“News from Next Door”
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019
75 cents
BY PETER WILLIAMS/NEWS EDITOR
Perquimans County High School grads raise their hands Friday night when asked who is going off to college, the
military or trade school.
PCHS Class of 2019 honored
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The full text of the valedictorian and
salutatorian speeches as well as more pictures from grad
uation will be published in the June 19th issue of The Per
quimans Weekly.)
More than 100 local teens closed what has been the lon
gest chapter of their lives Friday night and opened another
one in a graduation ceremony at Perquimans County High
School.
School officials made the call to move the event inside
the gym, not on the football field on Thursday based on a
bad forecast. Friday afternoon put a punctuation mark on
that when the skies opened up and poured rain and soaked
the field.
That meant some of the guests had to settle for watching
the ceremony via closed circuit TV from the high school
auditorium. Each graduate was given 13 admission tickets
total, seven gold and six white, and all were good for a seat
at the football stadium. But moving the event inside meant
only the gold ticket holders could get in to the gym where
the graduation took place.
Because space was at a premium in the gym and the
school system wanted to get as many parents and family
members as possible, the PCHS band and chorus did not
perform at graduation.
Senior Mason Rhodes did perform Bob Dylan’s song
“The Times They Are A-Changin” on guitar.
As holds with tradition, Perquimans doesn’t bring in an
outside speaker for the event. Instead Valedictorian Lauren
Winslow and Salutatorian Samantha Midgett carried a bulk
of the program.
Winslow told classmates that no matter what they do,
changes are coming.
“Many of us have been together since kindergarten; oth
ers moving here have made their home among the class of
2019, but one tiling that has remained true is that we are a
family, one big dysfunctional family as Tony Cook consis
tently reminds us.
“We are about to move into a new chapter of life. Wheth
er you’re going to college, trade school, the military, or
See PCHS, A2
BY PETER WILLIAMS/NEWS EDITOR
Colton Meads accepts his College of The Albemarle
diploma Friday night at Perquimans County High
School’s graduation.
Nine graduate from COA
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
College of The Albemarle
President Dr. Robert Wyn-
egar made an appearance,
at Perquimans County High
School’s graduation Friday
to hand out COA diplomas
to the nine members of the
104-member class.
PCHS Principal Wayne
Price challenged his class to
take advantage of the offer
to earn free college cred
its while at the same time
working on high school
courses.
Superintendent Tanya
Turner said while PCHS stu
dents have taken dual enroll
ment courses at COA in the
past, none ever had enough
credits to actually graduate
from COA until now.
The nine were Cayce
Copley, Jayla Hall, Brande-
lyn Harrell, Colton Meads,
Samantha Midgett, Cala
See COA, A2
Rec center
expansion
considered
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County officials say the proposed budget
is a lean one that still requires a two-cent increase in the
property tax rate, but it’s not a budget that slashes every
thing and it looks ahead to when the economy may be
I better.
County Manager Frank Heath has proposed funding
for a conceptual plan for the second phase of the county’s
recreation center.
Plans for the current center, built in 2003, included two
big wings with the current entrance in the middle in the
middle of the two. Only the wing on the right was built,
with a large gym and meeting area included. The area for
the second wing is grass near a sand volleyball court and
the walking trail.
“What we’d like to get is a drawing by an architect and
a floor plan design for the second phase. This is some
thing that (County Commission) Chairman (Wallace)
Nelson has been really keen on getting accomplished,”
Heath said.
The original concept had a swimming pool in the other
wing. If it is enclosed for year-round use or an open-air
seasonal one is up to what the county is willing to spend.
“The concept is the other wing would be like a wellness
side where there is workout equipment and the pool, but
that is all conceptual right now,” Heath said.
School Superintendent Tanya Turner likes the idea of a
swimming pool. Perquimans County doesn’t have a swim
team like Pasquotank, Camden and Chowan schools do.
The Chowan team has to travel to the YMCA in Elizabeth
City to use their facilities.
The proposed budget does include an increase of two
cents on the tax rate. The county hasn’t had one that
I wasn’t tied to a property revaluation in nine years.
“The average property tax growth has been less that 1
percent a year, very stagnate, while inflation is at least 2
percent. The cost of government exceeds our growth.”
Heath has called for the tax increase to help stem the
use of reserve funds to pay for expenses. He said the
money has been well spent, but using reserves can’t con
tinue at this rate.
“We’ve done some good things with it, we added extra
deputies and the fire departments are getting more and
we build a new library and the senior center opened and
has been expanded but all of these things have came with
a cost,” Heath said.
Some homeowners might not notice the increase.
“If you own a house worth $150,000 in value, the tax
increase will amount to $30 more a year,” Heath said.
Avangrid Renewables, the company that built the Am
azon Wind Farm, will pay for more. Their taxes will go up
to $459,926 next year with the tax hike. That’s a bump of
$50,000.
Heath said the Amazon project is not only the single
largest taxpayer in the county, the wind farm bill is as
See CENTER, A2
Fields leaving Central for new post at central office
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Over a 27-year career in educa
tion, Melissa Fields has worked
from being a fourth grade teacher
to a high school principal, but she
has never worked in the central
office.
You can now scratch that off
the list.
Fields is stepping down as
principal at Perquimans Central
School to be chief academic offi ¬
cer for curriculum
and instruction for
the whole school
system. The
change becomes
effective July 1.
The school system
hopes to have a
Finns new Principal in
place by late June.
“While we hate to
lose her leadership at PCS, we are
looking forward to the K-12 cur
riculum support she will provide
our district,” said Superintendent
Tanya Turner.
Fields has worked her entire ca
reer in the Perquimans school sys
tem. She is a Perquimans County
native.
But she said when she heard
there would be an opening for the
chief of curriculum and instruc-
tidn, just jumped at the chance.
“Being a curriculum director
has been my dream job for years.
I feel that having experienced ev
ery level of education I have a per ¬
spective that is very unique. I love
the kids and I will miss them but I
will still be seeing them.”
While she will work at the
central office building on Eden
ton Road Street next to the high
school, Fields said she plans on
being in all four schools every
week.
“I think it's important to know
what’s happening at all the
schools,” she said.
Fields is taking over the posi
tion held by Kanika Griffin. Griffin
will now be chief academic officer
for student services. That put s her
closer to working with exception
al children.
“Mrs. Griffin has a love for EC
that is very strong and her knowl
edge will be valuable. She is very
passionate about the social and
emotional needs of students.”
Fields has spent 19 years at Cen
tral. The first stint was 1993-2009
where she was at first a fourth
See FIELDS, A2
Hertford plans to tap reserves
From Staff Reports
The Town of Hertford is
proposing holding the prop
erty tax rate steady next
year and keep the water,
sewer and electric rates the
same.
Instead tire town in
tends to spend $878,000
of the $1,475,750 the town
Fire burns acres of wheat, woods
6 89076 47144
has in reserves to pay for
an expansion of town hall,
the replacement of inoper
able equipment and fund
ing improvements to meet
state and federal regula
tions.
Mayor Pro Tem Quentin
Jackson defended the use
of that much fund balance,
saying the town has suf
fered because past council
members put off needed
expenses.
“Hertford has had a
SUBMITTED PHOTO
In all 27 acres of woods and farmland were involved
in a fire that started in a wheat field on June 4.
2
See HERTFORD, A2
From Staff Reports
Up to 27 acres of woods
and farmland were burned in
a blaze June 4 sparked by a
farm combine that caught fire.
Jonathan A. Nixon, Per
quimans County Emergency
Services director, said the
fire was reported off Sharps
Lane Tuesday about 1 p.m.
While the combine fire
was extinguished by the time
firefighters arrived, a wheat
field was ablaze, Nixon said.
Using tractors, officials
with the N.C. Forestry Divi
sion, area fire department
personnel and community
residents were able to con
tain the fire by plowing a
fire line and implementing a
controlled burn, Nixon said.
Among the agencies that
responded were the fire
departments in Hertford,
Belvidere and Winfall. The
N.C. Forestry Service also
provided both aerial obser
vation of the fire and ground
crews to fight it, Nixon said.
No injuries were reported.