Pirates whip Camden, 59-20
Page 6
Aiming for the wrong goals
Rage 4
Schools honor grandparents
Page 3
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JL XXJlL HERTFORD NC 27944
Perquimans
August 31, 2000
Vol. 68, No. 35 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
(Weekly
Dally Advance photo by John E. Abernathy
A T.A. Loving Construction Co. crew begins digging pathways for the sewage lines that will be installed throughout the
Town of Winfall over the next year. The traffic tie-ups may be a nightmare now, but for those with failing septic systems
or outhouses, the system is a dream come true.
Winfall sewer project underway
JEREMY DESPOSITO
The Daily Advance
It took nearly a decade to get
the money, but 12 months from
now, a new sewer system will
replace septic tanks and out
houses in Winfall.
Construction on the $6.4 mil
lion project began last Monday
along N.C. Highway 37 near
Perquimans County Middle
School. The heavy equipment
and work on the shoulder of
the roadway has caused some
inconvenience, especially
when students are being
dropped off and picked up
from school. Biit the inconve
nience pales compared to the
problems of improper treat
ment of sewage in the town
that could result from not hav
ing a sewer system in place.
Mayor Fred Yates said
Winfall has sought funding for
the new system for 10 years.
Former Winfall Councilwoman
Shirley Wiggins, now chair
man of the Perquimans
County Commissioners,
stressed the need for the sys
tem during her tenure on
Winfall’s board. Yates, appoint
ed to fill Wiggins’ term when
she was elected to the county
dream
board, pursued the project just
as aggressively as Wiggins had
before him once he was named
to the board. Yates has made
innumerable
phone calls
and driven
many miles
to secure
funding for
the project.
“We
couldn’t
have done the sewer system
without the grant money,,” he
said. “The cost to citizens
would have been too great.”
Indeed, with the exception
of a $500,000 loan from the
statewide clean water bond, all
of the money will come from
grants, including $850,000
secured in 1996, Yates said.
Completion of the project is
expected by Sept. 1, 2001.
As they build the system,
construction crews will have to
dig as deep as 14 feet in some
areas, said a spokesman for
T.A. Loving Construction
Company, contractor for the
project. In coming weeks, the
company will deploy four
crews to work in four areas of
the town.
As part of the project, the
Town of Hertford has agreed to
Fred Yates
Winfall Mayor
treat the wastewater coming
from Winfall, though Winfall
will maintain its own system,
Yates said. The connection will
run under
the
Perquimans
River and
hook up on
the Hertford
side.
“Hertford
has 100,000
reserve gallons per day,” Yates
said. “That capacity is guaran
teed for the Town of Winfall.”
About $45,000 of the total
project cost will go toward
helping Hertford upgrade its
system to accommodate the
connection to Winfall. Winfall
currently has two wells for
water but only uses one. A
$26,000 grant will allow the
town to build a third one to
provide enough water to oper
ate the sewer system.
Seeing construction begin
was a moment to relish for
Yates.
“It’s just a dream come
true,” he said. “It’s been a lot of
hours, miles on the road, beg
ging. It could get to the point
where drinking water will
become contaminated.
(Sewage) can seep down into
the soil and into the drinking
water.”
Yates said some of the septic
tanks around Winfall are 40 to
50 years old and that some of
them are leaking.
Also, some residents contin
ue to rely on outhouses.
Building the system will
ultimately be cheaper than
operating and maintaining a
septic tank, he said.
“A septic tank for one house
in Winfall costs you $6,000,”
Yates said. “With the sewer,
you can do it for a lot less.”
To a point, Yates said the
new system will attract indus
try, although Winfall is not
looking for large businesses.
Yates said smaller businesses
would help build a tax base.
“We want to be comfortable
and get a tax base so we don’t
have to rely on residential
taxes,” he said. “We’re not
looking for large businesses,
otherwise you lose that small
town atmosphere.”
In a recent joint meeting of
the governing boards of
Winfall and Hertford, it was
decided that both councils
must approve any decision to
offer a business a financial
incentive to locate in Winfall
based on sewer hook-up fees.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 83
Low: 72
T'storms
Friday
High: 84
Low: 71
Scahered T'storms
Saturday
High: 86
Low: 70
ISOUTED T-STORMS
New group focuses on waterways
Preservation,
enhancement of
recreational
water resources
is main goal
Perquimans County has
over 100 miles of waterfront -
and a new organization has
formed in Hertford to use these
waterways as a tool to improve
the entire county.
Perquimans Heritage Inc.
(PHI) is a non-profit organiza
tion comprised of volunteers
dedicated to preserving and
enhancing Hertford and
Perquimans County by utiliz
ing the community’s abundant
recreational water resources.
Perquimans Heritage Inc.
has already found success. In
Jime, the organization held the
successful Hertford Mothboat
Regatta that raised funds for
the organization. The group
plans to host other events
focused on the county’s water
ways.
Funds raised by PHI will be
distributed to non-profit orga
nizations that strive to
improve the Hertford and
Perquimans County communi
ty. The funds will be disbursed
through a formal grant
process.
The Board of Directors of
Perquimans Heritage Inc. are
Maurice “Buck” Bunch, Dan
Daneker, Carlton Davenport,
Ralph Autry, LuAnne
Pendergraft, Mary C. White,
Mitza Autry, Billie Simkins,
John Christensen, and Chris
Lane.
Perquimans Heritage Inc. is
seeking members who are
interested in actively partici
pating in utilizing the county’s
waterways for the betterment
of the community. PHI will
have materials available dur
ing Indian Summer Festival.
For more information, call
Carlton Davenport at 426-5503.
County to build
COA tech center
at conunerce park
JEREMY DESPOSITO
The Daily Advance
Area residents interested
in learning the skills needed
to build commercial boats
will soon be able to earn col
lege credit as well as enhance
their job prospects.
College of The Albemarle
plans to begin offering a one-
year degree program in boat
building in the fall of 2001,
COA President Sylvester
McKay said last week.
Another bit of big news is
that the facility that will
house the program will be
built in Perquimans.
“The tech center would be
a very positive influence on
companies locating in the
region,” said Perquimans
County Manager Paul
Gregory. “We’re looking to
have a boat-related business
park because of its location
to the water.”
Perquimans’ commerce
center, which is being devel
oped by the county, is located
on both sides of Harvey Point
Road, just off U.S. Highway
17 Bypass. The north side of
the center is along the river.
McKay wasn’t sure what
the 28,000 square-foot facility
needed to house the program
will cost, but Gregory said
the county is already commit
ted to paying for it and locat
ing it at the Perquimans
Commerce Centre.
The degree program would
be different from the non
credit boat-building course
COA started last year, McKay
said. That course has a short
term focus of helping area
boat builders improve the
skills of their existing work
ers.
“When we offer non-credit
courses we’re trying to meet
the immediate needs of busi
nesses and industry,” McKay
said.
The proposed degree pro
gram, which will focus on
fiberglass lamination and
assembly, is a response to the
growth of the boat-building
industry in the northeast, he
said.
“We have a growing boat
construction industry in sev
eral counties in the northeast
and community colleges are
trying to respond to that
growing industry,” McKay
said.
The idea of the non-credit
course originated in 1999
after one of Regulator
Marine’s owners spoke at
COA’s summer graduation.
After hearing Joan
Maxwell speak, McKay decid
ed to visit community col
leges in Wilmington and
Panama Beach, Fla. to see
how they had designed a col
lege credit program in boat
building.
During those visits,
McKay says he learned how
much space it takes to sup
port a boat-building program
as well as the costs: molds for
new boats can cost as much
as $100,000, he said.
“I learned the process (of
boat-building) and the impor
tance of having a program
directly linked with local
businesses,” McKay said.
Maxwell, president of
Regulator Marine, said the
degree program will benefit
the local boat-building indus
try because it will produce
skilled workers.
“We have three boat
builders (in Edenton) and all
three of us will benefit from a
skilled work force,” Maxwell
said. “We can get that from
experience on the floor, but if
they come through the doors
with already a minimum
skill level, we can reduce
turnover and huild products
with better (price) margins
on them because of (saving)
the overhead of having to
retrain people.”
Boat builders aren’t the
first industry COA has
worked with closely. The col
lege also trains workers for a
local travel agency and, when
Friskies closed, it helped the
pet treat-maker’s employees
by offering them retraining
opportunities. COA also
plans to work with area day
care centers to help their
teachers and workers meet
new state guidelines, McKay
said.
Football opener
Perquimans opened its varsity football season with a
59-20 win over visiting Camden Friday night.