North Carolina Newspapers

P The ERQUIMANS [^■LWkkkt.v 1 i l-J 1 j LI "Neivs front Next Door” AUGUST 25, 2010 - AUGUST 31, 2010 PCHS volleyball team roars past Gates, 7 Christmas comes in August, 9 cent^^ Back to school: Students, staff get to work 2010-2011 school year starts today By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer Positive is the key word for this year’s school year which began today (Wednesday) as the Per quimans County Schools opened their school doors welcoming nearly 1780 stu dents. Over 300 school employ ees were pumped up last week during Opening Day Convocation in prepara tion for the students’ re turn following summer vacation. In addition, lo cal groups and ministries have provided free school supplies, free clothes, and free parental advice to lo- Courthouse grounds maybe smoke free By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer County officials are con sidering making the his toric coimty courthouse property smoke free. County Manager Bobby Darden said the county’s safety committee, made up pf county employees, is working on a proposed no-smoking policy for the grounds and parking lot of both the county court house and annex area. Smoking is already pro hibited inside all county buildings. Visitors step outside, however, and light up on the courthouse stoop and lawn. Outside smoking is especially heavy on coimt days during breaks. “The smokers like to hang out right at the front door of the courthouse, especially on cold or rainy days,” explained Darden. “Then when the doors are opened, the smoke enters the courthouse and rises upstairs to the county ad ministration offices. After a while, it begins to smeU like a smokestack.” A new law that went into effect January 1 of this year prevents smoking in restaurants, but also al lows public grounds to be smoke-free, Darden ex plained. Before that, only the grounds of health de partments were deemed smoke-free. Area school grounds are See COURTHOUSE, 4 Weekend Weather Friday High: 84 Low: 65 Partly Cloudy Saturday High: 85 Low: 68 Mostly Cloudy Sunday High: 84 Low: 69 Partly Cloudy cal students and parents as the new school year gets underway. “It seems like just yester day we were sending our graduates off to their next phase in life, and now it is time to start the 2010-2011 school year,” said Superin tendent Dwayne Stallings. “Each new school year brings new challenges, excitement and new be ginnings. Although we celebrated many successes during the 2009-2010 school year, we cannot rest on those successes. School employees are ready to push forward for even greater achievements for our students. I believe our students are the great est resource we have as a school and a community and we are ready to wel come them back to another great year in Perquimans County Schools.” For school employees, opening day convocation turned into a celebration as school officials high lighted accomplishments from past years. Stallings gave data for the school district that showed the highest aca demic scores seen by local students in the past five years. Keynote speaker Dr. Kim W Brown, senior pastor of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, known as The Mount, challenged employ ees to make all A’s during the hew school year. “Fm not talking about A’s in reading, math and STAFF PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON Free bags of school supplies were distributed Saturday afternoon at First Baptist Church as part See SCHOOL, 9 of a back-to-school parent forum. i Welcome, Governor STAFF PHOTOS BY CATHY WILSON Gov. Bev Perdue discusses options for the S-bridge and Causeway during last week’s visit to Hertford. Listening to the governor are (i-r) Joan Bielski, Chris Lane and Harriett Woodard. Perdue makes stops in Hertford, Winfall By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer G OV. Beverly Perdue thought fully stroked her chin as she listened intently to the two ladies who spoke passionately about saving the historic S-bridge in Hertford. Hearing words like Causeway, bridge closings, and construction options, she made no promises; yet, the tiny but powerful lady who leads the state vowed to ask questions about the S-bridge and the state’s plan to replace it when she returned to Raleigh. See PERDUE, 4 Gov. Bev Perdue looks over the plaza area located at the intersection of Market and Church streets. Hertford Mayor Sid Eley points out the town’s official logo set in the brick plaza that was created as part of the Main Street program. Parker is nevt^ principal at PCMS By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer A school administrator from WUliamston is the new principal at Perqui mans Middle School. Norris Parker, 41, began his new duties at the school on Monday following the res ignation of Jamie Liver- man who left Per- quimans County Schools for a principalship in Wash ington County “Perquimans County Middle School is already a terrific school,” Parker told members of the Per quimans Board of Educa tion (BOE) Monday night. “It’s my goal to help take us out of our comfort zone at times and work to im prove the curriculum.” Parker began his career in education in the mid 1990s, serving over the years as a teacher. Gear Up Coordinator in Martin County, and as assistant principals in Washington High School, E J Hayes Ele mentary School in Martin County, and lastly for two years at Wfiliamston High School. In addition, he has served as a varsity tennis coach, and assistant coach in football and basketball ParR^ See PARKER, 4 Hertford begins work in NC STEP 89076 47144 By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer Hanging in front of the Hertford Town Office is a colorful banner announcing that the town is now a North Carolina Small Towns Economic Prosperity (NC STEP) community. Last week, the town took its first step in doing the work required to participate in the two-year pro gram through the Rural Center. About 60 community leaders joined forces Thursday night to begin work on identifying criti cal needs and community assets, developing potential economic de velopment strategies, prioritizing projects, and seeking out finan cial resources to help revitalize the town. “My job is to guide and motivate you in the planning process,” said Chilton Rogers, who serves as the town’s NC STEP coach. “The work,.however, is yours.” “Everything relates to econom ic development,” she added as she began guiding the community leadership team into the long term process of spurring growth in the area. “You will learn to think strategically, long term, and See STEP, 2 STAFF-PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON Chilton Rogers, NC Step coach for Hertford, presents information at the leadership team’s first meeting.