"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018
75 cents
County braced for the worst
Senior
meals
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County
quickly shifted from a disas
ter mode with an emergency
shelter and curfews to a re
covery mode and reaching
out to help others hurt by
Hurricane Florence.
By noon Saturday it be
came clear that the Albe
marle region had barely
been touched by rain, while
areas like Swansboro were
inundated.
The National Weather Ser
vice reported 30.58 inches
in Swansboro, 23.75 inches
in Morehead City and 23.49
inches in Emerald Isle. Eliz
abeth City on the other hand
was reporting .79 inches of
rain as of noon Saturday.
By Sunday, Perquimans
County EMS Director Jona
than Nixon announced that
Bertie, Dare, Chowan, Pas
quotank-Camden, and Per
quimans emergency medical
crews were going to jointly
deploy an ambulance strike
team to southeastern North
Carolina to support Hurri
cane Florence response.
Sending a Strike Team
from Perquimans is rare if
not historic.
“I have been involved
with the agency since late
1999 and am not aware of
us ever participating in an
Ambulance Strike Team,”
Nixon said.
The strike team is a
group of five ambulances
of the same type with com
mon communications and a
leader. Their role will be to
support local efforts as they
response to the storm.
Just days before, Perqui
mans prepared for what
could be a mqjor local disas
ter from a Category 4 hur
ricane.
Some homeowners and
businesses boarded up
their windows and at least
one gas station closed com
pletely.
Last Tuesday County of
ficials approved a State of
Emergency and on Wednes
day at 5 p.m. there was an
emergency shelter estab
lished at Perquimans Coun
ty High School.
It was supposed to be
staffed by Red Cross work
ers, but in the end it was
county officials from Social
Services, the health depart
ment and sheriff’s office
that manned the facility.
“A special thanks to all
of those social services em
ployees and school resource
officers who manned the
shelter over the last couple
of days,” said County man
ager Frank Heath. “They did
a great job.”
While county offices were
closed as of noon Thursday,
the 27 employees at Social
See COUNTY, 4
Historic home tour planned Sept. 29
From Staff Reports
The Perquimans County
Restoration Association
(PCRA) will hold its Jollifi
cation Celebration on Sept.
29 that will include tours of
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
John Wolfe take a measurement while boarding up windows in the Food Lion shopping center in Hertford
last week. All the stores in the center were open.
Churches, others looking to help
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Churches and businesses were
gearing up for what could be a long-
term recovery for North Carolina
residents hurt by Hurricane Flor
ence.
On Monday morning representa
tives of many faiths got together to
pray for hurricane victims and first
responders on the steps of the Per
quimans County Courthouse.
While some are looking to send
trucks and vans with supplies, Craig
and Leslie Craft of Craft Air Servic
es will be flying down supplies to
the New Bern area in a twin-engine
plane due to the lack of road access.
Bagley Swamp Wesleyan Church
is asking for non-perishable foods,
bottled water, diapers, baby wipes,
flashlights, blankets, towels, wash
cloths, personal hygiene products
and first aid kits. It plans to send
them to churches in the affected ar
eas, said Todd Kemp, the youth pas
tor at the church.
The church is located at 402
Bagley Swamp Road. The phone
number is 426-2792.
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Gil Wise (left), superintendent of the Beacon District of the United
Methodist Church, prays for hurricane victims and first responders on
the steps of the Perquimans County Courthouse.
The items will be sent through
World Hope International, which
can provide the transportation,
Kemp said.
Over the next two weeks, the Al
bemarle Commission Area Agency
on Aging will be collecting toiletries,
personal hygiene items, self stable
foods including pop top cans and
cleaning supplies. Donations will
See CHURCHES, 4
Businesses collecting storm supplies
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A group of businesses
are providing drop off loca
tions in Hertford, Windsor,
Edenton, and Elizabeth
City for victims of Hurri
cane Florence.
Kathy Perry of Perry’s
Diesel Performance in
Elizabeth City, said items
will be taken on Saturday
historic homes and sites in
New Hope and Old Neck ar
eas of the county. The tours
will run from 12:30 until 5
p.m. Tour tickets include
dinner with music at the
Newbold-White House on
the lawn starting at 5:30 and
continuing until 8 p.m..
Tickets can be purchased
at the Newbold-White
House, Perquimans Cham
ber of Commerce, Barker
House, and the Museum of
to the Emergency Op
erations Center in Craven
County where they can be
distributed.
Tim Corprew, a Perqui
mans County farmer, is
loaning a 53-foot-trailer to
haul the items, Perry said.
Eure and Sons Construc
tion in Hertford is one of
the drop-off points.
Perry said she heard
about the drive from Amy
the Albemarle and cost $25
each.
This year Jollification will
include tours of historic Du
rants Neck and Old Neck
which are now part of New
Hope and Parkville Town-
ships.
The peninsula of land
bounded by the Little River,
Albemarle Sound and the
Perquimans River includes
the first known European
settlements in Perquimans
Brewer and wanted to play
a part.
Brewer owns Brewing
Up Goodies and Gifts and
also works at H&R Block
In Elizabeth City, which is
one of the drop off loca
tions.
“I saw what she was do
ing and wanted to help,”
Perry said. “We have’ a
2,500 square foot show-
room at our shop, and
we offered that to collect
things.”
And collect they did.
She said as of Monday, it
was starting to fill up.
While churches are
clearly doing their part,
Perry said not everybody
is at ease with going to a
church to donate supplies
if they don’t already go
County.
Many of the earliest set
tlers still have descendants
in Perquimans County. Peo
ple left Virginia, Maryland,
New England, the West In
dies, and the British Isles in
search of new homes. When
they reached Perquimans,
they settled and their fami
lies have never entirely left
the area.
covered
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Albemarle Commis
sion had to scramble to find
a way to feed 350 senior citi
zens this week in the wake
of the closing of the restau
rant that had provided the
meals.
Golden
Corral in
Elizabeth
City had
been pro
viding the
food for
Pasquo
tank, Per ¬
4
V
quimans, ALVARICO
Gates and
Chowan counties. On Thurs
day the owner, Dale Horn
announced he was closing
the restaurant immediately
and permanently.
“I wasn’t given any expla
nation other than they were
closed,” said Laura Alvari-
co, the director of the Area
Agency on Aging.
By Saturday, Alvarico had
stitched together a plan to
cover all four comities.
The senior nutrition pro
gram provides meals to con
gregate meal sites, like the
Perquimans County Senior
Center and the Virginia Dare
Hotel in Elizabeth City as
well as for homebound resi
dents. At the Perquimans
Senior Center, the number
of people served fluctuates,
See MEALS, 4
Second
‘Toast’
coming
Saturday
From Staff Reports
The second “Toast the
Perquimans” will be held
Saturday at the Hertfold
town dock.
“Everyone’s been wor
ried with the storm, but the
weather looks like it’s going
to be beautiful, so we hope
everyone comes out to cel
ebrate our good fortune,”
said Historic Hertford chair
Lynne Raymond.
The event runs from 7
p.m. until 10 p.m.
Last year’s “Toast” drew
nearly 400 attendees. This
year, some improvements
have been made according
See SUPPLIES, 4
See TOAST, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The original 1810 New Hope Methodist Church still
stands.
See TOUR, 2