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HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
March 5, 2003
Vol. 71, No. 10 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
. 116
PERQUIMACiS
^4/f n c ^49
Weekly 1
Ballance visits Hertford pn student
Farm needs
focus of his
visit
ROBERT SMILES
The Daily Advance
Congressman Frank
Ballance, D-N.C., met with
area farmers in Hertford
Monday morning and also
made his first visit to the
iJ.S. Coast Guard base in
Elizabeth City.
Ballance told about 25
farmers that it will take
both Democrats and
Republicans in the
Congress to protect farm
ing interests.
“It's important that we
come together in a united
voice for farmers,” he said.
“In the agricultural area
we work pretty well togeth
er... We are going to have to
hang together.”
Ballance, a member of
the House Agricultural
Committee, acknowledged
that he is not familiar with
all of the needs of local
farmers, and told the gath
ering at the Albemarle
Commission building that
he needs their input on
farming issuers.
“I have a tremendous
respect for those of you
who earn your living from
the soU and love what you
do,” the congressman said.
“...Communication
between us is very impor
tant... I want to know what
the farmers want so I can
go to Washington and be an
advocate for your position.”
Farmers raised many
concerns about provisions
in the federal Farm BiU, as
well as Vcirious funding and
loan programs that assist
farmers in their vocation.
Several farmers noted that
new laws are making it
hard for them to compete
with farming interests in
dropout
rate falls
Daily Advance photo
Congressman Frank Ballance, D,-N.C., met with area farmers at Hertford's
Albemarle Commission Building Auditorium Monday morning.
other countries where
labor and production costs
are less and American mar
kets are being flooded with
imported crops.
Among other things,
Ballance told farmers that
the proposed tobacco buy
out wUl be a hard sell in
Congress unless support
can be garnered from offi
cials in more than just
tobacco producing areas;
that $3.1 bniion in drought
aid—included in the 2003
omnibus spending bUl and
coming out of a conserva
tion program in the farm
bill—could undermine
other farm bill programs;
and despite unhappiness in
North Carolina by the
peanut quota buyout, the
federal government is try
ing to bring the cost of
peanut production down.
One farmer, A.O. Roberts
of Eure Seed Farms, also
noted that more emphasis
must be placed on farm
preservation. Between 1982
and 1992, he said. North
Carolina lost almost one
million acres of farm and
forest land. Of that figure,
almost 295,000 acres was
considered prime farm
land.
Between 1992 and 1997 an
additional 781,500 acres of
farm and forest land was
lost, Roberts added. That
was an annual loss of
156,0Q0, he said.
“We're losing the battle,”
he said. “Younger men and
women aren't going into
farming because of the low
profits, high land prices
and high start-up costs
which cause potential
lenders to turn away.”
In Elizabeth City,
Ballance said he was very
impressed with the opera
tion at the U.S. Coast Guard
Base.
Pasquotank
Commissioner Hank Krebs
and Winfall Mayor Fred
Yates accompanied
Ballance on his Coast
Guard base tour.
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Perquimans County
Schools’ dropout rates
are down for the third
consecutive year, accord
ing to a report recently
released by the North
Carolina Department of
Public Instruction.
The local district’s
dropout rate was 5.49 per
cent for the 2001-02
school year, down from
10.06 percent during teh
1998-99 school year. Last
school year, 32 students,
all in grades 9-12,
dropped out, compared to
63 students in 1998-99.
“We are serious about
providing assistance to
students who are strug
gling in school,” said
Perquimans County
Schools Superintendent
Kenneth Wells. “Recent
interventions imple
mented include the
Advancement Center at
Perquimans High
School, the on-site
Alternative Education
Programs at Perquimans
Middle School and
Perquimans High
School, the installation
of Web Academy, and the
Judicial Council for
Improved Attendance.
In addition; individual
education plans for all
students who are at-risk
of not meeting standards
are a part of our efforts
to improve our dropout
rate.
“These efforts are
improving academic suc
cess and encouraging
more students to stay in
school, as evidenced by
the 51 percent improve
ment in the dropout rate
since 1998-99. Obviously,
there is still work to he
done in this area, but the
information received in
this year's report is
encouraging.”
The statewide dropout
rate for grades 9-12 for
the school year 2001-02
was 5.25 percent, repre
senting 20,202 dropouts.
These numbers may
include duplications.
For example, if a student
drops out more than once
in multiple school years,
each Instance is counted
as a separate dropout
event Dropo'i rlata have
been collected each year
since 1988-89, although
specific reporting meth
ods change from time to
time.
A dropout is defined
as a student who a) was
enrolled in school at
some time during the
previous school year
(which is the reporting
year); b) was not enrolled
on Day 20 of the current
school year; c) has not
graduated from high
school or completed a
state or district approved
educational program and
does not qualify for any
Continued on page 8
Pirates are sectional champs, advance to regionals
Daily Advance photo by PATRICK PALLADINO
Titus Stepney soars over Williamston's Dominic
Patterson (30) and Tyrell Short for a bucket attempt
Friday night.
SUSAN R. HARRIS
and
MICHAEL WOOD
The Daily Advance
Perquimans collected
the sectional basketball
championship Friday
night, having to defeat a
tough WUliamston team to
earn the plaque.
The Pirates and the
Tigers duked it out in the
team’s fourth meeting of
the season, with
Perquimans a 74-44 victor.
The victory sends
Perquimans to the North
Carolina High School
Athletic Association
Regionals in Greenville
Wednesday night, where
they will take on
Northampton East at 8:30 at
ECU’s Minges Coliseum.
Four Rivers Conference foe
Plymouth will take on
WaUace-Rose HUl the same
evening.
The winners of the two
games will play for the
regional championship
Saturday That winner will
play in the Dean Smith
Center at UNC the next
Saturday for the state
championship.
“We are not done. Our
goal is to go aU the way for
the state championship,”
said Perquimans point
guard Titus Stepney as he
left the dressing rooms
Friday night.
The score of the game
was not indicative of the
game's competitiveness.
Perquimans' lead was only
35-29 midway through the
third quarter.
But the Pirates, ranked
third in the latest N.C.
Coaches Association/iHigh
Class 1-A poll, smashed
open the game with a 23-7
fourth-quarter run.
“They played us very
aggressively,” Pirates
coach Donald Stepney said.
“We hit the boards strong
trying to limit them to one
shot, and we knew we had
to keep the pressure
defense up for the entire
game.”
Shavoris Lewis made the
most of his start Friday
night. Usually the sixth
man on the team, Lewis
found himself in the start
ing lineup and made the
most of it.
“Lewis could start for
any team in the area,”
Stepney said. “We have
some players with injuries,
and he fits right in with our
starting players. He has the
speed and ability on both
offense and defense.”
The junior responded by
having his best game in the
biggest game of the year,
thus far. Lewis scored 10
points in the first quarter
and finished with a game-
high 18.
The Pirates are known
for their shooting ability,
but frequently it's the pres
sure defense that ignites
this team's offense. That
was again the case here.
The game was tied in the
first quarter when the
Pirates' press forced three
straight turnovers, which
were converted into bas
kets by Lewis.
Carrying a slim lead
into the second quarter,
Perquimans scored the
first five points on its way
to a 15-6 spurt.
J'Sean Wilkins and
Terrell Woodard aided the
outburst with 3-pointers.
WUliamston opened the
third with a 10-4 run, clos
ing the Pirates' lead to six.
But Stepney would make
a driving lay-up and then .a
soft jumper from the right
baseline. WUkins was then
fouled on a 3-point attempt.
He dropped in two free
throws as the Pirates went
up by double digits for
good.
Stepney scored 11 whUe
collecting six steals and
dishing out six assists.
Wilkins drained three 3-
pointers on his way to an
efficient 15 points, while
William Perry added 11
points.Woodard and JerreU
Foreman led the team with
eight rebounds each.
(See page 6 for more.)
Weekend
Weather
THURSDAY
High: 62
Low: 36
Scattered T'storms
Friday
High:62
Low:514
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 61
Low: 44
Showers