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Extension food program, 8
"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019
75 cents
PCMS principal leaving for Dare Co. job
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Laura Moreland, the principal at Perqui
mans County Middle School, is leaving to
take the top job in human resources with
the Dare County Public Schools.
Joycelyn Hinton, one of the dean of stu
dents at Hertford Grammar School, will
become interim principal as of Feb. 14.
“Laura Moreland is at the top of her
game,” said acting superintendent James
Bunch. “We are going to miss her here.
She brought a lot of energy.”
Moreland said she is looking forward to
the new job.
MORELAND
“It’s a new opportunity
for me professionally,”
Moreland said.
She came to the Per
quimans schools as an
assistant principal and
athletic director at Per
quimans County High
School. That same year,
she became assistant
principal at the middle
school and when that principal abruptly
left, Moreland was named interim prin
cipal until the end of the year and then
See MORELAND, 4
Hinton named interim principal
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The new interim principal
at Perquimans County Mid
dle School can see things
through lenses that few in
her profession may have.
Joycelyn Hinton has done
about everything someone
can do inside a school sys
tem.
“The only things I haven’t
done, is be
a custo
dian and a
cafeteria
worker,”
she said.
“But I was
assistant
to the child
HINTON nutrition
director
once.”
Hinton replaces Laura
Moreland who is leaving for
ajob in Dare County.
“Mrs. Hinton brings tre
mendous compassion to the
job and we are so very for-
tunate to have her,” said in
terim Superintendent James
Bunch.
Hinton’s road to the class-
room started as a young
girl in Chapanoke with her
See HINTON, 2
Eley to Step DOWN FROM CHAMBER JOB
Board
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
After more than 17 years as
executive director of the Perqui
mans County Chamber of Com
merce, Sid Eley will be stepping
down sometime in June.
Eley, 72, made the announce
ment Friday night at the cham
ber’s annual banquet and auc
tion. He kept the decision quiet
from even his wife, Candy, until
then.
“She knew it (the decision)
was coming, but didn’t know
when,” Eley said on Monday.
His only plans right now is
to take his wife on an Alaskan
cruise this summer. He’s never
been on a cruise before. After
that, he has no real plans.
“I’m going to try and do noth
ing,. but I have five grandkids
and they will keep me busy.”
Eley will continue on as a
member of the Hertford Town
Council as well as being a Hert
ford volunteer firefighter. As for
the council seat, he said he is
undecided if he’ll seek another
term. His term is up in Decem
ber.
As for the firefighting job, he’s
been doing it for 49 years and
plans to at least make it to 50
years. That would tie him with
Vivian Darden who made it to
the 50-year mark before Eley
joined the department.
“I may make it to 51 years, just
to beat him,” Eley joked.
He’s already retired from one
job, teaching.
The Perquimans County na
tive spent 31 years in the school
system.
He started at Perquimans
Union School and was there for
Staff photo by Peter Willliams
Sid Eley (left) holds up a country ham being auctioned off Friday at the annual banquet for the
Perquimans County Chamber of Commerce. Eley announced he was retiring as executive director.
Holding the microphoto is Doug Layden who served as auctioneer.
a year until the school desegre
gated. He then went to Perqui
mans County High School for
two years, and then transferred
to Perquimans County 7 Middle
School where he spent the rest
of his career as a teacher and a
coach.
After retirement, he took a
year off and then started work
ing for the chamber.
About 10 years ago, the cham
ber created a museum for the
late Jim “Catfish” Hunter.
The idea came from the late
Sylvia Wyatt, who was chamber
secretary at the time. So many
people came in asking about
Hunter, a baseball Hall of Fame
winner, it seemed natural to
have a museum.
It started off very small, in a
tiny office in the building. About
five years ago a national non-
profit group, the “No Bats Base
ball Club” brought in volunteers
from across the country for a
week to knock out walls and
create a larger space for the mu
seum.
Today the chamber gets about
4,000 visitors a year, and a lot of
them come for museum. Eley,
who knew Hunter his entire
life, acts as tour director and an
swers questions.
Eley said he leaves the cham-
See ELEY, 4
meets
without
Jackson
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Hertford Town Council was
once again down to just four mem
bers Monday after it became clear
that a judge’s ruling that Council
man Quentin Jackson cannot have
contact with Coun
cilman Sid Eley
was determined
to mean just that.
Jackson can’t at
tend town board
meetings if Eley is
there.
Jackson made
no attempt at at- JACKSON
tending Monday’s
workshop meeting, but if he had,
there were two Perquimans Coun
ty Sheriff’s deputies, two Town of
Hertford police officers and Police
Chief Dennis Brown there.
One law enforcement officer said
off the record that the show of force
was not because of Jackson, but
because of rumors that something
would happen at the meeting.
Jackson couldn’t be reached for
See JACKSON, 2
New director hired to lead Albemarle Commission
BY JON HAWLEY
Staff Writer
The Albemarle Commis
sion has hired a housing
and redevelopment director
from Williamsburg, Virginia
as its new permanent direc
tor.
Melody Wilkins, 52, start
ed work last week as the
commission’s executive di
rector, the commission an
nounced in a press release.
She replaces Robert Mur
phy, who worked as an inter-
WILKINS
im direc
tor since
November,
taking
over days
after for
mer direc
tor Cathy
Davison
resigned
following
a conflict-of-interest contro
versy.
The Albemarle Commis
sion serves a 10-county area
and plays a role in services
for seniors, transportation
planning, and economic and
workforce development. It
is based in Hertford.
In an interview Wednes
day, Wilkins said she looks
forward/ to serving the re
gion. She also said she’s
moved to Hertford, where
the commission is based,
and is working on a smooth
transition from Murphy.
Wilkins last worked as
the executive director of the
* See WILKINS, 4
Auditor: Davison violated state law
BY JON HAWLEY
Staff Writer
North Carolina’s State
Auditor says the Albemarle
Commission’s former di
rector violated state law by
steering a contract to her
husband - and on Wednes
day encouraged all local
elected officials to better
scrutinize the managers
who work for them.
DAVISON
In its
report re-
leasedlast
month,
the Office
of State
Audi-
tor Beth
Wood
reported
that for
mer Director Cathy Davi
son misled the Albemarle
Commission’s Board of
Delegates about her hus
band, Jim Davison, owning
a company she steered a
$22,000 contract to. That
is a conflict of interest and
against a state law forbid
ding public employees
from deriving a direct ben
efit from a contract with a
public agency; money to
See DAVISON, 2
Fundraiser planned
for PAL building
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans Arts
League is hoping a tag sale
on May 18 will boost then-
efforts to raise money to
make renovations on a
building all their own.
PAL acquired the prop
erty at 133 N. Church St. in
late December 2017 but it’s
pretty much just a vacant
two-story building with no
plumbing or wiring. But Sh
eryl Corr said PAL owns the
building outright now and is
working on getting grants to
help fund the $400,000 esti
mated cost of renovations.
Corr is a member of the
PAL board and chairman for
education.
See PAL, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Barbershop quartets from The Albemarle Sounds will perform Singing Valentines
on Feb. 13-14 in Chowan, Perquimans or Pasquotank counties.
Group offers
singing
Valentines
From Staff Reports
Barbershop quartets from
The Albemarle Sounds will
perform Singing Valentines on
Feb. 13-14 in Chowan, Perqui
mans or Pasquotank counties.
The cost is $35 and the
money goes to .vocal music
programs in local schools.
Over the past 21 years, $29,000
has been raised.
Along with the two love
See VALENTINES, 2