X
QUIMANS
EEKLY
“News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2022 $1.50
@ SCAN ME
PAGE A2
EC teen charged
in Aug. fatal shoot
ing in Snug Harbor
PAGE A8
Ian’s
remnants cross
region, damage
cotton crop
PAGE Bl
Roper’s
Chandler wins
Chowan fair
pageant
Perquimans gets $37M grant for new intermediate school
School would replace Hertford
Grammar, Perquimans Middle
From staff reports
The Perquimans Coun
ty Schools has received a
state needs-based school
facilities grant of nearly $37
million for a new school to
serve grades 3-8.
The new school would
replace Hertford Grammar
School and Perquimans
Middle School.
The grant of $36.9 million
was announced last month
by the N.C. Department of
Public Instruction.
Nine school districts
have been awarded facil
ities grants totaling $300
million for 2022-23. The
projects were selected from
164 grant applications that
came from 72 school dis
tricts across the state.
State Superintendent of
Public Instruction Cath
erine Truitt, who visited
the Perquimans County
Schools on Wednesday,
said the grants will help
build school facilities that
create the best possible
learning environments for
children.
“Many students in North
Carolina attend schools
built decades ago,” Truitt
said in a statement released
by her office. “These grants
are paying for schools de
signed and built for the 21st
century. Today’s students,
regardless of where they
live and attend school, de-
serve nothing less.”
In addition to the grant
for Perquimans, elsewhere
in the region:
• Gates County Schools
received $9.8 million for ad
ditions and renovations to
Gates County High School.
• Hyde County Schools
received $8.3 million for ad
ditions and renovations to
the Mattamuskeet School.
• Tyrrell County Schools
received $350,000 for a new
career and technical educa
tion center
PHOTO COURTESY
CORRIE BYRD/NCDPI
State
Superintendent
of Public
Instruction
Catherine Truitt
holds a “Be the
One” T-shirt she
received during
a visit to the
Perquimans
County Schools
on Wednesday,
Sept. 28.
Top school official visits
Truitt: NC needs phonics-based reading
JOHN FOLEY/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt addresses the Perquimans County Republican
Party, guests and county school officials during an event at the Crawfish Shack, Tuesday, Sept. 27. Perquimans
County Schools Superintendent Tanya Turner (right) was among the local school officials in attendance.
Truitt spoke to county GOP,
toured county schools
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
More than 50 Perquimans
County Republicans, their
guests and county school
officials gathered under
twinkling lights and flow
ered chandeliers at Winfall’s
Crawfish Shack last week
to welcome North Carolina
Superintendent of Public
Instruction Catherine Truitt.
Truitt, a registered Re
publican, was scheduled
to tour Perquimans Coun-
New Chamber chief Cangemi has full plate
Community calendar, annual
dinner among her projects
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
New Perquimans Coun
ty Chamber of Commerce
Director Diane Cangemi hit
the ground running when
she was handed keys to the
Chamber’s Market Street of
fice last month.
She kind of had to. With
6
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INSIDE
Truitt eyes alternate ways to
evaluate schools, districts.
Page B2.
ty Schools on Wednesday,
Sept. 28, and was invited to
address the group the night
before by Perquimans GOP
Chairman Tim Brinn.
“People ask me all of
the time what is the most
enjoyable part of my job,”
Truitt said. “It is seeing the
schools. Particularly the
kindergarten classes.”
Truitt wasted little time
pointing out what she sees
no full-
time direc
tor since
May, the
Chamber’s
things-to-
do list had
gotten kind
CANGEMI on top'S
that, the
Chamber was in the midst
of planning for a number of
upcoming events.
“We are having an open
2
house for National
Chamber of Com
merce Day October
19th. And along with
that, we are hosting
the Trunk or Treat
event October 28th
from 4:30 p.m. until
6:30 p.m. on Church
as the biggest obstacle to
students’ ability to make
academic progress in North
Carolina classrooms. She
said learning to read is key
to students getting a solid
education.
Truitt said “one of the
reasons” she ran for state
school superintendent was
to help ensure all students
have options after graduat
ing from high school.
“We have too many kids
in our state who cross that
stage and shake your hand
and say, T don’t know’ when
asked, ‘what are you going
to do now?’” she said.
Truitt noted that only 31%
Street in downtown Hert
ford,” said Cangemi. “We
are also helping with the
Small Business Saturday
Event November 26th in
downtown Hertford.”
While Cangemi has never
been a Chamber director
before, she believes the role
is similar to other manage
ment jobs she’s held.
“This job is like any man
agement job I’ve had over
the past 35 years,” she said.
“It requires the fundamen
tal understanding of busi
ness practices, accounting
knowledge, marketing and
understanding the needs of
customers — in our case
our members.”
The Perquimans County
Chamber currently has 325
members.
of high school seniors in
North Carolina obtain any
kind of workforce creden
tials by the time they are 25.
“We need to make sure
that we are preparing stu
dents to be successful af
ter high school,” she said.
“The purpose of fourth-
grade is not to get ready for
fifth-grade. The purpose of
fourth-grade is to potential
ly prepare a child to grad
uate from high school and
be able to be successful in
whatever they chose.”
Truitt also expressed
concern that state testing
See TRUITT, A3
“We are a small commu
nity, with small businesses,”
Cangemi said. “The saying,
‘it takes a village,’ I think it
takes a village of businesses
working together to grow
our local economy and I am
here to help (do that) as the
director of the Chamber of
Commerce.”
Cangemi is still relatively
new to Hertford. Born and
raised in Northern Virginia,
she lived in Winchester Va.
before moving to Hertford
last December.
“We always loved the
Outer Banks and have been
visiting friends and relatives
in the Outer Banks area our
whole lives,” she said. “We
knew we wanted to be close
See DIRECTOR, A8
Cole pitches
justice complex
to county board
Facility could make annex at
courthouse available to biz
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Hertford interim Town
Manager Janice Cole
asked Perquimans com-
I missioners Monday to
revisit building a new jus
tice-government complex
' away from downtown
Hertford.
Cole, who served on
the Perquimans Board
of Commissioners from
2010-16, said one of her
many hats as interim town
) manager is Main Street
Program manager, and she
made the case for the jus
tice center mainly on the
basis of downtown busi
ness needs.
Currently, downtown
Hertford is essentially one
block, she told the com
missioners at their regular
meeting Monday.
“There is very little room
for expansion for down-
Candidates weigh
in on commission’s
plan for monument
The commissioners ap
proved the sign plan and
asked about the Union Sol
diers Monument. Owners
of the monument indicated
they were not interested in
relocating the monument.
Republican incumbent
Wallace Nelson, Demo
cratic incumbent Fondella
Leigh, Republican James
Ward, Democrat Keith
Nowell and unaffiliated
voter Tim Corprew re
sponded to The Perquim
ans Weekly’s request for a
response to the question.
The newspaper did not re
ceive a response from can
didate Quentin Jackson.
TPW: What do you
think of the county’s
handling of issues relat
ed to the Confederate
monument?
Ward: “My thoughts
on the Confederate mon
ument are that I believe it
should stay standing, as
well as the Colored Union
Soldiers Monument, and
See MONUMENT, A3
Current board kept statue
where it is, to put up signage
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
This week, candidates
for county commission
er in Perquimans County
comment on how current
commissioners have han
dled the controversial
issue of the Confederate
monument on the lawn of
the Perquimans County
Courthouse.
In the past year commis
sioners received a recom
mendation from a study
group established by the
board, which called for
keeping the Confederate
monument in place on the
Perquimans Courthouse
grounds, adding contex
tual signs near the mon
ument, and approaching
the owner of the Union
Soldiers Monument on
King Street about possibly
relocating that monument
to the Courthouse lawn.
INSIDE
Judicial, county complex
would free up space down-
town. Page B4.
town
business
es,” Cole
said.
If the
court-
house an
nex were
available
COLE for shops,
that could
double the space available
for shops downtown, she
said.
Cole noted that she ad
vocated for the new jus
tice center when she was
a county commissioner.
A former District Court
judge, she mentioned
that she also advocated
for a new complex even
before she was a county
See COLE, A2