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PEROUIHANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD NC 27944
Octoi[erT9r2000
Vol. 68, No. 42 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Perquimans
^ 8 2000
Parolee busted for drug trafficking Sunday
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
He’d been on the outside for
only 19 days and now he’s back
behind bars.
Oscar Maurice Wells, 28, of
335 Wildcat Road, Elizabeth
City, was arrested and charged
with trafficking crack cocaine
Sunday morning hy Sheriff
Eric Tilley.
Tilley said Monday that
Deputy Nate Zachary found 67
grams of crack cocaine in
Wells’ car. Subjects must have
28 grams or more in order to be
Teen
injured
in wreck
Apparent heart
attack claims
life of driver in
second accident
A 16-year-old boy remains
hospitalized in fair condition a
week after sustaining exten
sive injuries in a car wreck on
New Hope Road.
Greg Bail of 150 Ainsley
Road, Hertford is in Pitt
County Memorial Hospital
recovering from his injuries. A
hospital spokesman said
Tuesday morning that Bail’s
injuries include a pelvic frac
ture and abrasions.
I;: Susan Chappell, a close fam-
ify friend, said that Bail had
his spleen removed and also
suffered two skull fractures.
He was moved from ICU into a
room on Monday, she said, and
doctors expected to begin ther
apy on Tuesday.
-•► Bail was a passenger in a
1999 Ford driven hy Wesley
Taylor Haskett, 17, of 3A
'Ainsley Road, Hertford.
According to the accident
report filed hy NCHP Trooper
'J.S! Archer, Haskett was dri
ving east on New Hope Road
-when he ran off the right side
■df the road, swerved left, ran
back off the right side of the
r'oad and overturned twice.
The vehicle came to rest on its
top in a ditch. The accident
occurred around 3:12 p.m. last
Tuesday.
■:' Bail was taken by ambu
lance to Chowan County
^Hospital before being trans-
'ferfed to Pitt Memorial.
.. Haskett was cited for
■ exceeding a safe speed and dri
ving left of center.
Continued on page 9
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 75
Low: 54
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High: 73
Low: 51
Mostly Sunny
Saturday
High: 76
Low: 51
Partly Cloudy
charged with trafficking
rather than possession. Tilley
estimated the value of the
drugs at about $6,500-7,500, per
haps triple that amount when
cut and sold on the street.
The arrest came as the
result of a traffic stop. Tilley
said he was on routine patrol
when he met Wells. Thinking
that he had seen warrants or
other paperwork in his office
about Wells, Tilley said he con
tacted Zachary to ask. Zachary
said there were no warrants,
hut that Wells did not have a
drivers license.
Tilley stopped Wells on
Woodland Church Road, then
asked Wells to get out of his
car and sit in Tilley’s car.
Zachary arrived on the scene
and searched the car while
Tilley wrote a citation for no
operators license. In the car,
Zachary found the package of
a substance that appeared to be
crack cocaine. Wells was then
charged with trafficking. He
was detained in Albemarle
District Jail pending his first
appearance in court, which
was set for Oct. 18.
Zachary said trafficking is a
class H felony and carries a
sentence of 20-25 months.
Wells told Tilley that he had
just been released from prison
for a drug offense on Sept. 26. A
check of the Department of
Corrections website confirmed
that Wells was released on
Sept. 26 after serving time for
selling a schedule II controlled
substance.
Tilley said the 67 grams of
crack is equal in weight to 67
one dollar bills and would be
about as large as a baseball.
Crack is one way cocaine is
processed and is smoked in a
pipe. Crack is sold on the street
in units called rocks, which
Tilley said are about the size of
the eraser on the end of a pen
cil. Rocks sell for $20 each.
The DEA estimates that
crack rocks are 75-90 percent
pure cocaine according to
information obtained from the
website streetdrugs.com. The
site attributed that informa
tion to a study by the United
State Sentencing Commission.
The site also stated that
crack use is most common
among adults, 18-25, especially
black males, metropolitan resi
dents, those with less than a
high school education and who
are unemployed. As with all
drug use, those on crack have
an increased risk of domestic
violence involvement and con
tracting HIV and other sexual
ly transmitted diseases.
Three websites agreed that
crack use causes intense highs
and dramatic crashes, and
often leads to anxiety, depres
sion, irritability, extreme
fatigue, paranoia, an intense
craving for the drug, health
problems, haUucenations, and:
agitation. Some of the mental;
and emotional problems asso-j
dated with long-term, regular
use may be permanent.'
Changes are obvious after 3-6
months of consistent use.
Meeting the candidates
Local, state
candidates
attend BPW
forum
JEREMY DESPOSITO
The Daily Advance
Upset that Pasquotank
County lost its bid for
German airship company
Cargolifter last week. District
1 State Senate candidate Ron
Toppin (R) asked voters why
that happened.
“Why did we lose
Cargolifter to Craven County
last week?” asked Toppin,
who will challenge Senator
Mark Basnight (D, S.D. 1).
“The decision was made
behind closed doors.
Pasquotank County commis
sioners werent even aware of
it. We should’ve had proper
representation to bring it
here.”
Six of 13 candidates run
ning in state and local elec
tions answered questions and
met about 30 constituents at a
“meet the candidates” forum
in the Perquimans County
Courthouse Monday night.
The seven panelists includ-
Daily Advance photo
Local and state candidates introduced themselves and their platforms to voters
Monday night at the Hertford BPW Meet the Candidates forum.
went into
ed Perquimans commissioner
candidates Shirley Wiggins
(D), Vernon Hammons (R)
and Mack Nixon (D), state
House of Representatives
candidate Bill Culpepper (D),
state Senate candidate Ron
Toppin (R, District 1), and
Perquimans Register of
Deeds Deborah Reid (D), the
only candidate present who is
running unopposed.
Sponsored by the Hertford
Business and Professional
Women, BPW member
Minnie Taylor encouraged
voters to speak with the can
didates.
“Find out what you need to
know about the candidates,”
she said. “Find out what they
will do for you or the state.”
Perquimans Board of
Elections Chairman Paul
Smith reminded voters to use
the “no-excuse” one-stop vot
ing method that
effect Monday.
Wiggins, the incumbent in
the county commissioner
race, said her main concerns
are economic growth, a better
quality of life for seniors, and
increasing recreational activ
ities.
“We need better homes for
seniors and single housing
units for single people who
Continued on page 9
The county’s heritage as
well as the holidays will be cel
ebrated when the 2000
Christmas parade comes to
town. Themed “The Joys of
Christmas Past,” the Dec. 2
event will center around the
county’s rich heritage and tra
ditions. The parade time is 2
p.m.
An incentive to entering this
year’s parade will be the award
of a $100 prize to the float
deemed the best overall in the
parade. The award is spon
sored by The Perquimans
Weekly.
In addition to the parade,
the Chamber of Commerce has
announced that a food court
will he set up on the court
house lawn on parade day.
Churches, businesses and civic
organizations may rent booths
hy calling the Chamber at 426-
5657. There will be no booths
allowed on the streets or side
walks on parade day to allow
space for the parade and audi
ence. Food court booths are
limited.
Entry applications for the
parade can be picked up at the
Chamber Office Tuesday-
Friday, noon-4 p.m. Or, you may
telephone the office and have
an entry form mailed to you.
Spivey named school district Teacher of the Year
Carolyn Spivey was named
Perquimans County Schools
Teacher of the Year.
Spivey was among four can
didates, one chosen from each
of the county’s four schools.
Chosen from their schools
were Spivey, Perquimans
Middle; Melanie Carter,
Central: Amy Parker, Hertford
Grammar; and Harrell Thach,
Perquimans High. The group
will he recognized during the
Oct. 23 school board meeting.
Teacher of the Year nomi
nees completed extensive writ
ten data packages, and provid
ed letters of recommendation
and performance evaluations
in those packages. The Teacher
of the Year Committee, which
includes students, educators,
parents, hoard members, busi
ness leaders, and other mem
bers of the community,
reviews the nominees’ answers
to questions regarding educa
tion and letters of recommen
dation, and interviews each
candidate. A district-wide
Teacher of the Year is chosen
based on the information.
Carolyn Spivey
Exceptional children
Perquimans Middle
14 years experience,
all at PCMS
B.S. Special Education,
Guilford College
Master Special Education,
UNC-CH
Following is some informa
tion on each teacher taken
from their data packages.
A. What were the factors
Harrell Thach
Social studies
Perquimans High
18 years experience,
all at PCHS
A. A. COA
B. A. ECSU
Ag. Certification, NCSU
that influenced you to
become a teacher? Describe
what you consider to be
your greatest contributions
and accomplishments in
education.
Amy Parker
Fifth grade
Hertford Grammar
12 years experience,
all in Perquimans
B.S. Elementary Education,
Trevecca Nazarene College
Masters Elementary Education,
ECU
Spivey: Until my senior year
in high school I was undecided
about my career only knowing
that I did not want to become a
Melanie J. Carter
First grade
Central
4 years experience,
all in Perquimans
B.S. Psychology,
UNC-Wilmington
B.S. Elementary Education,
Western Carolina
teacher. Both of my parents
were teachers in the public
school system I attended in NY.
Continued on page 9