PERSPECTIVE
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puest editorial 1
I New D WI law
\ is working for NC
i By GOVERNOR JIM HUNT
On October 1, North Carolina
became the worst place in the
country to get caught driving drunk.
?That happened because the people
of this state demanded it. Members
of Mothers Against Drunk Driving
?ad other people who had lost a loved
one due to drinking and driving
channeled their grief into con
structive action.
tThey brought the tragic con
sequences of mixing alcohol and
i4otor vehicles into the cold light of
d)y, and forced people to confront it.
Their voices were heard in the
legislature, in my office, and in the
courthouses of this state. The Safe
Roads Act of 1983 is an example of
the way democracy is supposed to
work. The people spoke and their
elected representatives listened.
?Our citizens demanded that the
worst offenders be put in jail. They
demanded an increase in the
dainking age. We have now done all
of that.
But in my opinion, the most ef
fective provision of the new law is the
requirement that anyone who blows a
.10 on the Breathalyzer has his
license taken away on the spot.
Those people will leave the cour
thouse on foot and will not drive for 10
days. And that is only the beginning.
A conviction will result in a jail
sentence for some, and anyone
convicted will have his license
suspended, pay a fine and be subject
Ur between 24 and 72 hours of com
munity service work.
*here will be no more bargaining
for a lesser charge of careless and
reckless driving.
Our law enforcement officers,
prosecutors, magistrates and judges
are ready to strictly enforce this law.
But the real test of its effectiveness
will be whether or not drunk drivers
begin to disappear from our high
ways.
That will require that citizens who
serve on juries have the courage to
convict those who are guilty, to make
a determination based on the facts
and not someone's social standing in
their community.
The Safe Roads Act, and the public
attention that has been focused on it
since it was first introduced in the
legislature, began to have a
deterrant effect even before it
became law.
The bill was introduced in January
of this year. Since that time, we have
seen a steady decline in the number
of drunk driving arrests by the North
Carolina Highway Patrol.
That tells me that people are being
much more careful about drinking
and driving. Public attitudes have
changed. Drunk driving is no longer
acceptable behavior among the
people of this state.
The bottom line is this: We as a
people must do everything in our
power to stop that late-night phone
call which tells someone that a child,
a wife, a husband, or a parent is
never coming home again.
You can help. It's old advice but
it's still the best there is. For the sake
of your family and friends, don't
drink and drive. And don't let
somebody else drive drunk.
Murder infrequent
in Perquimans
Death sometimes comes by the
agency of another person. It can be
passively induced, as in cases of
neglect. Old Will's death in January
1827, for example, came "purely
from the ill treatment of his Master"
so- that "he perished for the want of
food and raiment."
Mistreatment led to death in
another contemporary case. In April
1828, a body was found in
Perquimans River. It was believed to
be.that of a sailor from the schooner
"Mary" of Portland. As the remains
had been in the water for ten days, it
was not possible to determine
whether "there was any marks of
violence upon it."
A coroner's jury (including
physicians James L. Freer and
Edmund B. Harvey) suspected death
resulted from "the want of
humanity" in the vessel's captain.
Death can also be actively induced,
as in cases of murder. Murder has
been an infrequent occurence in
Perquimans County.
Most of the murders recorded in
Perquimans climaxed arguments
between relatives or friends. Ugly
words passed between Charles T. and
hii stepbrother Micajah B. in
November 1866, for instance, and led
to Charles' striking Micajah with an
axl
A an earlier incident, Simeon F?
Virgil F., Mills F., Tom F. and Jacob
F. Jrere together late on the night of
October 9, 1832. Simeon and Virgil
fell to quarrelling over something,
and the argument became bitter.
Virgil's passion rose and he made
several offers to fight, attempting to
goad Simeon. He declared he could
kill Simeon.
However, Simeon refused to fight
unless Virgil "did something very
great to him as they were both in one
family." Virgil reiterated "Simeon
might kill him if he could and he
would kill Simeon if he could."
When Simeon eventually walked
away from the argument, Virgil
followed him down the path. Simeon
might have been breaking off the
dispute, although Jacob thought he
heard him say he would satisfy Virgil
if the latter followed him.
Mills went after the arguers to see
if they would fight after all. Tom and
Jacob soon went along, too.
Meanwhile, Virgil caught up with
Simeon and stabbed him "with Some
weapon made like a Knife. ..upon the
breast in three different places below
the Chin."
Then Virgil bashed his victim "in
the forehead with a "blow with a
brick" and left him. Face down,
Simeon struggled for breath. Jacob
came up and turned him upon his
back, but Simeon died immediately
thereafter.
Some murders were especially
vicious. In August 1830, a nine-year
old girl, who had suffered inhuman
treatment for some time, was kicked
to death by her stepfather. Her body
was "brutally mangled and the neck
broken."
It was reported of the stepfather:
"The cause which is supposed to
have moved this monster in human
shape, was the hope of inheriting the
child's property." The lust for gain
has ever been a temptation to
murder.
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Published Every Thursday
By Advance Publ., Elizabeth City
Jane B. Williams
Managing Editor
I; Mansfi*ld Ken Castelloe
?'''??'"ng Manager Circulation Manager
Getting ready for the holidays
It seems like only a few weeks
ago I was griping because
department stores were pushing
the holiday season on us so fast,
but this week I think I have
finally accepted the fact that the
season is rapidly approaching.
I have even managed to pur
chase a few little Christmas gifts
during the past week. Con
sidering the fact that I usually
wait until Christmas week, this
was quite an accomplishment for
me.
There is one thing I always do
in preparation for the hectic
holiday season, and this year was
no exception. During the first
week of November, I always do a
trial run on cooking a turkey to
make sure that I'll get it right
when Thanksgiving, Christmas
and New Year's Day roll around.
On Thursday afternoon, I took
the big bird put of the freezer and
stuck it in the fridge to start the
thawing process.
On Friday morning I took a
peak at the bird and decided that
with a little luck I just might get
him thawed in time for Sunday
dinner.
On Saturday morning I was
beginning to wonder if he'd thaw
out by spring. My original plan
was to cook him Saturday af
ternoon and then just have the
trimmings to prepare on Sunday
morning. Unfortunately fate
wasn't with me.
Saturday afternoon brought
little change in the temperature
of the bird, so I did the no-no.. ..I
took him out of the refrigerator
and sat him on the counter.
hoping that room temperature
would bring him around for me.
Saturday night came and he
was still chilly. I got out all the
ingredients that would be needed
for an early morning preparation
time and sat the alarm clock for
5:00 a.m.
When the alarm went off at the
appointed hour, I grudgingly
crawled out of bed to head for the
kitchen.
Alas, when I got into the kit
chen the bird had finally given in
and thawed. I was feeling pretty
good about that and figured that
it would be smooth sailing the
rest of the way.
I guess I must have relaxed too
soon.
I went to get my roasting pan
out of the cabinet and couldn't
find it. I looked everywhere
before I finally remembered that
I had loaned my pan to a friend.
Normally you could call a friend
and explain the situation, but at 5
o'clock in the morning she
probably wouldn't be your friend
anymore, not to mention the fact
that her family moved six months
ago, and they're a good eight
hour drive from my house.
That was just the beginning.
I improvised with a large
baking pan and some aluminum
foil, that I had to borrow from a
neighbor. (She wasn't exactly
overjoyed to loan aluminum foil
at six o'clock in morning either.)
I got the bird properly prepared
and stuck him in the oven an hour
behind schedule. By putting him
on to cook -at 6:30 it would mean
that he'd be ready at about
10:30.... a full 30 minutes after I'd
left the house to take the kids to
Sunday School.
After all the trouble I'd had
getting the turkey into the oven, I
figured that things had to get
better....
They got worse. I was out of
several of the spices I needed to
make the sweet potato souffle
that I had promised my kids, so
again I had to improvise. (It did
turn out okay, not fantastic, but
okay.) My pot of collards boiled
over every five minutes and I
dropped a carton of eggs on the
floor. My dough for homemade
rolls absolutely refused to rise so
now the kids have a new set of
building blocks, a full month
before Christmas gets here.
As the appointed hour for
Sunday School approached I
hastily got the kids and myself
ready to go. I figured I could cut
the turkey off on my way out of
the door and it would finish
cooking with the heat that was
left in the oven.
My adorable husband second
guessed me on that one and
opened the oven door so the
turkey wouldn't dry out while we
were away. Thanks honey!
When I arrived home after
church, I discovered my half
cooked turkey. ...I wasn't thrilled.
I cut the oven back on and ; g
started preparing the ingredients * "
for my dressing. It was going
pretty good, except for the fact
that my turkey would not under
any circumstances get brown. I
turned up the temperature and
waited and waited but to no avail.
Finally in desperation, I cut the
broiler unit on and finally got
results. (Please don't tell my
mother about this.) |
I took the turkey giblets out of
the pan and chopped them up for
the dressing and gravy, stuck my !
dressing and the sweet potato
souffle into the oven and sat ;
down.
When I went back to the oven to
check on the souffle, I pulled the
oven rack out too far and the pan
of dressing fell upside down on
the floor. I
I should have given up then, but
I didn't.
I made a fresh pan of dressing,
without the benefit of giblets, and
went on to try and prepare gravy.
That was my downfall.
I have never been one of the
world's great gravy makers, and
Sunday I think I became the
world's worst. At least the kids
had fun making paper mache
animals out of it.
After all the trouble I'd had
with my "trial turkey rim", I
have decided that Chris, our
cartoonist, came up with an
excellent idea there's not
much the average person can do
to botch up a Turkey T.V. Din
ner.. .you don't even have to thaw
them, so I think that's what I'll be
serving come Thanksgiving Day.
Letter to the editor
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Oil numerous occasions articles
and picutres have been sent to your
publication from Headstart. Yet, it
appears that no one seems to find
them newsworthy enough to find
their way into the paper.
I'm concerned that you aren't
concerned about a federal program
here in our county that has been
endorsed nationally by the President
of the United States. It is also one of
the few federal programs that hasn't
felt the federal hatchet called
"budget cutting."
Since IMS Headstart has helped
put more than IS million children on
the road to success. That Is a success
story within itself. Some of those
same young men and women you
write about under service news were
headatert children.
I'm quite sure that you have been
made aware of some of the
miscMKeptkms concerning Head
ataftjgiBut just for the record,
Headstail's purpose and goal is
helping children and building
families regarless to race, creed or
color.
1 really would appreciate it if you
could possibly give us a small bit of
coverage every now and then.
Thank you so much,
Sharon E. Gordon
Social Service/
Parent Inv. Worker
Perquimans County Headstart
Looking back
? Years Ago
By VIRGINIA WHITE TRANSEAU
PERQUIMANS COUNTY BOARD
OF EDUCATION IN FAVOR BIG
SCHOOL BOND ISSUE: The
Perquimans County Board o{
Education met here Monday and
voted to be in favor of the bond issue,
after discussing it they set to
authorise $100,000,000 in bonds for
school improvement in North
Carolina, of which Perquimans
County would receive |2H,329.tt.
NIXON NAMED IN COLLEGE
WHO'S WHO: William Preston Nixon
Jr.. son of Mr. and Mrs. Preston
Nixon of Route 2, Hertford, has bom
listed among the 12 students from
Atlantic Christian College, who have
been named to Who's Who Among
Students in American Colleges and
Universities.
This according to an an
nouncement made today by Dr.
Lewis H. Swindell Jr., dean of the
college.
Recipients were chosen by a vote of
the college's faculty and ad
ministration on the bads of
scholarship, participation and
leadership in academic UA extra
curricula r activities, cititenship and
service to the school and promise for
SUPERLATIVES FOR PCHS ]
SELECTED: The Senior Calss of
Perquimans County High School
completed iti election of
superlative*. They are u follows :
Moat Popular, Judy Reed and
Charles Woodard; Most Intelligent.
Gloria Miller and Wayne Chappel;
Best All Round, Susan Cox and John
Stallings; Most Friendly, Nell
Overton and Gene Nixed; Best
Personality, Linda Sutton and
Tommy Han-ell; Wittiest, Ann White
and Frances Combs; Most Athletic,
Beth Hurdle and Freddie Combs;
Best Looking, Susan Nixon and
Jimmy Hunter.