. Jyi
liUii
,pi DEC 2 7 2000
lilicsc^ranrci
(Happ^ (INJew Tearf
1
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people
110101 01 **c:001
Lady Pirates are 7-0;
Holiday Classic is this week
F^7
Two honored by RC&D
Rage 2
The
?4RiS«ANS io“uNTV LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY oT
HERTFORD NC Z7944
December 28, 2000
Vol. 68, No. 52 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Perquimans
Weekly
School board
pKs $40M plan
- New high,
middle schools
I'in long-range
; : needs plan
,, SUSAN R. HARRIS
T- Editor
There are more zeroes in
the number than most people
in Perquimans can fathom.
After months of study and
exploring options, the
Perquimans County School
Board approved a long-range
facilities plan that approach
es $39.6 million over the next
20 years and that may not
include the price of land
needed to fulfill the plan.
* The first item on the needs
list to be tackled by the school
board will be the selection of
sites for a new high school
and middle school and to
secure the land through pur
chase or option to purchase.
The board plan indicates that
,Siey will continue to look for
property during this fiscal
year.
Next on the agenda is four
projects for 2001-2002. The
largest need in that time-
frame is building a track and
football field, hopefully near
the high school, with light
ing, fencing, seating, press-
box, scoreboard, PA system,
concession facility and
festrooms. The price tag for
this facility, to be used by
both high and middle school
athletes, is $1.7 million.
. Perquimans presently has
a track program that has sent
athletes to the state finals for
Uie past several years, but
cannot host meets because
there is no track facility. A
new stadiiun would allow for
the expansion of track and
field, as well as provide a sep
arate location for football and
baseball, which presently
share a field. It would also
move soccer off of the soft-
ball field, which is too small
to allow a regulation size
playing area.
r, Board members also said
county residents have
brought up the need for a
secure place for the commu
nity to walk and jog.
Vocational facilities need
ed to expand offerings at the
high school are estimated at
iP00,000, while a new roof
^ting at Hertford Grammar
carries a $125,000 price tag.
Included, but not priced,
for next year is the develop
ment of site plans for the
high and middle schools.
' The big-ticket need for
2002-2003 is a gymnasium at
the high school, a $2 million
project. The 1949 building is
in poor repair, and several
renovations over the years
have failed to bring it up to
par because of its structural
problems. The wood floor
heeds to be replaced because
cannot be sanded again.
Further sanding would crack
the thin tongue-and-groove
boards because they have
been sanded several times.
The locker rooms are also
inadequate, and the original
ones are in extremely poor
condition.
The roof at the middle
school will also need to bej
recoated that year at a cost of
$172,000.
The remainder of the high
school roof will need to be
replaced with modified bitu-
ment in 2003-2004. That pro
ject will run almost $500,000.
The plan calls for no major
construction in 2004-2005. The
next two years, however,
would see a $20 million high
school built.
The original part of the
high school was built in 1929,
with major additions and ren
ovations in the 1970s and
1990s. There has also been sig-
"nificant work done over the
past 10 years. The facility is
filled to capacity, with at least
two hallways having been
walled off to create addition
al classrooms. The curricu
lum cannot be expanded
because there is no space that
can be turned into more
classrooms.
Another concern at the
high school is the lay-out cre
ated by adding on to the orig
inal facility. The gjon, audito
rium and cafeteria cannot be
used without opening up the
entire school. The open floor
plan means people can wan
der throughout the building
when any activity is held
after hours, whether school
or community related. School
officials try to monitor the
movement of those events at
the school, but it is difficult
with no means to erect physi
cal barriers.
Once the high school is
complete, the board plan calls
for renovating the high
school for use as an interim
middle/grammar school. The
$2 million project would be
done in 2007-2008.
Next on the list is moving
Hertford Grammar School to
the high school in 2008-2009 to
allow for renovations at
Hertford Grammar at a cost
of $1.8 million. Although
Hertford Grammar received
renovations and an addition
two years ago, there are still
needs at the facility, including
heat and air work, a new roof
and interior and exterior ren
ovations that could not be
done while it was in use.
In 2990-2010, Hertford
Grammar would move back
home, and the middle school
would use the former high
school building until the 2018-
2019 school year. In 2017-2019,
a new middle school would be
built at a cost of $11 million.
The school board did not
approve the plan without con
siderable study. The plan has
been on the board’s monthly
agenda for several months,
and several options were
studied. In the end, the board
chose the plan approved at its
regular meeting in December.
There has also been discus
sion about what to do with
the existing high and middle
schools. Although the board
felt it was not feasible to con
tinue using the buildings as
schools, there has been dis
cussion about the possibili
ties of their use as communi
ty centers or for other pur
poses.
Teachers earn national certification
Three Perquimans County
Schools teachers have earned
National Board Certification.
Marcia Dickman, Linda
Harrell and Freda Nelson were
among 4,694 primary and sec
ondary teachers from across
the country to earn the highest
professional credential in the
field of teaching. They join
Robin Ward-Dassler, the first
teacher to earn the certifica
tion in Perquimans County
Schools.
Dickman is an exceptional
children’s teacher at
Perquimans Central School.
She earned Teacher of the
Year honors last year at the
site.
“This is an impressive level
of achievement for Marcia
Dickman,’’ said Central School
Principal Billy Stallings. “I am
proud of her dedication and
commitment to the teaching
profession and to the students,
parents and co-workers at
Perquimans Central School.
Ms. Dickman demonstrates
her commitment to her profes
sion daily in the classroom,
during home visits, and by
serving on various school com
mittees. In order to truly
appreciate the value of her
teaching, you need to visit her
classroom.”
Nelson and Harrell are both
assigned to Hertford Grammar
School, where Nelson serves as
instructional facilitator and
Harrell as art teacher.
“I am proud of Freda Nelson
and Linda Harrell for success
fully completing their National
Boards,” said Hertford
Grammar Principal Edward
Williams, “their intensive
work and determination make
them more competent and
skillful in their instructions.
Other staff and students will
benefit from their knowledge
and abilities at Hertford
Grammar School. I hope this is
the beginning for us in having
many teachers obtain their
National Board Certification.”
National Board
Certification, a voluntary
process established by NBPTS,
is achieved through a rigorous
performance-based assess
ment that' takes nearly a year
to complete. Through the
assessment process, teachers
document their subject matter
4/; . 11
I
Linda Harrell helps one of her Hertford Grammar School stu-^
dents create a work of art.
knowledge, provide evidence
that they know how to teach
their subjects to students most
effectively, and demonstrate
their ability to manage and
measure student learning.
North Carolina led the way
in teacher achievement of
National Board Certification
for 1999-2000 with 1,115 earning
the status. Florida had 699;
California, 440; Mississippi,^
389; South Carolina, 331; and
Ohio, 319.
Freda Nelson prepares plans for remediation and accelera- Marcia Dickman uses a variety of instructional methods to
tion at Hertford Grammar School. help her students reach their full potential.
Harris promoted to Weekly publisher
Susan R. Harris has been
promoted to Publisher of The
Perquimans Weekly newspa
per effective Jan. 1.
The announcement was
made last week by The Daily
Advance Publisher Tim Hobbs,
who oversees the Perquimans
Weekly for Cox North Carolina
Publications, headquartered at
The Daily Reflector in
Greenville
Harris joined the newspaper
as Editor in December 1988.
The Perquimans Weekly
became part of Cox
Newspapers in 1997 along with
The Daily Advance.
“Susan will continue to
serve as editor for the newspa
per and assume the title of
Editor and Publisher," said
Hobbs.
“She is now respected as a
community partner through
out the Hertford area,” Hobbs
continued. “The Perquimans
Weekly is considered the pri
mary source for news and
information in Perquimans
County. Over the past several
years, she has been instrumen-
tal in leading
the charge to
completely
redesign and
paginate the
newspaper.”
Her accom-
plishments
also include Harris
strong finan
cial performances year-over-
year and being recognized
among her peers with several
NCPA News, Editorial and
Photojournalism Contest
awards, Hobbs added.
A Perquimans County
native, Harris graduated from
Perquimans County High
School in 1976. She attended
East Carolina University,
where she studied English and
journalism. Her first forays
into journalism were as busi
ness manager and editor of
her high school yearbook. The
Galleon. She also served as a
correspondent for the ECU
newspaper. The Fountainhead.
Harris’ first full-time career
was in the financial services
industry. She left her loan offi
cer position at Home Savings
and Loan in Elizabeth City,
now New South Bank, to
accept her position with The
Perquimans Weekly. She had
worked briefly as a part-time
copy editor and reporter at the
newspaper in 1982.
Harris, 42, lives in the Bear
Swamp community of
Perquimans County with her
husband, Phil, an electrician
at International Paper in
Franklin. The couple have
three children: Andrew, a
sophomore at UNC-Chapel
Hill; Courtney, a freshman at
Meredith College; and Holly, a
sixth grader at Perquimans
Middle School. She is the
daughter of Garland and
LaClaire Anderson of
Elizabeth City and the late Joe
Rogerson.
In addition to her job and
family responsibilities, Harris
was recently elected to the
board of directors of the
Perquimans County Chamber
of Commerce and is active in
Anderson United Methodist
Church.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 37
Low: 30
Mostly Sunny
Friday
High: 49
Low: 32
Rain
Saturday
High: 45
Low: 29
Partly Cloudy
Sunday
High: 43
Low: 29
Partly Cloudy