P The
ERQIUMANS
^b^WEEKT.V
« (OOK
WIT H
KIDS
r^^lRANDMA
KNOWS HKSI
"News front Next Door”
MAY 19, 2010 - MAY 25, 2010
Get your
copy of
the new
‘Our Life’
magazine
in next
week’s
edition.
^^cent^
Tax increase may be on horizon
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
County taxpayers may
face a 1 cent tax increase
to help fund what’s been
termed as a very challeng
ing budget for the next fis
cal year.
During a budget work
session Monday night,
commissioners instructed
County Manager Bobby
Town
to fix
walks
Council spending up
to $10K in repairs
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Hertford Town Coun
cil will spend nearly
$10,000 to make side
walks safer in the imme
diate business district
of the town.
Sections of sidewalks
in the Church, Grubb,
Market, and Front street
areas will be fixed to the
tune of 89,874.
Trip hazards on those
sidewalks will be elimi
nated by slicing the el
evated area out of the
sidewalk.
There is no grinding,
no jack hammering, no
pouring additional ce
ment during the repair
process. The raised trip
hazard is simply sliced
away by a contractor.
In past years, the town
repaired sidewalks on
an annual basis by re
placing a complete sec
tion.
The damaged section
would be broken up, re
moved, with new con
crete poured at a cost of
about $200-825.0 per pan
el. This new technology
allows the remaining
section of the sidewalk
to stand.
In the five years be
tween 2002-200B, the town
spent nearly $100,000 re
placing damaged side
walks throughout town
including $85,443.to fix
sidewalks damaged by
Hurricane Isabelle in
2003.
The town has only
spent a little over $3,500
to repair sidewalks since
then.
Town Manager John
See WALKS, 4
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High; 81 Low: 63
Isolated T-Storms
Saturday
High: 84 Low: 64
Scattered T-Storms
Sunday
High: 82 Low: 65
Isolated T-Storms
Darden to prepare a budget
based on an ad valorem tax
rate of 42 cents. The rate is
currently 41 cents and has
been that rate since prop
erty revaluation in 2008.
The 1 cent increase
would allow commission
ers to increase school oper
ating funds by 3.7 percent
or $2,137,040, give schools
$200,000 for capital projects,
provide debt service pay
ments of nearly $750,000,
give county employees a 1.5
increase in pay, and fund a
drainage study to help area
farmers and land owners.
Any remaining funds gen
erated would help buUd the
county’s fund balance.
In addition, $35,000 to
fund engineering costs to
plan a new athletic complex
at the high school would be
paid out of left over school
construction funds, Darden
pointed out.
Darden said budget re
quests for 2010-2011 exceed
ed projected revenues by
nearly $1 million. Expenses
or requests fi'om aU coun
ty departments (includ
ing schools) were up over
$400,000 from the current
year’s budget while rev
enues are projected to run
almost $600,000 less than
this year.
“The budget requests
are not too far out of line,”
Darden explained, “but
the revenue decrease just
pushed those requests far
ther away.”
Budget requests from
agency and coimty depart
ments have already been
trimmed by $220,000. One
of the cost-cutting mea
sures includes having the
A family tradition
STAFF PHOTOS BY CATHY WILSON
Ten-year-old Mariah James has attended the Garden Party each year since she was born. Her parents, Melanie and Derrick
James, first met at the Garden Party 13 years ago, fell in love and married. They have attended the social gathering each
year sjnce, sharing it with their daughter.
Love blossoms at Garden Party
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
T en-year-old Mariah
James is most grateful
for the Garden Party
held annually for the past
19 years by the Perqui
mans County Restoration
Association (PCRA).
Her parents. Derrick
and Melanie James of
Hertford, met at the Gar
den Party in 1997, feU in
love, married, and young
Mariah was born three
years later.
The James family at
tends the Garden Party
each year not only to
enjoy the spring social
event, but to celebrate the
family’s beginnings as
weU.
“It’s like an extra an
niversary for us each
year,” grinned the former
Melanie Morris before
her marriage. “We have
brought Mariah with us
to the Garden Party each
year since she was born.”
In past years, Melanie
always attended the party
but Derrick’s mother, the
late HUda James, pushed
Derrick to attend the
event 13 years ago just to
meet the Morris girl.
Luckily, Derrick lis
tened to his mom, and the
rest is history.
It’s understandable
how a couple could meet
and fall in love at the
Garden Party. Held on
the beautiful river-front
in a garden lush with
greenery and adornments,
relaxing music from a
stringed harp flows over
the waterfront breeze as
guests enjoy such mouth
watering foods as herb-
infused turkey breast,
shrimp with dfil in cream
puffs, peach chutney with «
pumpernickel, marinated
mushrooms, springtime
mini-cupcakes and pecan
tarts, among other items.
Eldon Winslow looks dapper in his summer best as
he greets others at the Garden Party held Saturday
afternoon as a fundraiser by the Perquimans County
See PARTY, 9 Restoration Association.
Grand opening set for market
6'
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
A grand opening ceremony will
be held next Wednesday afternoon
(May 26) kicking off the start of the
new Perquimans Farmers Market.
Local leaders wfil gather at 2 p.m.
at Missing Mill Park to celebrate the
opening of the open-air market that
wfil feature fresh foods and prod
ucts, plants, and home-made baked
goods.
Market Director Denise Richards
says several vendors have already
' committed to take part in the mar
ket, with even more expected once
the local growing season hits its
peak later this summer.
So far, vendors are slated to offer
homemade sausage, cheese, pro
duce, other meats, plants, organic
produce and other foods, homemade
jams, jellies, pickles, and home-
baked items like cakes and pies.
The market wfil open in the park
each Wednesday afternoon from 2-6
p.m.
One vendor is well known for her
piled-high cakes that can double
as table centerpieces and for her
unique coconut pie that beats the
rest hands down.
Ronda Griffin with AU Occasion
Cakes in Elizabeth City won last
year’s Market Impossible competi-.
tion at the Downtown Waterfront
Market in Elizabeth City when her
coconut pie was a judges’ favorite,
all by itself.
Layden’s of Belvidere wfil bring
his savory sausages and hoop cheese
to town, while Sunshine Nursery
wfil spruce up the park with plants,
flowers, and fresh produce. Essen
tially Organic 2, an online buying
club representing more than 40
North Carolina farms, wfil offer 100
percent certified organic produce
and foods. Brother’s Farm Market
wfil bring in produce from the Eliza
beth City farm, and Providence Pre
serves, offering homemade jams,
jellies, and pickles, may be there as
well.
Nickalena’s in Hertford wfil offer
See MARKET, 9
county inspection depart
ment perform fire inspec
tions rather than hiring a
fire marshall.
Without enacting a tax
increase, the county would
not be able to increase any
school funding, and would
not be able to give county
employees a salary increase
for the second year in a row.
See TAXES, 9
Cole in
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
After reviewing four ap
plications, county commis
sioners expect to appoint a
former federal prosecutor
to ffil the miexpired term
of Shirley Wiggins who
died last month.
In a budget work session
Monday night, commission
ers tmanimously agreed
that Janice McKenzie Cole,
a local attorney is, by far,
the best qualified applicant
to fill the seat. Wiggins died
April 18 following a brief
stay in a local hospital.
See COLE, 9
School
lunch
prices
to go up
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The price of student
lunches wfil go up by 10
cents next school year.
Members of the Perqui
mans Board of Education
(BOE) recently approved
raising the cost of student
lunches to $2 for grades
Pre-K to second and $2.25
for other grades. Prices for
supplemental sales items
will increase as weU.
Donna B. Harris, child
nutrition director for
the Perquimans Coimty
Schools, said the increase
is needed because of the
hike in the cost of health
and retirement benefits for
child nutrition workers in
the school system.
“Since the only source of
revenue for the program is
a result of the number of
meals sold, and the revenue
received from those sales,
the proposal seems to be a
fair solution.” she told BOE
members.
No additional funds from
the state or local govern
ment support the program.
Federal reimbursement
and the sale of meals and
supplemental items com
pletely fund the program.
After keeping the cost of
lunches steady for several
years, schools increased
the cost of lunches two
years ago when they upped
the price by a quarter.
“I expect a decrease in
participation when the in
crease goes into effect,” she
added. “It did last time.”
Harris explained that
the rising costs of food and
See PRICES, 3