Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / July 28, 2004, edition 1 / Page 1
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w Farm tour planned Rage 3 Vending machine warnings Rage 6 Obituaries F^ge7 P11/C5 PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY 110 W ACADEMY ST HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306 RY V-.i PeRi % July 28, 2004 Vol. 72, No. 30 Hertford, North Carolina 27944 Weekly Teachers as students / N • ''T • \-teto7 -Cv' Schools expect good grades from state Teachers who will be faculty members in Perquimans County Schools for the first time this school year attend ed New Teacher Orientation Monday. All staff members will return on Monday, Aug. 2 for the annual Opening Day Convocation, which is open to the public. The convocation will begin with an 8 a.m. breakfast and con tinue with introduction of faculty, reports from principals and administrators, entertainment and an address by Dr. Kenneth Wells, who will serve as this year's speaker. James opens new chapter in life with new book store SUSAN R. HARRIS Melanie James has always loved books. Now, she’s surrounded by them everyday. James opened a book store, M. James Bookseller, in part of a commercial building at 117 Market Street recently renovated by her and her husband. Derrick, to house their business offices. “I’ve always wanted a book store,” James said. “We started working on the building and laying out space and I realized there was more space than we needed for offices, so why not do something I’ve always wanted to do?” The store has been popu lar with locals and tourists alike since opening in mid- May. “We get a pretty steady amount of traffic and peo ple are buying books,” James said. “I think there was probably some pent-up demand.” James stocks a lot of children’s books, as well as books about Perquimans County, cruising in coastal North Carolina and other subjects of local interest. viTiile books on many of these subjects are new, James also offers a wide Friends, family and employees join Derrick and Melanie James as they celebrate the opening of M. James Bookseller with a Chamber of Commerce-spon sored ribbon cutting last week. The store houses scads of books of every description at its Market Street location. variety of used and unique books. And what she does n’t have in stock, she can usually special order and is most willing to accommo date customers in finding the title for which they are looking. James’ slock is eclectic and inclusive, with hard backs, paperbacks, new, used, fiction, and nonfic tion titles. Books can be found for as little as 50 cents and run through more costly collectibles. Most popular have been children’s titles, which James said many cus tomers have bought as baby and birthday gifts. M. James Bookseller will host a children’s story time during the Indian Summer Festival. James grew up in Hertford, the daughter of Don and JoAnn Morris. She earned her undergrad uate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, then her juris doctor ate at Campbell University. After years of working for large law firms in metro politan areas, James said she was ready to come back to a quieter lifestyle. “I was over the big city in a major way,” James said. “I came back for qual ity of life issues.” She opened her law prac tice, which specializes in real estate, and soon met her husband. Derrick. The couple renovated a home on Front Street, and have since welcomed the arrival of their daughter, Mariah, now 4. Last year the Jameses purchased the Market Street property which for merly housed an antique store, and began renova tions to house her law office and Derrick James’ real estate appraisal com pany, Bay View Appraisal. Finding space for the book store has been an added, delightful bonus for Melanie James. The book store is open Monday—Friday, 10 a.m.—5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.—3 p.m. Tourism draws variety of people to Perquimans Co. SUSAN R. HARRIS Tour buses are becoming a common sight in Perquimans, as the county becomes well known as a day-tour destination. ; When notified in advance of the arrival of a tour group, Hertford Mayor and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sid Eley often dons his colonial lord mayor’s costume to greet the entourage and act as a tour guide. When she can. Chamber Assistant Sylvia Wyatt also dresses in colo nial attire and assists with the guided tours. Sites generally visited include the shops of down town Hertford; the Newbold-White House, a Quaker Homestead; local restaurants; historic sites in walking distance of the chamber office and Layden’s Supermarket. Brochures on the coun ty’s overnight accommoda tions, antique stores, restaurants and rich histo ry are provided to tourists. Eley said day tourists spend an average of $40-$50 each, and usually arrive in groups of 25-55. The county averages over 20 groups each year. ' Preliminary results show all schools with growth SUSAN R. HARRIS Perquimans County Schools recently got its unofficial report card for the 2003-04 school year, and it was filled with good grades. Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Wells anticipates that Perquimans Central and Hertford Grammar schools will be named Schools of Distinction and Perquimans County High a School of Progress when the State Department of Public Instruction releases official ABC results next month. Although the middle school is not expected to earn special recognition based on ABC guidelines, that site also raised its overall test scores. At Hertford Grammar School, the composite test scores rose from 87.8 per cent to 88.7 percent, while the middle school increased from 85.4 percent to 87.5 percent. Overall scores at the high school grew from 71.7 percent to 75.5 percent. Eighth graders take a computer skills test, and that score was 93.6 percent, up from 86.7 percent the year before. Fourth, seventh and tenth graders take a state writing test. Fourth graders scores at 37.3 per cent proficient, up from 26.9 percent; while seventh graders were at 37.5 per cent, three points over the 34.5 percent the year before. Tenth grade scores fell from 50 percent to 23.4 per; cent. » Tenth graders also take a high school comprehensive test. Perquimans dropped from 56.93 percent to 54.25 percent in that category. ^ Under the federal No Child Left Behind stan dards, Perquimans Coimty Schools also performed well. The two Title I schools. Central and Hertford Grammar, met 100 percent of AYP target goals, as did the middle school. The high school met 16 out of 17 targets, for a 94 per cent compliance rate. For AYP purposes, test results are broken down into scores for subgroups, not just considered overall. Each subgroup must make the required progress in order for the school to meet AYP. A subgroup must con tain 40 or more students who have been in member ship the full academic year. Locally, the performance subgroups reported include the school as a whole, white students, black students, students with disabilities and economically disad vantaged students. Wells said that efforts are underway by teachers and administrators to con tinue the positive academic growth shown in all four schools. As is required by the No Child Left Behind legisla tion, Wells sent letters detailing test score infor mation to parents of all stu dents enrolled in Perquimans County Schools. Festival plans underway Plans for the annual Indian Summer Festival are underway. Historic Hertford, Inc., the town’s Main Street Program, has adopted the sponsorship of the festival this year after the Historic Hertford Business Association gave notice that its members could no longer sponsor the event. Diane Stallings and Susan Harris are event co-chairs. Entertainment for the Sept. 11 festival will include the US. Atlantic Fleet Jazz Band, the Perquimans County High School Marching Pirates, bands, balladeers and dancers*. The Perquimans County Restoration Association will celebrate the arrival of the periauger, the 18th cen tury work boat built at the Maritime Museum, during the festival. A flotilla wUl escort the periauger to the Hertford Municipal Docks to the strains of the PCHS Jazz Band. A ceremony and tours of the boat are planned. The annual Hearth & Harvest Festival at the Newbold-White House will begin after the periauger celebration. Also at the waterfront will be kayak and canoe rides. Over in WinfaH, Donna Mummert is again plan ning a day of fun at Winfall Landing Park. Vendor applications for the Indian Summer Festival are availiable by calling 426-1425. Weekend Weather THURSDAY High: 85 Low: 73 Scattered TStorms Friday High: 88 Low: 73 SCAHERED T'StORMS Saturday High: 89 Low: 74 Isolated T'Storms
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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July 28, 2004, edition 1
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