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PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 WACADEMY ST
HERTFORD NC 27944-1306
P11/C11
CAR-RT LOT
C 001 A0027
ig graduates, 5
"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017
AUG 3 0 RECD
50 cents
Storm cancels second day of school
SUBMITTED
PHOTO
Michelle
Swinney’s
class at
Perquimans
County
Middle
School
settles in
for work on
Monday.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County students re
turned to class this week — even if it
was for just a day.
Classes were canceled Tuesday be
cause of the threat of high winds from
a tropical weather system passing
through the area.
Perquimans County Middle School
Principal Laura Moreland said it was
the right thing to do. Wind gusts of up
to 55 miles per hour were predicted.
“I would rather be safe than sorry,”
Moreland said. “I believe our superin
tendent and our leadership made the
right decision.”
The middle school is expected to
have 349 students this year. More
land said 335 of them were there for
the first day of class Monday. She said
it’s not unusual for attendance to be a
little low on the very first day.
“We were open for business as usual
and hitting the ground running,” More
land said.
The middle school will start send
ing out application forms next week
for students to join clubs. The school
started the program last year. On ev
ery other Friday, traditional classes
will end at 2 p.m. and students will
spend the last hour of school that day
in their club.
“We tried it last year and it was ex
citing.”
There are clubs that focus on bak
ing, or robotics and a host of other
things.
“We’re seeing that kids are creative
and the kids have a lot of talents be
yond just math, English and social
See SCHOOL, 2
Post
Office
hours
expand
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The U.S. Postal Service
may not move the Hertford
Post Office, but it will be
keeping it open more and
try and fix a parking prob
lem.
Efforts to relocate the
postal facihty on Grubb
Street gained strength last
year after a motorist acci
dentally drove through the
front glass of the facility and
the hole was boarded up
with plywood for more than
four months.
That angered some resi
dents who felt it was an
eyesore and they mounted
a petition.
Perquimans County Com
mission took up the cause,
and the glass was replaced,
but the complaints didn’t
fade away. Perquimans
County Frank Heath said
he’s been in almost monthly
contact with the postal ser
vice about the other prob
lems.
The postal service doesn’t
own the Grubb Street, but
instead leases it from a New
York City real estate firm.
The post office has been
there since 1960.
On Monday Heath said
the postal service has
agreed to keep the post of
fice open from 9 a.m. until
4:30 p.m. Monday through
Friday starting Sept. 5.
The hours of operation
had been a complaint from
consumers since it closed
for lunch from noon untU
1:30 p.m. — the one time
of day when many people
say they have the time to go
there.
“I think that was one of
the things the conununity
was looking for,” Heath
said. “I look at it (the longer
hours) as a step in the pro
cess.”
Heath said he hasn’t giv
en up getting a new location
for the post office, and will
See HOURS, 2
PIRATES Play Home Friday
‘Toast the Perquimans’ is coming
PHOTO BY JIM GREEN
Perquimans County High School’s Mason Votava breaks a tackle in last week’s game. The Pirates
are scheduled to play their first home game of the season against Southside on Friday at 7 p.m.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Toast the Perquimans, a craft
beer and wine tasting event wit h
food trucks will take place Sept.
23 Hertford Bay Marina behind
Hertford Town Hall.
Historic Hertford Inc. is put
ting on the event, which will of
fer beer and wine to ticket hold
ers as well as the opportunity to
buy food from food trucks that
are coming. The event runs from
6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Music will be
performed by Kudzu Junction.
Tickets are $25 if purchased
before Sept. 15. Afterwards the
price goes to $30. They are avail
able at Carolina Trophy, 109 N.
Church St. or on-line at toast-
theperquimans.com. For non-
drinkers, tickets are $10 and in
clude water and soda.
Susan Cox, a member of HHI,
said 150 tickets have been sold.
The goal is 300 tickets, but there
MORE INFO
■ Tickets are $25 if purchased
before Sept. 15. Afterwards the
price goes to $30.
■ Tickets are available at Carolina
Trophy, 109 N. Church St. or on-line
at toasttheperquimans.com.
■ For non-drinkers, tickets are $10
and include water and soda.
is the capacity to handle up to
400 people. People are advised
to bring their own chairs.
On hand will be food trucks
from “Y’all Eat Yet?” a restaurant
from Bertie County and Inner
Banks in Edenton. The food is
not included in the price of ad
mission.
Y’all Eat Yet? will offer: Drunk
en mussels with grilled French
bread, shrimp and smoked gouda
grits with sausage and peppers,
slow smoked baby back ribs and
natural-cut fries, shaved filet mi
gnon sliders with caramelized
onion and horseradish Aioli, spin
ach salad with mandarin orange,
red onion, candied pecan, and
feta and white balsamic dress
ing (served both with or without
grilled chicken breast).
Inner Banks will offer: Crab
cake sliders, fish tacos, Mexican
sweet corn and BBQ sliders
Williams Strawberry Farm
from South Mills will have home-
made ice cream. Pretzel necklac
es will also be sold.
The wine list includes: Santi
Pinot Grigio from Italy; Acrobat
Pinot Gris from Oregon; Fourni
er Sauvignon Blanc from France,
Glazebrook Sauvignon Blanc,
from New Zealand, Chablisienne
Pierrelee Chablis from France;
Buxy Montagny Chardonnay
from France; Tintero Moscato
See TOAST, 2
Bridge
route may
be tweaked
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The contractor picked to build
the replacement for Hertford’s
S-Bridge will be allowed to mod
ify the path of the causeway if it
means reducing the time the link
between Hertford and Winfall is
cut off.
Three firms are vying for what
may be a $40 million contract to
build the new span.
In an effort to reduce the clo
sure and speed up construction,
DOT has opted to use a design-
build method to build the bridge.'
Traditionally DOT would design
the bridge, and then bid the proj
ect out. With design-build, DOT
presents a plan for what it wants
and lets the winning bidder make
changes if it can speed up con
struction even if those changes
end up costing more.
David Hering a squad leader
in DOT’s design build team, said
DOT hopes to be able to let a con
tract in November.
“We have a time frame for the
closure of two years,” Hering
said. “With that there will be in
centive payments if it’s less than
that, and liquidated damages if it’s
more than that.”
Originally DOT estimated the
closure could be as long as three
years.
“That (two years) is a step in
the right direction,” said Perqui
mans County Manager Frank
Heath last week.
Charles Woodard, the owner
of Woodard’s Pharmacy, fought
to reduce the closure time. He
agreed two years is better than
three years.
Susan Cox, the owner of Caro
lina Trophy, said the construction
will hurt merchants.
“It will really hurt businesses,”
she said. “If they can cut a year off
that time, that would be a good
thing. That would be wonderful.”
DOT’s original plan had been
to drive pilings on either side of
the existing causeway and build
a low bridge over it.. By doing so,
the new causeway would track
the old causeway.
But Hering said DOT will give
the contractor the leeway to de
viate from the original track by
up to 100 feet if it can reduce the
amount of time the link must be
closed. But contract will specify
that the new causeway must be at
See BRIDGE, 2
Kiffner named school district’s Teacher of the Year
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Kaley Kiffner, a teacher at
Perquimans County Middle
School, has been named the
top educator for the school
district.
Also honored last week
were the Teachers of the
6 89076 47144
2
Year at the other three
schools: Kacey Stallings at
Perquimans Central, Nancy
Rountree at Hertford Gram
mar School and Michael
Cartwright at Perquimans
County High School.
Kiffher is an eighth grade
science teacher. She’s been
an educator for five years.
Her principal, Laura Mo
reland, said Kiffner is an
outstanding educator.
“I would say she it the
best science teacher in the
state, and I totally mean
KIFFNER STALLINGS
that,” Moreland said Friday.
“She brings science alive for
her students. She has them
using her hands and brains
and collaborating. They
are doing experiments, not
ROUNTREE CARTWRIGHT
watching it on TV.”
The state tests certain
grades to see how many stu
dents are proficient in cer
tain subjects. When it comes
to science, fifth grade is one,
another is eighth grade —
the grade Kiffner teaches.
Last year 86 percent of
PCMS eighth grades were
proficient. Moreland gives
the full credit to Kiffher.
“Eighty six percent is the
highest I’ve seen, and it was
all Kaley.”
Kiffner, 27, is a native of
Florida near Cape Canaver
al. It is there that she devel
oped a love of science. She
moved to North Carolina
because her husband is in
the Coast Guard and is sta ¬
tioned here.
“Being so near the Ken
nedy Space Science, that’s
where I got a love of sci
ence.”
As a teacher she said stu
dents learn by doing.
“If you’re hands-on you
can experience it first hand
and in real life. You so much
more likely to remember
it.”
She is intentional in build-
ingaclassroom environment
See TEACHER, 2