OLF group gears for fight
Rage 2
School arts activities
f^ge 7
PCHS wins spring sports openers
F^ge 9
P3/C2****'****’***CAE-ET LOT**C-O01
PESQUIKASS COUSTT LIBRARY
ITD ’g ST
HERTFOBD, SC 27S44-13Q6
The
March 7, 2007
Vol. 75, No. 10 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
FERQUIMANS
Weekly
0 7 700^
Red
Light not
heeded in pair
of wrecks
MARGARET FISHER
Two wrecks, one involv
ing a school bus, occurred
at the same intersection on
the same day recently.
On Feb. 27 at about 3:30
p.m., Hertford Grammar
school bus driver Mamie
Mallory, 54, was driving
bus No. 108 across U.S.
Highway 17 towards New
Hope Road on a green light.
Mavis Moore, 55, of 508
Si^ Pine Road, Tyner, was
driving a 2000 Dodge north-
boimd on the highway. She
failed to stop for the traffic
light and collided with the
side of the bus, according
to the N.C. Highway Patrol.
The impact occurred
between the two tires on
the right side of the bus,
said Brenda Lassiter,
Perquimans County
Schools spokeswoman.
“They took a big jolt,”
Lassiter said. All 40 stu
dents were checked by
Emergency Medical
Services at the site and no
visible bumps or bruises
were found, Lassiter said.
After a two-hour delay,
students were taken home
on the same bus, she said.
Their parents were noti
fied on the school’s
Connect-Ed phone system
and some of the parents
came to the scene to check
on their children.
Moore was cited for a
stop light violation. She
complained of injuries, but
did not go to the hospital at
the time, according to the
report.
Damage to each vehicle
is estimated to be about
$6,000.
A second accident
occurred at about 7 p.m.
Maurica Wills, 42, of
1533 Manson Road,
Norfolk, was stopped at a
red light in the inside
northbound lane on U.S.
Highway 17.
Jason Gaboon, 37, of
1013 Yeopim Road,
Edenton, was traveling in
the same lane and direc
tion in a 1995 Ford.
Gaboon drove into the
back of Wills’ 1991 Volvo,
according to a Highway
Patrol report. He was cited
for failure to reduce speed.
Wills was taken to
Albemarle Hospital with
injuries evident.
Weather
Thursday
High: 49, Low: 36
Parry Cloudy
Friday
High: 51, Low: 39
Mosry Sunny
Saturday
High: 56, Low: 51
Few Showers
PQ above state in graduation rate
High price tag for
dropouts
MARGARET FISHER
Perquimans Gounty Schools
exceeded the state’s graduation
rate, graduating 71 percent of
freshmen entering high school in
2002 in 2006. The state’s rate is 68
percent.
Perquimans also ranked third
in a comparison of seven nearby
counties in highest number of
graduates.
Gamden rated highest at 77 per
cent and Gurrituck had 73 percent.
Following Perquimans are Gates
at 69 percent, Ghowan at 68 per
cent, Dare at 64 percent and
Pasquotank at 48 percent.
DPI will release a report in the
summer that will include students
who began at PGHS as freshmen in
2002 and graduated in the summer
of 2006. They will also release the
2006-2007 report including 2007
summer graduates.
The cohort graduation rating is
part of the federal No Ghild Left
Behind initiative.
Studies have shown that
dropouts who do not complete
their degrees cost schools and the
economy money, as well as lower
the students’ earning potential.
The state pays the school dis
tricts an Average Daily
Membership of between $5,000 and
$6,000 per student each year, said
Brenda Lassiter, schools public
relations officer. The number is
based on how many students are
attending on the 20th day of
school, she said.
If a student drops out before the
first 20 days, the school doesn’t get
the ADM for that student. And
when a student drops out, the
Continued on page 2
The melody of learning
PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER
School board members and administrators became students at their Feb. 26 meeting as Perquimans Middle
School band teacher Lynn Dale put them through some percussion paces in a lesson incorporating music,
spelling and mathematics. Dale and other cultural arts teachers in the school system asked the board to
proclaim March Youth Art Month and Music in our Schools Month. See page 7 for more on the observance.
PCHS celebrates diving championship
SUSAN HARRIS
A lone athlete recently
brought a North Carolina
High School Athletic
Association state champi
onship home to
Perquimans — in a sport in
which no Pirates has ever
competed: diving.
Sarah Wyman scored
356.05 on 11 dives, to eclipse
her nearest competitor by
over 100 points and claim
the state 1A/2A diving title
in competition at East
Carolina University.
“Sarah is a true student
athlete,” said PCHS
Principal James Bunch.
“Her first priority has been
to excel in the classroom,
where she has always
maintained good grades.
Secondly, she loves compe
tition and to compete. She
was an accomplished gym
nast until she suffered an
injury which limited her
activities in gymnastics.
She got involved in diving
and the rest is PCHS histo
ry — to my knowledge, she
is the first state champion
we’ve ever had in the div
ing competition. We’re very
proud of her.”
Wyman, who has only
been diving competitively
for five months, said there
were about 10-12 divers in
her class, the one-meter
springboard. She won the
women’s competition and
outscored all divers, male
and female, in her class.
PCHS senior Sarah Wyman jumped, twisted adn
splahsed her way to a Perquimans first: A state div
ing championship.
“Sarah has only been
diving for a short time so
this makes her accomplish
ments this year that much
more special,” said Rich
MacDonald, head diving
coach at ECU and of the
Emerald City Dive Club.
“She was a very talented
gymnast and had to look
for a new sport after having
surgery on her knee last
year. She has come a long
way so far and I am proud
of how well she dove.”
Wyman competes with
the Emerald City Dive
Club.
A shy high school senior,
Wyman is no stranger to
competition or to water,
although diving is a new
sport. She began swimming
competitively at age 3 and
continued until she was 12.
She also added gymnastics
to her competitive nature.
After her knee surgery,
Wyman could compete in
only bars and beam in gym
nastics and looked for
another outlet. A gymnast
friend of hers competed in
diving because it involves
flexibility like gymnastics.
Her dad got her set up with
Emerald City Dive Club,
and within a month,
Wyman said MacDonald
told her she could compete
in the NCHSAA state meet
with permission from her
school. Wyman spoke with
Athletic Director Larry
Tearry and now has a gold
medal for her efforts.
Her state-topping per
formance was something
Wimian never considered a
possibility until it hap
pened. She said MacDonald
told her after her second to
the last dive that she had
first place nailed down,
much to her surprise.
V Wyman will continue
her association with
MacDonald not only as an
Emerald City Dive Club
member, but as a student at
ECU, where she plans to
continue diving competi
tively.
The daugher of Joel and
Angela Wyman, Wyman
drives to Greenville three
days each week for 1 1/2-
hour practices. Two days a
week, she drives to
Virginia for gymnastics.
The Wymans moved to
Hertford from Virginia
Beach prior to Sarah’s jun
ior year at PCHS.
MARGARET FISHER
A Hertford man came
home to find an intruder
in his house.
On Feb. 27, Jerry Nixon,
44, came home to his resi
dence at 108 E. Railroad
Ave. and noticed a rear
window was brokqji out,
said Police Chielli' Dale
Vanscoy.
When he went inside, he
thought he heard some
thing upstairs, he later told
police. So he placed a call
for law enforcement at
about 3:25 p.m.
Vanscoy arrived and ^
began checking around
inside the house. He said
that he found Larry
Eugene White, 20, of 415
Dobbs St., hiding under the
bed in an upstairs bed
room.
White was taken to the
police station where it was
discovered that White had
a probation violation order
out on him.
He was placed on a
$25,000 bond for a proba
tion violation and a $5,000
bond for breaking and
entering and taken to
Albemarle District Jail.
His first appearance at dis
trict court was last
Wednesday.
MARGARET FISHER
Since last March, BiUy’s
Auto has been doing a
revved up business on the
corner of Church and
Dobbs streets. But now,
that business may likely be
driven out of the down
town. •
Owner Billy Boblit
received a letter from the
town of Hertford stating
that he needs to comply
with the town’s ordinance
by the end of March or find
another place to repair
cars. *
The downtown business
district allows a service
station to operate in the C-
1 commercial zone. The
ordinarice describes a
Continued on page 8