.THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume USPS42HE0 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, February 26, 19tl 20 CENTS
Murder
V conspiracy
charged
Acting mitr advice of the district
on allegations that a 15 year
ruidil attempted to hire
area youths to murder her father.
Ike three were, hwwr, arretted by
the Perquimaas County Sheriffs
. Departaaeat oa Feb 12 far alleged
oa file k the office of the
aaas Co? ty Clerk of Superior
Court.
. William Madre, Mark Lane, aad David
Eure, all of Route 3. Hertford, had their
% first appearance last Wednesday tor
pliaaiag to kill a cwmty resideat and for
accepting JHk as partial payment for the
planned marder, according to
Perquimans County Clerk of Court
Jarvis Ward.
The victim's identity cannot be
disclosed because of the alleged in
volvement of his daughter, who is a
juvenile.
Sure was also under warrant for
alleged solicitation to incite the others to
malice aforethought and murder.
Perquimans County Deputy Sheriff Joe
Lothian, arresting officer, would make
no comment on the case, under the
recommendation of Assistant District
Attorney H.P. Williams.
? The probable cause hearing is set for
March 4.
A non-street
Undsey Earley leans against a sign that
identifies a Hertford steet that no longer
exists. Part of the King Street
redevelopment project. Brace Avenue
was cloned for good following a public
hearing on Friday afternoon. Several
new residences will be constructed on the
property, and a yet un-named street will
take another approach.
Next stop ? state
ARPDC approves more
King Street funding
Another community block grant
proposal for the King Street area in
Hertford was routinely approved by the
Albemarle Regional Planning and
Development Commission Thursday
night and will next be considered by the
state.
The grant requests just under $500
thousand for rehabilitation and con
demnation proceedings in the King
Street area, according to Hertford Mayor
Bill Cox.
The proposal covers the north side of
King Street between the intersections of
Covent Garden Street and Hyde Park
Street.
"The idea is to renovate and
rehabilitate houses that are in suitable
condition and to demolish' and condemn
those that are not suitable for living,"
said Cox. "The biggest part will be
rehab," he said.
Some 29 housing units are involved in
the project, Cox said. The town is
charged with the responsibility of finding
suitable housing for those persons whose
homes are condemned, but Cox said that
the redevelopment project currently in
progress on King Street will provide
housing for those persons.
In another matter before the com
mission, some $31,000 in construction
money that had been earmarked for an
addition to the county senior citizens'
center was redistributed among various
agencies in the region after the state
disapproved the project.
The addition had been approved by
ARPDC and included in the regional
budget, but the state rejected it even
after being asked to reconsider.
"The state felt the town had gotten
construction money to rennovate the
center and felt the money should be
distributed to some other agencies. They
objected to Hertford getting construction
money two out of three years," said Cox.
The commission also heard a report
stating that funds for a criminal justice
planning program were enough to con
tinue the program through March 30.
An audit report took no exceptions to
financial statements of the commission,
and recommended no major changes in
book-keeping and accounting practices.
"I'm certainly glad it was a clean audit
and there were no problems as we have
had many times in the past," said
commission chairman Raleigh Carver.
State board of transportation member
Marc Basnight, a Manteo resident, at
tended the meeting, and addressed the
commission on the need for additional
funding for the state highway depart
ment.
Basnight presented a slide show that
maintained that road construction and
maintenance costs had risen more than
200 percent since 1967.
While taxes represented 29 per cent of
the cost of gasoline in 1967, the figure
today is only 8 per cent.
The slide/tape presentation forecast
catastrophic results if more money isn't
found for the state's roads.
"It's kind of tough in the highway
department right now. We don't have any
money." Basnight said. He said ad
ditional revenues could come from
several different areas, including, of
course, a gasoline tax increase.
In another matter, the commission
passed a resolution supporting the
continuance of the Economic Develop
ment Administration, an agency
targeted for phase-out by the Reagan
administration.
"As most of you are aware, many
worthwhile projects have been funded by
EDA -in this region, including the cour
thouse in Edenton, Wanchese (harbor
project), this building, and many sewer
and water projects," said Carver.
Copies of the resolution will be sent to
senators and representatives in
Washington.
Finally, the commission lent its sup
port to day care centers in the region that
are attempting to get off the ground with
the assistance of state funds. Among
them is a possible center at Poole's
Grove Baptist Church in Perquimans
County.
'Tis the season to tackle government mind twister
By mikk Mclaughlin
Did 70a know that only about one-half
of the North Carolina taxpayers who
Vhave already filed their federal income
taxes this year are astng the peel-off
label that came in the tax package
maikxit?
Big deal. you might think. But the
Internal Revenue Service thought that
little tidbit was important enough to
warrant a press release aimed at making
the pages of newspapers like this one.
And perhaps it is worthy. The IRS says
^ that if yon use your label, delays from
? errors aad illegible handwriting may
cause a delay in the issuance of refunds.
Further, the IRS asserts that full com
pliance with label usage would save the
federal government *130,000 in time
spent in processing forms.
Such is the stuff of press releases from
the IRS. and the mail is full of them this
time of year. Most of them concern tax
^deductions yon can claim, or income
most people overlook reporting, and will
continue to overlook whether informed
by the IRS or not
Henry Sullivan, a tax accountant in
Hertford, offered his own observations
on the kinds of things that the taxpayer
might not be aware of.
"One thing people overlook is
moonlighting. If a person has two jobs,
the transportation and expense of going
to a second job is 100 percent deduc
tible," said Sullivan.
The second job is, of course, the one
that pays the least.
The IRS adds that there is such a thing
as Child Care Credit, and it's available to
working parents and includes situations
in which one parent is a full-time student
or is actively seeking work.
Federal law also provides for a tax
credit of up to 1300 for conservation
materials installed in the home, with a
separate tax credit of up to $4,000 for the
installment of energy source items such
as solar and wind equipment. Sullivan
said that particular credit is increasingly
popular in these times of rising energy
costs.
Certain low income working parents
can receive a tax credit if they make less
than $10,000, and filing a return could
result in a check from the IRS even if no
taxes were paid. It's called the earned
income credit.
There are also special tax breaks for
older Americans. Senior citizens ages 55
and over who sold their principal
residence after July 26, 1978, can exclude
up to $100,000 in gain from the sale if the
home was their principal place of
residence three of the five years prior to
sale.
Seniors 65 and over get a double per
sonal exemption, or $4,000 off the top of
the income figure.
The IRS wants almost every kind of
income reported, though Christmas gifts
haven't made the list yet.
Sullivan mentioned jury duty pay,
director's fees, and contest winnings as
some types of income that are taxable.
"Embezzlement fees are taxable,"
Sullivan said with a chuckle.
He added that unemployment com
pensation is taxable by the state, and on
a limited basis, by the federal govern
ment, depending on the individual's
income.
And when expenses can be deducted,
you'd better believe that income must be
reported. The IRS reminds us that
moonlighting, and even bartering, are
taxable.
Of course, when a person performs
some task from another person and
receives payment in cash, even the IRS
has a difficult time tracking it down.
"That's where people hide things,"
said Sullivan, "doing something and
getting paid in cash. Then some report it
and some don't."
Having trouble figuring all this out?
Maybe you need the assistance of a
professional tax accountant, like
Sullivan.
He said that the complexities of filling
out a tax form makes it a confusing task
for the layman in many cases.
"It's something that's developed into a
business now, rather than just anybody
being able to sit down and prepare
taxes," Sullivan said.
The professional has a long list of rules
he must follow to make sure the job is
done right, and fines and even criminal
penalties can be assessed if he doesn't
live up to them.
But the fellow who has little more to
report than his W-2's, can probably fill
out the 1040-A form with little trouble,
said Sullivan.
The 1040 form, however, must be used
if the taxpayer wants to claim certain
deductions, such as moving or business
expenses, or to itemixe, and it's a little
more complicated.
One problem professional tax
preparers have is coming up with the
documents needed to verify various
claims.
"This is where we have trouble, getting
all the information we need to pull it (the
return) together," said Sullivan.
With this in mind, it might be a good
idea to find out from your tax preparer
what kinds of papers he will need so that
you can have them for next year's
returns.
Low income, elderly and handicapped
persons can get free help with their tax
forms from the Economic Improvement
Council office on Hyde Park Street in
Hertford.
Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Still want to tackle it yourself? Okay,
you've got 48 more days to figure it out.
Additional forms are available by
calling 800-241-3860. The !RS also offers
more than 90 free publications that ex
plain almost every angle of the tax forms
game.
Happy reading.
Industrial development to secure operating cash
The recently reorganized Perquimans
County Industrial Development Com
mission will seek to have from *1.300 to
IM* transferred to its coatrol get 1U
Q The commhsioa. which conducted its
* post-reorganisation meeting
tMM in savings
taxes collected in the coaty to year'*
But that money is currently held by the
and the need to get an <
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hind established was the first item of
business.
Secondly, the commission discussed
compiling a brochure that will outline the
resources of the county for potential
industry.
Parker Chesson, president of College
of the Albemarle, has informed com
mission members that the college will
design a brochure and that the com
mission will be required to pay printing
costs only.
Ia another matter, Hertford mayor Bill
Cox told members that a meeting with
N.C. Department of Commerce
representatives earlier in the month had
not been promising.
"The only thing they told me was
things don't look very hot," said Cox.
"They talked very negatively about any
industrial development In North
Carolina,"
He said that the commission would
have to take the initiative in the in
dustrial search, and commission
chairman Joel Hollowell agreed.
He said that according to his prior
experience, state government officials
were prone to divert industry to more
populous areas of the state.
There was some discussion as to
whether or not suitable industrial sites
are available. Several parcels were
mentioned, and the consensus was that
land would not be a major problem.
"I think the best land is out here where
we've got water and sewer," said Cox, in
reference to a parcel adjacent to Don
Juan Apparel.
As in the prior meeting, a topic of
discussion was the kinds of industry the
Town native featured
on Reader's Digest cover
Subscribe to the BEADER'S DIGEST?
tt ao, take the February iuue and turn it
Read the Am print under the colorful,
fabricate illustration. "Mosaic Signs of
the Zodiac' ? Watercolor by American
Art* Nat White."
Don the name rinf a bell? It should
White wu hraaght up la Hertford.
The <? year-old beaded north to puraue
? career la commercial art in It*. Just
prior |? tht depression. Later he mot
Jeoate Parker Perry Jr.'s kid drier Mary
1m. and married her In ltH
So White has doable tie* to this rural,
farming town, aad he and his wife
, i
wouldn't mind coming back.
"We still can it home." he said in a
telephone interview on Saturday. But
White isn't interested in retiring just yet,
and there isn't much demand tor com
mercial art in Hertford.
He was fresh out of high school when he
left the town Just over 90 years ago and
headed for the big city. "I had quite a
rough time of (tap here for awhile," said
White.
Lady Luck must have been smiling on
him, though. "I was fortunate in getting
a Job to ooe of the beat advertising
agaodea in art work Juat a month before
the Depreasfca," White said. "They kept
'??pv I
me because they didn't have to pay me
much, I guess," he said.
While he worked, White pursued for
mal schooling at night, but there's
nothing like on-the-job experience.
"I teamed more from the artists there
than I did anywhere else," he said. The
staff included several internationally
renowned artists, White said.
He stayed with the company (or tl
years, until a merger west awry and the
business folded. During those years he
worked on campaigns for such concerns
as CNdf OH Union CarMde, and the U.S.
armed fortu.
(Continued omwt)
I
commission might target for recruiting.
Commission member Wayne Ashley
pointed out that sewage treatment
capacity is a limiting factor. But the
county's water situation took a definite
turn for the better when a $1,275 million
expansion of the county-owned water
system was approved, said Nowell.
Other advantages for the county in
recruiting are that a four-laned U.S. 17'
from the Virginia state line to
Perquimans County is on the verge of
being completed, and that the Norfolk.
Va airport offers more direct flights
than any airport in North Carolina, ac
cording to commission member Charles
Ward.
The commission's next meeting is
scheduled March 23, and a represen
tative of the N.C. Department of Com
merce will be invited to speak.
Cox will also attempt to obtain from
the commerce departmenta list of in
dustries that might be interested in
relocating or expanding into North
Carolina.
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