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The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people 013165 Lady Pirates ranked No. 1 F^e7 HGS honor roll Rage 6 Get a technology tune-up F^ge9 January 18, 2001 Vol. 69, No. 3 Hertford, North Carolina 27944 The liOlOl 01 •x-'it'CUOl PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY 110 W ACADEMY ST HERTFORD NC 27944 ft' Lt iwlL^’ Perquimans Weekly Starter pistol found at PCMS susan r. harris It won’t be on an end-of- grade test, but a Perquimans Middle School student earned a valuable lesson recently: Even a gun that does not shoot bullets is not allowed on school property PCMS Principal Anne White confirmed that a starter pistol was confiscated from a sqventh grader last Tuesday. White said the male stu dent, described as a nice young man who is new to the school system this year, told White that he had been playing with the gun the night before and had put it in his' pants pocket. The next morning, he put on the pants, not remembering that the gun was in the pocket. He said he didn’t realize he had; it until “kids called it to his attention at the bus stop.’’ She said that fellow stu dents informed school offi cials,' who toi»k" the gun with out incident. White said the student is a member of the school’s student government, has been named a Student of the Month, has gotten along well with other students, and is performing well academical ly. The student did not take the gun to sqhool to frighten any one or because he was upset about anything. White said. ; Per school board policy, the stjident was automatically sus pended for 10 days, and may face further disciplinary action. White said. White said she called a meeting of the school’s safety committee on Wednesday to review the safety plan and see if there was anything that could have prevented the situ ation on Tuesday. White said that* the committee decided to look into using a walk-through metal detector on unan nounced occasions as a deter rent, and also to try to have administrators and staff even more visible. White said she also went to classrooms after the incident to inform teachers of what had happened. In addition, she vis ited seventh grade classrooms to discuss the incident with students in response to rumors circulating about the incident. She said she asked for student input into how to better communicate the weapons policy to students and'parents, and how to han dle incidents. Some students and parents do not realize the scope of the weapons policy of the schools. White said. 3 stolen vehicles recovered Pitt County fire sparks local investigation SUSAN R. HARRIS The Perqumans Weekly and BARBIE MORSE The Times-Leader A Monday blaze in Grifton sparked an investigation that recovered three stolen vehicles in Perquimans County. Hertford Police were notifed Monday that a 2000 GMC Yukon Danali stolen from Winner Chevrolet on Highway 11 in Grifton had been tracked to Hertford using the vehicle’s on-board satellite tracking sys tem. Pitt County law officers told local officials that the tracking system showed the vehicle was somewhere in the 300 block of Dobbs Street in Hertford. Hertford Police Officer Brad Krause and sheriff’s officials searched the area, according to Perquimans Sheriff Eric Tilley. They found the car behind a residence on King Street, a few yards from Dobbs Street. Krause said Pitt County investigators towed the Danali back to their jurisdiction to process it for evidence. Tilley said after the Danali was located, law officers found that a reverse trace was done using the vehicle’s on-board tracking system. The vehicle, the tracking system indicated, had left Pitt County and driven non-stop to a residence on Burgess Road, just outside Hertford. Officers went to that address, the home of David Chesson. There, officers found a 1993 Ford F-150 pick-up truck reported stolen from Martin County. The truck was owned by Bill Clark Homes of Greenville. Later, both the police and sheriff’s departments received word from confidential infor mants that there was a third stolen car in the county. Krause said Sheriff’s Investigator Nate Zachary was first on the scene on Brace Street to check out the infor mant’s lead. He found a 1993 Jeep Laredo believed to have been involved in the larceny in Pitt County. The Jeep, also reported stolen from Martin County, matched the descrip tion of a vehicle that reported ly followed the Danali when it left Pitt County. The initial investigation began aroimd 6 a.m. Monday when police in Pitt County received a call that smoke was billowing from Winner Chevrolet in Grifton. Grifton and Winterville firefighters fought the blaze for hours before it was under control. According to Ayden fire fighter Donald Skinner, dam age to the building could be as high as $1 million, and several cars in the showroom sus tained minor smoke damage. Officials were not sure how the fire started. Police at the scene discov ered that the dealership office has been broken into and that a 2000 GMC Yukon Danali sport utility vehicle was missing from the lot. From there, the link to Perquimans County unfolded, leading to the recov ery of three stolen vehicles. The State Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate the fire. Law officers from Hertford; Perquimans, Pitt and Martin counties; the SBI and the high way patrol have been involved in the investigation so far. No arrests have been made, although some officials have said they are developing sus pects. Celebrating the King legacy -J- r~ *1.^ LCSHT TO IlkAirry; wi [ • %• Jk 4!'JP The choir of host New Bethel Baptist Church provided music throughout the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Program Monday. The event was sponsored by the NAACP, Perquimans Chapter. Leigh earns first local King Legacy award SUSAN R. HARRIS Fondella Leigh became the first recipient of the Perqumans NAACP’s Martin Luther King Legacy Award during Monday’s King Day cel ebration. NAACP President Fred Yates said Leigh has faithful in her work with youth through ^ the NAACP Youth Council for’ over 10 years. She was honored for her outstanding service to the community through her youth work. New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church was host to this year’s Martin Luther King Day observance, sponsored annual ly by the NAACP, Perqumans Chapter. Host pastor Dr. William Sawyer kept his mes sage short and simple: Keep your hands up. “Martin luther King left a great legacy,’’ he said. “What are we doing about that legacy? What are we doing now? Are we resting on his laurels or doing something ourselves?” Sawyer said the world may see uplifted hands as a sign of surrender, but Christians see it as a sign of worship and praise. When Moses told Joshua to lead the Israelites into battle against their enemies, Moses held his hands up and the chil dren of Israel were successful. But when Moses got tired and his arms fell, the opponents became strong. Moses was led to a rock and his arms were held up on either side to show that God was in control. God’s will was that his people win the battle. Sawyer said. God sent them into battle and led them through. “When we stand on the rock, the devil can do no harm,” Sawyer said. “In order fo rus to receive victory, we have to be obedient to God...It’s time for us to stop playing with God. It’s time for us to get real for God. Give God the glory and God will lift you up.” Sawyer said the war has been won, but the fight still continues. He said sbciety’s problems include spending more money on jails than on schools; inequality in the workplace; homes without male role models and children raising children. The solution to the problems lies in turning to God, he said. “You have to turn things over to God and live right and God will come to your rescue,” he said. “When you put your hands up, just look up and know that you’re still in the master’s hands.” Public hearing on hunting yields no answers to reported problems SUSAN R. HARRIS The same theme kept recur ring throughout the hour-long county public hearing on hunt ing Monday night: Dogs and guns are not the root of the problem. People are. Michael Winslow, a hunter who said he is associated with two bunt Hnbc bnaan tbp bpor. ing by saying that the hunt clubs are united to help find solutions to hunting problems. He said most hunters are also concerned with the safety of residents, but that all hunters should not be punished by the actions of a few. Many who hunt with dogs asked that commissioners not annrnve a reniiest hv residents in the White Hat area to outlaw dog hunting in a designated area of the community. Their spokesperson. Van Johnson, said the area is too densely populated for safe dog and rifle hunting. He stressed that the landowners in the proposed area requested the measure for safety reasons, and do not want tn ban all bnntinp But most of the hunters said during the hearing that enforcement of laws already onthe books is the answer to reports of unsafe hunting and hunting on posted property. They said the sheriff’s depart ment and wildlife officers should patrol more, and hand out tickets for violations. Sheriff Erie Tillev said Tuesday that one problem with enforcing laws is that an offi cer has to see the infraction, or either a citizen has to swear out a warrant. Getting people to make formal complaints and go to court and testify has not been easy, he said. No real suggestions for mak ing hunting safer were given to commissioners. Two charged in Thursday raid susan r. harris An informant’s tip led sher iff’s deputies to drugs and cash in a Wynne Fork apart ment last Thursday. Morris Cornelius Kee, 20, and Shikara Renae Elliott, 22, were arrested around 6 p.m. on Jan. 11 after local sheriff’s offi cers, members of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Drug Task Force and a Hertford police officer foimd 82 grams of marijuana and $6,150 in cash at Elliott’s resi dence at 105 Wynne Fork Court. Sheriff Eric Tilley said the investigation into possible drug dealing began with a tip from a confidential informant. A search warrant was issued for the premises based on a controlled buy set up by law officers, he said. Both Kee and Elliott were arrested and charged with pos session with intent to manu facture, sell, deliver marijuana and possession of drug para phernalia. Elliott was also charged with maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of manufacturing, selling, deliv ering marijuana. Her bond was set at $7,000 unsecured; his at $5,000 secured. Weekend Weather Thursday High: 48 Low: 45 Rain Friday High: 65 Low: 49 Rain Saturday High: 47 Low: 38 Showers
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Jan. 18, 2001, edition 1
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