A
‘'News from Next Door”
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2019
75 cents
Perquimans County tries to break drug cycle
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
For a someone overdos
ing on opioids, the drug Nar-
can can restore breathing
but it can’t cure the under
lying problems that would
cause someone to use opi
oids in the first place.
Perquimans County
Emergency Services Direc
tor Jonathan Nixon said it
is a real problem. Between
May 31 and June 14, there
were five people in Perqui
mans County who over
dosed on opioids. None of
them died, thanks to Narcan
administered by Perquim
ans County EMS.
Breaking the cycle of
substance abuse disorders
is the key, he said, and
the county has started a
new campaign to do that.
The county applied for a
$33,500 state grant in Jan
uary but the funds weren’t
available. Instead, the state
office of EMS offered to
give $30,000 in total to the
counties of Perquimans and
Pasquotank-Camden. The
latter operate a joint EMS
service.
It’s called a Post Overdose
Response Team (PORT).
Nixon said the funds will
be used to send a pre-hospi
tal care provider (Advanced
EMT or Paramedic) within
24 hours of a post overdose
event. Another visit will
take place within 72 hours
of the original event. The
second connection can take
place either in person or
over the phone.
EMS will not send an am
bulance for the follow-up
visits. They will use a zone
car. The staff that go will
be either supervisors or
EMS employees who aren’t
scheduled to work that day.
The grant money will pay
for the overtime.
Nixon credits Kate Thom
as, an EMS shift supervisor,
for putting the program to
gether.
When an individual has
a non-fatal overdose event,
the goal of the team is to
educate and provide harm
reduction alternatives such
as treatment or recovery
options to the patients and
their families.
Nixon said EMS has an
edge that other health care
providers don’t have - trust.
“There are those that
don’t want any help. There
are those who say they don’t
want us to come back.”
But for others, they
will remember that it was
somebody from EMS who
responded when they were
near death.
“We had one who said ‘I
didn’t even know that any
body cared about me,”’ Nix
on said.
“We feel like we’ve made
a connection between them
See DRUGS, A2
Three
killed in
wreck
From Staff Reports
Three Perquimans Coun
ty men were killed in a head-
on collision in Currituck
County Monday morning,
according to the North Car
olina Highway Patrol and
published reports.
Tyrell Davis, 30, Kristo
pher Midgett, 29, and Mar-
quarize Hunter, 23, all of
Hertford, were traveling in
a Dodge Stratus driven by
Davis about 7 a.m.
Sgt. Jeff Wilson of the
highway patrol said a fourth
person, Damon Hunter, was
transported to Norfolk Gen
eral with injuries. Wilson did
not have an age for Damon
but said he and Marquarize
were cousins.
See WRECK, A2
Early voting
starts today
From Staff Reports
Early voting for the July 9
Republican run-off election
for a U.S. House seat starts
today and runs through July
5.
Early voting takes place
at the Perquimans County
Board of Elections office,
601A, Edenton Road Street
from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. each
Monday through Friday ex
cept for July 4, when the of
fice is closed.
Republican Greg Murphy
and Joan Perry were the
top vote getters in the GOP
race in April. Murphy got
See VOTING, A2
Hertford House
BY PETER WILLIAMS/NEWS EDITOR
Staff photo by Peter Williams Construction is proceeding on Hertford House, a 100-bed assisted living facility
on Church Street in Hertford. The project is expected to be open in early 2020 at a cost between $11 million
and $13 million.
Chamber of Commerce names new director
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County Chamber
of Commerce has named Katrina
Leary Mann as its next director re
placing long-time director Sid Eley,
who retired June 14.
The announcement was made last
week by board officials. Mann, 45,
who was most recently employed
j by Albemarle Tradewinds Magazine,
began her new job Monday. “Your
I business is my business,” said Mann
“Community starts wit h people work
ing together and growing above our
dreams. The Perquimans Chamber of
Commerce is here to help promote
! and serve our local businesses. Let’s
put Perquimans back on the map for
good.”
“Katrina will be an asset to this
MANN
Chamber Vice
organization,” said County High School and Perquimans
Chamber President -County Middle School.
Reginald White. Mann is the mother of two daugh-
“We recognize that ters, one 27 and the other 16. She and
and believe that her husband Charlie live on Beech
she is going to con
nect with all the
business people in
our community in a
very positive way.”
“We are pleased
to have Mann join
our team,” said
President, Sarah
Springs Road.
Mann grew up in Perquimans
County.
“I’m a Wilson-Bundy-Colson girl,”
she said. “I’m probably related to half
the county. My roots are heavy here.”
The Perquimans County Chamber
of Commerce represents more than
200 area businesses and individuals
Weeks. “She has volunteered hands-
on with area civic organizations for
many years and we are excited to
have her working with us to move the
chamber forward.”
Mann is the president of PQ
Band Booster Inc. a non-profit that
supports the bands at Perquimans
in its mission to promote business
growth and to provide professional
development opportunities while
remaining active on public policy is
sues affecting our business commu
nity.
See CHAMBER, A2
State relaxes rules on broadband, utilities
r 7
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The passage of a North
Carolina law removing
barriers to broadband ac
cess for electrical co-ops
is being met with different
responses from two utilities
that serve the area.
Hertford-based Albe
marle Electric Member
ship Coip. said as a mem
ber-owned utility, it intends
to focus on its core job, pro
viding electricity.
“While Albemarle EMC
supports the facilitation of
broadband deployment, our
position remains that the
return on investment is still
unknown,” said Chris Pow
ell, a spokesman for AEMC.
“We are a member-owned
non-profit company, and
our core mission is to safe
ly delivery affordable and
reliable power. That’s why
we feel telecommunica
tion companies would be
the best option to provide
broadband service.”
AEMC serves parts of
See BROADBAND, A2
County
adopts
new
budget
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County com
missioners voted 4-1 Mon
day night to adopt a pro
posed budget that freezes
funding for the school sys
tem at tins year’s levels yet
still requires a tax rate in
crease of two cents to weaA
the county off using a lot of
the reserve fund.
The general fund budget
is $16 million.
Commissioner Kyle
Jones cast the lone “no*
vote. He referenced com
ments he made last year
that if the county can’t
control spending, it will be
facing another tax increase
next year. Jones said he
didn’t have a problem with
raising the amount fire de
partments get.
Last year Jones was
talking about school spend
ing. Schools make up 26
percent of the general fund
budget, followed by Social
Services at 15 percent.
Two people spoke out
during the public comments
section of the hearing. One
said he’d only recently
moved to the county and he
didn’t know what the level
of service was in the past
but he’s happy with it now.
Yet Terry Swope said the
county is spending more
money to serve roughly the
same number of people.
The speaker, Pete Perry
spent most of his three min
utes talking about pencils.
Perry said he was at the
Riverbash Festival this year
and Perquimans EMS was
there and they were hand
ing out pencils with Perqui
mans EMS logo on them.
“Those kind of things
cost money,” Perry said. He
urged the commission to go
through the entire budget
and remove the “touchy,
feeley stuff’ like pencils.
See BUDGET, A2
State issues warning about water
Regatta provides chance to train rescue team
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The N.C. Division of
Water Resources issued a
warning June 11 urging the
public to avoid contact with
green or blue water in the
Albemarle Sound or adjoin
ing water bodies due to an
algal bloom.
6 89076 47144
The first bloom was re
ported on May 14.
Blooms have been ob
served along the eastern
and western banks of the
Perquimans River, in the
Pasquotank River near
Elizabeth City, and on the
western shore of the Chow
an River. Counties current
ly affected include Bertie,
Chowan, Pasquotank and
Perquimans. Algal blooms
tend to move around due to
wind and wave action.
See ALGAE, A2
From Staff Reports
Members of the Perqui
mans County Water Res
cue team were on standby
to assist during the recent
Albemarle Sound Sailing
Association Challenge Re
gatta, sponsored by The
Osprey Yacht Club.
Approximately 23 sail
boats from four surround
ing yacht clubs participated
each day in the regatta.
The Perquimans Coun
ty Water Rescue Team is a
volunteer group comprised
of public safety personnel,
county employees and a
couple of experienced res
idents. The main water re
sources include a 25-foot
Boston Whaler, a 19-foot
Parker and a 15-foot Caro
lina skiff.
As most of these re
sources are not used rou
tinely, it is important for the
team to train regularly so
that we will be prepared in
the event of an emergency,
said Perquimans County
See RESCUE, A2
BY PETER WILLIAMS/NEWS EDITOR
Submitted photo Members of the Perquimans County
Water Rescue team were on standby to assist during
the recent Albemarle Sound Sailing Association
Challenge Regatta.