“News from Next Door^ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2020 $100
Commission Seeks Funding to Restore Monument
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Though temperatures were
in the 70s’ Monday with light
wind making it a perfect day to
be on the water, the Perquim
ans County Commission was
busy at work
Among the items includ
ed in the meeting’s agenda,
Commissioner Joseph Hoffler
and the Perquimans Tourism
Development Authority are
working on improving the Civ
il War monument located at
the comer of King Street and
Hyde Park Street across from
the Cedarwood Cemetery en
trance.
TDA has applied for grant
funding to make repairs and
improve the monument Ef
forts are underway now to
clean the monument dedicat
ed to the United States Afri
can-American Hoops who
fought during the Civil War.
In other matters, Perqui
mans Emergency Services
Director Jonathan Nixon up
dated the commission among
other public officials regarding
emergency management ac
tivities for 2019. Nixon’s report
included information about
grants, what’s new, improve
ments and other matters.
Speaking of first respond
ers, spurred by Commissioner
Alan Lennon, the commission
approved a resolution that
encourages businesses to al
low volunteer firefighters to
respond to calls during work
ing hours. The resolution said
there is a shortage of those first
responders who are able to
respond to calls, causing other
departments to rely on mutual
aid more.
The resolution said because
a majority of volunteer fire-
fighters in Perquimans County
work during normal business
hours, it’s important that
businesses allow these first
responders to attend to emer
gency calls when practical and
possible for business.
In other news, commis
sion approved lease/purchase
agreement with Nationwide
Capital LLC for equipment
See MONUMENT, A3
Round-up
Matt Perry,
Small and
Politics
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
A round-up of all things
Perquimans County...
.XA. Perquimans County
fanner Matt Perry pro
duced a soybean yield of 71.4
bushelsper acre-the highest
recorded yield in the Cam
den, Currituck Pasquotank,
and Perquimans area Perry
took top honors for farming
skills at the Soybean Festival
hosted by the Pasquotank
County Cooperative Exten
sion in January at Elizabeth
City State University.
Because of farmers like
Perry, soybeans are king in
the northeastern comer of
the state. In 2018, Pasquotank
ranked second in the state,
producing 2.1 million bushels.
Perquimans County was
sixth, harvesting 1.7 million
bushels.
Sunday was Groundhog
Day, which revealed that
there may be an early spring.
Punxsutawney Phil did not
see his shadow, predicting an
early or late spring during the
134th Groundhog Day festivi
ties in Punxsutawney, Pa Not
going to jinx the forecast, but
so far it’s been a mild winter.
Trusting a rodentto fore
cast the weather is much like
watching political pollsters
predict who’s going to be the
Democratic candidate for
president
On that note, it’s interesting
that a staffer that I’ve never
met for a Democratic candi
date sent me a text message
Sunday afternoon - “Hi, I’m
Dona, a volunteer with (Eliza
beth) Warren for President Is
this Miles?”
So many thoughts...
Speaking of democracy,
there is a race for Perquimans
school board. Incumbents
Leary Winslow, Russell
Lassiter and Arlene Yates
are being challenged for their
seats by Joseph Silva. The
See LAYTON, A2
Achieving the American Dream
Perquimans High School
senior is a role model
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
W hen the Perqui
mans Weekly
was seeking to
feature a Student of the
Month, Superintendent
Tanya Turner suggested
Claribel Ordaz-Rios.
A senior at Perquimans
High School, Ordaz-Rios
is “absolutely a role mod
el. Well respected by staff
and students,” Turner
said.
A quick call to school’s
guidance counselor John
Manning echoed much
the same sentiment.
“A good student, very
special - one of the
best. Claribel has a very
compelling rags to riches
story,” he said.
Intrigued, the news
paper met Ordaz-Rios
to learn more about this
student, see what the
hype was all about.
Truly, this college
bound kid is the real deal.
Ordaz-Rios, 17, was
born in Chowan County
and raised in Perquimans
County. Her parents are
immigrants who came
to this country seeking a
better way of life.
A strong sense of fam
ily motivates Ordaz-Rios
to succeed.
“What motivates me
See ORDAZ-RIOS, A3
PHOTO BY MILES LAYTON
we made it
through.
Even
through
the
strug
gles,
my
would pick up 2-3
jobs. There were
some days in
which I didn’t
see her at
all. In 2008
when the
economic
recession
hit, she
had just
had my
younger
sib
ling. I
remem
ber
that
year
be-
A senior at Perquimans High
School, Claribel Ordaz-Rios Is
driven to excel and achieve
the American dream. A to
student, Ordaz-Rios will be
attending UNC Chapel
Hill in the fall.
overall is my family, my
background, how and
where I grew up. My
mom (Juana) was a single
mother for about 5-6
years before remarrying,”
she said. “In order for her
to make ends meet she
ing hard on us.”
Talking to Ordaz-Rios,
she has a strong resolve
tempered from lessons
you can’t read about in
books, but experience
first-hand.
“We struggled, but
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Ordaz-Rios won
the Albemarle
Electric
Membership
Corporation’s
essay contest
and was
awarded
with a trip to
Washington
DC. (R-L)
Perquimans
Principal
Wayne Price,
Ordaz-Rios and
Chris Powell of
AEMC.
mom didn’t let me worry
about losing our home or
whether or not we were
going to be feed for the
week,” she said. “As the
daughter of an immigrant
family, there aren’t many
opportunities or resourc
es available. Essentially
I had to pull through and
do most .of my schooling
by myself.”
Bridging two different
cultures, English is not
Ordaz-Rios’ first language.
“Growing up, the big
gest struggles that I had
were accommodating to
my surroundings and the
District
Receives
Grants
BY STAFF REPORTS
Perquimans County
School system has been
awarded a couple of grants
in recent weeks.
And custodian Brenda
Jackson and first grade
teacher Lacey Winslow
were recognized for their
contributions to the school
system.
Also, a trio of Board of
Education members were
recognized for their achieve
ments by the North Carolina
School Boards Association
for School Boardsmanship.
Grant success
Perquimans Central
School teacher Stacey
Pierce was awarded an Ag
in the Classroom Grant in
the amount of $495.
This Ag grant includes
games, books and art sup
plies to use in her class-
room. She will expose stu
dents to a large variety of
games and art supplies to
increase student interest.
Students will listen to
agriculture books and gain
knowledge and apprecia
tion for agriculture within
our county through farm
related stories. By sharing
games about agriculture,
students will learn about
the growth and needs of an
imals in our community.
Another grant comes
from NC Beautiful, which
has been a part of the state’s
environmental education
for over 50 years, support
ing awareness, education
and beautification efforts
that affect our quality of life.
A $339 Windows of Op
portunity Grant was award
ed to Laura Duncan and the
first graders at Perquimans
Central School to grow a
garden on school grounds.
All supplies to grow the gar
den will be funded by the
grant.
See SCHOOLS, Al
Perquimans County Public Schools
EDITOR’S
NOTE
Hertford Gramniar
School Honor Roll
Perquimans Middle
School Honor Roll
Perquimans High
School Honor Roll
Sports stars and newsmakers
seem to always get ink, so why
not put Perquimans County’s
academic all-stars - honor
rolls from each school - in
the newspaper too - starting
on the FRONT pagel? Maybe
that’ll inspire a new generation
of students to achive more,
become community leaders
and much more. Published
as promised, the Second
Quarter Honor Rolls for each of
Perquimans top schools.
6 89076 47144
Grade 3
A Honor Roll.
Angelica Ainslie, Chase Baker, James
Byrum, Brody Dail, Madison Davenport,
Chloe Davis, Ethan
Drew, Cassidey
Graham, Laci-
ana Hodges, Eliza
Jethro, Mitchel
Meads, Cole Petty,
Izaak Pollock, Alay-
na VanHorn
AB Honor Roll
Ariana Almodova,
Bella Basnight, Landon Bissell, Jacob Brew
er, Landon Brinkley, Matthew Clark, Olivia
Glenn, Paige Guertin, Franco Gutierrez, Averie
Hollowell, Amelia Kneut, Savanna Layden,
See HGS, A2
6th Grade
Principal’s List.
Ashley Boseman, William Byrum, LileeAnn
Estes, Katie Fisher, Jack Goudy, Tyler Grego ¬
ry, Aven Hall, Noah Miller, Madison Montgom ¬
ery, Kendyl Moreland,
Karen Nieto, Heather
Smith, Khila Smith,
Elizabeth Stottlemy-
er, Ryleigh Watson,
Tanner Wheatley, Col
lin Winslow, Mattison
Vinslow
A/B Honor Roll
Jack Bailes,. Dontay Bil
lups, Nathan Biter, Benjamin Brown, Mor
gan Byrum, Evan Conway, Savannah Crow
ley, Elizabeth Damron, Marshall Davenport,
9th Grade
A Honor Roll
Jonathan Banks, Kenneth Barnes, lyequa-
sha Bembry, Landon Castle, Madilyn Chaulk,
Dayne Colson, Maura Col
son, Joleigh Connor,
eagan Elkins, Alicen
Leary, Kaylie Hudson,
Thomas Riddick, Syd-
ley Russell, Liliana
labion, Ariana Salu-
po, Eby Scaff, Emma
Smith, Meadow Stacey, Noah Swinney, Heav
en Tripp, Breanna Vaughan, Aiden White,
Alexis Williams, Victoria Williamson, Macon
Winslow
AB Honor Roll
Carissa Baker, Stephen Butler, DaVaria
See PMS, A2
See PHS, A2