Sheriff offers tips for safe shopping during holiday season
From staff reports
“The holiday season is
right around the comer
and shoppers are crowding
■malls and discount stores”,
said Chowan County Sheriff
Dwayne Goodwin.
According to Goodwin,
“This time of year attracts
more shopping-related
criminal activity because
of the larger crowds and
Officials: Watch
out for scammers
From staff reports
Local officials are urging
residents to be vigilant in
light of an apparent home
repair scam.
1 Late Monday, Edenton
town officials were alerted
about an apparent scam.
The Public Works Depart
ment got a call indicating
.that someone representing
himself as a contractor for
the town
'" Town officials reported
that an employee of the
Joe Lee Co. had contacted
public works to report that
one of their customers had
; a disturbing encounter in
which a heavy-set man with
a beard who looked like
Santa Claus and was driv
ihg a white car knocked
On her door, saying he was
^ contractor working for
•the town with a company
•called Waterworks.
I There is no contractor
; Working for the town, ac
cording to town staff. The
; bogus contractor told the
•woman her water meter
;was spinning and said that
•theant she probably has a
water leak. The man said
"be was going to crawl un
der the house and check it
out
XWhen the woman told
HNe man she would call
^er plumber, the mat said
the extended store hours.
These factors and the usual
distraction of shopping cre
ates a mpre favorable envi
ronment for petty thieves
and other offenders.”
Goodwin reminds all
Chowan County residents
to follow these safety tips:
• A single shopper is the
best target for theft Always
shop with a friend or rela
tive.
“OK," got in the car, with
another guy and drove off,
according to town staff.
Public Works person
nel went to the customer’s
house and determined
there her water meter was
not spinning and there was
no reason to believe there
was a water leak.
Town, officials said they
appreciated the customer
telling the stranger she
would call her plumber
and also appreciated Joe
Lee Co. personnel for
alerting the Public Works
Department Police Chief
Jay Fortenbeiy offered the
following tips for avoiding
home repair scams:
•Do not accept unsolicit
ed offers for home repairs.
•Ask for and check ref
erences before allowing
repairs.
•Always get a second
quote for repairs.
•Never pay “up front”
before repairs are complete
and beware of those who
ask for cash.
•Check with the county
building inspector or town
officials for proper license
or references.
•If in doubt, report
suspicious activity to law
enforcement Legitimate
home repair business own
ors will appreciate your
concern.
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• Shop during daylight
hours. If you shop at night,
park your vehicle in a well
lit area,
• Pay careful attention
to your surroundings and
avoid overloading yourself
with packages. It is impor
tant to have clear visibility
and freedom of motion to
avoid mishaps. When return
ing to your vehicle, check
around it and in the back
Santa Greeting
PHOTO COURTESY WAYNE WOODBURY
Elizabeth “Lizzy'’ Daniels greets Santa following the
town’s tree lighting ceremony Dec. 6.
Crimewatch
EDENTON POLICE
ARRESTS
■ Dec. 10 — Marcus
Antonio Logan, 26, of
Happy Home Road, was
arrested for felony posses
sion with intent to sell or
distribute heroin and felony
sale or delivery of heroin.
■ Dec. 10 — Jon
Steven Drennan Jr., 40, of
North Broad Street, was .
arrested on two counts of
failure to. appear on proba
tion violations.
■ Dec. 9 — Michael Cle
von Rayner, 32, of Dicks
Street, was arrested for “
failure to appear.
r INCIDENTS
■ Dec. 18 — Larceny
on East Church Street.
■ Dec. 11 — Credit
card fraud on Cabarrus
Street.
■ Dec. 10 — Breaking
and entering, and larceny,
on Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. Avenue.
■ Dec; 10 — Cruelty
to animals on Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Avenue.
■ Dec. 9 — Larceny on
East Queen Street.
■ Dec. 8 — Breaking
seat. Be aware of strangers
approaching you for any
reason.
• Report suspicious activ
ity.
“During this time of year,
busy holiday shoppers be
come careless and vulnera
ble to other crimes as well,”
Goodwin said. “Credit card
fraud is on the rise. Howev
er, taking a few preventive
measures can help.”
and entering on Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Avenue.
■ Dec. 6 — Breaking
and entering, and larceny,
on East Gale Street.
CHOWAN SHERIFF
ARREStS
■ Dec. 1 — Barry
Mundie Eure, 19, of Hicko
ry Fork Road, was arrested
for failure to appear.
■ Nov. 25 — James
Douglas Elliott III, 28, of
Mexico Road, was arrested
for assault on a female.
■ Nov. 20 — Lyndsay
Florence Muth, 24, of
White Oak Drive, was
charged with misdeijieanor
larceny and possession of
stolen goods.
INCIDENTS
■ Dec. 7 — Misdemean
or larceny at the intersec
tion of Beech Fork and
Evans-Bass Road.
■ Nov. 30 — Felony
larceny on Huron Trail.
■ Nov. 25 — Breaking
and entering, and larceny,
on Mexico Road.
■ Nov. 20 — Breaking
and entering, and felony lar
ceny, on Holly Grove Road.
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Goodwin offered these
tips for avoiding credit card
fraud;
• Keep a dose watch
on your credit card every
time you use it, and make
sure you get it back
as quickly as possible.
• Never write your PIN
number on your credit card.
• Shred anything with
your credit card number
written on it
State University •
.A&T State University
COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION
Empowering People * Providing Solutions
Cooperative
extension planning
for the future
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Some 150 people packed
a meeting room at the Ver
non James Extension Cen
ter Wednesday night to talk
about the future of the N.C.
Cooperative Extension Ser
vice in the light of reduced
funding and other changes.
Among the crowd were
strong contingents from
Pasquotank, Currituck,
Chowan and Perquimans
counties.
During the meeting,
Chowan County Commis
sioner Jeff Smith suggested
it’s important to maintain
agricultural agents in coun
ties where agriculture is
a vital industry. He said it
might not be as necessary in
more urban areas.
Smith, who is a farmer,
was a spokesman for one
of the working groups that
gathered around tables dur
ing the listening session to
talk over ideas for the fu
ture. - . -
Chowan County Commis
sioner John Mitchener also
attended the meeting, and
suggested during discus
sion at one of the tables that
extension’s work with youth
and families is another im
portant part of what coop
erative extension offers the
community.
Joe Zublena, state exten
sion director, told the group
that the cooperative exten
sion service is significantly
understaffed for the current
plan.
There has been a $20 mil
lion a year permanent bud
get loss since 2000, includ
ing a $13.7 million reduction
during the past four years,
Zublena said
The current budget is $52
million, consisting of $39
million in state funding, $11
million in federal funding
and roughly $2 million from
other sources.
Wednesday’s meeting was
the 12th and final in a series
of “listening sessions” that
were held across the state.
Zublena said the extension
service will take the best
ideas from across the state
and use them to develop a
workable model
“We are looking for your
guidance for how we can re
invent ourselves for the next
100 years,” Zublena said
The change may be hard
to digest at first, he said
-' — but he encouraged every
one to give it a chance.
Among the ideas and
I--i,
In light of these problems,
Goodwin warns shoppers to
be careful so that they don’t
become the victim of crimi
nal activity.
“Unfortunately, when
shopping, people have a
tendency to let their guard
down,” Goodwin said.
“However, paying attention
and taking precautions can
help eliminate their chances
of being victimized.”
suggestions that were pre
sentedby fanners, county
officials and others during
the listening session:
•Using contract employ
ees and consultants to save
money,
•Making effective use of
user-friendly technology,
•Increasing volunteer re
sponsibility
•Having directors serve
multiple counties.
Zublena said coopera
tive extension will develop
the new action plan by May
2014.
Those who didn’t attend
the listening session can
weigh in online at www.ces.
ncsu.edu/yision-initiative.
Zublena said since 2000,
90 county positions have
been permanently lost, he
said.
All this is forcing the
extension service to take
a new look at the way it is
structured, according to:
Zublena
“We were set up for a
different model with much
larger financing,” Zublena
said.
The workforce reduc
tion has not been strategic,
Zublena said. Rather, he ex
plained, it has been based
on retirements and resigna
tions so that no one would
have to be laid off.
Using a horticultural
metaphor that was readily
understood by many in the
room, Zublena pointed out
that pruning an apple tree
enables it to produce abun
dant apples. Without prun
ing, the tree might grow
large but not yield a healthy
crop of fruit, he said
The same thing is hap
pening with the cooperative
extension service, accord
ing to Zublena. lire service
needs to be pruned in the
right way to enhance its ef
fectiveness, he said
“We need to find out what
our apples are,” Zublena
said, explaining that will
consist of identifying what
it most important
Zublena said this current
planning process is about
figuring out what programs
are needed most; strength
ening the impact of the ex
tension service; creating a
financial buffer to provide
flexibility so that services
an stay aligned with priori
ties; and developing staffing
models that align with the
financial reality while pro
viding outstanding service
and a better quality of life
for employees.
l
(USPS 106-380) Vol. 80, No. 51
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