THE THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2020 News from Next Door” INSIDE Check out the latest edition of Albe marle Magazine. IL IL IA L IL CHRISTMAS IN JULY Edenton Steamers to host baseball game that benefits region’s Meals on Wheels recipients — Bl w O $1.00 5 252 Town Council Embraces Unity, Division, Chaos BY MILES LAYTON Editor Citizens watching Monday’s multi-hour Hertford Town Coun cil meeting witnessed a wide array of topics being discussed, heated rhetoric, petition passions and dis turbing images. Though sound quality was a fac tor during the meeting conducted via Zoom at the Community Cen ter, more than 60 viewers tuned in to learn more about a recently awarded grant, the Tahoe’s fate and much more. Council unanimously approved painting Black Lives Matter on King St. between Stokes Avenue and Hyde Park St. by a vote of 5-0. Council unanimously approved making Juneteenth a paid Town holiday by a vote of 5-0. Council requested the Town Manager to draft a letter to the County requesting removal of the Confederate monument from the Courthouse grounds by a vote of 4-1. Council will probably vote on the actual letter content during its formal session in August. Council voted 3-2 to sell the Tahoe, a vehicle that has drawn fire from many quarters who claim Councilman Quentin Jack- son used it as his personal vehicle when he was serving as mayor pro tem. Monday’s marathon session lasted until 3 a.m. Tuesday, just a couple of hours before the song- birds begin chirping at sunrise to greet the kayak/surfers as they wake, check the wind and waves. Mayor Pro Tem Ashley Hodg es gets the first word about this lengthy council meeting, that like many others, stands as tribute to the fortitude of the mind, body and soul to serve the public. “I appreciate the outpouring of concern from the public as to my physical well-being. I would like to assure everyone I am more than capable of going the distance as a Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem. Thank you for your kind words and I look forward to continu ing to serve you for the next 3.5 years,” he said. Every now and then during the See COUNCIL, A3 SCREENSHOT A photo depicting a trio of Klansmen and later, a couple of talented breakdancing peanuts, appeared on the screen for those viewers tuned into Monday’s Hertford Town Council meeting. Governor Announces Plan for Schools BY STAFF, WIRE REPORTS RALEIGH — Tuesday during a COVID-19 media briefing, Gov. Roy Cooper fi nally announced a decision on the reopening of the state’s schools using “Plan B,” which is a hybrid of in-in person at tendance and remote learn ing. Schools will open for in-person instruction under an updated Plan B that re quires face coverings for all K-12 students, fewer children in the classroom, measures to ensure social distancing for everyone in the building, and other safety protocols. “The most important open ing is that of our classroom doors. Our schools provide more than academics; they are vital to our children’s’ health, safety and emotional development,” Cooper said. “This is a difficult time for families with hard choices on every side. I am committed to working together to ensure our students and educators are as safe as possible and that children have opportuni ties to learn in the way that is best for them and their fam ilies.” Cooper also announced that Phase Two will contin ue after the expiration of the current order on July 17 and said that “North Carolina will continue to stay paused in Safer at Home Phase 2 for three weeks.” That puts a possible Phase Three transi tion on August 7. Cooper was joined by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen and N.C. State Board of Education Chair Eric Davis. “We all agree the best place for our students to learn and our teachers to teach is in our safe North Carolina Pub lic Schools,” said Davis. He went on to emphasize safety by wearing a mask, washing See SCHOOLS, A2 89076 47144 " 2 Vol. 86, No. 29 @2020 Perquimans Weekly All Rights Reserved Back the Blue Ride stops at the Perquimans County Sheriff’s Office to drop off a metal flag commemorate the motorcycle rally Saturday, July 11. Ride Shows Appreciation for Law Enforcement Agencies BY STAFF REPORTS About 189 motorcycles with more than 200 riders made their way through five North Carolina counties to show support of area law en forcement agencies Saturday, July 11. The Back the Blue Ride was organized to show apprecia tion for law enforcement and the job they do every day. The route passed by a police de partment and sheriff’s office of each county they entered. Back The Blue Ride start ed near the Currituck County ferry area and ended sever al hours later in Edenton, at American Legion Post 40 fair- grounds. On the way to Chow an County, the riders made a stop during the sunny day in Elizabeth City at the veteran’s memorial garden, adjacent to Twifford’s Funeral Home. While there, the riders made a special presentation to the sheriff’s and police depart ments in the five counties. Co-organizer Michael Boyce made 11 metal American flags, which were presented to 10 local agencies and one selected officer. “The community - still See RIDE, A2 Health Agency Updates COVID-19 Case Counts BY STAFF REPORTS Albemarle Regional Health Services (ARHS) has an nounced updated data of lab confirmed positive COVID-19 cases. As of of Tuesday’s press time, ARHS cases include: ■ Pasquotank County - 234 lab confirmed cases — 23 ac ¬ PERQUIMANS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE. An American flag is hoisted about US 17 in Perquimans County Saturday, July 11, for the Back the Blue motorcycle rally. SUBMITTED PHOTO The Back the Blue rally heads down US 17 across the Perquimans River bridge Saturday, July 11. tive, 194 recovered, and 17 deaths ■ Perquimans County - 39 lab confirmed cases - 4 active, 33 recovered, and 2 deaths ■ Camden County - 34 lab confirmed cases - 7 active, 26 recovered, and 1 death ■ Chowan County - 34 lab confirmed cases — 9 active Round-up Roberts and Roman BY MILES LAYTON Editor A round-up of all things Perquimans County... Please welcome Sergeant Edwin Roman Jr. to the Hertford Police De partment. Roman has 10 plus years of law enforcement experience that will be a big benefit to our town. A medical fundraiser for Mason Roberts will be held between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. July 31 - food pick-up behind the Hardee’s restau rant. Donation is $9 for a fried chicken & bbq plates with cole slaw, potatoes and hush puppies. Fundraiser is I for 11-year-old Mason, who has Type 1 diabetes, to get a service dog. Make checks I payable to Parksville Ruritan Club. When school starts, | Mason will be a sixth grade student at Perquimans Middle School. Thanks goes to Mrs. Em mett Long of Snug Harbor for the greeting card and kind ■ note about the Perquimans i Weekly. Thanks for subscrib ing. Four boxes of fresh pro duce were recently donated to Better Together Hert ford’s program to combat hunger. Food was delivered J some to homebound seniors. In recent days, the group has delivered more than 20 meals. Perquimans Schools re cently presented Jill Cohen as the Northeast Regional See LAYTON, A3 and 25 recovered ■ Currituck County - 23 lab confirmed cases — 3 ac tive and 20 recovered ■ Bertie County - 155 lab confirmed cases — 7 active, 144 recovered, and 4 deaths ■ Gates County - 29 lab confirmed cases - 1 active, 26 recovered, and 2 deaths ■ Hertford County - 177 lab confirmed cases — 8 ac tive, 160 recovered, and 11 deaths ARHS continues to monitor outbreaks at local facilities. The outbreak at the Ahoskie House is currently stable with 52 residents and 21 staff members with lab-confirmed See COVID-19, A2

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view