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PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
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Beers do dance of life
Rage 2
Fire ant control
F^ge6
Sports update
Pages
November 13, 2002
Vol. 71, No. 47 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
The
Weekly
Voter
turnout
strong
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Almost 45 percent of
Perquimans County’s 7,919
registered voters cast bal
lots last Tuesday.
Perquimans County
Elections Supervisor Eula
Forbes said 3,518 people
voted in the general elec
tion. Casting one-stop bal
lots were 325 voters.
Incumbent sheriff Eric
Tilley defeated challenger
David Shaffer 2,369 to 983.
Tilley had never run for
public office. The Democrat
served as chief deputy
under former Sheriff Ralph
Robinson and was appoint
ed to fill the top law enforce
ment slot when Robinson
died in office. Shaffer is
currently the Winfall Police
Chief
In the only other local
race, Bert Eure and Charles
Mathews were elected to
the Perquimans County
Sod & Water Conservation
Board. Former committee
employee Ginger O’Neal
also ran for a seat.
The increasing presence
of Republicans in the coun
ty was obvious in the feder
al races, where Democrats
barely squeezed past
Republicans in this tradi
tionally overwhelmingly
Democratic community. In
the highly visible U.S.
Senate race, Erskine
Bowles garnered 1,710 votes
to Elizabeth Dole’s 1,688.
For the House District 1
seat, Frank BaUance tallied
1,659 votes to Greg Dority’s
1,598.
The state senate and
house races were not so
close. Democrats carried
both by wide margins.
Senate President Pro Tern
Marc Basnight easily
defeated challenger Ron
Toppin, 2,242 to 1,148.
Likewise, Bill Culpepper
carried the county in the
House District 2 race 2,117
to 1,234 over Beall.
Students perform on TV
Several members of the
Panther Percussion Team
from Hertford Grammar
School performed on the
WITN-7 5 p.m. news pro
gram recently.
Participating in the live
television performance
were Michael Frierson,
Heather Congdon, Ellis
Hinton, Toya Simpson,
Eddie Felton, Richard Lee
and Stephen Parker, who
performed under the
direction of music teacher
Heather Webb. They got
to meet news anchor
The students presented three selections for the tele
vision audience and the crowd at the Colonial Mail
studios. The Panther Percussion Team is part of the
Linda Shore (above right). 21st Century After School Program.
Towns get street funds
Hertford and Winfall
will get help from the state
with funds for mainte
nance, repair, construction,
widening and sidewalks on
city-owned streets.
The towns were among
503 municipalities to share
$130.2 million in state street
aid through the N.C.
Department of
Transportation. The aid is
known as the Powell Bill
Fund.
Hertford will get $65,559,
while Winfall’s share is
$20,654.
The funds come from
revenues generated by state
gas tax and other highway
user fees. They are dis
persed annually using a
formula set by the General
Assembly Seventy-five per
cent of the funds are allo
cated based on population,
while the remaining 25 per
cent is based on the num
ber of city-owned street
mUes of each municipality.
The first allocation of
Powell BiU Funds was in
1951 for $4.5 million.
Hertford man
is stabbed
SUSAN R. HARRIS
A Hertford man is in
serious but stable condition
at Sentara Norfolk General
Hospital after being
stabbed Monday
Roy PoweU Jr., 25, was
apptirently stabbed at 205 E.
Railroad Avenue around 10
a.m. Monday, according to
Hertford Police Officer N.B.
Krause.
Krause said he arrived
on the scene just after 10
o’clock to find PoweU lying
on the lawn of the property
with a knife wound to his
chest. Powell was trans
ported by Perquimans
County EMS to Chowan
Hospital and was later air
lifted to the Norfolk hospi
tal.
The initial investigation
indicates that the alterca
tion that led to Powell’s
stabbing had occured at the
RaUroad Avenue residence.
There were two other peo
ple at the residence at the
time, Krause said.
Krause was interviewing
people who may have info-
ration about the incident
Monday afternoon and
Tuesday He said Tuesday
morning that the investiga
tion is stiU in the prelimi
nary stages.
Anyone with informa
tion about the incident
should call the Hertford
Police Department.
County passes
new junk car
ordinance
SUSAN R. HARRIS
County commissioners
approved a junk car ordi
nance last week that wiU
make it easier to force resi
dents to dispose of junk
vehicles.
County Manager Paul
Gregory said the countys’
standing junk ordinance
was general and was cum
bersome to enforce. The
new ordinance is more
streamlined and wiU aUow
the county to better regu
late and rid the county of
junk vehicles, he said.
As of last Monday’s
meeting, Gregory and
Building Inspector Jeke
Jackson were interviewing
for the position of code
enforcement officer. That
part-time employee, when
hired, will be primarily
responsible for enforcing
the junk vehicle ordinance.
The old ordinance
required employees of sev
eral agencies to perform
different aspects of
enforcement. The new ordi
nance makes the building
inspector’s office primarily
responsible, with the sher
iff and county attorney
cooperating when needed.
At present, there are
grant funds available
through Albemarle
Regional Solid Waste
Management to tow junk
cars to the tri-county land
fill, from where they are
hauled to a recycling facili
ty. As of Oct. 16, 181 vehi
cles have been towed free in
Perquimans.
Once grant funds are
gone, residents will have to
pay the cost of removing
vehicles that are defined as
junk by the ordinance.
Norfolk-based Fun Tours opens second office in Hertford
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Fun Tours, Inc. tries to
live up to its name.
“We truly think that
once people get aboard our
coach and experience our
tours they’ll come back
because they’re going to
have such a good time,”
said Gwen Elmore, compa
ny president. “Our focus is
on giving that personal
touch: We don’t just give a
ride, we give an experi
ence.”
Elmore said the Norfolk-
based family company
offers breakfast, refresh
ments, games and prizes
aboard its coaches.
“We just have a good
time.”
The Elmore family is
bringing that good time to
Hertford, where it has
opened a new office in Hall
of Fame Square. A ribbon
cutting was sponsored
there by the Chamber of
Commerce last Friday.
The family chose
Hertford for its second
PHOTO BY ALICE BREWIN
Company employees and guests get comfortable on a
motorcoach at the grand opening of Fun Tours Inc. in
Hall of Fame Square last Friday.
office because they have
owned a second home on
the Albemarle Sound for 10
years and like the commu
nity.
“We’ve been trying for
several years to expand our
business into this area,”
Elmore said. “We knew that
to really make an impact
we would have to be a part
of the community”
So Elmore and her in
laws, company founder and
CEO Charles Elmore and
his wife Nancy, are spend
ing their time between
their homes in the
Tidewater area and
Hertford as they establish
the new office. Charles and
Nancy Elmore will be the
primary operators of the
North Carolina operations.
The trio aren’t the only
family members in the
company Gwen’s husband
Charles is head of opera
tions, and their son Chris
also works full-time.
Another son and daughter-
in-law work part-time, and
Gwen said even her grand
children dream of the day
when they, too, will help
with the family venture.
Fun Tours offers day and
overnight trips, as well as
selling cruise lines. They
will add international
tours next year.
The largest single desti
nation for the company is a
Christian drama in
Lancaster, Penn. Trips to
Myrtle Beach and New
York City, as well as theater
trips, garden tours and
gaming tours are popular.
About half the compa
ny’s trips are day trips, the
other half split between
single-night and up to 14-
day tours. Next year. Fun
Tours will offer a cross
country 18-day summer
tour.
Day trips range from
$50—$80 per person
depending on the destina
tion and what’s included in
the package, while
overnight trips start about
about $159 per night.
Tourists ride in 46-55
passenger motorcoaches.
Groups wishing to spon
sor a tour may call Fun
Tours and design a cus
tomized trip.
Those who want more
information on the compa
ny or trips offered may log
onto the website at
www.funtoursinc.com or
call 426-2990. Office hours
in Hertford are 10 a.m.—4
p.m. Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday.
When the office is closed,
the phone is forwarded to
the Norfolk office.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 58
Low: 42
Mostly Sunny
Friday
High:63
Low: 44
Mostly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 56
Low: 45
Few Showers