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October 12, 2005
Vol. 73, No. 41 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
P12/C6
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD, NC 27944-1306
_
Perquimans
Weekly
SBI probes Mayor Yates travel payments
ROBERT KELLY-GOSS
The Daily Aadvance
The State Bureau of
Investigation is investigat
ing allegations that Winfall
Mayor Fred Yates fraudu
lently received double pay
ments for expenses he
incurred while traveling on
government business.
The allegations were
first reported by the state
Auditor's Office, which
investigated Yates' reim
bursement by two state
agencies after he had
already been paid for those
expenses by the Town of
Winfall.
State Auditor Leslie W.
Merritt Jr.'s review of
Yates' travel expenses was
initiated after Winfall resi
dent and former planning
board member Fred Tanner
reported the allegations of
“double-dipping” earlier
this year.
According to Merritt's
report dated March 2005,
Yates — who has been
Winfall mayor since the
early 1990s — was reim
bursed $572 in state funds
between July 2001 and
March 2002 for travel he
made to government meet
ings in Raleigh. Yates
received those funds from
the Rural Economic
Development Center and
the Governor's Crime
Commission.
According to Merritt's
report, Yates also received
advance payment for those
same expenses from the
Town of Winfall.
Duplicate reimburse
ment of state funds is ille
gal and can lead to a num
ber of criminal charges,
including obtaining prop
erty by false pretenses and
embezzlement of state
property, according to
Merritt's report.
The auditor's office also
found that between
December 2001 and March
2002 Yates “received $166.18
for lodging expenses ... for
which no supporting
receipts were on fUe with
the Town of Winfall.”
A spokesman for the
state Attorney General's
Office said officials at the
auditor's office have turned
the matter over to the SBI.
“The matter has been
referred to the SBI by the
auditor's office and the SBI
is reviewing the matter per
the auditor's request,” said
William McKinney, a
spokesman for state
Attorney General Roy
Cooper.
When asked what the
SBI was specifically inves
Continued on page 8
Board
Attheswimmin hole
housing
MARGARET FISHER
Winfall Town Council
members approved a rezon
ing of 13.69 acres from com
mercial to residential to
allow for a gated communi
ty development.
The parcel, belonging to
John Harris & Associates,
is located behind Winfall
Landing Park, which was
donated to the town by
Harris.
Winfall Landing is an
18.5-acre community that is
planned to include 41 sin
gle-family and 42 town-
house residences that con
vey a small town feel, said
Winfall’s Mayor Fred Yates.
Continued on page 8
Winfall mulls
safety issues
SUBMITTED PHOTO COURTESY JOHN MATTHEWS
Weekend rains left a shallow pond in the front lawn of Russell and Mary Banks on
U.S. Highway 17 Saturday. Ashley Hall, 7, (left) and Aelxis Hall, 9, enjoyed an after
noon frollick in the water. By Sunday, the Banks no longer owned waterfront prop
erty.
MARGARET FISHER
Winfall Police
Department has been
awarded a $10,000
Governor’s Highway Safety
grant to upgrade their traf
fic control.
“We’re waiting for the
check,” Chief David
Shaffer told Winfall Town
Council members Monday
night, “but we’ve received
official notification that we
were awarded the grant.”
Shaffer, currently the
only police officer in
Winfall, said the money
will be used to upgrade his
radar system and purchase
a display board that shows
drivers how fast they are
going and portable breath
testing devices.
If funds are still avail
able, Shaffer said he hopes
to purchase a Camcorder
for his patrol car and child
safety seats. He also hopes
to offer workshops to teach
parents how to use the car
seats and, additionally, give
some away to needy par
ents.
Council members told
Shaffer that he needs to get
three bids as soon as possi
ble so the town can pur
chase another vehicle for a
second police officer.
“They’re contemplating
getting an Explorer
because of the potential for
flooding in bad weather,”
Shaffer said. But a car
would be cheaper to
upgrade, he said.
Yates said that the*Town
is negotiating with Rural
Development for a grant
which they will have to
reapply for once they have
bids in hand. The town may
have to borrow money, as
well, he said.
The town has begun
advertising the position of
another full time officer.
Currently, the Perquimans
Continued on page 8
Slow
economy
hampers
business
MARGARET FISHER
Since April 2000, the
Perquimans Business
Center has been nurturing
new businesses with the
goal of them hopefully fly
ing out of the nest and sur
viving on their own.
With a $263,000 grant
from the North Carolina
Technological
Development Authority
and land at the Commerce
Center provided with
restrictions by Perquimans
County, the business incu
bator was built.
Local support hurricane relief
^2^
PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER
Carol Hammer Ices gingerbread cookies to be shipped
to customers throughout the country. Her business,
The Lovin' Oven, changed its focus from a retail bake
shop in Edenton to wholesale baking and shipping
factory at the Perquimans Business Center.
Perquimans 2020 Vision
Coalition, under the direc
tion of former county com
missioner Leo Higgins,
became the non-profit
agency responsible for
managing the business cen
ter.
“The aim was to create
jobs and give people an
opportunity to start a busi-
Continued on page 2
MARGARET FISHER
Area residents are not
forgetting those people
who’ve lost everything in
the hurricane-stricken Gulf
Coast.
A high school student
was so compelled to help
victims of Hurricane
Katrina after hearing about
the “$1.4 Million from 1.4
Million Students” fund
raising campaign that she
decided to take action.
Heather Perry, a student
at Perquimans County
High School, spearheaded a
relief campaign called
Desperate for Dollars that
drew in more than $4,300
for students and educators
in the gulf region.
“As I listened to the dev
astating news regarding
the loss of life, homes, pos
sessions and businesses, I
just kept saying to
PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER
T.G. Weeks of Gallaway Auto Auction prepares to drive
donated vans and a truck filled with food to Gulfport,
Miss. The items were donated by used car dealerships
in Hampton, Va. and Moyock to Katrina victims.
my self... somebody has to
do something,” Perry said
in a press release. “Then, I
realized that somebody
could be me.”
Continued on page 2
Merchants meet to discuss promoting downtown
Merchants meet to dis
cuss promoting downtown
MARGARET FISHER
In an effort to promote
the downtown retail busi
nesses, Historic Hertford,
Inc. has asked retail mer
chants to partner with the
organization.
“The purpose is to reen
ergize Downtown Historic
Hertford,” Murielle
Harmon, co-chairwoman of
the promotions committee
of HHI, told eight mer
chants, HHI members.
Mayor Sid Eley and Wendy
Jewett, director of HHI,
that were gathered at a
meeting held at Inteliport
on Sept. 29.
HHI is willing to support
the downtown retail mar
ket with dollars with mer
chants’ input as to how the
money should be spent,
Harmon said.
Harmon related retail
statistics found in a
Virginia newspaper article.
Advertising using newspa
per inserts and holding in
store promotions in collab
oration with other mer
chants were some of the
better ways of bringing in
business, she said.
The surprise was that it
isn’t only retired people
who are moving into the
area, she said. With an
increase of students in the
area, parents are also note
worthy additions, so mer
chants have an opportunity
to cater to people ages 45
and up, she said.
Harmon strongly recom
mended that merchants
make efforts to keep side
walks in front of their
stores clean.
“Believe it or not, con
sumers notice that,” she
said. “It tells whether you
care.”
Eley said that the town
of Hertford should be
sweeping the streets at
least three times a week.
The merchants didn’t think
the sweeping was being
done that often.
Continued on page 2
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 75, Low:64
Few Showers
Friday
High: 81, Low: 60
Mostly Showers
Saturday
High: 82, Low: 57
Showers