lOCAt
Spelling bee winners
see pg. 8
I FEAttlltE
"As We Were" held
see pg. 1 0 1
tdMMliNITY
Math contest winners
i
see pg. 6
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
J/olume 58, No. 17 USPS 428-080 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C. Thursday, April 28, 1988 30 <
Local man
arrested
during
robbery
at White's
A Hertford man was arrested on
Monday and charged with breaking
and entering as he excited White's
Barbecue on Edenton-Road Street
around 2:15 a.m..
Timothy Lee Kraft, age 19, of 512
Dobbs Street, Hertford was arrested
by Senior Patrolman Stephen Terrill
after he observed Kraft enter
White's.
While providing temporary survei
lance of the area near White's Barbe
cue, Terrill observed Mr. Kraft ap
proaching Hertford Motor Company
and Jimmy's BBQ on foot. Mr. Kraft
was observed by Terrill as he walked
around the buildings checkingall of
the doors and windows.
Terrill than observed Kraft as he
crossed the street to White's Barbe
cue where he entered through a win
dow at the north end of the building.
Kraft allegedly took the cash regis
ter and a small amount of money,
along with a Dr. Pepper, and excited
through a door at the north end of the
building, closing and locking the door
behind him.
According to Chief Merritt, Officer
Terrill secreted himself near the
building and placed Mr. Kraft under
arrest for felonious breaking and en
tering and larceny when he exited the
building.
Kraft is currently being held in the
Albemarle District Jail under a
$5,000.00 secured bond. He is sched
uled to appear in court on April 27,
1968.
The Hertford Police have also ar
rested three men in conjunction with
the April 10th armed robbery of a Be
lo assistant manager as he made the
night deposit at NCNB in Harris
Shopping center.
Michael Thatch, age 19, Ronald
Lee Skinner, age 17, and a juvenile
were arrested and charged with
armed robbery in the case on April
12th according to police.
Both Thatch and Skinner are resi
dents of Hertford, and they are both
students at Perquimans High School
in Hertford. The juvenile arrested is
14 years old, a resident of Hertford,
and was a student at the Middle
School prior to his arrest. Following
their arrest Thatch and Skinner were
released on $3,000.00 secured bond
each, and a secured custody order
was obtained for the juvenile who has
been incarcerated in a juvenile de
tention center pending a May 5th
trial date. Thatch and Skinner are
scheduled to appear in court on April
27th.
Police report that approximate
$4,700.00 of $8,000.00 stolen from Be-lo
was recovered from Thatch and Skin
ner.
Investigation in the above case was
conducted by Sgt. Tim S pence, and
Chief Marshall Merritt.
Police have also reported two other
break-ins which occurred recently at
Super 10 in Harris Shopping Center,
and Little Mint on Grubb Street. In
vestigations into the two break-ins by
the police department revealed that
spme radios and batteries were taken
from Super 10, but nothing was ap
parently taken from Little Mint. In
vestigations into these B&Es are
continuing.
Police have also reported that Kent
Wayne Felton, age 24, of 307 Dobbs
Street, Hertford, was shot in the
thigh on Edenton Road Street by an
unknown person early Sunday morn
ing, April 24th. Felton was treated
and released at Chowan Hospital. In
vestigation continues into this mat
ter.
Perquimans
Library;
offers many
services
One of the most used, but often the
least thought about agencies in Per
quimans County is the library.
The library is much more than just
a place for checking out books, its a
place for children to learn about
books, and the importance of read
ing. The library is a place for stu
dents to do research, and a place
many people have come to depend on
a valuable resource for information.
Our local library is a member of
the Pettigrew Regional Library Sys
tem. Membership in the regional li
brary system makes it possible for
the library to provide a variety of
services which otherwise would not
be possible. The other county librar
ies, who also bdoag to our regional
system include Chowan, TyreU, and
The Perquimans County Library is
*?i?h from two sources, the state of
North Carolina, through the N. C. De
partment of Cultural Resources, and
from county tax dollars
continued page 9
CROP Walk is successful!
On Sunday area residents joined forces to raise money for the hunger and less fortunate by
participating in the CROP Walk. The six and one-half mile walk through Hertford raised over
$2,500.00 dollars, and boosted over 260 participants.
CROP walk held in Hertford
Neither blisters nor tired feet
dampened the spirits of over 260 resi
dents, who participated in the first
annual CROP Walk on Sunday.
Area CROP Walk participants be
gan their 6.5 mile journey through
Hertford at Perquimans County High
School, and returned there for a vic
tory celebration following the walk.
According to local CROP Walk offi
cials, Sunday's event was a terrific
success, raising over $2,500.00 dollars
for the Open Door of Perquimans
County, and Church World Service, a
world-wide agency which is sup
ported by over 35 church demona
tions. The Open Door, a local hunger
agency, and sponsor of the Perqui
mans County CROP Walk will re
ceive 25 percent of all the funds
raised from Sunday's walk, and the
remaining monies raised will be used
by Church World Service for projects
around the world, including cleaning
water through pumps and deep wells,
irrigation, shelter, land reclamation,
literacy, health education, food per
servation, and storage, and more.
Sunday's CROP Walk was a true
symbol of what the people of Perqui
mans County can do when they join
together.
Three candidates vie lor seat in
clerk of court's office Tuesday
EDITOR'S NOTE: Next Tuesday,
May 3rd, area residents will go to the
polls to vote in the primary, and they
will have an opportunity to vote for
one of three democratic candidates
seeking election to the office of Per
quimans County Clerk of Superior
Court. The three are L. Gail Godwin,
Paul Douglas Umphlett, and W. W.
"Welly" White. The winner of the pri
mary will face Roger Whitley, a re
publican candidate for the office in
November's general election.
If a run-off situation occurs in this
race, the run-off voting would take
place on May 31, 1968. This week we
visit with these candidates.
L. GAIL GODWIN
Gail Godwin is seeking the office of
Perquimans County Clerk of Supe
rior Courty, because she feels she is
well qualified, having served as a
deputy clerk for over 12 years.
Godwin feels that she is familiar
with the procedures of the office,
knows its daily operations, and states
she feels she is more than capable of
handling the office of Clerk of Supe
rior Court.
In her present duties, Godwin han
dies all the civil cases in the office,
records all judgments and liens, as
sists with the bookkeeping, records
wills and says that over the years she
has done a little of everything han
dled in the clerk's office.
In addition to her experience on the
job, Godwin has also attended confer
ences over the years concerning the
operation of the clerk's office, and
feels this is a tremendous asset.
Godwin
Godwin states she decided to run
for clerk of superior court, because
she feels experienced, competent,
and capable of handling this office,
and adds that she would like the op
portunity to serve the people of Per
quimans County as their next Clerk
of Superior Court.
Godwin is a native of Chowan
County, but her family was originally
from Perquimans County and she
has lived here since 1969.
She and her husband, Jimmy, have
two grown sons, Dennis and Keith,
and they make their home in Winfall,
North Carolina.
The Godwins are members of Mt.
Sinai Baptist Church.
PAUL DOUGLAS UMPHLETT
Doug Umphlett is seeking the of
fice of Perquimans County Clerk of
Superior Court, because he wants an
Umphlett
White
opportunity to serve the people of
Perquimans County, and he feels his
continued page 9
Local residents have noticed recently this little fellow crawling throughout the county. He is an
Eastern Tent Caterpillar.
Caterpillars are overtaking county
Are those creepy -era wlies making
your flesh crawl? A lot of people in
Perquimans County are asking the
experts how to eliminate this present
squirmy blight.
This, too, shall pass, says Perqui
mans County Extension Agent Stan
Winslow. Those caterpillars crawling
up the Confederated monument and
back down the other side are in the
midst of a natural life cycle. The
trouble is, they've put us in the dist of
it too. Winslow says that, believe it or
not, Hertford is not the worst af
flicted area. Residents in Holiday Is
land and Snug Harbor will certainly
agree to that, they fight the onslought
continued page 13
Area officials attend
NCLM meeting Hertford
HERTFORD: What municipal is
sues may arise during the 1988
"short" session of the N.C. General
Assembly was one of the topics dis
cussed at the North Carolina League
of Municipalities (NCLM) Regional
Meeting held in Hertford. Municipal
officials from Hertford, Eden ton,
Nags Head, Southern Shores and
other nearby cities and towns, at
tended this NCLM Regional Meeting
on Wednesday, April 20th at the Albe
marle Regional Commission Build
ing, 512 South Church Street, Hert
ford. \
The Hertford meeting was one of a
series of 12 regional meetings the
NCLM is conducting across the state
to update officials on key state and
federal issues. Hertford Mayor Wil
liam D. "Bill" Cox and the Hertford
Town Council hosted the NCLM re
gional meeting. Mayor Cox serves on
the NCLM Board of Directors.
The NCLM is a non-partisan feder
ation of 480 cities, towns and villiages
in North Carolina. The League serves
as advocate for municipal interests
at the state and federal level, as well
as providing services to member mu
nicipalities.
NCLM President Avery C. Up
church, Mayor of Raleigh, and other
municipal officials introduced the
League's ISSUES 88 program, a fo
cus on five policy areas of critical im
portance to municipalities. Those
five issues are as follows : capital in
vestments; balanced revenues; eco
nomic development; decent housing
for all N. C. citizens; and part
nerships.
Local officials discussed legis
lation affecting municipalities, which
may come before the 1988 "short"
session of the General Assembly,
which is scheduled to convene June
2nd. Following lunch, they also re
ceived an update on league pro
grams, and its upcoming activities.
Four candidates seek
election to board of
education Tuesday
EDITOR'S NOTE: On May 3rd local
voters in Perquimans County will go
to the poles to elect three candidates
to the Perquimans County Board of
Education. The three seats represent
the Parksville township seat, the
Bethel township seat, and the Hert
ford township. The Hertford and
Bethel township seats feature oppos
ing candidates, and Cliff Towe, an in
cumbant candidate will run unop
posed for the Parksville seat on the
board of education.
Unlike other candidates seeking
votes on May 3rd these candidates
will not run again in the general elec
tion, this is a non-partisan race and
the candidates will be elected into of
fice next Tuesday.
This week we visit with the candi
dates running for the board of educa
tion.
BETHEL TOWNSHIP CANDI
DATES: (The board of education
seat vacated by Emmett Long)
BEN HOBBS
Ben Hobbs is seeking election to
the board of education, because he
feels a strong committment to educa
tion, having taught for ten years, and
because he feels he can give the
board of education the time and at
tention he feels is necessary.
Hobbs feels the greatest problems
facing our local schools encompasses
two factors, working with kids not
going to college and parental involve
ment.
Hobbs feels the schools do a very
good job in preparing children who
are going on to further their educa
tion, but vocational programs need
more attention. Hobbs feels efforts
should be made to identify vocational
students earlier in the educational
process, and that more and better
programs should be provided for
them. In discussing parental involve
ment, Hobbs feels that this is a key to
having good schools. "Parental in
volvement, and good teachers are the
keys to having a good school sys
tem," states Hobbs.
Several other issues are currently
facing local schools, and we asked
the candidates to address and give
their feeling concerning bus trans
portation problems, school facilities,
and implementation of a drug educa
tion program.
Ben Hobbs' children ride the bus to
school, and he states that he is aware
of some of the busing problems,
which exist in Perquimans County.
He feels new laws requiring adult bus
drivers will improve the situation,
stating that he feels adults will pro
vide better discipline on the buses
Hobbs feels school employees, in an
effort to reduce bus driver shortages,
should be given an opportunity to
drive a bus, if desired. He does not
feel it should be a condition of em
ployment or forced upon them.
Hobbs feels our local school facili
ties are in pretty good shape, and tre
mendous improvements haye been
made. He says he does not feel better
buildings make a better school, and
that facilities are not really the key to
a good education, but adds they cer
tainly help. Hobbs states that he real
izes we can't have everything we
want, that there are limits, but says
he feels something should be done to
upgrade the athletic facilities at the
Middle School, and the schools must
look towards expansion for the fu
ture.
Hobbs is a native of Perquimans
County, and he graduated from Per
quimans County High School in 1966.
He attended East Carolina Univer
sity in Greenville, and obtained a
bachelor of science degree in math in
1970.
Hobbs states he always enjoyed
teaching school, and working with
kids. In lttl, be left the teaching pro
fession to go into the furniture busi
Hobbs
UHJ
Howell
I
ness full-time, and he is currently
self-employed making 18th century
furniture reproductions.
Mr. Hobbs states that over the
years he has supported the schools,
school activities, both athletic and
academic. He currently has three
children in the schools, in the 8th,
10th, and 12th grades, and because he
is self-employed he would be avail
able to attend school activities during
the day.
Hobbs is member of the board at
Hertford Savings and Loan, is the as
sistant chief of the Bethel Fire De
partment, and is a member and Sun
day School teacher at Snug Harbor
Community Church.
Hobbs and his wife, Jackie, have
three sons, Calvin, Ernie, and Matt,
and they make their home in Bethel.
continued page 13