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The
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Perquimans
August 19,1999
Vol. 67, No. 32 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
AUS 1 8 1999
1715®
35 cents
WmfaU
may fill
s^t with
write-in
Elections
board does
not extend
filing period
: JEREMY DESPOSITO
- The Daily Advance
• Indicating its pessimism
that a second candidate would
come forward to file for one of
Winfall’s two Town Council
seats, the Perquimans County
Board of Elections elected
Friday to keep the filing period
closed.
“Anybody interested enough
would’ve already filed,” said
board chairman Paul Smith,
explaining the board’s deci
sion.
: The fact that no one had
even contacted the board about
re-opening the filing period
made the board’s decision even
easier. Smith said. A letter wiU
be sent to Winfall Town
Council stating the board’s
decision, he added.
Under state law, the elec
tions board could have re
opened the filing period for up
to five days because not enough
candidates filed for Winfall’s
two open council seats during
the regular month-long filing
period that ended on Aug. 6.
; Only newcomer Kenneth
Rominger filed for one of the
two at-large seats. Incumbents
Jalce Chesson and Carol
Cooper did not seek re-elec-
fidin.
, The second seat could be
filled, however, by a write-in
Cajididate who polled the most
write-in votes on election day.
; Smith said he personally
wasn’t aware of anyone inter
ested in running as a write-in
candidate. But he said he
knows a number of Winfall res
idents who would make good
town council members.
The election board is confi
dent that a write-in candidate
will surface on election day.
“I feel like we’ll probably
have a lot of names,” Smith
said. “There will be some
write-ins.”
Smith said this is the first
time since he became elections
board chairman in 1992 that
not enough candidates filed for
the seats open in an election.
McDonald’s raises money for ALS
JEREtSiyOESPOSITO S W~~ i—
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 80$
Low: 70s
Mostly Sunny
Friday
High: 80s
Low; 70s
Mostly Sunny
Saturday
High: 90s
Low: 70s
Partly Cloudy
JEREMY DESPOSITO
The Daily Advance
With Jim “Catfish” Hunter scheduled to
be on hand, Saturday’s fund-raiser for
Hunter’s ALS foundation at McDonald’s
was supposed to be a big event.
Because he fell 10 days ago and had to be
hospitalized. Hunter couldn’t attend
Saturday’s fund-raiser. But the event was
big just the same.
By Saturday afternoon, the Hertford
McDonald’s was on pace to smash its pre
vious one-day sales record - every dime of
it was headed to the Jim “Catfish” Hunter
ALS Foundation.
Hunter’s friends set up the foundation
earlier this year, shortly after the former
baseball great was diagnosed with amy
otrophic lateral sclerosis, the same crip
pling disease that killed HaU of Famer
Lou Gehrig.
In morning sales alone, the Hertford
McDonald’s grossed approximately $1,000
and served close to 300 people. An ordi
nary Saturday brings in 200-250 people and
generates about $800 in sales, swing man
ager Donna Lane said.
“It’s been real busy,” Lane said.
“(Business) hasn’t stopped.”
Swing manager Nicole Lightfoot
agreed.
“This morning has been outrageous,”
she said. “It’s been planned for a month.
(Hunter) was supposed to be here himself,
but...”
While the events went on in his honor.
Hunter was stiU listed in critical condition
at Pitt County Memorial Hospital.
“He’s basically the same: still alert and
following some commands,” a patient care
coordinator said.
A telephone recording set up to field the
hundreds of calls from well-wishers flood
ing the hospital the past week said: “the
Hunter family expresses appreciation for
aU prayers and kindnesses that people
have offered.”
In addition to donating proceeds from
the entire day’s sales - from 6 a.m.-ll p.m. -
to Hunter’s ALS Foundation, the store also
gave away free balloons, painted kids’
faces and hosted visits by McDonald’s land
character Grimace and stock car racer
Dalford Briley
Shalonda Leary and Tynesha White
^*pys-.
Above: MsrrtfUls Rogers gives “Grimace,” a McDonald’s Land character, a hug outside
the McDonald’s in Hertford Saturday. Marquis’ pal, Christopher Jones, looks on. All
sales at the McDonald’s Saturday will go to the foundation.
brought their children to McDonald’s for
lunch, but neither was aware their money
was going to fight ALS.
“(The kids) wanted McDonald’s, so we
came out,” said White, adding that she
was considering returning with the chil
dren for the afternoon events.
Woody Bolz had seen the fundraiser
advertised on a flyer and happened to be
passing through with his son, Bryce, 9. His
step-son, Doug, has a baseball auto
graphed by Himter.
“(The fund-raiser) is pretty neat,” Bolz
said. “I’m sorry about his failing. I’m glad
we stopped.”
Carole Dail and 11-year-old grand
daughter, Cassie, had several reasons for
attending the fund-raiser.
“(Cassie) wanted face paintings, and my
granddaughter works here,” Dail said.
“And of course, we came out to support
(Hunter).”
“Whether it’d be Catfish or anybody, it’s
a very good cause when you get a disease
that’s not yet curable. It’s a shame it has to
be a native from here (that has it). I’m sure
he’s done things for people that we don’t
even know (about).”
New cemetery road sparks debate
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
A discussion about a dying
town fire truck sparked debate
about problems with a ceme
tery road when Hertford Town
Council met last Monday
night.
“How did we get from a fire
truck to the cemetery road?”
asked vice mayor Billy
Winslow, who added, “Let’s
take one issue at a time. Let’s
not be mixing issues here.”
The common ^link to the
seemingly unrelated topics
was a discussion prior to the
meeting between Mayor John
Beers and town manager John
Christensen about council
being more decisive.
Councilman and fire chief
Sid Eley reported to council
that the 1969 pumper did not
pass a state pumping test. The
750-gallon per minute pumper
will only pump 450-500 gallons
per minute. Eley gave council
information he had obtained
about trying to fix the truck
and replacing it during the
administrative concerns por
tion of the meeting.
Then Beers said council
should make a decision regard
ing the pumper. He said coun
cil should take action when
issues are brought before the
board. Christensen responded
that he asked Eley to share the
test results and other informa
tion during the meeting just to
make council aware of the sit
uation. He added that with the
pumper the town bought in
1996 and other equipment in
the county, he feels the town
does not have to replace the
1969 pumper now.
Winslow said it was good
that council had that informa
tion so that council had time to
discuss it in a work session
and decide what action might
be needed.
Beers then reiterated that
the council should make a deci
sion. He said he and
Christensen had talked, and
that council should make a
decision and clarify that deci
sion.
Christensen then responded
that the discussion he had with
Beers over being decisive was
sparked by events regarding
the road put in Cedar Wood
Cemetery in June.
The town manager said
Larry Swindell of Swindell
Funeral Home had complained
to the board earlier in the sum
mer about the new road in
Cedar Wood Cemetery, which
is owned and maintained by
the town. Christensen said typ
ically he handles day-to-day
operations of the town, and
that council sets policy. When
it comes to an operations issue.
Christensen said he generally
gathers information and
makes a decision. He said he
did make a decision about the
ditch Swindell complained
about in the cemetery.
Christensen said he recom
mended to council that no
action be taken because the dif
ficulties SwindeU had were not
severe enough for Christensen
to want to fix the ditches the
town had just paid to install.
Christensen said no action was
taken by the board on his rec
ommendation.
Swindell called Christensen
on Aug. 4, the Wednesday
before council met and wanted
the town to dig a grave,
Christensen said. Christensen
said he refused. Swindell then
called several councilmen,
Christensen said, and request
ed that Christensen be fired.
The situation prompted
Christensen to speak with
Beers about council not acting
on Christensen’s recommenda
tions.
“I feel like this board needs
to be more decisive and I told
him so,” Christensen said. He
added that the board needs to
make decisions, not “hang
(Christensen) out to dry.” He
said indecisiveness means the
board sometimes makes emo
tional decisions. The board
should either approve or over
ride his decisions, Christensen
said.
Swindell tvas allowed to
share his side of the story. The
Hertford funeral director said
he came to council in June
complaining that the new road
bank in the cemetery is
extreme. Swindell said the
steep embankment makes it
impossible for him to dig a
grave with his equipment and
also for his truck, when loaded,
to climb the embankment
without damaging its under
side. It is also difficult for older
people who attend funerals to
step up, he said, which could
lead to lawsuits in the event of
afaU.
Swindell said it wasn’t in
the minutes of council’s June
meeting, but that council
decided that Swindell,
Christensen and Russell
Hurdle, the contractor who
bunt the road, were to meet to
work out a solution to the ditch
problem. No meeting between
the three was held.
On Aug. 4, SwindeU said he
caUed Christensen on the tele
phone because he needed to dig
a grave and stiU could not
because there had been noth
ing done to the grade of the
ditch. He said Christensen told
him there was no problem and
that Christensen wasn’t going
to take action.
Please see Road, page3
Hunter still
critical, but
making slow
progress
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The mood in Hertford has
been intense since last Sunday
evening when Jimmy Hunter
feU and was hospitalized with
critical head injuries. The first
question many residents
asked upon seeing friends was,
“Have you heard from Jimmy
today?”
Monday evening. Hunter’s
pastor, the Rev. Keith Vaughan,
said the HaU of Fame pitcher
and Perquimans native is
much improved. Vaughan had
just returned from visiting
Hunter and his family in
GreenvUle, where Hunter was
stUl listed in critical condition
in the intensive care unit of
Pitt Memorial Hospital.
Hunter stUl has assistance
with his breathing, and contin
ues to respond to verbal com
mands and his famUy.
Vaughan said Hunter’s
progress is expected to contin
ue very slowly. He wiU proba
bly require some t3q)e of reha
bilitation before being dis
charged from the hospital.
As he is stiU in ICU, Hunter
can have no visitors other than
immediate family. At times
over the past week, there have
been so many people at the
hospital to see the Hunter fam
Uy that some have had to wait
in the downstairs reception
area, Vaughan said.
Because there have been so
many calls, the hospital
switchboard will no longer
transfer caUs for the famUy
Vaughan said the best way
to send best wishes to Hunter
and his family is through
cards to the hospital. About
100 cards arrived Monday, and
Vaughan said that is about the
average that has poured in
each day. Each famUy member
can read and appreciate the
cards sent, and they can also
be shared with Hunter as he
improves, making cards the
best way to communicate with
the famUy, Vaughan said.
Hunter sustained his
injuries on Aug. 8 when he feU
backwards off the bottom step
at his home. He was transport
ed by ambxUance to Chowan
Hospital before being trans
ferred to Pitt Memorial. Pitt
confirmed that Hunter was
bleeding in his brain. He was
initiaUy listed in serious con
dition, but some setbacks early
on Aug. 10 caused his condi
tion to be downgraded to criti
cal. He was placed on a respi
rator and was reportedly
unconscious early last week.
The deluge of inquiries
about his condition, as weU as
incorrect information being
reported, caused the famUy to
turn to Vaughan to release
written information twice last
week. Both press releases indi
cated that Hunter was in criti
cal condition, but was respon
sive. The famUy requested that
aU inquiries be directed to
either Vaughan or the hospi
tal, although Hunter’s wife,
Helen, did make statements
thanking people for their sup
port and encouragement, and
asking for continued prayer.
The family still asks for
prayer support.
•j