?THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 34, No. 41 ' . . Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, October 12, 1978 15 CENTS
INVESTIGATING BREAK-IN -
Three officers with the Hertford
Police Department are shown taking
fingerprints Thursday morning
after a break-in at Scotties Store was
reported. Shown in the foreground is
the broken window in the front of the
store. An arrest in the case was
made Friday.
FOUND AT THE SCENE ? Pic
tured above amidst shattered glass
is a piece of concrete which was
apparently used, according to
police, to break into Scotties Store at
Harris Shopping Center during the
early morning hours Thursday.
LEFT BEHIND ? Aiding the local
police in finding the person they
believe was responsible for the
break-in were some "good" finger
prints, samples of which are shown
above.
One arrested
after break-in
Text & Photos
By KATHY M. NEWBERN
HERTFORD ? One man has been
arrested in connection with a break
in Wednesday morning at Scotties
Store, located at the Harris Shopp
ing Center here. The arrest came
Thursday around 10 p.m.
Charged in the break-in is Tommy
Allen Whitehurst, 21, 310 Covent
Garden, Hertford. The arrested man
was taken before Magistrate Dilbon
Young and remains in Tri-County
Jail under $3,000 bond. He made a
first appearnce Saturday before a
district court judge in Elizabeth
City, and the tentative date for a pro
bable cause hearing is Oct. 11.
The break-in reportedly occurred
in the early morning hours and was
later discovered by the owner of a
next-door business who was opening
for the day. She then reported it to
the Hertford Police Department.
Wednesday, at the scene, one
large plate-glass window at the front
of the store had been shattered and
marks were found on the business's
' front door, evidence, according to
the police, of an unsuccessful at
tempt to enter there.
A large piece of concrete lay on
the floor in the midst of broken
glass, apparently used to shatter the
window for entry, police said.
Hertford Police Chief Marshall
Merritt reported approximately $700
of merchandise was taken, mainly
cigarettes and watches. No money
was taken during the break-in since
the cash register had been emptied
at closing the afternoon before.
Part of the stolen merchandise
was recovered at the time cf the ar
rest, but police officials are continu
ing their investigation to uncover the
remaining items. Participating in
the investigation and arrest, in addi
tion to Chief Merritt, were officers
Robert K. Morris, James C. Boyce
Sr., and James R. Logan.
A police spokesman said other
suspects in the case were eliminated
as the result of Thursday's arrest.
The break-in at Scotties was the
second to occur in about a one-year
period. During the first, entry was
obtained through a bathroom
window.
INCUMBENTS REELECTED -
The highlight of Albemarle Elec
tric 's annual meeting was election of
members to the Board of Directors.
Three seats were involved and
following tabulation of the voting,
the three incumbents were deter
mined winners. Shown above, 1. to r.,
the reelected directors are L.A.
Harris Jr., Joseph A. Wiggins and
Archie T. Lane Sr.
Elections highlight
EMC annual meeting
Text 4 Photos
By KATHY M. NEWBERN
HERTFORD ? Members of
Albemarle Electric Membership
Corporation, headquartered here,
showed up Saturday to take care of
fe'their business" as the co-op held its
annual meeting at Perquimans High
School.
The highlight of the meeting was
voting by the membership which
resulted in the return of three in
cumbents to their seats on AEMC's
? Board of Directors. Reelected were
Jbseph A. Wiggins of Tyner for
; District 2 (Chowan County); L.A.
Harris Jr. of Rt. 4, Elizabeth City for
District 3 (Pasquotank County); and
A J. -Lane Sr. of Rt. 1, Hertford for
District 4 (Perquimans County).
During the meeting, Ed Brown
; Jr., general manager of 'the
; cooperative, made comments re
garding the VEPCO's retail rate in
crease which went into effect Sept. 1
sod related that to wholesale power
increases which affect
i , Knee Albemarle EMC
wholesale power from1
The general manager explain
ed that state officials have no direct
control over wMesale rates since
these are itfgim by the Federal
Commission f
WashbdHu D.C. which is coi
of I
% that any group takes on 'holding
sSSksskk
you members pay. But the wholesale
rates, approved by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission in
Washington, D.C., determines
wholesale rates."
Brown also quoted a letter he had
sent to State Senator Melvin Daniels
who has taken a stance against
VEPCO rate hikes.
In that letter and at the meeting,
Brown pointed out that six
cooperatives, including Albemarle
EMC, serve some 50,000 consumers
in the state. Sixteen municipalities
/also purchase power either directly
or indirectly from VEPCO and serve
62,000 consumers. That puts the total
at 112,000 eodumers affected by
VEPCO's whoflMfe rate polities
compared to soma 68,000 affa^ed by
the company's retail rates, Brown
stated. J
Albemarle E|fC and other
wholesale customers received an
U.1 percent wholesale increase last
Nov. X, ten months ago. Com
parattrely, Brown said, "Now,
VEPCO has filed another rate in
crease of 20 percent, or $18 million
for electric cooperatives and a
similar increase for municipalities,
both*.** h went into effect Sept
A continued, "Presently,
VEPflO's average wholesale charge
to o*ap ctfRomers is about 3.2 cents
par kilowatt hour, soon to become It
spats par kwh Carolina Power and
tight Company, by comparison, is
cants par kwh, and Duke Power
Company is charging wholesale
customers roughly 2.0 cents per kwh
? differences of 33 percent and 80
percent respectively." /
Brown assured members that
while problems in the area of
holding electric costs down are still
real, members of the local and state
electric cooperatives are "active
and trying to do things" to prevent
further increases at present.
In other matters, Brown reported
that the co-op's Board has approved
a general return of capital credits to
members from 1963-64 of $49,405 and
almost $14,000 to be returned to
estates of deceased members. He
predicted those return checks would
be in the mail by mid-November.
Also making brief comments
before the assembled membership
ware Representative Vernon James
and James M. Hubbard, an official
with the state organization of elec
tric cooperatives.
In honor of Fire
Prevention Week, local
fire departments
encourage you to have a
practice fire drill
with your family;
know and post the
fire emergency number
near your telephone.
Funding includes ESC program
RALEIGH ? More than $30
million has been awarded for em
ployment and training programs
under the Comprehensive Em
ployment and Training Act (CETA),
according to a recent announcement
by Secretary Howard N. Lee of the
Department of Natural Resources
and Cooimunity Development.
, " ' "jltm
Among the programs funded was
several offerings by the Em
ployment Security Commission
serving Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell,
Washington, Chowan, Gates,
Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden
and Currituck counties. That agency
was awarded $146,300 for its class
size training program; $60,000 for its
on-the-job training program; and
$450,781 for adult work experience
and youth work experience.
The funds, administered by the
Division of Continuing Employment,
are designed to provide young
people and adults work experience
and job training. Classroom or on
the-job training is available,
depending oc local operator
resources.
Under Title I of the law, youth
programs are aimed at potential
dropouts or unemployed dropouts
who are economically disad
vantaged. Young people are given
jobs, counseling and career
education as encouragement to
finish high school. Unemployed and
economically disadvantaged adults
are provided jobs and a chance to
complete or improve their education
and occupational skills.
Title I programs are meant to
increase the employability of CETA
participants and prepare them for
the labor market.
The Division of Community
Employment, an agency of the
Department of Natural Resources
and Community Development,
administers CETA funds in 87
counties. It is also responsible for
statewide planning and policy
development of employment and
training programs. Last year, the
division administered $74.75 million
in CETA funds for programs in
which 52,309 participants were
enrolled.
Stevenson named Key Banker
To coordinate the agricultural ac
tivities of the N.C. Bankers Associa
tion in this area, R.L. Stevenson has
been named County Key Banker for
Perquimans County.
NCBA Preaident H.L. Ruth Jr. has
announced that Stevenson will serve
as County Key Banker during the
next 12 months. He is Executive Vice
President of Peoples Bank & Trust
Co. in Hertford.
Ruth, who is senior vice president
of Southern National Bank of North
Carolina, Lumberton, called atten
tion to the projects that are spon
sored by the association such as the
Agricultural Credit Conference, the
Short Course in Modern Farming at
N.C. State University for young
farmers who are provided scholar
ships given by their home communi
ty banks, and the co-sponsorship of
the FFA Land Judging Meet in the
interest of soil conservation.
GRAND OPENING - A ribbon cut
ting ceremony was held Friday at
the Kloth Kupboard, Hertford's
newest business, located on Church
Street Extended. Pictured above at
the grand opening are (1. to r.)
Delsie Ward and Gloria Copeland,
employees; Trudy Bass, owner
operator; Douglas Layden, presi
dent of the Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce; and Bill
Cox, Hertford Mayor. More detail*
appear on page 2. (Staff photo by
Kathy M. Newbern)
mev Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 8-14 r*?
tk. . <hii'i?X:> #m.- JOB." j r -
(See
8)