Local gymnast earns ranking
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Author to speak at library
Rage?
HGS summer programs successful
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August 1, 2002
Vol. 71. No. 32 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
K\\C 0 i
Weekly
County
approves
recognition
resolution
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Sunday, Sept. 8 will be a
day to recognize the many
emergency and law enforce
ment volunteers and
salaried personnel who
work every day to keep us
safe.
The county commission
ers adopted a resolution
Monday submitted by
Hertford Baptist Church to
recognize emergency and
law enforcement volunteers
and employees throughout
the county. The day of
recognition is just three
days shy of the anniversary
of the terrorist tragedies
that rocked the nation last
year.
Hertford Baptist minis
ter Kenneth McNeil said in
presenting the resolution
that the idea of a county
wide day of recognition
came during a deacons
meeting at the church. He
said the church board want
ed to recognize these people
who daily risk their lives
attempting to save others in
the community during one
of their own services.
As the idea developed,
the church decided that
rather than invite all law
enforcement and emer
gency personnel to come to
Hertford Baptist, thereby
taking them away from
their own places of wor
ship, the church would
encourage other congrega
tions to hold recognition
services on the same day.
A list of county churches
has been obtained, and
Hertford Baptist Church
will send letters to other
congregations asking that
they also observe the day of
recognition.
Recreation center bids too high
SUSAN R. HARRIS
It’s not the $64,000 ques
tion, it’s the $600,000 meet
ing.
A committee of county
commissioners, composed
of chairman Ben Hobbs,
Charles Ward and Mack
Nixon; County Manager
Paul Gregory; and
will meet Thursday morn
ing to try to trim the bids
for the county’s planned
recreation/community
center.
When the county opened
bids on the project on July
11, the lowest cost estimate
was over $2 million. The
project budget is $1.4 mil
lion. Funds will come from
a $250,000 state recreation
grant, a $750,000 loan from
BB&T and funds set aside
in the county’s general
fund budget.
“We’ve got to get as close
as we can (to budget),’’ said
Gregory Tuesday. “We’re
hoping to cut $600,00 to
make it more palatable.”
The center, which will be
located on the riverfront at
the Perquimans Commerce
Centre, will include a gym
nasium/auditorium, light
ed baseball fields, a lighted
soccer field and parking
facilities. It represents
phase I of a three-phase
long-term plan.
Phase II will expand the
building with a cardiovas
cular rehab center com
plete with indoor pool.
Gregory said the pool has
already been donated to the
county.
Phase II will add a par 3
golf course, and money has
also been promised toward
that project, Gregory said.
Gregory said he feels
sure the committee can cut
the project budget and
begin construction without
many more delays.
“I’m feeling confident
Chicken Kickin’
t../ ii.
' PHOTO BY ALICE BREWIN
The Historic Hertford Business Association held a The event was a fundraiser to support entertainment
Chicken Kickin' on the courthouse lawn last Thursday, costs for next month's Indian Summer Fesitval, set for
complete with ice cold watermelon and live music. Saturday, Sept.14.
that we can come within
budget or close enhough to
where the commissioners
will give the nod and say
let’s go,” Gregory said.
He said he expects the
commissioners to call a
special meeting next week
to award bids. Construction
should begin shortly there
after.
Under the terms of the
grant, the project is sup-
po^d to be completed by
May 31, 2003.
School
starts
tomorrow
SUSAN R. HARRIS
It’s back to the books for
students and teachers in
Perquimans County
Schools.
Tomorrow is the first day
of school for students.
Faculty and staff cele
brated the opening of
school Monday, with the
annual convocation at the
high school. Guest speaker
was Eugene Gallelli. assis
tant director of the
Principal’s Executive
Program at UNC-Chapel
HiU and a 40-year education
veteran.
School hour^ are:
Central School (pre-
k—grade2) 8:05 a.m. —2:45
p.m.; Hertford Grammar
(grades 3—5) 7:50 a.m.
—2:55 p.m., Perquimans
Middle (grades 6—8) 8 a.m.
—3 p.m., and Perquimans
High (grades 9—12) 8 a.m.
—2:53 p.m.
For more information on
the school system, visit the
school system website at
pcs.kl2.nc.us/.
Hertford-based Periauger project sails ahead after delay
The periauger, a long-
lost colonial workboat, is
closer to setting sail thanks
to the success of an ongo
ing fundraising campaign
by the Hertford-based
Periauger Project.
The Periauger Project
has raised over $17,000
from private individuals
and businesses in addition
to donated building materi
als valued at approximately
$10,000.
“The businesses and
individuals supporting the
Project have been very sup
portive and forthcoming in
recognizing its unique
opportunities,” said
Montgomery Spindler,
chairman of the executive
committee of the Periauger
Project. “When completed,
the periauger will be the
only boat like it in the
world and will be a signifi
cant tool for both regional
maritime education and
economic development.”
In addition to private
funds, a grant application
for $75,000 has been submit
ted to the 2002
Enhancement Program of
the North Carolina
Department of
Transportation. The grant
requests funds to complete
the construction of the
boat and to pursue archaeo
logical studies to deter
mine the best location for
the periauger’s docks at the
historic Newbold-White
House.
Partnering in the
Periauger Project are the
Perquimans County
Restoration Association,
the North Carolina
Maritime Museum, and
East Carolina University’s
Program in Maritime
Studies. The Museum of
the Albemarle, Perquimans
County, the Town of
Hertford, and North
Carolina’s Northeast
Partnership have also
joined the effort.
History of the periauger
In colonial America, set
tlers traveled the water
ways in common ships
called periaugers—the
pick-up trucks of those
days. Surprisingly, ho phys
ical evidence of these typi
cal colonial ships exists
today. Through this histo
ry-making project, the peri
auger will be built and
reintroduced to the water
ways. The periauger repli
ca will be the only boat of
its kind in the world.
Periauger is a generic
term for a two-masted ship
made of a dugout and split
cypress log and propelled
by both oars and sails.
Historical references indi
cate that for many colonial
settlers, the periauger was
the vessel of choice, espe
cially on the sounds and
rivers of North Carolina.
After over a decade of
research and study, final
plans have been drawn up
for the unique 21st century
construction of a “typical”
periauger.
Details of the periauger
The periauger replica
will be 30 feet long with two
masts reaching the height
of 25 feet. It will have row
ing stations for up to 10
oars. Supervising the
design is Michael Alford,
former curator of mar
itime research at the North
Carolina Maritime
Museum and author of
Traditional Workboats of
North Carolina.
“Boat construction tech
niques once common in the
southeast are virtually
unknown today,” said Dr.
Larry Babits, maritime
archaeologist. East
Carolina University’s
Program in Maritime
Studies. “Constructing the
periauger will provide a
means to relearn a signifi
cant form of traditional
boat building and preserve
a very unique aspect of our
maritime heritage.”
The historic 1730
Newbold-White House in
Hertford will be the final
home for the periauger.
Among the documentary
evidence discovered about
the ship was a reference to
a periauger in the 1751
estate of Abraham
Sanders, the builder of the
1730 Newbold-White House.
Construction schedule
The periauger’s con
struction is scheduled to
begin in the spring of 2003
at the North Carolina
Maritime Museum in
Beaufort. The construction
start date of mid-2002 was
delayed when the North
Carolina Maritime
Museum, a museum of the
North Carolina
' Department of Cultural
Resources, experienced
substantial budget and
staff reductions. The
reductions directly impact
ed the Periauger Project
schedule.
The periauger’s oars,
sails and other ancillary
equipment will be made in
Hertford at the Perquimans
County Business Center
beginning in September of
this year. To date 14 local
woodworkers and crafts
men have signed on to
assist. The public is invit
ed to participate in the
building process as a
builder or observer
“Building a colonial-era
ship is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for most peo
ple,” said David Webb, site
manager for the Newbold-
White House. “We want to
include as many people as
possible in this ground
breaking project.”
Upon completion, the
historic 1730 Newbold-
White House and the Town
of Hertford will be its
homeports. The first home
for the periauger will, be
the Town of Hertford’s
docks. Perquimans
Heritage Inc. is currently
managing the design and
construction of the boat’s
first mooring. At the his
toric 1730 Newbold-White
House, the periauger will
be a key component to the
site’s maritime heritage
program and an important
tool for regional tourism
development, visiting port
towns in the region and
providing a dynamic local
and international living
maritime history experi
ence.
For information about
the Periauger Project, con
tact the Perquimans
County Restoration
Association at 426-7567 or
nbwh@inteliport.eOm, or
www.newboldwhitehouse. c.
om.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 83
Low: 62
Mostly Sunny
Friday
High: 87
Low: 66
Sunny
Saturday
High: 89
Low: 69
Partly Cloudy