1.
The
ERQUIMANS
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Pirates’ football season preview, 9
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"News front Next Door”
AUGUST 18, 2010 - AUGUST 24, 2010 AUG 1 8 ^810
Tourism dollars spent in area fell in 2009
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
New figures released
recently show that visitor
spending and other tour
ism impacts on local coun
ties declined in 2009.
According to figures re
leased by the state, travel
ers spent $8.21 million in
Perquimans County last
year, a reduction of 3.3
percent from 2008. While
tourist spending was down
here, Perquimans saw the
smallest percentage de
cline in the six-county re
gion.
Liverman
resigns
at PCMS
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The principal at Per
quimans County Middle
School resigned Friday to
take a principal position
with Washington County
Schools.
Jamie C. Liverman will
leave the
school sys
tem this
week after
serving as
principal
at the Win-
fall school
for five
years.
With
just a week before stu
dents arrive for the new
school year. Superinten
dent Dwayne K. Stallings
finds himself looking for
another principal.
He just filled the prin
cipal position at Perqui
mans County High School
in June.
Liverman leaves a leg
acy of distinction at the
middle school.
Under his leadership,
the school earned the
status of School of Dis
tinction in 2008-2009 and
2009-2010. In addition, the
school met all target goals
under both the federal
and state accountability
programs for the past two
years.
“He is a change agent,
ensuring students are suc
cessful in the classroom,”
said Stallings. “Students
and their academic suc
cess have been Liverman’s
top priority.
“He works at a high en
ergy level and has high
expectations for the de
velopment and implemen
tation of programs that
enhance the educational
See LIVERMAN, 7
Liverman
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High: 91 Low: 72
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 88 Low: 73
Partly Cloudy
Sunday
High: 90 Low: 72
SCAHERED T-STORMS
Region-wide, Chowan
County suffered the high
est reduction with visitors
spending 11.5 percent less
in 2009 than they shelled
out the year before.
Camden received 8.7
percent less in tourist
spending. Gates and Pas
quotank saw 7.7 percent
less, and Currituck’s tour
ist dollars declined by 5.8
percent, according to the
2009 Economic Impact of
Travel on North Carolina.
The report was prepared
for the North Carolina Di
vision of Tourism, Film
and Sports Development
by the U.S. Travel Associa
tion.
Figures show that travel
expenditures statewide
feu 7.4 percent.
“Across the nation, 2009
was a challenging year for
tourism businesses and
destinations as together,
we faced the worst eco
nomic downturn since the
Great Depression,” wrote
Lynn Minges, assistant
secretary for tourism,
marketing, and global
branding, with the North
Carolina Department of
Commerce in an email to
area chambers of com
merce.
“This is the first time
in many years that we in
North Carolina have suf
fered a statewide decrease
in visitor spending, and
most counties saw de
clines in their local num
bers as well.”
“There is some positive
news at the statewide level
- we maintained our rank
ing as the sixth most vis
ited state in the US,” she
added.
“In fact, we gained a lit
tle ground when compared
to 2008, coming within one
tenth of a percentage point
of fifth-ranked Pennsylva
nia in overnight visitor
volume.”
Only Florida ranks
higher than North Caro
lina in overnight market
share in the Southeast.
Figures show that tour
ism in the Perquimans
County last year added
$1.05 million to payroUs,
employed 40 people, paid
$370,000 in state taxes and
nearly $1 million in local
taxes.
“These taxes equal
$105.87 for every resident
of the county,” pointed
out Sid Eley, director of
Rescued!
.r
STAFF PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
Perquimans County EMS members tend to an injured truck driver caught between the mail truck and a hydraulic lift at the
Hertford Post Office on Aug. 11.The lift is used to load and unload trucks at the post office.
Mail driver trapped, hurt
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The driver of a truck delivering
mail to the Hertford Post Office was
injured last Wednesday afternoon
when he apparently feU between
the truck and a hydraulic loading
dock.
According to Hertford Police re
ports, a Greenville man was injured
whUe trying to walk from the dock
into the 26,000-pound truck when
he slipped through the gap between
the two, injuring his left shoulder
in the process. He was wedged be
tween the truck and dock bent over
in pain when police, rescuers, and
firefighters first arrived on the
scene.
The truck was backed up to the
caution posts installed in front of
the dock area, preventing the man
from walking out on his own from
the side. Police said the man was
not stuck, and could have Removed
himself from entrapment by sitting
down and sliding out underneath
the truck; however, extreme pain
from the shoulder injury prevented
that from occurring.
He remained trapped between
the dock and the truck until mem
bers of Perquimans EMS first sta-
bilixed the injured arm, allowing
members of Hertford Fire Depart
ment to wench the truck away from
the dock.
The man then walked to a nearby
emergency stretcher and was trans
ported to an area hospital where he
was treated arid later released.
the Perquimans Chamber
of Commerce.
The Chamber, he added,
assisted tourism locally by
hosting the county’s web
site that saw over 12,000
visits, assisted with 10
group tours, helped with
five magazine articles
about the county, opened
the Jim “Catfish” Hunter
Museum, assisted with
three television shows
dealing with the county,
greeted over 5,200 people
visiting the Visitor Cen
ter, and answered over
20,000 email requests for
information.
New PCHS
principal
loves her
children
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Chante’ Lassiter has a
passion for children.
The new principal at
Perquimans County High
School grew up helping her
mother take care of chil
dren in one of the largest
daycare centers in Gates
County. She has no chil
dren of her own, just god
children she loves dearly.
“And any body else who
wants to call me Mom,”
she quipped.
The former special edu
cation teacher takes the
helm of the Pirate Ship
this year with a confidence^
not usually found in a 28-
year-old. Her excitement
and enthusiasm bubbles
over in her words that spiU
out as fast as her advance
ment in school administra
tion.
“From the start, I knew
that kids were my gift,”
said Lassiter who served
just two years as assistant
principal before being
named to lead the largest
school in the county “I
always root for the under
dog.”
Her love for children be
gan by helping her mother
in the daycare business,
but spread through the
years by volunteering with
Children’s Hospital of the
Kings Daughters, becom
ing a mentor, teaching
childcare classes in com-
mimity college, and work
ing with the youth at her
church.
She earned both a bache
lor’s and a master’s degree
in special education at
East Carolina University
and went on to obtain her
See LASSITER, 4
Storm causes damage to home, shop
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Debbie Proctor sat in the
middle of the bathroom
floor, holding her two-year-
old granddaughter, saying
the Lord’s Prayer.
The wind outside in
creased, and the air inside
the two-story brick home
changed in a matter of
seconds, becoming thick,
wet, making it difficult to
breathe. Outside, the wind
roared louder and louder
until an the doors in the
house blew open, causing
the soimd pf the wind and
rain to grow even louder.
Pete, her husband, saw
items in the back yard fly
ing by the window in one
direction. He turned and
saw items in the front yard
flying by windows in the
opposite direction..
In just a couple of min
utes, the roaring was over,
leaving only the sounds of
their pounding hearts and
the rain hitting the roof.
“Everyone was safe,
and that’s what matters,”
said Debbie following the
Wednesday night storm
that damaged their Dav
enport Lane home and de
stroyed a metal farm shop
located nearby.
PCEM PHOTO
A farm metal shop belonging to Pete and Debbie Proctor on Davenport Lane was damaged dur
ing last Wednesday’s storm.
while the Proctors, ’in
surance adjusters, and
emergency management
officials believe it was a tor
nado that hit near the Five-
Mile Y area, the National
Weather Service says they
believe the damage was
caused by straight-line
winds blowing 65-70 miles
per hour.
“Based on the photos of
damage we saw, it looks
like straight-line winds,”
said Chris Wamsley, me
teorologist with the NWS.
See STORM, 4