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LOT^C-001
PERQUSliaAHS COUNTY
110 W ACADEMY ST I
HERTFORD, NC 27944-13GS *
Sports
Page 7
Subscriber of the Week:
Susie Perry
Ffe 0 g
February 6, 2008
Vol, 76, No. 6 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
^Wews from Next Door^^
Zoning
board
OKs auto
repair
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Just six weeks after shut
ting down one auto repair
garage at 302 Dobbs Street,
members of Hertford’s
planning board have ap
proved the opening of an
other garage in the same
location.
This time, planning of
ficials hope the business
owner will abide by condi
tions imposed by the town.
If not, they’ll shut this one
down, too.
“We’ll be riding herd
over this one tightly,” said
Robert Clinkscales, chair
man of the Hertford Plan
ning and Zoning Board of
Adjustments.
Last week, board mem
bers approved a conditional
use permit allowing busi
ness owner Ike Evans to
open Coastal Carolina Auto
Repair in the same Dobbs
Street location in which he
runs his home maintenance
business. Evans may oper
ate his auto repair business
Monday through Saturday
from 8 a.m. — 6 p.m. and all
work must be done either
inside the garage, or behind
the fenced areas.
Up to three vehicles may
be left on the property over
night, and no scrap trans
missions or auto parts may
be stored outside the build
ing.
Back in December, board
members revoked the con
ditional use permit previ
ously issued to Bfily Boblit
of Billy’s Auto after Town
Planner Brandon Shoaf tes
tified that Boblit consistent
ly violated standards set by
the town back in April 2007.
Shoaf received numerous
complaints from area citi
zens about how the prop
erty was kept, ranging from
working on vehicles at aU
hours of the night, multiple
cars parked on the property,
old car parts and transmis
sions doting the landscape,
to playing loud music. De
spite several attempts by
the town to correct the prob
lem, the business owner re
sumed violating the town’s
operating conditions until
the planning board finally
revoked Boblit’s permit in
December.
Billy’s Auto has since
moved out of town.
Evans, however, says he
intends to keep his auto re
pair shop clean and operate
it only during the approved
hours and wiU abide by the
conditions set by the town.
“I don’t want to do engine
and transmission changes, ”
he added. “I’m not inter
ested in having junk cars
around. I just want to uti
lize the bays in the building
to help pay some of my ex
penses since the economy is
not the greatest right now.
The services Carolina Auto
Repair wiU do includes oU.
changes, changing batter
ies, alternators, and work
ing on starters. I’ve been
in the auto business for 15
years. I’m not interested in
working aU night. The place
has been painted and power
washed. We’re there to do
maintenance on cars.
CONTINUED on page 2
-ii
Perquimans Weekly photos by CATHY WILSON
PERQUIMANS COUNTY WALKS ACROSS America kicked off
Saturday at the Parks and Recreation Department. About
140 people have signed up to participate in the fitness
program designed to promote cardiovascular health and
improve overall fitness. Most are walking in teams of
four, with some individual participants an(| a few teams of
more or less than four. The goal is for each team to walk
2,684 miles, the distance from Hertford to Hollywood, in
eight weeks. The program is a cooperative effort of Al
bemarle Regional Health Services, the Recreation Depart
ment, and The Perquimans Weekly with financial support
from Healthy Carolinians of the Albemarle. The Perquimans
County Rescue Squad was on hand to perform complimen
tary blood pressure checks at the event (top right). Before
walking, participants were taught how to stretch to avoid
injury by regional health department educators (bottom
right). Some opted to stretch, while some opted to skip
the warm-up (bottom left). Sign-ups are still being accept
ed at the recreation department.
.i
4 '4V
Rogerson named new fire marshal
Elizabeth City firefighter
Mark Rogerson will become
the county’s new fire mar
shal beginning Feb. 11.
Rogerson replaces John
Long, who has served as the
county’s fire marshal since
1991.
County manager Bobby
Darden said Rogerson was
appointed to the part time
position by county commis
sioners Jan. 28.
“The board felt it was
time to make a change,”
Darden said.
Rogerson, 39, served as
fire marshal with Curri
tuck County for 18 months.
He has a total of 16 years
experience as a firefighter
with Elizabeth City.
He is a state certified
level II firefighter, received
hazardous material train
ing, and a level III state
certified fire inspector. He
is a certified car seat instal
lation technician, a former
emergency medical techni-
PCRA needs help to keep Newbold-White open
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Donations have been
smaller, membership is
down, and attendance num
bers were lower last year.
The Perquimans County
Restoration Association
needs help to continue to
operate the historic New
bold-White House.
“Remarkably, each year
the PCRA volunteers raise
most of the requuired
$100,000 operation bud
get through charitable
donations and fundrais
ing events,” said Sarah M.
Weeks, Heritage Tourism
Development Officer for
the North Carolina Depart
ment of Commerce. “They
do this without state sub
sidy. Unfortunately, it is be
ginning to take more funds
than volunteers have the
capacity to raise.”
In addition to tax deduct
ible donations needed for
the non-profit organization,
the association also needs
supplies to help maintain
the historic home’s yard
and gardens. Items needed
include a reliable old pick
up truck for hauling, trash,
weed eaters, large wheel
barrows, small chemical
sprayers, two large bags
of composted cow manure,
two large bags of compos
ted mushroom soil, heavy
four mil. plastic, salt treated
posts. Roundup, Seven dust,
slow release fertilizer, lime
pellets, landscape fabric,
a box of wire staples, one
inch PVC pipe and fittings
for irrigation, a bundle of
250 bamboo growing stakes
, a box of 200 Snap & Grow
tubes and landscape fab
ric protection Geodiscs 10
inches in diameter.
The Newbold White
House is the oldest brick
house in North Carolina
open to the public and is
listed on the National Reg
ister of Historic Places.
The expansive grounds fea
ture a Quaker gravesite dat
ing to the 1600s, a vineyard,
recreational trail and a sea
sonal herb garden.
“No other site is so rep
resentative of North Car
olina’s formative years,”
added Weeks.
The site is also home to
the periauger, a replica of
a double-masted colonial
workboat.
Katharine Paulhamus,
former site manager, left
the position at the Newbold-
White House back in Decem-
cian, and a former member
of the North Carolina Re
gional Hazardous Materials
team out of Wfiliamston.
Rogerson, who resides
in Elizabeth City, will work
part time for Perquimans
County while remaining
a fuU time firefighter with
Elizabeth City.
her. The PCRA is currently
seeking a replacement for
Paulhamus who had been
with the historic property
for less than a year. McKen
zie Falvo is currently serv
ing as interim manager.
The PCRA, which owns
and operates the historic
property, educates and
promotes an awareness of
this region’s history, heri
tage, and the preservaton
of Northeastern North
Carolina’s architecture.
The group is a non-profit
organization under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev
enue code so donations are
tax-deductible. In addition
to monetary contributions
and iferni^ needed, ways
to donate include endow
ments and volunteering, or
more information, contact
Weeks at 426-5123.
grant
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The county has accept
ed an $81,000 grant from
the North Carolina Public
Beach and Coastal Water
front Access Program for a
fishing pier and boat launch
to be constructed behind
the county’s Department
of Parks and Recreation
building. But construction
on the project can’t begin
until the county receives a
shoreline stabilization per
mit approved by CAMA.
Monday night, county
commissioners approved a
resolution agreeing to add
$20,250 of county funds to
the $81,000 grant, along
with $6,000 in kind servic
es, to fund the 200 ft. fish
ing/observation pier. The
construction will provide
a small boat (canoe/kayak)
access to the Perquimans
River as well.
“HopefuUy, we’U receive
the permit from CAMA in
the next budget year,” said
County Manager Bobby
Darden. The grant contract
runs until niid 2009.
Funding for the proj
ect comes from the North
Carolina Department of
Environment and Natural
Resources.
In other matters, com
missioners awarded the
contract for the new HVAC
system at Hertford Gram
mar School to ZBZ and As
sociates, Inc. for $1,717,700.
The county will fund the
construction from the gen
eral fund reserve and the
land transfer tax reserve.
A contingency fund of
$25,000 was also established
for the project, which is
expected to begin over the
school system’s spring
break and last into fall.
Occupancy
tax board
organizing
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The county’s new oc
cupancy tax is now be
ing collected, and the
board that will decide
how that money is spent
is nearly organized.
CONTINUED on page 2
WtaUMD
Thursday
High: 55 Low: 36
Sunny
Friday
High: 57 Low: 37
Sunny
Saturday
High: 54 Low: 36
Few Showers