Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / April 24, 1986, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY Volumo S3, No. 17 USPS 421-010 Hortford, Porquimans County, N.C., Thursday, April 24, im 15 CENTS Hertford P olice Officer resigns ; citing low salary By JANE B. WILLIAMS HERTFORD? A resignation last week from Patrolman Wil liam T. Ward was the fourth in the past ten months for the Hert ford Police Department. Ward, who joined the depart ment in July, 1965, resigned to accept a higher paying position with the Kitty Hawk Police De partment. That department is now under the leadership of for mer Hertford Assistant Chief of Police Robert K. Morris. Morris resigned from the Hertford De partment in March to accept the position as Chief of Police in Kitty Hawk. Three of that de partment's five-man force were formerly employed by the Hert ford Police Department. Since 1963, six men that were employed by the Hertford Police Department as officers have gained employment on police forces in Dare County. Hertford Police Chief Marshall Merritt attributes the turnover in his department to a $5,000.00 dif ference in annual starting sal ary. He also added that benefits offered by police departments to Dare County are far superior to local benefit packages. Merritt expressed concern that his department has now dropped to three full-time and one part time officers. The part-time offi cer is currently enrolled in an academy to obtain state certifi cation and is only available on a limited basis for patroling duties. Officers are either having to work 12-hour shifts with limited time off, or eight-hour shifts da ily with no time off. Merritt said, "A tired officer is not an effective officer, and he's not as alert as he should be." He added that it is "virtually impos sible for officers to take vacation or compensatory time off under the present arrangement." According to figures obtained from the police department, through the last pay period in Local youth participate in Special Olympics Fifty -one special olympians participated in the 1966 local Special Olympics held at Per quimans Central School on Tuesday, April 15, 1966. Stated coordinator Kathy Ansink : "We had a wonderful day and this was truly the best year ever with the local police, sheriff and fire depart ( ment and Rescue Squad par ticipating and helping the Olympians have a fun day." Ansink also expressed her appreciation to all the local businesses, organizations, clubs, and Perquimans . County High School students * that helped make the 1966 Olympics the best yet. Also, she extended thanks on behalf of the olympians to the Cann Memorial Presbyterian Pup peteers, and the First Chris tian Church Clown group. "A special "thank you" to Carol Stanley, Perquimans . County Parks and Recreation Department for her hours of work training the olympians and being our '86 guest . speaker." said Ansink. Approximately 35 olympi ans will be at the Regional competition at ECSU on Sat urday, April 26th. Nine olym pians will be going to the state Special Olympics in Char lotte, NC on May 30, 31, and June 1st. Local winners at last Tues day's event included: 50 meter dash: First place winners: Edward Harrell, Denise Beasley, Chanda Wil son, James Everett, Maurice Brinkley, Richard Williams, Maurice Lane, Paul Jordan, Chris Carter, Dwayne Legg, Katherine Foreman, Gaylene Walker. Second place win ners: Trelton Mallory, Ste phanie Chaulk, Charlie Jor dan, Lamont Walker, Curtis Whitehurst, Katherine Fore man, Robert Wills, Bryant Copeland. Third place win ners: Ricky Carter, Jeffries Howell, Antonia White, Jackie Ward. 100 meter race: First place winners: Chris Carta* and Katherine Foreman. Second place winners: Jeffries How ell and Chanda Wilson. Third place winner: Lorenzo Far row. 200 meter race: First place winner was Chris Carter .se cond place winner was Delton Mallory, and third place win ner was Lorenzo Farrow. 25 meter dash: First place winner was Lakesha Tillet and second place went to Blondie Graves. 100 meter walking race: First place winners: Jarroid Turner, Robert Wills, Belinda Lane. Second place winners: Leslie Winslow, Dwayne Legg, LaToi Hunter. Third place winners: Curtis White hurst and Brian Forehand. Shot Put: First place win ners: Belinda Lane and Tracy Cohan. Second place winner: Earl Ward. Third place winner: Jesse Ether idge. Standing broad jump: First place winners: Edward Har rell, Paul Jordan, LaToi Hunter, and Antoinette Whid bee. Second Place Winners: Richard Williams, Email White, Barbara Etheridge, Stephanie White. Third Place winners: Brian Forehand, Maurice Brinkley, and Portia Hunter. Running long jump: First place winners: Jason Smith, Charlotte CohEn, Clinton Brothers. Second place win ners: David Rue and Jeffries Howell. Third place winners: James Everett and Earl Ward. Softball throw: First place winners: James Everett, Richard Williams, Antoinette Whidbee, Trelton Mallory, Clinton Brothers, Maurice Lane, Gaylene Walker, Dwayne Legg, Ricky Carter, and Eraail White. Second Place winners: Lamont Walker, Curtis Whitehurst, Charlotte Cohen, Jerroid Turner, Daniel Rue, Belinda Lane, Lakesha Tillet, Jackie Ward, Tremayne Jordan, and Paul Jordan. Third place win ners: Chris Carter, Rodney White, Portia Hunter, Robert Alexander, Jessie Etheridge, Stephanie White, Bryant Copeland, and Tracy Cohen. Frisbee Throw: First place winners: Ricky Carter, La mont Walker, Denise Beas ley, Stephanie Chaulk, Robert Alexander, Charlotte Cohen, David Rue, Tracy Cohen, Maurice Brinkley, Gaylene Walker, and Maurice Lane. Second place winners: Brian Forehand, Trelton Mallory, Barbara Etheridge, Portia Hunter, Jerroid Turner, La Toi Hunter, Jesse Etheridge, Bryant Copeland, Clinton Brothers, and Stephanie White. Third place winners: Jason Smith, Blondie Graves, Lakesha Tillet, Rodney White, Antoinette Whidbee, Leslie Winslow and Jackie Ward. Voters to select candidates in Primary V. By JANE B. WILLIAMS . Perquimans County voters will cast their ballots for several choices of candidates during the I May 6 Primary Election. ; Local races that will be tick eted on the ballot include that for the Democratic Candidate for Sheriff and two seats on the Per quimans County Board of Educa tion. Candidates in the race for sher iff include Incumbent Sheriff Ju lian "little Man" Broughton, Joe Lothian, Donald Riddick and t B J. (Ben) Shively Broughton, who has served in this capacity for 20-years, is a na tive of Perquimans County. In addition to his duties as sheriff, Broughton owns and operates the Hertford Bus Station. He is a World War II veteran, a member of the American Legion, the Hertford Baptist Church and a charter member of the Perqui mans County Rescue Squad. Lothian is currently employed as Chief of Police in Winfall. He as hekl that position since the de partment was organised in IMS. A 17-year resident of northeast ern North Carolina, he has spent the last 14-years as a resident of Perquimans County. Lothian's Transportation meeting set HERTFORD? The third in a series of 15-echeduled statewide transportation masting will be held here on Thursday, M*y 1, ? : * Transportation's board ben and will be uaed In updating the department's ten-year Trans portation Improvement Plan. The meeting is qp?i to the pub he, and rttt?u are urged to at tend to offer input on the state's to make con st the to arrive :u'. law enforcement background covers approximately 10-years In addition to his experience witt the Winfall Department, he hat served as a police officer in th< Elizabeth City Police Depart ment, and following that, as a deputy sheriff with the Perqui mans County Sheriff's Depart ment. Lothian's law enforcement ed ucation includes courses in ad vanced criminal investigation, advanced drug investigation, ad vance crime scene processing, and covert investigation and in telligence gathering. Riddick is a lifelong resident a Perquimans County. He hai worked for 17-years as a buildinj contractor. Riddick has statec that be believes common senM and logic are the two most impor tant factors in dealing with any thing. He is seeking office on the ba sis of a "sincere concern and car Ingfor the people of the county.' Shivety is a native of Roanoke Va. He has resided in Psrqul mans County for approximate!: 14-years, following completion o SO-years active and reserve na val service. Daring Us years ii the U.S. Navy, Shivety served ai a Chief Master of Arms, a Shor Petrol Officer, and a Com mam I He is currently self-employed as a maintenance mechanic, i Three candidates will vye for i two available seats on the Per ! quimans County Board of Educa tion during the primary election, i Board Chairman Clifford Winslow will face no opposition in his bid for re-election. New Hope Board Member Mack Nixon is being challenged by the Rev. Walter Leigh. Nixon is a native of Perqui mans County and part-owner of Albemarle Builders Inc. and Nags Head Realty, Inc. He it a member of Berea Church of t Christ in New Hope, where he . serves as treasurer and Chair . man of the Business Committee. He is also a member of the , Board of Advisors for Roanoke * Bible College. Nixon is complet ing his first term of office on the board. Leigh is also a native of Per quimans County. lie studied i at Elziabeth City State Univer sity, the College of the Albe 1 marie, and at Roanoke Bible Col f l*He has ben an AJM.E. Zion minister and pastor tor 14-years. I He is also employed with DDL , Furniture Company as a Produc tion Coordinator. He has been ?|ni,n ,1 nvlAlk ikat flmu * |? I empwyea wiin tnat firm for 10 April officers have logged 122 hours of overtime that must be reimbursed at time and one-half. Officers are usually granted compensatory time off for over Merritt stated that there is "no way we will ever be able to com pete with the beach unless we in crease starting salaries." An ad vertisement in area newspapers recently quoted an annual salary ?L 1^,^?'00 for a new off?cer in the Kitty Hawk Department. A new officer in Hertford is paid 19, 500.00 annually. According to Memtt, an officer in Hertford is eligible for step increases that would bring his annual pav to $14,500.00 after six years of em ployment. When asked his reasons for re igning his post Ward stated that salary difference was the only factor he used in determining the move. "You will continue to have this turnover on the police force until the Town Council and the Mayor realize that they're going to have to pay a competitive sal ary to keep qualified individuals here," he said. Ward expressed regret at leav ing the local department and the community. "I feel supportive of this department" he said; "I feel they have a lot do do and little to do the job with. I personally feel it's a damn shame that a law en forcement officer here has to put his life on the line for so little compensation." Ward, who is married and the father of three children ranging in age from 9 to 16, commented that the salary paid by the de partment was insufficient to sup Port a family. He stated that his salary was weU below the estab lished poverty level in the state for a family of four. Ward disclosed that after taxes and insurance are subtracted from his earnings his take home pay with the Hertford Depart ment is $129.00 per week. "The only way I've been able to sup port my family has been to apply for food stamps and rental assis tance through the Economic Im provement Council," Ward said. I m ashamed of that for myself for my family, for my depart ment and for the Town Council." Departmental records indicate that the Hertford Police Depart ment responds to an average of 10.75 calls per day. Depending on the type of call or service needed an officer can spend between five-minutes and three and one half hours on any given call. The department is alloted, in Fiscal Year 1965-86, positions for five of ficrs. A request for additional funds for a sixth man was denied by the council according to Mer ritt. Merntt sees low pay and long hours as a major detriment to his department. The salary base vir tually assures that the town will not attract trained law enforce ment officers. In the case of Ward, he will have to reimburse the town for monies spent on his training as is required by a contract enacted by the Town Council last sum mer. The contract, which must be signed by all uncertified offi cers, states that any officer leav ing the department prior to achieving a three-year tenure must reimburse the town for ex penses incurred in his training. Ward was the first officer re quired to sign this contract. He stated that he felt it was more economically feasible to re imburse the town than to remain in their employ. Ward stated that he was told by Chief Merritt that a qualified, ambitious officer could have a fu ture with the Hertford Police De partment. "But you can't eat a future," Ward said. Merritt acknowledged that he was referring to the step in creases offered by the town, but admitted that competitive sala ries were several years in an offi cer's future. When asked about the prob lems that are being faced by the Police Department Hertford Mayor/Manager Bill Cox stated that he was well aware of the dif ference in pay between the local police department and those at the beach. "I'm also aware that we've lost several officers to beach departments," Cox said. "The council and I realize that the starting pay for the Hertford Police Department is not in line with beach departments, how ever it is closely in line with those departments that are more clo sely related to the Town. The Town of Hertford doesn't have the tax base that towns in Dare County have." uox continued saying, we have taken several looks at the starting pay for officers and also at other officers in the depart ment. The Police Department presented to the board a pay plan, and upon their recommen dation we adopted it. At that time they must have felt it was a fair and equitable plan." , "I realize that to live on $9,500.00 is almost impossible, Cox said. "Unfortunately, the tax base in Hertford is limited and presently the police department budget exceeds our total prop erty tax revenue." Cox added that the only way to increase revenues for the police department would be to increase taxes in the town, raise the costs of fees and chares, or toincrease utility rates. "I think that in the past the council has shown con sideration for the taxpayers when considering salary in creases not only for police offi cers, but in other areas as well," Cox said. He did state that the council had begun work on the 1966-87 budget, and that the salaries within the police department has been one of their primary con cerns. "I hope we can find suffi cient funds, we must find suffi cient funds, so that our police officers can have an adequate salary," Cox said. Arts Extravaganza gets underway There is something special in the air around Perquimans County. Plans are nearing com pletion for an event that will both entertain and inform the people of our area. Community artists, classroom teachers, and stu dents will join together April 24 ? 26 to present "The Very Special Arts Extravaganza" at Perqui mans Union School in Winfall. With the success of the 'M-'85 affair, the Steering Committee, under the leadership of Deborah Coates, has made |dans to carry out "The Extravaganza" with flair. The event is slated for April 24th and 25th frotn 8:00-3:00 and April 26th (ran 10:00-5:00. Com munity artists will display their crafts of macrame, puppetry, cake decorating, and perform with anrf singing. An eoprees purpose of the festi val is to share with tte general public the way that art can be in /wwtM\rafa<l M|fli ? g... ?| ? L, . ? ? i |_ corpora ieo wiin any <-urncuium taught in the classroom. It is a form of expression that enables a student to freely demonstrate his understanding or interpretation of concepts being learned. Students and teachers have been working together to prepare displays of students' artwork. The students are also working to prepare performances of danc ing, singing, recitations, and aer obics. The music lovers of the county will be treated to a performance "under the tent" at Union School oo Thursday evening, April 24th at 7:90p.m. Under the direction of David Ziemba, this talented group of young musicians are sure to entertain and delight. A special feature of the festival this year will be the opportunity for the general public to view the exhibits and performances oo Saturday, April ttth. Plan to attend the "Very Spe cial Arts Extra vaganxa "and si^ port the Perquimans County Schools in thier effort to bring the world of art into the life of Per quimans County.
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 24, 1986, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75