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"News front Next Door”
SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 - SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
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Groups MARK ANNIVERSARY
losing
with the
Rhondeis
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A seven-piece band will
grow to eight this Friday
when a guest is brought
in to sing a song with The
Original Rhondeis in down
town Hertford as part of the
32nd annual Indian Summer
Festival.
Historic Hertford Inc.
is miming a contest on its’
Facebook page to pick a
winner. The drawing will be
held Thursday and whoever
is picked will get to sing one
song with the band.
ENTERTAINMENT
SCHEDULE
■ See page 6 for schedule of
festival events and activities.
That’s something new,
said RoUie Ligart, who was
with the band in the 1960s
when they first started and
still performs on trumpet
and vocals.
“This is the first time
we’ve done that,” Ligart said
last week.
The only rule is the song
has to be something the
band knows and something
the crowd will like, he said.
That could easily include
“May I”, “I’ve Been Hurt”,
and “What Kind of Fool Do
You Think I Am.” All three
of the songs made it to the
top 10 on the charts when
they were introduced and
they remain hallmarks of
the Rhondel’s soimd.
The festival kicks off
Friday at 6 p.m. with disc
jockey Adams Evans and
follows at 7 p.m. with The
Original Rhondeis.
The Saturday events start
at 9 am. with the presenta
tion of the colors by Ameri
can Legion Post 126. The
event includes games for
kids in the Hertford Baptist
Church parking lot and a
wheeled vehicle show be
hind Hertford Town Hall.
The festival concludes at 4
p.m.
Ligart said the band had
a good time at the Hert
ford festival last year and is
looking forward to coming
back. '
“We had a wonderful ex
perience and we’re h^py to
be visiting with our Mends
in Hertford. They were so
receptive last year.”
But Ligart admits he
never thought he’d stUl be
performing in 2013 when he
started in the 1960s.
“We laugh about it. Per
sonally you never envision
any kind of end to your ca
reer, you’re always looking
forward to the next gig. I
don’t think anybody looked
at retirement. I figure as long
as you get up in the morning
and have reasonably good
Health and you ei\joy it,
that’s great. We ei\joy per
forming for the fans.”
The band performs about
See RHONDEIS, 6
89076 4
714'
OF March on Washington
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Marjorie Rayburn (top) and Pastor Arthur Manigault pull the rope to ring the bell at Hertford United Methodist
Church last Wednesday. The bell rang in 1901 to mark the assassination of President William McKinley and
again in 1945 to celebrate the end of wars in the Pacific and in Europe. It was used again to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington D.C. Manigault is pastor of Spirit and Truth Ministries and
Rayburn is a member of Hertford United Methodist.
Church bell rings again
AiHi
A
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
^ rthur Manigault was Just a few months old when it
, happened.
He’s black.
Maijorie Rayburn was caught up in preparing for col
lege life in 1963 and missed coverage of it on TV.
She’s white.
Yet the 50th anniversaiy of the March on Washington
drew the two together last week so they could ring the
beU at Hertford United Methodist Church to honor the
moment.
The event was one of a handful held in Perquimans
County to mark the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech. One was held on the
courthouse green.
The bell of Hertford UMC has cliimed on other big
events in the past. The church dates to 1901 and on
Sept. 14, of that year, the bell was tolled to mark the
assassination of President William McKinley.
“It has been rung to celebrate the end of world wars,
and the death of national leaders,” said Pastor Larry
Bowden. “Most recently, it pealed 27 times to remember
the victims of the Newtown, Ct. shooting,”
See REMEMBER, 6
The hands of Walker Rayburn (top) and Pastor
Manigault pull the rope to ring the bell at Hertford
United Methodist Church last Wednesday.
highlight
reading
problem
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans school offi
cials were fuUy prepared to
see a decline in their average
test score when they offered
the ACT exam to every high
school junior — not just the
coUege-boimd ones.
What they saw instead
was a slight increase.
Numbers released last
month showed the average
ACT rose from 17.3 points
to 17.5 points. That came
despite the fact that 121 stu
dents took the exam in 2012
vs. just 12 students the year
before.
“We’re comfortable in
knowing that 109 more stu
dents took the exam and
our composite score went
up, but we stiU have work to
do,” said Assistant Superin
tendent James Bunch.
Most school systems saw
their scores drop as the re
sult of mandatory testing. In
Camden, the score fell from
22.3 to 19.6 and in Pasquo
tank they dropped from 19.6
to 16.7. In Chowan county,
the rate plummeted 8.5
points to 17.3
Statewide the rate de
clined by 3.2 points.
Where mandatory testing
has been adopted it’s been ^
normal that scores would
decline.
“You’ll see scores drop
and then they start to im
prove,” Brmch said.
While the Perquimans
scores did approve, they
lagged behind the state
average. The state in turn
ranked last in the nation in
terms of performance. 'The
national average was 20.9,
2.2 points higher than North
Carolina’s.
Bunch said there remains
plenty of work to do.
“Overall we feel good
about the direction we’re
heading academically, but
we need to constantly as
sess what’s going on in the
classroom and the school
disMct.”
“What is the difference
See SCORES, 5
Teacher helping to build ‘STRONG’ students
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
When school ends in
June, most teachers look
forward to a summer with
out having to deal with stu
dents.
Not Teresa Beardsley.
For the second year in
a row, the Science teacher at Hert
ford Grammar School worked
BEARDSLEY
with students for free. She
designed a program called
STRONG to help some
of her students who have
either made the transition
to middle school or soon
will.
And this year she’s do
ing it and juggling master’s
degree classes at Elizabeth
See ‘STRONG,’ 7
STAFF PHOTO
BY PETER WILLIAMS
Tobious Porter (right),
a sixth-grader at
Perquimans County
Middle, visits a resident
of The Bryan Center
This summer. Porter
is part of a group
called STRONG, which
provides summer
projects for students.
Congressman visits high school, gives civics lesson
STAFF PHOTO
BY PETER WILLIAMS
US Rep. G.K.
Butterfield,
D-NC, speaks
to leadership
students after
school at
Perquimans
County High on
Monday, Aug. 26.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
'The fact that a select of Perquimans
County High School students got a
civics lesson last week probably isn’t
news.
'The fact the lesson came from a sit
ting member of Congress was notable.
Rep. G.K Butterfield met with a doz
en students for more than hour in the
media center at the high school after
the first day of school on Monday. The
Democrat from' Wilson talked about
how Congress worked — or didn’t —
and urged the students be an active.
The students did some talking of their
own. The issues they brought largely
were state funding issues — something
Butterfield said can’t control because
See BUTTERFIELD, 7
Indiani Siimmai Eiestiifall« Hiisjaarifei Hjertlford
Crafts, food, entertainment, beer Garden &more
Free Street Dance Friday Night - The Rhondeis
Sept. 6th, 6 to 10:30 p.m.
Sept. 7th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.