Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / May 13, 2009, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
+ P The ERQtJIMANS "News front Next Door” Housesitter MAY 13 — MAY 19, 2009 i cents charges with jewelry theft By Cathy Wilson Staff Writer A housesitter who appar ently threw a party while the owner was away is one of sev eral people charged in connec tion with the theft of $15,000 in jewelry from a Front Street home. Hertford Police Chief Joe Amos said five people face felony charges in connection with the May 2 theft of jew elry from the home of Mur- rieUe Harmon. While out of town, Harmon left her home in the care of Ashley Marie Duke of Hert ford, Amos wrote in a press release. “While she was watching the house, Ashley Duke invit ed people to come over to Mrs. Harmon’s home and have a party,” the release states. “While there, the party guests helped themselves to a variety of Harmon’s jewelry with the permission and assistance of Duke.” Hertford police were noti fied of the theft after Harmon returned home on May 7. Warrants charging felony larceny have been issued for David Marquette, 35, Richard Ada King, 35, Amanda Tripp, 24, and Duke, 25, police said. Kathryn Marquette, 36, faces the charge of felony posses sion of stolen property The case is being investi gated by Officer Calvin John son with the HPD. Members of the Perquimans County Sheriffs Department assisted in making the arrests. Community GATHERS TO PRAY Prayer for America God of our Fathers, Shepherd of Thy people. Lord of free men's souls. Bless thou our nation with a valiant. Godly spirit, with a vision to see, with the courage to try. With the power to achieve, that, marching behind Thee, Thy people shall not perish. God, bless our America! Hear our prayer for our united peoples, grant guidance to our leaders. Protection to our sons, and teach each of us Thy way of life in good will and peace. Amen. — by Cardinal Francis Spellman PERQUIMANS WEEKLY PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON Dozens of Perquimans residents joined hands to pray Thursday morning in town. By Cathy Wilson Staff Writer The rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the bright blue sky shone forth. And that was before the people stared praying. About 50 people gathered on the courthouse green Thursday at noon during National Day of Prayer to pray despite earlier morning downpours. Sponsored by the Ministers’ Council for Education and Communities in Schools, preachers and local gov ernment leaders lifted up prayers for leadership. Gilbert Vaughn prayed for the president .9jid other national lead ers while James Spaugh prayed for those who lead North Carolin'i. Fred Yates prayed for the local government leaders and Gloria Mason lead prayers for educators. Willie Vaughn prayed for the communities of faith, followed by Calvin Whedbee, who asked the Lord to bless families and chil dren. C.D. White prayed for those who serve in the military and their families. Special music was presented by both Gloria Mason and Estelle Fel ton. Events fill PQ community calendar By Cathy Wilson Staff Writer This weekend’s activities around the county provides something for everyone from eating to grabbing bargains to raising money for special causes. The three days of activi ties begin on Friday with the annual Pig Out on the Green sponsored by Historic Hert ford, Inc. Barbecue and aU the fixin’s will be available for lunch and diimer, 11 a.m.— 2 p.m. and 5—7 p.m. at $7 a plate. You can take it home or relax and en joy an outdoor dinner under the trees. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Perquimans Coimty Chamber of Com merce, Newbold-White House or from any Historic Hertford board member. The proceeds wUl support the downtown projects of His toric Hertford, Inc., Hertford’s Pig Out on the Green Relay for Life Saturday Tag Sales Garden Party Relay for Life Sunday Ice Cream Social Weekend Weather Thursday High: 80 Low: 67 T-Showers Friday High: 82 Low: 68 Scattered T- Storms Saturday High: 84 Low: 69 Isolated Showers liil. Main Street Program. Friday also marks the begin ning of the t w 0 - d a y Chowan/ Perquimans Relay for Life at John A. Holmes athletic complex, 6 p.m. Friday until noon on Saturday. The opening ceremonies win be followed by the Survi vor and Caregiver Recogni tion at 6:15 p.m., with the lumi- naria ceremony scheduled for 9 p.m. The closing ceremony, “Fight Back,” wUl begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday In between, there will be a variety of fun, food, games, music and more onsite. A si lent auction will run from 6 p.m. Friday until 10 a.m. Sat urday. Teams will seU food and have other fund raisers from their tents. The Kids Walk is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, when scads of children wOl walk the track. AU funds that have been raised and wUl be raised dur ing the Relay event wUl benefit the American Cancer Society. On Saturday, two local hom eowner associations wUl hold their annual tag sale to benefit the Perquimans County Res cue Squad. The 12th Annual Perqui mans County Tag Sale wUl be held at the Perquimans Coun ty Recreation Center begin ning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 12:30 p.m. Homeowners from Albemarle Plantation and Holiday Island have donated goods and wUl help bargain shoppers during the sale. All proceeds from the sale are given to the volunteer squad to use for equipment and training. Almost $80,000 has been raised from the last 11 years of tag sales. Each year, the. sale features one special item. This year’s featured item is an 18-foot saUboat buUt in 1995. The ful ly-equipped boat includes aU all class equipment onboard, including spinnaker, rigging and pole, bags, covers, main and jib as weU as a new main halyard and a new jib furling line. Also included is a cus tom Triad trailer, and a 2005 Honda 4-stroke/2 HP motor (long shaft, with motor mount installed) with less than 50 hours on it. After shopping Saturday morning, there’s plenty of time to take a nap before the Southern Garden Party Held this year on the shores of the Albemarle Sound, the annual Southern soiree’ is sponsored by the Perquimans Restoration Association. This year’s event wfil be held at the home of Gayle and Con nie PoUard in Albemarle Plan tation from 6-—8 p.m. Heavy hors d’oeuvres, libations and live entertainment is provided with a prepaid reservation. Tickets are $30 and may be ob tained by calling 426-7567. The weekend is completed on Sunday afternoon with an ice cream social on the court house green, 2—4 p.m., spon sored jointly by the Rotary Club of Hertford and the In teract Club from Perquimans Coounty High School which is a Rotary youth service organi zation. Ice cream sundaes will be $3 each. Art Grfils, Rotary presi dent, said the club uses the ice cream social as a team build ing activity for newly-minted Rotarians and expanded that concept this year to include the new Interact Club at the school. Funds generated wfil help fund the Interact Club’s initial service projects. By Cathy Wilson Staff Writer County library makes optimum use of funding In this struggling economy, librarian Jeri Oil man says library staff is making optimum use of funding and striving to reduce costs while not compromising their commitment to high- quality service to the public. Sound impossible? Not according to Oilman. But, it would help to have enough money in the budget to do it. “Your appropriation to the library is a decid ing factor in how well we achieve our goals,” Oilman told county , farina a commissioners as Liorary THCing a she presented facts 7.12 percent re- leaders during this QUCtlon in funds budget preparation this year season. ’ Coimty and state funding make up 93 percent of funding for the Pettigrew Regional Library System which includes the Perquimans County Library as well as three others in the region. Since state funding to the regional system has already been cut this fiscal year. Oilman is cau tious when it comes to estimating how much money the state wifi contribute to their cause in the next fiscal year which begins July 1. “We don’t know at this time what our level of funding from the state will be, although no scenario presented so far is optimistic,” Oilman told commissioners. “Because we rely so heavily on state and county funds, a cut in either will have dramatic deleterious impact. The original state aid alloca tion for the current fiscal year was $404,523 for Pettigrew Regional Library System; with the re ductions it is now $375,727. That’s a 7.12 percent reduction for the current fiscal year.” In addition to state and local funds, the local library also receives funding from a variety of other sources including fines for turning in items late, and fees for services like faxing, pho tocopying, and laminating. A federal program, known as e-rate, subsidiz es about 75 percent of the library’s cost for in ternet connectivity on a reimbursement basis. In addition, the library holds used book sales. See LIBRARY on Page 2 seeks housing funds By Cathy Wilson Staff Writer County commissioners will seek federal funds to help improve low-income hous ing in the county. Last week, commissioners approved the first step in seeking $400,000 in Com munity Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the North Carolina Depart ment of Commerce. The state receives the funds from the US. Department of Hous ing and Urban Development. Commissioners intend to apply for the funds by the end of July. County Manager Bobby Darden ex plained that the number of houses that can be improved by the funds depends on the amount and cost of work needed. “We expect to be able to do five or six houses,” Darden said. “Some may need rehabilitation, some may need complete replacement.” pi Both Hertford and |m| Winfall can also par ticipate in the pro gram, Darden added. The funds are awarded in three- year cycles. In March, Perquimans County closed out a proj ect awarded in 2006. Darden The county received $400,000 then to rehabilitate houses in the county, and completed the improvements andTeplacements within 24 months, allow ing the county to receive additional funds to help even more residents. As a result, the county’s last CDBG project improved 14 properties. Improvements ranged from complete replacement to roof repair to septic tank installation. No local funds are used. “The CDBG is not a magic wand that will wipe out all concerns,” commented Vice-chairman Tammy Miller-White. “But it does address some amount of need.” Commissioner Shirley Wiggins said she visited five of the houses improved diming the previous CDBG project. Of those, resi dents received improvements in windows, roofs, plumbing, even a new dwelling. “These people really had a need, for it,” she added. Chairman Mack Nixon said citizens can help clean up neighborhoods by identify ing properties that need help. In other matters last week, no one spoke in opposition to a proposed minimum housing ordinance during the May 4 pub lic hearing conducted by commissioners. Commissioners won’t decide on action re garding the proposal until June. Citizens from both Snug Harbor and Holiday Island voiced support for the pro posed ordinance that would help rid the county of substandard housing. The proposed ordinance is comprehen sive, covering all types of housing includ ing rental, mobile homes, rooming houses, and dwellings holding multiple units. It in cludes minimum standards for structural condition, plumbing, heating, electrical, ventilation, space, Scdety, cleanliness, and infestations by rodents or insects. The proposed ordinance is slated to be enforced by the building inspector’s office, and offers an appeal process for property owners not satisfied with findings cited by the county. The ordinance is complaint driven, and can be used as a tool by county agencies like the Department of Social Services or the Sheriffs Department to help in inves tigations like abuse or neglect cases. A copy of the proposed ordinance can be found in the county manager’s office or on the county’s website: www.perquiman- scountync.gov. Commissioners also 1. approved a reso lution opposing transfer of secondary road program to counties; 2. awarded the new nature trail project at the recreation center to Brown’s Land Developing, low bidder at $30,460. The nearly mile-long na ture trail is part of the shoreline stabiliza tion project at the site and funded by state funds; 3. awarded the pier and canoe/kay ak access project at the recreation center to low-bidder Riddick Marine/Donald Riddick Builders. State funds are being utilized.'
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 13, 2009, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75