BERTIE LEDGER-ADVANCE
MAY 1,20191 A3
The fabric of Bertie County since 1832
News
ig
•m%
a*-.
LEWIS HOGGARD / Windsor/Bertie Chamber of Commerce
Riders from Cycle NC take a break at a rest stop at Scotch Hall Preserve.
Cyclists
From A1
ers, and render aid whether
mechanically or medically.
There were five stops in Bertie
County - Windsor, San Souci,
Scotch Hall, Leggett’s Grill and
Capehart’s Church.
There were over 30 local citi
zens, who volunteered their Sat
urday to help make the event
go smoothly. Windsor Commis
sioner Randy K. Whitaker was
at the Windsor stop and Ber
tie County Commissioner Greg
Atkins, County Manager Scott
Sauer, Register of Deeds Annie
Wilson were all at the San Souci
stop. At San Souci, there were
support boats in the water in
case anything happened on the
ferry rides across the Cashie
River.
The North Carolina Depart
ment of Transportation (DOT)
was helpful in coordinating the
use of the ferry by the cyclists.
DOT also procured for our use,
20 type one life jackets that
were required by the U.S. Coast
Guard to make sure everyone
was safe.
The cyclists come in all ages
and sizes. Even the equipment
varies from participant to par
ticipant. The traditional road
bike is the standard mode of
travel. Names like Trek, Can-
nodale and Specialized are
commonly seen. There are also
ebikes (electric), tandem bikes,
recumbent (pedaled with the
Water
SCOTT SAUER / Bertie County
Cyclists take the Sans Souci Ferty.
rider horizontal) and some spe
cially designed unique bikes.
Cycle NC worked closely with
Windsor Tourism Director Billy
Smithwick and the staff of the
Windsor/Bertie Chamber of
Commerce to plan the routes
and coordinate with volun
teers.
The point man from Cycle
NC in Bertie County was Chris
Wicker.
Wicker said, “The people of
Bertie County were outstand
ing and their hospitality made
the riders feel right at home.
(There were) lots of neat places
to visit with interesting stories
behind those places made Ber
tie an excellent choice for the
2019 Coastal Ride.”
Bertie County Emergency
Services Director Mitch Cooper
led the way in making the roads
and intersections as safe as
possible for these cyclists.
Cooper expressed his grati
tude to all of the agencies that
lent support and people for this
event, including: Bertie County
Sheriff’s Office, Bertie County
Emergency Services, Merry
Hill Fire Department, Windsor
Police Department, Currituck
County Fire/EMS, Gates Coun
ty Emergency Management,
Flertford County Emergency
Management, Martin County
Emergency Management, North
Carolina Forest Service, North
Carolina Wildlife Commission,
North Carolina Highway Patrol
and Vidant Police.
From A1
lie’s introduction to the nearly
one-half mile of beach on the
coastal waters of North Caro
lina’s inner banks,” he added.
Payne led discussions, which
helped the group identify the
potential users of the 137-acre
property.
“We must make clear to resi
dents of Bertie County this is
their facility to utilize,” Com
missioner Ronald D. Wesson
pointed out during the discus
sions.
Other potential users includ
ed the general traveling public
and school trips.
Education, ecotourism and
history preservation were key
facts the group deemed “of po
tential interest” to visitors as
well as uninterrupted nature.
“We see the stars every
night,” Sauer pointed out. “It’s
no big deal, but to others it
would be.”
Discussions included ideas
for an interpretive visitors’ cen
ter as well as an outdoor enter
tainment venue which could
accommodate a large variety of
events.
iK 4 -
h
K
SARAH HODGES STALLS / Bertie Ledger-Adance
Bertie County Economic Development Director Steve Biggs was one of the county
officials taking part in the Tall Glass of Water Planning Session on April 24.
“In the coming months, the
Board will continue its vision
ing and planning efforts to in
corporate all of Bertie County’s
world class recreational waters
from the Roanoke, Cashie and
Chowan rivers, and onto Salm
on Creek and the Albemarle
Sound,” Sauer said.
Throughout the planning
process, Payne will document
the Board’s discussions and
charting the program objec
tives from last week’s planning
session. The outcome of her
documentation will be used for
incorporation with the meeting
minutes, and to document the
governing body’s planning ef
forts.
Sarah Hodges Stalls can be
reached via mail at shstalls®
ncweeklies.com.
The husband
(almost)
always did it
It’s almost always the
husband or bo5driend,
and if she’s pregnant,
it was the father of the
baby.
Those words of inves
tigative wisdom used
to chap my reporter
hide. But in more than
a dozen years of cover
ing hundreds of mur
der cases. I’ve come to
learn it really is almost
always the husband or
boyfriend or baby dad
dy
Prior to coming to the
Telegram, 1 spent about
a year writing free
lance about unsolved
murders and missing
people. 1 had honed the
skill while writing for
The Daily News in Jack
sonville and surround
ing sister newspapers.
One of the freelance
jobs was writing about
a couple of unsolved
murders for the Ashe-
boro Courier-Tribune.
One of those cases in
volved the bloody slash
ing death of a mother of
two young daughters.
She was killed in her
kitchen while her boy
friend of eight years
was across town — or
so he said.
Nova Nicole Robin
son, “Nikki” to family
and friends, a 31-year-
old nursing student,
was knifed to death on
Jan. 28, 2013. 1 wrote
about her still-unsolved
murder two years later.
There was no evi
dence of forced entry.
She wasn’t robbed or
sexually assaulted. She
didn’t have alcohol or
drugs in her system.
The murder weapon
hadn’t been found.
Of course there are
exceptions to the hus-
band-did-it rule. Every
once in a while a wife
really does go missing
and meet a nefarious
end while out jogging.
But in Nikki’s case, it
was pretty obvious the
alibi-less boyfriend did
it.
Nikki’s mom provided
me with pictures of the
bloody scene. The over
kill alone was indicative
of someone intimate
with Nikki.
It made it clear who
the only real suspect
was.
Nikki’s mom asked
me what she could do
to see justice for her
daughter. I said to keep
her in the public eye.
Hound the police, make
the news stations pay
attention and keep her
story going in the news
paper.
The mom did all
those things. She wrote
frequent letters to the
editor, appeared on lo
cal newscasts and set
up a Facebook page.
She made sure no one
could forget.
In these cases, once
the public forgets, once
the attention of the fick
le public diverts to an
other tragedy, it’s hard
to get back.
I’m reminded of
21-year-old Denise Wil
liams. She was also a
mother of two young
children.
In the summer of 2003,
Denise went out for a
night on the town, went
missing and a week
later her decomposing
body was found float-
Denise Williams
ing face down in Cokey
Swamp along Pleasant
Hill Road just outside
Rocky Mount.
The investigation was
— for a time — swept
up by the case of the
Seven Bridges Road
Killer. The public and
news media tied Denise
to that case although
she didn’t fit the vic
timology.
But the detectives
working her homicide
weren’t distracted.
They kept their eyes on
— you guessed it — the
boyfriend.
Little evidence has
surfaced in the case, but
only one real suspect
remains. His identity is
being withheld pending
further legal develop
ments. But I know who
he is, the Edgecombe
County Sheriff’s Office
knows who he is and
people in the position
to break the case wide
open by coming for
ward know who he is.
Denise was a mother
as well. Her family de
serves to know what
happened to her. It’s
been long enough.
And Nikki’s case? Her
boyfriend, Roger Lee
Martin, was arrested
earlier this month by
the Asheboro Police De
partment and charged
with her murder.
“There were many
questions surround
ing the case that Roger
Martin could not give
a logical response to,”
Asheboro Police Chief
Jody Williams said in
a press release. “Ad
vanced DNA testing
enabled our detectives
to satisfy all open ques
tions that they had sur
rounding the investiga
tion. Wte are completely
satisfied without ques
tion that Roger Martin
killed his then-girlfriend
Nova ‘Nikki’ Robinson.”
We can have that clo
sure here for Denise’s
family if someone who
was there during her fi
nal hours does the right
thing.
Twin County
CrimeStoppers is offer
ing a cash reward of up
to $1,000 for informa
tion leading to an ar
rest in the case. The tip
line number is 252-977-
1111.
Lindell Jon Kay can
be reached via email at
lkay@rmtelegram. com.
Mtn
VAiiting ^
Your Kids
toTolkto
P«tnef!di!p fe» a Dr’jg-Free