North Carolina Newspapers

♦ The QUIMANS EEKLY “News from Next Door” THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022 $1.50 » W SCAN ME PAGE A2 Ferebee Road Fire only 24% contained as of Monday PAGE A3 Godly fathers need relation ship with heav enly father PAGE B3 Thach named 1A Player of Year in NC; four Pirates make all- state team HONORABLE VISIT Advocates call for official to target town blight PHOTO COURTESY PENNY BYRD Lyn Winslow (left) explains the brick construction of the Newbold-White House to N.C. Chief Justice Paul Newby during Newby’s visit to Perquimans County, Thursday, June 23. Chief justice tours Newbold-White House Newby also visited Perquimans County Courthouse June 23 From staff reports The chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court continued his tour of the state’s 100 county court houses last week by visiting the Perquimans County Courthouse in Hertford. But prior to going, Chief Justice Paul Newby and his wife also made a visit to the Newbold-White House, the state’s oldest brick res idence. According to Penny Byrd, publicity chair for the Perquimans Comity Restoration Association, the nonprofit that oversees the Newbold-White House, Newby was greeted by four members of the PCRA Board of Directors. Lynwood Winslow, a member of the PCRA, led Newby on a tour of the house and its grounds. That was followed by a brief vis it to the replica of the peri- auger boat on the grounds and the 1820s Newby Cot tage, which is also on the property. See NEWBY, A4 Cole: Plan in works to add enforcement officer BY JOHN FOLEY Correspondent When Tim Brinn talks about solving the problem of dilapidated and aban doned homes that checker board entire blocks of Hert ford, he’s pretty direct. “Without a compliance officer, nothing is going to be accomplished,” the Hert ford resident says. Brinn has advocated for the town of Hertford hiring a code compliance officer for some time. He believes Hertford needs the posi tion to enforce town codes, particularly on property owners who don’t seem in terested in fixing up their buildings. “It’s pretty bad when there are about 30 vacant lots, some with city services and infrastructure, and we can’t get anyone to build on them,” he said. Brinn is optimistic, though, that things might be changing. “We’re about to flip the switch on code enforce ment, I hope,” he said. According to interim Town Manager Janice McK enzie Cole, a plan for Hert ford to add a compliance officer is in the works. Cole said the town also intends to take other steps to ad dress the problem of dilapi dated and abandoned properties that has plagued Hertford COLE for years. “Some of the abandoned houses are owned by nu merous family meipbers that no longer five in town and they just do not want the homes,” she said. “We are taking steps to locate these people in an attempt to solve the problems.” Frank Jaklic, an advocate for building preservation who has remodeled sev eral older structures, says the town has been talking about solving the dilapidat ed buildings problem for some time. He, too, believes it won’t be solved until ac tive steps are taken. “The town is not going to grow or move forward until See OFFICER, A4 Gregory Truck Bodies has new owner Gregorys sell 133-year-old company to Ungerecht BY JOHN FOLEY Correspondent WOODVILLE — Johnie Gregory Truck Bodies, a 133-year-old Woodville insti tution, has a new owner. Ashley Gregory, the fifth generation of his family to own and operate the busi ness, recently oversaw its sale to Derek Ungerecht. “It’s time. My grandfather, Johnie Gregory, had a plan and wanted to see the sale go through,” Ashley Gregory said. Johnie Gregory passed away in March at age 87. While the clapboard bam where James Gregory found ed his business and built his first plow in 1889 is now a framed picture on the office wall, the spirit, work ethic and high standards of a successful 133-year-old family business still echo over the machines bending, brushing and polish ing steel for a future 20-foot dump truck. “My grandfather worked here from the time he was 16 and worked here all his life”, Ashley Gregory said. “He wanted to work until he was 70. He stopped getting paid when he was 65 but still came in every day and worked with the rest of us.” Johnie Gregory passed that work ethic on to his children and grandchildren. “My dad and their broth ers worked here everyday, all their lives, and I had a pair of work clothes in the back from the time I was dropped off the bus in kindergarten,” Ashley Gregory said. “My grandfa ther taught us what he.knew.” See OWNER, A4 JOHN FOLEY PHOTO Ashley Gregory, (right) the fifth generation owner-operator of Johnie Gregory Truck Bodies, hands the keys to the business over to new owner, Derek Ungerecht, June 17. The Gregory family recently sold the 133-year-old company to Ungerecht — a sale blessed by Gregory’s grandfather prior to his death in March at age 87. Council raises town cemetery plot price to $750 Town: No July 4 fireworks, Indian Summer fest returning BY REGGIE PONDER Staff Writer The town of Hertford is raising the price of a ceme tery plot for town residents to $750. Hertford Town Council approved the increase at its work session Monday night. Town officials also an nounced Monday that there will not be any Fourth of July fireworks in town or Independence Day celebra tion in Hertford this year. Interim Town Manager Janice Cole said the town’s previous fireworks displays were funded by private indi viduals. Council’s decision to in crease the price of cemetery plots also does away with the town’s previous three-ti er pricing. Under that sys tem, town residents were charged $560 for a ceme tery plot, people who lived in Perquimans County but outside the town limits paid $890 for a plot, and people who lived outside the coun ty were charged $1,225 for one. Cole told the council that people living out of town had been getting around the See PRICE, A4 School board winners to be sworn-in White, Corprew, Leary to take oath at July 7 meeting From staff reports Newly elected mem bers of the Perquimans County Board of Educa tion will take their oath of office next week. Incumbent member Anne White, the school 6 1 89076 47144 2 Vol. 87, No. 26 WWW.PerquimansWeekly.com @2021 Perquimans Weekly All Rights Reserved board’s chair woman, was re- elected to the school board on May 10. First- time candidates Kristy Corprew and Matt Leary were both elect ed to the board’s two other open seats. Corprew and Leary will replace Matt Peeler and Amy Spaugh, who did not seek reelection. White said the oath of office is usually adminis tered to Perquim ans school board WINSLOW CORPREW WHITE members at the board’s regular July meeting. But this year the board is holding an orientation and training session for board members on Thurs day, July 7. The oath of office will be administered to board members at 8 a.m. in the board meeting room at the Perquimans County Schools office. The train ing sessions will follow, and will include presen tations by rep resentatives of the N.C. School Boards Associa tion, according to White. Topics will be an nounced later but will in clude responsibilities of a school board member. White, Corprew and Leary garnered the most votes May 10 in a field that also included Gra cie Felton, Brenda Hud dleston and Dave Silva. Fatal wreck probed Single-vehicle wreck reported on Highway US 17 Friday night From staff reports The N.C. Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal acci dent on U.S. Highway 17 in Perquimans County Friday night. According to a Perquimans Emergency Services press re lease, the county’s 911 center was notified of a single-ve hicle accident in the north bound lane of U.S. Highway 17 at 10:23 p.m. Friday. When first responders arrived in the 900 block of U.S. 17, they found a lone occupant in the vehicle who had died, the release states. The release did not iden tify the driver. Northbound traffic on U.S. 17 was diverted around the accident scene for near ly four hours, the release states. Agencies responding to the incident included the Perquimans County Sher iff’s Office, Hertford Fire Department, Perquimans County Emergency Medical Services, and the NC High way Patrol. Details about the acci dent were not immediate ly available from the N.C. Highway Patrol on Monday.