Vfii J,-.
V -/'X^ V.;. -n Si'•»>"■
i latf: ^
'i
The
^AR 0
^ 2009
Resident Roy Reed
celebrates 90*'' birthday
Pg-4
ERQUIMANS
Middle schoolers win in
state patriotism essay
contest pg. 10
Weekly
Recreation department
teams celebrate
victorious seasons pg. 7
MARCH 4 - MARCH 10, 2009
“News from Next Door”
35 cents
Stimulus
funding
sought
County seeks money
to upgrade water
treatment plant
CATHY WILSON
STAFF WRITER
Perquimans County is
seeking economic stimulus
funding for two drinking wa
ter projects.
County Manager Bobby
Darden said funding is be
ing sought to upgrade the
county’s water treatment
plant in Winfall and build a
water line to the Pasquotank
reverse osmosis water plant
currently under construction
within a half mile of Perqui
mans County.
The funding is part of the
American Recovery and Rein
vestment Act
of 2009. The
North Caro
lina Drink
ing Water
State Revolv-'
ing Fund is
expected to
receive $67
million from
that act for
Darden
“shovel ready” drinking wa
ter infrastructure projects.
“Our consulting engineers,
Diehl and Phillips, had about
90 percent of the design work
completed on these two proj
ects when we first learned
of possible stimulus funding
for “shovel ready” projects,”
wrote Darden in an email.
“They completed the design
and have submitted them to
the state for review and ap
proval. If we had not been
far along in the design, these
projects would not be eligible
since we have to have state ap
proval of the plans by March
31 to be eligible.”
Upgrading the water treat
ment plant in Winfall is esti
mated to cost $4 million. The
34,000 ft. water line to neigh
boring Pasquotank County is.
estimated to cost $2 million.
The. county is submitting
the application for the funds
not knowing whether or not
funding wiU come in the form
of grants or loans, or what
loan terms and rates might
be.
“Inmy opinion, if we cannot
get substantial grant funding
or very favorable loan terms,
we may be better off seeking
S' ^
•li-
normal private financing op
tions,” Darden added.
Upgrading the water treat
ment plant would entail re-
■ See WATER on Page 2
'
•• '
Weekend
.
Weather
Thursday
tT
High: 55 Low: 41
%
1
Mostly Sunny
P
Friday
High: 68 Low: 46
■ V
Few Showers
Saturday
High: 63 Low: 46
I-
.fM
Mostly Cloudy
Historic Site opens for season
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
The Newbold-White House opened March 3 for the season.The historic home is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4
p.m. Self-guided tours are available when docents are not on duty Mondays and Sundays. Their first lecture of the
season will be held March 10: “Native Americans-The Beginnings of Muscadine Viticulture" by Marjorie Rayburn.
For more information, call 426-7567.
Hearing on banning euthanasia
by gas nets strong local reactions
Animal lovers line up
on both sides of bill
CATHY WILSON
STAFF WRITER
A proposed law banning eutha
nasia by gas in animal, shelters is
the subject of a legislative com
mittee hearing today in Raleigh.
Davie’s Law, a proposed bill that
would provide for humane eutha
nasia by injection in animal shel
ters throughout the state, wiU be
discussed today (March 4) in the
Hous.e of Representatives’ Agri
culture Committee. Rep. Annie
Mobley, who represents Perqui
mans County in the house, is a
member of that committee.
The proposed law is named after
a puppy, Davie, who was gassed in
an animal shelter elsewhere in the
state, but survived and was later
found alive in a plastic bag thrown
in a dumpsite along with the bod
ies of other puppies who did not
survive the gassing. As a result,
Davie’s cause was eventually tak
en up by the North Carolina Coali
tion for Humane Euthanasia and
other groups to spur the new law.
Currently, North Carolina has
32 animal shelters, including the
Tri-County shelter which serves
Perquimans, Chowan, and Gates
counties, that stiU primarily use
carbon monoxide gas to euthanize
unwanted animals. Another 63
shelters in the state have already
changed primarily to lethal injec
tion.
Animal lovers in Perquimans
are firing up the internet, sending
emails to garner support for the
proposed law which has been in
troduced into both the House and
Senate. Both bodies have assigned
the proposed law to committees.
“It is time to stop the gassing,
that’s aU. It is barbaric,” wrote
Andrea Boone in an email to this
newspaper. “It is a black eye for
these three counties and bad pub
licity, too.”
Lois Schneck, a new board mem
ber for the Perquimans SPCA and
owner of The Sound Pet in Eden-
ton, has worked on a “grass roots
campaign” in support of the pro
posed bill for several weeks,
“We have made great progress
towards getting this bill passed,”
she stated. “We have collected close
to 200 signatures on a petition in
my store. The first installment
has been sent to the American
Humane Association. It’s going to
take still more effort, but I am con
fident that this biU will pass.”
Actually, there are two bills
that have been introduced in the
See BAN on Page 2
Euthanasia takes toll on shelter workers
CATHY WILSON
STAFF WRITER
Call the shelter at 221-8514.
Mary Bass, director of the Tri-County Ani
mal Shelter in Tyner which serves Perqui
mans, Chowan and Gates counties, plays
with Little Bit, a Pomeranian mix female
that was brought into the shelter two
weeks ago.
Little Bit is spayed and housebroken and
waiting for a good home that has no other
animals.
Mary Bass plays God every
day at work.
She’s the one who decides
which animals at the Tri-County
Animal Shelter in Tyner live or
die. Each day, she watches as ani
mals are brought in from Perqui
mans, Chowan, and Gates coun
ties, and dropped off with hopes
of finding good homes for adop
tion. Photos of dogs and cats are
placed on PetFinder, and ads are
run in the local newspaper tell
ing of each personality, encour
aging others to find a place for
them not only in their hearts but
in their homes as weU.
When that doesn’t happen, the
decision of what to do with the
animal falls on Bass.
Rescue groups are contacted,
and even many of the shelter
technicians take animals home
with them to adopt. Bass herself
has five dogs; four cats, and one
bird at home. StiU, many animals
eventuaUy face death either in
the shelter’s gas chamber or by
lethal injection.
For Bass, it’s an emotional
roUer coaster that takes a ride
each day, even when she’s on va
cation. She is the only person at
the shelter authorized to give the
go-ahead for euthanasia.
“You don’t take this job be
cause you don’t love animals,”
Bass said looking at a colorful
cat curled up on her desk in the
front office of the shelter. “We
do love animals. It’s very hard
on us to put any of them down.
But, I always teU my employees,
you can love them, you can treat
them, you can walk them...but
just don’t name the animals be
cause it ju§t makes it harder on
yourself when and if the time
comes.”
Bass has worked with the
shelter for the past 14 years. She
knows the pain of becoming at
tached to the shelter animals and
then having to put them down.
“My first rule is not to give
them a name,” she said. “If you
name them, there is an auto
matic bond between you. If the
animal comes in already named,
then we’U keep the name and call
the animal by his or her name.”
It’s not hard to become at
tached to the animals after car-
Town moves
to improve
or demolish
area houses
CATHY WILSON
STAFF WRITER .
It’s a slow process, but Hertford officials are
methodicaUy chipping away at the number of
substandard houses in town.
Out of 43 houses identified, 24 have either
been improved or demolished since the town
developed its most recent list of substandard
housing five years ago. Of the remaining 19
properties on the list, two are currently being
processed for code enforcement.
Houses located at 309 Dobbs Street and 324
King Street are currently in the legally-re
quired red tape pipeline that will eventually
lead to either improvement or demolition.
The two-story house at 309 Dobbs Street was
inspected by the building inspector, and a re
port of his findings was posted on the front
door of the house in February. Property owner
Louise Reid has 60 days to respond to the no
tice.
The smaller house at 324 King Street, owned
by Sidney Parsons Jr. and Inell Guess, has also
been inspected by the buildtng inspector with
his findings turned over to the town’s attorney
for processing.
Town Manager John Christensen explained
that the process to demolish an abandoned
building in town is long. The town budgets
about $12,000 annually to further the cause.
With an average case costing the town between
$4 — $6,000, only a little can be done each year.
“Of course, if the owner won’t improve the
house, our goal is to demolish the house, place
a lien on the property, and recover the cost of
demolition from the owner,” Christensen said.
The town is currently trying to collect funds
from two owners whose'properties have al
ready been demolished.
The house at 309 Market Street, owned by
William T. Davis, was declared unfit for human
habitation by the building inspector on April
19, 2007, Christensen said. On Aug. 13, 2007,
council approved a resolution authorizing the
removal of the home which was torn down by
the town that October.
The owner was billed in November 2007 and
a lien sent to the courts in February 2008. Davis
was asked to pay the lien instead of facing fore
closure in April 2008.
The complaint for judgement was filed in
May 2008 with the owners served by June 2008.
See HOUSES on Page 2
See WORKERS on Page 2
Properties listed on the town’s
substandard property list include
' 301 S. Church Street owned by William F. Alnsley
and Margaret A. Brewin
' 315 W. Market Street owned by Gladys Thomp
son Hill
' 319 W. Market Street owned by Thomas E. White
heirs
' 321 W. Market Street owned by Thomas A. Rid
dick
' 410 W. Market Street owned by George Felton
' 301 Dobbs Street owned by Margaret M.
Blanchard
’ 311 Dobbs Street, owned by Archie Welch estate '
' 314 Dobbs Street owned by Quinton L. Brick-
house
> 332 Dobbs Street owned by Robert L. Harvey
• 221 King Street owned by Thomas A. Riddick
• 329 King Street owned by Mamie Everett estate
> 111 N. Edenton Road Street owned by Anthony
B. Hurdle
' 114 N. Edenton Road Street owned by Leeora
Brown
• 204 S. Edenton Road Street owned by Sidney
Parsons Jr. and Vernice Robinson
> 509 Willow Street owned by John Caddy heirs
> 103 and 105 W. Railroad Ave. owned by Walter C.
Matthews Jr. and others
» 320 King Street owned by William D. Ferebee
• 218 King Street owned by Addie Mae Hoffier
Hurdle
+
V