s'
01-11A'=I 110101 01 **C001
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people PERnuiMANS county
lio'u ACADEHY ST FOInKlI! iiy/! F 1^1
Lady Pirates still perfect
Rage 7
Risk of SIDs death up in winter
Rage 6
Math-a-thon a hit
Rage 10
The
HERTFORD NC 27944
..Ik
FE8 1 4 2031
February 15, 2001
Vol. 69, No. 7 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Perquimans
Weekly
Hertford raises price of plots at Cedar Wood
Future
maintenance
costs factored in
new prices
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Departing this life and being
buried at Cedar Wood
Cemetery will get more expen
sive on March 12.
That’s the date Hertford
Hertford
considers
alarm
system
ordinance
SUSAN R. HARRIS
If you’re not getting robbed,
you may get fined.
An ordinance to regulate
the installation, operation and
maintenance of automatic
alarm systems is under review
by the Hertford Town Council.
And it would institute fines for
• repeated false burglar and fire
alarms.
Hertford Town Clerk Cindy
Sharber said the ordinance is
being considered because
more alaf m systems are being
installed in businesses and
private homes, and because
more false alarms are being
recorded.
Council tabled discussion
on a proposed ordinance
Monday night due to the
absence of town attorney
Walter Edwards Jr. But board
members had earlier received
a copy of an ordinance pro
posed by Town Manager John
Christensen.
'If passed, the ordinance
would require anyone wishing
to install an alarm system to
Hie for a permit with the police
department. The police chief
would approve permit
requests. By accepting the per
mit, the owner of the premises
for which the permit is used
would agree that the town, its
agents and it employees would
not be held liable for any dam
age to the premises caused by
the entry of any member of
the police or fire departments
in response to an alarm initi
ated by the automatic protec
tion system.
Further, the police and fire
chiefs or their designees
would have th eright to inspect
the alarm system “at reason
able times.”
Finally, the ordinance
Would impose a fine for failure
to get or renew a permit to
install or operate an alarm
system and for false alarms.
' - A $50 fine would be charged
for failing to obtain or renew a
permit. For false alarms, the
toWn would impose a fine of
$50 for the second one in a cal
endar month and $100 per inci
dent after two. The police
department would keep
records of alarms.
The proposed ordinance is
similar to ones used in other
towns in the area.
Council voted to raise the price
of gravesiies in the town-
owned cemetery in order to
meet the costs of cemetery
maintenance in the future.
Gravesites will also be sold in
one- and two-grave plots,
rather than one-, two-, four-
and eight-grave plots.
Now, the cost of a lot at
Cedar Wood is $200 for a
Hertford resident, $500 for a
county resident, and $800 for
all others. Lots are 4’ x 10’.
Mausoleum lots are six times
those prices because they mea
sure 12’ X 20’ to accommodate
the structure. After March 12,
the price will rise by $300 per
lot across the board to $500,
$800 and $1,100. Mausoleum
lots will continue to be charged
at six times the rate for regular
burial plots.
Mayor Sid Eley said there
are 1,110 gravesites stiU unsold
in Cedar Wood.
Maintenance costs and the
fact that once aU gravesites are
sold, the town will receive no
more revenue from the ceme
tery prompted council to con
sider the price increase. Eley
said for the past three years,
the town has paid $26,000 more
in maintenance than it has
brought in from gravesite
sales. Officials said the situa
tion will worsen once all lots
are sold, shutting off all rev
enue. Based on average sales,
Eley said the town can expect
Cedar Wood to sell all its lots in
about 14 years.
Council will discuss with
town attorney Walter Edwards
establishing a trust with a per
centage of the proceeds from
the sale of gravesites. The
interest from the trust could
then help offset the cost of
cemetery upkeep once aU lots
are sold. Council members Dan
Daneker and JoAnn Morris
both said they wanted to make
sure the trust was established
properly so that the funds
would be used as intended.
They voted to establish the
trust, but said the particulars
would have to be set with the
help of Edwards, who missed
the meeting due to iUness.
Eley recommended the
Day of roses... and more roses
Employees at Dozier's Florist began their biggest days of the year Tuesday morning, arranging an array of flowers for
delivery on Valentine's Day. Posies of all shapes and colors filled the florist's cooler, but the red rose is still the best
seller on the day of love. Work at area florists was expected to continue late into the night and begin early on
Wednesday morning. Deliveries will take most of Valentine's Day.
Junk car pilot program funded by state grant
SUSAN R. HARRIS
If it’s unlicensed, won’t run,
doesn’t have tires, or is not
inspected, chances are it’s also
against a county ordinance to
have it on your property.
Thanks to a new tri-county
pilot program, you can now
probably have that junk vehi
cle removed at no charge if you
live in Perquimans, Chowan or
Gates counties.
The removal of unsightly
junk cars is funded by a $30,400
grant from North Carolina’s
Northeast Parnership and
$5,000 from Chowan County.
There are additional grants
pending from Gates and
Perquimans counties and the
town of Edenton.
Begun last spring as a vol
unteer effort by a few private
citizens and government lead
ers in Chowan County, the pro
ject is now steered by a “Junk
Car Task Force” made up of
citizens, enforcement officers
and government employees
from the three- county area.
A news release issued by the
Albemarle Regional Solid
Waste Management Authority
stated that not only are junk
vehicles unsightly and
unhealthy, but they hamper
economic development efforts
to bring new business, tourists
and retirees to the area.
Perquimans and Chowan
counties already have laws
against junk and abandoned
cars as weU as ordinances reg
ulating junkyards. But volun
tary cooperation of the owners
of the vehicles wiU be one of
the keys to getting neighbor
hoods cleaned up.
The program is designed to
demonstrate to the state legis
lature that the junk car prob
lem can be fixed.
The Task Force will propose
new legislation to change the
North Carolina vehicle licens
ing procedure to try to prevent
junk cars. They propose a per
manent tag to be issued and
remain with each vehicle
throughout its life. If the fees
for the permanent tag are not
kep current, no new tags wiU
be issued to the owner. In
effect, an individual wUl not be
able to get a license for any
new vehicle if they owe taxes
on any old vehicle, to defray
the cost of of cleaning up junk
cars and enforcement, the Task
Force wiU propose that modest
disposal fees accompany every
vehicle title transfer, new and
used. Disposal fees are already
included in the prices of appli
ances and tires. State licensing
of junkyards and stricter regu
lation will also be proposed.
Enforcement officers in
each of the three counties are
now ready to look for junk cars
and notify property owners of
the availabUity of frfee towing.
Vehicles wUl be towed to the
Perquimans, Chowan, Gates
Solid Waste Management
Facility, crushed and recycled
as scrap.
The Task Force would like to
have aU designated junk cars
by June of this year. Anyone
who would like to have vehi
cles towed and recycled as part
of this project should caU the
enforcement officer in the
county in which the vehicle is
located. In Perquimans, call
Zeke Jackson, 426-8283; Gates,
Ron McDougald, 357-1380, and
Chowan, Lynn Perry, 482-5618.
Perquimans officials are
already working with three
property owners/residents to
clean up junk vehicles and
other items in violation of the
county’s junk ordinance.
Failure to comply with
county ordinances carries
fines, including court costs if
the case must be resolved in
the legal system.
Residents who have junk
vehicles that need to be
removed, but did not have the
funds to pay for removal can
avoid fines by using the free
towing service provided under
the pUot program.
County residents and resi
dent of the town of Hertford
have appeared before the coun
ty commissioners and town
council requesting that action
be taken to remove junk cars.
move away from four- and
eight-grave sites because he
said changing times have
resulted in family members
not being as likely to all be
buried in the same plot. There
are several multi-plot sites
with only two graves in them,
and the families of those
buried are no longer in the
area.
Council voted to hold off on
the price increase to allow
local residents a 30-day grace
period to purchase lots at the
old rates.
Historic
site opens
March 1
The Historic 1730 Newbold-
White House will reopen for
the 2001 season on March 1.
Newbold-White is the oldesi
standing brick house in North
Carolina, and has much of its
original structure intact.
Inside the home, furnishings
and household goods tell the
story of a colonial family
The house was built by
planter Abraharh Sanders, and
served as an early meeting
place for local and state gov
ernment, including court, as
well as religious gatherings.
In addition to the house
which features walk-in fire
places in the two downstairs
rooms and dogleg stairs lead
ing to the upstairs bedroom,
the site holds more history
Expansive grounds feature
Quaker gravesites dating back
to the 1600s and a seasonal
herb garden.
The David Newby Cottage
was moved to the site and ren
ovated, serving as the home ol
the site manager.
A building modeled after a
historic barn serves as the vis
itor’s center, gift shop and
meeting room.
The Perquimans County
Restoration Association over
sees the site and plans inter
pretive and informative pro
gramming. Among the events
planned for the site this year
are the Spring Garden Party
Hearth & Harvest Festival.
Jollification, and Christmas
Open House.
Picnicing on site is encour
aged and parking is plentiful.
Hours are
Tuesday—Saturday, 10 a.m.-
4:30 p.m. and Sunday, 2-5 p.m.
Call 426-7567 or email
nbwh@inteliport.com for
information.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 60s
Low: 40s
Showers Likely
Friday
High: 70s
Low: 40s
Mostly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 60s
Low: 30s
Showers Likely