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"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019
75 cents
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The band Ellis Dyson & the Shambles is scheduled to
perform in a free concert at the Riverbash event in
Hertford on May 4.
River Bash fest to return
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The second annual River
Bash festival will build on
the first event and span
three days, not two on May
3-5.
Sharon Smith, the tour
ism development director
for Perquimans County, said
this year’s premier event
would be a Saturday block
party on Church Street fea
turing Ellis Dyson and the
Shambles, a Chapel Hill
band.
It is scheduled for May
4 starting from 7 p.m. until
10 p.m. The street will be
blocked off from Market
Street to Grubb and there
will be food trucks and no
admission charge.
“We are debating on call
ing it River Bash 2019, or
Riverbash 2.0,” Smith said.
The theme will still be wa
ter related. Last year it was
“We’ll need a bigger boat”
and this year it’s “Don’t give
up the ship.
Events will start on Fri
day with a fish fry by the
Bear Swamp Ruritans from
4 p.m. until 7 p.m. in the
Hertford town hall parking
lot. From 7 p.m. until 8:30
p.m. there will be a Gospel
Singspiration at Hertford
Baptist Church.
The same night there
will be a Star Wars-theme
event at the Crawfish Shack
to benefit the Perquimans
County Chamber of Com
merce.
Star Wars fans celebrate
May 4th by saying “May the
Fourth” be with you, a play
off the movie line of “May
the Force be with you,”
Smith said.
“It will be the third of May,
See BASH, 2
Driver hurt
in wreck
From Staff Reports
A 35-year-old Elizabeth
City man was airlifted to Sen-
tara Norfolk General Hospi
tal after the car he was driv
ing hit another car pulling
out of a driveway in Winfall
on Feb. 18.
N.C. Highway Patrolman
Buddy Davis said Christo
pher Conroy Measmer suf
fered head injuries, but he
was expected to make a full
recovery.
Measmer was driving a
1996 Jeep southbound on
Main Street about 8:45 p.m.
when he struck a 2007 Maz
da that was pulling out of a
driveway in the 400 block of
Main Street It was driven by j
Diana Felisa Cooper, 41, of
Elizabeth City. Cooper was
cited for failing to yield the
right of way.
The impact caused Meas-
mer’s vehicle to hit a pole
and then it flipped over. He
was traveling about 40 miles
per hour.
No alcohol use was in- ;
volved in the accident and
both drivers were wearing
seatbelts.
In addition to the highway
patrol, the Perquimans Coun
ty Sheriff’s Office, Perqui- I
mans County EMS and emer
gency management and both
the Hertford and Winfall fire
departments responded to
accident. Winfall Fire Chief
Thomas Roach provided in
cident command.
Measmer was flown to the j
hospital by Vidant EastCare
Medical Transport.
New voting
machines
are coming
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
When it comes time for
the municipal elections, Per
quimans voters will notice a
new kind of voting machine
this fall.
Just what kind of voting
machine isn’t clear.
The county has been us
ing a touch screen direct
See VOTING, 2
BLACK History
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Students at Perquimans Central School sing the “Follow The Drinking Gourd” song during a Black History
Month assembly this month. Escaped slaves were told to follow the Big Dipper or “Drinking Gourd" to
freedom.
Ward library prepares to open
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
In April the College of The Al
bemarle will unveil a renovated
library named in honor of the late
Perquimans County Commission
er, businessman and COA Trustee
Charles H. Ward.
Ward died in
/ September 2014
■ at the age of 76.
Hu wanted to
leave $600,000 to
COA for either
a baseball field,
I or a new library.
— Ward made
WARD similar gesture
to Perquimans
County, giving $600,000 with the
intention that it be used for either a
new public library or a high school
athletic complex.
By the time the gift was an
nounced, COA had already sus
pended its baseball and softball
programs. The college had also
secured state bond funds for the
library. Instead of starting a base-
ball program back up, the COA
board agreed to apply the $600,000
gift from Ward toward the library
project and use apply that amount
of other funding to other capital
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A rendering shows the outside of the Charles Ward Library.
projects.
In Perquimans County’s case,
by the time the Ward gift arrived,
the county had already arranged
funding for a new public library.
Commissioners agreed to apply
the $600,000 from the Ward family
toward the cost of a new athletic
complex.
The ribbon cutting of the 21,000
square foot renovated library at
COA will take place on April 4 at
10 a.m.
The renovations took about two
years.
“The library renovation has been
a significant project that we are
excited to see come to fruition,”
said COA President Dr. Robert
Wynegar. “The total project’s bud
get, $2.89 million, allowed for stu
dents to have an updated space for
study and research, areas for col
laborative work on group projects,
and a second floor space for learn
ing labs, tutoring, and placement
testing. We express sincere grati-
See WARD, 2
County
considers
Internet
issue
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A state lobbying group is
trying to convince the Gen
eral Assembly to drop a law
that forbids local govern
ments from getting in the
Internet business.
Kevin Leonard, the ex
ecutive director of the N.C.
Association of County Com
missioners, said when the
NCACC came up with a list
of five priorities this year,
broadband was at the top
of the list. Leonard recently
spoke to the Perquimans
County Commission during
their board retreat.
Commissioners agreed
Perquimans has a lack of
truly high speed Internet.
In fact some areas of the
county don’t have Inter
net at all. Perquimans isn’t
alone. Many rural areas are
in the same situation, Leon
ard said.
County manager Frank
Heath estimates at least half
the county lacks Internet.
“A lot of the areas are un-
| derserved, and I’m in one of
them,” said Heath.
Internet providers may
steer clear of rural areas
because there aren’t enough
customers to make offering
the service profitable.
The 2011 state law limits
the ability of local municipal
I governments to set up then-
own high-speed Internet
J service. The law spared ca-
[ ble companies from having
to compete with municipal
systems that could deliver
the same high-speed Inter-
, net access at a lower price.
County commissioner
seemed hesitant to the idea
of using tax revenue to build
I the infrastructure to reach
more people. Heath said it
could be the county could
j apply for grants to pay for
j it, something a private sup
plier couldn’t do.
“The goal is not to have us
be the service provider, but
instead be the infrastructure
provider,” Heath said.
See INTERNET, 2
Quillon named
new publisher
Adams Publishing Group
Robin L. Quillon has been
named president of Adams
Publishing Group of East
ern North Carolina, effec
tive April 1. Quillon also will
become publisher of The
Daily Re
flector.
Most
recently,
Quillonhas
been CNHI
senior vice
president
r .L sp °?' QUILLON
sible for
CNHI newspapers in Penn
sylvania, Maryland and
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The upgrade Crawfish Shack has plans to offer more to area
residents.
J 7
Crawfish Shack
looks to expand
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
When The Crawfish Shack first opened, Marty
and Sheryl Hurdle just wanted to be able to sell
some of the harvest during the few months the
crawfish were in season were in season.
That was allowed as a special events venue for
farming operations. They can sell products that
are raised.on-site.
But as the business has grown, more and more
events are taking place there on Swing Gate Road.
See EXPAND, 2
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See QUILLON, 2