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"News from Next Door”
July 7, 2010 - July 13, 2010
Local teens earn certification, 3
Graduates prove it’s never
too late to get a diploma, 2
Winfall’s water to be absorbed by county
By CATHY WILSON
Sta/jT Writer
The county is expected
to take ownership of Win-
fall’s water system next
month.
The town’s 350-plus wa
ter customers will receive
their first water biU from
the county in September.
Both the county and town
are currently sending out
letters detailing how the
changeover will occur.
NWDis
moving
forward
By WILLIAM F. WEST
The Daily Advance
HERTFORD — North
eastern Workforce Devel
opment held a first-ever
presentation in which
stakeholders got to see
what the state universities’
most experienced business
assistance and improve
ment programs could offer
companies.
“Ah of us here know that
in the large part of our re
gion we’re losing a lot of
our workforce to Virginia,”
said David Whitmer, the
business services repre
sentative for Northeastern
Workforce Development.
“We’re losing some of
our best and our bright
est,” Whitmer said. “We’re
losing the exact people that
this region needs. And it
has a lot to do with the op
portunity not being here
for them.”
To try to counter such
trends. Northeastern
Workforce Development is
subsidizing two programs
and partiaUy subsidizing a
third.
Northeastern Workforce
Development is fuhy sub
sidizing a two-day business
simulation, experience pro
vided by the Smah Busi
ness and Technology De
velopment Center, which
advises smaU and mid-size
businesses and has an area
office at Elizabeth City
State University
During the simulation
experience, called Symme-
Tree, participants make
real-life decisions on behalf
of a fictional retail service
and manufacturing firm.
Barry Phillips, of the
SBTDC, said SymmeTree
is a new way of looking at
complex, sometimes over
whelming issues so that so
lutions can be reached.
SymmeTree participants
will receive a personal
leadership assessment to
help recognize individual
management strengths and
See WORKFORCE, 2
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High: 94 Low: 79
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 94 Low: 79
ScaheredT-storms
Sunday
High: 93 Low: 79
SCAHERED T-STORMS
WinfaU officials asked
the county to take over
the town’s water system a
year ago after facing finan
cial difficulties. There will
be no money exchanged
between the two govern
ments for the transfer of
the system. Actual trans
fer date is August 15, pro
vided the town satisfies aU
county regulations.
County Manager Bobby
Darden said the county is
now in the process of trans
ferring customer data from
the town to county records
for billing purposes.
Currently WinfaU water
customers pay $15.50 for
up to 2,000 gaUons of water
monthly. Mayor Fred Yates
said.
Perquimans County
charges $10 for the first
1,000 gaUons used, and an
additional $6 per 1,000 gal
lons afterwards.
“Those customers who
use 2,000 or less may pay
a little more, but aver
age customers who use
more (4,000-5,000 gaUons
per month) wiU actually
see a savings,” Darden ex
plained.
WinfaU wUl continue to
collect past due water bUls
that are owed to the town.
Once the county starts biU-
ing for water usage, pay
ments wUl be made to the
county.
In addition, Darden said
WinfaU wUl pay the county
a $75 deposit for each rent
al water connection in the
town which complies with
the county’s current policy
for rental water custom
ers.
“From what we have
seen, as much as half are
rentals,” Darden said.
The town currently buys
water from the county, dis
tributes it to town custom
ers, and performs aU ser
vices connected with the
system including bUling,
maintenance, and repairs.
Yates said the town wUl
continue to maintain its
property, including water
lines, public works budd
ing, and weUs.
The town’s water system
was buUt about 50 years
ago. Originally, the town
manufactured its own wa
ter drawn from town weUs,
but began buying water
from the county instead
over two years ago, he
added.
A blast!!!
■ f ^
STAFF PHOTOS BY THOMAS J.TURNEY
A large crowd of local residents gathered at Missing Mill Park to view the Fourth of July fireworks display held on Saturday.
Hertford bursts with pride
July 4 fireworks show
dazzles large crowd
By WILLIAM F. WEST
The Daily Advance
H ertford—“Wow!”
That was the reaction
of PhU Loch as rapid
bursts of fireworks went off
Saturday evening at the annual
independence celebration at
Missing MiU Park.
“My wife and I lived in Nor
folk for many years,” said Loch,
a former Navy master chief
petty officer. “And this show
in Hertford is equally as good
as any big city show I’ve ever
seen.”
The hundreds of people
“\Vs wonderful to sit here right
underneath 'em. Fve never been
so close to 'em. ”
Nell Beam
Sunbury resident reflects on the fireworks show
watching the approximately
20-minute show continued to be
amazed by the brightness and
the colors, plus being able to see
the fireworks from close range.
“It’s wonderful to sit here
right underneath ’em,” Nell
Beam said as she snapped im
ages with her cellular phone.
“I’ve never been so close to
’em,” said Beam, who along
with her husband. Woody, are
retirees from Vermont who live
at Sunbury.
Shakelia Farrow brought her
8-year-old son QuaUik to watch
the show. “It’s more important
that’s he’s coming along, that
he gets to enjoy it with me,” she
said.
Farrow, who was cheering
and waving a small American
flag, said she fluttered a bit
with excitement.
Of the fireworks, QuaUik
said, “I was scared that it might
come aU the way down. I kept
scooting back.”
The fireworks show was
preceded by a late afternoon
atmosphere that WiUie Respass
caUed down-home Southern.
“Just country folks getting
together,” said Respass, who
lives at WinfaU and originaUy is
from Elizabeth City
John Kurian, a music promot
er who moved from Elizabeth
City to Hertford, was attending
the Hertford celebration for the
first time.
Kurian, impressed with the
gathering’s diverse crowd, was
on his ceU telephone trying to
See FIREWORKS, 2
Teachers train to use their new laptops
i907-'*4?l4F
By KRISTIN PITTS
The Daily Advance
A message pops up on
Perquimans County High
School Teacher Chris
Whitehurst’s computer
screen. It’s the school’s
yearbook advisor. She
wants to know whether
he’U have his digital me
dia class create a commer
cial to encourage students
to buy a yearbook.
Typing away on the
keys of his new MacBook,
Whitehurst says yes.
The interaction was one
of several that took place a
few weeks back, when over
the course of two days, the
faculty of Hertford Gram
mar School, Perquimans
Middle School and Perqui
mans County High School
were trained to use their
new laptops.
In addition to becoming
more familiar with Macs,
teachers were encouraged
to integrate technology
with their lesson plans,
and begin thinking out
side of the box for next
year’s classes.
After all, by the fall, tech
nology wiU be abundant
thanks to the Enhancing
Education Through Tech
nology grant.
In mid June, 125 laptops
had been distributed to all
of the three schools’ certi
fied staff
More laptops, which
wiU be given out during
the coming academic year,
will boost the amount of
technology available to
students. Approximately
300 will be given to the
high school, 100 to the mid
dle school, and anywhere
from 70-80 will be given to
the grammar school.
Eventually, they hope
to get enough laptops for
• every student at the high
school to have their own.
District officials say
they’re hoping the tech
nology will provide stu
dents with a more engag
ing classroom experience.
“What’s really happen
ing here is we’re not just
learning the hardware and
the software, we’re learn
ing about applications
for instruction purposes.
Project-based learning is
what we’re trying to work
toward,” Deanie Dunbar,
See lAPTOPS, 2