THE
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Officials sworn in, AS
"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018
75 cents
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
A choral group from Perquimans County High School presents Superintendent
Matthew Cheeseman with the lyrics of the song they sang for him at a going away
party last week.
Search on for superintendent
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County
School officials hope to
make a decision on a new
superintendent by late
March and have a person in
place by July 1.
Matthew Cheeseman’s
last day on the job is Jan. 1.
The school board agreed
to lure the Wilmington-
based Masonboro Group to
conduct the search. It’s the
same company the school
system hired when Dwayne
Stallings announced he
would be retiring at the end
of 2015. In that case, the
school board had more than
seven months to find Chee
seman as a replacement.
Edwin West Jr., the head
of Masonboro Group, ad
mits in this case, time is not
a luxury he has.
“The person we want will
have to give 60 days notice
and we want somebody in
place by July 1,” West said.
“Quite frankly, the transition
will be the fastest switch
we’ve done.”
In September, The Ma
sonboro Group wrapped up
a search for a superinten
dent for Hyde County. Hyde
hired Stephen Basnight III,
who had been principal at
J.P. Knapp Early College
High School.
West said his firm is small,
and they don’t seek out con
tracts for superintendent
searches.
“We don’t want to do
more than one (search) at
a time because it’s so labor
intensive. You’re doing a lot
of background checks. But
we’ve been blessed over the
See SEARCH, 2
Town
grants
utility
extension
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Town of Hertford util
ity customers who got a bill
this month for 41 days, in
stead of the typical 30 or 31
days will have a little extra
time to pay it before they get
their power cut off.
The town board met in a
special meeting Friday and
agreed it wasn’t the custom
er’s fault that the billing pe
riod was longer, hence the
bill was higher, and those
customers shouldn’t be
punished for the problem.
Both Councilman Quentin
Jackson and Frank Norman
voted to approve the mo
tion. Mayor Horace Reid did
not vote, and Councilman
Sid Eley was absent.
Without taking action,
customers would start get
ting their power turned off
on Dec. 27. With the action
of the board on Friday, that
will be delayed until Jan.
7. About 300 of the town’s
1,000-plus customers got
the 41-day bills.
Norman pressed for even
more, saying that any cus
tomer who was late with
their December bill should
not have to pay a late ^pe or
any other punishment. Jack-
son wanted to limit the re
lief only to those who got a
bill covering 41 days. Some
customers got a bill for the
typical 30 to 31 days and
some may have been billed
for 36 days.
“If you got the bill (for
30-31 days) and just didn’t
pay it,” you should not get a
break, Jackson said.
The late billing was
caused by a combination
of a few days of very rainy
weather and three holidays.
Both Jackson and Nor
man said town customers
have come to them with
bills that are $600 to $700.
The town does offer an
energy audit service that
See UTILITY, 3
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A woman opens a gift left by Santa through an
effort by the Albemarle Commission to reach
out to seniors who would otherwise be alone at
Christmas.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Santa rings his bell before knocking on the door of
a senior last week.
Santa comes early for seniors
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Santa Claus paid an early visit to
31 senior citizens in the area who
would be spending the Christmas
holiday alone.
The seniors share two things in
common. They all get home de
livered meals five days a week to
them at home through the senior
nutrition program run through
the Albemarle Commission. They
also aren’t expecting any family or
friends will come visit with them
during the Christmas week.
There are about 350 seniors in a
10-county area that get the home
delivered meals. All of them got
some kind of gift through the Adopt
A Senior program. But the 31 who
will be alone at the holidays got a
little more, said Ashley Lamb, an
aging program specialist with the
Area Agency on Aging. This was
the third year for the program.
Playing the role of Santa was
Gary Lico, a semi-retired TV execu
tive who decided a few years ago
he wanted to learn how to play
Santa.
Santa only visited the seniors in
Chowan, Pasquotank and Perqui
mans Counties. In the other coun ¬
See SANTA, 2
Camp Cale gets grant for program
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Camp Cale has received a
$25,000 grant to fund a lead
ership program to grow high
school students into leaders
in their communities.
Camp Cale director Matt
Thomas said the gift from
Ray Bryan Award of the Rye
Foundation is the largest the
camp has ever received.
“We are surprised, ex ¬
A holiday visit
Hospitals
fear state
cited, and humbled by this
wonderful news,” Thomas
said. “I knew we were in
the running and there was
a good possibility we would
get it, but I just recently
found out.”
The program will be
named the “Alpha and Ome
ga 1 Leadership Collabora
tive” and will target youth in
high school in grades nine
through 12.
“The major result of
reaching out to kids in our
area is to help them become
better leaders,” Thomas
said. “If we get counselors
out of it, so much the better.
We want this to be more a
community thing, instead of
a Camp Cale thing. Our goal
is to develop student leaders
who will make an impact
in their schools, churches,
communities andbeyond.”
See GRANT, 2
changes
BY THADD WHITE
Bertie Ledger-Advance
WINDSOR — Changes
proposed to the State Health
Plan could be devastating to
Vidant Health to the tune of
$40 million.
The message is one be
ing delivered throughout
eastern North Carolina by
Vidant Health Chief Execu
tive Officer Dr. Michael Wal-
drum.
Waldrum and Vidant Ber
tie Hospital/Vidant Chowan
Hospital President Brian
Harvill sat to discuss the
situation this month, and
talked of how it could nega
tively impact small hospitals
such as the ones in Windsor
and Edenton.
The proposal in question
was made by State Treasur
er Dale Folwell, and aims
to restructure how the N.C.
State Health Plan for Teach
ers and State Employees
pays providers in an effort
to produce an estimated
savings of $300 million for
taxpayers, and $65 million
for plan members annu
ally. The State Health Plan
is one of the state’s largest
purchasers of health care
services.
Folwell’s restructuring
will significantly reduce
reimbursements to health
care networks, and hit those
serving rural areas like east-
See HOSPITALS, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Camp Cale Director Matt Thomas (left) has received a
$25,000 grant from the Rye Foundation. Warren Steen
is president of the foundation.
Nativity Scene
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A total of 33 people participated
in the Hertford Baptist Church
Nativity scene this month.
There were two behind the
scene helpers and an additional
five people who helped build
the scenery and transport the
animals. The scene included
Mary, Joseph, three shepards,
three wisemen, and three angels
along with a sheep and a donkey.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
In the Hertford
Baptist Church
Nativity
scene Mary
Woodard
(left) played
an angel
and Eby
Scaff, Sydney
Russell and
Elizabeth
Conway
played
wisemen.
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