THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 38/ No. 32 USPS 428-080 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, August 12, 1982 20 CENT!
Skinner
retires as
1 fire chief
The Hertford Town Council ac
cepted the retirement and
resignation of Hertford Fire Chief
Charles Skinner Monday night at
their regular meeting.
Skinner has been fire chief for six
and a half years, and a fireman for 25
| years. His resignation will go into
effect September 30.
"This council accepts this
resignation with regret," said Mayor
and Town Manager Bill Cox,
speaking for the council. "We ap
preciate the work he has done as a
fireman and as fire chief."
The council will nominate Skin
ner's replacement at a later meeting.
* In another issue, the town decided
to consider using its power to
regulate the speed of railroad trains
coming through the city limits,
perhaps using that power as leverage
to get Southern Railroad to modify its
safety lights at rail-street in
tersections
The council's decision followed
| receipt of a letter from the state
Department of Transportation in
dicating that the state could not
upgrade the intersections.
The issue arose in the last month
following the death of Charles Scott
Williams of Hertford when his car
collided with a train on Grubb Street.
Though there were warning lights,
there were no traffic gates at the
intersection. The train was traveling
[ 40 miles per hour, the allowed speed
through Hertford.
The council tabled consideration of
railroad speed limits until they had
more information.
In other action, the council:
?7~- . '
?Approved the reappointment of
William Tilley, Ray Haskett and
Mary Harrell to the town Planning
Board, and John London, Washington
Lyons and Don Morris to the Board of
Adjustments, and Julian A. White to
the Hertford Housing Authority.
?Turned down by a 3-1 vote a
motion by Councilman John Beers to
donate $200 to the Perquimans
County Jaycees for the Jaycees
Fourth of July celebration.
Working out
Just when you begin to
miss baseball season,
football season starts up.
The Perquimans High
School football team began
practice last week, looking
forward to their first game
at home against Gates
County August 27. Above,
Bobby Swayne does
stretching exercises with
the team, while at right
coaches Sid Eley (left) and
Ed Leicester (right) add a
little weight to the blocking
sled.
Development drive will create jobs, reduce taxes
By TOM OSTROSKY
First In a series
The county is just beginning what it
hopes will be its biggest push yet to
increase industrial growth in the
area. With the Industrial Develop
^ ment Commission's proposed for
mation of a Committee of 100 in
Perquimans County, the commission
and its supporters think they can put
this county on the map of potential
new industries.
In the coming weeks, the
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY will
highlight the advantages and
problems of new growth in a series of
articles.
In these articles, we will discuss
) such subjects as what growth can do
to decrease taxes; how other towns in
northeast North Carolina have at
tracted industry and benefited from
growth; how the problem of "un
deremployment" has left the county
with one of the lowest unemployment
rates in the state, but also one of the
lowest per capita incomes; how the
county invests millions in its youth,
but gives them few opportunities to
return on that investment; and what
the costs of growth will be to the
county.
This drive marks the first time the
county has tried to organize citizens,
and generate money, to encourage
industrial growth here.
The Industrial Development
Commission will start off its cam
paign with a banquet at Anglers Cove
Restaurant on September 21, inviting
over 200 county businessmen and
farmers, along with state
representatives and officials.
Tom Thompson, an industrial
developer from New Bern who spoke
at a similar banquet in Elizabeth
City, will be the guest speaker.
The commission hopes to sign up at
least 100 persons, who will donate
$100 each per year. The money will
be used for advertising and expenses
to draw potential industries here.
Letters of invitation have been sent
out to local civic groups, and more
letters will be sent to businesses and
individuals.
This new effort to attract growth to
the county was the result of several
things. Among them were the in
creases in taxes, both in the county
and in Hertford, and the prospect of
more increases in the future as local
governments take over services once
provided by state and federal
governments; the concern of local
citizens, expressed in recent polls,
that the greatest need in the county is
better job opportunities; the push for
growth started in Elizabeth City in
the past year; and Hertford's in
volvement in the Community of
Excellence program, which brought
about the revitalization of the In
dustrial Development Commission
two years ago.
The six-member commission acts
as an arm of the county Board of
Commissioners. Its only success in
the past has been to encourage the
expansion of the Don Juan plant, but
with this drive they think there can
be more successes in the near future.
Because the county hasn't been
able to spend tax money to recruit
industry, much of the expense of
calling on potential industries has
been covered by interested citizens
and the town of Hertford. The
commission hopes the Committee of
100 will solve the problem of finan
cing the travel and advertising ex
pense of recruitment.
"We've never had a good,
organized way of attracting in
dustry." said commission member of
drive chairman Ben Berry.
Once such a local organization is in
place, the biggest part of their job
will be recruiting the recruiters. "We
have to convince the state's industry
hunters that Perquimans County is
ready for industry and can provide
the things necessary for growth,"
said Hertford Mayor and Town
Manager Bill Cox, a member of the
commission.
"We hope to get cooperation from
all units of government and also the
private sector," said Cox. "The
community has got to want industry.
We need local support."
In the past, said Berry, "the far
mer has been able to support the
county, but it's gotten to the point
now that farmers can't continue to
support it. Our tax base puts too
much burden on the land owner."
, County woman celebrates her one hundredth year
Mary Smith Lane probably hasn't
seen so much excitement in quite a
while, and she was bushed by the
time the afternoon was over.
"She was about give out," said
Haxel Morgan of Morgan's Rest
Home concerning Mrs. Lane, called
"Miss Mamie," who celebrated her
one-hundredth birthday last Friday.
With about 20 nieces and nephews
present, along with the other
residents at the home, Mrs. Lane was
wheeled out into the dining room for
birthday cake and punch and plenty
of photographs of this special event.
Though she can no longer walk and
can see very little, she still has the
stomach of a five-year-old, putting
away two or three pieces of cake and
washing it down with punch. "She
?ata good." said Morgan. "That's
?kai?Mps her alive." Bananas are a
favorite of Mrs. Lane's.
According to Morgan, the rest of
her insides are just as strong as her
stomach. "She's generally healthy
for a woman her age," she said.
"Everytime the doctor comes to
check her, he says her heart and
everything is good. She'll probably
outlive me."
, The daughter of Amos and Sarah
Winslow Smith, Mrs. Lane was born
August 6, 1882 in Perquimans County,
the next to the youngest of nine
children. After attending school in
Belvidere, she lived at home until her
father's death in 1919. Her mother
had died the year before.
She then lived with her sister Olive
and brother-in-law John Hendren
until 1933, when she married Isreal
Lane. They had no children.
She was an organist at Chappell
Hill Baptist Church before her
marriage, and then joined her
husband's Quaker congregation.
A resident of Morgan's Rest Home
for the last 13 years, Mrs. Lane
mostly keeps to herself now. She no
longer has the energy to get out
much, and recognizes few but those
she sees often. She talks very little,
but will answer a question when
asked.
"If you ask her a question, she'll
answer it if she takes a notion," said
Morgan. "But if she doesn't want to
talk she won't.
"When her people talk to her,
sometimes she'll recognize their
voices and call them by name."
But Morgan adds, "She's still got a
little spunk left in her." It takes
plenty of spunk to get as far as Mr*.
Lane has.
Resident
sues local
doctor
A Perquimans County resident won
a $200,000 settlement against a
prominent Elizabeth City physician
last weekend in Perquimans County
Superior Court for adultery with and
deliberately alienating the affections
of his wife.
An eight-man, four-woman jury
awarded Lucius Chappell $150,000 in
compensatory damages and $50,000
in punitive damages in his suit
against Dr. Marshall Redding for
enticing Chappell's wife, Alice, to
separate from her husband. As of
Tuesday morning, Redding's at
torneys have not filed an appeal.
Redding is an ophthalmologist at
Albemarle Eye Care Center in
Elizabeth City and is president of the
North Carolina Medical Society.
Redding employed Mrs. Chappell as
a nurse there for 11 years.
The jury also awarded Redding a
token sum of two dollars for com
pensatory and punitive damages in
his countersuit charging that
Chappell invaded his privacy and
subjected him to mental anguish. It
was the same amount Chappell's
attorney C. Everett Thompson
suggested in his closing arguments to
the jury.
Redding charged that Chappell had
taped telephone conversations
between him and Mrs. Chappell, and
also followed him and harassed him
in public. Because Chappell's
lawyers failed to reply to the coun
tersuit, they in effect admitted to the
truth of the charges.
Chappell was asking for $500,000 in
compensatory damages and $500,000
in punitive damages against Red
ding, while Redding was asking for
$200,000 in compensatory damages
and $100,000 in punitive damages in
his countersuit against Chappell.
In the trial against Redding,
Chappell's lawyers brought up a
dozen witnesses, all relatives, friends
and co-workers of Mrs. Chappell,
including Chappell himself, who
testified that Mrs. Chappell's per
sonality and attitude toward her
husband had changed drastically
following a June 1979 business trip
she had taken with Redding.
Chappell testified that after that
trip his wife began to act cold to him,
would not allow him to touch her, and
would no longer sleep with him. The
other witnesses testified that Mrs.
Chappell became increasingly
preoccupied with spending time with
Redding.
Mrs. Chappell left her husband in
April 1981, and though they are not
divorced, another court has ordered
her to pay her husband $150 per
month in child support. Chappell
revealed to Reddding's wife the
taped telephone conversations with
Mrs. Chappell, and subsequently she
divorced Redding.
Mrs. Chappell, testifying for the
defense, said that she left her
husband because he neglected her,
would not help her with housework or
taking care of the children, would not
allow her to wear makeup or certain
types of clothing, and would not allow
her to spend money on herself while
he bought himself, among other
things, cars and hunting equipment,
and refused to consult a marriage
counselor when the family began to
experience problems.
Mrs. Chappell did admit on cross
examination that Redding en
couraged her to be more in
dependant, and "probably" en
couraged her to leave her husband,
but that Redding was not the major
reason that she left.
Redding refused to comment
following the decision, but Chappell
said, "I'm sorry it happened to me
and my family. I wouldn't have it
happen for all the money in the
world."
This week
Bill Jester writes about
beating Johnsongrass.
Turn to page 11.
Weather
Chance of thundershowers
Saturday and Sunday.
Highs in the mid 80?, Iowa
In the low 70s.
V S