The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people
Pirates use OT to beat Aces
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Students learn local farm history
page 7
Churches plan services
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January 27, 2000
Vol. 68, No. 4 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
The
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PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY "
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD NC 27944
Perquimans
JAN 21 a®
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Winter weather grips Perquimans
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Winter weather has gripped
Perquimans for the past two
weeks, and this week promises
to bring even nastier weather.
After a moderate beginning,
winter turned frigid about two
weeks ago with dropping tem
peratures and blasts of arctic
air. Last week, the first of sev
eral winter storms dumped
enough ice and snow to close
schools for two days and make
driving after dusk and before
dawn hairy.
This week started out with
light snow Sunday and turned
ugly Monday with rain and
storm winds pounding
throughout the day. Tuesday’s
early morning hours brought
freezing rain which gave way
to snow about mid-morning.
Schools were closed for the
third day in two weeks
Tuesday.
Saturday
auction to
benefit
downtown
upgrades
A Victorian bedroom suite.
Vintage collectibles. Baubles
and beads. All this and more
will be auctioned Saturday to
benefit revitatlization efforts
in downtown Hertford.
Spearheaded by the newly-
formed Antique Dealers
Association of Perquimans
County, the fund raiser
includes both silent and live
auctions at L&L, Ltd., former
ly home to Morgan Furniture
Store on Church Street in
downtown Hertford.
Antique dealers, those who
support economic develop
ment through revitalization
and others who have antique
and vintage items they’d like
to sell have placed quality
pieces in the auction, accord
ing to organizers.
The silent auction is set for
Saturday, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., with
preview Friday and Saturday,
10 a.pi.-S p.m. The live auction
will being at 7 o’clock
Saturday evening. Antiques,
collectibles, good qualify fur
nishings, handcrafts and
household items will be
offered for sale.
Donations are beging
accepted outright, as well as
on consignment and with a
reserve.
Frankie’s Hertford Cafe will
sell refreshments on site dur
ing the auction. The Historic
Hertford Business Association
will handle collection of
funds.
Auction proceeds will bene
fit the ongoing histori down
town revitalization efforts.
Grant funding has been
pledged to support the efforts
by ADAPC and HHBA in this
project. Funds will be concen
trated on the downtown busi
ness district, and will help
reach the goals of installing
period street lighting, moving
utility cables and lines under
ground, and buUding a cobble
stone thoroughfare.
For information, call Susan
Wilkerson, 426-8222; Jane
McMahon, 426-5945; or L&L
Ltd., 426-3129.
1
A. *''^■7
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
A light
picture
blanket of snow gave the pavillion over the Perquimans River at Missing Mill Park a
-postcard look last week.
Some forecasters predict the
weather will begin to clear on
Wednesday; others warn that
the nasty weather could stick
aroimd imtil the weekend.
According to information on
the on-line Weather Channel,
temperatures will reach 37
Thursday, but a low of 22 will
freeze any moisture left on the
roads. Friday’s high of 42 will
likewise be accompanied by a
low of 26. The Weather
Channel predicts temperatures
will fail to fall to 32 degrees F.
for the first time this week on
Saturday, and that low is
expected to be 33. Sunday
should bring lows in the upper
30s, and by Monday, it is
expected to be rainy and
warmer, with a low of 41 and a
high of 56.
Driving was hazardous dur
ing storms both weeks. A few
accidents, mostly minor, were
reported, along with several
vehicles sliding into ditches
courtesy of click roadways.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 37
Low: 22
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High: 42
Low: 26
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 44
Low: 33
Partly Cloudy
Sunday
High: 52
Low: 37
Mostly Cloudy
Monday
High: 56
Low: 41
Scattered Showers
Tw(\speak on 2000-2001 school calendar
Volleyball team, x
Christmas contest
winners recognized
JEREMY DESPOSITO
The Daily Advance
A member of the calendar
committee had enthusiastic
words for the Board of
Education regarding the pro
posed 2000-2001 calendar that
was presented Monday night.
While the calendar may be a
good one, the president of an
agricultural consulting firm
said, starting school at the
beginning of August would
deplete the young staff his
company relies on to protect
summer crops.
Julia White, calendar com
mittee member and middle
school parent, said those in
opposition to the proposed cal
endar need to view the oppor
tunities differently
“One parent told me that
they see the remediation days
built in as a form of punish
ment for the child that needs
help,” White said. “Do we real
ly want our children to hear us
speak of school as a form of
punishment? It is the key to
their success in life.”
Although students would
begin school in early August,
they would be out by early
June, so students wovddn’t be
“robbed” of their summer
vacation, as some parents have
purported, according to White.
“They stUl have eight and a
half consecutive weeks off,
with several wonderful breaks
during the year,” she said. “If
for the sake of argument we
added days to the year, what
would be so bad about that? It
would provide our children
with all the more opportunity
to learn. The remediation days
can have many uses. If a stu
dent is having difficulty, he can
get up to speed with his class
mates. Is it not better than lag
ging farther and farther
behind? How can we be against
time bunt into the schedule to
help our children?”
White added that if “chil
dren are doing well, and need
no extra help, the days can be
used for enrichment.” The pro
posed “alternative” schedule
would also allow more one-on-
one learning with the teacher,
undermining the trend of a
growing student population
and a decreasing teacher pool,
she said.
“Perquimans students will
have their best chance at suc
cess when they are no longer
serving time, but when time is
serving them,” she added.
Stan Winslow was the only
other public speaker. As presi
dent of Tidewater Agronomics
Inc. in Camden, his company
relies on high school and col
lege hands “to take care of
farmers’ crops.”
“I realize there’s lots of good
changes to starting earlier in
the fall,” Winslow said. “But I
also realize the problems farm
ers face, even in good circum
stances. I’ve hired Perquimans
County High School students
as scouts for the past nine
years.”
Training students in June,
Winslow works with the stu
dents through July August, he
said, is the crucial time for pro
tecting crops. By then, the stu
dents know what parasites to
look for as well as other meth
ods of protecting farmers
crops.
“By the end of July through
the month of August, we would
need to double the workforce,”
Winslow said. “I’m not just
speaking for myself. I’m speak
ing on behalf of the farmers.
There’s $15 million in potential
income in need of protection
during that time.”
The board expects to make a
motion to approve or reject the
proposed calendar at the next
board meeting. However, board
Chairman Walter Leigh said
he foresees no obstacles to
board approval.
“I don’t see any obstacles
that would kill it,” he said.
“(Calendar) committee mem
bers put in long, hard hours
since 1998. We value that.”
Also at the meeting, the 1999
Lady Pirates volleyball team
and winners of the
Superintendent’s Christmas
Card Contest were recognized.
The Lady Pirates, who
became the Eastern Regional
Class A VoUeybaU champions
in their 32-1 run to the NCH-
SAA State Class A Finals, were
presented awards.
“They had a super season,”
Leigh said. “They’re a great
group of young ladies, and
they represented us.”
The contest winners also
received ribbons. “It’s great,”
Superintendent Gregory Todd
said. “Our students do great
work.”
. inn Tww’
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PHOTOS BY JEREMY DESPOSITO
Winners of the 1999 Superintendents Christmas Card Contest were congratulated by the
Board of Education Monday night. Copies of their greeting cards were sent to all school sys
tems across the state. Winners are listed by school as follows: Perquimans Central School:
Jamie Denson, card; Kylli Lassiter, verse; Hertford Grammar School: Julie Hoffman, card;
Johnathon Weisgerber, verse (not shown); Ethan Jennings, verse (not shown); Perquimans
Middle School: April Fretwell, card; Amanda Joy Goodrich, Verse; Perquimans High School:
Phillip Brent, card.
The 1999 Lady Pirates Volleyball team was congratulated by the Board of Education for their
run to the NCHSAA State Class A Volleyball finals. Going 32-1, they are the Eastern Regional
Champions. Pictured in alphabetical order are: Ashley Copeland, Chastity Davis, Gena
Harrell, Lisa Harris, Stefani Harris, Tasha Leary, Savannah Pulliam, Mindy Roberson, Ashley
Rountree, Ashley Sessoms (not shown), Megan Stallings, Ashley Winslow, E. Ashley Winslow,
Fallon Winslow. Also recognized were: Head Coach Carolyn Rogers, assistant Darlene Walton,
scorekeeper Shellie Hurdle (not shown), statistician Julane Chappell (not shown), line judge
Jay Rountree.