The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people
Holiday light safety
Rage 2
Enough is enough
Rage 4
Students help community
F^9
December 14, 2000
Vol. 68, No. 50 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
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Hertford gets $3 million in grant funds
■ Grant reduces
- amount to be
borrowed for
water, sewer
upgrades
v SUSAN R. HARRIS
• 3 Editor
■’* Hertford’s water and sewer
expansion/renovation project
became less taxing on its resi
dents with the receipt of a $3
million grant.
Town Manager John
Christensen was all smiles
when he announced in the
town board’s regular meeting
Monday night that the town
•
Grant to
renovate
visitors
center
Center will
house Main
Street, Chamber
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
It wasn’t delivered by
Rudolph, but the town of
Hertford Main Street
Pregram got a welcome gift
last week.
: Main Street Program
Manager Belinda
Washlesky said the town
received a $17,000 Rural
Tourism Development
Grant from the state
Department of Commerce.
The funds will be used to
renovate a downtown build
ing to serve as a visitor and
information center for the
town and county. The town
is working cooperatively
with the Main Street
Program, Chamber of
Commerce and Perquimans
County Restoration
Association on the project.
Washlesky said a visi
tor’s center is an important
component of heritage
tourism development.
Thbre is a need for a staffed
Q^ee for tourists to visit to
jget; information on local
attractions, including
Shops, eateries, bed and
b^akfasts, local events and
activities, and historic
places.
The legislature appropri
ated $300,000 to the Division
of'"Tourism, Film and
Sports Development to fund
programs that encourage
tiie- development of new
tourism projects and activi-
^es^ in rur^ areas of the
state. Over 100 applications
for funding were received,
fed-only 24 projects funded.
~:'“We had applied for
1^5,000 and I think we are
fery fortunate to be the
recipient of $17,000, the
largest amount awarded to
any individual applicant,”
Washlesky said.
Continued on page 6
had received a grant from the
state.
The funds came after the
General Assembly reallocated
proceeds of the Clean Water
Bonds, changing the pool from
a loan pool to a grant pool.
The grant drastically
reduces the amount of money
Hertford will borrow to fund
its extensive water and sewer
expansion/renovation project.
While bids have not been
received on the four-phase pro
ject, Christensen estimates the
total cost to approach $6 mil
lion.
Concern over capacity of
the water and wastewater
treatment plants, as well as the
two systems’ deteriorating con
dition, has been an ongoing
issue for the town. About 3
years ago, the town began plan
ning for an upgrade. Before
applying for grant, bond or
loan money, the town had to
have engineering studies and
cost estimates in hand. That
process was completed in early
1998.
In November 1998, Hertford
voters approved a $4.8 million
bond referendum to fund the
improvements. The town also
actively sought grant funds to
lower the amount of bond
money they would actually
need.
Prior to the $3 million grant,
the town had successfully
applied for an $850,000 CDBG, a
$597,000 U.S. Department of
Commerce Economic
Development Authority grant,
a $472,000 USDA Rural
Development grant, and a
$200,000 Rural Center grant. In
addition, Winfall will pay a
$455,000 add-on fee to tap into
Hertford’s wastewater treat
ment plant. Those funds
totalled about $2.5 million.
Christensen said the town
may lose the $472,000 because
of the new funds. But even that
will stiU leave the town with
about $5 million in funds that
will not have to be borrowed to
complete the project.
The project will be accom
plished in phases, and will
result in the use of the latest
technology throughout the sys
tems.
Phase I, with an estimated
cost of $500,000, will extend
water and sewer service to the
commerce center on Harvey
Point Road, as well as update
facilities, including pumping
stations in town. Christensen
expects to go out for bids on
that phase in about 60 days.
The second phase will
increase the capacity of the
water plant by 50 percent.
Buildings will be added to the
existing water plant to house
state-of-the art equipment and
a third well will be added.
Water tanks will be sand blast
ed and cleaned inside and out.
That project will run about
$750,000.
The third phase will over
haul and modernize the waste-
water treatment plant.
“Basically, we’re going to be
building a new wastewater
plant,” Christensen said,
although the town will make
use of some of the functional
parts of the present system.
Christensen said Phase III
represents major improve-
Holiday celebration
'I*
Perquimans was filled with holiday cheer
last week when several organizations
sponsored Christmas activities. The
Historic Hertford Business Association
organized entertainment and a treasure
hunt downtown. Tori and Kenny Nixon vis
ited with Santa at Inteliport (top right) as
part of the downtown events. The
Antiques Dealers Association of
Perquimans County offered mystery
coupons on their first-ever ramble, which
brought numerous visitors to their shops, including Hertfordshire Antiques (bottom right). The Extension's annual
Christmas ramble allowed tours of three beautifully decorated homes, including the Chruch Street home of Frankie
Eason (upper left), as well as Burgess Baptist Church, where refreshments were served. Hundreds turned out on the
chilly night for the events.
Former county commissioner dies at home
Miller respected
as leader
JEREMY DESPOSITO
AND
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Just three short days after
stepping down from the
Perquimans County Board of
Commissioners, Archie Miller
died at home Thursday after a
long bout with cancer. He was
51.
“He will definitely be
missed,” said Perquimans
County Manager Paul Gregory,
a longtime friend. “We shared
a lot of good times and those
memories will be cherished.”
A Perquimans native. Miller
was programs director at
Pasquotank Correctional
Institute.
Besides gradu
ating from
Perquimans
County High
School, he held
a master’s
degree in edu
cation admin
istration from
East Carolina
University.
a
sfi
L'-.l
ments to the wastewater sys
tem. The town will build a land
application system to dis
charge wastewater, rather than
dumping the treated waster
into the river. The town has an
option on the Brinn Farm on
Grubb Street Extended, which
will be used for the spray field.
“We’ll be up with the latest
technology” once the system is
in place, Christensen said.
Next, the town will upgrade
its wastewater collection sys
tem, focusing on areas where
rainwater infiltrates the pipes.
The town will determine
where the rain waster is enter
ing the system and fix the prob
lem so that the clean water will
not be treated. This will
improve the capacfty of the
system.
Continued on page 6
Armed
robber
hits
county
SEAN JACKSON
The Daily Advance
A lone masked gunman
robbed Tammy’s hair salon in
the Woodville community last
Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
Perquimans County
Sheriff’s investigator Nate
Zachary said last week that the
description of the Tammy’s
robber fit that of suspects in a
number of recent Elizabeth
City business robberies.
“Basically (Thursday’s rob
bery) fits the same MO
(method of operation) as the
(holdups) They’ve been having
in Elizabeth City,” Zachary
said.
The suspect, described as a
black male, walked into
Tammy’s, bandished a
chrome-plated handgun,
instructed an employee to
empty a cash drawer, and then
fled on foot with an undis
closed amount of cash,
Zachary said. The suspect is
approximately 6 feet tall, of
slender build, and was wear
ing all black clothing and a
dark-colored ski mask.
Anyone with information
on this incident or the rob
beries in Elizabeth City should
call the sheriff’s department
at 426-5615.
Miller
Department, of Corrections,
Miller helped run Miller’s
Livestock, a family-owned and
operated business, and also
taught at Perquimans High
School.
Commissioner Shirley
Wiggins, who first ran for the
Board of Commissioners
together with Miller eight
years ago, described him as a
quiet man whose main concern
Before going to work for the continued on page 6
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 48
Low: 29
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High: 50
Low: 38
Mostly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 53
Low: 38
Mostly Cloudy