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PCRD basketball champs
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The
P6/C5***********5-diGIT 27944
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
^03
February 26, 2003
Vol. 71, No. 9 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Weekly
Rains blamed for large sewage spills
ROBERT SHILES
The Daily Advance
Last week's heavy rains
are being blamed for two
large sewage and waste-
water spills in Hertford
that occurred within two
days of each other several
weeks ago.
The spills, which
dumped a combined 52,000
gallons of wastewater and
sewage into Perquimans
County waterways,
occurred on Feb. 16 and
Feb. 18.
“It was aU directly relat
ed to rain,” John
Christensen, the town's
manager, said Monday. “We
were inundated with water
— more than eight inches
within two days. ... This
rain was unusual in that
there was so much, it was
persistent, and it was con
stant.”
The first spiU occurred
at the town's wastewater
treatment plant off Grubb
Street, behind MiUer and
Meads Trailer Park,
Christensen said.
Approximately 17,000
gallons of untreated waste-
water spilled into the
Perquimans River. The
state Division of Water
Quality was notified of the
spUl on Feb. 17.
The larger spill took
place two days later.
Approximately 35,000 gal
lons of untreated sewage
was discharged from the
town's pump station on
Willow Street. The dis
charge occurred on Feb. 18
at 8:05 a.m. and lasted about
4.5 hours.
Christensen said that
during the bad weather a
motor at the plant appar
ently shorted out, causing a
malfunction to an alarm
that would have made plant
operators aware of any
spUl.
“We weren't aware of the
problem until there was
already overflow,” he said.
Approximately 25,000
gallons of the untreated
wastewater actually
entered an unnamed tribu
tary leading into the
Perquimans River, accord
ing to local officials. A per
manent bypass was
installed with a bypass
pump to prevent further
discharge.
“Whenever we have a
spill, we immediately take
action,” Christensen said.
“We want to try to stop it as
quick as possible.”
News releases were
issued by the municipality
as required by state law
whenever a waste spill of
1,000 gallons or more reach
es surface waters.
Child
Support
Agency
offers
amnesty
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Parents behind on child
support payments will get a
chance to pay up without
legal action being taken
against them March 3—7.
The Albemarle Child
Support Enforcement
Agency, an arm of the
North Carolina
Department of Health and
Human Services, Division
of Social Services, is hold
ing an Amnesty Week next
week.
Albemarle Chhd Support
Enforcement Agency
Supervisor Alden Miller
said the primary goal of the
Amnesty Week is to get
children the support they
need by allowing parents
delinquent in their pay
ments to voluntarily come
in and make payment
arrangements. The office in
Elizabeth City serves
Perqijiimans, Camden,
Gate^ and Pasquotank
counties.
In Perquimans County,
110 parents have been
mailed invitations to go
into the Child Support
Office to make arrange
ments to catch up child sup
port payments.
Miller said there are 827
child support cases in
Perquimans County han
dled through his office. The
number of children that
caseload represents was
not in his database, but he
said that each case repre
sents at least one child, and
some represent several
children being supported
by the same non-custodial
parent.
Monthly collections for
Perquimans County total
$100,000—$112,000. Total
collections from June
2003—January 2003 total
over $835,000.
Over $5 million was col
lected in all four counties
between June 2002 and
January 2003.
Albemarle Child Support
Agency employs 15 full
time workers and two con
tract attorneys, and man
ages a caseload of 5,325.
Miller said most child
support payments are made
to a central office in
Raleigh and disbursed from
Continued on page 8
Boone and staff
Give Kids a Smile
SUSAN R. HARRIS
The program was
called “Give Kids a
Smile,” but it was the
adults in Dr. Jack Boone’s
dental practice who
looked happy last
Thursday.
On that day,, all six
employees of the practice
gave up their salaries to
serve children who may
not otherwise be able to
get appropriate dental
care. Twenty-five children
had scheduled appoint
ments, and received about
$6,000 in services.
Office Manager Andrea
Boone said the practice
had also worked in some
children before Thursday
and had continued to
schedule others after
Thursday.
Boone said she had
seen information on the
program, a national ini
tiative sponsored by the
American Dental
Association, for quite
some time. The more she
studied the program, the
more she became con
vinced that the practice
should become involved.
When she brought up the
idea at a staff meeting,
she said the response was
immediate and positive.
“They didn’t even
blink,” Boone said. “They
just said, ‘Sure, we’U do
it.’ It’s been fun. It makes
you feel really good. We aU
like helping children.”
Dental assistant
Delores Howell agreed
•■A .JKes?*
First grader Shakayla Jordan was all smiles as she
received treatment from dental assistant II Shermin
Prentice.
15®^ :j
Dental hygienist Sherry Murray cleans Alice Jenkins'
teeth during Give Kids a Smile Day at the dental
practice of Dr. Jack Boone.
v^lth Boone.
“(I wanted to do this)
because I love kids and I
hate to see them hurt,”
Howell said. “I have two
grandchildren and I
would hope someone
would do this for them if
they needed it.”
Shermin Prentice, a
dental assistant II, said it
is very important for chil
dren to receive dental
care. Early preventative
care helps insure good
dental health for life,
Prentice said. The prima
ry teeth are the founda
tion for healthy perma
nent teeth, she added.
Cleanings, x-rays,
sealants and recommend
ing treatment plans were
some of the procedures
performed on Thursday.
Patty Rogal of Benco
Dental,a dental supply
company, donated tooth
brushes, floss and fluoride
trays for the program. She
also sold Dr. Boone x-ray
film at cost.
“She’s just been won
derful,” Andrea Boone
said.
The supplies that
Boone’s office could not
use wUl be donated to the
school system for use by
the traveling dentists that
come through to serve
children who need dental
care.
Schools
Superintendent Ken WeUs
fuUy cooperated with the
intitiative, Boone said,
and Public Information
Office Brenda Lassiter
and aU four school princi
pals helped get informa
tion about Give Kids a
Smile to students.
In addition, Susan •
Chaney and Melissa
Stokely, social workers
with the Department of
Social Services, arranged
for Perquimans County’s
foster children to receive
care. Reta Blair of the
Chowan-Gates-
Perquimans Partnership
Continued on page 8
Grant supports completion of periauger project
The Perquimans County
Restoration Association
Periauger Project has
received another infusion
of funds to insure the pro
ject’s completion.
PCRA was selected by
the North • Carolina
Department of
Transportation’s
Enhancement Program to
receive $55,623 in funding
for the project. The funds
will be used to complete the
construction of a peri
auger, an eighteenth-centu
ry workboat of the
Albemarle region.
Enhancement funding is
federal money set aside by
the Transportation Equity
Continued on page 8
''4'
II I
Volunteers Gerry Zell, Don Johnson and Monty Spindler work on the periauger
mast at the Perquimans Business Center last Friday. Volunteers have made the
sweeps, rudder, jib and other components of the periauger.
Central
named
Super
Safe
School
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Perquimans Central
School was one of 37 North
Carolina public schools
named as 2002-03 Super
Safe Schools.
The desingation recog
nizes schools providing a
safe learning environment
for children and educators.
The Triple “S” School
Award was established by
the Department of Public
Instruction’s School
Improvement Division to
recognize public schools’
exemplary efforts to ensure
the safety of students and
staff
Ocracoke School in Hyde
County was the only other
northeastern North
Carolina School to earn
recognition.
To receive recognition as
a Triple “S” School, schoosl
voluntarily submit a portfo
lio documenting the safety
processes they have in
place. On-site visits also are
conducted prior to final rec
ommendations.
Superintendent Kenneth
WeUs told the board of edu
cation Monday night that
the principals and staff at
all four county schools
applied for the designation,
and all met the require
ments for recognition. He
said administrators do not
know why aU four schools
were not chosen for the
award.
Weekend
Weather
THURSDAY
High: 50
Low: 35
Rain
Friday
High:50
Low: 34
Cloudy
Saturday
High: 52
Low: 33
Cloudy