September 21,1995
IL.. , Cl/U/96 zc
FEf.U.v^S CCLMV irFfMY
'a fiCACE I* Y'^j
HEFTfCfiC NC c7?44
The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 63, No. 38
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
COLORFUL/Library art show
The Winfall Fire
Department purchased new
equipment with the help of a
matching grant check from
the N.C. Department of
Insurance.
The check, amounting to
$7,323.24, was delivered to the
department last week, accord
ing to Winfall Fire Chief
Wayne Winslow.
Winslow said the 50-50
grant helped to purchase
turnout gear, hose, protective
clothing, breathing apparatus
and upgraded lighting on the
fire truck.
The money came from the
Volunteer Fire Department
Fund set up by Insurance
Coimmission Jim Long to
assist fire departments all
over the state.
“One of the reasons that we
feel so strongly that this fund
is needed is that it frees up the
time of these fire fighters fro
further training, Long said.
“Without this grant, fire fight
ers would be forced into
spending too much of their
time, fundraising, just to keep
departments afloat.”
Long praised the service
volunteer fire fighters provid
ed in North Carolina.
“Providing these fire fight
ers with better equipment wUl
further help public safety and
keep fire insurance rates as
low as possible,” Long said.
The Volunteer Fire
Department fund was estab
lished in 1988 and has granted
nearly $7 million dollars
through 1993. To qualify for a
grant, the fire department
must be a volunteer organiza
tion, must be abel to match
the grant for up to $20,000 and
must show need based on a set
of objective criteria.
Brian Center
holds voter
registration
Brian Center has elected to
try something new this month.
The facility will host a voter
registration drive in its living
room on Sept. 26, 9:30-11:30
a.m.
Anyone who is not regis
tered to vote may visit the cen
ter to register. Those partici
pating in the drive will be reg
istered in time for the
November elections.
“This drive will give our
residents, their family mem
bers, and our facUity employ
ees the chance to vote,” said
Joseph France, Brian Center
administrator. “It is also an
effort to encourage members
of our community to register
to vote in the upcoming elec
tion. The long term care com
munity represents a very large
constituency.”
A member of the North
Carolina Health Care
Facilities Association, Brian
Center is joining in the
statewide effort to register vot
ers during the last week of
September.
NCHCFA is based in
Raleigh and represents over 90
percent of the for-profit and
not-for-profit licensed nursing
homes throughout North
Carolina. NCHCFA and its
member facilities are commit
ted to providing quality care to
the more than 34,000 residents
in long term health care facili
ties across the state.
PA.
This oil painting titled “Red Tulips” by local
artist Jackie Hobbs is one of over 40 beauti
ful pieces on display at the Perquimans
County Library Fine Arts Juried Show and
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
Sale. Thirty percent of the proceeds of the
show will go to the library for computeriza
tion of its card catalog. The show will run
through Sept. 26
County native collects
medal earned during WWII
A Perquimans County
native earned an Arctic
Service Medal for service to
his country under adverse con
ditions in May 1995, almost 54
years after the incident for
which he earned the honor.
John A. Elliott, 80, was a
survivor of the USS Alexander
Hamilton, a Coast Guard
Cutter that sank after being
torpedoed by a German sub
marine off the coast of Iceland
on Jan. 29,1942.
Elliott recently recounted
his World War II days in the
Advertizer-Herald newspaper
in Bamberg, S.C. He said the
Hamilton towed the USS
Yukon, a Navy supply ship
which lost all power between
England and Iceland, over 500
miles before a Navy tug came
out and took over the Yukon
about 8-10 miles off teh coast of
Reykavic, Iceland.
With over 1,000 feet of tow
line out, the Hamilton was
forced to cut its engines to
avoid getting line caught in
the ship’s propellers. The crew
of the Hamilton had just gotten
in the line and the ship had
begun to move forward when
the torpedo hit, EUiott said.
The veteran described the
scene as sounding like the
world was coming to an end.
Twenty-six men were killed
immediately and six others
died later in a hospital as a
result of the attack.
The survivors got into
lifeboats. Elliott said he was
assigned to a boat with several
injured men. While Elliott
received Shrapnel wounds tro
his head, he wasn’t seriously
hurt. Others were scalded.
With no engines on the
lifeboats, the men rowed away
from the Hamilton. Elliott said
the lifeboats floated around in
a snow storm and high seas for
about e^ht hours before being
rescued by fishing trawlers.
The trawler crews took the
survivors to a British outpost
in Iceland, from where tHe
Army picked them up and took
them to get medical attention.
Elliott said the men’s clothes
were frozen and had to be cut
off.
Later, Elliott said he
learned that he Hamilton cap
sized while being towed and
was sunk with gunfire.
Twenty mortally wounded
crew members went down
with the ship.]
Elliott served a total of eight
years in the Coast Guard,
Navy and Army prior to and
during WWII. He saw action in
the European-African-Middle
East area, the Arctic Circle
waters and the ASiatic-Pacific
Hertford man
charged in
vehicle death
A Hertford man died from
injuries he received when he
was hit by a car in the early
morning hours of Sept. 9.
Reginald Gaylor Hardy, 40,
of 106 N. Edenton Road St.,
Hertford was charged with
felony death by motor vehicle
and driving while impaired as
a result of the incident. He was
released on bond.
Hardy told Hertford police
officers he was traveling east
on King Street shortly after 1
a.m. when Ronald James, 45. of
314 King Street, Hertford,
“Jumped out” in front of his
car. Hardy was unable to avoid
James and hit him. Hardy was
apparently standing on the
corner of King Street and
Stokes Drive, according to an
accident report filed by Patrol
Officer P.H. Smith.
Hardy told police he first
drove away from the scene
searching fro help but realized
that was wrong. He backed
into Stokes Drive and waited
for police and rescue workers
to arrive.
James was transported to
Chowan Hospital and then to a
Norfolk hospital. He died sev
eral hours later.
Tests showed both men had
been drinking. James had a
blood alcohol level of .268 and
a breathalyzer recorded
Hardy’s alcohol level at .12.
In North Carolina, a person
is considered intoxicated if
their blood alcohol level is .08.
Chappell resigns
from Hertford board
Hertford Town Councilman
Larry Chappell resigned from
his seat Monday night.
The first-term councilman
moved outside the city limits
earlier this month, a move
which required that he resign
from the town’s governing
bOEird.
A resolution was passed by
council in honor of Mary
HarreU for her many years of
dedicated service to the
Perquimans County Chamber
of Commerce. HarreU resigned
recently as executive director,
a post she had held for many
years.
Hertford Police Chief
Bennie Murphy announced
that Sgt. Dale Vanscoy has
been named the department’s
fuU-time investigator. Murphy
said Vanscoy’s new assign
ment has not affected the num
ber of officers on duty at all
times.
Town manager John
Christensen told council he
has checked with a new offi
cial at the Gates County
Correctional FacUity about the
possibility of the town using
inmate labor for such jobs as
causeway clean-up.
Christensen reported that the
official was very encouraging,
and talks wUl continue.
No action was taken on a
request from Bobby White to
allow Albemarle EMC to sup
ply electricity at a lot on
Wynne Fork Road. Council
said the property lay within
the town’s limits, and should
be served by the town.
arena. He participated in land
ing operations against
Japanese-held Tarawa in the
GUbert Islands and Japanese-
held Saipan in the Marianas
and Aleutians.
Besides the Arctic Service
Medal, Elliott earned other
medals and ribbons, including:
Coast Guard Good Conduct,
American Defense Service
Ribbon with star, American
Area Ribbson, European-
African-Middle Eastern ARea
Ribbon, and Asiatic-Pacific
ARea Ribbon with two stars.
Elliott was bom in
Chapanoke on Dec. 3, 1914 to
Mr. and Mrs. J.P. EUiott. He
and his first wife, who died in
1957, lived in Perquimans
County and were the parents
of two children, Becky
(Rosenheim) and John EUiott
Jr., both of Elizabeth City.
EUiott and his present wife,
Hettie Nixon Elliott, live in
Bamberg, S.C., near her sons,
Sidney Layden Jr. of Ehrhardt
and James E. Layden of
Bamberg. Mrs. EUiott is also a
Perquimans County native.
Elliott still has siblings
close to home, Lessie E. White
of Winfall, Sarah E. HolloweU
of Edenton and Bill EUiott and
L.B. “Ranzy” Elliott of
Chapanoke.
■
■
Perquimans County native John Elliott, 80, was one of the sur
vivors of the USS Alexander Hamitlon attack during World War
II. In may, he received a medal for his service.
Outside
High:
Low:
High:
Low:
70s
50s
60s
50s
MOSTLY CLOUDY
MOSTLY CLOUDY
1
High: Low:
60s 50s
COOLER