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PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST VJST)
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
Farm-City banquet set
Rage 2
January 7, 2004
Vol. 72, No. 1 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Perquimans
Weekly
Former cop suspect in double shooting
Man to be
charged with
shooting wife
and her friend
SUSAN R. HARRIS
A man and a woman
were treated for gunshot
wounds at Chowan
Hospital Sunday night after
allegedly being shot by the
woman’s estranged hus
band.
According to
Perquimans County Sheriff
Eric Tilley, Cynthia Green,
44, of Ahoskie and Jack
Waggoner, 46, of 122 W.
County
to mull
water
tower
sites
SUSAN R. HARRIS
At the request of a coun
ty resident, county commis
sioners agreed to consider
an alternate site for a
planned water tower in
New Hope.
Adjacent property owner
Mike McCleary said siting
the tower next to his home
has him worried about his
property value, the value of
a second building lot next
door. In addition, he said he
doesn’t want to live under
the tower.
He added that there are
nearby properties falling
into disrepair, and that a
water tower too near them
may make them even more
difficult to sell to buyers
willing to repair them.
McCleary brought pic
tures of the area to show
the detrimental affect he
said the tower would have
on the area.
County Manager Paul
Gregory said the main fac
tors involved in siting the
tower were power lines and
finding a property owner
willing to sell. He said engi
neer BiU Diehl thought the
present site was the best
option available at the time
the decision was made.
After hearing
McCleary’s concerns and
possible alternatives, com
missioners asked Gregory
to look again for a tower
site.
The commissioners also
sent a request from local
builder Marshall Knight to
the planning board for con
sideration.
Knight said article 7 of
the county building ordi
nance states that a house
cannot exceed 35 feet in
height. There is no reason
he can find for the rule, he
said. With some people
going for a historic look
and/or homes with steep
pitches, 35 feet is not high
enough, Knight said.
The commissioners
agreed to have the planning
board look into Knight’s
request.
Island Trail in the Holiday
Island subdivision, were
treated and released after
both sustained gunshot
wounds in the back.
James Green, 61, of 105
Croatan Drive in the
Albemarle Plantation sub
division and the estranged
husband of Cynthia Green,
was identified by both vic
tims as the person who shot
them, Tilley said.
The SBI has issued war
rants for Mr. Green, a for
mer police officer in
Suffolk County, NY, charg
ing him with first degree
attempted murder.
Mr. Green had not been
arrested as of late Monday
afternoon, however,
because he was taken to
Albemarle Hospital late
Sunday night after com
plaining of chest pains.
Tilley said the warrants
are on file, but will not be
served until Mr. Green is
released from the hospital.
Tilley said according to
the statements of
Waggoner and Mrs. Green,
the couple drove into the
driveway at Waggoner’s
home. Waggoner got out of
the Ford Explorer in which
they were riding and went
to unlock the door to the
house. As he was trying to
unlock the door, he was
shot in the back.
Waggoner told officers
he turned and saw Mr.
Green. The two “had
words,” Tilley said, and
Waggoner told officers that
Mr. Green chased him
around the yard before
turning a gun on Mrs.
Green.
Mrs. Green was sitting
in the passenger seat of the
Explorer and said Mr.
Green fired two shots at her
through the closed driver’s
side window. She was hit
twice in the back.
Investigator Mario Reel,
the first sheriff’s deputy on
the scene, said a neighbor
called 911 reporting shots
fired at 122 W. Island Trail
at 8:40 p.m. Calls received
just after the first reported
two people had been shot.
Reel said she responded to
the scene within five min
utes of being dispatched.
When she arrived. Reel
said Mr. Waggoner was up
walking around, but Mrs.
Green was not.
Tilley said evidence indi
cates that Waggoner was
shot with a plastic cap that
contained what appeared to
be bird shot, while Mrs.
Green was hit with slugs.
With Mr. Green identi
fied as the shooter, law offi
cers went to his house,
where a neighbor helped
them gain access to the
premises. TiUey said when
told that his wife had been
shot, Mr. Green complained
of having chest pains and
was taken to Albemarle
Hospital, where he was
admitted.
Tilley said a doctor came
Practice makes perfect
Firefighters from several county volunteer depart
ments, assisted rescue personnel and sheriff's
officers, honed their skills with a controlled burn
on Center Hill Highway Sunday afternoon. Trucks
and equipment from Hertford, Winfall, Belvidere
and Bethel were spied on the scene, along with
two ambulances. Firefighters participate in train
ing throughout the year in order to keep certifi
cation and practice skills necessary to fight fires
and save lives.
Commissioners asked to rethink tipping fee
SUSAN R. HARRIS
County resident Ed
Nixon asked commission
ers Monday night to recon
sider the board’s decision
to charge a tipping fee for
hurricane debris taken to
the landfill effective Jan. 1.
Nixon said although he
has been able to repair his
house and help complete
necessary repairs on the
homes of others in his fam
ily, there are many people
in his community who have
been unable to complete
their clean-up and get con
tractors to complete needed
repairs.
Nixon asked that the
county give residents
another 60 days before rein
stating the $55 per ton tip
ping fee at the landfiU.
With this past weekend’s
dry, warm weather, Nixon
"said he saw many people
out cleaning and repairing.
With the tipping fee at the
landfill, Nixon said much of
the debris went to conve
nience centers, filling them
up and creating piles of
debris. He said people will
take the refuse to the conve
nience centers if there is a
charge at the landfill.
People may also start burn
ing the debris, Nixon
added.
Commissioners
Chairman Mack Nixon told
Ed Nixon that the move to
reinstate the tipping fee
was a matter of economics.
Perquimans, Chowan
and Gates opted to waive
tipping fees during the first
months of clean-up, while
Pasquotank cut its fee by 50
percent. As a result, several
people from Pasquotank
brought their refuse to the
tri-county landfill.
Taxpayers in Perquimans,
Chowan and Gates were
then hit with the bill for
hauling the refuse to Bertie
County.
Trash, including build
ing materials, can no
longer stay at the landfill
by law. Perquimans,
Chowan and Gates . con
tracts with Waste
Industries to haul every
thing from the landfiU to a
site in Bertie County. The
county is charged $55 per
ton for the service.
Mack Nixon said all
three counties met and
decided to reinstate the tip
ping fee, and for all, it was a
matter of budget.
The chairman said the
county’s share of the land
fill budget is $800,000.
And the county has the
least money in its fund bal
ance since 1994, Mack
Nixon said.
According to the audit
just received by the county,
there is less than $800,000
in the fund balance, which
is about 8 percent of the
county’s operating budget.
Nixon said a big part of the
county’s budget concern is
the fact that the state has
withheld disbursements
from counties.
“We dont’ want to raise
taxes this year,” Mack
Nixon said.
Mack Nixon added that
the three counties in the
landfill partnership met at
length to discuss the issue,
but could come up with no
alternative except to rein
state the tipping fee.
“Fifty-five dollars a ton
is a lot of money,” Ed Nixon
said as the discussion
ended.
to the house during Mr.
Green’s interview.
The SBI arrived on the
scene a little after 1 a.m.
Monday, and later obtained
the warrants against Mr.
Green.
Tilley said officers were
told of another incident
involving the Greens and
Waggoner that had taken
place within a week of the
shooting. Tilley said Mr.
Green apparently tracked
Waggoner and Mrs. Green
to a hotel in Greenville, and
actually went to the hotel
while Waggoner and Mrs.
Green were there.
Reel said officers were
told the Greens have been
separated about two or
three months.
County
approves
septic
system
for center
Susan R. Harris
After years, of planning
and construction, county
commissioners made a
move Monday night that
could see the new recre
ation/community center on
Harvey Point Road opened
to the public.
Following a recommen
dation by the health depart
ment, the commissioners
approved getting bids on a
1,000 gallon septic system at
the site that will allow them
to fully utilize the center.
Commissioners autho
rized County Manager Paul
Gregory to get bids, and
gave Chairman Mack
Nixon the okay to approve a
bid up to $5,000.
Gregory, Nixon and com
missioner Charles Ward aU
said they believe that the
center will be available for
use within 60-90 days.
Commissioner Tammy
MiUer said opening the cen
ter is of vital importance,
especially to the county’s
youth, and opening it
should be a priority.
She said the commission
ers need a timetable and
schedule of events that wiU
be available at the center.
The center has been built
with grant and county
funds.
Holiday
Weather
THURSDAY
High: 46
Low: 24
Mosry Cloudy
Friday
High: 35
Low: 26
Rain
Saturday
High: 46
Low: 27
Rain