4 THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2,2016 Engel’s talk on Dickens sheds new light on Christmas BY REBECCA BUNCH Chowan Herald The life and times of author Charles Dickens will form the centerpiece around which Professor Elliot Engel will present “A Dickens of a Christmas” on Saturday, Dec. 3. His presentation will be offered in a set of two programs - the first tak ing place in the afternoon from 1-3 p.m. and an eve ning performance sched uled from 6-8 p.m. Both will be sponsored by the Friends of the Shepard-Pruden Memorial Libfary and held at the his toric 1767 Chowan County Courthouse in Edenton. Both shows will be fol lowed by Victorian-style receptions featuring hors d’oeuvres that are sweet and savory, and Christmas spirits. Tickets are $40 per per- ■son and may be purchased at the Penelope Barker Welcome Center, located at 505 South Broad Street. Tickets may also be re served by calling the wel come center at 482-7800. This will mark the first time Engel has presented a program in Edenton and he said he is looking for ward to the experience. Engel said his presenta tion will look at educating his audiences in a humor ous way about how the story Dickens captured in his classic “A Christmas Carol” forever changed the way people have thought about the meaning of Christmas and how they celebrate it. “My ultimate goal,” he said, “is to educate. I do that through entertain ment.” Engel, who fives in Ra leigh, has lectured across the United States about Dickens, and his mini-lec ture series concerning the world-famous author has aired on numerous PBS television stations. He has also won acclaim for his work from national figures such as Stephen Chbosky, screenwriter of the movie “Rent,” and co creator of the CBS series, “Jericho.” Chbosky observed: “With each spoken word, Dr. El liot Engel brings literature and history to life. He is not only an academic, he is an artist. You will laugh a lot, you will learn a lot.” The Dickens theme will be carried out across the community’s holiday cel ebration starting with the Friday, Dec. 2, Christmas Extravaganza and Flotilla and continuing with the Dickens Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 10. Also complementing the cel ebration will be the live theater production of “A Christmas Carol” brought to life by the cast of the Epic Music Theatre led by Laurie Edwards. The mu sical will come to life at the historic 1767 Chowan County Courthouse on Dec. 9, 10 and 11. Tickets are $25 and seating is lim ited so early reservations are encouraged. For additional details on these and other events, go to www.visitedenton.com. Wreath sale to start From Staff Reports Perquimans County 4-H is now accept ing orders for holiday wreaths. The cost for a 26- inch wreath is $10. For more information on placing an order call the Perquimans Ex tension Center at 426- 7697. The deadline to order is Nov. 15. SUBMITTED PHOTO Gina is a cool and calm Brown Tabby. This young female has beautiful golden eyes as well as a beautiful personality. Pets of the Week SUBMITTED PHOTO Tall and blonde, Liza is quite a stunning girl with a sweet nature. She is between 5 and 6 years old and healthy but heartworm positive. She will need treatments. SURVEY Continued from 1 yes when asked if the fac ulty works in a school en vironment that is safe. That compares to 90.6 percent two years ago. One veteran teacher who was at school Thursday but not directly involved in the ms us HWY 17 SOUTH ELIZABETH CITY, NC 27909 252-338-1303 BRING FAMILY & FRIENDS! OPEN HOUSE ONLY DOOR PRIZES & REFRESHMENTS OUR SHOWROOM CAPTURES THE BEAUTY OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON WITH QUALITY GIFT ITEMS, HOLIDAY HOME ACCENTS AND PERMANENT FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS SPECIAL PREVIEW FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4,2016 4 PM - 8 PM SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5,2016 9 AM-4 PM CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE 25% OFF CASH, CHECK OR CREDIT CARD fight agreed she still feels safe. “It gets worse every year, but overall T still feel safe. I’m not threatened and I’d only be moving other stu dents along, not trying to break up the fray.” When it came another question asking is “my school is a good place to work and learri” 91.7 BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina NEED HEALTH INSURANCE? The time to act is now. Did you know that, with few exceptions, you can no longer buy health insurance anytime you want?The open enrollment period runs from November 1,2016 through January 31,2017. That's it. So give me a call today. Authorized Agent Chip Pruden (252) 482-2673 chip @ evansncinsurance.com ®, SM Marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. U9673d, 7/16 percent of local teachers agreed. That compares to 86 percent two years ago. The survey was open statewide for most of the month of March. The school system has recently beefed up security for an outside threat with electronic doors that pre vent someone from enter ing the building without per mission. The fight Thursday involved students already in the building. While teachers reported being safe, many said some students don’t follow rules of conduct according to the survey. Across all four schools in the system, 30 percent of students said students didn’t follow the rules. At Perquimans County Middle School, the figure was the figure was 49 percent. That’s an improve ment over two years ago when 60 percent of PCMS teachers said students fol lowed the rules. Access to technology was clearly not a problem for lo cal teachers - 100 percent DINNER Continued from 1 and available from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. Those that want to eat in at the Perquimans Recreation Center will pay $10 for a blue ticket and can dine from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. Library supporters want broad based support for the project so they have distrib uted the 450 blue tickets around. Layden said each of the Ruritan Clubs involved and the library got 45 tick ets for the eat-in dinner. Carolina Trophy got 20, and tire chamber of commerce got 25. said they have access to re liable communication tech nology including phones, faxes and e-mail. A big majority (86 per cent) of Perquimans teach ers said they plan to contin ue teaching where they are. That compares to 81 percent statewide. Two percent of Perquimans teachers said they plan to leave educa tion entirely, compared to 5 percent statewide. “I see a lot of improve ments in all areas of the survey,” said Teresa Beard sley, the school’s spokes woman when the report was released. “ Our school system is moving forward and we will continue to Those who dine in can hear entertainment from Mickey Phelps and each Ru ritan Club will have an op portunity to talk about the projects they support. There will also be a slide show of what the new library will look like. The Belvidere Ruritan Club is providing the sauce with financial support from Durants Neck. Parksville is doing the noodles, Inter- County will provide the drinks, Bethel will be pro viding little cakes for the take-out orders, Forestburg is giving the setups and plates and Bear Swamp is providing the bread. When Perquimans Coun ty agreed to build a new library, a portion of the $3 million was earmarked to furnish it. Both Layden and Muriel Hannon and other supporters want to make EARLY VOTING Continued from 1 There were 53 that listed themselves as “other” ac cording to ncvotetracker. com, a project of the Civitas Institute. In addition to a list of na tional and statewide candi dates, voters will be asked to elect three Perquimans County Commissioners out of a list of four candidates. Voters can only vote for one, and the top three win office in December. Kyle Jones, a Republi can, is the only incumbent on the ballot. He’s seeking a second four-year term. Other challengers are Alan Lennon, a Republican and Democrats Joseph Hoffler and Charles Woodard. The Bethel precinct re mains the most active with 929 votes cast. Following in second was New Hope with 560 with Parksville in third at 525. There were 248 voters from East Hertford who’d cast ballots and 203 work towards becoming an elite school system. With high quality administrators, teachers and staff coupled with the amount of resourc es available to staff and stu dents, we are well on our way towards our goal. “ The survey was first ad ministered in 2002 as part of the Governor’s Teacher Working Conditions Initia tive. Both Perquimans County Middle School and Hertford Grammar School had 100 percent participation from teachers this year. The 2016 report can be viewed at http://www.nc- teachingconditions.org/re- sults sure there is enough to do it first class. “This means we can buy a desk that lasts for 50 years, not a Wal-Mart desk that you have to put together,” Layden said. “We feel if we put really good stuff in there, it will last a long time.” “We want to get state of the art equipment,” Harmon said. “A state of the art li brary should have state of the art equipment and fur nishings.” Library supporters will also be selfing squares for a memorial quilt that will hang in the new library. The cost for each square is $100 and they’re custom made to honor some one or some thing. The quilt sale will be an ongoing project for the library. For more information, call Layden at 297-2875 or Harmon at 312-6348. from West Hertford. The Belvidere precinct had the fewest number of votes cast at 131. Early voting hours today are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thurs day and Friday the hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Perqui mans will hold one Satur day of early voting, on Sat urday. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. All early voting happens at the Perquimans County Board of Elections office on Edenton Road Street. Perquimans County Reg ister of Deeds Jacqueline Frierson, a Democrat, is running unopposed in that race. In a regional race for the N.C. Senate, Republican in cumbent Bill Cook is facing a challenge from Brownie Futrell, a Democrat from Washington, N.C. Cook lives in Chocowinity. In the District 1 House race, Republican incumbent Bob Steinburg is challenged by Sam Davis, a Democrat from Elizabeth City. Stein burg lives in Edenton.

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