THE 25 10 PEBQU «»- C«- 5U5CHURCHST H^ He ^^ T M 7 r^ rj I\ IJ iL “News from Next Door” THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2020 $1.00 PETS See what animals are available at the Tri-County Animal Shelter — A6 SCHOOLS Several groups announce scholarship winners — Bl THIS WEEK Effort to save Jockey’s Ridge started on Aug. 15, 1973 — B4 Waterfront, ABC Board Appointment Discussed BY MILES LAYTON Editor By the time our valued subscrib ers read the news about Monday’s Hertford Town Council meeting, it may be a bit different as council opt ed to recess that multi-hour meeting to Tuesday night rather titan burning the midnight oil Because of press deadlines, more on these matters will appear in a future edition of the Perquimans Weekly. Still, here’s some of what’s being discussed this week among council members / at the town’s commu- . nity center where the sound quality can be poor at times, particu- lariy when compared to Zoom meetings posted to Facebook earlier this year. During citizen’s concerns, Tim Brinn of Front Street issued forth a call to action that began with seeking answers about any progress Town Hall has made to make sure that plans for West Hert ford Historic move o r w a r d rather than collecting dust in a file cabinet. A plan was approved by the state historic preservation office for Hertford to hire a firm and begin the process of documenting historic significance of this area. Brinn noted the time, money and volunteer work that got that plan ap proved in 2019 but the clock seems to have stopped. Back in 1998, it took two years to do all the work and many volunteer hours. Brinn also said while property value has increased countywide, the same can not be said of Hertford which lost $15 million in value last year because of distressed housing and other factors. He spoke of the citizens’ support for the 18 percent property tax increase to balance the budget, but added that town needs to help itself by taking control of the blight which affects property values. Also, Brinn said Missing Mill park is not being used, but the state has re sources available to revive the park’s usefulness. Though the sound quality trans mitting Murielle Harmon’s speech was poor, no one could doubt her passion for defending her Front Street neighborhood from those See WATERFRONT, A3 Stallings, Former School Leader, Joins God’s Faculty BY MILES LAYTON Editor Former Perquimans Coun ty Schools Superintendent Dwayne Stallings died Sunday after a long illness at Sentara r ; Norfolk Gener al Hospital. S t a 11 i n g s , . 63, of Hertford had over 30 years invested in public edu- . cation in North . JH Carolina and 21 STALLINGS of those years he served as an administrator in Perquimans County. “One of my favorite sayings is ‘Your walk talks and your talk talks but your walk talks louder than your talk talks,’” Superintendent Tanya Turner said. “This is so very true of Dr. Stallings. He was a gen uine person and it showed through everything he did. He was well respected by all be cause of his strong character and compassionate heart.” Turner taught in Perquim ans for 10 years, first at Per quimans Central and then at Perquimans County Middle School before moving to the Chowan school system. Turner had kind words for the man who spent his life serving the school district. “He always encouraged me throughout my career and was extremely supportive of me when I became superin tendent of Perquimans Coun ty Schools,” said Turner who was hired as superintendent in 2019. “He would freely lend a listening ear and always of fer valuable words of wisdom and support. Dr. Stallings touched the lives of many. His memory will live on in the hearts of countless students, school system employees, and community members. I am blessed to have known him. He will be missed!” Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the Perquimans County High School Gymnasium and will be conducted by the Rev. Dar ryl Stallings. A private burial will follow in Westlawn Me morial Park Cemetery in Eliz abeth City. In lieu of flowers, contribu tions in his memory may be See STALLINGS, A2 89076 47144 2 Vol. 86, No. 33 @2020 Perquimans Weekly All Rights Reserved Congratulations, Class of 2020 Congratulations Class of 2020! During the course of the last several days, Pirates’ parents have submitted photos of newly minted alumni hailing from the Perquimans County High School Class of 2020. Note the smiling faces filled with optimism about the future. To see more, check our our photo collage on page Bl. Lady on the ground Katelyn Sharber; left of picture — Danielle Hurdle, Macee Russell, Madison Jennings, Elizabeth Story, Shelly White, Allison Copeland, Jenna O'Neal and Maggie Williams. COVID Claims 2nd Death in Chowan County BY MILES LAYTON Staff writer Albemarle Regional Health Services (ARHS) fe- 1 ported a second death asso ciated with COVID-19 in a ' Chowan County resident on Monday. The individual was over the age 65 and succumbed to complications from COVID-19. To protect the family’s privacy, no further information about this pa- I tient will be released. Also, ARHS Director Bat tle Betts rebutted the sug gestion that the transparen- I cy and manner of CQVID-19 counts is politically moti vated. He provided answers as to why the most up-to- date numbers are available to the public via phone, but not necessarily released on a daily basis via email to the media or posted to social media for public awareness. As of Tuesday’s press time, this is the COVID-19 count: ■ Pasquotank County - 388 lab confirmed cases — 67 active, 300 recovered, and 21 deaths ■ Perquimans County - 80 lab confirmed cases - 25 active, 53 recovered, and 2 deaths ■ Camden County - 68 lab confirmed cases - 28 active, 38 recovered, and 2 deaths ■ Chowan County - 150 lab confirmed cases — 35 active, 114 recovered and 2 deaths ■ Currituck County - 72 lab confirmed cases - 9 ac- BETTS tive and 63 re covered ■ Ber tie County - 263 lab con firmed cases - 34 active, 224 recovered and 5 deaths ■ Gates County - 46 lab confirmed cases - 2 ac tive, 42 recovered, and 2 deaths ■ Hertford County - 316 lab confirmed cases - 47 ac tive, 257 recovered, and 12 deaths In an email exchange with the Chowan Herald/Perqui- mans Weekly, a concerned citizen asked why ARHS doesn’t share the most up- to-date information on so cial media each day as it would make it easier for all to stay informed. As the numbers may change daily, if someone wants calls ARHS and se lects option 1, folks will hear a daily update, by county, of total cases - active, recov ered and deaths. Responding to the email exchange from concerned citizens seeking answers and the Chowan Herald/ Perquimans Weekly, Betts said this information line is updated every 24 hours, in cluding Saturdays and Sun days. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services also pro vides links to cases by zip code on its site. Another question from a concerned citizen was why doesn’t ARHS include coun ty hospitalization counts like Dare County does. Vidant Health does give a daily census of COVID in- patients across their entire system on their website, but the count lags one day. Responding to these in quiries, Betts issued this statement. “I would encourage cau tion using that data how ever, as the cases are often assigned to an improper county by the state and have to be corrected at the local level,” he said. “The data we provide locally is real time as we are informed by the surveillance system and re porting labs.” Betts said the ARHS is committed to transparency. “ARHS prides itself with our utmost transparency and commitment to educate and inform the citizens we serve,” he said. “I would be more than happy to further discuss any issues or con cerns you may have. ... All total and active case counts as well as deaths are up dated daily. Our website, arhs-nc.org, is also a valu able tool to utilize for the most current information. We have also established 338-WELL for citizens to ob tain the most current case numbers, active cases, and deaths.” July 24, Chowan County See COVID, A2 Round-up Word of Thanks BY MILES LAYTON Editor A round-up of all things Per quimans County... School starts Monday, Aug. 17 - good luck! This will be the weekly schedule as long as Perquimans Schools are in Plan B. Perquimans Central: 8:05- 3:15 Hertford Grammar: 7:55-3:10 Perquimans Middle School: ■ Tuesday through Friday is 5th and 6th grade at PCMS 7:55- 3:00 ■ 7th and Sth grade on Tues day and Wednesday at PCHS is 9:30-1:30 Perquimans High School: 7:55-3:05 Monday: 9-12 is Face to Face at PCHS and K-8 is remote. Tuesday: K-6 is Face to Face (K-2 at PCS, 34 at HGS, and 5-6 at PCMS) ■ 7-8 is Face to Face at PCHS (9:30-1:30) ■ 9-12 is remote. Wednesiday: K-6 is Face to Face (K-2 at PCS, 34 at HGS, and 5-6 at PCMS) ■ 7-8 is Face to Face at PCHS (9:30-1:30) ■ 9-12 remote Thursd ay: K-6 is Face to Face (K-2 at PCS, 34 at HGS, and 5-6 at PCMS) ■ 7-12 is remote Friday: K-6 is Face to Face (K-2 at PCS, 34 at HGS, and 543 at PCMS) ■ 7-12 is remote. Last Thursday, St. Paul’s AME Zion Church gave away food and offered free COVID-19 testing. Partne ring with HUB Labora- tories/Ottendorf, free testing was conducted by nurses/health care professionals. Pasto r Todd French said,”It went GREAT!! We serviced around 100 families getting food and had around 50 or so get test ed! Very nice event.” More Perquimans Class of 2020 See LAYTON, A2 SUBMITTED PHOTO Last week, the crew at St. Paul AME Zion Church did God’s work by distributing free food while health care professionals were testing folks for COVID-19.

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