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PAGE A2
PCRA hosts
Colonial Christmas
event
PAGES B1-7
All I want
for Christmas:
Youngsters write
to Santa
Hertford to use part of grant prepping for ferry project
Part of $725K will help
upgrade docks, build pavilion
From staff reports
The town of Hertford will
use part of a $725,000 state
grant preparing for the start
of the Harbor Towns ferry
project.
Gov. Roy Cooper an
nounced last week that
Hertford is among the 42
local governments state
wide set to receive a total
of $19.76 million in grants
during the second round
of funding from the Ru
ral Transformation Grant
Fund. The funding comes
from the American Rescue
Plan signed by President
Biden last year.
Hertford will use its
$725,000 grant for several
projects, interim Town Man
ager Janice Cole said last
week. One project will al
low Hertford to connect its
downtown with its public
docking area, she said.
“The docks will be up
graded, a pavilion will be
constructed and the side-
walks will be upgraded,”
Cole said in an email.
She said the infrastruc
ture improvements are de
signed to prepare Hertford
for the arrival of the Harbor
Towns ferry vessels and
dinner boat “which are an
ticipated to be ready in the
spring.”
According to Cole, the
town’s Rural Transforma
tion grant will also be used
to make improvements at
the intersection of Grubb
and Church streets in the
downtown.
“This is another step
toward fulfillment of the
Hertford Community & Riv
erfront Plan and our part
nership with Allison Platt
of Regeneration by Design
continues in this endeavor,”
Cole said.
Area officials announced
last week that Harbor
Towns Inc. is close to final
izing a contract to purchase
the 85-foot Anticipation V
dinner-excursion boat from
See GRANT, A3
PHOTO COURTESY NICK DIDOW
The town of Hertford plans to use part of its $725,000
Rural Transformation grant to improve access to
the public docks where the Anticipation V, a dinner-
excursion boat, will be moored when it starts visiting
the town next spring.
Time with St. Nick
Open Door hoping
to raise $50K to
start facility work
JOHN FOLEY/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Santa tells (seated, l-r) Royal Archer, Myracle Archer, (standing, l-r)) Nova Felton and Legacy Warren more about
himself prior to listening to their wishes for Christmas during Historic Hertford Inc.’s annual Breakfast With Santa
event at the Carolina Moon Theater in Hertford, Saturday.
Breakfast With Santa draws sellout crowd
110 attended event hosted by
HHI at Carolina Moon Theater
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
The Historic Hertford
building was filled with
the aroma of pancakes and
sausages as well as a bit of
holiday wonderment during
Saturday’s annual Breakfast
With Santa event.
The breakfast, hosted
by Historic Hertford Inc.,
boasted sellout crowds
during both its 8:30 a.m. and
10 a.m. sessions, drawing
a total of 40 adults and 70
children.
HHI members scurried
like elves during both ses
sions, flipping flapjacks,’
pouring orange juice, bus
sing tables, and taking res
ervations for times with
Santa — all while making
sure everyone was having a
jolly time.
Peggy Winslow, on the pi
ano, and Nancy Jones, play
ing the violin, added to the
holiday mood by perform
ing Christmas music.
Both young and old peak
ed through the doors of the
Carolina Moon Theater to
get a glimpse of St. Nicho
las, who was sitting center
stage on a red velvet couch
and engaged in reading long
lists that apparently con
tained the names of exact
ly who had been nice and,
well, who hadn’t been.
Once breakfast was fin
ished, the doors to the the
ater opened and children
entered and were greeted
See SANTA, A3
Food pantry needs to raise
$50K to match challenge grant
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
The Open Door Food
Pantry of Perquimans
County hopes to open the
doors at its new expanded
facility by the end of next
summer.
But that timetable will
largely depend on the gen
erosity of community do
nors.
This month marks the
beginning of the Open
Door’s $50,000 matching
grant Jump Start Chal
lenge. The nonprofit has
received grant donations
totaling $50,000 to com
plete phase one of its ren
ovation project at the for
See OPEN DOOR, A3
IMAGE COURTESY THE OPEN DOOR PANTRY
Shown is an artist’s rendering of what The Open
Door Food Pantry of Perquimans County envisions its
renovated facility will look like once renovations are
complete.
mer Andy’s and Highway
55 restaurant building on
Creek Drive in Hertford.
But the grants require
the Open Door to raise
a matching amount to
secure the $50,000. The
Open Door hopes to raise
$50,000 in December so it
can secure the grant in ear
ly 2023 and start the reno
vation project.
Currently Open Door is
working with A.R. Chesson
Construction Co., Inc. and
is in the final design phase
for a new addition that will
add space and style to the
existing building.
“We anticipate the ap
proval of the plans to be
after the first of the year
with the construction
starting as soon as possible
Orchestra performs Christmas concert
Concert included Ukrainian
composer’s ‘Carol of the Bells'
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
Conductor Nancy Jones
and the Albemarle Commu
nity Orchestra brought the
seasonal sounds of Bach,
Tchaikovsky, and Douglas
Wagner to life last weekend
at Hertford’s Carolina Moon
Theater.
Sellout crowds turned out
both Saturday and Sunday
evenings to eqjoy the music
performed by the orchestra
whose 23 members are from
the local community.
This year’s concert,
6 ■ 89076 47144
Vol. 87, No. 51
WWW.PerquimansWeekly.com
@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
“Christmas Around the
World,” included arrange
ments of a “Cold Winter’s
Night” by Erica Donahoe;
“Jolly Old St Pachelbel” by
Matthew Putnam; and “Carol
of the Rising Bells” by Tyler
Arcari.
i The new composition by
Arcari is an arrangement of
“House of the Rising Sun”
and “Carol of the Bells.”
“Carol of the Bells” was
written in 1916 by Ukrainian
composer Mykola Leon-
tovich and titled “Shchedryk.”
The composition is based on
a tale about a swallow who
flies into a family’s house to
proclaim the plentiful year
that’s ahead for them. The
song’s title is derived from
2
the Ukrainian word
“shchedryj,” meaning
“bountiful.”
“House of the Rising
Sun” was written by
Georgia Turner and
Bert Martin and tells
a different story. Ar
cari is a composer, ar-
JOHN FOLEY/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Albemarle Community Orchestra conductor Nancy
Jones (left) shares notes during a rehearsal with cellists
(l-r) Walter Schmitt, Hilary Hunsberger and Melody
Clopton while trombonist Courtney Young looks on.
The orchestra performed its “Christmas Around the
World” concert at Hertford’s Carolina Moon Theater on
Saturday and Sunday.
ranger, author and clinician,
penned the piece in 2020.
While it may have a more spe
cial meaning today, given the
Russian invasion of Ukraine,
it was not written with the
Kyiv-Moscow standoff in
mind.
The orchestra, organized
by Jones in June 2017, is
made up of local community
musicians from Perquimans,
Chowan and Pasquotank
counties.
The Albemarle Communi
ty Orchestra performs twice
a year, once in the spring
and again in December. The
spring concert dates have
not yet been announced.
Trooper had missed
previous court date
One dismissed DWI case
had been continued 9 times
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The 11 driving while im
paired cases dismissed in a
single session of Perquim
ans County District Court
in September because of
a state trooper’s absence
from court had been con
tinued from a June court
session because the same
trooper was absent from
court then, too.
In. addition, all of the
DWI cases dismissed had
been continued — re
scheduled to a future court
date — at least three times
and several others had
been continued numerous
times, including one con
tinued nine times.
And in at least two of
the cases, the defendant
charged with DWI had
themselves previously
been charged with failing
to appear in court when
they were scheduled to.
The Perquimans Weekly
previously reported that
five of the defendants in
the cases also had been
convicted of DWI before,
including one involving
Gregory Twine, who, ac
cording to the state’s dis
missal form, had three
prior DWI convictions in
Perquimans County — in
1993,1995 and 2019 — and
one in Chowan County, in
2011.
The cases were dis
missed by the prosecutor
in Perquimans County Dis
trict Court on Sept. 14 after
Judge Meader Harriss III
denied the state’s request
See DWI, A3