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P The 0EC!U -
ERQUIMANS
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DECEMBER 5, 2012 - DECEMBER 11, 2012 DEC 0 5 2012 50 cents
Cole, Muzzulin to lead commissioners in ’13
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Janice McKenzie Cole and Ed
Muzzulin will lead the Perqui
mans County Board of Commis
sioners for the next year.
Both were unanimously elect
ed during the commissioners’
meeting Monday night.
Cole, who was just elected to
her first four-year term on the
board after being appointed to
fill the vacant seat following the
death of Shir
ley Wiggins two
and a half years
ago, was elected
chairman. Muz
zulin, who is
completing his
second year on
the board, will
serve as vice-
chairman.
“Thank you for your vote of
confidence in me,” Cole told her
fellow board members. “I will
strive to main
tain the amica
ble attitude this
board has shared
with each other
in the past.”
She thanked
outgoing Chair
man Ben Hobbs
Muzzulin for leading the
board the past two years. Hobbs,
who nominated Cole for the lead
ership role, said he enjoyed serv
ing as chairman for two years,
a job he’s held several times in
his past years of service to the
county.
“But two years is long enough,”
Hobbs said when asked why he
chose to step down as chair
man.
Cole, who formerly served as
vice chairman, nominated Muz
zulin for the secondary leader
ship role.
“I’m honored,” said Muzzulin.
The board’s leadership
change Monday night followed
the swearing in for Cole and two
new board members: Kyle Jones
and Matt Peeler who were both
elected to office last month. The
trio was sworn in by Superior
Court Judge J.C. Cole, the board
chairman’s husband.
Commissioners also said good-
bye to outgoing Commissioners
Mack Nixon and Sue Weimar
who chose not to seek reelec
tion to the board in last month’s
See TO LEAD, 11
A Festive Weekend
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
T lhe Christmas spirit
arrived in Hertford
over the weekend as
large crowds attended
both Friday night’s
meaningful Grand Illu
mination and Saturday’s
fun-filled Christmas
Parade.
Organizers say over
1,000 people combined
to enjoy the two events
sponsored by the His
toric Hertford, Inc. and
Perquimans Chamber of
Commerce respectively.
Parade winners
Clubs,
ORGANIZATIONS
• First place,
Perquimans County
Senior Citizens
Center
• Second place,
Rotary Club of
Hertford
Schools
• • First place,
Hertford Grammar
School
• Second place,
Perquimans Central
School
CHURCHES
• First place, Faith
Assembly
• Second place,
Bagley Swamp
The Perquimans County Senior Citizens Center float took first place in the clubs/organizations division of the Christmas
parade Saturday. Santa (inset) waves to the crowd. See more photos from parade and illumination on pages 8 and 11.
“I think the weekend
was excellent,” said
Chamber Director Sid
Eley who, sporting a
colorful Santa hat, served
as master of ceremonies
for both events. “We had
great weather and the
crowds for both events
were fantastic!”
The weekend’s theme,
Christmas Memories,
was experienced in
See FESTIVE, 10
STAFF PHOTOS BY CATHY WILSON
Parade Grand Marshal
Estelle Felton walks to the
viewing stand.
STAFF PHOTOS BY CATHY WILSON
Downtown Hertford Friday night resembled a Norman Rockwell painting. Hertford Mayor Hor
ace Reid (inset) pulls the lever to officially illuminate Hertford Friday evening.
First
Winfall
parade is
Saturday
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The Town of Winfall will
make this a Christmas to Re
member with their first an
nual Christmas Parade this
Saturday at 2 p.m.
Parade organizers say five
bands have committed to
marching including the Per
quimans County High School
band, Perquimans County
Middle School band, Pas
quotank High School band,
Northeastern High School
band, and the Elizabeth City
State University Marching
Vikings!
Bands
will perform
while march
ing along the
parade route
from Perqui
mans Middle
School to the
town park
located adja-
Hurdle
cent to the Winfall Town Of
fice. The show, however, will
happen in front of the judges’
viewing stand located in front
of the Perquimans Central
School.
Ava Hurdle, a senior report
er with WAVY 10 in Hampton
Roads will serve as grand
marshal. She has covered a
variety of stories since she
first joined the television sta
tion in 1977, but she special
izes in legal issues. She has
hosted “Black Perspective of
the News” on WAVY-TV and
is a graduate of Norfolk State
University
According to Tammy Chap
pell, parade committee chair
man, several organizations
and churches will take part
See WINFALL, 10
5 eugenics victims
verified in county
County ends fiscal year in good shape
From staff reports
The N.C. Justice for Ster
ilization Victims Founda
tion recently confirmed
an increase in the,number
of verified victims of the
state’s former Eugenics
Board Program. The new
tally counts 186 individu
als in 61 counties, includ
ing 168 living victims.
ing counties, Pasquotank
County (39) reported the
largest number of steril
izations performed from
July 1946 to June 1968.
Perquimans County was
just behind with 36 steril
izations reported. Chowan
County reported 23 per
formed while Camden and
Currituck reported 17 and
6 respectively.
Perquimans County,
however, had the most
number of sterilizations
verified out of the five sur
rounding counties. There
See VICTIMS, 10
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Perquimans County
ended the fiscal year in
good shape after increas
ing the general fund bal
ance by over $500,000.
Accountant Donna Win-
borne with Douglas A.
Hollowell, P.C. gave com
missioners the good news
Monday night. Thanks to
an increase in ad valorem
and sales tax collected,
the county’s audit showed
that the county ended the
2011-2012 fiscal year with
a general fund balance of
$4,451,678 or $531,232 more
than last year.
The county’s unassigned
funds (generally known as
general fund reserves) to
taled $3,422,388 or 28.4 per
cent of total general fund
expenditures. The state’s
Local Government Com
mission recommends that
local governments main
tain a minimum of eight
percent in unassigned
funds.
That figure also grew
last year from the 25.6 per
cent the previous year.
“Generally, the audit
shows that even through a
struggling economy, over
time the board of commis
sioners has done a good
job being fiscally respon
sible and done so without
raising taxes,” said Coun ¬
ty Manag
er Frank
Heath. “Of
course,
the de
partment
headshave
also done
a good job
keeping Hobbs
expenditures down. For
smaller counties such as
Perquimans, that’s what
we have to do...do as much
as we can with what we
have.”
Winborne pointed out
that the county has steadi
ly grown its reserve fund
in small yearly increments
over the past few years.
“You have had steady
increases, nothing huge,
but small increments
each year since 2006,” she
said. The reserve fund has
grown from 18 percent in
2006 to 28.4 percent this
past fiscal year.
Commissioner Ben
Hobbs, a noted fiscal con
servative, said the county
has supported conserva
tive budgets in the past.
“We don’t budget for in
come we don’t have,” he
added.
Winborne thanked Sha
ron Ward, the county’s
finance officer and staff,
for help in preparing the
audit that was adopted by
commissioners Monday
night.
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