Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / May 19, 2004, edition 1 / Page 1
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013165 1 PbRQUii'IANS COi ilO Ui Ai.:ADEH- 3T HERTFORD NC Z7944 riUtyUIMANS Weekly School board member loses cancer battle SUSAN R. HARRIS Perquimans County school board member Iris Z. Byrne was laid to rest Sunday under a sunny sky as warm as the smile stu dents and staff in the local schools saw on a regular basis. Byrne, 68, lost her battle with cancer last Thursday and was buried in New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery on Sunday. The native of Canada was elected to the school board in May 2000 and assumed her seat in July 2000. Her term of office was scheduled to expire in June 2004, but due to her failing health she was not seeking re-election. She attended the board’s most recent reg ular meeting on April 27, just prior to her hospital ization. Byrne, a retired educa tor, was remembered by school officials as a board member who worked indi vidually and collectively to improve education for local students. In addition to her duties as a board member, Byrne was a regular volunteer in the school system. “Byrne has been a faith ful friend and resource to the Perquimans County Board of Education and Perquimans County Schools,” said Dr. Kenneth Wells, superintendent, in a news release. “Byrne was well known by the staff and students of Perquimans County Schools, having served as a volunteer on almost a daily basis. She played a vital role in the education of her grandson, Daniel, a fifth grader at Hertford Grammar School. This involvement gave her the opportunity to be very visible in our schools, after- school events, and the com munity.” Known fondly as “Miss Iris” by students and staff, Byrne’s school visits were treasured, especially by students. “Once she said to me, 'Children need love, even when they do not deserve it,'” said schools Public information Officer Brenda Lassiter. “This cer tainly exemplifies the way she felt about children as she was known for her affectionate and famous hugs. It was not unusual to see her in the hallways of the school building with students lined up to receive their warm wishes for the day from Mrs. Byrne.” Byrne’s seat on the board of education will be filled following the July 20 election. Touring history mi Hundreds of people enjoyed a beautiful spring week end in Perquimans Saturday and Sunday, touring beautifully restored historic homes and other build ings, and merry-making at the annual traditional Southern garden party on the grounds of Springfield Inn. Beechtree Inn, the home, bed and breakfast and furniture-making enterprise of Ben and Jackie Hobbs, was one stop on the tour (left). Another was the Newbold-White House (above.) Five file for school board SUSAN R. HARRIS Perquimans voters won’t see many choices for local elected offices in July, but there will be a five-way race for three at- large school board seats. Incumbents William Byrum and Helen Shaw will be joined by Ralph HoUowell, Gail Hill and Thomas Jones on the non partisan school board ticket. County commissioners Mack Nixon and Shirley Wiggins, both Democrats, filed to retain their seats. Republican Wallace Nelson opted not to run. Sue Weimar, a Republican, has thrown her hat into the ring. The three will be elected to the three available seats barring a successful write-in campaign. Register of Deeds Deborah S. Reed, a Democrat, is unopposed in her bid to keep her job. Also filing in Perquimans was Fred Yates, a Democrat seeking election to the State House of Representatives. •> Albemarle Red Cross restructures to better meets needs of area When Hurricane Isabel struck Northeastern North Carolina last September, the Greater Albemarle Area Chapter of the American Red Cross took a front-and-center role in helping people recover from the devastation. Through the speedy provi sion shelter and supplies including food, water, ice, and clean-up materials. Red Cross personnel assisted tens of thousands of people in the agency’s eight-coun ty service area. And they did it all with only two staff members and a number of Volunteers, many of whom worked around the clock for over a week. Long reliant on volun teer personnel to meet the daily operational needs of the organization, the chap ter’s board of directors has taken action to reorganize the chapter and add a full time position - that of Director of Community Services. Carolyn Self will move into the new position, which will enable her to, focus on faster, more effi cient delivery of services the Red Cross provides to the community — disaster relief, aide to fire victims, and aide to military fami lies, to name a few, said David Bates, Board Chair. “With the war on terror ism, the size of our service area and the wake-up call Isabel provided, our chap ter has been too busy for just two people to handle,” Bates said. Last year alone the Greater Albemarle Chapter assisted over 150 victims of house fires. As part of the restruc turing process, the Board is currently seeking an administrator for the chap ter. “We’re looking for a highly motivated, self- directed leader to continue the positive momentum this chapter has estab lished since it took the spot light last September,” said Dave Holton, Board vice chair and chair of the Search Committee. The search process has been initiated and interest ed parties are asked to send a resume a^id cover letter of interest to Holton at dholton@aginet.com. Holton can also be reached via telephone at 252-207- 4099. In addition to disaster relief services, the Greater Albemarle Area Chapter of the American Red Cross provides training in CPR and Lifesaving Techniques, swimming lessons, commu nication and emergency assistance services for mili tary families, and blood ser vices through blood collec tion and distribution. The Chapter serves Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Pasquotank, and Perquimans counties. Graduation to be held next Ftiday night The uniforms on Memorial Field next Friday night will be black gowns, black mortarboards and gold tassles as the Perquimans County High School class of 2004 gradu ates. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. This year, seniors will each be issued 20 tickets and all those who enter the stadium must have a ticket in order to attend. Children must be accompanied by parents during the entire ceremony. 1 School board member Iris Byrne reaches across the board table to congratulate a student for one of the hugs for which she was famous. Byrne lost her battle with cancer Thursday, and was buried Sunday in the New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery. Byrne was 68. Money key point in OLF battle NITA HILLIARD SMITH The Enterprise Third in a series One of the main argu ments both for and against a proposed Navy Outlying Landing Field (OLF) in Eastern North Carolina is over money. And depending on the outcome of this battle, it could cost either the feder al, state or local govern ment millions. The Navy is arguing that it needs the additional OLF to provide training for pilots landing on aircraft carriers. Eight squadrons of the Navy’s multi-million dollar Super Hornets are planned to be located at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., and two are headed for Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina. The pilots of these planes need a place to prac tice landing on an aircraft carrier. Because of the dan gers of practicing at sea. Navy officials say they must have a remote land area away from towns or even lights to practice. The Navy’s earlier model F-14 (Tomcats) and F/A-18 C/D (Hornets) have been practicing on the East Coast at Virginia’s Fentress Auxiliary Landing Field , a OLF that was built in 1940 in what was then a remote area. But because of urban encroachment, this area is no longer remote. People attracted by the availability of jobs and a good quality of life have built closer and closer to both Fentress and Oceana. Cost to federal government But now that the Navy is bringing in bigger and louder aircraft, the people have begun to protest. The Virginia Beach govern ment wants to keep the many jobs and families brought to the area by Oceana Air Station, but they do not want the noise of Fentress Field only seven miles away. Recently, the neighbors in the area have begun to demand that if the Navy continues these flights that the federal government pay to soundproof the homes and purchase land that can not be developed. This would be at an estimated cost of between $1-1.5 bil lion. But the Navy says it would be cheaper to relo cate the OLF and maybe even the jets to a more remote area on cheaper land. Concerns of North Carolina North Carolina on the other hand has concerns for its $18.1 bmion military industry with more than 320,000 related jobs in addi tion to more than 100,000 military personnel. In 2005, the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission will once again look at the possibility of closing some military bases across the country. With five major bases in North Carolina and the third largest military popu lation in the country, it is being whispered, but not exactly said out loud by state leaders that if North Carolina does not cooper ate with locating the OLF in North Carolina that it could lose military jobs. Obviously, this would be very costly to ' North Carolina. Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, who was appointed by Gov. Continued on page 7 Weekend Weather THURSDAY High: 87 Low: 70 Isolated TStorms Friday High: 90 Low: 71 SCAHERED T'StORMS Saturday High: 86 Low: 69 SCAHERED T'StORMS
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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May 19, 2004, edition 1
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