? THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 35, No. 41 USPS 421-000 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, Oct. II, 1979 20 CENTS
x in mayor's race
By ukk Mclaughlin
Incumbent Bill Cox must
ward off a challenge from a
retired civic leader in seeking
a third term as mayor of the
town of Hertford.
Herbert N. Nixon, 66, will
oppose Cox in the municipal
election slated Nov. 6.
Voters will apparently face
a choice between a candidate
who has a great deal of ex
perience in political and civic
leadership, and one who has
made significant con
^ tributions in the civic arena.
The side issue in the race
thus far apppears to be
whether or not Cox holds
conflicting offices in town
government.
While Nixon was careful not
to criticize Cox's tenure as
mayor, he said that he does
not feel that Cox, who also
seryes as town manager,
should be allowed to wear the
hats of both offices.
"I think the mayor's job,
which is an elected job, should
be divorced from the city
manager's job," Nixon said.
He said that Cox holds every
supervisory job in Hertford
Town government and
questioned the wisdom of
having one man in charge of
everything.
In addition, Nixon said that
if he were elected mayor,
Cox's work load would be
eased, and he would have
more time to devote to town
management.
"Bill is a friend of mine and
I'm in no way critical of him,"
Nixon added.
Cox, on the other hand,
argued that the fact that he is
mayor has helped him in
managing the town. "The
contacts I've made as mayor
have enabled me to do a better
job as town manager," Cox
said.
Special legislation passed
during the 1975 General
Assembly gave the Hertford
Town Council the authority, to
hire Cox as full time town
manager while serving as
mayor.
As an elected official, he has
a vote on the tewn council,
except in those matters
pertaining to the town
manager's office.
The two candidates come
closer to agreement on the
subject of growth.
Both say they will support
efforts to attract new industry
to Hertford. Nixon said that he
would like to see the historical
flavor of the town promoted
for tourism purposes.
"We've got more old houses
in this county than any county
in North Carolina," Nixon
said.
#
Nixon has never held public
office before, though he has
many civic contributions to
boast of.
Cox, however, has his eight
year record as mayor to fall
back on. He has also served
for four years on the town
council.
Though he spreads the
predit between himself and
the town council, Cox can
produce a long list of ac
complishments that have
taken place during his tenure
as mayor.
The town has received more
than (1 million in state and
federal grants in the last eight
years, including $270,000 for
water and sewer, $400,000 for
urban renewal, and $140,000
for a waterfront park.
Cox has also served on
various state, regional and
local committees, and chaired
the committee which worked
to achieve the Governor's
Community of Excellence
Award.
Cox outlined several goals
he would like to see ac
complished if he were elected
to a third term as mayor.
These included the con
tinued improvement of town
services, keeping VEPCO
electricity rates in line,
keeping property taxes at
their present level, and taking
a close look at all town ex
penditures.
Nixon said he sees the office
of mayor as primarily a
"meeting and greeting" type
job with the town manager
responsible for the nuts and
Bill Cox
bolts of daily operations.
His involvement with civic
affairs includes 35 years of
service with the Hertford
Volunteer Fire Department,
two terms as president of the
local Red Cross, and active
Herbert Nixon
participation in the
Perquimans County Historical
Society.
"What I've done in the past
shows that I'm interested in
this county and town," Nixon
said.
Funding search
to begin soon
The Tri-County Career
Education Center Steering
Committee is in the final
stages of preparation for a
funding search to find
financial backing for an ad
vanced academic and
vocational center that would
serve Gates, Chowan and
Perquimans Counties.
At a Thursday night
meeting, the committee voted
to incorporate the tri-county
center. This would make
contributions from private
sources to the center fund tax
deductible.
Thetbmmlttee also voted to
j be gift a search for ar
chitectural planning
assistance in designing a
facility that would com
plement the center
curriculum.
According to center director
Kenneth Stallings, assistance
is needed in drawing up a
schematic floor plan that
would determine the square
footage requirements for each
of the programs to be offered,
and in providing some idea of
the cost of constructing the
facility.
This information can then
be shared with potential
funding sources that might
'have an interest in the career
center concept.
The career center idea was
born out of an interest in
combining the resources of the
three counties. Combining
resources may prove to be a
way of providing advanced
vocational and academic
courses that would not
otherwise be available to high
school students in the area.
Stallings said that if
everything goes as planned,
the center may become a
reality by 1981.
"By next year at this time
our goal is to have identified a
site for the facility, completed
the , final development of
curriculum offering, com
pleted the design of the facility
to complement the
curriculum, and to have put
together a funding package to
support it," Stallings said.
If these goals are met the
committee will be ready to let
bids for the construction^ tire
facility by next fall.
Stallings conceded,
however, that it might be
difficult to find sufficient
funding for the center's
construction. "Brick ands
mortar money is the hardest
kind to get," he said.
The cost of constructing the
facility has been projected at
from $3.5 to $4 million, far out
of the reach of the three
counties, and probably more
than any one single foundation
is going to be willing to con
tribute. ,
"Support is going to have to
come from several sources to
make it fly," Stallings said.
The fact that the counties
are sparsely populated and
isolated, however, may work
to the committee's advantage
in the search for funds.
"A lot of foundations write
into their priorities that they
would like to go into rural,
(Continued on page 2)
Harvest time
John Lane sells autumn produce at his stand on U.S. 17 south.
His collection of dried corn and pumpkins hints that
Halloween is just around the corner. (Photo by Noel Todd
McLaughlin)
Hertford, Winfall get road money
RALEIGH - State Tran
sportation Secretary Tom
Bradshaw announced recently
that checks, totaling more than
$34.6 million have been mailed
to 457 municipalities in North
Carolina for local street
construction and main
tenance. The monies make up
the 1979 allocation of state
street aid (Powell Bill) funds.
The municipality of Hert
ford received $26,023 in Powell
bill funds. This allocation is
based on the community's
populaion of 1,930 and its 9.61
miles of local streets.
The town of Winfall, with 550
rsidents, received $7,605 for its
three miles of local streets.
Each year the Powell Bill
returns to qualified
municipalities one cent of
North Carolina's motor fuel
tax and requires that these
funds be disbursed by no later
than Oct. 1.
"Sharing these resources is
another example of our
partnership with the com
munities we serve in our joint
effort to meet transportation
needs locally as well as
statewide," said Bradshaw.
"This year's sum is the
largest amount ever returned
to North Carolina com
munities under the Powell Bill
provisons. In fact, it's more
than $1.1 million more than
last year's record disbur
sement," he said.
For this year's Powell Bill
funds, the largest check went
to the city of Charlotte.
Charlotte's allocation of
$4,155,095.25 was based on a
population of 338,250 and a
local street mileage figure of
1,124.37.
County seeks
water money
Perquimans County is
applying for more than $1
million in grants and loans to
complete Phase II of its water
system. When completed,
Phase II is expected to serve
between 85 and 90 per cent of
the county's potential water
customers.
The board of commissioners
approved the move to seek
funding at a Monday night
meeting. The county is
seeking a loan from the Farm
Home Administration, and
state grants, both in the
vicinity of a half million
dollars, to finance the project.
The county would also be
required to chip in $4,575 in
local funds, but this would be
generated through user signup
fees.
Commission chairman Joe
Nowell said that it is a virtual
certainty that the project will
be financed, but it may be as
long as nine months before the
money comes through.
The county water system
became active in June of 1978
and currently serves some
1600 customers.
In a related matter, the
commissioners were told that
the county's dirty water
problem had been cleaned up.
Wayne Floyd, a represen
tative of the firm that
engineered the system, said a
maladjustment in the
sequence of events at the
water plant had been causing
iron ore-laden water to run
into the homes of some county
residents.
"The water problem is
pretty much cured," Floyd
said.
In other action, the com
missioners accepted a $7,900
Coastal Area Management
Act grant to update its land
use plan.
The plan, required under
CAMA, will be drawn up using
a process of public par
ticipation.
There was, however, some
discontent expressed among
board members that the land
use requirement is restricted
to a few coastal counties.
"I want to see the rest of the
counties have to do the same
thing," said commissioner
Lester Simpson. "They pick
out a few counties and shove it
down their throats."
Noting that the plan is
mandated by the state,
however, Simpson made a
motion that the grant be ac
cepted, and the board voted
unanimously to do so.
County treasurer Durwood
Reid told the board that he has
been warned once again by
auditors about the lack of
internal controls in the water
tax department.
Reid said that money taken
in by the joint department
could easily be mishandled
before being deposited.
"It's not being questioned
because of anything they've
found, but because of the
tremendous possibility," Reid
said.
(Continued on page 2)
Crushed stone truck
? , .
truck Marly
transportation ahop in WJnfMl when to struck the rear of
forcing it Mo a ear.(Fboto by Mike
Accidents mar weekend
"They come in bun
c h e s ' ' w a s Highway
Patrolman Y.Z. Newberry's
explanation of a phenomenon
that saw nine different
vehicles involved in serious
auto accidents occurring
between Wednsday morning
of last week and the wee hours
of Sunday morning.
The wreck that most
typified the weekend came
when a 1977 Datiun crashed
into a line of traffic waiting for
another wreck to be cleared
from U.S. 17.
Dwayne Craig Hinton, Of
Belvidere, was charged with
failure to reduce speed to
avoid an accident and driving
under the influence of alcohol
after his automobile plowed
into the rear of a 1*78 Dodge
vaa driven by Jerry Edward
Vaughn, of Rt 1, Hertford
early Saturday morning.
Investigating officer
Newberry estimated damage
to the Datsun at ?,000, a total
loss. Damage to the van was in
the neighborhood of $400, he
said.
Both men reedved minor
(?juries in tk* crash,
Newberry sail
Vaughn was among
motorists waiting for a tractor
trailer rig to be uprighted that
had tilted into the ditch
following a scrape with a
pickup truck at 6:05p.m. on
Saturday.
According to Newberry, a
1976 Dodge pickup driven by
Walter Francis McNary, of
Rt. 3, Elizabeth City, and a
1978 Ford tractor-trailer rig,
driven by George Barnes of
Jacksonville, Fla., were
following a slow moving
vehicle south on U.S. 17.
The tractor-trailer pulled
out to pass both the pickup and
the other vehicle. When the
semi-rig pulled along side the
pickup, it too elected to pass
and swerved Into the left hand
lane, striking the tractor
trailer and forcing it into the
ditch.
The tractor-trailer turned
over on its tide and traffic
remained blocked until 3:30
a.m. at three wreckert
struggled to uprifht the
vehicle.
Damage to the tractor
trailer wat estimated at
H9.0M, while the pickup
suffered an estimated $100
damage.
McNary was charged in the
accident with failing to see
before turning from a direct
line that such movement could
be done in safety.
The string of accidents
began on U.S. 17 Wednesday
morning when a dump truck
struck the rear of another
dump truck and knocked it
into a car.
Reginald Overton of Rt. 3,
Hertford stopped his car to
make left turn some six miles
south of Hertford.
Overton was followed by a
dump truck which stopped in
time to avoid him. But a
second dump truck, driven by
Eddie Gene Yarrell of
Greenville, smashed into the
rear of the truck, and the
impact forced it into Overton's
automobile.
Highway Patrolman
Charles Hims charged
Yarrell with with failure to
reduce speed to avoid an
accident. His truck received
an estimated $12,000 in
damages in the crash.
The dump truck struck in
(Continued on page 2)
Smoke testing begins
William Freeman and
Associates has begun smoke
testing of the town sewer
system to determine where
groundwater and other ex
traneous flow might be
leaking into the system.
Sections of the system will
be blocked off and filled with
smoke to determine if there
are any leaks.
A spokesman for the
company said that if the
service connection un
derneath a house is faulty,
smoke might be observed
coming from beneath the
house.
If the homeowner sees
smoke coming from un
derneath his house, he should
contact the company or the
town water and sewer
department, rather than the
fire department, he said.