Everett recovers from injury Page 5 Relay for Life tops $151K Page 2 IX Sports LOT**C PERQUifflAJiS COUNTY LIBRARY 110 W ACADEMY ST HERTFORD, NC 273M-1366 Subscriber of the Week: mer lY ^4y lOOg Mlili ,yAV May 21, 2008 Council reverses decision to lock doors Fire codes must be considered CATHY WILSON Staff Writer The front doors will re main unlocked during town council meetings. Last month, town council members agreed to lock the front doors during coun cil meetings in an effort to beef up security. However, the county fire marshal pointed out that doing so might violate the state’s fire code regarding public buildings. . John Christensen, town manager, told council last week that based on the town hall’s design, council, must leave the front doors unlocked while leaving the meeting room’s double doers open or lock the front doors and close the double doors, giving the assembly room access to the unlocked back doors only. Either of those actions will keep the town in line with state fire code, he said. Security for the meetings will continue to be provided by members of the Hertford Police Department who will be stationed where any troublemakers can be seen quickly when entering the building. Council agreed to con tinue to meet with the front doors unlocked with the second option to be put in place should the front doors need to be locked. According to a let ter from Mark Rogerson, Perquimans County Fire Marshall, state and federal agencies that enforce viola tions of codes have stepped up fines and penalties fol lowing the Hamlet chicken processing plant fire where workers were killed when exit doors were locked for theft security. Rogerson urged the town to look at several items to make sure they are not in violation of any exit re quirements including: 1) making sure that any door that is in the occupied space or building has full and immediate use from the egress side while it is occupied; 2) no door may have a lock which requires more than one movement to open; 3) no key locks may be used while the building is occupied; 4) manually operated dead blots are not allowed; 5) panic hardware may not be locked while the building is occupied. Last month, council took action and joined other lo cal governments across the country by trying to improve security after a distraught citizen shot and killed several people dur ing a town hall meeting in Kirkwood, Mo. back in Feb ruary. In other matters last week, council appointed Carlton Davenport to repre sent the town on the Coastal Resource Commission. Voi. 76, No. 21 Hertford, North Carolina 27944 **News from Next Door t A , Perquimans Weekly ijlrotos by CATHY WILSON HUNGRY FOLKS ENJOYED BARBECUE plate with all the trimmings either take out or by sitting at tables spread out on the courthouse green during the annual Pig Out on the Green Fjiday, sponsored by Historic Hertford, Inc. OVER 100 PEOPLE TOURED 15 historic sites on the Biennial Tour of Historic Homes Friday and Saturday including the former Dr. Caleb Winslow Office, c. 1851, located at 128 W. Market Street. Owned by Mrs. Kenneth Landis, the charming home is believed to have been built for a medical office. The historic house tour was sponsored by Historic Hertford, Inc. Weekend events a success CATHY WILSON Staff Writer Threatening skies and a little drizzle Friday didn’t dampen the start of the town’s spring weekend featuring a historic house tour, barbecue, garden par ty and ice cream social. “It went very well,” said Murielle Harmon, board member of Historic Hertford, Inc. which spon sored both the house tour and the barbecue. Members of Historic Hertford, Inc. cooked and served barbecue on the courthouse green under neath tents that offered protection from the oc casional drizzle and in termittent showers. The aroma of barbecued pork drew the hungry from lunch time throughout the dinner hour. Over 100 people enjoyed the tour of local historic homes, churches, and oth er sites Friday and Satur day. AH the sites could be accessed easily by walking with the exception of the Newbold-White House. . “Even though the weather was threatening on Friday, they still bought tickets,” added Harmon. “They just returned to complete the tour on Sat urday. We received a lot of nice comments, especially about being such an eclec tic tour. It was a nice well- rounded tour as far as va riety was concerned.” Saturday’s sunny skies set a beautiful stage for the annual Garden Party spon sored by the Perquimans County Restoration Asso ciation (PCRA). Ladies in spring hats and gentlemen in summer suits enjoyed refreshments on the riv erside lawn of Julian and Betty Lane Winslow on Front Street. “This year’s garden party was a great success!” exclaimed L3mwood Win slow, president of the PCRA. “Attendance was up this year, and the sup port for PCRA is greatly appreciated. The garden party has come to be an annual tradition for many. Some traveled from across the state this weekend to join family and friends, reminisce about old times, and revisit their roots here in Perquimans County. Other guests were' new comers to the area who were experiencing this glimpse of the Old South for the first time. “I have been over whelmed by the support the public has shown for PCRA-sponsored events so far this year, and hope that this trend wiU con tinue,” Winslow added. “This increased support is important as we endeavor to raise funds to make much needed repairs and improvements at the New- bold-White House historic site, and to further develop our educational, interpre- tational and outreach pro grams.” The fun-filled weekend wrapped up Sunday after noon with an ice cream social sponsored by the Hertford Rotary Club on the courthouse green. It was standing room only with all tables filled with adults and little ones alike enjoying their ice cream sundaes. According to Rev. John Bonner, chairman of the ice cream social, Rotar- ians served 80 folks during the afternoon social. Council restricts adult establishments CATHY WILSON Staff Writer Town council members have amended the town’s zoning ordinance by plac ing restrictions on adult establishments effective immediately. Prior to last Monday night’s action, the town’s zoning ordinance didn’t ad-' dress adult establishments. Now, the ordinance allows them only in C-2 (commer cial) districts with an ap proved conditional use per mit. “It’s nice to have it (ordi nance) on the books,” said Councilman Carlton Daven port. “In case it does come up, we’U have something to control it with.” Town Planner Brandon Shoaf said no applications for adult establishments have been received by the town. “The planning board just wanted to be proactive,” he explained. An adult establishment is defined by state law as adult ' bookstores, adult motions and mini-motion picture theatres, adult live entertainment businesses or massage businesses. Massage businesses are ex empt from being classified as an adult establishment if all employees associ ated with massages meet the ethical and education al requirements specified by the American Massage Therapy Association or the equivalent national or state standard. An adult establishment in town has to be at least 1,000 feet from a residential zone and the building used has to be at least 50 feet from the adjacent nonresi- dential zone or use. In addition, an adult establishment has to be at least 1,000 feet from a church, day care center, school, park or library. CONTINUED on page 2 35 cents Wiggins Memorial Day program planned Wiggins to be guest speaker CATHY WILSON Staff. Writer A Memorial Day service commemorating men and women who have died serv ing their country will be held Monday at 11 a.m. on the courthouse lawn. Guest speaker for the an nual holi day ser vice will be Shirley Wiggins, retired captain with the U.S.Navy. Wiggins is also a member of the Perquimans County Board of Commissioners. Each branch' of military service will be represented in the ceremony. Charlie Skinner, local historian, wUl present a brief history of each branch of service. The laying ol the wreath at the county’s veterans memorial wiU highlight the ceremony. That memorial will feature a brick side walk this year created from bricks inscribed with the names of service veterans and active military. Preston Spear, the coun ty’s veteran services of ficer, said 280 bricks have been purchased in memory or in honor of a service man or woman. Each brick for the Walkway of Honor will be laid in cement with additional bricks available for adoption for future vet erans. Bricks for the Walk way of Honor may still be purchased. The new sidewalk will be the same width as the high est portion of the monu ment and wfil extend out to the town sidewalk. Trim and flag holders wfil line the sidewalk while accent lights have been added to the base of the monument to illuminate the memorial at night. Members of the Perquimans High School band wifi play during the ceremony which will con clude with “Taps.” Thursday High: 77 Low: 56 Sunny Friday High: 73 Low: 55 Partly Cloudy Saturday High: 76 Low: 57 Partly Cloudy 6""89076''47143

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