Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / June 4, 2014, edition 1 / Page 1
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P The ERQIJIMANS r Weekly "News from Next Door" JUNE 4, 2014 - JUNE 10, 2014 50 cents DA amends charges against two Brothers BY PETER WILLIAMS News Editor HERTFORD — The original charges against the two youngest of six brothers charged with hav ing sex with' their sister have been dropped and the pair are facing new charges. District Attorney Andrew Wom ble said the original charges were inappropriate given that Aaron and Benjamin Jackson were not more than four years older than thevictim. “When we realized that, we quickly moved to change the charg es,” Womble said Monday. Aaron Jack- son now faces five counts of second-degree sex offense. He had previously been charged with three counts of statutory rape and his bond set at $150,000. The new charges carry the same bond. Beqjamin Jackson, now faces three counts of second-degree sex offense and two counts of second- degree rape. He had previously been charged with three counts of statutory rape. The new charges carry the same $150,000 secured bond. The brothers are twins and spent their 19th birthdays in Albe marle District Jail on May 10. Both brothers have their ad dress listed in the 700 block of Chapanoke Road. All six brothers and their par ents, John and Nita Jackson, had their first court appearance on May 19. All eight Jacksons have asked the court to appoint a public de fender to represent them. The re quest was approved by Superior Court Judge Walter Godwin. The new charges facing Aaron and Benjamin Jackson are Class C felonies that carry a sentence of not more than 279 months in jail for each count. Given that they face five counts, if convicted on the maximum charge they each face more than 116 years in pris on. The Jackson brothers and then- parents are expected to make then- next court appearances during the next session of Superior Court set for July 31. Womble said the administrative hearing will allow the judge to en sure the Jacksons have been ap pointed attorneys. Womble said the actual trial could be a year or a year and a half down the road. He said he’s hop ing it will proceed faster than that. DOT: No further hearings planned BY PETER WILLIAMS News Editor The N.C. Department of Transportation hopes to have revised plans for a re placement bridge in Hert ford completed by the end of the month but there are no plans right now to hold another public hearing. DOT Engineer Jay McIn nis said any changes won’t be significantly different than what was presented to area residents last year. But if for some reason they were, DOT would likely take those changes back to Perquimans County resi dents in the form of another public hearing. The plans to replace the 86-year-old S-Bridge in Hert ford with a new fixed span hit a speed bump earlier this year when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers raised concerns that as it was first designed it was about a foot lower than the U.S. 17 By pass Bridge. The Army Corps is one of about a dozen agencies that has to sign off on the bridge design before it can be built. DOT had nar rowed down the list of re placement options to three and determined that one labeled, as “D-Mod” was the best choice. The bridge uses Church Street and extends over the Perquimans River to the same spot on the Win- fall side that the other two See HEARINGS, 9 Home Sweet ‘Habitat’ Home STAFF PHOTOS BY PETER WILLIAMS A Habtiat for Humanity volunteer watches as a crane positions a roof truss onto a home under construction at 317 Dobbs St. in Hertford last week. New Habitat House taking shape BY PETER WILLIAMS News Editor I t’s safe to say that they just don’t build Habitat for Humanity houses like they used to, and that’s probably not a bad thing. Construction started on a new home at 317 Dobbs St. in Hertford in May. Habitat volunteer Jim Robison estimates it should be complete by early July. The time span between the laying of the plywood flooring to the set ting of the roof trusses was mea sured in a few days, not weeks. The difference is the components, like walls and the trusses came in preassembled. Gone are the days of cutting and nailing single 2x4 studs to create a roof truss or a wall. The components can be built See HABITAT, 4 Volunteers Frank Elfring, Don Locascio and Skip Matthews lay flooring on a new Habitat for Humanity house on Dobbs Street in Hertford last month. No tax hike in Heath’s budget BY PETER WILLIAMS News Editor Perquimans County Man ager Frank Heath is propos ing a new budget that won’t require an increase in taxes, but will use up $328,000 of the reserve fund. Heath made the proposal Monday night to the Perqui mans County Commission, Water rates would remain the same, but the annual solid waste fee would increase from $120 HEATH to $130 to pay for required improve ments at the transfer station and improvements at two convenience sites. A public hearing and a vote are scheduled for June 16. The general fund amonts to $13,454,278. The water fund totals $2,120,269 and the solid waste account amounts to $879,480. Overall, Heath said there are signs the economy is improving in some areas and holding the line on rais ing taxes has been some thing the county has been able to do for the past four years. Perquimans’ rate of 44 cents per $100 in value is 24 cents lower than the rate in Chowan County, 19 cents lower than Pasquotank and See BUDGET, 8 Lone Summer Breeze concert scheduled for this Sunday BY PETER WILLIAMS News Editor After 14 years, Perqui mans County’s Summer Breeze concert Series will be down to just one perfor mance, not three. Dee Ponte, a volunteer with the Perquimans Coun ty Restoration Association that puts the show on, said it. simply came down to an issue of scheduling. The only show this year will be held Sunday from 6-8 p.m. The band “Connected” will perform as well as the cho rus from Hertford Grammar School. Connected has per formed five times at Sum mer Breeze since 2007. The performances are tra ditionally held on a Sunday evening on the grounds of the historic Newbold-White House on Harvey Point Road. Bands are brought in and crowds bring their own chairs for the free perfor mance. In the event of rain, the event is moved to the Perquimans County Recre ation Center. Ponte said finding a date to hold the concerts didn’t used to be so hard, but there are more and more things going on in the area. The concerts typically draw from Perquimans County residents and people from Edenton and Chowan County. Some come from Elizabeth City, which Ponte said “has something going on all the time.” The restoration group’s annual garden party, tradi tionally the biggest fund raiser of the year, is usually held on the third Saturday in See BREEZE, 9 School lunch prices headed higher BY PETER WILLIAMS News Editor Perquimans County students that pay for lunch will be paying a little more next year to comply with federal rules regarding child nutrition. The price of a meal at Perquimans Central will increase from $2.15 to $2.25. The cost at the three other schools that serve older students will increase from $2.40 to $2.50. A la carte prices will also be increased to reflect the increased cost to purchase and pre pare meals. The child nutrition program in Per quimans County is a $1.1 million opera tion that is largely funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA pays for lunch for fami- lies that otherwise might not be able to afford them. The federal government also subsidizes those that pay cash for lunch to the tune of 36 cents per meal. In Perquimans, about 40 to 45 per cent of meals are paid in cash and the See LUNCH PRICES, 9 STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS Michael Boyce stands on the skeet range at the NC Shooting Club just outside of Hertford last week. The club will host a two-day event this weekend to raise money for tornado victims. Shooting club to open for charity BY PETER WILLIAMS News Editor A Hertford shooting club that closed briefly in early 2013 will open back up to the public this weekend for a benefit to raise money for local tornado victims. The North Carolina Shooting Club now operates the shooting range located behind the Duck Thru location at 964 Ocean High way South. The range was developed in the 1980s when the property was owned by W.D. See CHARITY, 4
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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June 4, 2014, edition 1
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