P The
ERQUIMANS
Weekly
r*^
Fall sports season in swing - Page 8
”News front Next Door"
AUGUST 14, 2013 - AUGUST 20, 2013
AUG 1 : REC'i)
50 cents
County to improve security at four schools
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County is
moving forward on secu
rity improvements at four
schools.
Three should be complete
by November and Hertford
Grammar School should be
finished by the end of the
year.
Eure & Sons Construction
was the low bidder on a plan
to remodel the entrances to
Perquimans Coimty High
School, Perquimans County
Middle School and Perqui
mans Central School. The
$70,880 bid was $7,588 lower
than one offered by A.R.
Chesson Construction.
But the layout of Hert
ford Grammar School will
require much more renova
tion and remodeling. School
officials hope they can have
it finished by the end of the
2013-14 school year.
The plan is to provide a
single sealed off entrance for
visitors to enter and leave
each school after School
starts. The idea is that would
prevent an incident like the
one at Sandy Hook Elemen
tary School in December.
The work at PCHS and
PCS should be completed
no later than Sept. 20 and
the work at PCMS should be
completed no later than Nov.
8 In that case there were
material delays that werp
beyond the control of the
contractor.
See SECURITY, 5
Breezy Evening
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
■ The N.C. Department of
Transportation tvill hold a
hearing Sept. 17 to debate
the replacement of the S-
Bridge in Hertford.
The Tuesday event at the
Perquimans County Recre
ation Center starts with a
pre-hearing and open house
fi-om 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The form^ public hearing
starts at 7 p.m. followed by
a question and answer ses
sion.
Teresa Gresham, a con
sultant working on the proj
ect, said DOT will be u]^at-
ing a website on the project
in the next few weeks. The
address is (http://www.nc-
dot.gov4>roject:^Sl7Busi-
nessNC37Improve). *
The state has narrowed it
down to three choices.
* Alternative B, a 15-foot
swing span bridge near to
where the current bridge is.
* Alternative D-Mod, a 33-
See HEARING, 2
Felon faces
drug, gun
charges
From staff reports
A 39-year old rrian was
arrested at his home Aug. 2
and charged with a number
of drug charges and posses
sion of a firearm by a felon.
Marvin
Moore was
charged af
ter Perqui
mans Coun
ty Sheriff’s
Deputies
served a
search war-
mnt on his
home in the 1700 block of
Harvey Point Road.
Sheriff Eric TnUey said
Moore immediately posted
a $35,000 secured bond and
was released.
Moore faces charges of
maintain a drug dwelling,
felony possession of co
caine, possession of a sto
len firearm and possession
of a firearm by a felon. He
faces additional charges
of possession with intent
to sell and deliver cocaine.
Schedule IT narcotics and
marijuana
89076 47144
“"igsci
■' 'M
PHOTO COURTESY CHUCK PAGELS
The band Sojourner performs at the Newbold-White House on Sunday as part of the Summer Breeze concert
series. The band will perform in downtown Hertford on Sept. 7 at 10:30 a.m. as part of Indian Summer Festival.
Graduation rate soars higher
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
F k erquimans County .saw a 5.3
^percentage point increase in
the graduation rate last year
and a huge improvement for black
students.
The 2012-13 rate for all students
was 89 percent, compared to 83.7
percent the year before.
The rate for black students
climbed from 79.5 percent to more
than 95 percent. Statewide last year,
just 77.5 percent of black students
graduated within four years.
“It’s something we can be very
proud of,” said Superintendent
Dwayne Stallings of the across the
board improvements. “It shows the
dedication of Principal (Chante)
Jordan and her staff at the high
See GRAD RATES, 5
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES
SCHOOL DISTRICT
2013(PERCENT)
2012 (PERCENT)
2013 BLACK GRAD RATE (PERCENT)
EC-Pasquotank
83
84.1
83.9 i
Camden
84.7
85.5
95 t
Currituck
87.7
87.4
88.9 t
E-Chowan
81.5
78.3
79.4 t
Perquimans
89
83.7
95 t
State
82.5
80.4
78.7 t
f I DENOTES INCREASE/DECREASE FROM 2012
SOURCE; N.C. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
‘Cowboy’ to spin tunes at festival
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
If you’ve got a song in your head,
there is a good chance that Adam Ev
ans has it on his laptop.
'The man better known as DJ Cow
boy has 76,300 tunes on his comput
er at last count. He has to, because
at least three times a month he plays
some of them at events like wed
dings and private parties.
On Sept. 6-7 he’ll be spinning his
tunes at the Indian Summer Festival
for the second year.
The 40-year-old Chowan County
native got into the DJ busi
ness 18 years ago.
“I had another DJ take me
in under his wing and show
me the ropes,” Evans said
Monday.
He started doing the work
seriously about 12 years ago.
His man job is director of
technology for Colony Tire.
Evans says he’s always been inter
ested in music. He played in the drum
line at John A. Holmes High School
and grew up listening to music.
Being a disc jockey isn’t quite as
easy at it looks Evans says.
“A lot of people just think
I have it on iTunes and hit
play,” he said. “A lot of it
watching to crowd and see
ing how they respond and
^ I playing what they want.”
I His equipment may look
like an old-fashioned vinyl
record player, but the music
is digits. But it adds some
thing that modem plays have tried to
remove — white noise. That luss or
pop that many older people associ
ate with listening to old records.
See ‘COWBOY’, 5
From staff reports
A Woodville Road man
was arrested Thursday and
put under $300,000 bond on
a charge of attempted mur
der.
''He (Shaw) went back
into the house and he
wouldn’t come out”
Eric Tilley
Perquimans sheriff
George Shaw, 50, got into
an argument with a neigh
bor in the
700 block
of Wood
ville Road,
when back
to a shed
and got a
12-gauge
s h o t -
SHAW
fired at the neighbor, ac
cording to Perquimans
County Sheriff Eric
Tilley.
TTlley said the neighbor
was hit by a pellet in the leg
and had a glancing shot. He
was not seriously ipjured
but was taken to Albemarle
Hospital.
“He (Shaw) went back
into the house and he
wouldn’t come out,” Tilley
said. “We had the N.C. High
way Patrol, the Pasquotank
County Sheriffs Office and
our sheriff’s office at the
scene. Eventually we talked
with the lady that was living
there, and feally Mr. Shaw
came out.”
'miey said deputies have
answered “three to four”
calls in the past for distin-
bances between the two
men.
Shaw had a “lengthy”
criminal record for dmg and
firearms charges in Virginia,
according to the sheriff. In
addition to the attempted
murder charge, Shaw faces
a charge of possession of
a firearm by a convicted
felon.
'The incident started
about 11 p.m. Wednesday
night and Mshed after mid-
ifight on 'Thursday.
College program reaches out to kids, parents
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Perquimans County
parents visit a dorm
room at East Carolina
University during a
recent tour of the
campus. The visit was
made possible by the
GEAR UP program.
The idea is to get both
students and their
parents interested
in the prospect of
attending college.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Convincing a teenager they have what
it takes to go to college is one thing.
Getting the parents to buy in is equally
critical.
'The Perquimans County Schools has
been working for the past year on doing
just that through a program called “GEAR
UP.” ^
The project is designed to increase the
See COLLEGE, 5
( /^United^
^l^ountry
Forbes
Realty
& Auctions,
LLC
NCRL#22873 NCAL#9180
252-426-1380 • www.forbesuc.com
.la
Visit www.forbesuc.com For a Virtual Tour
This home was built in 2007 and has been very well maintained. Home includes 3 bedrooms, 2 full
bathrooms, kitchen, dining area, screened porch, office, finished room over garage, lots of floored attic
storage, 7 closets, concrete driveway and a 2 car attached garage. Property includes .72 acres of land.
National Marketing, Local Expertise
Featured
Property
of the Week
www.forbesuc.com
252-426-1380