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Black History events set
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Lady Pirates win thriller
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Lassiter earns state awards
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February 1, 2006
Vol, 74, No. 5 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Weekly
Pedestrian bridge
work delayed
Internationally acclaimed
MARGARET FISHER
A backup of other con
struction jobs has caused a
delay in building a 6-foot
pedestrian bridge over
Church Street Extended.
That’s what Lee Bundy,
transportation supervisor
for the N.C. Department of
Transportation, says is the
holdup in getting the
bridge completed. The
bridge was supposed to
have been completed by last
Friday.
“There’s only nine of us
and we have 14 counties we
have to take care of,’’ Bundy
said.
DOT did get the pilings
driven in that needed to be
completed by Feb. 14 to
meet the environmental
deadline. The rest of the
work is planned to begin
around mid-February after
three other jobs are com
pleted, Bundy said.
Once work begins, the
road may be closed to traf
fic from the closest drive
ways for as many as three
days.
PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER
Ernie "Uncle Sonny" Neupert of Paisley, Fla. rode
through Hertford last week during his fund-raising
tour around the United States. He is raising money for
the American Diabetes Association during his 10,000-
mile tour that began last April in Florida.
Biker peddles
inspiration for
donations
MARGARET FISHER
When Ernie Neupert
rode his bicycle into
Hertford last week, he was
n’t just getting a bit of exer
cise and taking in the local
sites. He was heading
toward the end of his sec
ond tour in which he wiU
have pedaled through 48
states. *
Neupert, also known as
Uncle Sonny, is raising
money for the American
Diabetes Association dur
ing the approximately
10,000-mile tour that began
last April in Florida,
extended to California and
continues back south.
“1 have no idea how
much (money) was raised,’’
Neupert said. “Fm just an
instrument trying to raise
money for the disease and
make people aware of the
disease.”
The Paisley, Fla., resi
dent is accompanied by his
wife, Jean Neupert, who
drives a recreational vehi
cle for support and has type
2 diabetes. His niece, a 16-
year-old in California, has
type 1 diabetes and just had
her third major diabetes-
related surgery, he said.
“The sad part is that
children born that way
PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER
Sadot Mendez, a marathon runner who is a familiar sight on local roadways, is
honored by friends at Dotty's Cafe on Jan. 24, proclaimed Sadot Mendez Day in
Hertford. Mendez was inducted into the Aibonita Sports Hall of Fame in Puerto
Rico on Dec. 10, and again in Hertford at a gathering organized by his friend, Jerry
Gill.
Mendez is Hall of Famer
with insulin-dependent dia
betes - the life expectancy
of children born that way
is only late teens, early
20s,” Neupert said.
Neupert rode on his first
tour of about 8,000 miles in
2000 for his 60th birthday
He raised money then for
the American Cancer
Society. His wife at the
time, Helen Neupert, was
diagnosed with breast can
cer and died from the dis
ease after seven years.
Neupert, himself, is a colon
cancer survivor, he said.
The 65-year-old lanky
man with shaggy gray hair
dons a sweat shirt that
reads “Smiles Tour - Tour
Around America 2005.” His
social security check is pay
ing for his tour, he said. He
distributes contribution
forms to anyone who will
listen to him.
The retired mason work
er has weathered problems
in more than a few areas,
such as tornadoes in the
southern states, snow
storms in the northern
states and fires in the west
ern states, not to mention
construction and other
hardships. He once had to
take a 35-mile detour and
also encountered snow in
Continued on page 7
Runner
honored in
Puerto Rican
home town
?
MARGARET FISHER
With a list of accom
plishments that seems as
long as some of the
marathons he’s run, Sadot
Domingo Mendez Delgado
was inducted into the
Aibonita Sports Hall of
Fame in Puerto Rico on
Dec. 10.
A reception for Mendez
was held on Jan. 24 at
Dotty’s Cafe by his friend,
Jerry Gill. There, Hertford
Mayor Sid Eley proclaimed
that day Sadot Mendez Day
and awarded him a plaque.
And there, local friends
who knew Mendez from his
16 years of teaching
Spanish and coaching track
and cross country at
Perquimans County
Schools expressed warm
commendation for the local
and international sports
hero.
“To me, Mr. Mendez is
my hero,” said Louise
Privott of Hertford. “...He
has been an inspiration to
our family.”
Eley recalled the high
school having a cross coun
try meet with at least 25
schools participating.
Mendez had invited so
many people there was no
room for the activity buses
to park. “Can’t” wasn’t a
word in Mendez’s vocabu
lary, Eley said.
Mendez started teams,
had students running
wherever there was room
to run and even organized a
group to clear out an area
for a course.
“I’ve always been proud
of what he’s done for our
community,” said Mary
Stevens of Arrowhead
Beach.
Mendez had a goal to
make it to the Olympics.
Three times, misfortunes
prevented him from run
ning in the Olympics, but
he was one of 25 athletes
chosen as a torchbearer for
the 2002 XIX Olympic
Winter Games that were
held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
His humble background
began, though, growing up
in a poor family in the hills
of Puerto Rico.
The 54-year-old runner
was born in Coamo, home
of one of the top three road
races in the world - the
Maraton San Bias de
lUescas. He was raised in
the mountain town of
Aibonito, which he consid
ers his home. When he was
about six years old, he ran
in small races on streets
full of dust and stones.
In school, his teacher
created a competition to see
who could bring back a pur
ple flower from a particular
type of oak tree first.
Mendez was the first to
bring a flower back.
In fifth grade, a track
and field day was held
against the sixth grade
class. Though Mendez feU
during the race, he finished
third. In sixth grade, he
won the 200-meter race
without falling. Later, he
finished sixth in a road
mile race between all the
middle schools in the
Aibonito area.
But eventually, Mendez
realized that he needed to
train all year in order to
remain competitive. So
while attending Aibonito
High School, he would run
either to or from his job he
had of feeding pigs.
He finished third in the
school’s cross country race,
ran a 3,000-meter meet in
Mayaguez and went on to
the regionals.
In those days in the
1960s, he would run with
long pants so his grand
mother wouldn’t know that
he was running. It was a
common belief that long
distance running was
harmful, he said.
In his sophomore year,
he had the good fortime to
receive a scholarship to
study at Central Christian
High School, a Mennonite
school, in Kidron, Ohio. He
broke aU the track records
and went undefeated for
two years in the two-mile
run.
As a sophomore, he won
his first medal by finishing
third in a cross country
race. That year, a baseball
pitcher taught him how to
train, for the first time.
After graduating, he
returned to Puerto Rico
and attended the Colegio
Universitario de Cayey. He
Continued on page 7
County
gets state
he^on
voting
machines
$40,000 grant
brings down
county cost
MARGARET FISHER
The N.C. Board of
Elections has appropriated
about $40,000 to help defray
the county’s cost of pur
chasing voting machines.
That brings the estimated
amount that the county will
owe down to about $21,000.
In addition, the state has
negotiated with the voting
machine vendor. Election
Systems & Software, to
agree to wait until the next
fiscal year in July to bill
cpxmties for the expenses,
said County Manager
Bobby Darden.
“As a local government,
we don’t like large expendi
tures coming in the middle
of the year,” Darden said.
Funds would have had to
come from reserve funds or
additional revenues
brought in before July 1.
After the N.C.
Association of County
Commissioners flailed the
state election board with
letters of concern, the
board announced that it
has appropriated about $3
million to help ease the
financial burden on coun
ties that must purchase
new voting equipment
according to new regula
tions. They’ve assigned a
flat rate of $30,000 for each
county. They are also tak
ing over the testing of the
voting equipment, which
will save counties about
$2.4 million, or about
$10,000 for Perquimans
County.
This year, local election
board members will go to
Rcdeigh for equipment test
ing and distribution, said
Eula Forbes, the board’s
director. Forbes said she
was pleased to hear about
the savings to the county.
“It’s a big benefit to
everyone because we didn’t
even know we were going to
get it,” she said.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 65, Low: 53
Mostly Cloudy
Friday
High: 66, Low: 49
Few Showers
Saturday
High: 65, Low: 43
Cloudy/Wind
mm