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P The ERQUIMANS [\bWKKKEV Lady Pirates out of playoffs, 7 PAL]{|@@£)«ip:@’sart,2 Hov trt "News front Next Door” NOVEMBER 3, 2010 - NOVEMBER 9, 2010 sterilized at 14, Riddick tells her story Procedure OK’d by Eugenics Board By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer ^ It’s been 42 years since it occurred, but Elaine Rid dick stiU feels the pain as if it were yesterday. She’s grown older now, but the memory of discov ering that she was steril ized by the state without her knowledge at the age of 14 is as tender and frag ile as the newborn babies she longed to hold. Her small voice grows strong with anger and frus tration when she speaks of what happened to her in Perquimans County back Report card is snapshot of schools By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer Students took home re port cards last week; how ever, the reports told how well the schools are per forming rather than indi vidual students. The state-issued NC School Report Cards for every school district in the state were released Thurs day by the state’s depart ment of public instruc tion. “The state report card goes a long way toward providing parents with what they want or need to know,’’ said Superinten dent Dwayne StaUings. “The convenience of hav ing so much information about school progress can’t be overstated and it promotes parental involve ment.” The two-page profile provides a snapshot of each school’s testing per formance and munbers on class size, teacher certifica tion levels, classroom tech nology, and the school’s rate of campus crime. Re port cards are issued for each school, each school district, and the state’s ed ucation system as a whole. District wide, the school system is below state aver age in size of schools on all three levels: elementary, middle and high school. Class sizes, therefore, are also smaller than the state averages with the excep- See GRADES, 2 in the 1960s. “Being able to bear chil dren is a gift from God,” said Riddick who now lives in Georgia. “The state of North Carolina took that God-given right from me. I have been fighting this for more than 30 years, and I wUl continue to fight until I die.” Riddick, 56, is one of 7,600 men, women, black and white - even children who were sterilized by ac tions of the now defunct Eugenics Board of North Carolina from 1933-1977. The board, which the state closed down in 1977, ap proved or declined peti tions for sterilization “for the public good” after in stitutional or county offi Weekend Weather Friday High: 59 Low: 40 Partly Cloudy Saturday High: 54 Low: 37 Partly Cloudy Sunday High: 54 Low: 42 Sunny 6 " 89076 47144 cers filed petitions for ster ilizations. In Riddick’s case, a coun ty social worker discovered she was pregnant at age 13 during a public welfare visit to her grandmother’s house. Citing past prob lems with the young teen, the petition was made, ap proved by the board, and Riddick was sterilized when she gave birth to her only child at the age of 14. She never knew she was sterilized until several years later when she and her husband experienced difficulty conceiving. A doctor’s visit determined that her fallopian tubes had been cut. “I deal with this every day of my life,” said Rid dick. “I feel even stronger about it today. It’s embar rassing...! feel like every one knows what happened to me. It’s devastating to me, but I have to go on. I have to let others know what our government did to many of us.” According to the North Carolina History Project, before the 1960s, more whites were sterilized than blacks through the board’s actions. That changed, however, in the 1960s when social workers gained authority to recommend sterilization. The numbers of African American ster ilizations in the state in creased dramatically SUBMITTED PHOTO Formerly of Winfall, Elaine Riddick, now of Atlanta, Ga., was or- See RIDDICK, 4 dered sterilized by the Eugenics Board of N.C. in 1968. YEEHAW! STAFF PHOTOS BY BRETT A. CLARK Cowboys got bucked, bounced and tossed dur ing the bull riding com petition at the Bull Bash held at Meylar Farms last Friday and Saturday. Cody Watson (top photo) tries to keep stable during his ride, as Beau Bowman (bottom photo) is about to be ejected at the Bull Bash competi tion Saturday night. Hertford to lose two businesses By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer The downtown business district is losing two lo cal businesses on Church Street. Nickalena’s Restaurant closed last week, and Gate way Insurance Services wiU consolidate and move to their Elizabeth City of fice next week. Shirley Hranko, owner of Nickalena’s, said even though she closed the res taurant, she will continue to operate her catering business and will honor commitments through the end of the year. For her, closing the day to day operations of the restaurant will allow her to put a better perspective on life. “I need to put my family first,” she said. “With my mother’s passing, I real ized my family comes first. By getting out of the day to day operations here, I will be able to take care of my family better.” The restaurant, located in the Hall of Fame build ing, has fed hungry folks See CLOSINGS, 4 Stabbing arrest made From staff reports The man wanted in con nection with the Oct. 25 stabbing of another man on Brace Street turned himself in to police last Wednesday. Chief Joe Amos with the Hertford Police De partment (HPD) said Duane Michael Lyons, 24, turned himself into the HPD and placed under arrest for felony as sault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Lyons was taken lyqhj to Albe marle District Jail under See ARREST, 2
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Nov. 3, 2010, edition 1
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