THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 36, No. 21 USPS 428-060 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, May 22, 1980 14 PAGES 20 CENTS
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Crime , citations
soar in Hertford
The crime rate in Hertford
has been on a steady upward
march in the, past several
years, according to Hertford
Police Chief Marshall Merritt.
Merritt said that the in
crease is ip keeping with state
and national trends, and that
it has been more significant
this year because of the
economic situation.
"The crimes that have
really picked up are forgery
and uttering forged checks.
They've just gone out of
sight," Merritsaid.
During the first four months
of last year, there were no
arrests on forgery charges
made in Hertford. "Just
during the month of March
there were 24 cases," Merritt
said, "and that was arrests.
There might be a whole lot
more we don't even know
about.
"Look at this. Twenty-four
warrants we've got to serve,"
he said, waving a handful of
pink and white papers. "Know
your endorser," is the key to
slowing the wave of forgeries,
he said.
In addition, Merritt said
that larcenies and breaking
and enterings have picked up.
"It's because of the
economic situation," he
repeated. "There was a lot of
bad weather this winter and
people who work outside were
not able to get out and work,"
He said.
During the first quarter of
1980, 123 arrests were made by
the police department. A total
of 86 offenses were reported,
and 172 traffic citations were
issued.
The traffic citations, in
particular, have soared from
the 51 citations issued in the
first quarter of last year. Yet
Merritt said he does not feel
the increase means area
.drivers are breaking more
traffic laws.
"A little more emphasis is
being placed on traffic,
especially on driving under
the influence," Merritt said.
He said that despite
speculation to the contrary,
the department does not
concentrate on snagging
speeding motorists on the U.S.
17 by-pass.
"There's a wild rumor going
around that we live up at the
ABC Store," said Merritt. He
said that other than Corporal
Robert Morris, who has a free
hand, his officers are told not
to go up to the by-pass before
11 p.m. and not to stay there
more than five minutes per
hour.
In the first quarter of 1980,
58 speeding citations were
issued by the department,
compared to 4 in 1979, 19 in
1978, and 25 in 1977.
Other first quarter offenses
over the past three years read
like this:
1979-36 arrests, 65 offenses
reported, 51 traffic citations;
1978-60 arrests, 63 offenses
reported, 57 traffic citations;
1977-42 arrests, no record on
number of offenses, 47 traffic
citations.
Perquimans County Sheriff
Julian Broughton said there
has been no real increase in
crime in the county in the past
several years.
Bridge blocks escape
in high speed chase
Four Polish speaking
suspects dressed in gypsy
attire were arrested Saturday
morning on charges stemming
from a break-in in Hertford
after a high speed chase in
volving several law en
forcement officers, according
to Hertford Police Chief
Marshall Merritt.
The four were stopped at the
Chowan River Bridge in
Chowan County after being
clocked at speeds of up to 118
miles per hour, Merritt said.
The bizarre story began to
unfold at 11 a.m. when Mrs.
Broughton Dail of Edenton
Road Street was alerted by
her son, Broughton Dail, Jr.
that she had company, and she
noticed a woman ringing the
doorbell on her front porch,
Merritt said.
The woman then came off
the porch and repeated the
word apartment several times
in an accented, questioning
tone.
Mrs. Dail told the woman
she had no apartment, and
walked over to Wally White in
the yard next door to ask if his
father, Welly, had an apart
ment.
Wally said "No, but there's
a woman coming out of your
house," according to Merritt.
The woman who had asked
after the apartment and the
woman who came out of the
house walked briskly to a 1975
Oldsmobile Ninety Eight,
which sped away.
And the chase was on.
Broughton Dail, Jr., after
having unsuccessfully tried to
block the exit of the car with
his pickup truck, sped after
the automobile.
He said that there was a
near collision as the car
roared on to the U.S. 17 By
pass and headed in the
direction of Gdenton.
He was unable to catch up
with the speeding vehicle and
stopped at Allen's B.P. Ser
vice Station to call the police.
But Perquimans Sheriff
Julian Broughton was already
in hot pursuit of the vehicle,
said Merritt.
Perhaps, he said, the
quartet would have escaped
except for the fact that High
way Patrolman Y.Z.
Newberry happened to be
monitoring traffic at Hillcrest
Gardens and clocked the auto
at 92 miles per hour as it
roared past.
Newberry joined the chase.
Chowan County authorities
were notified, and a sheriffs
deputy blocked the bridge and
the bridge-tender opened it up
as a backup.
Newberry arrested the
driver, Elgeniusz Dolinski of
Chicago, Illinois and charged
him with traveling at 118 miles
per hour in a 55 miles per hour
zone, wreckless driving,
improper registration, and
failure to stop for blue light
and siren while attempting to
allude arrest.
Broughton returned the four
to Hertford where they faced
other charges in connection
with the break-in.
Dolinski was charged with
aiding and abetting breaking
and entering and attempted
larceny, as was Joseph
Rybicki of Chicago, Illinois
and Stefania Szendler of
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tereza Jadwolski was
charged with breaking and
entering and attempted lar
ceny.
The arrests were com
plicated by a basic lack of
communications, according to
Merritt. "None of the suspects
would admit they could speak
English," He said.
But an interpreter, John
Joseph Kubanda, an Edenton
resident who speaks fluent
Polish, was called in to solve
the problem.
Merritt said that several
interesting items were found
in the trunk of the vehicle,
including a dead chicken with
its feet sticking up in a cooler,
several loaves of hard bread,
and some Polish sausages.
All of the suspects were
released on bond from the
Albemarle District Jail.
Work on Site B of the water
front park is presently under
construction behind the
Municipal Building in Hert
ford. ^Existing piers and
Starting over
wooden boat ramp will be
replaced with two, double
concrete ramps, which will
accomodate four trallora, and
c i k>
tree piers made of treated
timber. Completion of Site B
of the waterfront park U ex
pected wtthia atxwt six weeks.
Inter-County firemen Melvin
and Wilson Rountree load up
with water to haul to the
Holiday Island resort com
Hauling water
munity on Sunday afternoon.
The two spent the day hauling
water to the community's
crippled system, as did
Hertford firemen. (Photo by
NOEL TODD
MCLAUGHLIN)
Guard called
as water supply
is threatened
Holiday Island is facing a
serious water shortage and a
5,000 gallon National Guard
tanker truck has been called
in to supply the resort com
munity until its water pumps
can be repaired.
Three Perquimans County
volunteer fire departments
shuttled some 40,000 gallons of
water to the community over
the weekend to keep its tanks
from going dry.
The immediate threat as of
Monday was a large influx of
Memorial Day travelers that
would swell the population of
the community.
"With Memorial Day
weekend coming up,
everybody and his brother will
be down here," said William
Jeffries, general manager of
the resort community.
The trouble apparently
began on Friday when first
one and then another of the
pumps that move water from
the wells to the holding tanks
went out.
"Our well is pumping sand
so I'm having to redo the
thing," said Jeffries. The
pumps are currently being
repaired, and a new well will
be drilled next week, he said.
On Saturday and Sunday
volunteers from the Hertford,
Bethel and Inter-County Fire
Departments hauled water to
the community from a county
fire hydrant.
But fears that the water
system might be down for
more than a week and the
pending influx of Memorial
Day tourists necessitated the
dispatching of the National
Guard, said Talmadge Rose,
Civil preparedness Director
for the town of Hertford.
Rose said a two man crew
would operate the tanker
truck during a three day
period of active duty.
He said that the fire
department trucks could no
longer be used after Sunday
because they were needed in
their communities.
An updated forecast,
however, was that the water
system might have been back
in operation as of press time.
Jeffries said the water
shortage was "totally unex
pected" and said he was ap
preciative of the response to
the crisis.
He said he was uncertain
how much the county would
charge for water supplied to
the community. "I'm sure
they'll treat us right," Jeffries
said.
Schools cut request by $81,600
The Perquimans County
Board of Education agreed to
trim $81,600 from its 1980-81
fiscal year budget request of
some $950,000 in a meeting
early Monday morning.
The move came after a
request from the county
commissioners that the board
trim their request by $100,000.
Board chairman Clifford
Winslow was to discuss the
matter with the com
missioners in a budget sesion
Tuesday night.
All of the areas targeted for
cuts came from the capital
outlay portion of the proposed
budget after schools
superintendent Pat Harrell
met with principals of the
county schools last week to
determine priority items.
It appeared after the
meeting, that the board was
inclined to go ahead with a
$75,000 field house-public
restroom facility at the high
school athletic complex, but
board member Flutch Dail
suggested that the facility's
construction be stretched over
two years so that only half its
cost would be included in this
year's budget.
The board agreed that an
$8,000 expenditure for a
rennovated science laboratory
at the high school should
remain in the budget, as well
as a $6,500 expenditure for
expanding the kitchen
cafeteria of Perquimans
Union School and $7,000 for
more energy conservation
measures in the schools.
An alternative was being
considered to the construction
of a new vocational shop that
would trim $30,000 from a
proposed capital outlay ex
penditure of $50,000 in the
coming year's budget. That
alternative was locating the
shop in an already existing
structure near the school.
A $20,000 proposed ex
penditure for tennis courts at
the high school was
eliminated, as well as $10,000
for fill and bulldoser work on
the recently acquired
Urquhart property, and
$15,000 for an activity bus.
While preferring no
reduction at all, Harrell said
that county principals had
expressed particular concern
about any cuts in what has
been called a "hold the line"
current expense budget.
"The principals didn't want
to see anything cut from
current expense," Harrell
said.
When Monday's discussion
was over, board of education
members felt they had
devised a budget request the
county commissioners could
live with.
"I believe the com
missioners will approve this,"
said Preston Stevenson. Board
chairman Clifford Winslow
said the commissioners may
have been "feeling (the
board) out" in requesting the
$100,000 cut.
Harrell said a $100,000 cut
would trim the county tax rate
by 10 cents. The school board's
request would amount to
about a 8 cent decrease in the
tax rate.
The school board's capital
outlay monies will be handed
over in lump sum fashion and
may be utilized at the
discretion of the board. For
this reason, all of the reduc
tions discussed on Monday are
subject to change.
In another matter, George
Baker was welcomed back to
the board after an extended
absence due to illness.
Baker had last attended a
board meeting in early March,
and has since been recovering
from open heart surgery.
Prior to his illness, Baker had
only missed one meeting in 18
years on the board.
The high school athletic
program received a boost
during the meeting, as the
board approved the purchase
of two bleacher segments to be
used for football and baseball
games.
Purchased at a cost of
$9,488, the bleachers will seat
380 persons and be elevated
four feet, so that front row
views will not be blocked by
passers-by.
In an update on progress at
the high school addition,
Harrell said the contractors
would fall short of a projected
June 1 completion date
because of delays in electrical
work.
The board set a tenative
date for an open house at the
project for August 24, the day
before school is scheduled to
open. Harrell said that the
project would surely be
completed and all furniture in
place by that date, the day
before students return to
school after summer vacation.
A date was also set for an
employee appreciation lun
cheon at Central Grammar
School. The luncheon will
begin at 1 p.m. on June 10 and
will be catered to give food
services workers a break from
the kitchen.
In matters relating to
(Continued on page 2)
Governor's conference is Saturday
The Governor's Conference
on Leadership Development,
the first such meeting of its
kind to be held in Perquimans
County, is set for this Satur
day, May 24, at the ARPDC
building on South Church
Street in Hertford.
Professionals from across
the state have been assembled
to offer area women a slate of
workshops that cover a wide
range of interests.
Registration. $5, will cover a
choice of two workshops, both
morning and afternoon, 'out of
? possible six workshop topics.
A morning coffee and lun
cheon buffet are also included.
The day-long event will
begin at 8:30 a.m., with an
opening session featuring
Miriam Johnson Dorsey,.
keynote speaker.
Ms. Dorsey is the Executive
Director on the Status of
Women in N.C., a position
appointed by Gov. James -B.
Hunt She has also worked on
the staff of several N.C.
congressman, and has served
as committee Clerk for the
N.C. House of Represen
tatives.
Included in her list of
awards are the 1972 Out
standing Young Democrat of
North Carolina, and
designation as one of the
Outstanding Young Women in
America both in 1971 and 1978.
Among scheduled morning
workshops is How to Become
Involved in the Political
Process, to be led by Senator
Rachel Gray, of High Point.
Ms. Gray, District 19 senator,
has served on numerous
senate committees, including:
Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Local Government and
Regional Affairs, Natural and
Economic Resources, and
Transportaion, Ways and
Means.
Another morning seminar,
How N.C. Law Affects
Women, will be led by
Meyressa Schoonmaker,
Professor of Law, Wake
Forest University.
Ms. Schoonmaker is founder
and president of the North
Carolina Center for Laws
Affecting Women, Inc., a non
profit research center con
cerned with the role of women,
children and family in society.
She has also served as an
arbitrator for the Better
Business Bureau, was co
founder and first president of
the Winston Salem National
Organization of Women, and
was selected as the Out
standing Young Woman of the
Year for North Carolina in
1972.
The final morning session is
the Media and Public Opinion,
(Continued on page 2 )
Another band day set
Perquimans County
residents will be able to
choose between a pig and a
pole if they want to get
greasy at the Band Day
fund raising celebration
scheduled at the Hertford
Saddle Club Show Ring and
Little Leauge Ball Park on
June 14.
A day long list of ac
tivities will get started at 10
a.m., including a horse
show beginning at 11 a.m.
that will feature 36 classes
of competition.
Some 2,000 people at
tended the event last year
and organizers are hoping
for a large crowd this year
to help pay for uniforms
and equipment for the
Perquimans County school
bands.
"It's just a fun day," said
Kay Boyce, an organizer of
the event.
Part of the fun includes a
fish fry from 4 to 7 p.m.,
performances by the school
bands beginning at 7 p.m.,
a disco dance contest and a
variety of entertainment.
Carnival type games will
include a dunking machine,
a greased pole climb, a
greased pig contest and
other events.
There win also be crafts
and plant sales booths, a
toy rummage sale and food
for sale on the grounds all
day.
"There will be a little
something for everybody,"
promised Mrs. Boyce.
Persons wishing to drop
off toys or crafts to be told
at Band Day may do so at
any of the county schools,
at Pitt Hardware in Hert
ford or at Peoples Bank in
Hertford.