ERQUIMANS
Weekly
Local FFA Alumni forms, 7
’’News from Next Door" WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
SEP 3 0 REC'D
50 cents
DOT
presents
projects
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The N.C. Department of
Transportation unveiled
conceptual plans for Per
quimans County pedestrian,
bike and highway improve
ments in an open meeting in
Winfall last week.
Angela Welch, coordina
tor for the Albemarle Com
mission’s Rural Planning
Organization (RPO), said
the meeting was simply to
get public input. The turn
out — six people — was
actually higher than she’s
seen at similar events. It’s
the only such meeting that
will be planned for now. The
next time the public sees
the projects is when public
hearings are held after fund
ing is approved.
“This is very high level
planning,” Welch said. “The
planning with the actual
designing of roads won’t
be done until the projects
are funded. For now its
just lines on a map, nothing
more.”
The RPO has been look
ing at a number of projects,
but funding hasn’t been pro
vided.
The most expensive proj
ect by far — and one that
may be 25 years out there
— is updating U.S. 17 to In
terstate standards.
While it’s four-lane
throughout Perquimans
County, U.S. 17 has two
stoplights, about 20 inter
secting roads and perhaps
200 curb cuts for driveways.
As a true interstate, the traf
fic fights would have to go
and any roads intersecting
the new highway would be
very limited.
Another thing that would
have to go is farm equip
ment. Tractors are com
bines aren’t allowed on
Interstates. Farhan Jarhan,
a transportation engineer
for DOT in Raleigh, admits
there would have to be ac
commodations elsewhere.
See DOT, 2
Walkers parade down Edenton Road Street Saturday for the annual Jim “Catfish" Hunter ALS Walk. More
than 150 people signed up, despite the threat of rain. A three-day softball tournament to benefit the local
foundation will kick off Friday in Winfall.
ALS tourney set for this weekend
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Organizers of the annual ALS walk
in Hertford carried on with the event
last weekend despite a little rain, but
the 18th annual Jim “Catfish” Hunter
ALS softball tournament was post
poned.
Now those workers have their fin
gers crossed the weather will coop
erate this weekend.
“We’re freaking out a little bit
looking at the weather forecast, but
hopefully we’ll be OK,” said Guy
Webb, one of the organizers. “With
deer season, we’re running out of
time.”
Many of the players in the tourna
ment are also deer hunters, Webb
said.
“Once deer season starts, it’s over
for us.”
Last year the tournament raised
just short of $30,000 for the local
foundation that helps ALS patients.
The tournament is named for Hunter
who suffered from the disease.
The tournament is played at the
Jim “Catfish” Hunter ball fields on
Wiggins Road in Winfall.
The tournament had a full slate of
20 teams when it was scheduled for
Sept. 25-27.
See TOURNEY, 3
Sales
tax
revenue
to grow
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County and
the two municipalities will
have a new stream of rev
enue but it won’t be coming
soon and when it does there
are restrictions on where
the money goes.
A new sales tax distribu
tion formula was adopted
by the General Assembly
this month. It creates a new
pot of money that will be
shared with smaller coun
ties and those without a lot
of retail sales outlets.
For the first year — Fis
cal 2016-17 — Perquimans
County stands to get another
$349,000 under the formula.
That’s on top of the $1.6 mil
lion it was already expected
to get at that time.
Hertford stands to gain
$55,000 and Winfall will get
$15,000.
The new sales tax for
mula was a compromise.
The old plan based more
of the distribution on the
point-of-sale of products.
An alternative would have
put more weight toward
See REVENUE, 3
Motown sound coming to Hertford on Oct. 10
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Rotary Club members
hope a little Motown mu
sic will delight the crowd
and help raise money for
Perquimans County stu
dents at the same time.
The Hertford Rotary
Club will host the musical
group “The Difference”
Oct. 10 at Perquimans
County High School at 7
p.m. Tickets cost $15 and
$18 for reserved seating.
The price for students is
$8.
The annual concert is
one of the big events Ro ¬
tary holds each year to
raise money for the schol
arship fund, said Sandy
Stevenson, the president
of the club. The club has
about 45 members.
“All the money we
raise with this goes to
our scholarships either
directly to students or it
goes into our foundation
which will provide a buf
fer for scholarships in
future years,” Stevenson
said. “We don’t want to
have to tell students ‘gee,
we’ve run out of money.’”
Over the last two years,
See ROTARY, 3
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The three-member
group “The Difference"
will be performing
Motown songs Oct. 10
at 7 p.m. in a concert at
Perquimans County High
School. The Hertford
Rotary Club is putting on
the event to raise money
for scholarships. Tickets
are $15 for general
admission, and $18 for
reserved seating and
are available at Carolina
Trophy, the Perquimans
County Chamber of
Commerce and any
Rotary member.
Bonner retiring from Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
STAFF PHOTO BY
PETER WILLIAMS
John Bonner,
the the pastor
of Hertford’s
oldest church
has retired
after nine
years at
Holy Trinity
Episcopal
Church.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The pastor of Hertford’s
oldest church has retired af
ter nine years at Holy Trinity
Episcopal Church.
The Very Rev. John Bon
ner took the helm of the
now 167-year-old church in
2006. Piney Grove Friends is
the oldest church in Perqui
mans County.
Bonner, who turns 68 in
December, gave his farewell
address on Sept. 27.
“After 28 years in the
ministry, I sort of took a trip
down memory lane,” Bon
ner said Monday.
He selected three hymns,
“How Great Thou Art,”
“Love To Tell The Story” and
“Come Labor On.”
“I broke down what those
hymns meant to me during
my 28-year journey and
what it’s meant to me and
my wife.”
His tourney started in his
native Tennessee. His first
church was in South Pitts
burg, Tenn. He spent 15
years there before moving
to Alabama for three years.
His next stop was Hertford.
Since he came, the con
gregation has grown by
about one third. It has 145
members and about 90 of
them attend each week.
He said the church has
tried to reach out to a broad
range of people.
“When I think about the
ministry, I think about ev
erybody,” he said. “We’ve
tried to get as many people
involved as possible. We
have programs for women,
we have programs for men,
we had things for couples,
See BONNER, 2
Perquimans senior crowned at fair
BY REGGIE PONDER
Chowan Herald
A Perquimans County
High School senior put her
decade and a half of danc
ing experience to good use
Saturday night, claiming the
title of Miss Chowan County
Regional Fair 2015.
Samantha Jordan, 17,
daughter of Wayne and Su
san Jordan of Hertford, was
crowned queen of the fair at
the end of a pageant held in
the show barn at the Chow
an County Regional Fair.
Eight young ladies from
Chowan and four nearby
counties participated in the
pageant.
First runner-up was Madi
son Nance, 17, of Edenton,
daughter of David and Ann
Nance.
Second runner-up was
Isabella Marie Kelly-Goss,
14, of Elizabeth City, daugh
ter of Rob and Robin Kelly-
Goss.
The other contestants
were Laura Chappell, 17, of
Belvidere, daughter of Mark
and Lisa Chappell; Chel
sea White, 17, of Edenton,
daughter of Jay and Lori
White; Adrain Ellis, 17, of
Windsor, daughter of Dana
and Ginger Ellis; Gabriella
Branham, 17, of Edenton,
daughter of Carlos and
Christina Valentine; and
Layah Fauth, 14, of Colum
bia, daughter of Michael and
Miriam Fauth.
The event Saturday night
at the fairgrounds was
Jordan’s first pageant. She
said she became interested
in the Chowan County Re
gional Fair pageant through
a friend, Grace Swain, who
participated last year.
“She said it was really
fun,” Jordan said.
She found her friend’s
recommendation to be right
on the money.
“I really enjoyed it,” Jor
dan said.
She said she would be
encouraging her younger
friends to try the pageant.
See FAIR QUEEN, 2
REGGIE PONDER/
CHOWAN HERALD
Samantha
Jordan is
crowned
2015 Miss
Chowan
County
Regional Fair
by Rebeccah
Brinson, 2014
Miss Chowan
County
Regional Fair.