Perquimans falls to Currituck, 6
"News from Next Door" WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
50 cents
Helicopter crash kills four
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Four people were killed
Friday when a Duke Hospi
tal helicopter crashed and
burned in a field in Belvi
dere.
As of Saturday not all of
the bodies had been recov
ered.
Sheriff Shelby White said
he expects some of the
wreckage would be moved
Saturday but some of the
equipment needed may not
arrive until late Saturday
or Sunday. The Perquimans
Weekly was operating under
an early deadline because of
Hurricane Irma so updated
information was not avail
able.
One person who made it
to the scene called the crash
site “pretty much just a
blackened pile of rubble.”
He asked that his name
not be used.
“The only thing left of
the helicopter was the rotor
blades and part of the tail.”
The area around the
crash site was covered in
tall switch grass. He saw
one body.
“The assumption is the
others were under the rub
ble or in the switch grass.”
A county press release
issued Saturday said the Na-
See CRASH,2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Top, an aerial photo
shows the wreckage of a
Duke Hospital helicopter
that crashed Friday.
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Jarvis Winslow drives
a rescue ATV down a
dirt path towards the
crash site of a helicopter
Friday afternoon off
Swamp Road. The Duke
helicopter apparently
fell from the sky near
where the stand of trees
are. In the foreground
is the substation for the
Amazon Wind Farms East
project.
Local test
scores
improve
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Next week
we’ll look into what local schools
did to improve their grades.)
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
In public schools, you get an “A”
you’re the best. You get an “F” and
you failed.
In between you can earn a B, C
or a D from better to worst.
Two years ago, the state graded
two Perquimans schools as a “C”
and one as a “D” on that scale. Per
quimans Central is not graded be
cause students in K-2 don’t take the
standardized tests.
Two years ago, Perquimans
County High School and Hertford
Grammar School earned Cs. Per
quimans County Middle School
earned a D.
A year ago, Hertford Grammar
School went from a C to a B and
PCMS went from a D to a C.
Last week the N.C. Department
of Public Instruction released the
new scores showing Perquimans
County High School rose from a C
to a D, and the middle and gram
mar schools held their ground.
The quick turnaround boils
down to having good teachers in
place and having the right methods
in place, said Perquimans County
See SCORES, 2
STAFF PHOTOS BY PETER WILLIAMS
Lions Club member Laraine Dupree from Wingate (left)
pins the new N.C. Lion’s Club pin on Helen Hunter at a
ceremony last week in Hertford.
State Lions Club honors Hunter
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
For 70 years, the North Carolina Li
ons Club has created a commemora
tive pin in honor of something.
It could be a mammal, sports team
or a landmark. Last year it was the
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
On Thursday in Hertford, Lions
leaders unveiled a pin that honors a
person.
Jim “Catfish” Hunter. Hunter a mem
ber of the Major League Baseball Hall
of Fame, and Perquimans County na
tive, is the first person to be honored
on the North Carolina Lion pin.
The pins are given from one person
to another, traded and treasured, said
Dale Dupree, a Lion from Wingate
The newest pin in the North Carolina
Lion’s club series features a picture
of Jim “Catfish” Hunter and an
outline of the state.
near Charlotte.
When the decision was made to
dedicate the pin for a person, not a
thing, the Lions started looking at
people who were born and raised in
North Carolina who achieved some
great thing. When nominations came
in more and more people picked “Cat-
fish.” Being a “Lion” wasn’t a criteria,
but Hunter was.
Even though he died in 1999 after
being diagnosed with ALS, “Jimmy”
rose to the top, Dupree said.
The pin shows an outline of the
state, and a cartoon lion leaning on
a picture of Hunter wearing his “A”’s
uniform.
Hunter was signed straight out of
Perquimans County High School to
play for what then was the Kansas
City Athletic’s major league baseball
team. The team eventually moved to
Oakland, Calif. He also played with the
See HUNTER, 2
Large housing development takes another step forward
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
What could be a $40 mil
lion housing development
took another step forward
last week when the Perqui
mans County Commission
approved a preliminaiy plat
for the 108-unit housing de
velopment in New Hope.
A Conditional Use Per
mit for The Moorings of the
Albemarle was originally
approved in 2010 but the
project required additional
permits.
Tuesday’s decision by the
county commission will al
low some site development,
but full-scale construction
will require the final plat.
Developer Bruce Exum
Sr. admits the project
has taken longer than he
thought, but he thinks the
project will move forward.
“We would have had a
hard time five years ago.”
Based on the 2010 Condi
tional Use Permit, the proj
ect will require an on-site
sewer treatment plant. It
took two years and 22 test
wells to prove the soil in the
area could handle a drip irri
gation field large enough to
handle 108 homes.
Exum said his company,
Atlantic Marine Construc-
See HOUSING, 3
Principal earns national recognition
New Post Office Arrives
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Hertford
Grammar
School Principal Jason Grif
fin has another award for
his wall.
Earlier this month Griffin
was selected as North Car
olina’s 2017 National Distin
guished Principal.
In May Griffin was named
North Carolina’s Principal
GRIFFIN
of the Year.
As such,
Griffin has
a seat at
the table at
meetings
of the NC
Board of
Education.
He was
doing that
89076
7144
last week.
The National Association
of Elementary School Prin
cipals established the distin
guished principal’s program
in 1984 to recognize and
celebrate elementary and
middle-level principals who
set high standards for in
struction, student achieve
ment, character, climate for
the students, families, and
staffs in their learning com
munities.
Griffin said he had to pre
pare a portfolio to submit
similar to the portfolio he
submitted to earn the NC
Teacher of the Year honor.
His latest award puts him
in the company of only 54
principals from across the
country. Along with the
black tie affair, he’ll attend
a special pinning ceremony
and get a tour of the White
House.
“Hertford Grammar
School is getting national at
tention now,” Griffin said.
Education Matters, a na
tional research group, is
doing a case study to show
how quickly a lot perform
ing school can turn around.
As N.C. Principal of the
Year, Griffin has been invit
ed to visit other schools in
the state to share his ideas
on how to improve things.
Griffin said getting great
teachers is a key thing.
“I offered five tips, but
the most important factor
See GRIFFIN, 2
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
A crane lifts up a new post office for the Winfall
from a truck Friday and places it on-site. The new
post office will be on the same site on Main Street
as the old one which closed in 2015 because of
the poor condition of the building. It’s unclear when
the new facility will be open to customers.
Junior Women's Club of Perquimans County's
Saturday, September 16th | Perquimans County Rec Center V /
8:00-8:45am Registration/Check-ln
8:45am Kids Fun Run
9:00am 5K Run/Walk
Register @ facebook.com/JWCPC