THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 61, No.41
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, October 8,1992
35 Cents
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Community activities
offer variety of events:
Community happenings: Pago 5
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Sports:
Currituck, Perquimans
football teams finish
three-game week: Pago e
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County is
pinching
pennies
to pay bills
By TRACY E. G ERLACH
Staff writer
A dangerously low fund bal
ance and slower receipt of reve
nues kept Perquimans County
from investing any money in
September and may mean hold
ing off on some unnecessary
purchases. County Manager N.
Paul Gregory told the board
Monday.
Gregory explained the coun
Sfs situation in a financial up
ate to the board.
“We’re not out of money,
but there’s not enough money
to make an investment," Gre
gory told the board, pointing to
the only month where money
was not invested. "We want to
be sure we have enough reve
nue to pay the bills."
For the first time in at least
five years, Perquimans County
was unable to invest any money
during a month in order to en
sure that there would be
enough cash to pay day-to-day
bills.
The county may also with
hold a payment of $100,000 to
the school district for two
months as a precautionary
measure until revenue receipts
pick up.
An agreement between the
county and the school system
would allow the county to make
its October payment in Decem
ber if necessary, Gregory said.
Gregory’s report documents
a decrease in the total funds
available in the general fund
over a three year period. In July
of 1990, the county had
$904,824 available compared to
this year’s $476,865.
Tax collections are also l
down about $100,000 from/
usual September collections,
Gregory said.
I The county will continue to
pay its bills, but will try to keep
other expenses at a minimum,
Gregory explained.
“We’re not in bad shape,
but we’re not in good shape ei
ther.”
The county’s dwindling fund
balance has been an area of
concern for some time. It has
readied a point where it is no
longer available to the board of
commissioners as either a
safety cushion or for investment
purposes, Gregory said.
“The fund balance used to
run the county prior to ad val
orem taxes being collected,”
Gregory said, "we’re still in
fairly good shape for cash flow,
but when an emergency arises
or an opportunity arises, we
won’t have money. In an emer
gency we’d have to do some
scrambling." *
Chairman of the Board
Mack E. Nixon said the county,
like any good business is “fool
-W ish” to operate without a suffi
cient fund balance.
Board member Thomas
Nixon, said Perquimans Coun
ty’s situation is not unique.
T think you've Joined the
rest of the governments,” he
said. "They’re all broke."
i,Vv $ ’ \ ■ -
Boards make no
election plan decision
By TRACY E. GERLACH
Staff writer__
Perquimans County’s board of commission
ers and board of education watched presenta
tions of three different redistricting plans
Monday, but opted not to act until they have
further reviewed the proposals.
Voters who have waited more than five years
for a decision on how elections will be con
ducted in the future will wait at least two weeks
longer. The Board of Education and Board of
Commissioners will hold their next regular
meetings Oct. 19.
Both boards left the meeting with a more
difficult choice than they had before entering
the room.
Three different plans were presented: one by
the Perquimans County NAACP, another by the
county’s Republican party and a third by the
Electoral Study Committee — formed for the
purpose of coming up with the new election sys
tem.
Even NAACP president Frqd Yates, who pre
sented his group’s five-district plan, was in
trigued by the other proposals.
“All three are good plans,” Yates said follow
ing the hearing. “All three probably accomplish
the same mission but in different forms. We
have to be very careful to see that it’s the best
plan for the people.”
The mission of all three plans was to estab
lish a voting system that better represents mi
norities in the county.
Of Perquimans County’s 10,447 residents,
3,426 are black, according to the 1990 census.
About one third of the registered voters are
black.
Perquimans County's electoral system was
first questioned in 1988 by the NAACP after the
board of commissioners overlooked two black
candidates vying for a position on the board and
appointed a white candidate.
Redistricting plans submitted tty both the
NAACP and the Republican party established
two majority black districts. The Electoral Study
Committee plan does away with all districts, but
establishes an at large limited voting system de
signed to elect the three top vote getters each
term.
H.R. Bobby Jones called for the board’s to
accept the Republican’s six-district, township
voting plan, which he said allows for “each voter
to have a close association with his elected offi
cial.” 11
“It keeps the elected official closer to his
constituency,” Jones said.
The plan would add one member to both
boards.
There were few differences between the lay
out of the Republican and NAACP plans. John
Jennings, who serves on the Board of Elections,
said the Republican plan would be'easier to
implement since the boundaries were clear cut.
“There’s less gerrymandering,” he said.
Michael Crowell, a Raleigh attorney rep
resenting the Electoral Study Committee, said
the at large, limited voting plan adopted by the
committee is intended to give black voters addi
tional opportunity to elect a candidate.
Limited voting is relatively new in North Car
olina, he said. Several counties and towns have
already switched to the system, he said.
Under the limited voting plan, there would
be six Instead of five members on both the
board of commissioners and board of education.
Three seats would be decided each term and
voters would only be able to choose one candi
date. The three top candidates would be elected.
“It keeps white voters from having enough
votes to elect all the candidates,” Crowell said.
“What we all hope and assume is people would
vote for a candidate regardless of their race. If
the vote is along racial fines, it allows black vot
ers to elect a candidate of their choice.”
School board member Benjamin Hobbs
questioned the plan as the best measure of a
candidate’s support.
“It bothers me that a couple of people could
possibly be elected with a few votes,” he said.
Once both the board of commissioners and
the board of education vote on a plan, the
choice will be sent to the state legislature for ap
proval. The U.S. Justice Department will give fi
nal approval to the plan. With approval, a new
system could be in place for the 1994 election.
The options
Mike Crowell
• The Electoral Study
Committee haa proposed
an at large, limited voting
system that would in
crease each board from
five to six members with
three seats elected each
term. There would be no
district or precinct lines
nnder the plan. Voters
could choose only one
candidate and the top
three vote getters would
be elected. It is argued
that limited voting would
keep white voters from
having enough votes to
elect all the candidates.
TkJ!
Disadvantages: All candi
dates could corns from one '
area. If one candidate gets
an overwhelming majority ;
of the votes, the other two
could be elected with very
few votes.,
%
Fred Yates
# • The KAACP plan would
divide the county into
five districts, each having
approximately 2,100 resi
dents. Two districts would
If' have a majority of black
- voters. District one would
||'
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i
be a 82 percent Mack ma
jority and district two
would be a 61 percent
black majority. The
KAACP plan is designed to
offer fair representation
to all county residents.
The group also believes a
district plan has a better
chance of being approved
by the U.8. Justice De
partment.
* Disadvantages: Irregularly
drawn districts would be
difficult to Implement ad
ministratively for the Board
of Elections. One district
crosses the Perquimans
V- Kfcer. ■ te
Bobby Jones
• The Republican plan
wonld split the county
Into sis districts, add one
member to each of the
five-member boards and
would also Include two
minority districts. Dis
trict one would have a
58.03 black majority and
district two, a 50.37 black
majority. Bach district
has about 1,741 residents.
The plan favors commu
nity representation and
one man one vote system.
Supporters of the plan ar
■ gue that each voter
should have a dose asso
ciation with his or her
elected official, that it
keeps elected officials
closer to their consttta*
- ency.
Disadvantages: Like the
NAACP plan, one district
■ crosses the river. Would
also be more difficult to ad
minister that at large, lim
ited voting.
CTT
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Two black men are wanted for questioning by Hertford police
officers in connection with an Oct. 2 sexual assault in the
North Church Street area. Anyone with information on the sus
pects, pictured above, is asked to call the Hertford Police De
partment. (Composites courtesy Hertford Police Department.)
Police seek suspects
Identity of two alleged sex
offenders unknown to officers
Hertford Police officers are
looking for two men wanted for
questioning In connection with a
sexual assault.
According to Chief Aubrey
Sample, officers are seeking as
sistance In identifying two black
males who allegedly assaulted a
female in the North Church
Street vicinity In the early morn
ing hours of Oct. 2. Sample de
clined to release the name of the
victim or details of the assault.
The victim was able to give
investigators enough Information
about her attackers to draw com
posite sketches. One suspect was
described as a black male, ap
proximately 5'10”-6 feet. He was
wearing a hat at the time of the
incident. The second suspect was
a black male, approximately 5'8”
5’11” tall and had a light spot or
blemish about the size of a dime
on his face, possibly under his
right eye or over his cheek.
Anyone with information that
could lead to the identity of either
suspect is asked to call the Hert
ford Police Department at 426
5887.
Recreation director fired
From Staff Reports
HERTFORD — The Perqui
mans County Board of Commis
sioners voted Monday to
terminate the employment of the
county’s recreation director of six
years, but offered little explana
tion for the decision.
County Manager N. Paul Gre
gory was directed to write a letter
to recreation director Anthony
Downing notifying him of the de
cision.
Gregory would say only that
Downing did not follow county
policy.
Several spoken warnings and
at least two written notices were
given to Downing prior to his be
ing fired, Gregory said.
Chairman of the Board Mack
E. Nixon declined to comment on
the reasons for Downing’s dis
missal, claiming it would be inap
propriate. Board members set
policy and don’t administrate, he
said.
The county will advertise this
week to fill the position.
2020 committee moves
towards incorporatina
By TRACY E. GERLACH
The Pally Advance
What started out as a group
of citizens concerned about the
future of Perquimans County
could become a full fledged
corporation with the permission
of the state and the Internal Rev
enue Service.
Applications for Incorporation
and non-profit status for the Per
quimans 2020 Visions Consor
tium have been sent to the state
of North Carolina and the IRS for
approval. The executive commit
tee has also submit a proposal to
the N.C. Healthy Start Founda
tion to seek partial support for a
paid coordinator.
Bylaws have been prepared
for the consortium and a nomi
nating committee will propose a
slate of directors to serve tor one
year.
“It’s all organizational and
planning. The rubber hasn’t yet
touched the road,” said Philip S.
McMullen, consortium cochair
man and secretary. t
Subcommittees, however,
have continued to meet since the
initial group formed this summer
to carry out some of the ideas
proposed, he said.
“A lot is happening within
the committees in planning.’* he
said.
Also since the group last met
as a whole, Superintendent of
Schools Randall L. Henion sug
gested the Perquimans 2020 Vi- .
sion Consortium team up with
the Perquimans 2000 project to
work towards common goals.
“I think what they’re planning
to do will dove tail very well with
the goals of the 2020 Vision Con
sortium,” McMullen said.
Original Perquimans 2020 Vi
sion participants — now direc
tors of the consortium — will
meet again In October to discuss
continuing efforts and go over a
report put together by Jim Fol
gum of the Eastern N.C. Cham
ber of Commerce, who moderated
the strategic planning sessions
this summer.
Money to cover the cost of in
corporation and applications for
non-profit status, was donated
by Perquimans 2020 participants
and Hertford Attorney J.C. Cole
volunteered to prepare and sub-,
mit the documents. . ;