QUIMANS
EEKLY
(!) SCAN ME
“News from Next Door"
THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021
$1.00
PAGE A6
Meet Kilo and
Tri-County Animal
Shelter’s other pets
of the week
PAGE Bl
Pirates take
down First Flight
B4
Church page
Schools will move to Plan A on March 22
FROM STAFF REPORTS
The Perquimans County Board
of Education held a special meet
ing on March 15,2021 and voted to
approve students in grades 6-12 to
have the option to receive in-per
son instruction in Plan A effective
Monday, March 22.
Perquimans Central School and
Hertford Grammar School began
operating under Plan A in Octo
ber. The move to Plan A for grades
6-12 is a result of legislation that
was signed on Thursday by Gover ¬
TURNER
nor Cooper, Ses
sion Law 2021-4
(SB220).
The district
will continue
with the remote
learning schedule
on Mondays for
K-8 and Fridays
for 9-12. Face-to-
face instruction
will continue to take place on
Tuesday through Friday for K-8.
Students in grades 9-12 will now
attend school for full days, 8 a.m.-
3:05 p.m., Monday through Thurs
day. Parents will still have the op
tion to choose remote learning for
the remainder of the year.
As part of this newly signed leg
islation, public schools in North
Carolina are required to allow ALL
children in K-5 to receive face-to-
face instruction in Plan A if their
parents select that option and fur
ther states that districts shall al
low ALL students 6th -12th grade
to receive in-person instruction in
either Plan A or Plan B.
Districts are required to imple
ment their selected plan for face-
to-face instruction within twen
ty-one days of the date the law
passed or sooner if the district is
prepared to do so.
The approval for Plan A means
that the school system will con
tinue to follow all North Carolina
Department of Health and Human
Services Guidelines with the sup
port of Albemarle Regional Health
Services.
All students will have the op
tion to return to campuses while
following minimal social distanc ¬
ing guidelines. Minimal social dis
tancing recommends six feet of
distance when feasible between
individuals.
Face coverings are still required
on all school campuses at all
times. Sanitizing and hand wash
ing will continue to be extremely
important and will be followed.
Key points for families:
• All Perquimans County stu
dents will have the option to re
turn for in-person instruction in
See SCHOOLS, A3
Study will
Explore
Disbanding
Hertford PD
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
By a split 3-2 vote, Hertford
Town Council approved a res
olution last week to have the
town study consolidating the
Hertford Police Department
with the Perquimans Sheriff’s
Office.
Voting for the consolidation
study at council’s March 9 meet
ing were Mayor Earnell Brown,
Mayor Pro Tern Ashley Hodges
and Coimcilor Jerry Mimlitsch.
Voting against the study were
Councilors Quentin Jackson
and Frank Norman.
According to the resolution,
the consolidation study is need
ed because the town is strug
gling to find enough revenue to
pay its expenses. The study is
one way to see if the town can
reduce its expenses.
Under the resolution, Brown
and Hodges are authorized to
meet with Perquimans County
officials to discuss consolidat
ing law enforcement services.
Should any consolidation plan
go forward, Hertford officials
are hoping it would take effect
on July 1.
A group of police officers
with the Hertford Police De
partment attended the March 9
meeting and expressed opposi
tion to the consolidation study.
Both Jackson and Norman
were also highly critical of
the study. Nonnan appeared
to get so angry with the dis
cussion that he walked away
from the council dais and
cast his vote against the study
from the gallery.
“I’m done conversating —
you all ain’t worth talking to,”
Norman said.
Jackson called Hodges a ter
rorist and a crook “who doesn’t
give a damn about Hertford.”
Norman and Jackson also at
tacked what they claimed was a
lack of transparency from coun
cil’s leadership.
Hodges countered that Hert
ford is losing money, and needs
to do something to reduce ex
penses. Otherwise, Town Coun
cil will be forced to approve a
property tax increase.
Both Hodges and Jackson
said they would be willing to
forego their council salaries to
See DISBAND, A2
89076 47144 " 2
Vol. 87, No. 12
www.PerquimansWeekly.com
@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH PORCHER JONES
Morning view of the Perquimans River should inspire everyone to embrace the day.
First Day of Spring
Offers Promising Weather
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Going to be a rainy week
ahead, but temperatures are
going to be nice in our neck of
the woods.
Lovely photo by Elizabeth
Porcher Jones shows a sun
rise over the Perquimans Riv
er. Sunrise is the best timeof
the day because it promises a
fresh start and a new outlook
as everyday is a gift from God.
Thursday, temperatures
range from the 50s to the mid
Family of 6 Loses Home, Belongings in Fire
Firefighters also respond to fires
in barn, road median
FROM STAFF REPORTS
A Snug Harbor family lost
their home in a house fire on
Wednesday, one of three fires
Perquimans County firefight
ers responded to in just a lit
tle over three hours.
One of the other fires dam
aged a livestock barn in Bel
videre while the third was re
ported in the highway median
off U.S. Highway 17 South.
No injuries were reported
in any of the fires, although
some livestock in the barn
fire did suffer some minor
burns, Perquimans Emergen
cy Management said in a press
release Thursday, March 11.
The house fire was report
70s with a 60 percent chance
of rain.
Friday, there is a 90 percent
chance of rain with tempera
tures in the mid 30s to the 50s.
Saturday, the sun comes
back out on the first day of
spring with temperatures in
the mid 30s to the 50s.
Sunday through Tuesday,
it’ll be sunny, maybe a few
clouds, but temperatures start
climbing from the 40s into the
60s, so it looks like spring
may be here to stay; fingers
crossed.
ed in the 100 block of Poplar
Street in the Snug Harbor sub
division at 1:51 p.m. Wednes
day, March 10, according to
the press release.
Perquimans Fire Marshal
Barry Overman said Thursday
that a family of six lived in
the home but only one family
member, a teenage son, was
home at the time of the fire.
The teen discovered the
fire in a back bedroom and
called 911 before getting out
safely, Overman said.
The first firefighters to
arrive encountered heavy
smoke and saw flames at the
rear of the structure.
Firefighters from the Beth
el, Hertford and Winfall fire
departments battled the blaze
for over an hour while also
See FIRES, A3
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Askew family’s home was destroyed by fire on Wednesday
in Snug Harbor. A fundraising page is posted to Amber Askew’s
Facebook page.,
Even in Maine, where tem
peratures dipped into the 20s
this week, Bangor will see
some sunshine and moder
ate temperatures in the 60s
ahead.
Maybe not so much for Ya
kutsk, the largest “cold” city in the
world, where temperatures there
hover between zero and the low
20s in that part of Siberia. City/
province is featured in the Risk
board game.
Miles Layton can be reached
at mlaytmi@ncweeldies.com
Round-up
Kitty Hawk
and Pirates’
Success
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
A round-up of all things Per
quimans County...
During Tuesday’s Rota ¬
ry Club of Hertford meeting,
Thomas Waller announced plans
to open a mercantile shop in
town, where White’s Dress Shop
BUNDY
PARKER
was. The store
is slated to have
old-fashioned
candy, New
Orleans food and
Hertford merch-
anise. There will
also be space for
interior design
— Waller’s forte.
Waller said he
loves the area;
moved from
Louisiana to Per
quimans County
in 2019. The store
plans to open in
April.
In other news,
NC Senator Bob
Steinburg called
the other day and
we got to talking. Did you know
that the USS Kitty Hawk super-
carrier is slated to be turned into
scrap. Yeah. Steinburg said NC
Representative Ed Goodwin is
doing research about the decom
missioned ship that is stationed in
the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Steinburg and Goodwin are
interested in somehow saving the
aircraft carrier, maybe turning it
See ROUND-UP, A3