Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Nov. 9, 1995, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
November 9,1995 1^ '11- ? - R«(Ji AN', nc ACiOE r E R T f ’ ■ "C - ,> ,/17/19r6 2'- ''UNTY LI.RARY Y ST ‘7y'A4 The Perquimans Weekly 350 Vol. 63. No. 44 The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people Hertford, North Carolina 27944 Winfall vote goes to wire Less than 10 votes decide 2nd council seat By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor Only seven votes separated the second and fourth place finishers in the bid for the two available seats on the Winfall Town Council. Incumbent Jake Chesson garnered 67 votes; while chal lengers Lloyd Ray Morgan and Clifford P. Towe received 65 and 60, respectively. Political newcomer Carol B. Cooper tallied the most votes cast, finishing with 82 votes. She and Chesson will be seated in December. In the mayoral race, incum bent Fred Yates collected 131 votes to the 47 cast for C.D. Barclift. Yates rejoiced at the out come of the election. “It feels good that the people have enough confidence in your leadership to elect you by such a wide margin,” Yates said Tuesday night. The mayor said he intends to continue working toward controlled growth and improvement in the town, including the sewer system he has sought for the last few years. “There’s things that the town needs done, and we’re going to try to keep doing a lit tle at the time,” he said. Yates said more curbing and guttering will be done in December, and he sees needs in the fire department and police department also. But he said the sewer sys tem will remain his priority. After getting final plans from FmHA, Yates said there will be public hearings, followed by a referendum. “The people will make the final decision,” Yates said. “There will be no hidden agen da.” Cooper, who moved to Winfall with her family three years ago, said she was sur prised at the outcome of the election. “I’m not very well known,” Cooper said. The council member-elect said her priorities are getting a sewer system built in Winfall and providing a youth or com munity center. The 36-year-old, who describes her occupation as fuU-time wife and mother, said she ran for council because she cares about the town and its people: and believes that residents should be involved in the community. Over half the registered vot ers in Winfall went to the polls. Registrars counted 181 ballots. There are 301 regis tered voters in the town. All vote totals are unoffi cial. Inside Pirates make state playoffs Page? Bines will be missed .Page 4 Chowan Baptist WMU hosts VIP party. Page 5 VisionQuest/ Winning back kids PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS The VisionQuest wagon train leaves the county shotting system to offer hope and direction for youth in trouble. The range in Winfall, heading over the causeway into Hertford, wagon train is one of several programs offered through VisionQuest works in conjunction with the juvenile justice VisionQuest. VisionQuest provides direction and hope for youth in trouble By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor The American West was won by people with vision, setting out on a quest in cov ered wagons, sleeping under the stars, cooking over open fires and learning the true limits of their endurance. VisionQuest set out 20 years ago to help troubled youth win a sense of self and direction by putting them on a similar wagon train, where they learn what it means to have structure, discipline, self-sufficiency and hope. Bob Burton and Steve Rogers founded VisionQuest in 1973 as an alternative to sending juvenile delinquents to jail or to a mental health facility. As part of the juve nile justice system, Visionquest helps evaluate and place youths in appropri ate treatment programs based on the number and severity of their offenses. There are several options for youth through VisionQuest. In all the pro grams, youth must attend school. They learn to deal with other youth and the challenges of the program. Parent figures help them to deal with the problems and pressures they face, encour aging the youngsters to devel op a sense of community and a positive outlook. “At VisionQuest we unite with our kids to face the com mon challenges found in nature and the elements,” said Don Barnes, Executive Director VisionQuest Lodgemakers. “This is how we break through. If you get kids into an unfamiliar envi ronment, they become more open. This allows room for a ‘parent’ figure to come in and establish a positive relation ship. We teach them to trans fer their damaging energy and redirect their focus to a positive, growth-oriented out look.” Many of the children who come into contact with the juvenile justice system have similar backgrounds, accord ing to VisionQuest. Abandonment, abuse, lack of a strong family structure lead to no sense of self or commit ment to the community. The name VisionQuest is derived from the native American right of passage and is a journey in self-dis covery. The program does not offer an easy way for kids to serve time. What it does offer is a chance for kids to break out of the cycle of arrest and re-arrest. Bethel residents want good county water “I’m here today to talk to you about this county water system you’ve got here in Perquimans County,” Bethel resident Bob Evans said, addressing the Perquimans County Commissioners in reg ular session Monday. Evans presented several containers of discolored, sedi ment-filled water to the com missioners to make his point that the water in Bethel is poor quality. “It’s a shame Perquimans residents have to put up with this kind of water,” Evans said. Evans’ main gripe was that he complained to the board three years ago, to no avail. “When are you going to do something about it?” he asked. Commissioners chairman Mack Nixon told Evans that the board is aware of the prob lems with water quality in the Bethel community. The chair man told the overflow crowd with Evans that the board is assembling information on a $4 million upgrade on the water system. Plans being con sidered at present call for replacing the Bethel plant and adding more 8-inch lines in the area. To finance the system upgrade, Nixon said water rates will rise and voters will have to approve a $4 million bond referendum to allow the county to finance the project. Nixon said that the engin- erring firm of Diehl and Phillips has been working with the county on upgrade plans for approximately eight months. There have been spe cial meetings called to study problems and solutions, and the commissioners have met with FmHA officials to discuss financing. A pre-application was submitted to FmHA in October. Next week, county and FmHA officials will meet in Raleigh with the local gov ernment commission to dis cuss the project. Diehl and Phillips has over 50 percent of the drawings for the project completed. County manager Paul Gregory said a referendum could be held as early as January or February. If the referendum passes, the project could go out for bids the next week, with construction possi bly underway by April 1996. Construction time is esti mated at 14-16 months, Nixon said. Nixon said there were some “other options” if the bond ref erendum does not pass, but declined to detail those options. In the meantime, at least one resident said she has come up with a temporary solution to the poor water quality prob lem. An audience member who identified herself as Mrs. White said she purchased a water purifying system for about $200. Wolfman park planned in Belvidere Hertford voters reseat Bill Cox Incumbent Billy Winslow retains place on council By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor After a two-year hiatus from local government, W.D. “Bill” Cox will once again take a seat in the council meeting room at the Hertford Municipal build ing. Cox was the top vote-getter in the five-way race for two seats, tallying 254 votes. Prior to retiring from his position as town manager in December 1993, Cox spent almost 25 years in Hertford government, serving as coun cilman, mayor and manager during that quarter century. Incumbent Billy L. Winslow was just behind Cox with 230 votes. Winslow has been involved in town government as a councilman for 24 years. Both men based their cam paigns on the experience they would offer to the town. Eldon Winslow, a familiar face at both Hertford Town Council and Perquimans County Commissioners meet ings, collected 130 votes in his first run for council. Carlyn Brown received 97 votes. Brown is also a resident who regularly attends council meetings. Barbara P. Sheeley gar nered 46 votes. Sheeley moved to Hertford less than a year ago and said she wanted to play an active role in the com munity, so she opted to run for council. Incumbent mayor John Beers, who ran unopposed, col lected 324 votes. Of the 1,282 registered vot ers in the town’s municipal limits, 412, or 32 percent, voted. In West Hertford, with 330 registered voters, 143, or 43 percent turned out. But in more heavily populated East Hertford, only 28 percent, or 269 of the 952 registered voters showed up at the poUs. There was no difference in the outcome of the election between the two precincts. Cox and Billy Winslow led the vot ing as number one and num ber two candidates, respective ly, in each precinct. There was a tie in West Hertford between Brown and Eldon Winslow, but Winslow led in East Hertford. All vote totals are unofficial until the canvas, according to Eula Mae Forbes, Perquimans County Board of Elections Supervisor. Cox and Billy Winslow could not be reached for com ment. Outside It’s a small place to announce what could be such big news for Perquimans County. On Friday, Tod Weston Smith, son of the legendary spin doctor Wolfman Jack, will hold a press conference to announce plans to construct an outdoor theater on the estate of the late disc jockey in Belvidere. “I really want to build some thing that will pay homeage to my father,” Smith said last Friday at an informal meeting of municipal and county offi cials, Phamber of Commerce representatives and the local press. Smith has enlisted the ser vices of Steve Baldwin, a pro ducer and marketer in the entertainment industry, for the project. To be called the Wolfman Jack Memorial Blues Park, the project includes a 7,500-seat theater and a music museum. Smith and Baldwin foresee bringing in top acts, including the likes of Willie Nelson and Joe Walsh. “The possibilities are end less of what we could actually do. Wolfman has a name to draw the people,” Smith said. Smith said he has already spoken with investors who are willing to help finance the pro posed $2 million park. Media from across north eastern North Carolina and Tidewater, Va. are espected at the press conference. THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY ] viS?: * > . •. SStfS High: Low: 50s 30s PARTLY SUNNY High: Low: 70s 50s PARTLY SUNNY High: Low: 70s 50s CLOUDY
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 9, 1995, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75