, THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 36, No. 33 USPS 421-010 Hortlord, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, August 14. 1900 20 CENTS
1 hree s company for turtles
Three turtles appears to be too much
> company as first one, then another, and
finally all of the shelled critters slip into
the murky waters of the Perquimans
River by U.S. IT Business in Hertford,
leaving nothing but a piece of wood
jutting out of the water and into the tun. of the DAILY ADVANCE who frightened
Or maybe it waa photographer Jan Raby the turtles off their sunny perch.
Robbers hit Harris Building
As of press time on Tuesday, no
charges bad been filed against two men
who held up Harris Plumbing and
Jtuilding Supply in Hertford at 12:10 p.m.
Jon Friday.
According to Hertford Police Depart
ment accounts, one of the men trained a
sawed off shotgun on business owner
Edison "Spec" Harris and the other held
a knife to the throat of clerk Worth Dale.
Some $150 was taken from the cash
register of the store, and the two were
forced into a restroom, along with a
,customer , Jan Spruill, said officer
Michael Jasielum.
The two assailants then took the
wallets of Spruill and Dale. Spruill's
wallet contained some $160 in cash and
Dale's some $19. Harris had slipped his
wallet out of his pocket and concealed it
before the three were forced into the
bathroom.
Jasielum said the men were told to
remain in the bathroom, and the two
assailants fled the premises. They were
seen running up Perry Street, then
heading right on Grubb.
Police were on the scene just after they
were notified, he said, but could find no
trace of the robbers. No one had seen
them get into a car, but because they had
disappeared so quickly, police
speculated that they had fled to a
getaway car parked around the corner.
Six cars patroled area streets for some
two hours following the incident, in hopes
that the bandits were still on foot.
Two youths were stopped in a car on
Church Street at approximately 2 p.m.
and one of them fled, but it was deter
mined that he had been wanted for
failure to appear in court on a traffic
citation, and the two were not involved in
the robbery, Jasielum said.
The Hertford Police Department, The
Perquimans County Sheriffs Depart
ment, the Chowan County Sheriff's
Department and the N.C. Highway
Patrol were all joined in the search for
the armed robbers.
They found nothing, but early Saturday
morning, armed robbers fitting the
descriptions given to police in Hertford
struck at the Zip Mart in Elizabeth City.
At 1:30 a.m. on Monday, armed rob
bers struck for a third time in the area,
this time at the Fast Fare in Edenton.
Hertford Police Chief Marshall Merrit
said that it is believed that all three in
cidents are related, and he expects to
arrest suspects on the Harris robbery.
He said that it is now believed that a
third man, who drove the "getaway
car," was also involved in the Harris
robbery.
Washouts hurt
treatment plant
Hertford's waste treatment plant is in
violation of state standards, and the
problem apparently stems from the
inadequacy of the facility, according to
an assessment made by plant inspectors
last spring.
During a routine inspection in April,
representatives of the North Carolina
Department of Natural Resources and
Community Development found the
waste treatment plant to be in violation
of state effluency limitations, a problem
reflected by excesaive 'amounts of water
entering the facility during heavy rains.
When too much water enters the plant,
a washout occurs, and thus all human
waste-eating bacteria are destaeyed. The
result is the dumping of water not suf
ficiently free of wastes into the
Perquimans River.
According to plant manager Roy
Perkins, the facility suffered such a
washout as the result of heavy rains
about one week prior to the April in
spection date, an occurence he holds
accountable for the excess of humam
wastes found to be entering the river at
that time.
All of the waste-eating bacteria were
destroyed, said Perkins.
Perkins said that if no bacteria is alive
to "eat" the human wastes, it is
inevitable that some reach the river.
"The lighter solids will float into the
river," said Perkins, "but the heavier
solids sink to the bottom and are pulled
out into the sledge drying beds."
But washouts, according to Perkins,
are the exception, rather than the rule.
"They (washouts) do not happen
frequently," said Perkins, "the one in
April was the only one we've had this
year."
In a letter written to Hertford Mayor
Bill Cox last month, Neil S. Griggs, of the
department's central office in Raleigh,
outlined enforced recommendations the
town should take to insure correction of
the facility's weaknesses. These include:
? Securing a commercial laboratory in
an effort to upgrade laboratory practices
? The plan and eventual installment of an
alternative power source for the treat
ment works
? And an update of the status of the
town's 201 facilities planning process.
According to Cox, completion of the 201
process will address all existing
problems within the water works,
notably the infiltration of excess water
into the town sewer lines and manholes.
"The 201 plan will upgrade all un
derground lines and manholes in town,"
said Cox.
Smoke tests performed last September
indicated that ground and rain water
were entering the lines through
disconnected joints and deteriorating
manholes.
The 201 process, begun in 1975, should
reach the construction stage by 1982, said
Cox.
Approval of funds for the estimated $1
million project are still pending, ac
cording to Cox, who said grant ap
plications had been submitted on both the
state and federal levels. Should the ap
plications be approved, 87 percent of
project cost will be absorbed by grants.
It s hurricane timejind Carolina, is overdue
' Perquimans County has not, in recent
history, suffered a direct hit from a
(hurricane. But that doesn't mean it
couldn't happen.
Talmadge Rose, civil preparedness
coordinator for the town of Hertford,
presents a scenario in which a hurricane
skips across the Outer Banks, picks up
momentum as it travels across the
sounds, and slams into the waterfront
developments that border the Albemarle
Sound.
^ From there, the storm might travel
right up the Perquimans River and into
the town of Hertford.
Rose concedes that the chances of such
an occurrence are slight, but insists that
the county should be well prepared, in
the event that it does happen.
"All you've got to do is have one," Rose
said. "I'm a firm believer in the old
axiom that if something can happen, it
will. It's just a matter of when."
Even if the storm does not hit the
county directly, wind and water damage
can be extreme.
With hurricane season at hand, August
17-23 has been declared Hurricane
Awareness Week in the area. Rose is
distributing pamphlets offering
hurricane and flood safety tips, and
hurricane tracking charts.
They can be picked up at area
businesses, or at J.C. Blanchard's on the
corner of Church and Grubb Street in
Hertford.
According to Rose, the area is overdue
for a major storm. He said that two
hurricanes came across the county in the
mid-fifties, but both had lost momentum
over land, lessening damage.
Since that time, however, the number
of mobile homes in the county has in
creased dramatically, as has waterfront
development.
Rose expressed particular concern
about occupying a mobile home during a
hurricane. "Anyone in a mobile home
should get out," he said.
The county school buildings are
primary evacuation centers for
hurricanes. Rose said the buildings will
be more likely to house persons fleeing
the Outer Banks area than county
residents.
Those who do use the facilities will be
required to bring along blankets, cots,
and foods needed for special diets.
Rose said that the county has been so
fortunate in the past that a sort of
complacency towards hurricanes has
developed.
Some residents, he said, might even
secretly want to go through a hurricane.
But this attitude can be dangerous, he
said.
When Hurricane Camille hit the Texas
Gulf Coast in 1969, many guests who were
celebrating with a hurricane party at a
beach-front motel were killed. A wealthy
resident who refused leave his concrete
and steel reinforced home died along
with his family when the whole structure
washed out to sea.
There would be no shortage of advance
warnings of an approaching hurricane.
He said the problem would be getting
residents to heed those warnings. "It
would be a matter of taking that in
formation to heart," he said.
New recreation director hired for county
A new recreation director has been
hired for Perquimans County.
Mac Sligh, 24, of Greenville, N.C.
accepted the position Friday, and will
^'?officially begin his duties Monday,
> August 25.
Sligh graduated from East Carolina
University with a B.S. degree in Parks
and Recreation in 1979. Upon graduation,
he worked with the Boy's Club of Pitt
County as physical director, a position
which entailed coordination of all major
sports, gymnastics, and other
recreational activities.
He has also worked with the recreation
departments in Greenville and in his
hometown of Laurinburg, N.C.
Although Sligh said he had not had
time to fully acquaint himself with the
county's recreational program, he said it
appeared to be to be in good shape. "The
program appears to be a sound one,"
said Sligh, "and I would like to expand
upon it"
Sligh is engaged to be married in
March, and hopes to locate a job in the
area for his fiancee, who holds a
master's degree in adaptive physical
education.
Sligh will fill the position left vacant by
former recreation director Billy Wooten,
who left Hertford last month to assume a
postion within the Rocky Mount
recreation department.
all adopts 1980-1981 budget
The town of Winfall adopted a budget
at 189,444.06 for the 1980-1981 fiscal year
beginning July 1 at its August 4 meeting.
The town tax rate for the year is set at
30 cents per $100 property valuation,
expected to generate 114,784 in revenue.
The expenditure side of the budget
includes $5,130 in water bond payments,
$2,500 for salt to be used in treating town
water, $250 for chlorine to be used in
treating the water, and $8,000 for current
lo operate the water plant and town
street lignts.
Also included in the budget is a $400
figure for telephone, $1,500 for insurance,
$8,500 for street wort, $1,200 for office
supplies, and a $3,500 stipend for the
Winfall Volunteer Fire Department
Gat is projected to coat the town $3,000
in the current fiscal year, and other
items budgeted include $2,000 in repairs
to equipment, $2,000 in repairs for water
system, and $1,500 in miscellaneous
The largest chunk of the Winfall budget
goes for salaries paid to town employees,
a $24,000 sum.
The town budget includes a $7,164.06
surplus expected to be left oyer atthe end
of the fiscal year.
On the revenue side of the budget,
H, *24.67 is expected from the beer and
wine tax, $3,662.67 from the franchise
tax, 1352.68 from the intangibles tax, and
|S,615 from the sales and use tax.
Town property taxes are expected to
generate $14,764.55, with revenue sharing
kicking in aa additional $14,272. The
Powell BUI fund for road maintenance
add* $7,60132 to the town coffers, while
interest on certificates of deposit adds
$3,361.76.
Hie water system is expected to
generate $16,647, and a $1,117.66 surplus
is carried over from the 1979-1980 fiscal
year budget.
In other business at last week's
meeting, W.C. "Bill"' Meekins of
Carolina Telephone and Telegraph
presented information on PROUD, a
program that would help revitalise the
town through a clean up, paint up, fix up
campaign.
Meekins left brochures on the
program, sponsored jointly by United
Telephone Systems, with each council
member.
The council also increased insurance
on buildings from $10,000 to $30,000.
Land records management grant set
Governor Jim Hunt
the awarding of
the
this
in state
County to
records
Hunt said the gra*t was one o I SI being
* -? year to eooottM tor a total of
"The state fund are being
on a 50-50 basis with local
s a part of the state
"Perquimans County has
strated a real interest in
?system of land records i
these state funds vfil help the county tn
Its effort." the governor sdded.
Governor Hunt said the cowrty will
nethn state funds upon coaptation of
the project J
la the first year of land |
. f
County tax atperriaor Keith Haakett
truula{ed thl* to mean that aerial
photographs will be taken of all land la
the county, and property boundaries
tranaeribedoatothaphotoa.
The number ct acre* of eacb parcel of
land will be iwikfttad, and each parcel
will be given an i
be used for tax purposes.
The stste land records management
program was begun by the North
Carolina General Assembly in Ml. The
program vas honored by the National
Association of Counties at its annual
convention this summer. A part ot the
state Departing of Administration, the
program was sfaowcssed aa one of the
outstanding liad records projects in the
Fishing-cycle
Fred Forehand travels by bicycle to his
favorite fishing bole on the Perquimans
River in Hertford. Asked if the Ashing is
good there. Forehand responded, "A fish
is a funny fellow. Some days he'll bite
and some days he won't bite at all."
Hertford census count
argued after review
The town of Hertford is taking issue
with ? census count that saw its
population decrease by 10.7 per cent over
a 10 year period.
The 1MQ preliminary census count
?bowed Hertford's population to be 1715
persons, compared to 2,000 persons in
1070. Mayor Bill Cox, however, has
written to William M. Hodges, district
office manager, that according to a local
review the preliminary count was off
both on number of housing units and
number of vacancies.
While census takers credited the town
with 04 housing alts, Cox said that a
recount found 142 units. Ae preliminary
count had alto found 75 vacant housing
* ft
units, whereas the review count found
only 47 vacancies.
The review maintains that the total
difference in population is SU M persons.
Cox said that in the review, housing
units were counted rather than people
because of the limited amount of time
involved. Local qfflcials were given 10
days to conduct a review.
If the review figure is approved, Cox
said it will bring the total population of
Hertford to about the same level that it
wasialffO.
He said that he contacted the district
office on Monday aad was told that it
wwld be several weeks before a final
for Irion co?M be made
I *