QUIMANS
EEKLY
“News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020
$1.00
PAGE A6
Tri-County Animal Shel
ter’s pets of the week
PAGE Bl
Hurdle inspires
scholarship
PAGE B2
Vote for your favorite
pumpkin
Hertford FD Awarded $26K Grant
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
North Carolina Insurance Com
missioner Mike Causey paid a
visit to area fire stations during a
recent trip to listen to firefighters’
concerns and discuss the need to
improve volunteer recruitment
and retention.
During that visit, Commissioner
Causey, who is also the State Fire
Marshal, presented a ceremoni ¬
al grant check for $26,550 to the
Hertford Fire Department. Tire
grants are part of $8.5 million giv
en to more than 500 volunteer fire
departments statewide.
HFD will use the grant to pur
chase eight sets of firefighting
gear, a thermal imaging camera, a
hose reel, traffic cones and flash
lights.
“Yes, the equipment will come
in handy and save lives,” Assistant
Fire Chief Robbie Reed said. “The
PPE protects our firefighters safe
ty as well as the traffic cones. The
thermal imaging camera is used to
search in reduced visibility for vic
tims in fires and also hidden fires.
The booster reel hose is a quick
er deployed hose line that can be
used on smaller fires. All this was
made possible by the grant as in
the flashlights, everyone now has
there own flashlight attached to
See GRANT, A2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
North Carolina
Insurance
Commissioner Mike
Causey presented
the Seniors’
Health Insurance
Information
Program (SHIIP)
Northeast Region
Coordinator of the
Year award to Jewel
Winslow.
State Asks
Chowan to
up COVID
Restrictions
BY JULIAN EURE AND
NICOLE BOWMAN-LAYTON
Adams Publishing Group
EDENTON — With COVID-19
cases on the rise, state officials
are urging Chowan County and 35
other counties to adopt stricter re
strictions to help stop the spread
of the coronavirus.
Chowan County Manager Kev
in Howard confirmed Thursday,
Oct 22, the county received a !
letter from state health and pub
lic safety officials Oct 21 asking
it consider new measures, such
as fining businesses that fail to
enforce the state’s mask-wearing
mandate.
N.C. Department of Health
and Human Services Mandy
Cohen and Secretary of Public
Safety Erik Hooks sent the letter
to county managers and com
mission board chairs in 36 coun
ties, asking they consider “local
actions to improve compliance”
with existing COVID restrictions
and “better position our health
systems and first responders to
respond to the challenges of ris
ing cases.”
The letter asks officials to con
sider adopting a pandemic-specif
ic ordinance that imposes a civil
penalty or fine — separate from a
Class 2 misdemeanor—on those
who violate its provisions. It also
asks them to support their local
health department dir ector in is
suing and enforcing “an Imminent
Hazard Abatement Order” against
anyone whose actions, “including
failure to comply with the gover
nor’s executive order,” pose an
“imminent hazard to your com
munity.”
Actions Cohen and Hooks
suggest the governments take in
clude imposing fines on business
es that fail to enforce mask-wear
ing requirements; setting lower
mass gathering limits; suspending
the sale of alcohol after 11 p.m.;
closing “high-risk” venues like i
bars and nightspots; and “limit
ing” restaurant service.
The letter was sent to Chowan
and the other counties because
they met one of three criteria,
Cohen and Hooks said. Either the
county has reported 300 or more
new COVID cases in the past two
weeks and been identified as a
“county of concern” by the White
House Coronavirus Task Force; it
has a rate of cases greater than 50
per 10,000 people; or it’s one of the
See CHOWAN, A3
6
89076 47144
2
Vol. 86, No. 44
@2020 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
‘Get Up, Get Out and Go Vote’
BY MILES LAYTON
AND PAUL NIELSEN
Adams Publishing Group
The clock is winding down to
ward the general election, Nov. 3.
Local civic activists like Connie
Brothers are doing their best to
get people to the polls to cast their
votes.
An advocate for Perquimans
County, Brothers along with Spirit
and Tfruth United Methodist Church
in conjunction with Democracy NC
will provide 100 free lunches to vot
ers between 10:30 am. and 3 p.m.
Saturday (Oct 31) at the Perquim
ans Board of Elections’ parking lot
on First Street
From “Owl Feed Ya” catering,
the meal includes hamburger/
cheeseburger and fries, plfilly
cheese steak, brisket sliders along
with coleslaw and sauce, and piled
up fries with three-cheese blend
topped with bbq sauce. And there
will be free giveaways. For more in
formation, contact 252-333-9662 or
252812-9420 or 2523338959.
“Get up, get out and go vote!”
Brothers said. “It’s our responsibil
ity as a citizen to vote. We have the
opportunity to choose leaders of
this country who would lead and
represent the people to the best of
the abilities.”
Brothers said on Election Day
there will be entertainment featur
ing alocal DJ and Fat J’s catering as
well as Free Food Lion gifts cards
and other giveaways.
Anyone in need of transporta
tion to the polls should contact
one of the above mentioned phone
numbers for a ride to the polls.
Early voting for the Nov. 3 elec
tion started Oct 15 and ends Sat
urday at the Perquimans Board of
Elections office along with two oth
er sites: New Hope Ruritan Build
ing 2151 New Hope Rd. and the
Bethel Ruritan Building, 392 Snug
Harbor Rd.
Election Day, everyone has to go
to their precinct to vote. Polls open
up at 6:30 am. on Election Day and
close at 7:30 p.m.
See VOTE, A2 ,
Hertford Man Receives NCWorks Award of Distinction
FROM SUBMITTED REPORTS
RALEIGH—A Hertford residents
was among those who recently re
ceived NCWorks Awards of Distrinc-
tion. The recipients were recognized
during the 33rd annual NCWorks
Partnership Conference, organized
by the N.C. Department of Com
merce and held this year in a virtual
format
“These award winners are fo
cused on getting North Carolina job
ready, connecting workers to the
skills they need as well as employ
ers who need those workers. Each
of these honorees stand out for their
contributions to develop our state’s
workforce and has a big role in help
ing our state recover from economic
challenges that we face,” said Gover
nor RoyCooper.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
A strong advocate for Perquimans County, Connie Brothers
(center) is among those who have organized a get-out-the-vote
drive to help folks cast their ballots on or before the Nov. 3
general election. Early voting ends Saturday.
Brother’s
daughter
Courtney Smith
holds up a sign
that provides a
phone number
to assist
anyone who
has questions
or needs help
voting.
Per Ed Sanford, “while the rest of
y’all argue over politics or fret over
the virus, I fish. When the going
gets tough, the tough go fishing!
To those of you who give AMENS,
I will take one.” Wise words, very
wise words! Did you know that
Sanford, in addition to being a
business owner with a long and
successful career in marketing,
is an alumnus of Towson State
(undergraduate) and University
of Maryland Francis King Carey
School of Law? Yep! PQ County
attracts the most amazing people.
The Governor’s NCWorks Awards
of Distinction honor outstanding ex
amples from the state’s workforce
development system — including
the students and jobseekers who re
ceive training, the professionals who
provide career services, and the em
ployers and other organizations that
support a skilled workforce.
David Meads received the Out
standing Young Adult award. After
enrolling in the NCWorks Next-
Gen youth services program of the
Northeastern Workforce Develop
ment Board, Meads received career
guidance and identified welding as
a promising occupation. He com
pleted Ifis high school equivalency
diploma and received support for
See NCWORKS, A3
Round-up
Newlyweds
& Halloween
Festivities
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
A round-up of all things Perqui-
mans County...
jLjL Offer congratulations to
County Commissioner Kyle Jones
and his lovely bride Grace Swain
who were married Friday, Oct 23.
Their- honeymoon was spent in
snowy Colorado. A Republican, Mr.
Jones, is running unopposed for
I re-election. Mrs. Jones is a music
teacher across the Albemarle Sound
at Tyrrell Elementary School
On that note, local Perquimans
races of note, albeit uncontested,
See ROUND-UP, A3
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Congratulations to this year's Outstanding Young Adult Award
recipient, David Meads, nominated by the Northeastern Workforce
Development Board.