THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 40, No. 4 USPS 428-080 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, January 26, 1984 25 CENTS
Taking A Break ...
...seems to be the best way
to spend a hazy, lazy af
ternoon for these geese
that were visiting on the
lawn of Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Stokes of Front
Street last week.
With the changeable
weather geese have
played a predominant part
in the scenery around
Perquimans County for
the last several weeks.
(Photo by Edward
Leicester.)
Chowan jury finds
Singletary guilty
on four counts
By JANE WILLIAMS
A jury of six men and six women
returned a guilty verdict last
Thursday against a Hertford at
torney charged in connection with
the June 2, 1982 burning of the Elliott
House near Tyner, N. C.
James David Singletary, age 33,
was convicted by a Chowan County
Superior Court Jury for conspiracy to
burn and burning an uninhabited
dwelling and for conspiracy to burn
and burning a building for fraudulent
purposes.
The combined maximum sentence
for the four charges is 46 years in
prisonment. Singletary could also
face disbarment from the North
Carolina Bar Association.
A sentencing date was set for
March 26, the next session of
Superior Court in Chowan County.
Originally Singletary was charged
with conspiracy to burn and burning
an uninhabited dwelling, the ad
ditional charges were levied last
Monday by the Chowan County
Grand Jury just prior to the begin
ning of testimony in the case.
In testimony beginning early last
week Douglas "Luckie" Cartwright,
age 35, or Route 3, Hertford, told the
court that he, Singletary, and three
other men had been involved in
burning the Elliott House.
The Elliott House was owned by
Hay Makin Internation, Inc., a
British West Indies company.
Cartwright offered his testimony
as part of a plea bargain to receive a
reduced sentence for his part in the
fire and in other charges filed against
him.
The three other men involved in the
fite were; Larry Wayne Sanders, age
35, of Route 5, Morgan's Corner and
Mitchell Duke Ivey, age 35, of Route
3, Hertford, and Peter Rosenthal of
Virginia Beach, Va.
SBI agents Walt House and Bill
Godley testified that in an April in
terview with Singletary, Singletary
admitted that he knew that Cart
wright was taking him seriously
when he was discussing ways to burn
a building.
The interview with SBI agents took
place after Singletary failed to pass 4
polygraph test given in Chowan
County Sheriff Troy Toppin's office.
Agent House testified that Cart
wright had told him that Singletary
advised him not to use any flam
mable liquids in starting the fire
because they could be detected by
law enforcement officials. Cart
wright also told House that
Singletary suggested boarding up the
windows of the house and to start the
fire at the bottom of the stairwell.
or new
county high school complex
By JANE WILLIAMS
The Perquimans County Board of
Education met in special session
Monday night to discuss proposals
for the county high school complex
and to review the school system's
audit report.
Sam Ashford, a Raleigh architect
contracted by the Board to design the
school complex, met with Board
members on Monday night to present
a small scale model of the building
showing alternatives available for
construction and revamping of
Perquimans County High School.
The Board had previously ex
pressed their desire to keep the
auditorium portion of the 1924
building in tact. Ashford's proposals
included the removal of the left and
right wings of the original bilding,
leaving the main section of the
building to adjoin new construction,
or removal of the 1924 building,
leaving the auditorium and adding a
modernized entryway to the
auditorium. The idea of totally
demolishing the building and adding
a new auditorium was abolished.
A final decision was not reached on
which proposal the Board would
accept for the school, but most
members leaned toward renovating
the original building instead of
building a new front for the
auditorium.
The Board agreed to make a
decision at their next meeting on
February 6, and to ask the County
Commissioners for a special joint
meeting on February 13 to discuss
placing a bond referendum on the
ballot for the May 6 Primary.
The Perquimans County Com
missioners gave the Board of
Parks receives national award
The United States Achievement
Academy announced today that
Dwayne Parks has been named a
19M United States National Award
winner in Physical Education.
This award is a prestigious honor
very few students can ever hope to
attain. In fact, the Academy
recognizes less than 10 percent of all
American high school students.
The Academny selects USAA
winners upon the exclusive recom
mendation of teachers, coaches,
counselors or other school sponsors
and upon the Standards of Selection
set forth by the Academy.
The criteria for selection are a
student's academic performance,
interest and aptitude, leadership
qualities, responsibility, enthusiasm,
motivation to learn and improve,
citizenship, attitude and cooperative
spirit, dependability and recom
Staley joins area law
enforcement agency
Jack SUley, a native of Burlington,
NC, Jias recently joined the ranks of
law enforcement personnel In
Perquim a ni County
SUley has taken over the Job of
Wildlife Enforcement Officer
replacing Horace Cahoon, who
retired In November.
? SUiey. a graduate of Eton College,
said that his interest in hpattag aad
fishing is U?e major meson he chose a
career la wUdDfe.
Asji?t having questions or
' seeking information concerning
I wildlife in the county should contact
Stalejr at 4M-3M) (Or call 1-MMM
mendations from a teacher or
director.
Parks, who attends Perquimans
County High School, was nominated
(or this National Award by Carolyn
Rogers, a Health/Physical
Education teacher at the school.
Dwayne's picture and biography
will appear in the United States
Achievement Academy Official
Yearbook, published nationally.
Parks was diagnosed with a rare
bone cancer in December of 1980. He
has had his right arm and shoulder
amputated, and a portion of each
lung removed as a result of his
illness.
He also received two years of
monthly chemotherapy treatments
from February 1981 until February of
1983 at the National Institutes of
Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Parks is presently in remission
from his disease, and returns to the
hoapital in Maryland once every two
months for follow-up testing and
check-ups.
Dwayne was nominated for the
National Physical Education Award
because of his participation in
regular class activities in spite of his
handicap and because his grades on
Health/Physical Education are now
at a 91.5 average.
Besides this award, Dwayne has
received recognition from top of
ficials of the United States, including
the Governors Award from N. C.
Governor James B. Hunt Jr. and
letters from Congressman Walter B.
Jones, Senator Edward Kennedy and
President Ronald Reagan.
Dwayne is the son of Gail Griffin of
Belvidere and the grandson of Helen
Parks of Menton
Education their support concerning
the renovations and construction of
the high school facility last month.
The project cost is estimated at $2
million or less with major funding
anticipated from the new half-cent
county sales tax.
Ashford also reported to the Board
that he had brought in a structural
engineer to look at the 1924 building
on December 29. Findings from the
engineers report assesed that the
building was structurally sound for
reconstruction purposes.
The Board also heard a report from
R.E. Aiken who conducted the annual
audit for the 1982-83 school year.
Aiken told the Board that this had
been the first year that the school
system had been under a single audit
concept. Prior to the '82-'83 school
year, each different section was
audited seperately.
The current audit is divided into
three categories: governmental,
propriety enterprise and trust and
agency funds.
In total cash and investments the
Perquimans County School System
closed out the fiscal year '82-'83 with
$923,000.
The Board unanimously approved
the audit report.
In other business the Board :
?Granted sick leave and leave
without pay to Lola Duers in ac
cordance with her request from
January 2 until March S.
?Approved a motion to request that
the Department of Transportation
inspect a site at the main gate of
Holiday Island to prove that it is
unsafe for the loading and unloading
of children onto school buses, thus
enabling the buses to pick up
students at the Holiday Island
Clubhouse inside the main gate.
?Approved a request from David
Ziemba, Band Director, to continue a
lease purchase plan for instruments
that has been used by the high school
to benefit students at Union School.
?Heard a report from the Prin
cipals and Instructional Coordinators
concerning the use of curriculum
guides in the claaaroom this year.
?Heard a report from Paul Ward
explaining the State Annual Testing
Writing Component which was ad
ministered to all sixth and ninth
grade students throughout the state
- on Tuesday.
Lions Club hosts
guest speakers
By KEN CASTELLOE
The Hertford Lions Club met last
Thursday night with Dr. Leibert
DeVine and Mike McArthur
presenting the main program.
DeVine, a family physician and
McArthur, a trooper of the N. C.
Highway Patrol, are currently in
volved with a very successful
program in the Edenton-Chowan
Schools teaching the students about
drug abuse and it's effects on the
human body. DeVine stated that this
area has a common problem with
drugs and their main objective is to
inform the students about the misuse
of drugs and the damage that may be
done when these drugs are not used
properly.
At the present time, the program
has been presented to every student
from the sixth grade through the
twelve. "We have gotten a response
from the students, their parents, and
the school system in general," said
Devine. He also stated that the
greatest impact is made on the
younger students because they have
not formulated their ideas about the
future.
DeVine expained that, "we don't
tell them precisely not to use a
certain drug, but we show them what
this drug will do to you physically
and emotionally and then they can
decide for themselves. Drug Abuse
does not necessarilly refer to illegal
drugs but also to such common
market items as: nicotine, alchohol
and caffeine."
Devine emphasized the fact that
more and more teenagers turn to
alchohol and nicotine because of peer
pressure than any other reason.
McArthur explained that he tries to
show the students what can happen to
them when they misuse drugs in the
eyes the law.
The Lions Club hope that a
program can begin in this area to
inform our local youth on this matter.
Receives Check
Albert Eure ol the
Perquimans Co. Restoration
Association recently recieved
a contraction from NCNB.
Representing NCNB is 0. B.
Rawls, City Executive of the
Hertford branch.
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