THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 58, No.13 USPS 428-080 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C.Thursday, March 30, 1?W 30 CEN
I
Community ~
Reader addresses law
enforcement review
page 5
Sports ~
PCHS Pirate baseball,
Softball schedules
page 10
Feature
Children deserve love
and respect, not abuse
page 4
Local
Briefs
Heart Association
plans celeb dinner
The Perquimans County Chapter
of the American Heart Association
has scheduled its second annual
Heart Fund celebrity dinner on
Friday, April 7 at Angler's Cove
t Restaurant.
Serving as waiters and wait
resses for the occasion will be Car
olyn and Clarence Rogers, Pat
Rountree, Jeanie and Douglas
Umphlett, Bill Cox, Pete Thomp
son, Janet and David Cain, Edna
and Ben Wolverton, Suzy and
Larry Swindell, Nan Noble, Sandra
and Joe Carroll Byrum, Janie and
Willis Proctor, Robert Earl and
Chris Lane, Susan Harris and pos
. sibly some surprize "celebs."
* These local professionals will be
raising monies to aid in the fight
against heart disease, as all tips
from the evening will be donated to
the Heart Association.
Henry Carney, owner of Angler's
Cove, has generously agreed to do
nate 20 percent of the meal profits
to the cause, also.
Please enjoy a delicious meal at
Angler's Cove and be waited on by
a "celebrity" next Friday. Call 426
* 7294 (Angler's Cove) to reserve a
table. Ask for a specific waiter or
waitress, or be surprized that eve
ning by your server.
liie evening promises to be fun
filled, and hopefully, a successful
fund-raising effort by the Heart As
sociation.
Nixon is on bank
* Board of Directors
Julian W. Nixon has been named
to the board of directors of Peoples
Bank and Trust Company in Hert
ford. This announcement was
made recently by D. Ben Berry, se
nior vice president and Hertford
city executive.
Nixon serves as president of Al
bemarle Home Builders, Inc. in
?Elizabeth City. Active in many
t .community activities, Nixon has
?served as director of the Hertford
IJaycees and a coach in both the
;Perquimans Youth and Perqui
mans Midgette Football Leagues.
He is currently a member of the
New Hope Ruritan Club, the Na
tional Federation of Independent
Businesses, Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce and the
Home Builders Association.
A native of Perquimans County,
F Nixon is married to the former
Faye Morse also of Perquimans
County, and they have two chil
dren.
NAACP sets Martin
L. King program
The Perquimans County
, N.A.A.C.P. is sponsoring a pro
gram in remembrance of the death
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The
program will be April 4 at 8:00 p.m.
?t First Baptist Church. Rev. W. T.
Davis, the pastor of New Shiloh
baptist Church, is the speaker. Ev
eryone is invited to attend.
, Inside this issue
Beyond the weeds 10
Church news 5
Community happenings. ... 2
Extension news 10
I ? . "I
Letter to the editor 5
Obituaries 2
9\ People on the move 3
Perspectives 4
School meal mtur* I
Senior news 2
Weekly calendar S
'Spring cleaning' nets
felony drug arrests
As part of a statewide drug
sweep code named 'Spring clean
ing', the Hertford Police Depart
ment, Perquimans County Sher
iff _ apartment and State Bureau
of Investigation arrested nine from
Perquimans County on felony drug
charges.
Over 2000 indictments were
handed down across the state, with
over 30 indictments here.
Arrested on five felony counts
was Deborah Ann Porter of 213
Wynn Fork Drive. Her bond was
set at $25,000.
Stanley Lee Jones, AKA Sky
boat, of Route 2, Box 106T was ar
rested on four felony counts. A
$25,000 bond was set.
A $100,000 bond was set for
Kenny Felton of 220 King Street
who was charged with armed rob
bery in addition to felony drug
charges.
Charged with four felony counts
was Virgil Harold Copeland of
Route 2, Box 76. Copeland's bond
was set at $25,000.
Milford Darnell Jones of 308
Stokes Drive was charged with
four felony counts, including
armed robbery and drug charges.
Bond was set at $75,000.
Henry Louis Johnson, AKA
Mickey, of 219 Wynn Fork Drive,
was arrested and charged with
four felony drug counts. A $25,000
bond was set.
Stanley Isaac White and Charles
Donnell White, AKA Chick, were
charged with felony drug offenses.
Both men were already incarcer
ated on unrelated drug charges at
the time of their arrests.
Nelson Isaac Jones, AKA Trick,
is being held in Atlanta, Georgia
pending extradition. In addition to
felony drug charges, Jones is also
wanted for the breaking and enter
ing of the Perquimans County
Health Department and the Open
Door.
Officer Tim Spence of the Hert
ford Police Department expects
more arrests this week. He said
that indictments have been handed
down, and that the suspected of
fenders should be picked up soon.
The felony counts include armed
robbery, conspiracy to sell or de
liver schedule II controlled sub
stances, felony possession of
schedule II controlled substances
with the intent to sell or deliver,
sale of controlled substances
schedule II, delivery of schedule II
controlled substances, and main
taining a dwelling place for the
purpose of selling controlled sub
stances.
The arrests are the result of a
year-long investigation spear
headed by the SBI. Spence attrib
uted the success of the sting opera
tion to all agencies working
together closely.
"The success of the lengthy un
dercover campaign was extreme
cooperation between agencies and
secrecy," Officer Spence said. "It
went smooth because we all
worked together."
Spence said that Dare County's
special drug enforcement wing
was also instrumental in obtaining
evidence needed to secure indict
ments.
Officers from that department
worked undercover making drug
buys. During one occasion, a
dealer took their money and
threatened them with a gun.
The entire police and sheriff's
department was involved in the op
eration, which Spence said, "went
like clockwork."
Spence said that county law en
forcement departments will con
tinue to work together to fight "the
never-ending battle to combat the
drug war."
The sweep is the largest in North
Carolina history. Over 2,000 indict
ments were handed down, with
over 700 arrested on drug charges.
Groundbreaking for the new nutrition site was
held last week. In addition to many senior citi
zens, Hertford Mayor Bill Cox, Albemarle Com
mission Director Don Flowers, Senior specialist
Lee Riddick, County Commissioners Chairman
Lester Simpson, Senior Citizen Director Patty
White and Recreation Director Anthony Downing
were on hand for the occasion. The center will be
constructed adjacent to the present Senior Citi
zen's Center. The 1800 square foot structure will
provide much-needed additional space at the
site.
Jaycees to sponsor blood drive
The Perquimans County Jaycees
will sponsor their quarterly Ameri
can Ree Cross bloodmobile on
Wednesday, April 5 at Hertford
United Methodist Church from
3:00-7:00 p.m.
The Red Cross believes that
blood should be available to all who
need it regardless of race, eco
nomic status, ability to donate,
place of residence or membership
in a specific group.
The service is the largest in the
world, supplying over half the
whole blood and blood components
used by Americans.
Blood collected by the Red Cross
Coloring contest winners announced
Crystal Kirby captured second place in the PER
QUIMANS WEEKLY coloring contest. Crystal
used vivid felt-tipped markers to decorate her
picture.
Ten-year-old Joey Colson won the PERQUI
MANS WEEKLY coloring contest. Joey was
awarded $10 for his efforts. He chose colored
pencils to decorate his Easter bunny.
Governor proclaims resource stewardship week
Raleigh ? Gov Jim Martin has
proclaimed April 30 - May 7 as Soil
and Water Stewardship Week
statewide by urging "all North
Carolinians to learn about their
role in protecting the state's land
and water resources".
As the local sponsor, the Perqui
mans Conservation Committee en
courages local churches, organiza
tions and individuals to join the
nationwide observance of Steward
Veek.
local district, which works
throughout the year on soil and wa
ter conservation measures, is pro
viding literature that highlights the
responsibility of adults and youth
to be active stewards of our na
tion's soil and water resources.
Floyd Mathews, Chairman of the
Perquimans Conservation Com
mittee said "while farmers today
know that good conservation prac
tices help increase yields ana im
prove profit potentials, they also
know the importance of passing on
well-cared-for natural resources
for future food producers."
"We could have all the money in
the world, but it would do little
good unless we also had a produc
tive soil on which to live," said
Mathews.
"In North Carolina alone,"
stated David W. Sides, director of
the Division of SoUand Water Con
servation in the Department of
Natural Resources and Commu
nity Development (NRCD), "we
are losing 45.6 million tons of soil
from cropland each year."
Materials especially designed to
convey the 1969 theme "Renewing
the Living Earth" are being dis
tributed by the Perquimans Con
servation Committee. You may
call our local office (426-5545) to
place your order for church bul
letins, inserts, bookmarks, litanies
and children's supplements no
later than March 30th.
Soil and Water Stewardship
Week is sponsored statewide by the
N. C. Association of Soil and Water
Conservation Districts, which rep
resents about 500 men and women
from 94 local districts (including
Perquimans County) who volun
tarily lead programs on soil and
water conservation.
for use in hospitals throughout the
63 counties served by the Tidewa
ter Regional Blood Services is col
lected only through voluntary do
nations. Patients who receive the
blood products pay only fees for
collecting, processing, distributing
and transfusing the products, not
for the blood itself.
Generally, all individuals be
tween the ages of 17 and 70 who are
in good health and weight at least
110 pounds are eligible to give
blood.
There is no danger of coming in
contact with the Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) from
donating blood. Sterile, disposable
needles are used for each donor,
and are discarded after one use.
Those people who at risk for get
ting AIDS and spreading the virus
should not donate. Those people in
clude men who have been involved
in a homosexual relationship on
even one occasion since 1977, any
one who has taken illegal drugs by
needle, natives of countries were
the AIDS virus is rampant who en
tered the country after 1977, any
one who has tested positive for HIV
antibody, hemophiliacs, prosti
tutes, or anyone who has been inti
mately involved with prostitutes or
former homosexuals since 1977.
Prospective donors who have
been on antibiotics within two
weeks should tell the nurse at reg
istration to give blood. In most
cases, the donor will be able to give
blood.
The Tidewater Region of Ameri
can Red Cross Blood Services col
lectes approximately 130,000 pints
of blood each year from blood
drives. From these units, about
350,000 units of blood products are
produced and distributed to area
hospitals.
All blood drawn is carefully
screened and intricately tested
through a series of complex tests.
The service does not receive any
funding from the United Way or
Combined Federal Campaign.
They do provide support for other
Red Cross services, but not for the
blood services.
Donating blood is safe and sim
ple. The entire process, including a
free mini-physical and refresh
ments, takes about 45 minutes.
Most people are able to donate
blood up to five times per year. Do
nating blood does not affect your
overall strength or ability to per
form. There is now some evidence
that regular donations reduce the
likelihood of heart attacks.
Within 24 hours after a blood do
nation, the body replaces the pint
you donate.
There is a great need for type
"0" blood because it is the most
common.
Also, group "O" negative is
known as the universal donor and
may be substituted when a more
specific type is not available, or in
a trauma case when it is not
prudent to waste time typing the
victim's blood.
Blood is a perishable product, so
donors are needed on a regular ba
sis. Red blood cells can be stored
up to 42 days, while platelets have
a shelf life of only five days.
There is no substitute for blood.
In an emergency, there is no time
to solicit volunteer donations. Only
through the provision of an ad
equate, safe blood supply will blood
be available when it is needed.
Give the gift of life. Donate blood
next Wednesday. The life you save
may be your own, or the life of
someone near and dear to you.
NCDA recommends avoiding
non-citrus Chilean fruit
Food and Drug Protection offi
cials of the North Carolina Depart
ment of Agriculture are urging
consumers to check the source of
any fresh, non-citrus fruit, and to
not consume it if it was imported
from Chile.
"According to officials of the
U.S. Food and Drug Administra
tion (FDA)," said Agriculture
Commissioner Jim Graham, "the
U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile
received an anonymous phone call
in Spanish claiming that export
fruit would be poisoned."
As a result, FDA announced
March 6 that it had detained Chil
ean fruit due to the call, and would
continue to detain and selectively
examine Chilean fruit. A second
call to the embassy caused FDA to
intensify inspections.
On March 14, the FDA stated
that it had found and confirmed
traces of cyanide in a small sample
of seedless red grapes from Chile.
They then detainee! all fruit from
Chile and urged Chilean fruit be
withdrawn from the U.S. market.
Graham stated, "Virtually all
fresh grapes sold here are Chilean
grapes. Other Chilean fruit sold
here includes peaches, blueber
ries, blackberries, seedless water
melon, cantaloupes, Juan canary
and honey dew melons, raspber
ries, nectarines, quince, Granny
Smith green apples, cactus pears
and plums. Although no cyanide
has been detected in any of this
fruit, consumers are advised to
avoid consumption of all Chilean
fruit at this time."
The levels of cyanide found thus
far in the Chilean grapes was far
below the amount that would
sicken a child, but more than is
known to accur naturally in fruit.
However, FDA officials stateo that
since potassium or sodium cyanide
converts to hydrogen cyanide in
acid fruit and dissipates, scientists
could not determine how much poi
son had originally been introduced.
The grapes that tested positive
left Chile on February 27 on the
ship Almeria Star, which was three
days before the first telephone call
to the U.S. Embassy in Satiago.
Consumers who are concerned
about fruit they have already eaten
should not worry. "Cyanide is fast
acting poison," commented Robert
L. Gordon, director of the NCDA
Food and Drug Protection Divi
sion. "If you have eaten fruit with
high enough levels of cyanide to
make you sick or kill you, it would
have been immediately apparent.
The thing consumers need to re
member now is not to consume
Chilean fruit until the FDA clar
ifies the extent of the tampering
problem."
For more information, call 919
733-7366.
Red Cross Bloodmobile Apr. 5 at Hertford Methodist