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HERTFORD NC 27944-122 _
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“News from Next Door”
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019
$1.00
Local early voting winding down, election on Nov. 5
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
About a third of voters
had cast a ballot in the Hert
ford elections as of noon
Monday. In Winfall the fig
ure was 14 percent.
The election is Nov. 5 but
early voting at the elections
office on Edenton Road
Street continues until Fri ¬
day at 5 p.m.
In Hertford there is a
race between Mayor Pro
Tern Quentin Jackson and
Earnell Brown for the may
or’s seat. Gracie Felton is
running to earn the seat she
was appointed to this year
when Archie Aples stepped
down. Also running is Jerry
Mimlitsch, Ashley Hodges
and Orlean Jones. For all of
them it is their first election.
In Windfall, Mayor Fred
Yates is facing a challenge
from Preston White. White
is a councilman who opted
not to run for council, but
instead run for mayor. Run
ning for the two seats on
council are Carol Cooper
and Virginia Powell.
The election has not been
without controversy. Law
enforcement was called
three times in the last week
over issues of a candidate
supporters of a candidate
crossing the 50-foot line to
talk to voters an encourage
them to vote for their candi
date.
The elections office
is also investigating the
chance that some people
who don’t live in Hertford
were told to register as
Hertford residents and giv
en a street address to use,
said Elections Director Hol
ly Hunter.
Jackson also filed a police
complaint with the Hertford
Police Department about
stolen campaign signs.
Jackson said 73 of his 110
signs were stolen.
“There was a white guy
on a bike and someone in
pickup truck,” Jackson said.
One of the signs, Jackson
said, was in his mother’s
front yard.
Jackson said he has three
cameras at his mother’s
house and others have cam
eras that also recorded the
thefts.
See VOTING, A2
Bridge Construction
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Pilings are being drive for the new bridgetender’s house for the replacement for the S-Bridge.
Chappell crowned queen at ECU
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Taylor Chappell, a 2016
graduate of Perquimans
County High School, was
crowned the homecom
ing queen at East Caro
lina University on Satur
day.
Chappell, 21, is an ac
counting mqjor who is
set to graduate with a
bachelor’s degree in De
cember. She intends to
stay at ECU and finish
her master’s degree by
December 2020. She has
been offered a job at the
accounting firm KPNG in
Washington D.C. She will
be a federal audit associ
ate.
She said she will never
regret her decision to go to
Greenville.
“It has been everything
I wanted and more. I was
expecting to have 10 or 15
friends, go to class and to
work, and it pretty much
has turned into my entire
life.”
She is chapter president
of Alpha Omicron Pi, an ac
counting sorority. She was
also elected vice president
of ECU’s Student Govern
ment Association and is
president of Beta Alpha
Psi.
Her advice to high
school students thinking
about college, check out
ECU.
“Don’t knock it (ECU)
because of some of the neg
ative attention,” she said.
“If somebody was slightly
interested, check it out.
You never know where that
door may lead you.”
She also tells younger
students — if you visit a
college and it doesn’t feel
right, just walk away. She
See CHAPPELL, A2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Taylor Chappell was crowned East Carolina University’s
homecoming queen last weekend.
Killer given
death sentence
From Staff Reports
MANTEO — Convicted
murderer Mikel Brady will
face the death penalty for
his role in the brutal slayings
of four prison employees at
Pasquotank Correctional In
stitution two years ago.
It took jurors in the penal
ty phase of Brady’s murder
trial less than an hour Mon
day to return a death sen
tence for the prison inmate
prosecutors said led the
Oct. 12, 2017 failed escape
attempt that resulted in the
deaths of Veronica “Ronnie”
Darden, Justin Smith, Wen
dy Shannon and Geoffrey
Howe.
After Brady’s death sen
tence was announced, Su
perior Court Judge Jerry Til
lett excused members of the
seven-woman, five man jury
from tiie courtroom in Dare
County Superior Court. Al
though they all departed,
one returned a few minutes
later and sat down behind
where families of victims
and the trial’s witnesses
were seated.
When court was over, the
juror approached Smith’s
mother and they hugged.
She then was heard thank
ing him for the verdict. Oth
er family members declined
to discuss the jury’s verdict
as they departed the court
room.
During a brief press
conference following the
verdict, District Attorney
Andrew Womble said he
wouldn’t venture a guess
about how long Brady’s ap ¬
peals of the jury’s verdicts
would take before the death
sentence is carried out.
All death penalty verdicts
in North Carolina are auto
matically appealed. The last
person executed in North
Carolina was Samuel Flip-
pen, who was put to death
in 2006 for the murder of his
2-year-old stepdaughter.
Womble also refused
to talk about the trials for
the other three defendants
accused in the four pris
on workers’ murders: in
mates Wisezah Buckman,
Seth Frazier and Jonathan
Monk. Womble said Brady
was chosen for trial first
because he was directly in
volved in all four murders
and was the self-proclaimed
leader of the failed escape
attempt.
Womble has said previ
ously that Buckman’s trial is
scheduled for March. Trial
dates have not been set for
Frazier and Monk.
During his closing argu
ment to the jury on Monday,
Womble asked they return a
death sentence for Brady.
“Three of those mur
dered were to lured to their
deaths,” Womble said, refer
ring to Darden, Smith and
Shannon. “Jeffrey Howe just
walked into the carnage, but
Howe was just another ob
stacle between him (Brady)
and freedom. That’s what
they were — not humans —
just obstacles.”
Womble ticked off the
aggravating factors arguing
See MURDER, A2
Cale raising funds to start work on second bunkhouse
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Camp Cale is taking a
leap of faith to raise enough
money now to start con
struction on a second mod
ern bunkhouse so it will be
ready in time for next sum
mer.
The camp, which is
owned by the Chowan Bap
tist Association, doesn’t
have the full $629,000 it will
take to build the facility, but
it does have some funds in a
capital account.
If Cale can raise another
$30,000 by Nov. 26, the as
sociation will match it with
$50,000.
“The $80,000 will get us
to 41 percent,” said Camp
Director Matt Thomas.
The association rep
resents 68 churches in
northeastern North Caroli
na.
Camp Cale was found
ed in the early 1960s on
the banks of the Perqui
mans River. At the time
the open air bunkhouses
were considered normal
for a summer camp. But
today, the luxuries of air
conditioning are expected,
something the old cabins
don’t have.
The first new bunkhouse
was opened last summer.
“The kids loved it and
the parents felt better too
because it’s totally enclosed
and it was their kids in
there,” Thomas said.
“Last summer the (new)
bunkhouse was booked
up every week and the
others were full and then
it started to slack off.
When we got into the hot
ter months toward the end
of July, we saw attendance
dip in the older cabins,” he
said.
“If we don’t build a sec
ond bunkhouse, I fear we
will start losing campers,”
he said.
So even though Cale had
the capacity to sleep anoth
er 48 people, attendance for
2019 — about 435 — was
about the same as it was in
2018.
The modern bunkhouse
can also be used year-round.
In addition to summer
camps, they can be used in
the fall, winter and spring
for retreats and other func
tions.
And that is just what hap
pened since the first new
bunkhouse was opened last
summer.
“We’ve got things hap
pening now up through the
Thanksgiving weekend.
A lot of them are youth
groups or college groups.
Mainly they are doing two
or three day retreats. We’re
actually tapping into the Ra
leigh market quite a bit and
getting some out of Virgin
ia.”
People don’t have to be
Baptist to rent the facilities,
but they do have to abide by
the rules of Camp Cale.
There is also the confer
ence center that is available.
See CALE, A2
Heath to speak at
veteran’s service
From Staff Reports
The Perquimans County
annual Veterans Day ob
servance, hosted by Hert
ford American Legion Post
26, will be held Nov. 11 at
11 a.m. at the veteran’s mon ¬
HEATH
ument on the county court-
inclement weather the obser
vance will be moved to the
county recreation center lo
cated off Harvey Point Road.
6 89076 47144
2
house lawn.
Members
of Hertford
American
Legion Post
362 will also
participate in
the program.
In case of
See HEATH, A2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Historic Hertford Inc. recently decorated the front
of the Perquimans County Courthouse Annex for
Halloween.
Downtown hosts
Halloween events
From Staff Reports
The Hertford Police De
partment will close off a
block of Church Street on
Thursday so children can par
ticipate in “Trunk or Treat.”
The event coincides
with the traditional trick
or treating that downtown
merchants participate in
each year. Businesses will
be handing out candy from
3 p.m. until 5 p.m.
The police department
event is from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.
in the block between Market
Street and Grubb Street.
HPD Captain Gilbert Ro
driguez said the department
is asking people who want
to park and give out candy to
contact Police Chief Dennis
Brown by calling 426-5587
or e-mailing PoliceChief@
townofhertfordnc.com.
There will also be a
Trunk or Treat Thursday at
the Holiday Island parking
lot at 6 p.m.