Winslow publishes book
Rage 4
Hoops season opens
F^geS
Little-Williams earns honor
Page 9
P15/C6
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
RECEIVED
November i6, 2003
. Vol- 71, No. 48 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Perquimans
Weekly
Hertford
woman
killed in
accident
COLBY UNDERWOOD
The Daily Advance
A Hertford woman was
killed and her sister
injured last Thursday after
noon when their car hit an
unattended tractor-trailer
on Two Mile Desert Road in
Winfall, a state Highway
Patrol spokesman said
Friday.
Edna Baker Elliott, 85, of
548 Great Hope Church
Road, Hertford, was killed
and her sister, 88-year-old
Edith Lane of Hertford,
was transported to
Albemarle Hospital, troop
ers said.
According to the patrol
spokesman, Elliott was dri
ving a 1992 Lincoln south
bound on Two MUe Desert
Road at 45 mph when it
struck a ramp attached to a
flat-bed trailer hooked to
the 18-wheel truck. The
ramp, which was resting on
the pavement, is used to
load equipment on and off
the trailer.
The car flipped after hit
ting the ramp and landed
upside down in a ditch, the
patrol spokesman said.
The owner of the tractor-
trailer is Jack Hurdle of
Hertford, troopers said.
No charges have been
filed in connection with the
crash.
Meeting
set for
flood
maps
Residents of Perquimans
County can review and ask
questions about the prelim
inary copies of new flood
insurance rate maps of
Perquimans County at a
public meeting on Dec. 9 at
5:30 p.m. at the county cour
thouse.
The event is sponsored
by the Perquimans County
Inspections Department.
The entire state is being
remapped.
State, federal and local
officials will be on hand for
the meeting.
Bethel fire department
celebrates new building
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Bethel Fire Chief Jeff
Proctor said several fac
tors are responsible for
the department’s new
home on Snug Harbor
Road during an open
house and ribbon cutting
at the new facility Sunday
afternoon.
Proctor told a full house
that increased county
funding, community sup
port, grants from the State
Volunteer Fire
Department Grant
Program and a dedicated
group of. firefighters
allowed Bethel to build the
much-needed facility
“It’s a dreani come
true,’’ Proctor said.
The event was very well
attended, with hundreds
on hand, including found
ing department members
and others who con
tributed greatly to its
operation over its 28-year
history.
Charles Skinner Jr., a
former chief of the
Hertford Fire Department
and a former county fire
marshaU, gave a brief his
tory of the department.
Skinner said that on
July 27,1953, Hertford fire
fighters responded to a
house fire in Bethel. They
could see the smoke when
the trucks rolled onto
Highway 17. But the
response time was too
long, and the house was
lost.
The same things hap
pened again in 1957.
In the 1960s, word of the
development of Snug
Harbor and later Holiday
Island, hit the streets.
Those communities would
put even more houses in
an area hard to protect
from Hertford, Skinner
said.
One morning in the
store that sits at the cor
ner of Snug Harbor and
Pender roads, Skinner
said he and some Bethel
residents discussed orga
nizing a fire department
in Bethel.
It was decided that a
meeting would be held at
the community building
on March 4,1965 to discuss
the matter. A couple of
firefighters from Hertford
came to the meeting also.
From that meeting, the
first rural fire department
in Perquimans County
was born. It was chartered
on Aug. 2, 1965 as the
A ribbon cutting was held
to officially open the new
Bethel Fire Department
station Sunday afternoon.
As department members
looked on (above),
County Commissioner
Mack Nixon, Chief Jeff
Proctor, President Donald
Hobbs, and
Commissioners Wallace
Nelson, Ben Hobbs and
Charles Ward cut the rib
bon. Sparky the Fire Dog
(right) also made an
appearance at the open
house.
Bethel Community Fire
Protection Association,
Inc. The first officers wre
Roy Chappell Jr., presi
dent; Maynard Fleetwood,
vice president and chief;
William Corprew, secre
tary; and Emmett Long,
treasurer.
Skinner said the roster
of the first department
listed several family mem
bers, including fathers
and sons, brothers, in-laws
and cousins.
At the open house
Sunday, there were several
second and even third,
generation firefighters
wearing a Bethel uniform.
The first truck in Bethel
came from a rural volun
teer department in
Forsyth County.
Firefighters have held
many fund raising cam
paigns for a building and
equipment over the years.
A lot of hours have also
. been spent in training.
After Bethel chartered,
other communities also
realized the need for fire
departments and four
more were chartered:
Intercounty in 1966,
Winfall in 1967, Belvidere
Chappell HiU in 1971 and
Durants Neck in 1980.
During the program.
Association President
Donald Hobbs thanked
many people and groups
for their support of the
fire department.
Also on hand was
Lauren Thompson, admin
istrative officer with the
N.C. Department of
Insurance. Firefighters
said Thompson’s held has
bee critical in helping
them to' apply for and
receive grants from. the
state.
After the ribbon cut
ting, the large crowd in
attendance enjoyed
refreshments prepared by
the Ladies Auxilliary and
touring the facility and
equipment.
Stallings named county Principal of the Year
BiUy StaUings, principal
of Perquimans County
Central School, has been
selected as the 2003-2004
Wachovia Principal of the
Year for Perquimans
County Schools,
The Principal of the
Year program is co-spon
sored by . the North
Carolina Department of
Public Instruction and
Wachovia Bank, N.A.,
North Carolina. This is the
second consecutive year in
which Stallings has
received this top honor.
StaUings, a graduate of
Perquimans County High
School, began his career in
education here before
going to Currituck County
Schools where he spent 17
years as a coach, teacher
and assistant principal.
StaUings earned his B.A.
from Elizabeth City State
University in May 1977 and
his masters degree from
East Carolina University in
December 1981. He contin
ued his education and
earned his certification in
Education Administration
from East Carolina
University in June 1983.
“Mr. StaUings merits the
respect of students, par
ents, teachers and co-work-
ers,” said Superintendent
Ken WeUs. “He is not only
active in his schools, but
also in his community and
church where he has truly
distinguished himself as a
leader. The high level of
parental involvement at his
school, his ability to
improve student achieve
ment and his hands-on
leadership make him a
solid choice for Principal of
the Year.”
Under StaUings' leader
ship, Perquimans Central
School has received grant
funding for initiatives such
as More at Four, 21st
Century, EnTech
Community Technology
Center, and the IMPACT
grant. These monies are
used to improve the quality
of education for students
by offering before and after
school daycare, extended
day programs and family
night activities.
The 21st Century grant,
which is in its third year of
funding, provides funding
for before and after school
daycare, running 7-8 a.m.
and 3-6 p.m.
“This program has been
one of the most beneficial
over
holiday
RALEIGH - The
Highway Patrol wiU be tar
geting aggressive drivers
on North Carolina inter
states beginning
Wednesday and continuing
through the Thanksgiving
holiday weekend.
The aggressive driver
has been identified as those
drivers who flagrantly vio
late the motor vehicle laws,
including but not limited
to: excessive speeding, fol
lowing too closely, erratic
lane changes, safe move
ment violations, and other
forms of reckless endan-
germent. Aggressive dri
vers account for a signifi
cant number of the traffic
collisions that occur on the
state roadways.
“This high-volume holi
day travel period is tradi-
tionaUy one of our busiest
and deadliest,” said Colonel
Richard W. Holden,
Commander of the State
Highway Patrol. “Getting to
your destination safely
should be your number one
goal; don’t try to cut off a
few minutes of your drive
time by speeding or driving
aggressively. It’s just not
worth it.”
During the
Thanksgiving holiday, the
Patrol will also be partici
pating in the state’s “Booze
It and Lose It” anti-drunk
driving campaign and the
national Combined
Accident Reduction Effort,
(C.A.R.E). Sobriety check
points are being held
throughout the state during
the entire week.
The Thanksgiving holi
day weekend officially
begins at 6 p.m. on
Wednesday, Nov. 26 and
ends at midnight, Sunday,
Nov. 30.
Last year, there were
2,094 crashes, 1,174 injuries
and 17 fatalities statewide
during the holiday period.
Citizens can report high
way problems to the Patrol
by dialing *HP (*47) on
their cellular phones. The
toll-free call goes directly to
the nearest Highway Patrol
communication center.
for our students as it pro
vides a safe, nurturing
environment for our stu
dents until parents get
home from work,” said
Stallings.
As principal, he makes
certain all teachers follow
this one important rule:
Treat each child in the
classroom like you would
want someone to treat your
chUd. This is a philosophy
teachers have taken to
heart.
In the four years he has
been principal at the PreK-
2 school, student test scores
Continued on page 11
Weekend
Weather
THURSDAY
High: 70
Low: 54
PM Showers
Friday
High: 63
Low: 33
AM ShowersA/Vind
Saturday
High: 54
Low: 38
Sunny