Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Dec. 7, 2005, edition 1 / Page 1
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m Scouts win cardboard boat race F^e2 Fall athletes earn honors Rage 4 Teachers nationally certified Pages Pi2/C6# COUBITT IIBRAR? 1*0 W ACADEMT ST HERTFOHQ, HC 279-5-9-1305 ' 12/6/2005 December 7, 2005 Vol. 73, No 49 Hertford, North Carolina 27944 Perq Weekly DEC 0 1 2005 Report: Violence down in local schools MARGARET FISHER Perquimans County High School has shown a decrease in violent acts in the last three years, accord ing to the Annual Report on School Crime and Violence. Other schools in the county reported no incidents. At the same time, PCHS showed a higher percent age of violent incidents per 1,000 students than four surrounding counties in the school year 2004-2005. Perquimans County Schools reported a total of 11 incidents. Although the number of incidents reported two years ago was the same, the number of students increased by 100. Violent acts occurring on a per-l,000-students basis were 6.4, compared with 6.6 the previous year and 7.7 three years ago. Two years ago the sys tem reported one sexual assault incident and three years ago there was one assault on a school employ ee and a firearm brought to school. Last year, none of these types of acts were reported. State law requires that aU schools report incidents such as bringing weapons. alcoholic beverages and controlled substances to school. It also includes pre scription drugs as con trolled substances. “The biggest issue is that children bring medications Continued on page 8 Permits Here comes Santa Claus gym MARGARET FISHER Plans to move Jimmy Hunter Drive to allow for construction of a new gym at Perquimans County High School have been delayed by permits, said Assistant Superintendent Dwayne Stallings. Permits are needed to move sewer, water and nat ural gas lines that run next to the road and con tinue back to where the gym will be built. Before the road can be moved, the lines must be moved. “Most of our applica tions to the state for differ ent permits that have to go through, we’ve still not heard back from,” StaUings said. Perquimans County Schools remains in a wait ing mode, although con struction of the new road should have been started in the summer and may have been completed by now, Stallings said. As soon as the permits are granted, the school system will advertise for bids to move the lines clos er to the administrative buUding. Contractors will have 30 days to submit bids. Once the lines are moved, the new Jimmy Hunter Drive will also be constructed south of the present road and closer to the central office. School officials plan to meet about mid-December to ^discuss the bidding process and construction plans. PHOTOS BY SUSAN HARRIl^ Holiday parade draws hundreds SUSAN HARRIS Hundreds bundled up to enjoy Saturday’s beautiful sunshine and celebrate the coming holiday at the annu al Chamber of Commerce- sponsored Christmas parade in Hertford Saturday Two high school bands, floats, pony carts, mini cars, costumed characters, fire trucks, horses, Smokey Bear and more traveled the route, with those on floats sending smiles and well wishes to their neighbors and friends along the streets. Float winners were: Continued on page 8 Hertford man indicted by feds on drug charges SUSAN HARRIS A Hertford man was one of two indicted on drug charges in a federal court in November. Some details of the case could not be obtained by press time, but Sheriff Eric Tilley confirmed that Marqchello Jordan was indicted by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking charges resulting from a joint investigation by the Perquimans and Chowan county sherrif’s depart ments and the State Bureau of Investigation. He was arrestd on Nov. 3. On Nov. 2, Shawn Christopher Elliott of Edenton was also arrested, while Johnny Sessoms was detained in Wake County for related drug conspiracy Jordan and Elliott were taken before a federal mag istrate in Pitt County fol lowing their arrests. Both are being held without bond in Pitt County pend ing their trials. The two were tagged “major drug trafficers” by law enforcement officials. TiUey and Chowan County Sheriff Fred Spruill said that the arrests should make a big dent in drug trafficking in the area. Tilley said the initial investigation began in Perquimans County by his department and the SBI. Chowan joined the case when information obtained led to a connection in that county. AEMC donates transformers Santa Claus and Grand Marshall Charlie Skinner were the bookends of the Perquimans County Christmas parade Saturday. As part of an interna tional assistance program, Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation recently sent three decom missioned transformers to Costa Rica. The three 1,667 KVA transformers wUl be used by the Costa Rican govern ment agency Institute Costarricense de Electricidad to add capaci ty to a substation located in Muelle that serves the com munity of Pocosol. About 3,200 consumers wUl bene fit from this improvement, said Larry Thomas, opera tions specialist with National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International. “This is actuaUy improv ing an area that, because of electricity, has developed into an industrial and resi dential area,” Thomas said. “Because the industry has increased, the load has increased, and because the load has increased, they have almost had to do rolling blackouts. These transformers are going to solve that situation.” Albemarle EMC had pre viously replaced those older transformers at their WinfaU substation with a 12 MVA unit that handles con siderably more load. The three decommissioned transformers were left idle untU they could be provid ed to NRECA International. If Costa Rica had to pur chase the three transform ers, it woiUd have cost just under $50,000 - a consider able sum for a Third World country. Well’s U.K. trip widens educational perspective MARGARET FISHER WhUe public schools in the United Kingdom face the same kinds of issues that schools in this country face, each country is allowed to analyze their own school systems more closely, said Superintendent Kenneth Wells of Perquimans County Schools. Wells recently returned from a trip to Britain where he visited a number of state-supported schools in the London area. An invitation to visit the U.K. was extended to some superintendents, including representatives of the North Carolina Superintendents Association, of which PHOTO COURTESY KENNETH WELLS This group of English middle schoolers has the same educational needs as their American counterparts, but their dress is certainly different. Superintendent Kenneth Wells recently spent time in Great Britain learning about their educational system. Wells is a board member. Ten superintendents took the trip. “It opens your eyes to a global perspective, as far as education,” he said. “A number of the issues they face, we face.” Some of the prominent differences between schools in the two coun tries include graduation level, physical fitness, nutrition, school uniforms, transportation, when math is introduced and who reg ulates the curriculum. Wells said. Students are required to wear uniforms. Also, they graduate from high school at age 16, WeUs said. “Basically, they take off on a couple of different paths,” WeUs said. “A lot of it is based on the exam they take.” More emphasis is placed on the final exam than here. The exam results • determine whether a stu-. dent wUl take a imiversity, college or vocational school pathway, WeUs said. North Carolina scrapped the exit exams because it didn’t accurately measure student potential. Wells said. Britains are begin ning to look at that possi- bUity, he said. WeUs said he talked to some high school students about their plans after they graduate. “(Their answers) led me to believe they didn’t have Continued on page 8 Weekend Weather Thursday High: 46, Low: 34 Partly Cloudy Friday High: 44, Low: 27 Showers Saturday High:47, Low: 31 Mostly Sunny
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Dec. 7, 2005, edition 1
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