P The
ERQUIMANS
, 2®: E KEY
"News from Next Door" JANUARY 4, 2012 - JANUARY 10, 2012
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Page 4
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Truck plunges into river at S-bridge
Vehicle crashes into bridge tender’s house
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
T he driver of a pick-
up truck managed to
escape underwater
with no apparent injuries
after he drove his truck
off Church Street, crashed
into the S-bridge tender’s
house, and into the Perqui
mans River early Saturday
morning.
According to the Hert
ford Police Department,
driver John Rodney Grif
fin, II of Williamston man
aged to climb out of a win
dow in the 2009 F-250 Super
D pick-up truck completely
submerged in the cold
river water underneath
the bridge tender’s house
around 2:30 a.m. Sgt. Kevin
Worster, who responded to
the crash, found Griffin at
a nearby residence with
blankets wrapped around
him provided by a neigh
bor who heard the crash
occur.
Police said Griffin’s
truck was traveling on
Church Street towards
the historic S-bridge when
it ran off the roadway
knocking down several
street signs and striking a
pipe adjacent to the sew
age pumping station. The
vehicle travelled through
a fence and hit a bridge
abutment before going air
borne, taking out two large
Magnolia tree limbs 15 feet
above ground before crash
ing into the bottom of the
bridge tender’s house and
into the river. The force of
the impact took out several
feet of wooden underpin
ning on the structure and
damaged at least one pil
ing, police said.
“He was lucky,” said Sgt.
Worster. “Very lucky.”
Worster said he had dif
ficulty finding the truck
when he first arrived on
the scene. He saw where
a vehicle had crashed
through the pumping sta
tion’s fence, but didn’t see
a vehicle anywhere.
See S-BRIDGE, 2
PHOTOS COURTESY MICHAEL HURDLE
Diver Chris Wflarton assists a tow crew pulling a pickup truck from the Perquimans River Saturday morning after it crashed into the S-bridge tender’s house.
bridge tender’s house, before plunging into the Perquimans River early Saturday. A boom truck blocks the S-bridge while workers raise the pickup truck from the river.
PHOTO COURTESY PAM HADDEN
Band boosters provide much of the funding for local school bands, including the Perquimans County High School Marching
Pirates shown here during the Hertford Christmas Parade.
Boosters help fund music program
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
There is a sense of pride
that ripples through the
audience when the local
school bands perform.
The performances may
include marching in a
Christmas parade, playing
6 89076 47144 2
for local festivals on the
courthouse square, per
forming a half-time show
in the school football field,
or competing in band com
petitions across the area.
The performances seem
to always cause a lump
to form in the throats of
those who stand-by and
watch.
The youth spend count
less hours rehearsing mu
sic, marching, learning
routines, and practicing
playing together. It is work
that necessitates effort not
only during class time in
school, but after school
and at home as well.
The Perquimans County
Band Boosters is made up
of hard-working parents
of band students at both
Perquimans High and Per
quimans Middle schools.
Both schools have their
own individual band di
rector who works with the
students teaching how to
play the instruments, mu
sicality, and how to play in
one accord.
Behind the performanc
es is that dedicated group
of band parents who
work all year long to raise
funds to keep the local
schools’ band programs
alive and growing in both
of the county’s second
ary schools. It’s a school
course that requires the
support and hard work
of students and parents
alike.
According to self-de
scribed “band geek”
Jennifer Bunch whose
See BOOSTERS, 4
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Heart Institute at ECU gave Perquimans County High Schooi
students the opportunity recently.to view a robotic mitral valve
prolapsed repair, demonstrating how surgeons are able to offer
a minimally invasive option for complex surgical procedures.
Lab gives students
hands-on training
17 visit ECU’s Brody
School of Medicine
From staff reports
Seventeen students from
Perquimans High School
interested in medical pro
fession careers recently
traveled to The Brody
School of Medicine located
at East Carolina Univer
sity.
In a simulation lab, stu
dents had the opportunity
to assess pulse sites, pu
pils, skin tone and moni
tor respirations with an
$80,000 human-like mani
kin. Students also visited
the obstetrics and gynecol
ogy lab to witness a simu
lated birth with the help
See TRAINING, 5