The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people
U i 1 7 i; i V JL x
PEROUIMANSv COUNT'.' 1. tbRARY
110 W ACADE'M'y ST
HERTFORD NC £7944
Track team sprints to two wins
page 8
Rose pens winning DAR essay
page 6
The
March 23, 2000
Vol. 68, No. 12 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
MAR 2 2 2000
Perquimajnj^
Weekly
ABC ruling
closes
Upright
Social Club
■ State issues
summary
suspension of
alcohol license
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Folks won’t be meeting to
have a beer at the Upright
Social Club any time soon.
The state ABC Commission
suspended the club’s permits
to seU alcohol Friday Reasons
for issuance of the summary
suspension include the March
5 shooting incident that left
one man dead and another
seriously injured outside the
club.
The club was closed by the
local fire marshall and build
ing inspector on March 10 for
code violations including no
fire extinguishers, no exit
signs, no emergency lighting,
electrical violations, and build
ing code violations.
Mark Senter, Assistant
Supervisor of the Alcohol Law
Enforcement Office in
^Edenton, provided a copy of
11^ ABC Commission suspen-
rsion order to the newspaper.
:The document lists numerous
;problems at the club, based on
sworn allegations and affi-
■davits.
- Senter said the first priority
in the ALE investigation was
-tfie safety of the community.
IThe information submitted to
the ABC Commission resulted
from ongoing investigation by
;the Hertford Police
iDepartment and Edenton ALE
^office, Senter said. Ultimately,
the ABC Commission ruled
activity at the Upright Social
Club “poses a danger to the
community and puts a drain
on the resources of the City of
Hertford.’’
According to Senter, the
ABC Commission reviewed
documentation about prob
lems at the club submitted by
law agencies last week. Based
on the review, the Commission
found that protection of the
, public health, safety and wel
fare required emergency
action by the Commission.
The order states that the
permitee, Earl Foreman, and
his employees have a propensi
ty to allow the presence of dan
gerous and unlawful activities
on the licensed premises, cre
ating an unreasonable haz
ardous situation for the public
as well as the law enforcement
officers called upon to inspect
the licensed premises. Earl
Foreman is owner of the club,
which is managed by Kevin
Foreman.
Senter said the suspension
was effective as soon as the
order was served on the club.
The Permitees now have the
right to request a hearing ask
ing that the Commission deci
sion be overturned. He added
that it would probably be at
least 60 days before a hearing
could take place if one is
requested..
The order states that when
officers arrived at the club on
March 5, “people were running
frantically, screaming and
yelling.’’ Bullet casings were
found on the street in and
around the club on that date.
In addition, interviews of
about 35 witnesses revealed
that the incident began inside
the club with an argument
over a dice game that allegedly
took place int he back of the
club. Club manager Kevin
Foreman denied allegations
that there was a dice game
going on in the club in an
interview with Jeremy
Desposito, staff writer for The
Daily Advance.
The March 5 incident was
not the first time Hertford
police officers have responded
to “shots fired’’ calls at the
club. According to the suspen
sion order, officers were also
called to the club on Feb. 19,
Jan. 15 and Dec. 11,1999.
In February, officers arrived
at the club to the sound of gun
shots, with a large crowd of
club patrons scattering.
Neither Kevin Foreman nor
people around the club could
provide any information about
the incident, the report states.
Although Kevin Foreman
told Deposito that there were
no problems inside the club,
the suspension report states
that officers found bullet holes
and a bullet casing inside the
club when they responded to
the Jan. 15 call. Witnesses
allegedly told officers that the
shooting happened inside the
club. It took police action to
disburse the crowd that night.
An officer stayed on the
scene about an hour after
responding to the Dec. 11 caU.
Earl Foreman allegedly told
officers that several people
from out of town were
involved in the shooting, but
no one in the crowd at the club
could provide any informa
tion.
In addition to the “shots
fired” calls, police have
responded to calls of noise,
personal safety ' concerns,
fights and assaults, loud
music, and intoxicated and dis
ruptive persons. The report
also alleges that the club is a
“known hangout for drug deal
ers.” Calls at the club required
at least two uniformed officers,
sometimes more, officers say
ALE has received com
plaints at the Edenton Office
regarding lewd and immoral
acts, controlled substance use,
gambling and unlawful posses
sion of alcoholic beverages on
the licensed premises of the
Upright Social Club.
Senter said the investiga
tion into activities at the club
is ongoing.
No arrests have been made
in the death of Terrance
Daniel Overton, 20, who was
kUled a block from the club on
March 5, or the serious injury
of Jeremy Riddick, 22, in front
of the club on the same date.
The case is being investigated
by the Hertford Police
Department and the SBI.
Spring cleaning
PHOTOS BY SUSAN HARRIS
Inmates from the Gates
County Correctional
Facility were in Hertford
last week helping the
town with spring clean
ing and fix-up chores.
While one crew edged
and trimmed sidewalks
on Grubb Street, a sec
ond group cleaned,
scraped and painted the
picket fence on town
property. Details of the
second annual Clean-
Up, Fix-Up Month spon
sored by the county are
expected soon.
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Move over, New York. The
art world is coming to
Hertford.
The Perquimans Arts
League Fifth Annual Members
Show wiU open Friday, March
24 with a reception, 6-9 p.m., in
the Perquimans County
Library on West Academy
Street.
The exhibit features works
of art by League members and
will remain open through
April 20 during regular library
hours.
A variety of media have
been a part of the show over
the years. In addition to the
more traditional pastel, water-
color, pen and ink, and oil ren
derings many people automat
ically expect to see at an art
show, the PAL show has fea
tured sculpture, musical
instruments, string art, cloth
and needle art, photography
and more.
A Best in Show award will
be presented along with first,
second, third and honorable
mention ribbons in several
categories. Purchase Award
ribbons will be presented by
local businesses. Guests may
cast ballots for the People’s
Choice Award.
With the help of member
volunteers anJ' a 'grassroots
grant from the N.C. Arts
Council, PAL is able to pro
mote, nurture and preserve
high standards of art and cul
ture in Perquimans County.
Membership is open to aU.
Firefighters train in New Hope
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
People just take it for grant
ed that if and when they need
firefighters, firefighters will
respond.
And they do respond in
Perquimans, not because they
are paid to protect life and
property, but because they
desire to give back to the com
munity, according to Durants
Neck Fire Chief Jimmy Spivey
Members of Spivey’s depart
ment helped to ensure their
readiness to fight fire Saturday
when they hosted the final seg
ment of a training class. The
finale was the culmination of
several nights in a classroom
going over procedures and
techniques. Saturday, turnout
gear was put on and hoses
drawn across the lawn for
some real how-to learning at a
house given to the fire depart
ment for training purposes.
Spivey said the North
Carolina Department of
Insurance requires all fire
fighters to have at least 36
hours of training each year.
Most get many more hours. A
lot of the firefighters involved
in Saturday’s training are try
ing to tally the 234 hours of
classroom and hands-on work
it takes to become a certified
Firefighter I. Because firefight
ers in Perquimans are all vol
unteer, the only benefit there is
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
Durants Neck volunteer firefighters hosted a training ses
sion Saturday. Live burns allow firefighters to get critical
hands-on experience that can help save lives and homes.
to dedicating that many hours
to training is to be better able
to serve the community.
Spivey said with training,
fire calls, equipment checks,
and departmental meetings,
most volunteer firefighters in
Perquimans donate over 100
hours each year. And that 100
hours doesn’t include the time
spent by firefighters selling
tickets, cooking, serving, or
taking care of other tasks
involved in fund raising.
Although the county now pro
vides some financial support
for firefighting building and
equipment needs and each
department applies for grants,
much of the money to keep
departments running is raised
by the volunteers themselves.
The chief said both fire and
rescue volunteers give a
tremendous amount of time
and energy to helping others.
Both have state-imposed train
ing requirements. Often fire
and rescue personnel are
cross-trained. Rescue/EMS
and fire personnel also offer
each other assistance when
needed. In addition, Spivey
said local law officers provide
a lot of support for fire and res
cue agencies.
Spivey acknowledged that
the cost of equipment and gear
is skyrocketing. To equip a
firefighter with coat, pants,
boots, helmet and air pack
costs about $4,000, Spivey said
— and that is not purchasing
top-of-the-line gear. A stripped-
down new truck runs about
$150,000 with no hoses or other
equipment necessary to fight
fire.
Participating in Saturday’s
class were firefighters from
Durants Neck, Intercounty
Hertford, Edenton, Nixonton
and Providence. With aU the
training hours required, it is
not unusual for departments to
work together to offer enougli
classes to work with the varied
schedules of firefighters,
Spivey said.
Most of us just look out the
window when we hear a siren.
Fortunately, volunteer fire
fighters respond — just as we
take for granted they will.
Census workers begin rounds
The North Carolina Office
of the State Planning officials
said participation in the
Census is critical to the state.
The United States is
required by law to take a
Census every 10 years as a way
of determining how the popu
lation is represented in the US.
House of Representatives, but
Census numbers do much
more, officials say Information
from the Census is used in cal
culating many federal grants
including Medicaid.
Census forms have already
been mailed. It takes only a few
min-jites to complete the short
form, and about 40 to fill in a
long form. Officials ask that
forms be completed and
returned as soon as possible.
Enumerators will visit
those who do not return forms,
or those who need help with
the information. Call (252) 355-
0226 for assistance •
Weekend
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