rn SCAN ME
QUIMANS
“News from Next Door"
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022
$1.50
PAGE 6
Museum
exhibit to spotlight
Indigenous North
Carolinians
PAGE 7
Hunter,
Byrum, Votava
awarded top
scholarships
PAGE 8
Thach strikes
out 18, Pirates
shut out
Rosewood 7-0
Town eyes abandoning wastewater spray field
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
This site along Center Hill Road in Hertford is the spray field for the
town of Hertford’s wastewater treatment plant. Town Council voted
last week to explore rescinding the town’s state permit for the
spray field.
Site hasn't been used in 3 years,
could be sold and developed
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The town of Hertford has be
gun the process of abandoning
its spray field next to the town’s
wastewater treatment plant.
Hertford Town Council voted
unanimously May 9 to direct inter
im Town Manager Janice Cole to
explore rescinding the state per
mit for the spray field.
Cole told councilors that the
spray field has not been used in
about three years.
The spray field has not actually
been part of the town’s wastewa
ter treatment process but rather
served as a backup to increase the
capacity at the treatment plant if
necessary.
Recent wastewater volumes
indicate the plant is operating at
about 60 percent of its capacity.
Town officials noted that as
pipes are repaired or replaced to
eliminate infiltration and inflow
into the sewage collection system,
even more capacity should be
freed up.
Cole said a great deal of work
would need to be done at the
spray field in order for the town to
continue using it.
Before moving ahead with
spending any money on the spray
field to bring it back up to stan
dards, town staff wanted to deter
mine if council wished to keep the
field operational.
Mayor Pro Tern Ashley Hodges
noted that another budget consid
eration was that ongoing mainte
nance of the field would require
an additional employee.
Hodges also pointed out that
the town does not receive any tax
revenue from the property as long
See SPRAYFIELD, A3
Change agents
Students’
bracelets
help save
sea turtles
central's sales raise
$1,100 for turtle hospital
BY JOHN FOLEY
Correspondent
Perquimans Central
School second-grade teach
er Laura Duncan wears her
passion for the environment
— and especially for endan
gered sea turtles — on her
sleeve.
Well, actually, her wrist. .
Every year, Duncan uses
a learning-based project to
teach her second-graders
about protecting the envi
ronment and helping save
sea turtles whose numbers
are declining.
“The importance of the
sea turtle to all of the ocean
ecosystem is enormous,”
Duncan says. “When we
take steps to help and pro
tect the sea turtle, we do so
for all ocean life.”
Students in her sec
ond-grade homeroom are
currently producing “Save
the Turtle” bracelets. Each
morning the students work
on creating the bracelets
before class starts and
sometimes at the end of the
day, making sure there is
adequate inventory for the
following day’s sales.
“They are doing all of it. I
buy the beads and they use
JOHN FOLEY PHOTO
Laura Duncan, a second-grade teacher at Perquimans Central School, holds one of
the beaded bracelets produced by her students for the class’ Sea Turtle Initiative as
students (l-r) Drew Roberts, Valeria Mendoza and Remi Riddick look on. Duncan’s
students create and sell the bracelets as part of a project-based learning initiative to
help endangered sea turtles.
their creativity and energy
to make bracelets,” Duncan
said. “We have a normal day
of learning around it.”
Each bracelet sells for $5
and to date, Duncan’s class
has raised close to $1,100 it
plans to donate to the NC
Aquarium Sea Turtle Hos
pital.
While many businesses
are facing labor shortag ¬
es, that’s not a problem for
Duncan.
“Four students sit at
the table in the lobby each
See TURTLES, A3
Town: Improving
Jennies Gut top
flooding priority
Town’s Resilience Strategy
includes 6 other priorities
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
(’leaning up and im
proving the creek known
as Jennies Gut is the town
of Hertford’s top stormwa
ter management priority, a
group told town officials
last week.
Sarah Winslow of the
Hertford Community Ac
tion Team told Hertford
Town Council that Jennies
Gut is a key to flood-relat
ed resilience in the town.
Volunteers from HCAT
provided extensive help
to SWCA Environmental
Consultants in the prepa
ration of a report known as
Resilience Strategy 2022.
The consulting firm held a
series of listening sessions
with members of the pub
lic and prepared the report
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Hertford officials say cleaning up this creek known
as Jennies Gut is a high priority for stormwater
management in the town.
under a contract with the
N.C. Division of Coastal
Management
Jennies Gut is a tribu
tary of the Perquimans Riv
er that flows east into the
river just south of the his
toric downtown district.
Rhonda Waters, retired
director of the Hertford
Housing Authority who
held that position during
Hurricane Isabel, said Jen
nies Gut was an important
factor in the flooding of
housing authority apart
ments during the storm.
Mayor Earnell Brown
said the HCAT and SWCA
had worked very diligently
to identify the priority proj
ects.
Mayor pro tern Ashley
Hodges said Jennies Gut
has leapt out as a high-pri
ority project that warrants
immediate attention.
“It’s so obvious that
See STORMWATER, A3
Chappell’s birdhouses popular with both birds, humans
Retired banker designs
birdhouses for specific birds
BY JOHN FOLEY
Correspondent
Many Hertford residents
know Roy Chappell as the
generous guy who regularly
passes out Southern Maid
donuts in the downtown.
But for years he was vice
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president of the Hertford
Banking Company, where
he was able to build a ton of
relationships — both pro
fessional and personal —
across the community.
These days, the 89-year-
old is focused on building
of another kind.
The banker-turned-bird-
house artisan has con
structed more than 18 bird-
houses over the past year
and continues to
research designs for
his one-off creations.
“I find my designs
on Pinterest and In
stagram,” Chappell
explained during a
recent interview in
side his workshop.
“I only use recycled
wood. This came from an
old house,” he said, point
ing to a pile of cedar.
Chappell said he designs
his birdhouses for specific
birds.
“I research the styles and
designs and use the plans,”
he said. “My inventory is
low right now. I have been
concentrating on wine bot
tle bird feeders and some
other crafts.”
The reason for low in
ventory is Chappell’s popu
larity as a craftsman.
“Roy is just a wonderful
person. His birdhouses are
an attraction and sell very
See CHAPPELL, A3
JOHN FOLEY
PHOTO
Roy Chappell
is shown
at work on
one of his
signature
birdhouses in
his workshop
in Hertford.
Chappell,
a retired
banker,
has been
honing his
woodworking
skills for 50
years. His
current focus
is on building
birdhouses.
A NOTE TO
READERS
Because of The Perquimans
Weekly’s Tuesday afternoon
deadline, and the closing of
election polls at 7:30 p.m.,
we obviously were not able to
get the results of the primary
election or the Perquimans
Board of Education election in
this week's edition.
See next week's edition for full
election coverage.
But in the meantime, you can
can check out either www.dai-
lyadvance.com/perquimans/
or dailyadvance.com for results
of the nonpartisan school
board race and other primary
races affecting the county on
Tuesday’s ballot.