QUIMANS
EEKLY
“News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022 $1.50
m SCAN ME
PAGE A2
Overturned truck
blocks 2 lanes of
US 17
PAGE Bl
PCRA’s 29th
annual Garden
Party set for this
weekend
PAGE B2
Steamers
open 2022
campaign on
road in Clayton
Friday
Honoring their sacrifice
Memorial
Day event
draws 150
downtown
Meads: Freedom doesn’t
come easily or without cost
BY JOHN FOLEY
Correspondent
More than 150 people
paid tribute to military ser
vice men and women who
made the ultimate sacrifice
for their country during the
Perquimans County Memo
rial Day observance in Hert
ford on Monday.
Filling Memorial Park
at the Perquimans County
Courthouse for the event
were veterans, their fami-
lies, town and county offi
cials, Boy Scouts and Cub
Scouts and members of the
Perquimans County High
School band.
The event, hosted by the
William Paul Stallings Post
126 and the Reid Louder
Post 362 of the American
Legion, attracted a Memo
rial Day gathering not seen
since before the COVID-19
outbreak two years ago, of
ficials said.
Although Post 126 Com
mander Rick Caporale was
unable to attend because
of illness, post Vice Com
mander Dean Englehardt
welcomed the crowd and
reminded everyone of the
importance of the event.
“We are gathered here
Hertford Stroll returns starting June 10
Attendees can help paint
mural, watch artist demos
BY JOHN FOLEY
Correspondent
If you haven’t enjoyed
many of the new develop
ments in downtown Hert
ford in a while, plan on at
tending Historic Hertford’s
first Friday Night Stroll on
June 10. Next week’s Stroll
is the first of three sched
uled for the second Friday
in June, July and August.
Grant to fund work program for 60 students
Employers wanted for program
paying students $200 stipend
BY JOHN FOLEY
Correspondent
If you just can’t seem to
keep that “Help Wanted”
sign out of your window,
help could soon be on the
way.
Thanks to a state eco
nomic stimulus grant, Per
quimans County Schools
6
■ 89076 47144 "
Vol. 87, No. 22
WWW.PerquiiTiansWeekly.com
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JOHN FOLEY PHOTO
Perquimans County Commissioner Fondella Leigh places a wreath in honor of the
nation’s fallen military servicemen and women at Memorial Park, near the county
courthouse, during the Perquimans County Memorial Day ceremony, Monday.
to honor and pay tribute to
those in the armed services
who have died in wars the
nation has fought,” he said.
Besides reminding the
crowd that the event would
feature a roll call of Perqui ¬
Strollers will get a chance
to help paint a community
mural on a massive wall, ac
cording to the event’s co-or-
ganizer Historic Hertford,
Inc.
“The mural will be on the
back of the PAL building,”
said Susan Cox of Historic
Hertford, Inc. adding, “It
is like paint-by-numbers.
We’ve been wanting to paint
that building for a while.”
Cox was referring to the
Perquimans Arts League
See HERTFORD, A3
COHEN
juniors can
be placed
in a job re
quiring up
to 20 hours
of work —
at no cost
to the em
ployer.
The
jobs can
be something as simple as
cleaning out a back room,
painting an employee bath-
room or cleaning a yard.
2
Jill Cohen, director
of Career and Techni
cal Education at Per
quimans County High
School, is looking to
place 60 students in
the program. All of
the students will be
available to work af-
mans County veterans who
have died over the past
year, Englehardt also urged
attendees to visit local cem
eteries on Monday.
“We have placed 700 flags
graveside sponsored by the
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Becky White (left) and Sheryl Corr dance the Cupid
Shuffle during a Hertford Stroll in downtown Hertford
last May. The first Hertford Stroll of the summer will be
Friday, June 10.
ter July 14.
“I am looking for business
es who need help or person
al help cleaning their yard,
painting something, cutting
grass,” she said. “I want them
(the students) to learn basic
employment skills: how to
show up on time; commu
nicate with people; stay off
their cell phones.”
Cohen said she’s “open to
everything.”
“This is a wonderful way
for the students and the
community to learn and
benefit from one another,”
she said.
The student stipend pro
gram happened only be
cause Cohen read the fine
print when applying for the
Economic Stimulus Grant.
“When I was applying for
American Legion with the
help of Rotarian volunteers.
Take some time to see the
flags flutter,” he said.
The Rev. Stuart Meads,
See MEMORIAL, A3
the grant one of the suggest
ed opportunities was to pur
chase a computer program
from California or Utah and
have the students sit in front
of it for 20 hours each to
learn a new program,” Co
hen said.
While that may have been
helpful, it did nothing to pro
vide an economic stimulus
for Perquimans or the peo
ple who five here. And it only
enriched a computer compa
ny in California or Utah.
“So I called the state and
explained I wanted to de
velop a program where kids
learn employment skills,
show up on time, dress
properly, don’t use their
cell phones — those kind of
See GRANT, A3
Schools seeking
ways to ID more
gifted students
District wants to raise Black
student participation to 5%
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Perquimans County
Schools officials are seek
ing ways to ensure they are
identifying all academical
ly gifted students.
Of particular concern
is the small percentage
of Black students in the
school district who are
identified as academical
ly or intellectually gifted.
Only 0.05 percent of Black
students in the district
have been identified as
AIG, compared with 11
percent of white students.
The state average for
Black students is 5 percent.
Perquimans is looking
at adopting that percent
age as a goal for Black stu
dents’ participation in the
Pirates look to repeat
• DAVID GOUGH/THE DAILY ADVANCE
Perquimans’ Trenton Sawyer delivers a pitch
during Game 2 of the Pirates’ 7-3 win over Bear
Grass Charter in the 1A NCHSAA Eastern Regional
Championship Series, Saturday at Bear Grass. The
Pirates will play the western champion Cherryville
High School Ironmen for the state championship at
Holly Spring’s Ting Park Friday and Saturday. See
page B2 for more information.
Disappearance
of woman in 2015
is still a mystery
Karen Bosta was last seen
in Edenton May 30,2015
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Monday marked seven
years since Perquimans
County resident Karen
Rae Bosta went missing in
Edenton.
Bosta’s mother, Arlene
Murin, is still waiting for
answers.
A total of $20,000 in re
ward money is still being
offered for information
that leads investigators
to solve why Bosta disap
peared on May 30,2015.
Perquimans County
Sheriff Shelby White said
his office continues to fol
low up on all leads and tips.
He said he hopes someone
comes forward with infor
mation that will help inves
tigators solve the case.
Bosta, who was living at
Hobday Island in Perquim
district’s AIG program.
In her presentation on
AIG at the the Perquimans
County Board of Educa
tion meeting last week,
Chief Academic Officer
Melissa Fields acknowl
edged that Perquimans is
well below the state av
erage in its percentage of
African-American students
identified as academically
or intellectually gifted.
“It’s unacceptable,”
Fields said. “We’ve got a
long way to go.”
The district’s revised
AIG plan is currently un
der consideration by .the
board.
Board member Matt
Peeler said he believes
there needs to be a way for
a student to be identified
as AIG based on the firm
conviction of a teacher
or a principal. He said if a
See STUDENTS, A3
ans, was
last seen
in Eden
ton seven
years ago
Monday.
Her car
was found
a few days
BOSTA later in
the Gas-
fight Square parking lot on
Court Street in downtown
Edenton.
A massive search on
both land and water fol
lowing Bosta’s disappear
ance proved futile.
Since then, law enforce
ment agencies in Perqui
mans and Chowan have
worked together to solve
the case.
The Perquimans Sher
iff’s Office is the lead
agency in the investigation
since Bosta was a Perquim
ans county resident.
Chowan County Sheriff
See BOSTA, A2