The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people
Rotarians celebrate 75 years
Page 3
4-H workshops this summer
Page 2
Top students, other school news
Page 8
June 15, 2000
Vol. 68, No. 24 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
The
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Perquimans
Weekly
Boat Bash
organizers
requesting
alcohol sales
ANNA GOODWIN
MCCARTHY
Correspondent
The sign in front of Missing
Mill Park lists the park's rules
in bold, black letters.
A Hertford Town Councilman
wants to change one of the
rules for two days.
Town Councilman Dan
Paneker said that a ban on
alcohol use in Missing Mill
Park should be lifted for the
Perquimans Narrows Boat
Bash in August. The event is
scheduled for August 12-13.
"It would be a temporary sus
pension on the limitation of
alcohol sales," said Daneker.
paneker, who is one of the
organizers for the event, urged
town council members to ask
the opinions of their con
stituents before they make a
decision.
Daneker said he was tentative
about asking the town council
to abandon the rule that pro
hibits the sale of alcohol at the
park.
"It has probably never been
done," said Daneker.
Profits from the sale of alco
hol at the event wiU aid the
town, said Daneker. "The pro
ceeds we realize will go
towards downtown revitaliza
tion."
Daneker said he expected at
least 80 boats in the
Perquimans River during the
weekend.
Daneker persuaded town
council members to close the
boat ramp and the parking lot
for the event.
The Chamber of Commerce
will hold an "Anything that
Floats" boat race to kick off
the event, said Daneker.
Town takes hard stand against
poorly maintained, messy yards
ANNA GOODWIN
MCCARTHY
Correspondent
Hertford residents will have to
pay a fine if they do not keep
their yards clean.
Hertford Town Manager John
Christensen said residents will
receive letters from the town if
they fail to mow their grass, or
if there is junk in their front
yards.
"At least 50 letters have gone
out," said Christensen.
; Christensen said that resi
dents will have an opportunity
to clean up their yards before
they receive a fine.
If the yards are not main
tained after several weeks, the
town will take action, said
Christensen.
Christensen said the town
will be forced to mow the
grass, and a bill will be sent to
the owner.
Residents have adequate time
to modify the situation, said
Christensen.
The town's actions are a result
of a strict ordinance passed
last year that requires the
maintenance of yards, said
Christensen.
Ready for the sheepskin
PHOTO BY ERIC ABERNETHY
Perquimans County High School's Class of 2000 listens to the program during com
mencement last Friday night. This year's graduating senior class includes 108 stu
dents
Perquimans H.S. Class
of 2000 turns tassels
SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
On an almost perfect late spring, evening,
Perquimans County High School 'sent 108
graduating seniors out into the world as the
school's first graduating class of the new
millennium.
Or was it the last class of the millennium?
During Friday night's commencement cere
monies at Memorial Field, Perquimans
County Schools Superintendent Gregory
Todd posed that question to the Class of
2000.
"Make your own choice," Todd said.
On a somber theme, the schools chief
added, "This is the last time the Class of
2000 will be gathered as a group together,"
Todd said.
Todd urged the graduates to understand
themselves and others, in order to prosper.
"That is the key to your success," he said.
Class valedictorian Courtney Harris spoke
of thee change she and her classmates are
bound to face in the near and distant
future. Harris noted there would be no
more high school-related joys and pitfalls
for herself and her fellow students.
"We have all become new individuals,"
Harris said.
Harris said the class had been given the
tools to find success in the past 13 years of
schooling.
"I challenge each of you to take these keys
you've been provided and unlock the door to
the future," she said.
Salutatorian Blair Winslow also proffered
words of advice to her peers.
"Shoot for the moon," Winslow said. "Even
if you miss, you wiU land in the stars."
Honor student Rebecca Hyde told the
standing-room only audience that, although
she was leaving PCHS, she would not soon
forget her time there.
"All of us are carrying memories and expe
riences of high school that wUl last a life
time," she said.
Amanda Drozdowski admitted high school
had its ups and downs.
"We have had the opportunity to experi
ence the best and worst of oiu* lives," she
said.
School board chairman Walter Leigh
thanked the parents, teachers and staff
members who aided the class in the long
process leading up to graduation. He also
acknowledged the students' hard work over
the past four years.
"As 1 look into each face tonight," he said,
"I see you are excited and proud of your
selves."
Downtown mural drawing new attention
SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
" For 17 years, a mural depict-
.ing images of this town’s his
toric past has stared down
from the north side of a two-
story hardware store in the
heart of the downtown.
In, one part of the popular
mural, there's an image of a
baseball and a New York
,;Yankees hat — symbols for
major league great and native
«on, Jim “Catfish” Hunter,
Vho died last year. In another,
u Native-American stares out
in profile. In still another, two
iyouths — one black, one white
— paddle a canoe down the
Perquimans River.
; It's the mural's largest image,
;however — a red-white-and-
;blue rendition of the
Confederate Battle Flag on the
jjuilding wall's right-hand cor-
-ner — that’s currently drawing
all the attention.
Recently, Hertford Hardware
:owner Erie Haste, who owns
the mural because he owns the
building on which it's painted,
announced that he's exploring
i
-
PHOTO BY ERIC ABERNETHY
The mural painted on the building belonging to Erie Haste
in downtown Hertford has draw attention recently because
of the Confederate battle flag that is part of the artwork.
having the mural restored —
and when it is restored, having
the Confederate flag removed.
"We are working on a plan to
restore the mural," Haste said
this week. "We're discussing
that with the artist now."
Haste was approached by
Winfall Mayor and
Perquimans NAACP
Chairman Fred Yates two
years ago about the possibility
of removing the Confederate
flag from the mural. Yates said
state tourism officials, who
named Hertford one of two
pilot towns for Heritage
Tourism in 1998, had raised
concerns about the flag.
"It was mentioned to him that
it was not favorable," Yates
said.
The mural's image of the
Confederate flag apparently
isn't favorable for the same rea
son it isn't in South Carolina,
where the NAACP coordinated
a boycott of the state because
of the flag's presence atop the
state capitol — a presence state
legislators only recently voted
to end. African Americans con
sider the flag offensive because
it's a symbol of the
Confederacy, the group of
Southern states that fought the
Civil War to keep their ances
tors enslaved.
Haste, a former Hertford town
councilman, said he under
stands Yates' and others' con
cerns.
"Fred and I are good friends,
and we have a pretty good
understanding of each other,"
he said. But Haste also empha
sized that he hasn't made any
final decisions about whether
the flag will remain part of the
restored mural.
“There is no real hoopla
because nothing has been
determined about what we
should do," he said.
The local chapter of a group
devoted to preserving the
Confederacy's legacy believes
it knows what Haste should do,
however.
The newly-formed Albemarle
Chapter of the League of the
South of North Carolina has
organized a petition drive to
encourage Haste to keep the
Confederate flag image a part
of the mural. Albemarle
League of the South chairman
Charles Alexander, who says
he's gathered an estimated 700
signatures so far, plans to pre
sent the petitions to Haste late
next week.
"I'm just trying to show him
there is community support
for (retaining the flag on) the
mural if he decided to keep it,"
Alexander said Friday. His
group formed last month as a
member of the League of the
South, an organization formed
by a University of Alabama
professor in 1994.
Alexander said removing the
Confederate flag from the
South Carolina capitol and its
image from the Hertford
Hardware mural may help
some folks, but it hurts others.
Hertford
looking to
light up
downtown
JEREMY DESPOSITO
Staff Writer
Traditional-style lighting fix
tures, first erected in the 19th
century, may soon illuminate
much of the town from the
downtown to the "S" bridge.
That's if a special grant is
approved to buy 107 of the tra
ditional post lights.
The traditional bulb lighting
used in the late 1800s would be
in keeping with the heritage
tourism plans. Town Manager
John Christensen said.
"Part of the heritage tourism
initiative is to be more in char
acter with the way the town
used to look," he said. "We will
have building facades to emu
late the history of the town
and we want the lights to
match that period."
The modern lighting on the
"S" Bridge, which is part of
U.S. Highway 17 Business
South, will be converted back
to the traditional post lighting
if the grant is approved,
Christensen said.
The T21 grant provides feder
al money for highway
enhancements through the
state Department of
Transportation. This is the
second year of the program,
which is a good time to submit
the grant, Christensen said.
"We're hoping the application
is successful," he said. "This is
a big T21 money year. It's the
second year. You never know
how long programs will last."
Hertford won't find out if its
application is approved until
faU, Christensen said.
The project would be complet
ed in three phases. According
to plans, 13 lights would be
erected on the "S" Bridge at a
cost of $82,000. Forty-two
lights would be put up from
the "S" Bridge to Grubb Street
for another $220,000. And 52
lights would be placed down
town costing $246,000.
Perquimans County commis
sioners agreed to pay a portion
of the $125,000 Hertford would
pay for the project, but no
exact amount was finalized.
The grant will cover the rest.
Christensen said the lighting
is part of the Main Street pro
gram's mission to restore and
enhance the downtown area.
If approved, Christensen said
the project could take 12
months to complete.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High; 90
Low: 70
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High: 90
Low: 70
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 90
Low: 70
Partly Cloudy