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Pets of the Week, 9
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Grand jury indicts Jackson for perjury
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A Hertford town council
man has been charged with
perjury after he allegedly
denied in court that he was
on probation when in fact
he was.
Councilman Quentin
Jackson was indicted by a
Perquimans County grand
jury on the perjury charge
on April 30. According to
court of
ficials, he
turned
himself in
at the Per
quimans
Sheriff’s
Office and
was re
JACKSON leased af
ter posting
a $2,000 secured bond.
Jackson was charged
with perjury because of
statements he allegedly
made during a trial in Feb
ruary that ended with his
conviction on a charge of
misdemeanor resisting, de
laying and obstructing a po
lice officer.
A Hertford police officer
had pulled over Jackson’s
SUV on Feb. 1 after observ
ing that instead of a license
plate, Jackson’s vehicle bore
a makeshift tag made of a
popcorn box with letters
and numbers written on it.
Besides charging Jackson
with displaying a fictitious
license tag, the officer also
charged him with resisting
a police officer. The officer
did so after the councilman
refused an order to get back
in his vehicle.
When the matter was
heard at trial, District Court
Judge Edgar Barnes ruled
there wasn’t enough evi
dence to convict Jackson
of displaying a fictitious
tag. However, he did find
sufficient evidence that the
councilman had resisted the
officer’s directive.
After finding Jackson
guilty, Barnes sentenced
him to 10 days in jail. The
sentence is still on hold,
however, because Jackson
appealed Barnes’ ruling o
Superior Court and the mat
ter hasn’t been resolved.
Jackson, who represent
ed himself during the Dis
trict Court trial, was asked
by prosecutors at one point
if he was currently serving
probation for his conviction
in an unrelated case in Dare
County. Jackson testified
that he was not on proba
tion.
According to court re
cords, however, Jackson
was on probation at the
See JACKSON, 2
Town finds
cheaper
coverage
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Switching health insur
ance carriers will save the
Town of Hertford $4,500 a
month next fiscal year.
To w n
Manager
Brandon
Shoaf said
the town
didn’t have
a choice
but make
a switch.
SHOAF The cur
rent in
surer, Aetna, will no longer
be serving small customers
like Hertford.
“Each year we shop
around to find the best
deal,” Shoaf told the Hert
ford Town Council last
month. “We’ve gone from
Blue Cross to Cigna and
now Aetna.”
The insurance discussion
was part of the same meet
ing Tuesday in which the
town board learned what is
involved in selecting a new
town manager. Shoafs last
day is May 28. Shoaf said he
wanted to get the insurance
issue resolved in plenty of
time before start of the new
fiscal year July 1.
The town has traditionally
picked up the cost of health
coverage for the town’s 25
employees
This year’s bid from the
See COVERAGE, 2
See PRAYER, 2
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
North Carolina’s First Lady Kristin Cooper admires a
child’s sweater at the Perquimans Arts League last
week. One of her hobbies is knitting.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
North Carolina’s First
Lady Kristin Cooper paid a
visit to Perquimans County
last week as part of her
quest to spend some quality
time in all 100 of the state’s
counties.
Cooper, the wife of Gov.
Roy Cooper and an attorney
f by training, spent a good
deal of Tuesday afternoon at
the Perquimans Arts League
(PAL).
She said she’s enjoying
the visits. Before visiting
PHOTO BY PAM HADDEN
Speakers gather at the National Day of Prayer sponsored by the Holiday Island Property Owners
Association.
Local groups unite in prayer
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Speakers at two differ
ent events prayed for na
tion and aspects of Ameri
can during events marking
the National Day of Prayer
Thursday.
Seven speakers called for
unity and prayed for the na
tion, families, schools, the
youth, federal, state and lo
cal leaders and the military
last week on the courthouse
lawn.
Later the same day, the
Holiday Island Property
Owners Association held
its National Day of Prayer
event. It marked the 13th
year for the event there.
At the noon courthouse
event, the Hertford Fire
Department handled the
presentation of colors and
the Perquimans County
High School band provided
music.
Pastor James Spaugh of
Bagley Swamp Wesleyan
Church offered the wel
coming address.
“Let us set aside our dif-
STAFF PHOTOS BY PETER
WILLIAMS
Middle, Pastor James
Spaugh speaks at
a National Day of
Prayer event outside
the Perquimans
courthouse last week.
Right, the Hertford
Fire Department
provided the color
guard for a National
Day of Prayer event in
Hertford last week.
North Carolina s First Lady pays a visit
Hertford, she was in Bertie
County and after Hertford,
she went to Elizabeth City.
“I learn something at ev
ery place I go. I see so many
wonderful things going on
across the state.”
Cooper said many rural
areas “feel neglected” and
big cities tend to make the
most headlines.
During the Hertford stop
she visited the current PAL
shop in the Hall of Fame
Building, then went down
Church Street to the future
PAL home in a former gro
cery store built in 1910. PAL
acquired the 5,500 square
foot building recently and
is in the process of raising
funds to transform it into
a permanent home for the
arts and related activities.
Cooper seemed to be in
awe at the large open space
the new building has and
the pressed metal ceiling.
The Hertford stop makes
41 counties Cooper has vis
ited. She wants to get all 100
before the end of 2020.
In Elizabeth City, Coo
per visited Sheep Harney
Elementary School. Issues
dealing with children rank
Jury finds
Norman
guilty
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A Hertford town council
man has been found guilty
a second time of failing to
obey a state trooper’s orders
at the scene of an arrest in
2016.
A T e r- ■ .
qui m ans
C o u n t y
Superior
Court jury
found/^
Frank Xor :L -
man guilty
on April
30 of mis- NORMAN
demeanor
resisting, obstructing and
delaying a law enforcement
officer. A District Court
judge found Norman guilty
of the same charge in 2017
but the councilman ap
pealed the verdict to Supe
rior Court.
Following the jury’s ver
dict, Superior Court Judge
Wayland J. Sermons Jr. sen
tenced Norman to 10 days in
jail, but suspended the sen
tence. He instead sentenced
the councilman to serve six
months of supervised pro
bation and ordered him to
perform 24 hours of com
munity service.
Sermons also sentenced
Norman to serve three days
in jail for his conviction on
a charge of failure to appear
in court on Sept. 18, 2017.
See NORMAN, 2
high on Cooper’s list of con
cerns.
Cooper saw how Sheep-
Harney translates the arts
emphasis of the A-plus
school model into academic
success for students.
Cooper said she was im
pressed by the way teachers
at Sheep-Harney incorpo
rate lessons from all subject
areas into fun songs and
other activities that the chil
dren enjoy.
“It’s something that’s hard
to explain until you see it in
See COOPER, 2
Hundreds cast early ballots
Wizard of Oz
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
By now, the 2018 primary
election should be in the
history books.
Voters went to the polls
on Tuesday and cast bal
lots in one local race for the
Perquimans County school
board and as many as three
other races. Results will
be published in the May 16
issue of The Perquimans
Weekly.
There were 416 Perqui
mans residents who didn’t
wait, and cast a ballot in
early voting.
When it comes to ballots,
there wasn’t a lot on this
one.
Democrats were limited
to just voting for the non-
partisan school board race
that featured three people
running for three seats.
Democrats would have
had a race for the N.C. Dis
trict 1 Senate race, but a
panel determined Democrat
Richard James is not a valid
resident of the ballot. His
name still appeared on the
ballot. Washington County
Commissioner Cole Phelps,
will be the presumed win
ner of the Democratic pri
mary for the 11-county Sen-
See ELECTION, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The
Perquimans
County High
School drama
department
put on The
Wizard
of Oz last
week in the
high school
auditorium.