P The
ERQUIMANS
Weekly
"News front Next Door
,REGEIVE^bruary 9,2011 - February is, 2011
FEB 0 9 2011
Lassiter
recognized
by Perdue
for Making a
Difference, 7
Also...
inmate
escapes
from work
crew, 3
County to pay school’s electric bill
Negotiating teams
resolve dilemma
By CATHY WILSON
Sta^ Writer
Hertford, county, and
school officials have re
solved the high school’s
$260,000 outstanding elec
tric l3ill that occurred when
the school was under billed
for electrical usage for over
two years.
State says
juvenile
center will
not close
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
County commissioners
have been reassured by the
state that the Perquimans
Juvenile Detention Center
will not close because of
the state budget crunch.
Monday night. Com
missioner Chairman Ben
Hobbs said Secretary Linda
Hayes with the North Caro
lina Department of Juve
nile Justice and Delinquen
cy Prevention called him
personally after receiving a
letter from commissioners
expre,ssing concern over
the possibility of the cen
ter’s closing due to possible
state budget cuts.
“Shesaidshehadreceived
our letter and thanked us
for our concern,” Hobbs
said. “She assured me it
would not close.”
State departments par
ticipated in a desktop bud
get scenario exercises re
cently, figUi mg out whe’'e
cuts could be made if tne
overall budget was cut in
in^a'ments of five, 10 or
15 percent. During the ex
ercise, the local juvenile
detention center located in
WinfaU was listed as a pos
sible casualty in the 10 per
cent or above cut.
Commissioners took a
proactive approach in an ef
fort to keep the facility that
houses up to 24 juveniles
open. In addition to send
ing a letter, commission
ers also prepared to pass a
resolution encouraging the
state not to close the facility,
and was planning to gather
support from surrounding
loc^ities as well.
Monday night, however,
commissioners decided not
to consider that resolution
since Hayes assured Hobbs
the local facility would not
close.
See CENTER, 4
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High: 44 Low: 31
Rain/Snow
Saturday
High: 50 Low: 32
Sunny
Sunday
High: 55 Low: 37
Sunny
89076 4
7144
Monday night, county
commissioners agreed to
pay the town $195,000 after
extensive statistical analy
sis by school employees
and consultants showed the
schools could have saved
$4,564 per month during
the 14-month period had
the school been able to put
utility-savings measures in
place during that time.
Negotiating teams for the
county and town met late
Thursday afternoon and de-
Christensen Hobbs
termined that the $63,896 in
savings should be applied
as a credit to compensate
the schools for the improp
er billing.
That left a
net under
billing of
$195,000.
“The
Board of
County
Commis
sioners
is thank
ful for the Town of Hert
ford for providing options
to repay the underbihed
amount, and for allowing
Stallings
the county and schools
time to adequately review
the alternatives,” said
Commissioner Chairman
Ben Hobbs. “The commis
sioners are satisfied with
this resolution.”
Hertford council is ex
pected to pass the resolu
tion at the Feb. 14 meeting.
For Hertford Manager
John Christensen, the ne
gotiated end result is a posi
tive move for all involved.
“I feel the negotiating
Called to Lead
STAFF PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
Millie Jordan, of Belvidere, will sen/e as president of the Fellowship of Churches in Perquimans County.
Fellowship president makes history
First female to earn
position for organization
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
F or the second time in her life,
Millie Jordan is making his
tory as she follows her calling
to preach the Word of God.
The Belvidere woman is the
first female president of the
Perquimans County Fellowship
of Churches, an organization that
has represented 12 area churches
for the last 40 yehrs.
As pastor of Riddick’s Grove
Missionary Baptist Church, she
first made history about seven
years ago when she was the first
female to pastor through Roanoke
Baptist Association.
Her vision for the group of
churches as a whole this year is
to focus on youth, puU the local
ministers together to assist one
another, and to help other women
become involved in ministry
“I would like to see us pull the
youth together and see what’s on
their mind,” said Jordan. “I’d like
to get them involved and find out
what they want to do.”
As a woman who served her
home, church as an associate min
ister for five years before filling
the position as pastor, she serves
as a role model for other women
who may be interested in entering
the ministry one day
“I had a yearning to know more
about God. I would search and see
what the Word has to offer to me,”
she remembered when talking
about why she first entered the
ministry “I had a tugging in my
spirit to go forth and do something
different than what I normally see
in churches.”
Jordan says her passion in life
was to evangelize rather than
serve as a church pastor. But the
Lord had other plans.
“Being an evangelist, I could go
places, preach, and then go home. I
never wanted to pastor, but I knew
that’s what God ordained me to
do,” she smiled. “Being a pastor
is stationary, being there every
Sunday, dealing with aU types
of people. It may not have been
what I originally wanted to do, but
God knew that doing this would
help change me into the image of
Christ.”
A project she hopes the fellow
ship will make happen this spring
is to hold a Youth Explosion, a
gathering that allows the area’s
youth to get together and com-
mimicate with each other for a
common goal to create change.
“We need to help them realize
that change has to come from
within...not from the outside,” she
added.
The Perquimans County native
lives in Belvidere and has one
married daughter, Nicole and Eric
Spencer, also of Belvidere. Jordan
graduated from Perquimans Coun-,
ty High School and studied at the
Roanoke Institute.
teams did a good job,” he
added. “They came up with
a solution that pleased ev
eryone.”
Superintendent Dwayne
Stallings says the school
system is satisfied with
the settlement, and finds it
reassuring as the schools
prepare for what is expect
ed to be a very challenging
school budget for the 2011-
2012 year.
See BILL, 2
Trooper
in laser
death
transfers
By WILLIAM F. WEST
The Daily Advance
A North Carolina high
way patrolman who used
a stun gun on a motorist
who later died has been re
assigned to a desk job and
is currently working in
Pitt County
Trooper WA. Hardison
wastransferred from the
patrol station in Elizabeth
City to one in Greenville
on Jan. 3, patrol spokes
man Sgt. Jeff Gordon said.
Hardison IrSquested the
transfer, Gordon said. He
did not know the reasons
why the trooper made the
request.
Hardison was reassigned
to administrative duties
following a Dec. 2 incident
in which a Perquimans
County man, Cla3d:on Earl
James, died after the troop
er used a Taser on In^i
three times. m
NoeUe Talley, a spokes
woman for the N.C. De
partment of Justice, said
the State Bureau of Inves
tigation’s-probe of James*
death is continuing. The
results of the investiga
tion will be turned over to
District Attorney Frank
Parrish for his review, she
said.
According to law en
forcement, Hardison tried
to stop James’ car on old
U.S. Highway 17 in Pasquo
tank County on Dec. 2 after
Hardison observed the ve
hicle cross the center line
a number of times.
After crossing into Per
quimans County, James
stopped his vehicle on
Nursing Home Road. After
exiting his vehicle, he got
into a scuffle with Hardi
son.
The trooper used his
Taser weapon on James to
subdue him, but the mo-
See TRANSFER, 2
Perquimans, Chowan receive $550,000 grant
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Perquimans and Chowan
county schools will receive
a $550,000 Golden Leaf
grant to help students suc
ceed in science, technology,
engineering and math.
Victor Eure, technol
ogy coordinator for Per
quimans Coimty Schools,
annoimced Friday thart
the Northeast STEM Con
sortium, composed of the
two area school systems,
received the grant that wfil
be used in grades 4-9 over
the next three years.
The schools plan to part
ner with the College of
the Albemarle and other
agencies to implement the
Science, Technology, Engi
neering and Math Connect
project (STEM) to increase
student success and par
ticipate in STEM-related
careers.
“We want teachers, stu
dents, coimselors, and ad
ministrators more aware
of STEM careers and and
more prepared to fuUy par
ticipate in STEM careers,
particularly in the regional
focus areas such as biotech
nology, etc,” he said. “This
means not only promoting
the careers and giving stu
dents and teachers hands-
on opportunities to do real
world science and math ap
plications related to STEM
careers, but also increas
ing the rigor to ensure that
students are prepared to
take higher level math and
science courses in middle
school, high school, and
college.”
The funds wfil help in
crease enrollment in mid
dle school Algebra I cours
es, increase access to math
and science technology
and equipment, decrease
the number of students
See GRANT, 4
PCS PHOTO
Victor
Eure wrote
the STEM
grant for
Perquimans
County
Schools that
resulted in
a $550,000
Golden Leaf
award.