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The
P6/C5***********5-DIGIT 27944
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEKf ST
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
November li, 2b0i
Vol. 71, No. 49 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Weekly
Lawsuit against county, sheriff dismissed
SUSAN R. HARRIS
A lawsuit fUed in federal
court against Perquimans
County and Sheriff Eric
TiUey has been dismissed.
Chief United States
District Judge Terrence W.
Boyles denied plantiff
Michael Craig Clark’s
motion for summary judge
ment on Nov. 12. Clark filed
a pro se action on July 23,
alleging violations of his
constitutional rights.
According to the judge’s
ruling, since May 2001,
Clark has made at least
seven 911 emergency calls
reporting fires near his
home. Clark contended that
the calls were necessary to
report illegal fires, but fire
department reports sub
mitted by the county to the
court show that in each
case, the call was found not
to be necessary TUley visit
ed Clark at his residence on
March 2, 2002 and warned
him that continued misuse
of the 911 emergency sys
tem would residt in Clark’s
arrest.
Clark filed suit, claiming
that he was deprived of his
right to speech under the
First Amendment and his
right to due process under
the Fourteenth
Amendment.
Boyles ruled that Clark
had no claim under either
amendment. He noted that
while protecting free
speech is important, ...”it is
clear that in an orderly
society there must be some
limits to free speech.” He
said the calls were actually
alarms which were “the
equivalent of falsely shout
ing fire in a crowded the
ater.”
The judge further stated
that prohibiting the inten
tional misuse of the 911
system is a measure to pro
vide efficient operation of
the system and is not aimed
at Clark’s “communicative
impact.”
Boyles agreed with the
assertion in the county’s
motion that unnecessary or
frivilous 911 calls may
divert scarce resourses
from other emergencies.
County Attorney John
Matthews told county com
missioners during a Nov. 4
meeting that attorneys rep
resenting the county in the
lawsuit expected it to be
dismissed at any time.
The issue came to the
fore in late October when
Tilley was running for
sheriff. Flyers were dissem
inated throughout the
county stating that a $10
million lawsuit had been
fUed against TUley and the
county, and that the plain
tiff was likely to win. The
Uyer caUed TiUey a “loose
cannon” and suggested that
his actions leading to the
fUing of the lawsuit would
cost county residents in tax
doUars.
In an interview with The
Daily Advance shortly
before the election, Clark
would neither confirm nor
deny that he was responsi
ble for distributing the fly
ers. However, on Nov. 1 an
off-duty Perquimans
County deputy spotted
Clark’s vehicle on New
Hope Road and Wildlife
Ramp Road in the New
Hope community. There
were two people in the car
and someone inside the car
was attaching yellow
papers to maUboxes. TUley
said the deputy caUed him
at his home, and he went to
New Hope Road, where he
saw the flyers on the maU
boxes. TUley said he did not
see the vehicle.
Holiday
safety
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Christmas is coming,
and with it, a reminder
from local law enforcement
to protect your property
Both Hertford Police
Chief Dale Vanscoy and
Sheriff Eric Tilley said
there are precautions that
can be taken to insure hap
pier holidays.
Keep the doors and win
dows to your home locked,
even when entertaining.
Last year, Vanscoy said, a
Hertford woman’s purse
was taken from her kitchen
table while family and
friends were in another
part of the house.
When shopping, place
packages in the trunk
where they cannot be seen
and always lock your car. If
you leave a purse, cell
phone or anything else in
the car, lock that in the
trunk, also. Always lock
your vehicle, even if you
plan to just go into a store
for a few minutes.
Be particularly mindful
of the location of check
books and credit cards.
Vanscoy said there are
people who walked down
streets and check cars,
looking for purses left out
in the open. They may
break a window to retrieve
the purse.
ChUdren should never be
left unattended in a vehicle,
while you are shopping in
another area of a store or
in a shopping cart.
Be especiaUy cautious if
you go out at night. It is best
to go with a group and park
in weU-Iit areas. Senior citi
zens are especiaUy vulnera
ble to purse-snatchers,
Vanscoy said.
If an incident should
occur, Vanscoy said victims
should call law enforce
ment immediately Waiting
to caU could make the dif
ference between catching a
perpetraitor and recover
ing stolen property or los
ing wallets, checkbooks,
personal information,
phones and Christmas pre
sents permanently.
Vanscoy and TUley both
remind those who choose to
drink alcohol during cele
brations to use a designated
driver or arrange trans
portation home.
And holiday hosts
should watch how much
guests drink, and should
make absolutely sure all
those who are drinking
alcohol are 21 or over.
The colors of fall
Fall came late to Perquimans this year, but brought with it some spectacular color.
Hertford attorney and photographer John Matthews caught this tree on Front
Street wearing its orange finery.
Heritage
House
opens on
Hwy. 17
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Mary White has worked
for years to bring people
into downtown Hertford.
Now, she and a group of her
business associates have
found a new way to do just
that.
White’s group has
opened The Heritage
House, a gift shop at
Hertford’s southern gate
way from which they seU a
variety of gift and home
decor items, and from
which they also encourage
those who stop by to visit
Hertford to browse, shop,
take in historic sites and
enjoy a meal or a snack.
So far. White said almost
1,200 people have stopped
in, and several have told
other merchants that they
Mary White, Ricki Pala and Diane Ronan gather
Thursday at the Heritage House to make last-minute
preparations for the shop's Friday ribbon cutting
sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.
learned about them
through Heritage House.
Businesses represented
in what White caUs an elec-
tic display of what’s avail
able in the county include
The Wishing WeU, The Tin
Rabbit, Pala Creations,
Layden’s Supermarket,
Hertfordshire Antiques,
Market Street Antiques,
Smith’s Jewelry, Hertford
Hertford native
reported missing
SUSAN R. HARRIS
The family of a Hertford
native has one
Thanksgiving wish: They
want information on his
whereabouts.
Kevin Fields, 44, was last
seen in Perquimans County
on July 6. His truck was
found on Sept. 28 aban
doned in a wooded area in
Gates County. There has
been no word from Fields.
A missing persons
report was filed with the
Perquimans County
Sheriff’s Department earli
er, and now Fields’ family
has contacted the CUE
Center for Missing Persons
for help finding him.
Perquimans Sheriff Eric
TUley said Fields’ last
known permanent resi
dence was in Pasquotank
County It appears that he
was living in his truck in
an area of Pasquotank
County known as The Gold
Mine just before his disap
pearance.
Fields has brown hair,
brown eyes, weighs 150
pounds and is 6’2” taU.
Anyone with informa
tion is asked to contact the
Perquimans County
Sheriff’s Department at
426-5615, the Gates County
Sheriff’s Department at
357-0210 or the CUE Center
for Missing Persons at 1-
877-838-7852.
Holiday events
begin next week
Caroling,
tours, parade,
open houses
scheduled
Cafe, Irrestistable Gifts and
Chef Joseph from
Albemarle Plantation. In
addition, 10 local crafters
offer items in the shop.
Locals may want to stop
by the attractively
arranged shop to find a
variety of holidays gifts in
all price ranges to suit a
wide range of tastes. It’s
worth the short ride.
Caroling on the Green is
sponsored by the Historic
Hertford Business
Association with assis
tance from the Hertford
Main Street Program, spon
sors this event.
The Antique Dealers
Association of Perquimans
County wiU feature an open
house and extend their
hours during the Caroling
on the Green. Contact Jane
McMahon for more infor
mation at 426-5945.
Christmas is coming,
and a host of events wUl
celebrate the season in
Perquimans County.
On Dec. 5, Caroling on
the Green, the Christmas
Ramble Tour of Homes and
the Antique Ramble are
scheduled.
Activities will begin that
day on the courthouse lawn
at 5 p.m., with the
Perquimans County
Middle School Band per
forming holiday music.
Groups set to perform
after the band include
Hertford Baptist Choir, Up
River Friends Children's
Choir, Inspirational Voices,
Albemarle Sounds Barber
Shop Chorus, New Bethel
Baptist Gospel Choir, and
Whiteville Grove Baptist.
At 7:30, everybody wUl join
in for candle lighting and
group singing of Christmas
carols. RBC Centura Bank
wUl provide candles.
Those who attend may
enjoy hot chocolate served
by the Hertford Baptist
Youth Group and home
made cookies from the
Historic Hertford Business
Association and the
Hertford Main Street
Program.
Various merchants wiU
extend their hours to
accommodate holiday shop
pers.
Continued on page 12
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 47
Low: 27
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High:51
Low: 36
Mostly Sunny
Saturday
High: 56
Low: 32
Partly Cloudy