The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people
1 2
Winfall gets new fire truck, page?
PCHS band honors Catfish, page?
4-Hers earn state honors, pages
France chairs region board, page 9
The
013165 10/09/1999 *C20
rquii^ans county library
110 w ACADEMY ST
•HERTFORD NC 27944
August 12,1999
Vol. 67, No. 31 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
El
AUG 12 ^993
Perquimans
I
j
I
!
Hunter’s
condition
critical
after fall
WILL SULLIVAN
The Daily Advance
Hertford native and Nall of
Fame pitcher Jimmy “Catfish”
Hunter is in critical condition
at Pitt County Memorial
Hospital after suffering a head
injury in a faU at his home
Sunday evening.
The 53-year-old Hunter, who
was diagnosed with amy
otrophic lateral sclerosis, or
Lou Gehrig’s disease, last
November, was admitted at
Pitt Sunday night with what a
hospital spokesman termed “a
small bleed in the head.” He
A^as placed in serious condi
tion.
' Things took a turn for the
worse overnight Monday, and
Hunter’s condition was
upgraded to critical, the most
severe status. He was still in
critical condition at presstime.
“We just need everybody to
keep him in your prayers,”
said Hunter’s wife, Helen, who
was reached at the hospital
Tuesday morning. “We need
everybody’s prayers right now,
and we need them strong.”
Helen Hunter said her hus
band was to undergo more
testing Tuesday.
Childhood friend Charles
Woodard said Hunter suffered
the fall around 5:30 p.m.
Sunday.
“He was outside seeing off a
friend and was going back up
the steps to his house when his
feet got tangled,” said
Woodard, who owns Woodard’s
Pharmacy. “He just fell back
ward and his his head.”
, According to Woodard,
;Hunter was rushed to Chowan
^Hospital in Edenton for a CAT
_scan before being transferred
;to Pitt later Sunday night.
•*' Woodard said there was
some internal bleeding, but
■most was external.
“He was bleeding (mostly)
ioutside of his head, so that’s a
Igood sign,” said Woodard.
;‘That relieves the pressure on
:the head. It would be even big-
:ger trouble if there was more
internal bleeding.”
;!- The inury is the latest in a
^string of setbacks for Hunter,
who has drawn widespread
attention since his courageous
battle against the debilitating
Lou Gehrig’s disease began
nine months ago.
Please see HUNTER, page 9
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 80s
Low: 70s
Mostly Sunny
Friday
High: 80s
Low: 70s
Mostly Sunny
Saturday
High: 90s
Low: 70s
Partly Cloudy
Eley, Haste vie for Hertford mayor
Winfall lacks
candidates
for full board
From Staff Reports
Hertford voters will have
choices at the polls in
November, while Winfall does
n’t have enough candidates to
fill the seats up for relection.
Former Hertford council
man T Erie Haste Jr. filed last
week for the mayor’s job. He
will face present councilman
Sid Eley in the two-way race.
Haste, 55, owner of Hertford
Hardware Store, said his back
ground includes nearly 20
years as a town councilman, as
well as serving on the Coastal
Resources Commission for 22
years, 10 of those years as vice
chairman.
“After much deliberation
and thinking back over the 20
years (I’ve served), I miss being
involved day to day,” Haste
said.
Haste said the responsibili
ties of the mayor and council
extend beyond city and county
limits. He added that changes
are taking place in and around
Hertford that he feels he could
bring experience to. He likened
the operation of the town to
the operation of a business.
Eley, a middle school
teacher, is in the midst of his
second term on council. If Eley
is elected, council will by
statute choose his replace
ment. If not, he will continue
to serve as a councilman for
two more years. He also serves
as fire chief
Running for council seats
are incumbent Carlton
Davenport and challengers
JoAnn Morris and Dan
Daneker. Davenport was
appointed by council to fill the
unexpired term of former
councilman WD. “Bill” Cox.
This is his first eiection.
Davenport is one of the town’s
representatives on the
Economic Development
Commission.
Morris and Daneker have
not served on the council, but
neither are new to its worki-
ings. Morris attends almost
every council meeting, whUe
Daneker has also attended
many meetings. Both have
been outspoken in their opin
ions about town government
operations.
Morris, 65, is retired from
the Juvenile Services Division
of the Administrative Office of
the Courts. She is the lead
member of a committee
appointed by the town to over
see restoration of trees in the
park'on Academy Square.
Her key concerns about the
town’s future include the ongo
ing expansion of the sewage
plant and extension of lines to
the commerce park, as well as
the affect electric deregulation
will have on the town.
Daneker, 56, could not be
reached for comment.
While voters in Hertford
wiU make choices for represen
tation of the board, Winfall
voters won’t have that option.
Mayor Fred Yates, 63, is run
ning unopposed. He said when
the filing period opened that he
intended to run to finish pro
jects he helped initiate, such as
the sewer installation.
Yates began his career when
Divers
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The famous turtle log in the
Perquimans River is just that -
a log.
Divers with the N.C.
Department of Cultural
Resources’ underwater archae
ology team studied the famed
sunning spot for local turtles
last week. Led by Richard
Lawrence, head of the under
water archaeology unit, the
team took their boat. Snap
Dragon, out to the site and
spent time diving around the
log. They determined that the
turtle log is a tree log.
According to LuAnne
Pendergraft, Development
Officer assigned to the
Perquimans County
Restoration Association, some
locals had heard that the turtle
log was a beam from a ship
sunk during the Civil War.
A
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Divers with a state underwater archaeology team study the area around Perquimans' famed turtle log to
determine the origins of the log. It appears to be a felled tree.
While that is not the case, the
divers did find ballast stones
and a frame and plank near the
log which might indicate some
sort of shipwreck or ship sink
ing at some point in history,
Pendergraft said.
Because the turtle log,
which is just off the curve in
the causeway, is such an inte
gral part of local history and
points of interest, Pendergraft
would like to hear from anyone
who may know when the log
first appeared in the river. She
can be reached at 426-5123.
While in Hertford, the divers
also explored the area directly
in front of the Newbold-White
House. Early records of the
inventory of Abraham
Sanders, builder of the house ,
indicate ownership of a large
sailing vessel. This and other
PCHS shecis low-performing (designation
High school
growth rated
exemplary
Perquimans High School
shed its low-performing status
last week when the state
Department of Public
Instruction released its find
ings based on the ABCs
accountability model.
The school made tremen
dous gains in end-of-course
test scores through six-weeks
testing, integrated course
work and more rigorous cur
riculum. The results of the
concentrated effort during the
past school year were remark
able as the school improved
test performance by over 20
percentage points.
In 1997-98, PCHS was
deemed low pefforming with
only 35.8 percent of its stu
dents scoring at or above grade
level on end-of-course tests.
With the emphasis on improve
ment in 1998-99, that percent
age rose ' to 57.9 percent,
deemed exemplary growth by
the state.
While the high school
showed the most dramatic
gains, aU Perquimans County
Schools were graded exem
plary by the ABCs standards.
Perquimans Middle School
did not meet its expectations in
1997-98 with 64.8 percent of stu
dents scoring at or above grade
level on end-of-course tests.
Last year, the school exceeded
expected growth and moved to
exemplary with 74.9 percent
grade level or above scores.
Both Perquimans Central
and Hertford Grammar School
met expected growth in 1997-
98, with 60.4 percent of stu
dents scoring at or above grade
level on year-end tests. This
year, 64.4 percent of students
who took the end of grade tests
scored at or above grade level.
These schools, also, used
practice testing and more rig
orous standards to improve
scores.
Schools superintendent
Gregory Todd attributed the
system’s growth to dedicated
teachers and students commit
ting themselves to reaching
higher standards and test per
formance. Todd added that
with continued commitment
and support from parents, stu
dents and staff, he believes
scores will continue to
improve.
Because each school met
exemplary growth, aU certified
staff members and instruc
tional teacher assistants whl
receive performance bonuses
from the state.
Todd earns
performance
bonus
A year after coming to
Perquimans, superinten
dent Gregory T. Todd was
rewarded by the school
board for performance.
Todd received a $2,000
bonus under the terms of
his contract after his
annual review, which
evaluated and rated his
performance in several
areas, including meeting
goals set by the board and
Todd. The superintendent
was rated above average
in several areas, includ
ing board, personnel and
Please see TODD, page 9
appointed to fill the unexpired
term of his wife, Shirley, when
she was elected to the board of
county commissioners. He was
also appointed to the mayor’s
seat to fill the term of Bill
Bartlett. He then ran and won
in his own right.
Kenneth Rominger was the
only candidate to file for the
two available seats on Winfall’s
town board. Rominger was
appointed postmaster in
Winfall earlier this year. He
became involved in the com
munity and town through vol
unteer work, and had indicated
he wanted to take an increas
ingly active role in the town.
Neither Winfall attorney
Hackney High or Elections
Supervisor Eula Forbes could
be reached for comment on
how the second seat will be
filled.
School
records led some historians to
speciilate that a pier and/or
wharf might have extended
into the river from the proper
ty
Divers found no evidence of
a dock, but said that consider
ing shore erosion over the past
250 years, there could have
been a dock further out into
the river. The team suggested
further research.
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Teachers are no longer
counting the days until they
return to the classroom. They
sat in their desks Monday. Now
educators are marking time
until students come back on
Aug. 24.
Each school has made
arrangements to notify parents
of teacher assignments and
open houses:
• Perquimans Central
(grades K-2) - Kindergarten
students have already received
screening cards and room
assignments. First and second
grade parents will be notified
by mah or phone this week. An
open house is set for Thursday,
Aug. 19, 6:30-8 p.m.
Dwayne Stallings is now
principal at Central. Stallings
served as assistant principal at
the high school for five years
before transferring to Central.
• Hertford Grammar
(grades 3-5) - Letters with room
and bus assignments as weU as
supply lists should arrive this
week. The school’s open house
is set for 6:30-8 p.m. on Aug. 19.
Edward Williams is principal
at the school.
• Perquimans Middle
(grades 6-8) - Letters went out
last week with core teacher
assignments and supply lists.
Any student who has not
received a letter should call
Kristy Boyce at 426-7355. Open
house will be Aug. 19, 6-7:30
p.m. School principal is Anne
White.
• Perquimans High (grades
9-12) - Sophomores, juniors and
seniors may pick up schedules
Aug. 12 and 13, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Schedule changes may he made
Aug. 16-18. Freshmen may pick
up schedules during the
Freshman Orientation at 5 p.m.
on Wednesday, Aug. 18. At 6:30,
there will be a Senior
Project/College Planning
Orientation for aU seniors and
their parents. There wUl be a
floating open house on the
same date from 5-7:30 p.m. for
all students and parents.
Questions about these sessions
should be directed to John
Wells, guidance counselor, at
426-5778. Elaine Pritchard is
school principal.