P The
ERQUIMANS
Weekly
"News front Next Door"
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Student Chmstims ART, 4
DECEMBER 4, 2013 - DECEMBER 10, 2013
50 cents
Tier status change may bring more help
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County will
be eligible for more state
assistance and grants next
year because of a change
in how it ranks in terms of
poverty.
Perquimans and four oth
er counties will be shifted
from Tier 2 status to Tier 1
next year by the N.C. De
partment of Commerce.
Tier 1 counties are consid
ered the most economically
distressed and Tier 3 coun
ties have the least number
of problems. Perquimans
has ranked as a Tier 2 since
at least 2007.
Now as a Tier 1 compa
nies will be eligible for more
help when creating jobs in
Perquimans and both lo
cal and county government
should be able to apply for
more assistance.
In some cases, the dif
ference between being Tier
1 and Tier 2 is you may not
be able to apply for some
grants at all.
Being a Tier 2 was espe
cially hard on the school
system according to local
officials.
Among children age five
through 17, the local pover
ty rate is over 29 percent. It’s
that group that school sys
tem has to deal with. About
20 percent of Perquimans’
population is imder the age
of 18.
As a whole, Perquimans
County has a poverty rate of
20 percent. 'The overall pov
erty rate is one of the factors
in deciding tier status.
“Yoiu" (overall) poverty
rate does not always mirror
the county’s situation,” said
Superintendent Dwayne
Stallings.
“It does make a difference
when applying for grants,”
Stallings said. “Many times a
See TIER STATUS, 9
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A light show, parades and
a colonial dinner are all on
tap for Perquimans County
this weekend.
The festivities kick off
Friday with the Grand Il
lumination in downtown
Hertford at the courthouse
from 6-7 p.m. There will be
holiday music and entertain
ment and a visit by Santa,
Children get a free gift and
downtown businesses will
be open late for the event.
Parades follow Saturday
with Winfall’s parade kick
ing off from Perquimans
County Middle School at 11
am. Perquimans Coimty
Middle School principM
Andrea Greene and Perqui
mans Central School prin
cipal Melissa Fields will be
the dignitaries. The Winfall
■parade ends at Winfall Land
ing.
Hertford’s parade will
follow at 2 p.m. starting at
Perquimans County High
School looping through
downtown and then back to
the school.
On Sunday, downtown
will host a progressive co
lonial dinner from 6-9 p.m.
Tickets have already sold
out.
The Hertford parade will
feature a battleship, pirate
vessel and a replica of a co
lonial era boat. As of Mon
day more than 70 entries
had signed up but last min
ute entries will be accepted,
they just won’t be judged.
Corbin Cherry was ap
pointed grand marshal of
See PARADES, 8
Good Eats
. '3
i
'm
STAFFPHOTOS BY PETER WtLLIAMS
A woman serves up macaroni and cheese Thanksgiving Day at First Baptist Church in Hertford. The program
served 500 peopie in 2012 and delivered meals last week to those who couldn’t make it to the church.
ji' lT
An
assortment
of pies and
cakes cover
a table at
First Baptist
Church in
Hertford
last week.
The church
hosted a
free meal
for anybody
who wanted
one on
Thanksgiving.
^4
.-m
Local
charter
school
pitched
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
»
A group that has provided
after school programs for
Perquimans County children
in the past has applied to the
state for a license to operate
a school for students from
kindergarten through fifth
grade.
Hattie Sharpe, the con
tact person listed in a letter
of intent application, has
declined to comment about
the plan for RHEMA Stem
Institute. The state has re
ceived 170 letters of intent
from groups interested in
opening a charter school in
this roimd.
Local public school offi
cials have not been involved
in the process.
Dwayne Stallings, the su
perintendent of the Perqui
mans County Schools sys
tem, said he was imaware of
the RHEMA STEM school
apphcation.
“I have not had any dis
cussions on it,” he said Mon
day.
Deanna Townsend-Smith,
a consultant for the Office
Of Charter Schools, also
has no further details on
the RHEMA proposal aside
from the letter of intent that
was submitted.
The letter includes a mis
sion statement: ‘To provide
a student centered environ
ment where students can
thrive in all subjects, realize
their innate talents in matli,
science and technology,
pass state-mandated exams
See CHARTER, 8
High school seniors take advantage of College Application Week
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
More than 90 Perquimans
County High School seniors took
advantage of a chance to apply to
college for free during a one week
period last month.
“If they don’t ^ply, they can’t
enroU,” said Gabby Lassiter, one
of the two coordinators of the
school’s GEAR UP program.
GEAR UP stands for “Gaining
Early Awareness and Readiness
for Undergraduate Programs.” It
is a national college access initia
tive funded by the U.S. Depart
ment of Education.
Lassiter and Starr Gordon work
with both students and their par
ents to expose them to the idea of
attending college. Some students
don’t have family members who
have gone on past high school
and the program is designed to
break down barriers, both finan
cial and mental that might hold
them back.
School staff provided help all
that week with the apphcation
See APR WEEK, 9
SUBMITTED PHOTO
At Perquimans
High last month,
92 students
submitted a
total of 248
applications,
saving a total
of $5,310 in
applications fees
for students,
during College
Application
Week.
DOT, other agencies reviewing options to replace bridge
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The N.C. Department of
TVansportation has met to
review options for a new
89076
47144
V
bridge in Hertford, but it
may be this month before
the comments of the meet
ing are released.
Teresa Gresham, a pri
vate consultant working for
DOT, said the post-hearing
meeting was held Nov. 18.
She said it usually takes a
couple of weeks before the
summary has been reviewed
and ^proved.
The report includes pub-
hc comments on the plan to
replace the S-Biidge with
one of three options. The
state will be responding to
pubhc comments about the
proposals.
TTie che^est alternative
— $19.3 milhon — extends
straight off Church Street
and ends at a point near
Larry’s Drive In. It’s also the
shortest at six-tenths of a
mile.
TTie most costly — $31.9
million — also starts on
Church Street but uses an
other swing-span that paral
lels the existing bridge. This
options would give boaters
15-feet of clearance imder
the bridge which is more
than what they have now
but half that of the other
two others.
The other two options
would be 33 feet off the wa
ter at the peak — the same
as clearance under the U.S.
17 Bypass bridge.
Alternative E uses Eden-
ton Road Street, would cost
about $27.2 million and is
also the longest at a mile
long.
DOT held a hearing in
September at the Perqui
mans County Recreation
Center to get public input
on the bridge.
The bridge replacement
project would use federal
funds and therefore must
comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). NEPA is a law that
SeeS-BRiDGE,9