4
The
QUIMANS
EEKLY
"'News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15,2022 $1.50
0 SCAN ME
PAGE A2
Overton Tractor
Parade to roll from
Belvidere Saturday
PAGE Bl
History for
Lunch: Author:
Tyrrell was
timber bonanza
PAGE B3
Library to
host Community
Resource Fair
Sept. 22
Indian Summer Fun
PHOTOS BY JOHN FOLEY/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY !
The band Spare Change performs for the street dance on the opening night of the 36th annual Indian Summer
Festival in downtown Hertford, Friday night.
PCHS grad
rate exceeds
state’s rate
Thousands attend downtown festival
Math, reading scores follow
state trend and fall backward
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Graduation rates for
the 2021-22 school year at
most high schools across
the area were better than
the statewide rate.
Statewide, the four-year
cohort graduation rate
was 86.2% and the five-
year cohort graduation
rate was 88.5%. The four-
year cohort rate is the per
centage of students who
entered ninth-grade in the
2018-2019 school year who
graduated in 2022. The
five-year cohort rate cov
ers students who entered
ninth-grade a year earlier,
in 2017-18, and graduated
in 2022.
Perquimans County
High School’s four-year
and five-year cohort rates
exceeded the state rate.
PCHS’ had a four-year rate
of 91.3% and five-year rate
of 88.1%.
Perquimans County
Schools Superintendent
Tanya Turner said gradu
ation rates in Perquimans
have continued to im
prove.
“As for the graduation
rate, we have a lot to cel
ebrate as our percentage
was higher than last year
and the 2018-2019 pre-pan-
demic level,” Turner said.
“This year we were 91.3
percent compared to 86.1
See RATES, A3
Fest canceled past two
years because of pandemic
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
Thousands of Perquim
ans County residents and
visitors took to the streets
of Hertford last weekend
for the 36th annual Indian
Summer Festival and the
first since the pandemic
struck in early 2020.
Events kicked off Friday
evening with a downtown
Hertford street dance. Rev
elers line-danced on Church
Street as the band Spare
Lack of rain hurting local corn yields
Rising input costs lower
farmers' profit margin per acre
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
If rising input costs be
cause of inflation weren’t al
ready causing enough stress
for Perquimans County
farmers, the lack of rain this
Change filled the evening
air with tunes that got the
crowd, young and not-so-
young, clapping, singing and
tripping the light fantastic.
It was an appropriate
opening for the festival’s
events Saturday morning.
To kick things off, the Hert
ford Fire Department raised
an American flag hook-and-
ladder style at the end of
Church Street. While the
flag waved under cloud
ed skies, the rain held off,
easing Perquimans County
Tourism Director Stacey
Layden’s stress.
See FESTIVAL, A3
summer is.
“The dry weather has
taken a toll on our crops
this year and continues to
hurt the rest of the crops we
have growing,” said Perqui
mans County Extension Di
rector Jared Harrell.
According to Harrell,
corn yields are lower across
the county from last year,
and in some areas of Per ¬
quimans, they’re “very low
compared to recent years.”
There is rain in the fore
cast for this week, but the
anticipated precipitation
will not be enough to boost
yields.
While higher fuel prices
remain a concern, supply
chain disruptions are not
currently an issue for local
growers.
Sharon
Matthews
says
“cheese”
at the
Hertford
Ruritan
Club’s
nacho
booth
Friday on
the first
day of
the 36th
annual
Indian
Summer
Festival.
“Supply chain has not
had much of a burden on
our farmers as our grain is
grown for animal feeds,”
Harrell said. “The higher
fuel prices for trucking does
have an effect for where the
farmers are going to sell
their grain at.”
And while the price of
See CROPS, A3
Hertford moving
town funds to
investment fund
Capital Management Trust
to pay interest on $2M
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The town of Hertford is
moving the majority of its
funds from bank accounts
earning little or no interest
to a money market inves
tor currently paying 2.23
percent interest on depos
its.
Town Manager Janice
Cole recommended to
Hertford Town Council
Monday night that the
town move most of its
funds to Capital Manage
ment Trust, an organiza
tion that invests funds for
local governments. She
noted CMT is recommend
ed by the N.C. Local Gov ¬
ernment
Commis
sion.
After
discus
sion, the
council
voted
u n a n i -
COLE mously
to keep
$500,000 each in the two
existing bank accounts
and move the remainder
— currently around $2 mil
lion — into Capital Man
agement Trust.
Cole explained that
when money has to be
taken out of CMT it can be
moved back to the regular
bank account the next day
at no cost. And in an emer
gency the funds could be
See FUNDS, A3
New highway sign directs motorists to downtown
Booster groups also planning
to post billboard on US 17
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
89076 47144
2
Vol. 87, No. 37
WWW.PerquimansWeekly.com
@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
Within weeks the detour signs
directing traffic away from the
S-Bridge’s construction site will
be gone. That will be a welcome
sign as life in Perquimans begins
returning to the way it was before
the bridge project began.
Another welcome sign?
A new sign on U.S. Highway
17 near Crossroads Fuel Services
highlighting Hertford’s Historic
Walk and downtown attractions
including the Perquimans Coun
ty Courthouse, the Colored U.S.
Soldiers Monument, the Edmund ¬
son-Fox Memorial, the Hertford
S-Bridge Trestle and the Perquim
ans County History Museum.
The sign also include facts
about Perquimans’ history and a
scannable QR code where cell-
phone users can find more infor
mation.
The sign, just like the sign that
preceded it, is dedicated to one
of Hertford’s most respected citi
zens, Jeanne C. White. The sign’s
dedication to White is noted in
See SIGN, A3
JOHN FOLEY/
THE PERQUIMANS
WEEKLY
This new
sign posted
near the
Crossroads
Fuel Services
building on
U.S. Highway
17 points out
some of the
attractions
for visitors in
Hertford.
illification!
HISTORIC HOME TOUR
Tickets: TOUR & DINNER: $40 per person Music
TOUR OR DINNER ONLY: $25 per person by "Uphill"
CALL 252-426-7567 FOR TICKETS
Sat., Sept. 24,2022
Doors open 11am at Holy Trinity Episcopal
Church, 207 S. Church St., Hertford, NC
TOUR - 12:30-5PM
DINNER - 5:30-8PM at Newbold-White House
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