Wrighton is Mother of Year Pages Outstanding athletes named Page? student honors Pages BBCEIVED jUN 1 ( tvm/axks: P5/C4 PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY 110 W ACADEMY ST June 11, 2003 . Vol. 71, No. 24 Hertford, North Carolina 27944 ■/uuJ 110 W ACADEMY ST HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306 Perquimans Weekly Hertford approves $1.7 million budget SUSAN R. HARRIS Hertford Town Council approved its budget ordi nance Monday night after receiving no opposition during a public hearing. The budget contains no ad valorem tax increase nor increases in utility rates. The only fee that will change is the solid waste collection fee, which will rise from $4 per month per 90-gallon container to $5 per month per container. The tax rate will remain at 48 cents per $100 valua tion. The town budget is bro ken into several funds. The general fund is the town’s basic operation fund. The budget'for that fund is over $1.7 million. Enterprise funds include the water and sewer fund and the electric fund. The water and sewer fund bud get is just over $600,000, whUe the electric fund is almost $2.5 million. The police department win get the lion’s share of the town budget, at $454,905. The TEA-21 project, which wiU put period light ing on portions of Church Street and is funded in large part by grants, wUl cost $441,120. The street department wUl get over $258,000, while the fire department will receive almost $217,000. Administration will cost taxpayers almost $186,000, with sanitation running just over $93,000. Other general fund expenses include DMV- license plate agency, ceme- Senior Health Fair tery and Main Street pro gram. The, largest portion of town revenues - $571,245 - wiU come from grant funds. State shared revenues are expected to be just over $452,000, and ad valorem taxes will bring in about $364,000. Sales and services will generate $166,200 in rev enue, and payments from other funds will total almost $142,000. In the water and sewer fund, the water department will cost $243,485 to operate; the wastewater treatment department, $212,736; and the wasterwater collection department, $162,279. The budget also includes ice plant renovation funds and the water and sewer system upgrade project. Town officials expect to see over $1 million run through the ice plant reno vation fund, which wiU be paid for by $146,600 in grant funds and over $950,000 in loans. The water and sewer sys tem upgrade project budget is $8.4 million, only $2.8 million from borrowed money. The rest of the pro ject is covered hy grant funds and a $455,000 tap fee from the Town of WinfaU. The upgrade project will result in over $6.6 mUlion in system improvements, including expansion to the commerce centre. The design will cost almost $438,000; land acqui sition, $35,000; and con struction observation, $318,720. Almost $350,000 will be kept in a contin gency fund. Marcia and Lon Humphreys (right) visit with Rose Monroe at the Albemarle Home Care exhibit at the Senior Day Health Fair, while Hattie Williamston (left) waits for a workshop to start. Health fair draws 70 Perquimans senior citi zens enjoyed a fun and informational day in the park and at the senior cen ter recently, taking advan tage of the Senior Day Health Fair. Health screenings, infor mational displays and workshops presented important health and weU- ness information to seniors in a relaxed and informal setting. Sponsors of the event were the Cooperative Extension Center, Albemarle Regional Health Services, Senior Center, Area AGency on Aging and Chowan Hospital. About 70 seniors partici pated. ' /j- jtL Summer Grover Morton gives Maxine Cherrix (center) Margaret Christgau shuffleboard pointers. and The l£izy days of summer are here, and parents should remind children about basic safety rules, according to Sheriff Eric Tilley. Tilley said children often have increased unsuper vised time on their hands during the summer, which requires special care by chUdren and parents. Parents should know where children are and who they are with at aU times, and should caution chil dren about contact with strangers. Children should never enter a stranger’s car or house, accept money or gifts from strangers or let strangers touch them or join in play. Children should play in groups, never alone or in vacant buildings or alleys. They should always walk, skate or bike with a friend. Parents should check out babysitters and know the character of adults who become friendly with their children, Tilley said. Parents should tell chil dren to report any unusual actions of grown-ups they may encounter. They should report license num bers and descriptions of anyone whose behavior they find unusual. Children should also be taught to follow basic water safety rides, such as swim ming in groups, wearing life preservers and not div ing in shadow water. Communities in Schools brings the community to school Communities in Schools does just what its name suggests; CIS brings resources from the entire community into the schools to help young peo ple successfuUy learn, stay in school and prepare for life. The nationwide, non profit organization helps communities take more responsibility for their chddren and education. It is a process that engages a wide range of private busi nesses, public human ser vice organizations and community residents in a collaborative action to identify and meet the needs of students and their fami lies. CIS works on the premis es that all children need and deserve five basic life tools: • a personal, one-on-one relationship with a caring adult; • a safe place to learn and grow; • a marketable skdl to use upon graduation; • a chance to give back to peers and community; and • a headlthy start and healthy future. In Perquimans County, Barbara Gustafson heads CIS. Gustafson presented the organization’s annual report to the school board in May Highlights of the Communities in Schools matches volunteers with opportunities, such as after-school programs. report included: • assist with Great Leaps remedial reading program at the middle and Central schools. Nine active tutors worked throughout the school year with 35 stu dents to help improve read ing and comprehension skills. CIS recruited and trained volunteers, provid ed some curriculum, worked with school coordi nators to place and oversee volunteers, provided some incentives for students and recognized volunteers and staff for their service. • strong collaboration with National Guard to pro vide educational/develop mental programming. Fifteen students had the opportunity to attend the Ft. Bragg Youth Leadership Camp and eight participat ed in the ongoing mentor ing programming. CIS is also planning to facilitate a National Guard Starbase program for the upcoming semester, and is developing procedures for Perquimans County to par ticipate in the Tarheel Challenge Program. • Judicial Attendance Council. CIS serves as the liaison to the agencies involved in the Council, which address es truancy problems and helps to solve family issues. —rjT Participants in the Ft. Bragg Youth Leadership Camp look on as a member of their delegation accepts a challenge from military personnel to test physical fit ness and endurance.\ Case plans for the families, monitoring progress and evaluating program effec tiveness are also a part of the program. Agencies involved includ the 1st Judicial District System, Department of Mental Health, Governo’s One-on- One, health department, Hertford Police, depart ment of social services. Juvenile Detention Center, Sheriff’s Department and WinfaU Police. • Community after school programs. To assist with after school programs, CIS works with the RHEMA, Central School 4-H and 21st Century programs, and with sponsoring agencies leaders CIS has worked with members of the Ministers’ Council, trained and encouraged the Hertford Grammar Fan Club, coUab- orated with and promoted a county-wide volunteer net work in aU schools, trained and coUaborated with the Office of Aging to imple ment the Senior Volunteer Service Corps and acted as a liaison with local commu nity residential develop ments to match volunteers and their interests with needs in the schools. including HUD, Cooperative Extension, Snug Harbor Community, the school system and local churches. Some sites have asked CIS to provide Great Leaps training and for others, materials and incentives have been requested. CIS also assists with grant writing to mobUize resources for these pro grams. Books and craft projects for use by volunteers have been provided at Central and Hertford Grammar schools. • Act as a liaison agency to coordinate community wide volunteer efforts of agency and business repre sentatives and community Weekend Weather THURSDAY High: 89 Low: 69 Isolated T'Storms Friday High:83 Low: 69 Isolated T'Storms Saturday High: 83 Low:69 Sgvttered T'Storms