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July 23, 2003
Vol. 71, No. 30 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
P5/C4
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
113
7/21/2003.
P^QUIMAJJS
Weekly
Navy picks Washington for new OLF
Navy
secretary to
make final
decision in
30 days
RYAN BURR
The Daily Advance
Even though local offi
cials had lobbied for more
than a year against it, the
U.S. Navy has picked
Washington County as the
preferred site for a new air
field where its next genera
tion of fighter planes can
practice takeoffs and land
ings.
In a 1,600-page final envi
ronmental impact state
ment released Friday, the
Navy said Washington was
the best choice for its outly
ing landing field.
The Navy chose
Washington, according to
the EIS, because of the
county's low population
density, compatible land
uses and central location
between the two proposed
home bases for the Navy's
new SuperHornet jets —
Oceana Naval Air Station
in Virginia Beach, Va. and
the Marine Corpg Air
Station Cherry Point in
Craven County
Those findings did not
impress Washington
County Manager Christ
Coudriet.
“We're disappointed
with this decision,”
Coudriet said. “There
should have been equity
taken into consideration,
and clearly there was none.
The fallout to the tax base
is going to be in one of the
most disadvantaged coun
ties in the state.”
In addition, between 75
and 100 homes located in
what the EIS refers to as
Washington County's
“noise contour ahea” will
have to be moved, Coudriet
said.
The Washington County
manager wasn't alone in
expressing dismay with the
Navy's decision.
Edenton Town Manager
Anne-Marie Knighton, a
member of a six-county
coalition opposed to siting
the OLF in Washington,
said her group had support
ed locating the airfield in
Craven County
“Our reason for wanting
the OLF in Craven County
was that the negative part
of having the noise (of the
jets) would be offset by the
economic benefits,”
Knighton said. “By sending
(the OLF) to Washington
County, they get aU the neg
atives.”
On the other hand, she
said Virginia Beach and
Craven County wiU receive
the economic benefit of
having the 144 new
SuperHornets based near
by —jobs — but none of the
jets' less-desirable side-
effects — noise, for exam
ple.
“It's unfair that Oceana
and Craven County get the
new squadrons, which have
high-paying jobs, but don't
have to bear the burden of
having the OLF,” Knighton
said.
Knighton said
Washington is more likely
to be an economic loser
from having the OLF built
there.
“If anything, it would be
devastating because there's
no opportunity for
growth,” she said.
Washington County “will
get about 10 permanent
jobs from having the OLF,
and they're not high-pay
ing; they're mostly mainte
nance jobs.”
According to the Navy's
EIS, Craven was at one time
a preferred OLF site.
However, later study
determined that Craven
wasn't an “operationally
optimal distance” for
SuperHornets based at
Oceana.
The Navy also cited
potential harm to wetlands
in Craven, and said that an
OLF would adversely affect
airspace near Craven
County Regional Airport in
New Bern. Also, Craven
had the highest of number
of residents potentially
affected by an OLF than
any other site, the EIS stat
ed.
Under federal law, the
final EIS must now under
go a 30-day public review
period before Acting
Secretary of the Navy
Hansford T. Johnson makes
his decision.
Knighton said the coali
tion of Albemarle counties
opposed to the OLF in
Washington will use that
time to review the EIS for
any possible areas they can
use to contest the Navy's
decision.
Continued on page 10
r
"i 1 tr
A
’'VC
Educators in
Perquimans County recent
ly participated in the Carbo
Reading Styles Program.
The workshop was
offered in order to fulfiU
the state Board of
Education's mandate of 30
hours of reading instruc
tion for certificate renewal
credit for teachers in
grades K-8. The
Perquimans County School
System chose to offer the
training to high school staff
as well as teacher assis
tants because not aU stu
dents demonstrate profi
ciency in the upper grades.
According to school
spokesperson Brenda
Lassiter, the workshop is
another opportunity for
teachers to learn new
strategies and approaches
in order to meet the needs
of aU students.
r
HD
Beverly Crotts, an administrator in Chatham County
and instructor for Carbo Reading, was one of the spe
cialists from the nationally recognized Carbo Reading
Styles Program that offered training for 56 teachers
and teacher assistants from Perquimans County
Schools.
Local educators
attend Carbo
Reading workshop
“With the implementa
tion of the new federal edu
cation law. No Child Left
Behind, it is imperative
that teachers find ways to
help every single child,”
Lassiter said. “We are con
stantly seeking ways to
increase academic achieve
ment for the students not
performing at proficiency’.’
Carbo trainers Beverly
Crotts and Kay Douglas
facilitated the two-day
workshop and wOl be avail
able to offer technical assis
tance as teachers begin
implementing strategies
this school year. Carbo
workshops have been held
in each state -and the US
Department of Education
once recognized the Carbo
program as one of seven
effective reading and lan
guage arts models of pro
fessional development.
No one was seriously injured in a three-car accident at the intersection of U.S.
Highway 17 and Harvey Point Road last Wednesday during lunch hour traffic. One
car attempted to make a left hand turn from a through-traffic lane against a red
light, colliding with another vehicle. A third vehicle swerved to avoid the accident
and ended up in a ditch.
No serious injuries in wreck
SUSAN R. HARRIS
No one was seriously
injured in a three-car acci
dent at the intersection of
U.S. Highway 17 and
Harvey Point Road last
Wednesday
According to Hertford
Police Chief Dale Vanscoy,
a 2000 Mercury driven by
William Gardner of 1226
Wilson Street, Plymouth
was traveling south on U.S.
17. Gardner attempted to
turn left onto Harvey Point
Road from the inside south
bound lane, rather than the
turn lane. Southbound traf-
ic had a green light, but the
turn lane light was red.
Gardner pulled into the
paths of two other vehicles,
striking a 1998 Nissan pick
up truck driven by Percy
Ray Ward of 111 Alder
Street Hertford. Ward’s
truck was struck on the dri
ver’s side and was spun 360
degrees, coming to rest in
the northbound lane of U.S.
17 facing south.
WUliam Matthew Reed of
242 Ethel Ave., Norfolk, Va.
was driving north in a 1999
Ford pickup when he saw
the accident. He attempted
to swerve to avoid the colli
sion, lost control, went
across the median barrier,
clipped a DOT sign and
went into the ditch on the
west side of the north
bound lane.
Ward’s vehicle sustained
an estimated $4,000 in dam
ages, while both the other
vehicles each sustained
about $2,000 in damages.
Gardner was cited for
reckless driving.
Even with the stoplight,
Vanscoy said drivers
should be very careful at
the intersection.
“Because of it being
four-lane, everybody has to
treat that intersection as
being two intersections in
one,” he said.
There is a lot of traffic
on US. 17, and turn lanes,
meaning drivers should be
very cautious and check
traffic carefully before pro
ceeding through the inter
section, he said.
The accident happened
around 12:30 p.m.
The Hertford Fire
Department and EMS also
responded to the accident.
State board chairman to speak at schools opening convocation
The chairman of the
State Board of Education
will be the keynote speaker
at the 2003 Opening Day
Convication for
Perquimans County
Schools.
Lee, who is also a former
state senator, is the first
African-American to serve
as Board chair. State
Superintendent Mike Ward
said he was pleased that a
person with the legislative
know-how and experience
of Howard Lee was elected
to chair the State Board.
“Howard Lee is a strong
advocate for North
Carolina's public schools
and will provide excellent
leadership to ensure that
the state's successful school
improvement efforts con
tinue,” Weird said.
During his tenure in the
North Carolina Senate, Lee
led efforts to enact legisla
tion on school safety, school
accountability and improv-
ing teacher quality. He
played a role in the passage
of the 1995 legislation that
led to the creation of the
ABCs accountability pro
gram and the Excellent
Schools Act of 1997, which
has improved North
Carolina's teachers' pay to a
competitive level and
Winslows
issue
education
challenge
Matching
funds up to
$5,000 offered
for golf
proceeds
SUSAN R. HARRIS
A man known for his
commitment to education
in Perquimans County has
presented a challenge to
others to support the local
school system.
Clifford Winslow, a for
mer board of education
chairman who served on
the board for over 20 years,
and his wife, Etta Florence
Winslow, have offered up to
$5,000 in matching funds for
proceeds from the
Perquimans County
Schools Foundation Golf
Tournament set for Oct. 21
at the Chowan Country
Club. The funds are being
donated in memory of
Clifford Winslow’s first
wife, Marie.
Clifford Winslow is a pro
fessional level member of
the Foundation.
Continued on page 10
raised standards for the
teaching profession.
The Opening Day
Convocation wiU be held on
Monday, August 4, begin
ning with breakfast from 8-
9 a.m. The program will
begin promptly at 9 in the
auditorium at Perquimans
High School.
Weekend
Weather
THURSDAY
High: 81
Low: 70
Thunderstorms
Friday
HiGH:87
Low: 70
Isolated T'Storms
Saturday
High: 88
Low:71
Isolated TStorms