KECEIVED
APR 2 1 4UIU
P The
ERQUIMANS
Area youngsters enjoyed the Children’s
Festival Saturday. Page 9.
"News front Next Door"
April 21, 2010 - April 27, 2010
County Commissioner Wiggins dies
Services will be
held this weekend
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
County Commission
er Shirley Wiggins died
Sunday afternoon in Al
bemarle Hospital after be
ing hospitalized since last
Wednesday suffering from
dehydration.
The veteran politician,
77, had served as county
commissioner for 18 years.
She previously served on
the Winfall Town Council.
Grant
sought
to rehab
building
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The town of Hertford
has applied for a $250,000
grant through its Main
Street Program to help a
property owner rehabili
tate a vacant downtown
building into a new busi
ness.
Town Planner Bran
don Shoaf said the grant
money, if awarded, would
help turn the old Walker
Edwards law firm build
ing, located at 133 North
Church Street, into a
small business that would
include a cafe,- bakery,
wine shop, and place to
hold special events.
Shoaf said the applica
tion was submitted by its
deadline of April 15.
While the town techni
cally has to apply for the
funds, it has no financial
interest in the project, he
pointed out.
The funds are being
sought from the Main
Street Solutions fund, a
pilot program through the
state Department of Com
merce, Division of Com
munity Assistance.
The property is owned
by Stefan Smith and Te
resa Goerss who have
been working to renovate
the building for the past
three years, Shoaf said.
They hope to complete the
renovations by January,
he added.
Properties eligible
for the grant must meet
See GRANT, 4
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High: 77 Low: 59
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 77 Low: 54
SCAHERED SHOWERS
Sunday
High: 72 Low: 54
Showers
She was known for her
strong support of senior
citizens, children and vet
erans.
“She is going to be
missed,” said Winfall
Mayor Fred Yates and
Wiggins’ former husband.
“She was a very wise per
son, a good counselor. She
was just a joy for our se
nior citizens.”
A wake will be held at
Melton Grove Missionary
Baptist Church Friday, 6-8
p.m., followed by funeral
services Saturday at noon
at the Fine Arts Center at
Elizabeth City State Uni-
Wiggins
versity.
Yates
said Wig
gins was
surround
ed by fam
ily mem
bers when
she died
at 3:10 p.m.
Sunday af
ternoon after being placed
on life support some 12
hours earlier.
An autopsy has been
ordered to determine the
exact cause of death, he
said. Wiggins had expe
rienced several weeks of
health problems including
undergoing shoulder sur
gery and having a heart
pacemaker implanted.
For her fellow commis
sioners, news of her death
was difficult.
“Shirley was a long-time
county commissioner and
has been an integral part
of the decision-making of
our board,” said Commis
sioner Chairman Mack
Nixon. “She has espe
cially been an advocate
and voice for our county’s
children, senior citizens,
and veterans. Her spirit
and dedication has led to
many improvements for
all Perquimans County
citizens, and her influence
will continue for years
to come. She has been a
model for character, lead
ership, and unselfishness
for us all. On behalf of the
board of commissioners,
we feel honored to have
served beside her, and
privileged to have called
Shirley Wiggins a friend.”
Wiggins began serving
as commissioner in 1992,
and served as chairman of
the board in 2000. She also
served as vice-chairman
in 1999 and 2005. She was
Final nnonnents
STAFF PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
The former Perquimans Weekly building on Grubb Street was burned by local firefighters during a training exercise Sunday
afternoon. For more photos, see the slideshow at www.dailyadvance.com
Old PW office bums in training exercise
Final chapter for old
house built in 1918
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
I f only walls could talk.
The tiny seven-room house
located at 119 West Grubb
Street could probably teU a few
stories: a baby taking her first
steps, a mother starting out on
her own with three children, or
the overworked newspaper editor
working late into the night put
ting out the latest edition.
The former Elisha B. Good
win house was built in 1918 and
served as home to several fami
lies, and in its last days, housed
the offices for The Perquimans
Weekly. After the local paper of
fice moved to a different location
in 2008, the Grubb Street house
was sold to the adjacent Hertford
Baptist Church. The house was
burned to the ground Sunday dur
ing a training exercise conducted
by three local fire departments.
Providing one last story for all
to see, the house ignited in a
controlled blazing inferno, send
ing dark clouds of smoke over the
quite little town.
‘‘The live burn went very weU,”
said Chief Bob Reed with Hert
ford Fire Department. “It gave us
a chance to practice our mutual
aid with Winfall and Bethel fire
departments. We burned the
house, kept the post office and
other residences safe, and the
fiber optics on the lines above
didn’t melt. It went perfectly.”
Around 40 firefighters from
the three departments trained
inside the house that is located
about 10 feet from the town’s post
office, and even closer to fiber
optics strung above on telephone
poles. Firefighters used two water
sources during the exercise to
insure protection for the nearby
structures.
“Water was drafted from the
river, and from the town’s hy
drants,” Reed said. “That way.
See BURN, 9
the first African-Ameri
can and first woman to
chair the county commis
sioners.
She was also the first
woman to serve as a coun
ty commissioner.
Her goals while serving
as commissioner included
erecting a Veterans memo
rial in the county, build
ing a new center for the
county’s seniors, and to
create a new track for the
county’s athletes.
A new Veterans memo
rial has been built on the
See WIGGINS, 2
Revenue
shortfall
tightens
spending
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
A projected shortfall in
budgeted revenues will
cause the town of Hertford
to tighten its spending fi'om
now until the end of dime.
Town Manager John
Christensen told members
of Hertford Council recent
ly that overall, the general
fund revenues for fiscal
year 2009-2010 are projected
to come in nearly $74,000
less that expected.
“The department heads
are weU aware of this and
have been told to cut back
on spending,” he added.
Property tax collections
are currently $33,000 un
der budget and local option
sales taxes are running
about $55,000 short. Powell
Bin funds also came in less
than budgeted, he added.
“Currently revenues are
$49,500 over expenses, but
despite that, we will have to
cut spending between now
and the end of the year,”
Christensen said.
Not everything is gloomy
in the this month’s snap
shot look at the condition
of the town’s current bud
get.
Solid waste revenues
from the state, funds paid
by the town’s housing au
thority, and revenues from
the local ABC store are up
by about $14,000.
Revenues are up so far in
the water and sewer fund,
but the town stUl have to
make its debt service pay-
See BUDGET, 4
House tour to include churches this year
From staff reports
Among the stops this
year on the Perquimans
Tour of Historic Homes
will be four churches, the
county courthouse and the
1730 Quaker homestead,
Newbold-White House.
This year’s historic
homes tour takes visi
tors out into the county
as well as strolling along
the streets of downtown
Hertford April 23 and 24,
10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day
The tour is sponsored by
the Perquimans County
Restoration Association
and Historic Hertford, Inc.
Tickets are $25 each ($20
for g groups of 20 plus)
for the self-guided tour,
and are available now and
on the days of the tour at
the Newbold White House
Visitors’ Center (NWH) as
well as the Perquimans
Chamber of Commerce.
Artwork and a quilt will
be raffled off at the NWH.
The Methodist Women’s
Circle will sponsor a lun
cheon on April 24 at Hert
ford United Methodist
Church for $8 a plate con
sisting of country ham,
Cheddar croissant sand
wich, potato salad, fruit
cup, brownie, and drink.
Eat in or take out.
In addition to the histor
ic churches, courthouse,
and Newbold-White House,
the tour also includes five
historic private homes and
three bed and breakfast
inns that were featured in
last week’s edition of The
Perquimans Weekly.
Bethel Baptist Church,
ca. 1837, grew from a
brethren first assembled
in 1806.
The church “hosted”
PHOTO BY KENT SAUNDERS
See TOUR, 6 Hertford United Methodist Church, ca. 1901, is on the tour.
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