Cops/court
Page 2
Winfaii fire squad gets grant
Page 7
November 19, 2008
Vol, 76, No. 47 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
**News from Next Door
ff
Park
skates
toward
opening
Youth petition
gets attention
from county
board
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
A new skateboard park
for local kids is expected
to be ready to roll next
month.
Built at the Perquimans
County Recreation Depart
ment adjacent to the park
ing lot, the outdoor park
features two quarter pipes,
a grind box and rail. The
skate items sit atop a con
crete pad that measures 26
ft. by 73 ft.
The total cost of the park
was $40,000 said County
Manager Bobby Darden,
and was paid for through
a 50/50 matching grant
through the North Carolina
Parks and Recreation Trust
Fund. The county’s cost
was $20,000.
While most of the . con
struction has been complet
ed, the county still needs
to add fencing and adopt a
county ordinance detail
ing rules for use of the un
supervised park. A public
hearing on that ordinance
is slated for Dec. 1 by coun
ty commissioners.
Darden said state statute
requires a county ordinance
be adopted detailing rules
and liability for any unsu
pervised skateboard park.
Since the park is located
in the Commerce Centre,
owned by the county, and
is located within Hertford’s
town limits, town leaders
were asked to sign a resolu
tion, but did not.
Rules for using the park
will be posted, and . protec
tive gear will be required.
The park is a result of
action spearheaded hy a
hunch of local kids, Darden
pointed out.
“Three or four years
ago, a petition was signed
hy kids and presented to
the commissioners asking
for a skateboard park,” he
said. “This project came
out of that petition from
the kids.”
WiBAlHBt
Thursday
High: 55 Low: 34
Sunny
Friday
High: 50 Low: 30
Mostly Sunny
Saturday
High: 47 Low: 31
Sunny
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INO ONE WAS INJURED when a 2001 tractor trailer driven by Clifton Sessoms,33, of Powellsvillej
llanded in a ditch alongside U.S. Highway 17 North of Hertford last Thursday around 1:10 p.m.The ve-l
[hide, registered to Coastal Beverage of Wilmington, was traveling north when Sessoms lost control!
/hen attempting to change lanes, ran off the road and overturned in a ditch. Sessoms was charged[
/ith exceeding a safe speed by Trooper J.F. Bray,
Schools get drop-out prevention grant
The local school system
win put more emphasis on
keeping kids in schools,
thanks to a $150,000 drop-out
prevention grant received
recently from the state.
Perquimans County
Schools is one of 42 groups
in 30 counties to receive $5.2
million in grants to help re
duce the number of high
school dropouts. The grants,
which range in size from
$43,360 to $150,000, were
awarded to school systems,
schools, agencies and non
profits that had originally
applied for funding in 2007
but did not receive funding
during the first round.
According to Brenda Las
siter, the schools’ public in
formation officer, the funds
will be used to hire a dropout
prevention coordinator and
provide focused interven
tion and prevention goals
and objectives through an
innovative dropout preven
tion program.
“The goals are to imple
ment, expand, coordinate
and evaluate a comprehen
sive dropout prevention pro-
Dr. Dwayne Stallings
gram; provide academic as
sistance for at-risk students
to maximize their academic
potential; and create a more
personalized learning envi
ronment,” said Lassiter.
The coordinator will
work directly with students
designated as “at risk” of
dropping out of school and
their families at the middle
and high school levels. Ap
proximately 70 students
win be served, based on his
torical data indicating a 10
percent at-risk population
in grades 6—12.
“This will be a collabora
tive effort of the Perquimans
County School System, par
ents, students and the faith
community. Communities
in Schools, and Governor’s
One on One,” she added.
According to the North
Carolina Department
of Public Instruction,
Perquimans County Schools
showed a 36.2 percent drop
in its annual dropout rate
in 2006—2007 from 2005—
2006. In 2006-07, 30 students
dropped out of local schools
in grades 9 through 12 while
47 dropped out in the same
age group the year before.
“Identification and inter
vention wiU be on-going,”
said Superintendent Dr.
Dwayne K. Stallings. “Fo
cused efforts wiU be made
to reduce in-school and
out-of-school suspensions,
behavior problems and tru
ancy. In addition, counsel
ors, school nurses, and the
school social worker will
work coUaboratively to help
enhance self-esteem and
personal skills of students
to encourage academic suc
cess.”
The North Carolina Gen
eral Assembly’s Committee
on Dropout Prevention se
lected the grant recipients.
The committee, which is
co-chaired by Dr. David B.
Strahan and Bill Farmer,
was created by the General
Assembly to help improve
high school graduation
rates in North Carolina.
The committee will
evaluate the programs that
receive grants and decide
whether expanding or rep
licating them will improve
graduation rates in the
state.
The committee also will
review research on stu
dent success, study major
middle and high school re
form efforts and how they
may influence the dropout
rate, review the courses re
quired for graduation and
determine whether changes
should be made, and deter
mine which strategies best
help students remain in
school when they are at risk
of being retained.
Deer dumpers
face fines if found
Helping hands
6 ""89076
7143
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Hunters dumping dead
deer carcasses in ditches,
on roadways, or on private
property may have to pay
the price if caught.
According to the North
Carolina W Udlife Resources
Commission, dumping dead
animals or their remains
without the landowner’s
permission is considered
littering, a misdemeanor
punishable with fines up to
$2,000.
Apparently there is lit
tering occurring around
the county now that deer
season is in effect.
Thomas Swayne, main
tenance supervisor with
the local office of the North
Carolina Department of
Transportation, said his
department picks up four
or five deer carcasses a day
off the local roadways and
out of the ditches running
alongside them.
“It’s aggravating,” said
Swayne who is a deer hunt
er himself. “Looks like the
deer carcass calls increase
especially at this time of
year.”
Some of the carcasses
picked up have been hit by
vehicles, but many are also
just the remains of a hunt
er’s bounty, he said.
Gordon Wilder of Bel-
videre said his dogs have
drug home deer carcasses
that have been dumped
in the ditch on property
across the street from his
home. Bones, skin, and deer
heads are tossed out late at
night by illegal dumpers in
the Bagley Swamp area, he
said.
CONTINUED on page 10
SUBMITTED PHOTO
STUDENTS FROM THE UNITED States Coast Guard Aviation
Technical Training Center, Elizabeth City volunteered to work at
the Newbold-White House on Nov. 8. The Aviation Maintenance
Technician Class No. 79-09 performed tasks such as clearing
brush around the dock area, spreading oyster shells around
the garden area, trimming hedges and replacing split rail fenc
ing. Aviation maintenance technician instructors work with the
students and coordinate community service projects.
Town
late
fees to
nse
Hertford
increases
utility bill late
fees to cover
costs
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Customers who don’t
pay their town utility bills
on time wiU face higher cut
off fees this winter.
Hertford commissioners
agreed last week to raise
the utility cut-off fee from
$5 to $7 effective with the
January 2009 bill. Custom
ers who don’t pay their
January bill on time will
pay the higher cut-off fee in
February.
In an effort to save town
money, town leaders con
sidered stopping sending
out second notices to delin
quent customers. Accord
ing to Town Manager John
Christensen, approximate
ly 40 percent of the town’s
utility customers receive
second notices which cost
the town $2,500—$2,700 an
nually to process and mail
those notices.
However, based on the ad
vice of their attorney Ben
Gallup, town leaders chose
to err on the side of due
process instead, and decid
ed to continue sending out
second notices, passing the
cost on to those who don’t
pay their bills on time.
The cut-off fee has previ
ously remained steady at $5
for several years.
Council also approved
buying new rollers and
radio controls for the bay
doors to the fire department
in an effort to save money
on the cost of heating the
garage area.
Often times, when fire
fighters leave the fire sta
tion, garage doors are left
open, allowing heat from
gas heaters to escape. The
new rollers and radio con
trol capability will allow
firefighters to close the
doors behind them while
responding to the fire caU
in the trucks.
The cost of installing
the cost-cutting measure is
over $2,000.
“Sometimes you have to
spend money to save money
in the long run,” comment
ed Christensen.
In other matters last
week, town commissioners
learned they will he grand
marshals for the county’s
annual Christmas parade
slated for Dec. 6. The pa
rade, sponsored by the
Perquimans Chamber of
Commerce, gets underway
at 2 p.m.
Town council members
will ride in the parade on a
horse drawn wagon.
Slideshows
See photo galleries of
Perquimans County hap
penings at dailyadvance.
com. Choose photos/vid
eos from the menu bar
and click on Perquimans.