1 JUL 1 0 2001 1
^ DUESe’IbU U LbL
^HE ONLY NEWSPAPER FOR AND ABOUT PERQUIMANS COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
Senior enjoy Evening in Paris
Page 2
PCHS to get tasty lessons
Pages
Library has busy schedule
Pages
July 12, 2001
Vol. 69, No. 28 Hertford. North Carolina 27944
The
PERQf
• f"-. •} C.* ^
pSoSihans countv librarv
JUL 1 0 286
Hertford may
redo ice plant
SUSAN R. HARRIS
For several years,
Hertford officials have
talked about the need to
renovate the old ice
plant.
Thanks to a
grant/loan proposal, the
needed work will likely
be done.
Hertford received a
grant/loan proposal in
the amount of $872,624
from Rural
Development. Of that,
$146,600'is grant money,
and $726,024 would be
borrowed at 4.875 per
cent for 30 years with an
annual payment of
$46,176.
Mayor Sid Eley said
town officials found it is
more cost-effective to
renovate the old build
ing than to tear down
the old ice plant and
build a new building.
The space will be reno
vated for offices and
storage for the utilities
and maintenance
departments. Eley said
with inside storage
available for the town’s
vehicles and equipment,
the equipment should
last longer.
Notice was also given
to council that signs
announcing no bicycles
emd other wheeled recre
ation items such as
rollerblades and skate
boards are been deliv
ered and will be put up
downtown soon.
The town will send
out notices with the next
utility biUs asking resi
dents to trim trees, bush
es and plants growing
over sidewalks. For sev
eral months, covmcil has
discussed growth near
the streets and side
walks that makes it diffi
cult to see at intersec
tions and also to walk
down some of the town’s
sidewalks.
Recently, the town
severely cut back hedges
on Church Street that
encroached on the side
walk. They hope resi
dents take quick action.
Playin’ around
Children enjoyed Sunday afternoon in the park on July 1 at the Perquimans
4th of July celebration. Tag, sliding, swinging, and just talking with friends
were popular activities at Missing Mill Park.
SUSAN R. HARRIS
School officials are working
hard to eliminate the mold prob
lem at Central School.
Interim superintendent
James “Pat” Harrell told school
board members late last month
that Maintenance and
Transportation Director
Richard O’Neal went to a work
shop on how to deal with mold
and mildew.
M.B. Kahn, the contruction
management firm that oversaw
construction of the building,
has also been called for recom
mendations, and the state
Department of Emvironmental
Science has looked at the build
ing. Boney Architects, school
designers, have also been asked
for assistance with concrete
borings.
The problem, Harrell said, is
moisture in the building.
Last year, some students com
plained of physical symptoms
resulting from the mold in the
building.
The facility is two years old.
Junk car abatement program is underway locally
SUSAN R. HARRIS
It’s not exactly a “one
man’s trash is another
man’s treasure” story But
it is a story about moving
out trash and treasuring
the local environment.
The Perquimans
Chowan Gates Solid Waste
Management Commission
is operating a state demon
stration project to rid the
tri-county area of junk
^vehicles. The goal is to haul
and recycle 600 vehicles —
200 from each county.
Albemarle Regional
Solid Waste Management
Authority Recycling
Coordinator Anne Blindt
said that hundreds of junk
and abandoned motor vehi
cles have accumulated in
the Albemarle region. The
vehicles are imsightly and
unhealthy, and they also
hamper economic develop
ment efforts as communi
ties try to lure businesses,
industries, heritage
tourists and retirees to the
area. Even the historic dis-
* 4- ^
Cars are being collected for recycling at the tri-county landfill in Belvidere.
Through a state junk car abatement pilot project, officials in Perqumans, Chowan
and Gates counties hope to rid the area of 600 junk vehicles.
tricts are marred by junk
cars.
Just over a year ago, a
group of government lead
ers and concerned resi
dents of Chowan County
spoke to members of the
Senate Agriculture,
Environment and Natural
Resources Committee
about the junk car and
other litter problems in the
area. They asked commit
tee members to fund a pilot
junk car abatement project
in the region.
Last summer, the group
met with people from
Perquimans and Gates
coimties and formed a tri
county Junk Car Task
Force. The task force wrote
a grant proposal for a pilot
junk cair abatement project
and submitted it to Senator
Marc Basnight.
The proposal outlined
methods of removing vehi
cles from private property
both by enforcing existing
codes and by gaining the
voluntary cooperation of
vehicle owners through
offering free towing. In
addition. Gates County
agreed to work to pass a
junk and abandoned vehi
cle ordinance to help in the
clean-up effort.
Perquimans and Chowan
counties already have junk
car ordinances.
Continued on page 8
Getting rid of junk
cars in Perquimans
In Perquimans
County, the Inspections
Department is responsi
ble for the junk vehicle
abatement program.
Inspections clerk
Debbie Proctor said the
office gets two to three
calls each day about
removing junk vehicles.
In fact, Proctor said, peo
ple from other counties
have called and asked
why their county doesn’t
have the program.
Building Inspector
Virgil Parrish said Chief
Inspector and Code
Enforcement Officer
Zeke Jackson is han
dling most of the caUs in
Perquimans. Parrish
said when calls come in,
Jackson goes out to meet
with the vehicle owner
Call 426-8283
for assistance
in Perquimans.
or property owner on
whose land the vehicle
sits. Proof of the vehi
cle’s ownership must be
established. The best
way to do this is with a
title; however, Parrish
said, an affidavit of own
ership or other docu
ments may be completed
if no title is available.
Once ownership is estab
lished and documented,
a sticker is put on the
vehicle and the tow com
pany notified to pick up
the vehicle.
Continued on page 8
Tournament time
Perquimans Cal Ripken All-Star Matthew Perry
prepares to throw a strike in the Babe Ruth 12-
and-Under District Tournament hosted by
Perquimans Youth League last Tuesday—Sunday.
Perquimans was eliminated from the tournament
in two sixth-inning, one-run heart-breakers. The
Outer Banks defeated Camden Sunday for the
championship.
Smart Start launches fund-raising campaign
State cuts will
curtail
programs
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Most businesses in
Perquimans County likely
got a plea for money from
the Chowan/Gates/
Perquimans Partnership
for Children recently.
The Partnership, the
Smart Start implementing
agency for the three coim
ties, has initiated a fund
raising campaign to help
keep its programs moving
forward in light of state
budget cuts. The first phase
of the campaign was mail
ing requests for support to
all businesses on the cham
ber lists in Perquimans and
Chowan counties.
Addresses for other busi
nesses, as well as those in
Gates County, are now
being sought to continue
the campaign.
Partnership spokesper
son Gail King said the
Partnership’s fund raising
committee will meet on
July 18, and she anticipates
that the group wiU coordi
nate other activities to
raise needed funds.
Volunteers have already
offered their help.
“Our board strongly
believes it is necessary to
take steps to ensure the
many fine programs we
have begun that benefit
children and families in
our tri-county service area
are continued and
enhanced,” said Winfall
Mayor Fred Yates, newly-
elected Partnership board
chairman.
Yates said the
Partnership currently
offers 14 separate activities
beneficial to families of
children from birth to age
5. The organization has
also served as a pilot for
programs that extend
beyond pre-school age. In
fact, Yates said, the
Partnership would like to
eventually expand services
to include children up to
age 18.
The Smart Start man
date is to provide services
that prepare aU children to
begin school with the tools
and skills needed to learn.
The Partnership is a not-
for-profit private organiza
tion. State funds have been
made available for start-up
costs and programming;
however. Smart Start pro
grams are designed to func
tion as public-private part
nerships and rely on fund
ing from the private sector.
In fact, fund raising was
a part of the Partnership’s
plan from its inception.
Yates said the state’s budg
et woes caused that compo
nent to be put into place
more quickly than original
ly planned.
Those interested in
involvement with the
Partnership should contact
King or Partnership
Executive Director Wendy
Jewett at 221-3030.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 85
Low: 68
Sunny
Friday
High: 81
Low: 67
Sunny
Saturday
High: 82
Low: 67
Sunny