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APR 2 8 2010
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ERQUIMANS
"Neivs from Next Door”
APRIL 28, 2010 - MAY 4, 2011
3 BOE members to be chosen
Five candidates vie
in the May 4 election
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Local voters will choose three
board of education members
Tuesday during the May 4 pri
mary election. In addition, the
election includes several state
and federal primaries to be de
cided.
Five non-partisan candidates
are seeking three seats on the
Nelson
Perquimans County Board of
Education.
Incumbents Walter Leigh and
Wallace Nelson are each vying
to keep their seats while veteran
Gail Vaughn Hill, who lost her
seat two years ago, is trying to
be elected back onto the board.
They face challenges by new
comers Ralph HoUoweU and Di
anne Layden.
Board of education
candidates are included
on each partisan ballot
and voters may vote for
only one candidate. The
top three vote getters
will be elected..
With 20 years on the
school board under his
belt, Leigh is the vet
eran of the group. Nelson,
who has served 16 years on the
board, plus a term on the county
commissioners, follows Leigh
in experience. HiU served one
term on the board from 2004-08.
Layden and HoUoweU have each
run unsuccessfuUy for the board
in the past.
Layden, 58, is a retired quality
assimance analyst for Albemarle
Hospital. She earned an associ
ate’s degree from CoUege of
The Albemarle in business com
puter programming. She serves
as vice chair of the Perquimans
Republican Party, treasurer of
the First District Republican
Party, and serves on the board
See BOE, 4
School brings 'Little Wonnen' to life
PHOTO BY PHIL HARRIS
The Perquimans County High School fine arts department recently presented the musical "Little Women.” The performance featured several students in
the acting roles, including: (clockwise from top left) Shelby Harrell (Jo March), Becky Bundy (Meg March), Hannah McCleaiy (Amy March), Molly Newbern
(Beth March), and Crystal McDaniel (center, Marmee). Based on the beloved novel by Louisa May Alcott, the play followed the lives of the four March
sisters as they grew from girls into young women during the uncertainty of the Civil War. Sets, costumes and production crew were provided by the PCHS
theater arts classes and Drama Club, with Lynwood Winslow as director and accompanyist.
Howard honored for emergency response
Youth attempted
to save dad’s life
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Fourteen-year-old Jesse
Howard thought his ex
tended summer visit with
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his father in Manassas,
Va., was going to be like
the other visits he’d ex
perienced the last nine
years.
He enjoyed visiting with
his father, step-mother,
and four-year-old younger
step-brother in their base
ment apartment, while
doing the normal summer
activities youngsters en
joy.
However, on July 9,
Howard’s world changed
when his 37-year-old fa
ther collapsed in front of
him, apparently from a
heart attack.
Young Jesse sprang
into action, grabbing the
telephone, dialing 9-1-1,
and giving emergency re
sponse dispatch correct
information needed to get
help. With dispatch still
on the line, he handed the
phone to' his hysterical
step-mother, then knelt
beside his dying father,
and began CPR, trying
desperately to save his
dad’s life.
Within minutes, a law
enforcement officer ar
rived on the scene and
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
Fourteen-year-old Jesse Howard is surrounded by his younger
sister Cricket and mother Juanita in their Beech Springs Road-
home. Howard received a letter of commendation for trying to
save the life of his father who died last year in Manassas, Va.
helped Jesse switch from
one-man to two-man CPR,
with Jesse continuing
to breathe for his father.
Jesse remained calm, and
even after paramedics ar
rived on the scene, man
aged to provide necessary
medical history to emer
gency medical services as
they continued to work on
his father.
Despite Jesse’s heroic
efforts, his father died
that night.
After months of dealing
with the death, Jesse, an
eighth-grader now at Per-
'quimans County Middle
School, credits his sev
enth grade science class,
and God for helping him
handle that night’s tragic
events. Jesse had learned
CPR in his science class
the year before, he said.
His calmness and ability
to function in the midst of
chaos came from God.
“At first, I cried a lot,”
he admitted, “but I’m
thankful that I learned
CPR in school. God was in
control...if it hadn’t been
for Him, I couldn’t have
done what I did.”
Sitting in his Perqui
mans County home with
his mother, Juanita, and
younger sister. Cricket,
Jesse still feels the pain
of his father’s death, but
knows he did everything
he could in his effort to
save his father’s life.
He, along with six other
youths, were honored back
in October by the Prince
William County Depart
ment of Fire and Rescue,
Police Department, Of
fice of Public Safety, and
Communications Office,
for their help in emer
gency situations as part
of the county’s “Making
See HOWARD, 5
Group
probing
need for
station
By staff reports
A group of citizens in the
Harveys Neck area is inter
ested in possibly develop
ing a Bethel Fire Depart
ment (BFD) sub-station
on Holiday Island Road so
firefighters can reach this
area of the county faster
in the event of a fire.
Harveys Neck is gener
ally considered the area
along Harvey Point and
Holiday Island roads that
includes the growing areas
of Albemarle Plantation
and Holiday Island. In the
event of a fire in those ar
eas, BVD now responds
See PROBE, 4
Schools
get news
on budget
By CATHY WILSON
S^aff Writer
The budget news heard
Monday night included
some good news, some not
so good news, and really
bad news for the Perqui
mans County Schools.
Dr. Dwayne Stallings
and board of education
members broke the news
to county commissioners
Monday night during a
joint work session between
the two boards.
The good news, he said,
is that so far, it appears
the school system will not
have to give money back to
the state this year.
The not so good news,
Stallings said, is that the
state’s planning allotment
for Perquimans County
Schools came in almost
$172,000 less than last year.
The cost of employee ben
efits is skyrocketing, and
textbook monies have been
completely eliminated
from the state budget for
next year, he said.
In addition, the school
system stands to lose an
additional $363,911 in state
funds based on school pop
ulation. Gov. Bev Perdue’s
See BUDGET, 5
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