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“News from Next Door” THURSDAY, APRIL 9,2020 $1.00
‘We Are Going to Win This Fight’
Clinic Adjusts to COVID-19 Reality
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Devin Gregory works in health
care, so she serves on the front
lines of the pandemic that has
swept the globe.
Daughter of Dr. Robert E.
and Chris Lane, Gregory grew
up working around the family
business, Coastal Carolina Fam
ily Practice in Hertford. As the
clinic’s administrator, Gregory is
Region
records 2nd
death from
COVID-19
FROM STAFF REPORTS
A Hertford County resident has
died from COVID-19, the second
person in the region to succumb
to the novel coronavirus, the ar
ea’s health department reported
Saturday.
Albemarle Regional Health
Services spokeswoman Amy Un
derhill said in a press release the
agency was notified of the pa
tient’s death by one of its “hospital
partners.” She did not name the
hospital.
The Hertford County resident
was older than 65 and died from
complications associated with
the virus, Underhill said. She did
not release further details, citing
ARHS’ desire to protect the priva
cy of the patient’s family.
“It is with deep regret that we
make this announcement and our
hearts go out to the family and
friends of the individual,” ARHS
Director Battle Betts Jr. said in the
release. “We recognize that this is
a difficult time; we are facing a his
toric public health challenge, but
let us remain vigilant in the daily
steps to keep us all safe, especially
handwashing, sanitation, and so
cial distancing.”
ARHS also reported Saturday
that a second case of COVID-19
has been confirmed in Perquim
ans County, and that eighth and
seventh cases have been con
firmed in Pasquotank and Bertie
counties, respectively. A Bertie
resident became the region’s first
COVID-19-related death on Thurs
day.
The new cases in Pasquotank,
Bertie and Perquimans raise the
number of COVID-19 cases in the
region to 25. Also reporting cases
are Hertford, which prior to Satur
day’s announced death had four;
Currituck which has two; Gates,
which has one; and Chowan,
which has one.
The Dare County Division of
Public Health also announced
the fourth positive test result for
COVID-19 in that county on Sat
urday.
“The individual is currently re
ceiving care at a hospital outside
of Dare County,” Dr. Sheila Da
vies, director of the Dare County
Department of Health & Human
Services, said in a press release.
It is not known how the Dare
resident acquired the virus, Davies
said. The Dare health department
is investigating and anyone deter
mined to have had contact with
the individual will be notified, she
said.
According to the N.C. Depart
ment of Health and Human Ser-
See COVID-19, A6
6 1 89076 47144
2
Vol. 86, No. 15
@2020 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
responsible for the overall opera
tions, success and development as
well as making sure the medical
practice is compliant with indus
try regulations.
Gregory is optimistic that the
nation and world will defeat
COVID-19.
“I believe in my heart we are
going to win this fight, but it is
going to be a long time coming,”
she said. “The global community
of scientists are making incred ¬
See FAMILY, A2
PHOTOS BY SARAH HILTS
A fourth generation farmer, Carlton Baker has been driving a tractor since he was 8-years-old on
his family’s farm by Belvidere.
‘When the Seed is in the Ground,
Everything is in God’s Hands’
PHS’ Colton Baker is Student
of the Month for April
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
With schools closed for nearly
a month, it was a bit of a chal
lenge to find a senior who could
be Perquimans Weekly’s Student
of the Month for April.
However, God loves farmers
and answers prayers, even from
journalists.
Pirates’ Carlton Baker, 17,
comes from a farming family -
1,200 acres by Belvidere - so he
plans to attend North Carolina
State University in the fall where
he will study agribusiness man
agement and field crop technol
ogy.
Baker can drive a tractor ^nd
do most anything around the
farm - break ground, conduct
equipment maintenance, run
the grain cart during harvesting,
do construction work and scout
crops. Family grows corn, soy
bean, wheat and peanuts.
“With farming, you have to
have faith, because once the seed
is in the ground, everything is in
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Monday,
Perquimans
Schools
served 1,716
meals - 771
breakfasts and
945 lunches
- in a school
district that
boasts a total
population
hovering close
to 1,700
students.
ible progress in therapies that
may help treat the virus and the
various ways it attacks the im-
mune system in addition to the
work that is being done to create
a vaccine to hopefully prevent it’s
spread in the future. The world is
truly working together to beat this
and we will, but all of these things
take time and time is a luxury we
don’t really have right now.”
Bound for North Carolina State University, Carlton Baker has a
grade point average of 4.27 and he is ranked ninth in his class
of 120 seniors.
God’s hands. You have to trust
that God will provide the rain
and sunshine the crop needs to
for it to be productive,” said Bak
er, who attends Up River Friends
Meeting.
Even this pandemic and its
growing economic consequences
are in God’s hands.
“I am not particularly worried;
God has a plan in all of this,” Bak-
ersaid.
Like what many parents may
Perquimans Couple Embraces
Uncertainty as COVID-19 Stalks
Those with underlying health
conditions show resolve
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
A Perquimans County couple
lives day to day dealing with un ¬
be discovering, it’s good to have
the kids at home these days -
an extra set of hands - maybe a
blessing.
“Well, as far as handling
school, my dad (Charles) is glad
that I am home to help now that
we are getting into the field and
needing to get everything ready
for planting,” Baker said. “For
me, time out of school means
See BAKER, A3
Meals Provide Blessing
to County’s Communites
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
And there it was - school doors
were closed, so a plan was need
ed to feed a county full of school
aged children - a daunting task
that required God’s attention,
maybe a miracle.
“I believe when you are in the
hands and feet of Jesus, He bless
es you in those efforts,” Superin
tendent Tanya Turner said. “He’s
blessing our community through
unsung heroes. It’s beautiful to
see.”
Perquimans Schools’ adminis
certainty in the wake of the pan
demic that more directly threat
ens their lives.
Tom and Shannon Koelzer
have been married 32 years and
they moved from Michigan to the
area in 2008.
See COUPLE, A6
Round-Up
Oz and the
Revolution
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
A round-up of all things Perqui
mans County...
Councilman Jerry Mimlitsch
and his wife Missy celebrated
their 5th wedding anniversary on
Saturday. Congrats.
Speaking of Town Council,
those folks along with members
of the Hertford Police De
partment and other volunteers
provided more than 500 meals to
people traveling through down-
town on Saturday.
Councilman Frank Norman
passed along this news tidbit
about Mediacom helping fami-
lies - he’s been working behind
the scenes, locally. See related
press release on page A3. Nor
man called and asked if I have
children. Answer, three small but
growing kids. Norman said,
“Qualifying families who sub
scribe before May 15,2020, will
receive 60 days of complimentary
Mediacom Connect2Compete
service.”
That’s good news - thanks
See LAYTON, A3
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Love this photo of Dick and
Nancy Schulze in front of this
special tree that is bearing a
very valuable commodity - toilet
paper. These days, I’ll bet the
fruit from this tree is worth a
lot of of money - maybe money
does grow on trees.
tration had to do what had never
been done before, so plans were
set in motion that included drop
off sites and bus runs. More than
30 transportation and school nu
trition employees have heeded
the call to make sure that each
child has a warm meal, whether
they live in Bethel or Belvidere.
Some staff start their mornings
between 6-6:30 a.m. and a normal
day would end about 2:30-3 p.m.,
but many days managers are
there later and take work home.
Other staff members rotate in
See MEALS, A6