W SCAN ME
“News from Next Door"
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022 $1.50
PAGE 2
Albemarle
Neighbor: Pippins
helps clients ‘talk it
out’ at Homestead
Healing
PAGE 5
Hartman:
Love is not rude,
selfish, or takes
pleasure in evil
PAGE 6
Perquimans
boys, girls drop
conference title
games
Perquimans schools switches to optional masking
Turner: New policy follows
advice from ARHS, NCDHHS
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The Perquimans County
Schools switched to a mask
optional policy on Monday,
becoming the latest area
school district to lift its
COVID-19 mask mandate
for students, staff and visi ¬
tors inside
school fa
cilities.
The Per
quimans
Board of
Education
voted unan-
i m o u s 1 y
last week
to end the
district’s mask requirements
and make mask-wearing op
tional during a special meet ¬
ing.
Superintendent Tanya
Turner told board members
that her recommendation
to make masks optional —
but recommended — was
consistent with both new
NC Strong Schools Toolkit
guidelines issued earlier
this month and the advice
of officials at Albemarle Re
gional Health Services.
Turner said ARHS of
ficials advised her that a
masks-optional policy is
reasonable given the coun
ty’s current COVID-19 trans
mission rate.
Between Jan. 24 and Feb.
11 the school district saw a
significant decrease in pos
itive COVID cases among
both employees and stu
dents.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention’s COVID data
tracker, Perquimans had
35 new COVID cases over
a seven-day period that
ended Saturday. The coun
ty’s case rate — cases per
100,000 people — has fallen
to 259.97 and its positivity
rate — the percentage of
COVID tests coming back
with a positive result — was
14.04% through Feb. 15.
Turner said she has al
ways based her recommen
dations on masking policy
in collaboration with ARHS
officials.
“Albemarle Regional
health is in full support of us
moving to optional,” Turner
said.
All four school principals
in the Perquimans district
said they prefer an optional
mask policy but would sup
port the board’s decision ei
ther way, Turner said.
When they issued the
See MASKING, A3
Celebrating Perquimans
History
museum
highlights
notables
Hunter, Wolfman Jack, Cale,
Fox among natives highlighted
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
What do Religious So
ciety of Friends founder
George Fox, Elizabeth City
State University founder
Hugh Cale, rock and roll DJ
Wolfman Jack and Baseball
Hall of Famer Jimmy “Cat-
fish” Hunter have in com
mon?
All are part of the history
of Perquimans County, and
all are featured in the newly
PHOTOS BY REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Cutting the ribbon at the new Perquimans County History Museum on Saturday are (l-r) County Commissioner
Alan Lennon and Hertford Town Councilman Jerry Mimlitsch. The museum, located at 104 Dobbs Street in
Hertford, features memorabilia about the late Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Jim “Catfish” Hunter and
exhibits about other famous Perquimans County natives.
opened Perquimans County
History Museum.
The museum, located at
104 Dobbs Street in Hert
ford, held a grand opening
and ribbon-cutting ceremo
ny on Saturday.
LeAnna Lee, executive
director of the Perquimans
County Chamber of Com
merce, opened the ceremo
ny by thanking people for
coming out to the event.
Hertford Town Council
man Jerry Mimlitsch spoke
on behalf of the town.
“This is a great moment
for our town,” he said.
Mimlitsch said Perqui
mans Tourism director
Stacey Layden, the county
staff, the contractor and all
the volunteers involved did
a great job getting the new
museum ready to open.
“It’s great to see the town
and the county coming to
gether to do something,”
Mimlitsch said. “I think
we’re going to see a lot
more of that in the future.”
County Commissioner
Alan Lennon, who chairs
the Perquimans Tourism
Development Authority,
said in in his remarks that a
lot of hard work had gone
into the project.
“This is just the first
See MUSEUM, A3
Veronica Rountree,
whose brother
wrote a book
about Quaker
history in the
region, poses for a
portrait in the new
Perquimans County
History Museum,
which held its
grand opening on
Saturday. At left is
a display related to
Quaker history and
at right is a portrait
of Elizabeth City
State University
founder Hugh Cale.
Resident
charged
with illegal
dentistry
White: State dentistry board
official raised allegation
BY JULIAN EURE
The Daily Advance
A Hertford resident has
been arrested on three
counts of practicing dentist
ry without a license.
Kia Patrice Foreman, 43,
of the 700 block of Grubb
Street, was arrested on the
misdemeanor charges Feb.
3, according to Perquimans
County arrest reports.
According to arrest war
rants, Foreman is charged
with three counts of “prac
ticing or attempting to prac
tice dentistry in this state
without first having passed
the examination and ob
tained a license from the
N.C. Board of Dental Exam
iners.”
Perquimans Sheriff Shel
by White said “someone
from the state dentistry
board” approached his
office last month with al
legations Foreman was
providing dentistry work
to customers, specifically
fitting them for braces, out
of her home.
White said the official
from the North Carolina
State Board of Dental Ex
aminers, who he did not
name, approached Foreman
about her alleged activities
and “gave her an opportuni
ty to stop what she was do
ing.” White said lus deputies
then approached Foreman
See DENTISTRY, A3
PCHS track may
be ready by 2023
Town to use Harvey Building for offices
Board hires CHA to design,
oversee track project
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Perquimans County
Schools officials are on
pace to have a new track at
the high school ready by the
2023 track season.
On a motion by board
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member Matt Peeler, the
board voted unanimously to
secure CHA Consulting to
design the new high school
track.
The design and construc
tion management firm will
develop a project budget
and bring it back to the Per
quimans Board of Educa
tion board for its consider
ation. The firm’s fee will be
based on the total project
budget.
Representatives of
CHA told the school
2 board at its regular
meeting in January
that a track typical
ly takes six to seven
See TRACK, A3
Cole asks to use building’s
space instead of leasing it
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Hertford Town Council
has approved use of the
Robert Harvey building for
town office space.
Interim Town Manag
er Janice Cole told town
councilors last week she
understands there has been
some discussion about
leasing part of the building,
which is the former town
police station behind the
current Town Hall.
“I am asking that instead
you allow us to use it for of
fice space,” Cole said.
See HARVEY, A3
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Hertford Town Council has agreed to the interim town manager’s request to use
the Robert Harvey Building, the town's former police station, for additional office
space.