selected as pilot heritage community
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Hertford has been selected
as the pilot community for her
itage tourism in eastern North
Carolina, according to Gordon
Clapp, director of the North
Carolina Division of Tourism,
Film and Sports Development.
Clapp made the announce
ment during the conference
entitled “Tourism Affecting
Communities” in Elizabeth
City recently.
“With its tremendous
amount of historic resources
combined with strong commu
nity interest and support,
Hereford best met the criteria
established,” Clapp said of the
town’s designation.
Now the Perquimans
County Heritage Tourism
Development Council, a group
representing each community
in the county, is working to
compose a master plan for her-
Council
votes no
to new
fire truck
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The decision not to pur
chase a new fire truck has
some Hertford firefighters
blazing.
After what was described by
some firefighters as an emo
tional discussion last Monday
night, Hertford Town Council
voted not to purchase a
$185,000 truck to replace both
1963 and 1969 pumpers present
ly used by the department in
addition to a 1994 truck.
Council first denied the fire
department’s request in
September. At that meeting.
Councilman Carlton
Davenport said that while he
realized some of the depart
ment’s rolling stock was not in
good shape, he was not in
favor of authorizing the pur
chase of the truck when the
town was on the brink of bor
rowing $850,000 for electric
improvements and issuing up
to $4.8 million in bonds for
water and sewer improve
ments. He recommended that
council wait until after the
Nov. 3 general election to see if
state and local bond referen-
dums were approved to make a
decision.
Although both bond issues
were approved and council Ijas
secured partial grant funding
for the utilities projects,
Davenport still voted against
the truck purchase in
November.
Councilman Billy Winslow
said in September that the
town has gone “overboard in
the fire department.” He ques
tioned the department’s mutu
al aid response, both fire and
wreck calls. Winslow also
voted against the truck pur
chase, as did Horace Reid.
Sid Eley, the fire chief and a
councilman, said failure to
upgrade equipment in the
1970s and 1980s caused the pre
sent needs in the department.
Hertford firefighters have
raised $20,000 to put toward
the truck’s purchase.
Last week, the department
received a $15,000 state grant
through the Department of
Insurance’s Volunteer Fire
Department Grant Fund for
equipment and supplies.
(See related letter to the edi
tor, page 4.)
itage tourism and develop
ment in the area. That plan
will be submitted to the state
in mid-January. It wiU then be
reviewed by the U.S.
Department of Commerce, the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture, the Smithsonian
Institute, the Folk Life Center
at the Library of Congress and
the Environmental Protection
Agency.
Some funding and technical
advice are among the possibil
ities through Hertford’s selec
tion.
Hertford was one of only
two communities in the state
to be chosen as a pilot site, the
other, as yet unannounced, in
the far western region. Among
the reasons the town was
selected was the Hertford
Historic District’s listing in
the National Register of
Historic Places in October, as
well as the nearby Old Neck
Rural Historic District and the
Belvidere Historic District.
State Tourism Development
Officer LuAnne Pendergraft
said local support and enthusi
asm for the project was anoth
er factor in the decision.
Roughly 77 percent of the
properties in the Hertford
Historic District contribute to
its historic and architectural
significance. It is composed of
a variety of architectural
styles representing many time
periods. It is also one of the
Albemarle region’s best-pre
served and picturesque towns,
according to information from
Clapp.
The members of the local
heritage tourism council are
working closely with lead
agencies the Chamber of
Commerce and Perquimans
County Restoration
Association, and with the sup
port of Pendergraft, who is
based in Hertford at the
Newbold-White House.
Pendergraft said officials in
both-Hertford and Perquimans
County support the effort to
develop heritage tourism here.
Recognizing the value of
National Register Historic
Districts in marketing efforts,
the chamber, with strong sup
port from members of each
community, pursued the three
county districts’ designation.
In addition, guidebooks were
developed to assist visitors in
finding and learning more
about the county through a
walking tour of Hertford and a
driving tour of the county’s
back roads.
The PCRA began developing
historically significant pro
grams years ago, when the ca.
1730 Newbold-White House
was opened to the public in
1981. It is recognized as an
eminently significant site in
North Carolina.
The association is taking
steps to broaded and expand
interpretations and programs
at the site. Long-range goals
include transforming the his
toric house museum into an
interactive, 18th-century farm
and living history site. An
application has been submit
ted to the federally-funded
Museum Assessment Program
for guidance.
Heritage tourism could be a
strong component of local eco
nomic development. The
North Carolina Department of
Transportation reports that
more than 11,000 vehicles pass
by Hertford on U.S. 17 daily. It
is estimated that when the
four-lane expansion of the
highway is completed, that
number will increase by at
least 25 percent.
Tourism is big business. It
is expected to be the country’s
number one industry by the
year 2000. It is already the
number one industry in east
ern North Carolina.
Central
School
on target
for Jan.
finish
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Each day brings Central
School students and teachers
one day closer to the big
move.
Construction at the new
Central School in’Winfall is
on schedule and expected to
be completed on schedule in
January.
That was the report M.B.
Kahn Construction Company
Project Engineer Derek
Faulkenberry gave at the
November meeting of the
board of education.
Faulkenberry reported
that the mechanical duct
installation was competed in
wings A and B, with wing B
near completion. The
mechanical units in wing A
were operational, and wing C
anticipated to be operational
this week.
N.C. Power completed the
primary power service, with
temporary permanent power
turned on in early October.
Drywall installation is
complete in all wings, with
painting in progress. Floor
tile was scheduled to begin
this week.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Construction is on schedule at the new Central School in Winfaii, according to supervisors
with M.B. Kahn Construction Company. Kahn anticipates that students and teachers wiil be
abie to move into the new faciiity sometime in January or February.
Heritage tourism is one of
the fastest growing trends in
the tourism market. National
statistics indicate a growing
interest in getting off of the
interstates and traveling the
scenic byways and highways.
Heritage tourism entails
travel for the purpose of expe
riencing the cultural and nat
ural environment of another
area. It offers three primary
advantages for economic
development. The qualify of
life is improved, the potential
for business development is
high and the economic base is
diversified. Heritage tourism
offers the opportunity to capi
talize on the economic value of
the unique and varied cultural
and natural resources found in
the community, without com
promising natural resources
and stressing infrastructure,
schools and local government
services.
Holiday
season
gets
underway
Holiday events will begin
here this weekend, as the
Hertford Downtown
Merchants Association hosts
the first annual “A Christmas
in Carolina” Saturday.
Kicking off at 10 a.m. with
entertainers performing songs
of the season, the day will be
filled with Christmas spirit.
Apple cider, nachos and pop
corn will be available from
street vendors.
All of the merchants will be
kicking off Christmas sales
with a special theme on
Saturday — The Downtown
Hertford Bathrobe Sale. Shop
the stores in your PJs, spend a
designated amount in each
store, and receive a coupon for
a free sausage biscuit at
Frankie’s Hertford Cafe. The
bathrobe sale ends at noon.
The festivities run until 4
p.m.
The annual chamber-spon
sored holiday parade, “A
Carolina Christmas,” will
wind its way through the
streets of Hertford on Dec. 5 at
2 p.m.
Chamber organizers are
asking bands, businesses, and
church, civic and school
groups to participate in the
parade.
North Carolina
Representative BUI Owens and
his wife, C5mthia, wiU serve as
parade grand marshaUs.
Applications are available
at the chamber office or by
calling 426-5757.
Welfare reform changes the welfare system
County partners
with workforce
board to train
recipients for jobs
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Welfare reform legislation
has dramatically changed the
nation’s welfare system. Now,
through federally-supported
state initiatives such as North
Carolina’s WorkFirst, welfare
recipients are required to
work in exchange for time-lim
ited assistance. In addition.
programs provide support for
families moving from welfare
to work.
“The focus on moving peo
ple from welfare to work is a
primary goal of federal, state
and local welfare policy,”
Karen Clary, Workforce
Development Director of the
Mid-East Commission told the
Perquimans County
Commissioners recently. “The
Balanced Budget Act of 1997,
signed by the President on
Aug. 5,1997, provides addition
al resources to achieve this
goal by providing counties
with Welfare to Work Grants
for transitional employment
assistance to move hard-to-
employ welfare recipients into
long-term employment.”
Perquimans County will
receive $58,953 to assist TANF
(Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families) recipients
obtain and retain gainful
employment, and thus move
off assistance roUs.
The local program is admin
istered by the Regional R.
Workforce Development Board
through the Mid-East
Commission in joint partner
ship with the Perquimans
County Board of
Commissioners. The
Perquimans County
Department of Social Services
is an integral partner in the
planning and implementation
of services.
Brian Center Administrator
Joe France and Monty
Spindler represent
Perquimans County on the
Region R. Workforce
Development Board. France
serves as vice-chair and chairs
the board’s JobLink
Committee. Spindler chairs
the Public Relations
Committee. Both are members
of the board’s executive com
mittee. Evelyn Stubbins repre
sents the board of commission
ers on the Region R. Job
Training Consortium.
WhUe updating the board of
commissioners on the Welfare
to Work Grants earlier this
month. Clary also briefed the
group on the Job Training
Parnership Act activities for
the last program year. Forty-
two county residents received
serves through the Dislocated
Work Program, Summer
Youth Employment Program,
Youth Activities or Adult
Training Activities, all compo
nents of JTPA. Clary used
visuals to show commission
ers that average wages for
graduates of the Dislocated
Worker and Adult Training
Programs was higher than
most entry-level wages in the
county, at $10.21 and $6.96,
respectively.