4-Hers celebrate achievements
Rage 4
Library to host art show
Rage 3
Basketball update
Page?
Per.
&
February 8, 2006
Vol. 74, No. 6 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Youth escapes from detention center
MARGARET FISHER
A 16-year-old female
escaped from Winfall deten
tion officers last week and
was later picked up on New
Hope Road.
The juvenile, whose
name could not be released,
was being detained at
Winfall Juvenile Detention
Center for a charge of
assault on a government
official that had occurred
in Ahoskie, where she had
resided.
At about midnight
Thursday, she was trans
ported back to Winfall after
a trip to a hospital in
Ahoskie. When the trans
portation vehicle arrived at
the detention center, the
girl broke away from offi
cials and ran, said Sheriff
Eric Tilley.
The sheriff’s office and
Hertford Police
Department set out on a
search following the
escape. At about 4 a.m., the
juvenile was found knock
ing on the back door of a
New Hope Road residence.
She was barefoot and wear
ing handcioffs and a blue
jumpsuit.
Deputies Phillip Lane
and Craig Trueblood
responded to the call. The
juvenile was taken back to
the detention center.
Additional charges will
be based on recommenda
tions of the juvenile’s court
counselor prior to her
court date. No charges have
been made as of yet.
Jeiuiings
Dazzling smiles
drug rap
MARGARET FISHER
An undercover sting
operation led to the convic
tion of a local man for sell
ing almost 70 grams of
cocaine valued at more
than $3,000.
Cleofus Dante Jennings,
21, of 1711 Harvey Point
Road, was arrested and
charged with trafficking in
cocaine and possession
with intent to sell and deliv
er cocaine on Dec. 20, 2004.
Last week, he pled guilty to
trafficking in cocaine.
Jennings was sentenced
wto a minimum of 35
months confinement and a
$50,000 fine.
The drug buy that
occurred a year ago began
when the Wayne County
Drug Task Force contacted
Perquimans County
Sheriff’s Office. The setup
involved Wayne County
Sheriff’s Office, the State
Bureau of Investigation
and the local sheriff’s
office.
An undercover officer
from Wayne County called
the sheriff’s office to pro
vide assistance with a buy
bust because he knew about
a connection in
Perquimans to an incident
that had occurred in Wayne
County, Sheriff Eric Tilley
said.
The officer made a drug
buy arrangement over the
phone with Jennings and
met him in the vicinity of
Third Avenue near Harvey
Point Road.
“We had a target picked
out,’’ Tilley said. “When we
went to make contact,
(Jennings) is the gentleman
we made contact with.”
Jennings was arrested
immediately after the pur
chase was carried out.
Perquimans Sheriff’s
Office recovered all monies
used to buy the cocaine in
the drug bust.
PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER
Oeneisha Burke, 7, is a first grade student who received free dental care from dental assistant Shermin Prentice
and dentist Jack Boone. Boone's clinic provided treatments for 22 students in his fifth year of participating in
the national Give Kids a Smile Day.
Kids all smiles after free dental work
MARGARET FISHER
Sparkling smiles were
being given out for free at
dentist Jack Boone’s clinic
last Friday. It’s the fifth
year that Boone and his
staff have participated in
the American Dental
Association’s Give Kids a
Smile program.
The program, according
to ADA, is to help low-
income children get the
dental care they need. They
also want to raise aware
ness that a better health
care system is needed, oral
health is vital to overall
health and more dentists
should participate in pub
lic health insurance pro
grams.
Students were financial
ly pre-screened and
checked by a Perquimans
County Schools nurse to
qualify for the services.
Public Information Officer
Brenda Lassiter assisted
the 22 students from all
four schools while they
waited for their dental
treatments.
Boone is one of about
12,000 dentists in 2,000 clin
ics and schools that have
provided free services for
more than 500,000 children
this year. Last week, Boone
volunteered cleanings,
sealants, fluoride treat
ments and in some cases x-
rays.
“It kind of serves a seg
ment of the population that
doesn’t get served at all,”
he said.
Part of that population
is an increasing number of
Hispanic children in the
county More than half of
the selected students is
from the Latino communi
ty
“There are more
Hispanics,” Boone said. “In
previous years, there
weren’t many at all.”
This year, interpreter
Yvonne Milot was on hand
during the three-hour ses
sion to interpret for the
children who don’t speak
English well. Milot volun
teers with Open Door and
Rhema in teaching English
to Hispanic children and
helping them with home
work and pronunciation.
Francisco Raudales, 13,
has participated in the pro
gram twice. Milot, inter
preting for Raudales, said
that the seventh grade stu
dent from Honduras felt
comfortable coming back
after his first ever trip to
the dentist last year.
Raudales had been a stu
dent at Rhema, but had
dropped out, and Milot
used the opportunity to
encourage him to come
back to improve his
English skills.
Often, Give Kids a Smile
is the first time students
visit the dentist, so usually
corrective work is not done,
Boone said.
“Having a favorable
experience is the main
thing,” he said.
Schuyler Headley, 7,
appeared to be enjoying his
sealant treatment, despite
slight discomfort.
Continued on page 8
Bivens pleads guilty to cruelty to animals in district court
MARGARET FISHER
A woman pleaded guilty
to cruelty to animals and
her daughter’s same
charges were dismissed on
Jan. 11 concerning an
October horse abuse inci
dent.
Roselyn Bivens was
charged after one of her
three horses, boarded at 385
Snug Harbor Road, died
from not being fed.
Bivens pleaded guilty
and is not to own or possess
any horses for five years
and must pay restitution to
Powells Pet Clinic.
Judgement will be contin
ued in five years. Two other
charges of the same were
dropped. Three charges
against Jessica Ward were
also dropped.
The two surviving hors
es were placed with
Perquimans County
Animal Control officer,
Thomas Stanton, who has
transferred ownership to
Sherry Davenport of the
United States Equine
in
Rescue League
Currituck County
“All in all, it’s a good out
come,” Davenport said.
“We wanted the horses to
not go back.”
Because the rescue
league doesn’t have suffi
cient funds to take in any
more horses, she will be
transferring ownership to
the family who has been
caring for them since
October, she said. The hors
es, Sundance and Ahren,
are at their correct weight,
she said.
Tommy Bivens, Roselyn
Bivens estranged husband,
apparently owned the hors
es at one time and asked
Judge James Carlton Cole
if he could have them
again. Cole refused his
request.
On the day of the rescue,
there were conflicting sto
ries about who actually
owned and was responsible
for feeding the horses,
Davenport said.The couple
originally kept them in
Chowan County. In May, a
complaint was made to the
"I SA..
Tri-County SPCA that the
horse that later died was
underweight. Mary Bass,
animal control supervisor,
advised Tommy Bivens
about the care of his hors
es, said Peter Rascoe,
Chowan County attorney
“We never had what we
could say was a legitimate
complaint,” Rascoe said.
In July, the horses were
moved to Robert and
Jessica Ward’s property on
Snug Harbor Road. The
Bivenses were responsible
Continued on page 10
Man
charged
with theft
MARGARET FISHER
A man was charged was
charged with felony larce
ny aftef allegedly taking
electronics and other items
out of a mobile home and
selling them in the neigh
borhood.
Larry Eugene White, 19,
of 415 Dobbs St., was also
charged with breaking and
entering, possession of
stolen goods and damage to
personal property.
Continued on page 8
HHI plans
sweetheart
of an event
SUSAN HARRIS
It’s that time of year
when thoughts turn to
hearts and flowers — and a
great weekend in down
town Hertford.
Historic Hertford, Inc.
will offer a full day of fun
on Saturday, Feb. 18 with
Sweetheart Weekend
Encore, featuring the sec
ond annual appraisal fair
and the sixth annual silent
auction at Hertfordshire
Antiques. Nine downtown
merchants are also spon
soring a raffle for a down
town shopping spree.
HHI appraisal fair chair
Murriell Harmon is excited
about the number and qual
ity of appraisers who will
be at Hertford United
Methodist Church from 10
a.m.—4 p.m. for the fair..
Harmon said the populari
ty of the event will bring
eight appraisers, up from
four last year, to this year’s
venue.
There will be experts to
help owners value a wide
Continued on page 8
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 47, Low: 27
AM Rain/Snow
Friday
High: 51, Low: 33
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 49, Low: 32
Mostly Cloudy