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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021
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PAGE A6
Perquimans
volleyball team
wins open
ing-round playoff
match
PAGE A7
Who qualifies
as “honorable"
and do they
deserve title?
Candidates head into final stretch of Hertford election
Hertford polls open Tuesday
at 6:30 a.m., close at 7 p.m.
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Patterns in early voting for next
month’s Hertford municipal elec
tion suggest turnout will be higher
than the last time council seats were
on the ballot without a mayor’s race.
Kathy Trieber, director of elec
tions for Perquimans County, said
turnout in the
Hertford town
election is on pace
to be higher than
in 2017, the last
town council elec
tion in which there
was not a mayoral
race.
BORDERS
ANDERSON But Trieber said
turnout so far is
lower than in 2019, when the office
of mayor was on the ballot
As of Friday afternoon, 165 bal-
lots had been
cast in the elec
tion — 163 by
in-person voters
and two by mail.
By compar
ison, Trieber
noted, in 2017
144 ballots had
been cast at this
point in one-stop
BROTHERS
continue to reach
out to voters and
ask for their sup
port.
First-time can
didate Connie
Brothers said she
has a great team
of volunteers who
are canvassing
door to door in
FELTON
early voting, she
said.
“The citizens
have been veiy
receptive to our
canvassing,”
Brothers said.
“They are excited
about change in
Hertford and they
know that the only
voting.
As next Tuesdays election nears
candidates for town council seats
Hertford. She’s also talking to vot
ers outside the Perquimans County
Board of Elections Office during
way to have change is to elect new
See CANDIDATES, A3
Water Turtles
PHOTOS COURTESY PERQUIMANS SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
Hertford hopefuls
weigh in on making
meetings more civil
Anderson, Borders, Brothers
offer fixes for council woes
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Confrontations between
council members. Confron
tations between councilors
and the mayor. Confronta
tions between council mem-
bers and
audience.
If one
sum up
members of the
word could best
Hertford Town
Swim instructors Meg Horton (left) and Mike Beteta (right) at Albemarle Family YMCA teach a group of second-
graders from Perquimans Central School water safety and swim skills during the Water Turtles program at
the Y. After a two-year pause because of COVID-19 restrictions, the free program launched by the Perquimans
Schools Foundation resumed last week.
Schoolkids back in the pool after COVID pause
Program teaching water safety
to 371 Perquimans students
From staff reports
After a two-year pause
because of COVID-19 restric
tions, Perquimans County’s
youngest schoolchildren are
finally back in the pool learn
ing how to swim.
The school district’s
ll-year-old Water Turtles
program, spearheaded by the
Perquimans County Schools
Foundation and funded by
corporate sponsors, restart
ed this week at the Albemar
le Family YMCA in Elizabeth
City.
Brenda Lassiter, executive
director of the foundation,
said 140 second-graders at
Perquimans Central School
began receiving free swim
and other life-saving lessons
on Tuesday and will continue
in the program until Friday.
The school’s 116 first-graders
and 115 kindergartners will
receive their swim lessons in
November, she said.
Typically, only Perquimans
kindergartners are taught to
swim in the Water Turtles
program. However, because
the pandemic canceled the
See POOL, A3
Meg- Witten instructs second-grader Kay lee Bateman
on the proper technique for floating on your back in
the water, during the Water Turtles program at the
Albemarle Area YMCA last week.
Council meetings over the
past several years it’s this
one: incivility.
The Perquimans Weekly
recently asked all six of the
candidates seeking the two
seats on the Hertford Town
Council in next week’s mu
nicipal election for their
thoughts on how to improve
civility and decorum at coun
cil meetings.
Only three candidates —
Sandra Anderson, Martha
Borders and Connie Broth
ers .— responded. Three oth
ers — incumbent Councilors
Quentin Jackson and Frank
Norman III and former
Councilor Gracie Felton —
did not.
Our specific questions
and the candidates’ respons
es follow:
TPW: What do you be
lieve the town council can
do to improve decorum at
town council meetings?
How important do you
think it is that decorum
improve? How can coun
cilors promote mutual
respect among each other
and with citizens?
Martha Borders:
“Decorum at council
meetings went out the win
dow in January 2018 and
decorum will not return un
til two councilmen leave of
fice in December 2021. They
disregard rules unless it is
for their convenience. They
know the law and they can’t
be thrown out of a meeting.
One councilman even start
ed a fight with a downtown
business owner and ended
the meeting with nothing ac
complished. The council had
to schedule another meeting
to get town business done.
“The results of this be
havior, as I wrote about in
December 2020, is our de
mocracy suffers and no busi
ness get done. Furthermore,
citizens are very reluctant to
step forward to volunteer or
speak before council. Once
decorum returns Hertford
can move forward.
“Respect is required on
council to discuss issues and
help the town manager run
an efficient town. Presently
mutual respect does not ex
ist on council mainly due to
See MEETINGS, A3
Hertford Fire’s Sportsman’s Giveaway keeps growing
Jackson complaint
against citizen stems
from July 6 meeting
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The big Sportsman’s Giveaway fund
raiser for the Hertford Fire Department
was even bigger this year.
In previous years the fire depart
ment has printed 2,500 tickets for the
drawings, which are sold at $20 apiece.
There’s a grand prize of $5,000, plus doz
ens of shotguns, rifles and other prizes
are raffled away.
This year 3,000 tickets were printed
and 2,850 were sold
“It just seems to get bigger every year,”
said Hertford Fire Chief Drew Woodard.
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
6
Jerry Newell (left) confirms that
Michael Hurdle holds the winning
ticket for a $500 cash prize at
the Sportsman’s Giveaway at the
Perquimans County Recreation
Center, Saturday.
Woodard noted that last year
the
■ 89076 47144'
Vol. 87, No. 43
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@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
2
department needed was able to buy
a search and rescue boat that was
equipped with state-of-the-art electron
ics using the funds raised in the commu
nity.
He noted the department depends on
community support
“We have very good community sup
port,” Woodard said, looking around at
the crowd in the recreation center. “And
a lot of the folks who bought tickets ar
en’t here tonight”
About 300 people turned out in per
son at the Perquimans County Recre
ation Center Saturday evening to await
the results of the drawings. Numerous
others bought tickets and simply waited
for a phone call telling them they had
won a prize.
Gary Harrell of Richmond, Virginia,
bought five tickets and went home with
a Ruger .308 rifle.
He said he was surprised to win the
drawing.
Harrell, who grew up in Perquimans
County and had come home for the
weekend to hunt here, decided to buy
tickets and come out to the Sportsman’s
Giveaway—and he was glad he did.
Councilman already convicted
of making threats in incident
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
See SPORTSMAN,A3
HERTFORD — The Per-
i quimans County Sheriffs
Office is investigating a
complaint by Town Coun
cilman Quentin Jackson
against Perquimans busi
nessman Patrick Morrissey.
The complaint stems
from a dispute at the July
6 meeting of the Hertford
Town Council.
Jackson was convicted
of communicating threats
in connection with the in
cident and has appealed
the conviction to Superior
Court.
Perquimans County
Sheriff Shelby White said
Friday he could not release
JACKSON
any details
regarding
Jackson’s
complaint
since it re
mains un
der investi
gation.
He said
he expects
interviews
to be completed within a
week and at that time will
forward the report on the
investigation to District At
torney Andrew Womble for
his consideration.
Morrissey said officers in
terviewed him at his home
Thursday.
Jackson has maintained
since the incident occurred
that he felt threatened when
Morrissey got out of his seat
during the council meeting.
See JACKSON, A3