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P6/C5***********5-DIGIT 27944
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
1/7/3003 ,
▼
\NS
January 8, 2003
Vol. 71. No. 2 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Weekly
RECEIVED
JAN 0 8 2003
JUBILEE
DAY
Celebration
gives thanks
for freedoms;
Emancipation
of slaves
remembered
in prayer
S. BRADY CALHOUN
The Daily Advance
Members of Melton
Grove Baptist Church and
the Perquimans County
branch of the National
Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People came together for
the annual Jubilee Day
Celebration on Jan. 1.
The celebration marks
the anniversary of
Abraham Lincoln's
Emancipation
Proclamation, and speakers
at the ceremony made reli
gion, freedom and gratitude
the central focus.
“It's a time to reflect back
on where we've come from
and how much we've
accomplished and how
good God is,” Mary Davis of
Elizabeth City said. “He's
brought us a mighty long
way”
NAACP President and
Winfall Mayor Fred Yates
likened JubUee day to the
Jewish holiday of Passover,
wherein people who were
once in bondage give
thanks to God for being
free.
“It's a celebration we do
every year where we give
praise and honor to our
lord and saviour Jesus
Christ,” Yates said.
Yates added that
although things are going
, well in Perquimans County,
there are still myriad
issues such as housing,
education and employment
that the NAACP is watch
ing carefully.
“Our education system
in Perquimans County is
second to none but there is
still room for improve
ment,” Yates said. “I see our
county moving ahead —
moving forward.”
The largest issue facing
Perquimans County isn't a
civil rights problem, Yates
said.
“Locally, we seem to be
doing all right,” he said.
“The only threat I see isn't a
civil rights issue, it's the
(U.S. Navy's proposed outly
ing landing field) coming
here. If that happened we
would get aU the noise and
no jobs, no benefits.”
On a more global front,
the Rev. Alvin Boone of
Meltdn Grove Baptist
Church drew attention to
the threat of war in Iraq.
“Even though we are on
the brink of war,” Boone
said in his invocation.
“Lord, we know you can
disarm missiles and change
a President's heart.”
JubUee Day is an annual
event organized by the local
chapter of the NAACP and
hosted by churches in the
community.
25th anniversary:
Winslow Oil Company fire
SUSAN R. HARRIS
The rising sun
bounced light crystals
off the surface of the
Perquimans River on
Tuesday, Jan. 10, 1978.
People across the
county got up and
began their daily rou
tines on this bitterly
cold, sunny morning.
But before school
bells rang signalling
the first classes of the
day, the fire alarm
rang, caUing firefight
ers to what some tag
the worst fire ever in
Hertford.
An explosion of an
oU tank at Winslow OU
Company on Covent
Garden Street called
the 22-member
Hertford Volunteer
Fire Department into
an inferno at around
7:50 a.m.
WhUe the cause of
the fire has never been
determined, it is known
that two transports were
loading fuel at the facUity
when the fire started. The
drivers had left the trucks
loading and were inside
the oU c ompany offices at
the time of the first explo
sion.
Following the first
alarm, Hertford Fire
Chief Charles Skinner
immediately put in a gen
eral alarm for assistance.
Firefighters battled the
blaze for an hour before
the first report came in
that it was contained. By
10 a.m., it was reported
that about 125 firefighters
were on the scene.
The most immediate
danger was the threat of
fire reaching both the
Reed and Hollowell oil
company tanks. Reed OU
was located on the adja
cent lot to Winslow OU,
with Hollowell Oil just
yards away on
Perquimans Street.
Firefighters kept water on
oU company tanks to keep
them cool and try to pre
vent further involvement.
They also kept a steady
stream of water on the
home of Erie Haste,
John Matthews captured this image of the blazing Winslow Oil Company fire on
Jan. 10, 1978. Pre-planning, area-wide cooperation and weather conditions were
key ingredients in fighting the inferno with no loss of life, and containing it to the
immediate area.
which sat about 10 feet
from Winslow Oil
Company. Haste lost a
garage with playroom on
the second floor and two
cars, but aside from minor
damages, his home was
saved.
Farmer’s Feed & Seed
wasn’t so lucky The busi
ness was a total loss
except for its grain tanks.
After the fire, Winslow
Oil rebuilt in Winfall,
whUe HoUoweU OU moved
to WinfaU the next year.
Farmer’s Feed & Seed
rebuilt and Reed stayed
put.
Among the first depart
ments to respond to the
plea for help were units
from Bethel, Belvidere-
Chappell Hill,
Intercounty, Edenton,
Elizabeth City, South
MUls and Winfall. Also on
the scene were aU avaU-
able personnel from the
Perquimans and Chowan
Sheriff’s departments,
Hertford and Edenton
police departments, N.C.
Highway Patrol,
Perquimans County
Rescue Squad and U.S.
Coast Guard.
Immediately following
the first explosion, several
homes near the fire were
evacuated and aU traffic
was diverted away from
downtown Hertford.
Five explosions were
heard throughout the day,
audible from as far away
as 5 mUes, as the smoke
bUlowed into clouds thick
enough to be seen from
Elizabeth City and
Edenton. The five explo
sions occurred between
7:50 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. The
third and fourth explo
sions were reported as the
tops of oU tanks. At 11
a.m., it was reported that
between four and six oU
tanks were involved.
The fifth explosion
occurred when an oU tank
ignited, blowing its top
off The tank lid was pro
pelled over the home of
Erie Haste and onto
Grubb Street, where it hit
the pickup truck of
Assistant Fire Chief Pete
Riddick before hitting and
injuring Chief Fred White
of the Edenton Fire
Department. White suf
fered a separated pelvis
and fractured ribs.
Several other firefighters
received minor injuries.
The Perquimans County
Rescue Squad, which
operated as an aU-volun-
teer unit on call 24 hours
per day before the intro
duction of the Emergency
Medical Services
Department, and medics
with the U.S. Coast Guard
were on the scene to assist
with injuries.
Winslow Oil Company
lost nine of its 11 oil
tanks, offices, a ware
house, records, three
transports, three service
trucks and cash.
While firefighters bat
tled fire and sub-zero tem
peratures, a battalion of
volunteers sprang into
action. A rest station was
set up at Hertford United
Methodist Church. Hot
homemade soup, sand
wiches and drinks await
ed firefighters on their
breaks. Volunteers wiped
soot off of cold faces.
Closer to the scene, an RV
manned by a mother-
daughter team provided
respite from the bitter
cold and hot coffee.
Hertford Fire
Department will com
memorate the day
Saturday.
(Part one of a series.
Next week: interviews with
firefighters.)
County seeks social services director
SUSAN R. HARRIS
County officials are in
the process of finding a
new director for the
Department of Social
Services.
Commissioners were
told at their January meet
ing on Monday that the
Social Services Board is
reviewing applications for
the position, left vacant by
the retirement of long-time
director Chrystal Towe.
Towe was a social ser
vices employee before she
was tapped to head the
department in July 1987.
She replaced Paul Gregory,
who was chosen by the
commissioners to become
county manager. She
retired last month.
The Social Services
Board wUl approach Towe
about working part-time
until a replacement can be
found.
In other personnel items,
the commissioners
approved the appointments
of Joshua Turpin as a
deputy and Gina Wharton
as the sheriff’s department
secretary. Leave was
approved for social services
employee Renae Long.
Beverly Knight was
appointed secretary/pro
gram assistance for the
Governor’s One-On-One
Program.
Capital projects were
also discussed by the com
missioners.
Gregory reported that
work at the
recreation/community
center under construction
in the Perquimans
Commerce Centre is pro
gressing smoothly. He
shared photographs of the
building with commission
ers.
There is a problem find
ing funds to extend water
and sewer lines to the site,
Gregory said.
After months of discus
sion and making changes to
the plan, the commission
ers agreed Monday to order
a 28 X 70 manufactured unit
at a cost of $81,613 to
expand the former health
department buildling on
Charles Street to accommo
date social services.
Gregory said the unit is
identic^ in size to a unit
already on the site which
was used to create more
space for the health depart-
Stolen
items
recovered
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Two truck loads of stolen
items were recovered when
the Perquimans County
Sheriff’s Department exe
cuted a search warrant in
Chowan County last month.
Perquimans Deputy
Nathan Zachary said the
department got a break in
cases, which date back as
far as last spring, giving
officers enough ammuni
tion to get a search war
rant. The Dec. 15 search of
a residence on Chambers
Ferry Road in Edenton
resulted in the recovery of
numerous stolen items and
three arrests;
Charged in the cases
were Henry Luther Bond
Jr., 22, of Chambers Ferry
Road, Edenton; Travis
Hollowell, 18, of South
Street, Elizabeth City; and
Barry Keith Layden Jr., 19,
of Drinking Hole Road,
Belvidere.
Bond and HoUoweU were
arrested at the time the
search warrant was execut
ed, and were charged with
felonious breaking and
entering and larceny. Their
bonds were set at $50,000
secured.
Layden was arrested the
next day and was charged
with breaking and entering
a motor vehicle and larceny.
He was released under a
$6,500 secured bond.
Items recovered included
guns, CD players, car stere
os, CB radios, knives,
swords and even a dog.
Zachary said other
arrests are pending and the
investigation is ongoing.
Law officers in
Perquimans, Pasquotank,
Bertie, Gates and Hertford
counties, as well as in the
Hampton Roads, Virginia
area, had been investigat
ing break-ins of buddings
and vehicles for several
months. Zachary said
Perquimans officers
received information from
the Pasquotank Sheriff’s
Department in the case,
and Perquimans Deputy
Shelby White obtained
information on Dec. 14
relating to the cases. The
Dec. 14 information gave
officers enough to get the
search warrant.
Officers from
Pasquotank and Chowan
assisted with the execution
of the search warrant.
ment when it was there.
In addition to the budd
ing, the manufacturer wiU
seU to the county at cost
siding to be attached to the
existing unit so that both
additions will match.
Gregory and commissioner
Mack Nixon said there are
problems on some sections
of the old budding requir
ing replacement of sheath
ing and siding.
Social workers with DSS
are already using the facdi-
ty; however, there is not
enough room for the entire
department to move to the
Charles Street budding.
Once the Chades Street
site is complete and social
services is moved, the pre
sent social services budd
ing on Dobbs Street wdl be
renovated.
Weekend
Weather
THURSDAY
High: 63
Low: 36
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High:55
Low: 28
Mostly Sunny
Saturday
High: 47
Low: 28
Mostly Sunny