4
E E K LY
^News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2022
$1.50
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PAGE 6
Labeling
Victorians ‘spooky'
can hurt their
preservation
PAGE 7
Pirates run
unbeaten streak
to 11; Lady
Pirates win 2
PAGE 9
For therapy
dog Bunsen,
life is about
listening with
love
Grandstand taking shape
Chamber sees
ways to address
worker shortage
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Work continues on the new spectator grandstand at Jim “Catfish” Hunter Field at Perquimans County High
School, Monday. Officials plan to hold a ribbon cutting for the new grandstand on Friday, April 8, at 7 p.m. For
the latest on Pirate baseball and softball, see page A6.
PCHS to present ‘Shrek the Musical’
Performances of play based
on film will be April 7-8
From staff reports
Perquimans County High
School will be presenting
the play, “Shrek the Musi
cal,” Thursday and Friday,
April 7-8 at 7 p.m.
Derek “DJ” Levesque,
who portrays the title char
acter in the PCHS produc
tion, said Shrek is unlike
any other role he has ever
played. But he added that
he identifies with Shrek’s
self-confidence.
Levesque said he is ex
cited about being part of
bringing Shrek to life on the
PCHS stage.
Also excited is Shayla Three different actors portray Fiona in various parts of Perquimans County High
White, who plays Princess School’s production of “Shrek the Musical,” Thursday and Friday, April 7-8 at 7 p.m.
Fiona. White said she loved
watching the Shrek movies
as a child and is delighted
to be part of this produc
tion.
Kaylee Anderson will
play Shrek’s lovably an
noying best friend Donkey,
Michael Verbeten as the
vertically-challenged vil
lain Lord Farquaad, and
Shelby Lowe as the Drag
on charged with guarding
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Princess Fiona.
Anderson said she es
pecially enjoys Donkey’s
humor.
Tickets may be pur
chased at the door the night
of the show. Tickets are $5
for students and $10 for
adults.
PCHS Theatre is located
in the Perquimans County
High School auditorium at
305 S. Edenton Road Street,
Hertford.
‘Shrek The Musical” is a
creation of DreamWorks
Theatricals and Neal Street
Productions, Ltd., with
book and lyrics by David
Lindsay-Abaire and music
by Jeanine Tesori.
r lhe musical is based
on the story and charac
ters from William Steig’s
book “Shrek!,” as well as
the DreamWorks Anima
tion film “Shrek,” the first
chapter of the Shrek movie
series.
“Shrek the Musical” tells
the story of a swamp-dwell
ing ogre who goes on a
life-changing adventure to
reclaim the deed to his land.
See SHREK, A3
Job fair in May expected to
connect students, employers
BY JOHN FOLEY
Correspondent
While there are signs in
business windows across
the country stating “Closed
Today Due to staff Short
ages,” there are other signs
those notices could be com
ing down — at least in Per
quimans County.
The shortage of employ
ees for local businesses was
the main topic of discussion
at the monthly meeting of
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Superior Court Judge Eula Reid addresses the
Perquimans County Democratic Convention in Hertford,
Saturday. Reid is seeking re-election in the November
general election.
Reid promises
continued fairness
on district bench
Appointed by gov, Reid seeks
election to Superior Court
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Superior Court Judge
Eula Reid told Perquimans
County Democrats over the
weekend that she is a fair
judge and will remain com
mitted to fairness if elected
to continue her service on
the Superior Court bench.
Reid was appointed as a
the Perquimans Chamber of
Commerce pn Friday.
Chamber Executive
Director LeAnna Lee not
ed that staffing shortages
might even have affected
attendance at the meeting.
“Some members won’t
be here today because they
have to open their stores
due to employee shortag
es,” she said.
Susan Cox of Carolina
Trophy and Engraving said
her shop has been affect
ed by staffing shortages,
noting she’s now open only
See CHAMBER, A3
Superior Court judge last
year by Gov. Roy Cooper.
She replaced retiring Judge
J.C. Cole, who retired.
Reid, a Democrat who
will face District Attor
ney Andrew Womble — a
Republican — in the No
vember general election,
addressed the Perquimans
County Democratic Party
at its annual convention on
March 26.
“Confidence in our
See REID, A3
First responders offer biz tips on safety and security
White: Make a safety plan,
share it with employees
BY JOHN FOLEY
Correspondent
Whether it’s something simple
like checking the monthly inspec
tion box on your fire extinguisher
tag, or complex like training your
employees to follow an evacua
tion plan, being pro-active about
safety not only can save time,
6 1 89076 47144
2
Vol. 87, No. 13
WWW.PerquimansWeekly.com
@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
money and lives. It also could save
your business.
Those were some of the key
takeaways from the business se
curity workshop presented by
county first responders at the Per
quimans County High School me
dia center last week.
“Be prepared, develop a plan
and make sure to share that plan
with your employees. We all need
to be proactive during these chal
lenging times,” said Sheriff Shelby
White, one of the workshop’s pre
senters.
While protecting business from
cyberattacks was the event’s fea
tured topic, White and other offi
cials from the Sheriff’s Office and
Perquimans County Emergency
Services discussed a range of
safety and security issues during
the three-hour event.
With businesses reporting $3.5
billion in losses to internet crimi
nals in 2019, defending against cy
bercrime is important for all busi
nesses regardless of size. Sheriff’s
Investigator James Fowden, who
gave a 45-shde presentation, said
big companies are not the only tar
gets of hackers.
“It’s becoming more important
than ever for small businesses to
update (their) software and an
ti-virus protection,” Fowden said.
“Don’t simply use the free anti-vi
rus programs and do not use pub
lic WiFi.”
Fowden was adamant about
the latter.
“A variety of predators use pub
lic Wi-Fi to steal identity while
hiding theirs, committing crimes
See SECURITY, A2
JOHN FOLEY PHOTO
Emergency Services Director Jonathan Nixon addresses attendees
of a business security workshop in the media center at Perquimans
County High School, Tuesday, March 22. At right are Sheriff Shelby
White and Emergency Services public information officer Julie
Solesbee.