THE
QUIMANS
EEKLY
“News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021 $1.50
@SCAN ME
PAGE A2
Rhythm Run
helps make Higgins
scholarship en
dowed fund
PAGE A7
Annual Christ
mas card win
ners announced
A8-11
Third-graders
write letters to
Santa
Anderson, Brothers join council, vow better conununication
Brothers: Hertford Town Council should
respond to citizen concerns at meetings
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Sandra Anderson and Connie Broth
ers joined the Hertford Town Council
Dec. 13, reiterating their campaign
promise to improve communication
with residents.
Just moments after taking the oath
of office as a town councilors, Brothers
made a motion to change the council’s
policy on public comment to allow
council members to respond to con
cerns raised by citizens at meetings.
The current policy doesn’t allow council
members to do that.
Brothers said citizens who are willing
to stand before council and speak want
and deserve to have their concerns ad
dressed.
Councilor Ashley Hodges, who was
re-elected as mayor pro tern at the Dec.
13 meeting, agreed to second Broth
ers’ motion on the condition that it be
amended to say that Brothers would
draft the proposed policy change and
bring it to the council for its consider
ation in January.
Hodges’ amended motion passed
unanimously.
Anderson and Brothers were the two
top vote-getters in the town’s Nov. 2
election, ousting incumbent councilors
Quentin Jackson and Frank Norman.
The election was widely seen as a ref
erendum on the incumbents, whose be
havior with fellow councilors and mem
bers of the public at meetings was often
combative.
Brothers said after being sworn in
that she would do the best she can in her
service on the council and allow God to
lead her.
Anderson also addressed communi
cation with the public in her comments
at the meeting.
“I would like to have better commu
nication with the residents of tire town,”
Arrderson said.
Hodges said he would “lean heavily”
on Anderson and Brothers to help the
council become more grounded and en
gaged with the community.
Anderson said councilors will respect
See COUNCIL, A3
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
New Hertford Town Councilor Sandra Anderson (left)
is administered the oath of office Monday, Dec. 13, by
former Judge Janice Cole as Anderson’s husband Karl
holds the Bible.
Colonial Christmas
PHOTOS BY REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Manager: Former
councilors haven’t .,
turned in property
Sid Eley, (left) portraying the Lord Mayor, welcomes visitors to the Newbold-White House during a holiday skit at
the Colonial Christmas Open House Dec. 16. To Eley’s right are Sandy Stevenson (center) and Dee Ponte, who
also performed in the skit. The event was sponsored by the Perquimans Restoration Association.
Norman, Jackson did not
comply with council resolution
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Two farmer town council
ors did not turn in laptops and
other town-issued items as
they were directed to by their
former colleagues, the town’s
manager said Friday.
A resolution adopted by
the Hertford Town Council
at a special meeting Dec. 9 re
quired then Councilors Frank
Norman and Quentin Jack-
son to return the property by
9 a.m. on Dec. 14. Neither had
done so as of late Friday af
ternoon, Town Manager Pam
Hurdle said.
Newly elected Councilors
Sandra Anderson and Connie
Brothers were sworn in at an
organizational meeting of the
NORMAN
JACKSON
council on
Monday,
Dec. 13.
Norman
and Jack-
son lost
their bids
for re-elec
tion in the
town’s elec
tion on Nov
2.
Tire Dec.
9 resolu
tion, which
passed over
dissenting
votes by
Norman
and Jack-
son, re
quired the
two councilors to return to
the town manager by 9am.
Dec. 14 town property that
See PROPERTY, A3
Newbold-White House spreads holiday cheer
Performers explain Yule Log,
other traditions in holiday skit
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The Newbold-White
House treated guests to hot
spiced cider, comedy, histo
ry lessons and seasonal mu
sic at a Colonial Christmas
Open House last week.
The event, held Dec. 16,
drew some 80 visitors to
the historic house on what
event organizers described
as “a beautifully warm,
moonlit night.”
A humorous skit that also
taught some history about
the Yule Log and other tra
ditions featured Sid Eley as
Lord Mayor, Lamb Basnight
as the Lord of Misrule, San
dy Stevenson as Master and
Dee Ponte as Mistress.
Stevenson explained the
history of the Yule Log tra
dition, which has origins in
Winter Solstice observances
in pre-Christian Europe and
came to be part of Christian
celebrations of the birth of
Jesus Christ.
In pre-Christian times
the Yule Log represented
the battle of light versus
See COLONIAL, A3
Harpist Nora Crouch performs at the Colonial
Christmas Open House at the Newbold-White House,
Thursday, Dec. 16.
Council met Tuesday
on town manager
Council to interview town
clerk candidates Jan. 8
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Hertford Town Council
was slated to meet Tuesday to
discuss the possibility of nam
ing an interim town manager.
Town officials have not
yet advertised the position of
town manager.
“That process has not be
gun,” said Town Manager
Pam Hurdle, who retires at
the end of this month, when
asked last week whether the
HURDLE
position had
been adver
tised.
The town
clerk posi
tionin Hert
ford is also
vacant
The
agenda for
the called
meeting Wednesday included
a closed session to discuss
personnel and also an agenda
item for appointment of an in
terim town manager.
Town Council announced
See MANAGER, A3
Lady Pirates’ Burke wins 100th game as high school coach
Burke has coached numerous
sports at PCHS for 15 years
BY JULIAN EURE
The Daily Advance
HERTFORD — Aaron Burke
6 ■ 89076 47144
2
Vol. 87, No. 51
WWW.PerquimansWeekly.com
@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
hasn’t had a lot of
time yet to reflect
on what it means to
win 100 basketball
games.
Burke, the coach
of the Perquimans
Indy Pirates, just
accomplished the
feat Monday, Dec.
13, with Iris team’s
52-24 road win over Lawrence Acad
emy in Merry Hill.
But even if he had the time, joining
the 100-win club is not something
Burke would spend a lot of time
dunking about
As Burke said afterward, “The
kids, not the wins, are the most im
portant tiling.”
Besides, Burke is too focused right
now on getting the 64) Lady Pirates
ready for conference play which be
gins soon.
Burke would have had a chance
to win game number 100 at home
Friday, Dec. 10, against the Edenton
Lady Aces. The game was canceled,
however, because of a threat against
John A Holmes High School earlier
that day.
Burke, who started coaching
around 2003, says he’s “coached ev
erything” in his 15-plus years at Per
quimans, including both football and
boys basketball He’s now in his fifth
year as the Lady Pirates head coach.
Sixteen of his 100 wins in fact came
as head coach of the Perquimans’
boys basketball team. The remainder
have come as the Lady Pirates’ coach
Asked if there’s any difference be
tween coaching boys and girls bas
ketball, Burke said there really isn’t
He said his approach has always been
the same.
‘You’re trying to get them to do
what they’re coached to do so that
when it’s time, they—male or female
—are going to get it done,” he said.
And so far this season, the Lady
Pirates are getting it done. Burke is
pleased with their play, particularly
their defensive effort
“Right now they’re playing togeth
er as a team, feeding off each others’
energy,” he said.
One of Burke’s personal highlights
this season is the presence on the
team of his daughter, Lallana Harris,
who’s a freshman.
Burke says he treats Lallana “just
like any other player” on the team,
but it’s nonetheless been a “pleasing
and enjoyable experience” for father
and daughter to share their love of
See BURKE, A3