Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Feb. 23, 2005, edition 1 / Page 1
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!l^ John Edwards' new platform Rage 4 Beck at Hertford UMC F^geS Celebrations F^ge2 I'" • February 23, 2005 Vol. 73. No. 8 Hertford, North Carolina 27944 jPll/C5 PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY 110 W ACADEMY ST HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306 Perquimans Weekly Hawkins earns regional honor ERIN RICKERT Perquimans County Middle School Principal Melvin Hawkins was named the 2005 Northeast Region Wachovia Principal of the Year Thursday, after competing against 13 other principals for the honor. Hawkins, who goes down Local is victim of scam Melvin Hawkins in history as the first prin cipal in the school system to receive the award in the 22 years educators have vied for the honor, was unassuming of the announcement. “I was shocked,” Continued on page 3 ERIN RICKERT A pair of con artists claiming ties to the federal government recently scammed a New Hope resi dent out of more than $900, officials said Monday. Perquimans -County Sheriff Eric TiUey said two white males were reported to have entered the resi dent’s home the afternoon of Feb. 8. While there, the two promised the resident receipt of a $40 check from the federal government monthly for life as long as they made an initial pay ment of $60 and allowed the men to take some measure ments of the inside of the home. Believing the men’s story to be true, the resi dent proceeded to collect a $20 bUl from a nearby table and another $20 from their wallet - later venturing to another room to retrieve the remaining $20 as the male suspect taking mea surements looked on. After the resident returned to the living room with the full $60, the second suspect kept the victim dis tracted as the male taking measurements cleaned $900 from the same room the victim retrieved the $20 from earlier. “They were just trying to do whatever they could to find out where the money was,” Tilley said. Phone lines running to the victim’s home were also cut, allowing the suspects ample time to get away. Tilley said though the victim did not see the men’s, vehicle, they were able to provide a description of each suspect. The male taking mea surements is thought to be somewhere between 50 and 60 years old, 5’10 tall, 170- 190 pounds with glasses, gray hair, beard and mus tache. The second suspect is described to be between the ages of 25 and 30, 6 feet tall and approximately 160-180 pounds. Tilley said anyone who has seen individuals matching either of these descriptions should call 911. While Tilley said this is the first report of its kind in the area he warned resi dents to be cautious of who they let into their homes. Safe schools get safer ERIN RICKERT Though three of the four public schools in Perquimans County were honored with the state’s Super Safe Schools award last week, officials continue to add technology to improve the school’s securi ty . LobbyGuard, a close to $6,000 program newly installed in the offices of all four schools, now allows guests to print out visitor badges through the use of a sign-in kiosk. “Safety has always been a priority of mine and it [LobbyGuard] is just anoth er tool to maintain a safe campus,” said Dr. Kenneth Wells, Perquimans County Schools superintendent. Wells said the new kiosks not only allow each of the school’s check-in pro cedures to be uniform but it formalizes the process as well. Prior to last week, each of the four schools in the system ran different check in policies requiring visi- torsto sign in and do every thing from wear a plastic badge or sticker to nothing at all. Now, the LobbyGuard system walks guests at all schools through step-by- step instructions on a touch-screen computer as they do everything from get their picture taken to scan their driver’s license. Once visitors finish, the date, time and reason for Continued on page 6 PHOTOS BY ERIN RICKERT Officers volunteer at park Erin Rickert Nearly 20 members of the River City Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police braved high winds and 30 degree weather to assemble Missing Mill Park’s long awaited play ground equipment Friday. Bundled in winter gear and equipped with stacks of paper diagrams-, these vol unteers tackled a maze of playground pieces, which lay strewn like a life-size jigsaw puzzle across the lawn. With rubber mallets and socket wrenches clasped tightly in numb fingers, their teamwork assembled each ladder, shelter and floor, filling grounds that Members of the River City Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police braved wind and cold to assemble playground equipment at Missing Mill Park Friday (above). Aly Storms, the granddaughter of Hertford Police Chief Dale Vanscoy and Elizabeth City officer Robin Vanscoy, takes a break on the new equipment (below) as her grandfather tightens a bolt. had been absent of play ground equipment since 2002. “Our biggest thing was showing that we are involved with the commu nity we serve,” said John Continued on page 6 Replaced tower improves radio communicatioiis ERIN RICKERT Construction of the county’s 500-foot communi cation tower, destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in 2003, was finally completed last week. Perquimans County Manager Bobby Darden said insurance covered the initial $205,725 it cost to construct the tower and an additional $10,000 was added to position emer gency response antennas up an extra 100-feet and clear trees at the tower’s WinfaU location. This repositioning placed the Sheriff Department and fire departments at 500 feet, while rescue was placed at 480 feet in an effort to help improve reception. “There is much better clarity now,” said Homeria Jennette, communications director. “It is even better than before the tower went down.” Jennette said in J;he nearly two years emer gency response was forced to wait before the tower could be replaced, recep tion was so poor many times dispatchers had to repeat themselves several times before they were heard — providing slower response to emergency sit uations. This was because the county was leasing space on a private tower and another smaller tower near Perquimans County High School — both of which were less than half the size of the former 500-foot tower. Continued on page 3 PQ grad returns from fraq ERIN RICKERT Michael Evans left Hertford just nine days after graduating from Perquimans County High School in 2001, never think ing he would one day find himself in the midst of war. Joined by his tearful mother Debra as he board ed the bus to Army boot camp, 18 year-old Michael left that June day for direc tion in his life. Months after completion of boot camp, this now skilled combat engineer, would travel with the Army overseas to Schweinfurt, Germany where he would meet and marry Mrarina, the love of his life, in November 2003. And after two short deployments in Kosovo and Bosnia — this newlywed couple would be faced with a reality no one expected just three months before Michael was scheduled to return home. Continued on page 6 Family offers reward for information on missing local man SUSAN HARRIS Kevin Fields wiU turn 47 Saturday, and the greatest gift his mother could get is some information on her son, missing since May 2002. For almost three years, Marjorie Fields has been on a relentless search for information leading to what she calls a “resolu tion” to the disappearance of her younger son. To try to encourage those who may know what happened to Kevin to come forward, she is offering a $5,000 reward for informa tion leading to the arrest and conviction of a person or persons responsible for his disappearance. “We feel like we Rave come a little further in the investigation (of Fields’ disappearance) and we’re hoping this will cause someone to come toward to give us additional informa tion,” said, Perquimans Sheriff Eric TiUey. Fields has not been seen since July 6, 2002. Mrs. Fields said her son called her often on the ceU phone she gave him one Christmas. He caUed her on Friday, July 5, 2002 at her job, and told her he’d caU her back that night. He never caUed, and the mes sages on the phone stopped at 12:30 on Saturday, July 6. Mrs. Fields began to worry as the days went by and there was stiU no word from her son. He had begun keeping in contact with his family, and yet no one had heard from hini. Mrs. Fields, a former Hertford resident who now lives in Wilmington near her older son. Brad, and Kevin’s father, George, who has since passed away, con tacted authorities. Continued on page 6 Kevin Fields has been missing since July 2002. Weekend Weather Thursday High: 40 Low: 32 Winter Mix to Rain Friday High: 45 Low: 32 Few Showers Saturday High: 48 Low: 30 Partly Cloudy
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Feb. 23, 2005, edition 1
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