P , The
ERQUIMANS
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"News from Next Door"
AUGUST 28, 2013 - SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
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Glitch hurts some drawing food stamps
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A statewide computer
system that was supposed
to streamline the process
of getting social services
has instead slowed it
down for some.
It was billed as “NC
FAST” but one county offi
cial called it “NC SLOW.”
NC FAST stands for
Families Accessing Ser
vices through Technol
ogy. It’s been in operation
since last last year for
some counties and still
has problems.
Perquimans County
handles food stamp cases
for 1,350 households, ac
cording to Susan Chaney,
the director of the pro
gram. Those already on
the food assistance pro
gram must recertify every
six months in order to
stay on the program.
“We do have some
backlogs but nothing that
I would consider extreme.
Last month for instance
we only had two over
due applications and they
were only overdue by two
days.”
Perquimans adopted
the new system for food
services in December and
was required to add Med
icaid on July 15. That,
Chaney said, is when the
real problems started.
“Cases got stuck in the
system. The state is work
ing fast and furious to get
it fixed, but it’s dealing
with all 100 counties and
hundreds of thousands of
people on benefits.”
Chaney has been
See FOOD STAMPS, 6
Summer
festival
coming
Sept. 6-7
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
In nine days spectators
can ei\joy something Lyrme
Raymond and other volun
teers have been working on
since February.
The 32nd annual Indian
Summer Festival kicks off
with music downtown on
Sept. 6 and wraps up that
Saturday. Visitors may stay
for just hours or perhaps
both days, but volunteers
will be there throughout.
“We actually start setting
up that Thursday,” Ray
mond said.
She estimates that 100
people will volunteer in
soihe fashion during the an
nual event.
“We’re stiU looking for
help with parking. We run
volunteers in shifts so no
body has to work both days.
But we need two people at
every soda station and we
have five or six soda sta
tions.”
Something as large as the
festival takes on a life of its
own after three decades.
'The date — the first Satur
day in September —; has
long been established.
“We had some people
who want to change it. But
what do we change it to? If
we had it two weeks later it
could StiU be hot and we stUl
could get a hurricane,” Ray
mond said.
Many of the vendors have
the festival in their regular
schedule, and a change on
Hertford’s part would dis
rupt that.
“We’ve been doing it for
32 years now and only had
See FESTIVAL, 6
Students back in class
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Calianna Bembry gets right to work coloring in her first-grade ciass at Perquimans County Central School.
Year’s enrollment reaches 1,811
' BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A U but 72 of the 1,811 Per-
/\ quimans County students
^ enroUed this year returned
to class Monday for the start of a
school year that wiU include a lon
ger calendar and fewer teachers.
The school system estimates
the final emoUment number wiU
be about 1,811 for kindergarten
through 12th grade. There are an
additional 52 students who are
expected to enter pre-kindergarten
in the coming days.
'The start of the new year did not
come without a hitch. Buses were
late at both Perquimans Central
School and Hertford Grammar
School. Some of the bus delays
were expected since the county
school board agreed to spUt the bus
routes for the two schools. For the
past four years, the school system
had combined them in an effort to
save money. "As a result, bus drivers
were taking new routes on Monday,
Parents and students walk toward kindergarten at Perquimans Central
School on Monday.
said Brenda Lassiter, the spokes
woman for the school system. The
delays ranged between 30 minutes
and an hour.
“School officials are thankful
for the patience of our parents and
studente as we began the school , See SCHOOL, ■
year, especially with the overflowing
parking lots as they arrived to the
school facilities,” she said.
“Overcrowding in our parent
pick-up and drop-off areas is a
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County
needs to be prepared for
a rapidly aging popula
tion and all that entails,
health officials told local
leaders last week.
Health officials pre
sented a snapshot of data
Wednesday afternoon on
a new Community Health
Assessment for Perqui
mans County and the re
gion.
Shelia Pfaender, a pub
lic health consultant,
presented
the Per
quimans
County
data.
Per
quimans
County
may have
seen its
growth peak for now and
caring for an aging popu
lation may be the biggest
challenge it faces.
“Your heyday has
just ended in terms of
growth,” she said.
In some cases the num
bers in the study were so
small it was tough to de
termine if an increase or
decrease was significant
and Pfaender presented
those in the color blue.
“Blue comes up in
your county a good bit,”
Pfaender said.
She said the blue num
bers were unstable be
cause of the small sample
size and recommended
against drawing too
See HEALTH, 2
PFAENDER
Blood donors needed Fire training program moves forward
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Red Cross is hop
ing for a strong turnout at
a blood drive Sept. 5 at the
Perquimans County Recre
ation Center.
Summertime and holi
days usually mean fewer
people donate blood.
“We have a demand of
500 to 600 units a day just to
meet demand,” said Kristen
Hatfield, a spokesperson
for the regional Red Cross.
“That’s seven days a week.
We’re hoping that people re
ally come out for this drive
89076 4
714
2
since it comes a few days
after Labor Day.”
The local drive is from 2
p.m. to 7 p.m. To schedule
an appointment on-line you
can yisit www.redcross-
blood.org or you can call 1-
800-RED-CROSS.
The blood types most
urgently needed are 0-nega-
tive, A-negative and B-nega-
tive. Hatfield said there is a
good chance if your blood
type is one of those, you will
have family members who
also carry that type. People
are encouraged to bring
fairuly members.
0-positive is the most
common blood type. Not all
ethnic groups have the same
mix of these blood types.
Hispanic people, for exam
ple, have a relatively high
See NEED DONORS, 6
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
David Barbour, an education consultant for the N.C. Deparment of Public
Instruction, speaks with school officials and representatives of local fire
departments at Perquimans County High on Thursday.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County is
moving forward with plans
to add a firefighter program
to the high school curricu
lum.
Local school officials
and representatives from
local fire departments met
with ofiicials of the N.C.
Department of Public In
struction and the N.C. Fire
Marshal’s office last week
to review the program.
Monday night the local
school board voted to hire
Michael Cartwright to head
the program. It’s scheduled
to start Sept. 23.
Cartwright has been
with the Elizabeth City Fire
Departrjjient since 19^. He
See FIRE TRAINING, 2
Iniljan Summer Kesilifaill
Crafts, food, entertainment. Beer Garden &. more
Free Street Dance Friday Night - The Rhondels
Sept. 6th, 6 to 10:30 p.m.
Sept. 7th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.