Cooking in the rain
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T i Lady Pirates defeat Camden in seventh
Sports/Page 8
receive®
APR ' 6 2008
April 16, 2008
Vol. 76, No. 16 Hertford, North Carolina 27944 '
**News from Next Door**
Voters
parties
National,
local races
spark interest
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
New voter registrations
here since Jan. 1 total 459,
and more than 100 county
voters have changed their
party affiliation in time for
the May 6 primary election.
According to Eula Mae
Forbes, director of the
Perquimans County Board
of Elections, 105 voters in
the county have switched
from Democrat, Republi
can, or unafhliated. Friday
was the deadline for switch
ing parties and to register
to vote before the primary
election.
Five Democrats switched
to Republican and 15
changed to unaffiliated.
Sixteen Republicans
switched to Democrat while
48 jumped to unaffiliated
status.
Thirteen unaffiliated vot
ers in the county switched
to Democrat and eight
switched to Republican.
While choosing the Dem
ocratic presidential nomi
nee is drawing more voters
to change parties in order
to vote their choice in the
primary statewide, local
elections here are stirring
up interest as well.
Four Democrats and
one Republican candidates
are vying to run on their
party’s ticket seeking three
seats on the county’s board
of commissioners.
Republican Sue Weimar
is seeking re-election and
is unopposed on her party’s
primary ballot. Her name
wfil automatically be placed
on the ballot for the Novem
ber general election.
Incumbents Mack Nixon
and Shirley Wiggins are
being challenged by new
comers Tommy Riddick
and Neil Trueblood for the
Democratic ballot. Voters
will get to vote for one, and
the top three vote takers
will run in the general elec
tion in November.
Voters who have regis
tered as Democrats will re
ceive a democratic ballot to
vote on in the primary and
registered Republicans will
receive the republican bal
lot. Those registered as un
affiliated may choose to vote
on either the democratic or
republican ballot.
There are also seven peo
ple vying for three school
board seats in the May 6
election. The school board
election is nonpartisan and
each voter m^y vote for one
candidate. The top three
vote takers wfil be elected
and take office in June.
One-stop absentee early
voting starts April 17 and
continues until May 3. One
stop absentee early voting
in Perquimans County wfil
be conducted at the elec
tions office located at 601A
South Edenton Road Street
(the Extension building).
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
SPRING IS TRYING TO burst out all over despite occasional cooler days and nights. Ann Goodwin and her neighbors work in
their yards and even sweep the street gutters to help keep their neighborhood clean and pretty underneath the blossoming
dogwood trees on Highland Park.
Second swap shop opens Emergency
call system
in place
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
When you take your
trash to the convenience
center, you can also pick up
a bargain or two.
Perquimans County’s
second Community Swap
Shop opened April 5 at the
U.S. 17-south convenience
center between Hertford
and Edenton. The first
swap shop in the county
opened several years ago at
the trash collection center
located on Center HfilHigh-
way west of town.
Brad Gardner, conve
nience sites manager for
Albemarle Regional Health
Services, said the second
swap shop was built be
cause the first one proved
to be so successful.
“We had several requests
for another one,’’ he added.
Residents may donate or
pick up (at no charge) us
able household goods, tools,
building materials, sports
equipment, toys and table-
top small appliances at the
swap shop.
But, you can’t swap
clothes, tires, chemicals,
liquids, mattresses, box
springs, broken items, pets
or plants.
Perquimans County
funded the shed, which cost
approximately $1,500 for
materials, movement and
signage.
Perquimans Weekly photo by CATHY WILSON
THE COUNTY'S SECOND COMMUNITY Swap Shop opened April
5 at the U.S. 17-south convenience center between Hertford
and Edenton. Residents may donate, or pick up (at no charge)
usable household goods, tools, building materials, sports equip
ment, toys and tabletop small appliances at the swap shop.
The swap shop was built
by the Chowan Center of
the College of The Albemar
le’s construction and tech
nology class including Troy
Capehart, Marcus Rawls,
Emmanuel Matthews, Cin
dy Evans, Sandra Taylor
and Mark Musante. The in
structors were Michael Par-
tyka and Chuck Haskett.
Gardner explained that
the swap shop is primarily
a waste reduction tool that
encourages residents to re
use rather than dispose of
useful items.
He pointed out, however,
that using the swap shop
can also save the county
money on tipping fees. It
cost the county approxi
mately $62 a ton to dispose
of the county’s trash, he
said.
“ For every pound of trash
we keep out of the landfill,
we save three cents,” Gard
ner said.
The Swap Shop is open
during regular convenience
center daylight hours: Mon
day—Saturday 7 a.m.—7
p.m., Sundays 1—6 p.m.,
and closed on Thursdays.
For more information,
or if a civic group or club
would like a presentation
on this or other local waste
reduction efforts, call Gard-
Perquimans County has
taken a significant step
in upgrading its ability to
communicate critical emer
gency information to its
residents through an auto
mated telephone message
delivery system.
While local land line
phone numbers have been
automatically included in
the system’s database, resi
dents are urged to register
their unlisted or cell phone
numbers so they can be in
cluded in the event of an
emergency.
Perquimans County’s
Emergency Notification
System (PCENS), an au
tomated telephone mes
sage delivery system, was
activated in early October
2007. PCENS can quickly
deliver a voice message to
telephones throughout the
county. This emergency no
tification service is being
provided by FIRSTCALL
Network, Inc.
PCENS will be activated
and calls made to the affect
ed area during emergencies
in which there is a threat to
life or property.
Examples of such emer
gencies include natural
CONTINED on page
Fuel
prices
affect
local
budgets
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The rise in fuel prices
is not only affecting your
pocketbook, but it’s impact
ing the budgets of local gov
ernments as well.
If prices continue to rise
as expected through the
end of this fiscal year (June
30), local governments wifi
go over budget in the fuel
category.
It takes a lot of fuel
to keep those big yeUow
school buses on the road,
so Perquimans County
School System has been
hit the hardest this year.
In addition, they also face
added costs for heating and
cooling the high school’s
new 27,105 square foot gym
that opened in March. The
school’s old gym didn’t
have heating or air condi
tioning.
The old gym will become
the new media center so
providing heating and cool
ing for that facility will add
to the costs as well.
According to Brenda Las-
sister, the schools’ public
information officer, rising
fuel prices is putting the
squeeze on the local school
district’s budget.
“Though the school year
has not ended, administra
tors say fuel prices have de
pleted their annual budget
for bus transportation and/
or heating and cooling,”
she said.
The school system bud
geted $189,000 for fuel this
fiscal year and had spent
$149,000 of that by the end
of March with three months
left tfil the end of the fiscal
year.
“If rates of fuel remain
steady at the current price,
it is expected that the school
district’s budget shortfall
in this area wfil be $10,000,”
Lassiter added.
Since the system does
not have an underground
or above ground tank, the
school system must fill a
fuel truck with 1200 gallons
of diesel every three days to
fuel their 30-bus fleet which
typically gets 6-8 miles to
CONTINUED on page
HMmimhi
Thursday
High: 72 Low: 53
Sunny
Friday
High: 80 Low: 59
Sunny
Saturday
High: 75 Low: 58
Isolated T'storms
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