2 THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5,2015 WHIDBEE Continued from 1 Esbenshade Professor of the Practice of Visual Arts at Duke University. McIver, who was travel ing in France last week, said the son of Lewis and Gloria Whidbee has been one of her best students. Whidbee recently had his first solo exhibit called “Diary of a Wretched Man” at The Carrack in Durham in July. This month Whid bee will be doing a solo exhibit at the Nicholson Gallery at The Arts Center in Carrboro. Whidbee said he finds inspiration in his spiritual ity as a Christian, a black male and music, and likes to portray how he strug gles with it. Gloria Whidbee said her son has always been inter ested in art. “Even when he was little he’d doodle. I still have some. I knew he had a little talent.” Gloria Whidbee said she always tried to impress on her son that athletics shouldn’t be his only fo cus. “A lot of kids focus on SUBMITTED PHOTOS Artist Lamar Whidbee leans against a fence with two pieces of his artwork. Whidbee (right photo), was an all-conference football player and track star at Perquimans County High School and played football at both Winston-Salem State University and N.C. Central University. basketball and football, but what if that doesn’t work out? You always need to have a backup.” Lamar Whidbee did suf fer some injuries in col lege, but said that alone wasn’t the reason he fo cused on something else. “I still consider myself an athlete,” he said. “He epjoys what he does,” his mother said. “I’m so thankful he got to do that, but he’s moving on with his talents.” As well as he performed in high school, Whidbee wishes not he had ap plied himself more in both sports and academics. “I wish I had learned a little more while in high school,” he said. “It was fun, and it is a small town, but I wish I had developed more as an athlete.” He found the same thing to be true in his art stud ies. “I wish kids were ex posed more to modern art in high school,” he said. “When I got to college I found some of the stuff I had to learn other stu dents had learned in high school. I’m grateful for my gift, but I could have gone further.” Whidbee said he’d like to return to Hertford at some point, even if it’s a visit. “Even if I never moved back there, but I’d really like to come back home and do a show,” he said. “I’d like to give back to the school and give back to the community. I’d like to inspire some kids.” While grateful for what he was able to get in high school, Whidbee would like to see more offered. “I feel like kids in high school and middle school should be exposed more. If children don’t have an outlet, let them know there is more than just playing sports. They need to see there are options.” LAND Continued from 1 bridge,” Nielsen wrote. “I have owned this property for many years, and while in the historic district, the home itself is actually of no historic value. Although I lived at 103 Phelps St. for many years, it is now a sec ondary residence for me. “Should you be interest ¬ BANKRUPTCY STOP Foreclosure STOP Lawsuits STOP Car Repossession STOP Tax Levies and Garnishments Call Allen C. Brown Attorney #252-752-0753 A Debt Relief Agency helping people eliminate debt through bankruptcy 103 E. Albemarle Street • Edenton, North Carolina www.TheTableNC.com • www.lnnerBankslnn.com 252.482.3641 Grown. Raised. Caught. Made. Got to Be NC. can we talk STORAGE? Let's face it, you have things that are important to you, but you need help! Call TODAY 252-482-2019 all seasons self 1212 N. Oakum St., Edenton www.al1seasonsselfstorage.us ed in acquiring 103 Phelps St., please contact me. I am most interested in the success of your project, as Route 17 is indeed a tricky area. It is my wish that the new bridge and access be safe and maintainable at a responsible cost for the residents of Hertford and surrounding areas.” Twelve months later the home was purchased by Nancy Theodore and her husband. Theodore, who has op posed DOT plans, said she was totally unaware of the Nielsen letter. “ I’m so angry with the real estate agent for his estate for not disclosing what Ned and his fam ily knew about the bridge project,” she said. “Our agent said there was talk about replacing the bridge for years but nothing was in the works at the time we were looking at the house — spring of 2009.” She said she is consider ing filing a complaint with the NC Real Estate Com ¬ PURSER Continued from 1 is to reach out more to John A. Holmes and Perquimans County high schools to get them involved with COA He’s already reached out to people in Perquimans County. He has been active in the Perquimans and Edenton communities as a board member and volunteer with the Chowan/Perquimans Habitat for Humanity. He was also the project man ager and volunteer builder for an outdoor classroom at Hertford Grammar School. “He was instrumental in coordinating the labor and materials for the sundial at HONORED Continued from 1 participate today,” Cau sey said. “There are five other organizations in Perquimans County that do it, but Forestburg is the oldest and longest serv ing. We’d like to get more groups active like this.” Currently the Hertford Rotary Club, Heritage Shores Plantation, Island Christian Fellowship, Deep Creek Shores and the Inter-County Ruritan Club also participate. DOT provides gloves and trash bags and loans mission. Gresham, who was cop ied in the 2008 letter, ex plained last week that at the time DOT didn’t know just how it was going to proceed with replacing the S-Bridge. “We can’t just buy prop erty preemptively,” Gresh am said. “We couldn’t have taken him (Nielsen) up on the offer at the time. The property had been for sale for a couple of years at that point.” Gresham said the first meeting with local officials was in September 2007. “We didn’t come to the Hertford Grammar School,” said Teresa Beardsley, the school system’s spokesman and a former HGS teacher. “He had his architectural students create the sun dial size as well as the placement of the sundial using a special solar tool. After the cement slab was installed by one of Mr. Purser’s contacts through Purser Design Build. Two of Amy Craddock’s students from PCHS worked with Mr. Purser in laying out the tem plate for the sundial.” Purser’s wife, Carole is a teacher at HGS and headed up the project. COAs president, Kandi Deitemeyer, said she wel comes Purser to his new position. “I am quite excited about safety vests to groups that sign contracts for road side cleanup. They have to commit to cleaning a two- mile stretch of road four times a year. DOT says over the past 20 years, the Forestburg Club has picked up more than 21,000 pounds of lit ter over a two-mile stretch of New Hope Road, Wood land Church Road and White Hat Road. The club picks up on both sides of the roads and over the years collected 1,550 bags of litter. Keith Matheson, the co ordinator for Forestburg, said the club can usually public with alternatives until April 2010.” “When we received the letter we didn’t have a preferred alternative se lected.” DOT reached that deci sion in December 2014. It wants to build a 33-foot- tall fixed bridge that would extend off Church Street where the Theodore prop erty is now and link up with Winfall Boulevard in an area near Larry’s Drive In. The Coast Guard docu ment released in July in cludes portions of peti tions from various sides, Charles joining the leader ship team,” Deitemeyer said. “We are looking forward to his contributions as Dean of the Edenton-Chowan Cam pus and know that his com mitment to students’ success will be invaluable as we con tinue to build the campus and college opportunities.” “During the coming months, he will be focused on engag ing members of the commu nity and our K-12 partners to ensure a seamless transition around many of the initia tives that are strong points on the campus, as well as those that are showing great promise,” Deitemeyer said. For 19 years, Lynn Hur- dle-Wmslow served as dean at the Chowan Campus. She stepped down a year ago to musters eight volunteers. “Sometimes we get 11 or 12. We try and do it in the spring, in both April and May before it gets hot and then pick it up against in September and October. If you look at our group, we’re not getting any younger. I don’t know if we’ll make it to 30 years or not.” The club has fewer than 40 members. Matheson said the club’s single day record was 24 bags of trash. Once the trash is bagged, DOT takes care of the rest. “DOT is really good,” as well as resolutions from local town boards and the Perquimans County Com mission. In October 2013 the Hertford Town Council passed a resolution sup porting Alternative D with an opening as wide and tail as the current Highway 17 Bypass bridge. In September 2014 the town rescinded the 2013 resolution and support to the swing-span option — the most expensive of the final three. In December 2014, county commission also went in support Alter native B. take a job as vice president of student success and en rollment management at , COA^ main campus. Aman da Hodges was named inter im dean. She stepped down in February. Purser said he’s looking forward to the challenge. “I feel that I can make a difference at the Edenton- Chowan campus and help grow our students and the facility,” Purser said. “Stu dents bring their hopes and dreams to COA and it is our job to do what we can to help them reach their goals. As a community college graduate, I am honored and proud to have the opportu nity to make a difference in our seven-county service area.” Matheson said. “I call on a Saturday and the follow ing Monday they’re out there to pick up the bags.” Adopting a highway is free but requires a four- year agreement between NCDOT and the Adopt-A- Highway volunteers. Anyone interested in learning more about the program can call 1-800- 331-5864 or the local DOT office at 331-4737. “Our they can go on-line and register and they don’t have to talk to anybody at all,” Causey said. The state website is http://www.ncdot.gov/pro- grams/aah/. THE PERQUIMANS BIWEEKLY (USPS428-080) Vol. 83 No. 31 Published each Wednesday. A publication of Cooke Communications North Carolina, LLC Established 1934 111 W. Market St., Hertford, NC 27944 Mike Goodman Publisher Peter Williams News Editor Bev Alexander Advertising Representative Phone 252-426-5728 • Fax 252-426-4625 Email: perquimansweekly@ncweeklies.com Subscription Rates In Daily Advance home delivery area $25.25* All other continental U.S $31.50* *Plus applicable sales tax in N.C. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Perquimans Weekly, Hertford, NC 27944 RUSTON HOWELL KELLEY DURUMAN Christian Ford DVM DVM DVM Small Animal Medicine & Surgery BOARDING AVAILABLE Appointment Preferred Hours: Mon-Fri. 8:00 - 5:30 • Sat. 8:00 - 12:00 noon 1515 PARADISE ROAD, EDENTON www.chowananimalhospital.com • 252-482-4113

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