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"‘News from Next Door"
SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 2023
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PAGE 2
Winslow, Willow
Creek tops in yields
PAGE 5
Hartman:
Peace isn’t
concept, idea or
season — it’s
way of life
PAGE 6
Milot: If GOP
wants to cut
spending, start
with fed agen
cies
Residents establish scholarship in Key’s memory
PHOTO COURTESY PERQUIMANS
COUNTY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
Two top Perquimans
County officials have taken
the lead in launching a
new local scholarship in
memory of William “Tony”
Key, a longtime county
resident recently killed
in a vehicle collision in
Virginia.
Heaths, Nelsons make first
donations to endowment fund
From staff reports
Two top Perquimans
County officials and their
wives have taken the lead in
launching a new local schol
arship in memory of Wil
liam “Tony” Key, a longtime
county resident recently
killed in a vehicle collision.
Frank and Roberta Heath
and Wallace and Freda
Nelson helped launch the
William Tony Key English/
Language Arts & Fine Arts
Scholarship in Kee’s memo
ry. Frank Heath is the coun
ty manager and Wallace
INSIDE
Story honors parents with
new Richard & LaRue Winslow
scholarship. Page A3.
Nelson is chairman of the
Perquimans Board of Com
missioners.
Both the Heaths and Nel
sons have donated funds for
scholarship, and they hope
others will join them in pay
ing tribute to Kee’s life by
sending contributions to the
Perquimans County Schools
Foundation Inc. to establish
an endowed fund for the
scholarship.
Key, 69, was killed Feb. 12
in a two-vehicle collision on
South George Washington
Highway in Chesapeake,
Virginia. The crash occurred
at the intersection of South
George Washington High
way and Fox Trail.
Chesapeake Police re
ported that shortly before
2 p.m., the mini van that Key
was driving south crossed
into the northbound lanes
and was struck by a pickup
truck.
An adult male and one
toddler who were the only
occupants of the pickup
truck were both transport
ed to a local hospital with
minor injuries, according to
Chesapeake Police.
Schools Foundation Ex
ecutive Director Brenda
Lassiter described Kee as “a
friend to everyone.”
“If Tony painted the walls
of your house, he ate at
your table,” she said. “He
was a friend to everyone.
Attributes of a good friend
include being kind, being a
good listener, making your
self available, showing you
can be trusted and shar
ing personal experiences.
These characteristics truly
represent our friend.”
According to foundation
President Carson Stall
ings, it takes a minimum of
$10,000 to establish an en
dowment for a scholarship.
The fund will be overseen
by the foundation, and an
award will be made avail
able annually to a PCHS
senior. The award will come
from the endowment’s earn
ings so that the initial contri
bution is never used.
“Much of what we invest
in over the years has a limit
ed lifespan but this fund will
grow and live on forever,”
Lassiter said.
The William Tony Key En-
glish/Language Arts & Fine
Arts Scholarship for 2023
will be for $1,000 and is be
ing funded by the Heaths
and Nelsons’ contribution.
Subsequent donations re
ceived in memory of Key
will be used to establish the
See KEY, A3
Queens of the court
Emergency services
to launch community
paramedicine program
FACEBOOK
The Albemarle Regional Volleyball Club’s 14U team sports their medals and plaque after finishing first in their
96-team division at the Capitol Hill Classic club volleyball tournament in Washington, D.C., Feb. 18-20. Team
members include (front row, l-r) Cameron Underhill, Alyssa Winslow and Kaitlynn Barnes; and (back row, l-r) Coach
Courtney Owney, Daisy Pond, Hailey Roberson, Eleanor Howell, Reese Underhill, Harper Evans and Assistant Coach
Tammy Barnes.
Volleyball club takes top honors in DC
3 ARVC teams won 1st, 2nd,
3rd at Capitol Hill Classic
BY JULIAN EURE
Managing Editor
If you’re curious about
why area high school girls
volleyball programs, includ
ing Perquimans County’s,
are becoming state power-
houses in the sport, a good
place to start is the Albe
marle Regional Volleyball
Club.
The club’s players, who
hail from either Perquim
ans, Camden, Currituck,
Pasquotank or Chowan
counties, have helped fuel
Camden’s two straight trips
to the 2A state champion
ship match and Perquim
ans’ first-ever trip to the 1-A
championship match this
past year.
The club also recently
showed its volleyball prow
ess with its teams’ perfor
mances in the Capitol Hill
Classic, held in Washington,
D.C. over President’s Day-
weekend.
More than 900 volley-
ball teams from around the
country and other countries
competed in the three-day
tournament, filling the fa
cility’s 122 volleyball courts.
And when the play was
done^ all three Albemarle
Regional Volleyball Club
teams in the tournament
took home top honors.
The club’s 14U team,
coached by Courtney
Owney and assistant coach
Tammy Barnes, finished
first in its 96-team division.
The 18U team, coached by
John Tanis and assistant
coach Delaine Tanis, fin
ished second in its 72-team
division. And the club’s 13U
team, coached by John Ta
nis and assistant coach Ash
ley Miller, came in third in
See VOLLEYBALL, A3
Grant pays for paramedic
to make in-home visits
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Perquimans County of
ficials gave a green light
Monday to a new commu
nity paramedicine program
in the county.
The startup of the Mo
bile Integrated Health Pro
gram in Perquimans Coun
ty is being funded through
a $355,000 grant from the
Duke Endowment.
The Board of Commis ¬
Wife of injured deputy
addresses commission
Farrar: Husband forced to
take medical leave after call
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The wife of a former Per
quimans County sheriff’s
deputy injured in the line of
duty asked the county last
month for assistance with his
health insurance coverage.
Samantha Farrar ad
dressed the Perquimans
Board of Commissioners
regarding her husband, for
mer Perquimans Deputy
Robert Farrar, during the
public comment period at
the board’s Feb. 6 meeting.
She said her husband is
medically retired from his
sioners voted unanimously
at its regular meeting to au
thorize Perquimans Coun
ty Emergency Services to
move foiward with imple
menting the program.
The board also voted
unanimously to adopt a
resolutions allowing funds
from the county’s share of
the national opioid settle
ment to be used to buy a
vehicle for the community
paramedic who will be pro
viding health care services
through the grant-funded
program.
See PARAMEDICINE, A2
service as a deputy with
the Sheriff’s Office. Robert
Farrar had to take medical
retirement because he was
injured while responding to
a call, Samantha Farrar said.
The county accepted the
request for medical retire
ment, Farrar said. But she
said that they had been
shocked to learn that his
health insurance coverage
had stopped.
Farrar said that her hus
band is unable to continue
work due to his injury.
She said she had asked
for help paying for health
insurance for her husband.
After Farrar concluded
her comments, Perquimans
See DEPUTY, A3
Fundraiser for Open
Door set for April 21
Barbecue, chicken meal
will be at Hertford Baptist
BY TYLER NEWMAN
Staff Writer
The Open Door Food
6 ■ 89076 47144
Vol. 88, No. 10
WWW.PerquimansWeekly.com
@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
Pantry of Perquimans Coun
ty will host a fried chicken
and barbecue dinner next
month to raise money for its
new building fund.
Dina Hurdle, chair of the
Open Door Board of Direc
tors, said the Friday, April
21 fundraiser will
help the nonprofit
renovate and remodel
2 the former Highway
55 restaurant building
it purchased in Win
fall.
See FUNDRAISER, A3
Central students highlight Black inventors
Library wraps up successful
Black History Month programs
TYLER NEWMAN
Staff Writer
Bright, smiling students
from Perquimans Central
School greeted a full house
at the Perquimans Coun
ty Library in Hertford last
week for the final event of
the library’s series of Black
History Month programs.
Students led by Connie
Ashley took center stage in
the library’s meeting room
the afternoon of Tuesday,
Feb. 28. The room typically
occupied by county com
missioners instead was
filled with young people.
The students’ assign
ment over the course of
February was to research
Black inventors or promi
nent Black individuals from
American history.
Their final project con
sisted of presenting that re
search in the form of color
ful posters, while singing a
rendition of Paul Robeson’s
song, “Get on Board Little
Children.”
Jonathan White, em
ployee of the month at
See INVENTORS, A3
TYLER NEWMAN/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Jonathan White (left) assists a student from
Perquimans Central School with his presentation on
Duke Ellington during the last in a series of Black
History Month programs sponsored by the Perquimans
County Library, Tuesday, Feb. 28.