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PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
514 S CHURCH ST
HERTFORD NC 27944-1225
puts WiFi on buses, 4
"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018
75 cents
North Carolina braces for Hurricane Florence
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The threat of Hurricane
closed local schools and
other programs and sent
people packing grocery
stores.
And that was days before
the Category 4 storm even
arrived.
Perquimans County Man
ager Frank Heath said he
and some department heads
met at another event on Sat
urday. On Monday there
was a meeting of the “Con
trol Group” which includes
the top representatives
from the county and the
towns of Winfall and Hert
ford. A second meeting was
planned for 5 p.m. Tuesday.
At that time they will dis
cuss imposing a local State
of Emergency and opening
evacuation shelters.
On Monday Superinten
dent Matthew Cheeseman
announced schools would
be closed to all employees
and students from today
through Friday due to the
imminent impact of Flor
ence. The district did oper
ate under normal normal
hours on Monday, includ
ing extracurricular events.
Perquimans’ .road football
game at Pasquotank is now
set Sept. 27.
Perquimans wasn’t the
only school system to take
such action. Currituck Coun
ty announced Monday their
schools would be closed
starting Tuesday. Elizabeth
City-Pasquotank schools
will be closed Wednesday
through Friday.
As of Monday, forecasts
showed the storm going
toward Wilmington. That
is good and bad for Perqui
mans. It puts the bulk of the
storm far south, but puts
Perquimans on the bad side
for torrential rains.
“If it follows that track,
it’s good because were are
150 miles from the center.
But if it shifts 50 miles to
the northeast, it can be real
bad.”
Jonathan Nixon, the coun
ty’s emergency management
director, reminded residents
Perquimans County has a
phone system that allows it
to reach out to residents in
See FLORENCE, 2
Cause
of crash
debated
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A year after a medical he
licopter crashed in Perqui
mans County, killing four,
there are some indications
why the accident happened.
On Sept. 8, 2017, the
Duke Life Flight helicopter
was seen with smoke com
ing out of the rear. It went
down in a field in Belvidere
while flying a patient from
Sentara Albemarle Medical
Center to Duke Hospital.
The National Transporta
tion Safety Board released
a preliminary report soon
after the crash. It hinted
that a lubrication problem
might be at fault. The No. 2
engine’s rear turbine shaft
showed signs of “overheat
ing and lack of lubrication”
and that a key bearing was
worn down.
At the time of the crash,
NTSB officials said it could
be a year or more before the
final report is released.
However a lawsuit filed
late last year lays blame on
the manufacturer and oth
ers.
The families of one of
the flight nurses, Kristopher
Harrison, and the patient,
Mary Bartlett, filed a suit in
December saying the crash
could have been prevented.
The attorney pressing
the suit, points to an FAA
“special airworthiness in
formation bulletin” that
suggests a link between the
Perquimans County crash
and another event involving
the same Airbus model he
licopter on Jan. 26, 2017 in
South Dakota, according to
published reports.
The problem in both
cases could be a blocked
oil line, said Gary Robb,
the attorney representing
the families in the lawsuit.
See CRASH, 2
Helen Hunter and others pay their respects during a ceremony last week in Oakland, Calif.
A’s honor Jimmy Hunter
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Forty-four years after he left the
Oakland As, the late Jim (Catfish)
Hunter was among seven people
inducted into the first Hall of Fame
class in Oakland, Calif.
Hunter died in 1999 but in his
place last week was his wife Helen.
The other six in the inaugural class
were Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fin
gers, Rickey Henderson, Reggie
Jackson, Dave Stewart and former
As owner Charlie Finley. Finley’s
son attended on his behalf.
Even after years, Jimmy Hunter
continues to be honored in Major
League Baseball circles especially
the Oakland As and the New York
Yankees. Last year Helen Hunter
went to Oakland for the dedication
of a gate at the stadium that was
named after her husband. The Yan
kees honor him every year at the
Old Timer’s game.
For her part, Hunter got to speak
about her late husband, and how
it started when he was signed by
the As straight out of Perquimans
County High School.
“It was really great to see every
body,” Helen said. “They treated us
FILE PHOTO
Jim “Catfish” Hunter perfect game for the Oakland A’s was the front
page news in the Perquimans Weekly that week.
really well.”
She said it was nice to see Reggie
Jackson and Rollie Fingers again.
Hunter would be 72 years old
now, the same age as Jackson and
Fingers. Hunter played for the A’s
from 1965 through 1974. Jackson
was with the team from 1967-
1975. Fingers was there from 1968
through 1976.
“All three of these were young
men, and they grew up together,”
Hunter said of her husband, Jack-
son and Fingers. “They played
good together and they might have
fought too, but they were young
See HUNTER, 2
Man
admits
to using
credit card
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
An Edenton man pled
guilty last week to using a
credit card that was loaned
to a Perquimans County
woman who was last seen in
May 2015 and is presumed
dead.
Thomas
Edward
White Sr.,
63, was not
charged
with Karen
RaeBosta’s
disappear
ance, but
did plead
WHITE
guilty Sept.
4 to the illicit credit card use
the day after Bosta was last
seen.
Superior Court Judge
J.C. Cole, gave him the
maximum sentence of six
weekends in jail, including
36 months of supervised
I probation and parole.
White also has to pay $600
in restitution and is prohib
ited from making contact
with Bosta’s family.
Bosta’s mother, Arlene
Murin, had loaned her Dis
cover card to her daughter so
Bosta could buy cigarettes
at a Food Lion in Edenton.
White was charged with us-
1 ing the same card the day
after Bosta went missing to
pump $40 worth of gas into
his girlfriend’s vehicle. A
) video camera caught White
using it. White was living on
Johnston Street at the time.
He also tried to use it
again but was unsuccessful.
Murin was allowed to
read a statement in Per
quimans County court last
week and she said she was
grateful for that.
“He (Judge Cole) was
I wonderful,” she said. “It
See BOSTA, 2
PCHS holds onto ‘B’ grade in new state test results
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County High
School held on to its “B”
grade last year, while two
other schools were graded a
“C,” according to a state re
port released last week.
Hertford Grammar
School, which had held a
“B” grade, slipped a notch.
Perquimans County Middle
School remained a “C.” Per
quimans Central School,
which educates children
grades Pre-K through sec
ond grade, is not included
in the report because those
grades are not tested.
The graduation rate at
PCHS remained higher
than the state average, but
slipped slightly from the
year before. Last year 89.9
students graduated on time
in four years. Last year the
rate was 86.3 percent. More
than 91 percent (91.5 per
cent) of girls graduated on
time compared to 88.6 per
cent for boys.
The report shows black
students graduated at ahigh-
er rate than white students,
at 94.7 percent, compared
to 89.5 percent for whites.
Data for students who are
American Indian, Asian,
Hispanic or of two or more
races was not reported be
cause the subgroups were
too small to report a value.
Among students with dis
abilities, 80 percent gradu
ated on time. Among the
group of 19 students who
were considered academi
cally gifted, more than 95
perfect graduated.
County school officials
could not immediately be
reached for comment. How
ever the Department of Pub
lic Instruction cautions that
because of changes to the
state’s accountability mea
surements required under
See GRADE, 2
Teens to be taught about ‘Real World’
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
This month more than
100 area teens and young
adults will learn the hard
89076 47144 " 2
6
lesson that
decisions
have con
sequences
and some
times “Life
Happens"
and their
best laid
plans can
be derailed.
ARLES
The Northeastern Work
force Development Board
of the Hertford-based Albe
marle Commission will be
rolling out the third annual
“Real World” simulation
program on Sept. 26 at the
Museum of the Albemarle.
The program is targeted
to people age 16 to 24. Area
high schools in the 10-coun-
ty Albemarle Commission
region, public and private,
are invited to participate.
River City Youth Build and
the Commission’s Next Gen
program will also be provid
ing participants.
Lora Aples, the youth pro
gram manager at tlie Com
mission, said each of the
schools is limited to about
10 to 15 young people.
“The Real World objec
tive is to show young people
that their level of education
See WORLD, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Students participate in the Real World simulation last
year at the Vernon James Center.