Propagation workshop
Page 2
My favorite things
Page 4
Open houseS) pep rally
Page 6
August 11, 2004
Vol. 72, No. 32 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
P11/C5
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
fiP
Weekly
Godfrey
survives
snake
bite
AMANDA ALEXANDER
and
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Terry Godfrey got bit,
but the snake got the ax in
Whiteston Saturday
evening.
Godfrey was bitten on
the thumb by a copperhead
in the shop next to his home
around 7 p.m. Saturday.
After being bitten, he went
into the house, where his
wife, Linda, helped him
clean the bite, then he had
an announcement to make.
“I’ve got to go kill the
snake,” he told her. “Get me
something to kill it with.”
Linda got an ax, and
Terry killed the culprit,
which Linda said was about
18 inches long and about
two inches around.
Terry thought the snake
was poisonous, but called
neighbor Stan Winslow to
come confirm his suspL
cion. Winslow agreed that
the snake was probably poi
sonous, and the Godfreys
prepared to go to Albemarle
Hospital, and took the dead
snake along to show what
had inflicted the bite. By
the. time they left for
Elizabeth City, Linda said
Terry’s finger was swelling
and beginning to hurt.
“I prayed on the way to
the hospital, I’U teU you,”
Linda said. “Me and the
Lord had quite a talk.”
Upon learning of his
injury, hospital staff imme
diately ushered Terry into
the treatment area, Linda
said. They also called poi
son control as soon as
Terry arrived and doctors
at Albemarle Hospital con
ferred with them through
out Terry’s treatment. He
was given the anti-venon.
Cofax, which lowered his
blood pressure. He was kept
overnight for observation
before being released
around noon on Sunday.
His finger was still
swollen and he experienced
an ache around his shoul
der and at the back of his
neck, but Terry went back
to work on Tuesday.
Terry, a mechanic, and
his son, Brandon, had spent
Saturday working on the
1950s-era Chevrolet truck
Brandon is restoring. Terry
was picking up a wooden
box of automotive parts
when he realized one had
fallen out of the box onto
the floor. When he picked
up the part, he saw the
snake strike.
The bite felt like an ice
pick sticking in him, Linda
said Terry told her.
Terry said he was
already cautious of his sur
roundings, but after this
incident, he will keep an
even more vigilent eye out
for snakes.
Linda said they had seen
a few snakes on their prop
erty this summer, but no
more than usual. She said
that perhaps last week’s
rain which filled ditches
sent the critter looking for
new digs.
Back to class
,1
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The parking lot at Central School was filled with vehicles, as moms and dads ush
ered their little ones to the first day of class last Thursday.
School off to good start
SUSAN R. HARRIS
The relative calm of
summer in a school build
ing was broken last
Thursday when almost
1,600 Perquimans County
students headed back to
class.
According to Public
Relations Officer Brenda
Lassiter, there were no
major snafus during the
day, and faculty, staff and
students were quickly set
tling down into a’ new
school year.
All teaching positions
were filled by the time stu
dents returned to class.
Last Monday, all schools
personnel gathered along
with government officials
and community residents
for the annual convocation
that officially kicks off the
beginning of each school
year. Dr. Kenneth Wells was
guest speaker for the event.
Sports teams at the high
school began their scrim
mages this week in prepa
ration for the coming sea
sons.
Open houses have
already been hosted at sev
eral schools, and the mid
dle school will host its open
house Thursday from 5:30-7
p.m.
The high school will hold
another open house and
pre-season pep rally
Sunday. The open house
will be held 3-5 p.m. At 4, a
pre-season pep rally will be
held in the gym featuring
the band, cheerleaders and
football and volleyball
teams.
Periauger to arrive in one month
A decade of planning,
years of design and con
struction, and a three-week
historic waterway voyage
culminate on Saturday,
Sept. 11 with the grand
arrival of the periauger in
Hertford.
The 18th century replica
workboat will sail into
Hertford Harbor at 9:45
a.m. with the ceremony set
to begin at 10 a.m. The
grand arrival is a highlight
of the annual Indian
Summer and Hearth &
Harvest festivals.
The arrival will feature
the crew, in 18th century
period dress, sailing the
periauger into Hertford
Harbor where local digni
taries will welcome them.
The Perquimans County
High School brass band
will provide the musical
backdrop.
The periauger will lead
30 kayakers who will pad
dle into Hertford for the
occasion.
The grand arrival wiU
cap off a three-wekk voy
age that includes 30 indi
viduals who volunteered
for the six-to-eight-person
crew. Joining the crew over
the 21-day voyage were 40
boats and more than 80
additional volunteers who
assisted with provisioning
and transportation.
The periauger project is
under the direction of John
Ernst, periauger odyssey
commander, and Monty
Spindler, periauger project
director.
Crew members and vol
unteers of the periauger
will be on hand during the
Indian Summer Festival.
Hours of the festival are 9
a.m.-5 p.m. Additional peri
auger information will be
available at the Hearth &
Harvest Festival, an 18th
century colonial festival, at
the Newbold-White House:
A Colonial Quaker
Homestead, from noon-4
p.m.
The Town of Hertford
will be the periauger’s
interim homeport until it is
relocated to the historic
1730 Newbold-White House,
where it wiU be a key com
ponent to the site’s mar
itime heritage program.
For more information
about the periauger project
or programs at the
Newbold-White complex,
contact the Perquimans
County Restoration
Association at 426-7567 or
nbwh@inteliport.com.
Superintendent
earns doctorate
While Kenneth Wells has
led efforts to improve and
expand education for stu
dents in Perquimans
County Schools over the
past three years, he’s also
been a student himself.
Wells ■ successfully
defended his dissertation
before a doctoral commit
tee at East Carolina
University this past spring,
and earned his doctor of
education degree.
“I am delighted,” Wells
said shortly after receiving
word of the successful
defense of his dissertation.
“It has been a great deal of
work and has taken a
tremendous amount of
time, but I'm glad I did it. It
is so gratifying to me to be
able to accomplish such an
important goal in my per
sonal life, and I think the
research will benefit all
school districts.”
Wells, who is in his
fourth year as the superin
tendent of Perquimans
County Schools, completed
his undergraduate work at
UNC-Chapel Hill in 1977,
earned his master’s degree
from UNC-Charlotte in 1984
and was admitted to the
Department of Educational
Leadership Doctoral
Program in 1998. He
received his superinten
dent and supervision licen
sure in May 2000.
Wells, who served as
assistant superintendent
for Dare County Schools
from 1996 - 2001, began his
teaching career in
Charlotte. After teaching at
two Charlotte schools
between 1978 and 1984, he
took the position of assis
tant principal at the dis
trict's East Mecklenburg
High School. He then
served as principal of three
different schools until
appointed executive direc
tor of secondary education
for Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools.
According to Schools
Public Relations Officer
Brenda Lassiter, Wells
stands out as a leader in
public education. He is a
tireless advocate, not just
for education, but for chil
dren and everything that
affects their lives both in
and out of school, Lassiter
said.
“The direction of
Perquimans County
Schools is clear,” Lassiter
said. “Students are the pri
ority. Under the leadership
of Dr. Kenneth W. Wells,
Perquimans County
Schools is gaining recogni
tion throughout the region
and the state of North
Carolina.”
During his tenure, the
school system has experi
enced tremendous academ
ic growth and has received
numerous awards at the
local, state and national
levels, Lassiter said. A few
accomplishments this past
year include:
• Perquimans Central
School, Hertford Grammar
School and Perquimans
High School earned the
prestigious Triple “S” Safe
School Award.
• Perquimans High
School received two NC-
ACE Community
Education Awards, recog
nizing the senior project
program at PCHS as one of
Dr. Kenneth Wells
the best in the state.
• Three Perquimans
Middle School business
teachers were named
NCMSA Team of the Year.
• Eight Perquimans
County Schools teachers
earned National Board
Certification, ranking
Perquimans County
Schools 3rd in the state.
• Perquimans County
Schools web page won the
North .Carolina School
Public Relations
Association's Blue Ribbon
Award.
• Dr. Billy Nixon agreed
to donate property for the
high school athletic com
plex.
• Twenty teacher assis
tants earned North
Carolina Department of
Labor Apprenticeship
Certification.
• QTL Center opened at
Perquimans Middle School,
the second site in our dis
trict.
• Perquimans High
School’s Tonya-Little
Williams was named
District I Outstanding
Science Teacher of the Year
• Perquimans County
Schools Foundation, Inc.
received its-largest dona
tion to date and held the
first annual golf tourna
ment.
• Technology
Department received dona
tion of computers valued at
$346,000.
• Perquimans Central
School successfully com
pleted its first IMPACT
year, and qualified for year
two, with a grant value of
$1.35 million.
• Perquimans County
Schools successfully com
pleted its third year of the
21st Century Community
Learning Center Grant,
totaling $1.5 million.
• 2004 PCHS graduates
received in excess of
$275,000 in scholarships.
• Perquimans named
Super District for Quedity
Schools by the SACS
Commission.
Weekend
Weather
THURSDAY
High: 84
Low: 71
Scattered rSTORMS
Friday
High: 84
Low: 69
Scattered T'Storms
Saturday
High: 84
Low: 69
Isolated T'Storms