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August 23, 2006
Vot, 74, No. 39 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
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Weekly
Dismal refuge
Exhibit shows
colorful
images of
dismal refuge
Margaret Fisher
There are artists who
are passionate about
expression through creativ
ity, and historians who are
passionate about under
standing the stories of the
past. But Tunde Afolayan is
passionate about both.
And he has combined
these two passions in an
exhibit, “Passion: Echoes
of the Great Dismal
Swamp,” on display at the
Newbold-White House
until Sept. 7. About 40 peo
ple attended an opening
reception last Thursday
A native of Nigeria,
Afolayan teaches art at
Elizabeth City State
University and is the
founder of Artzone, a non
profit youth art education
organization in Elizabeth
City
His current series focus
es on the Dismal Swamp as
part of the underground
railroad. Afolayan uses
vibrant colors to display
emotion and African sym
bolism to convey meaning.
It was after the artist
inspired students from
Trigg Community School,
an alternative school in
Elizabeth City to paint a
mural depicting the swamp
as a refuge for runaway
slaves that Afolayan
became interested in creat
ing the 10-painting series.
His collection was pur
chased by Gail and Ken
Henshaw, whose current
plans are to keep it a travel
ing exhibit until they find a
permanent location in the
Albemarle area. While nei
ther Afolayan nor Ken
PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER
Tunde Afolayan, accompanied by his son, speaks to a group of about 40 people at
the Newbold-White House about his inspiration to paint impressionistically about
the slaves who escaped to the Great Dismal Swamp. The collection, owned by Gail
and Ken Henshaw, is on display at the Quaker home through Sept. 7.
Henshaw would say how
much the collection sold
for, Henshaw did say that
the cost of the mixed media
painting “Refuge” alone
was approximately $10,000.
That painting stands out
in the collection. A muted
purple plaster mask is seen
emerging among the trees
of the swamp while blend
ing into its colorful envi
ronment.
“The swamp is perceived
to be a dreadful place
where nobody wants to be,”
Afolayan said. “Yet, you
find the slaves running in
that direction. The slaves
believe it is a refuge. Some
actually settled down in the
swamp.”
Afolayan considers the
arrival into the swamp a
celebration and a positive
force, which is why he uses
bright colors. Dull colors
evoke a dull life, he said.
Lee Kapleau, vice presi
dent of the Perquimans
County Restoration
Association, believes that
the Newbold-White House
is an ideal location for the
exhibit. The Dismal
Swamp, the early Quakers
and the underground rail
road are linked together,
she said.
The Quaker meeting was
instrumental in helping
slaves escape to places such
as Haiti and Liberia, and
its members offered their
homes as stopping points,
Ken Henshaw said.
Henshaw, a resident of
Richmond, Va., developer
of Settler’s Landing and
chairman of the ECSU
Foundation, said that
Afolayan’s art is unique.
“(Afolayan) brings a dif
ferent perspective that not
everyone has. We need to
enjoy and understand it,”
he said.
Sen. Robert Hollowell,
one of the guests at the
reception last week, said
that he is impressed with
his first visit to the Quaker
home.
“I think it is so amazing
how much history is right
under our noses, and we
don’t smell it,” he said.
Signed lithographs from
the artist are available for
purchase at the Newbold-
White House gift shop, as
well as books about the
Quakers’ role in the under
ground railroad.
Crime prevention specialist visits
MARGARET FISHER
Concerns about increas
ing crime and drug activity
in the county prompted
officials to meet together to
learn how to make the com
munity safer and increase
public involvement.
Rhonda Waters, director
of the Hertford Housing
Authority, invited Starr
Barbaro, community devel
opment specialist in charge
of crime prevention servic
es with the Governor’s
Crime Prevention
Commission in Raleigh, to
hold a meeting with town
and county officials, as well
as a public forum last week.
Barbaro told about 30
officials from law enforce
ment, government and
schools that they need to
band together before condi
tions get worse. She cited
examples of a number of
cities with limited
resources throughout the
nation that stand as models
in fighting crime. Law
enforcement in small towns
is usually underpaid, over
worked and understaffed,
she said.
“It creates a very danger
ous situation when you
only have two police offi
cers (on duty),” she said.
Her recommendation is to
get the community
involved and create a plan
with short and long term
goals.
Involving the communi
ty means setting up crime
prevention task groups of
diverse members.
Schools can play a large
part, and parents can help
compensate for school
understaffing, Barbaro
said.
The Crime Prevention
Commission offers two
grants to support the fight
against crime. One is for
police equipment that sup
ports crime prevention.
The other grant, for over
time hours related to crime
prevention, will be avail
able next year.
The idea of getting the
public involved was
brought out at a public
forum that attracted at
least 30 people. Two areas
that were addressed,
included evidence of gangs
and abandoned houses
used for drug activity.
Mike Hester, a resident
of Albemarle Plantation,
said he thought the forum
was beneficial because it
pointed out concerns that
have doable solutions. He
related the number of
vacant houses to a cancer
that spreads and eventually
takes over the body.
“If you get rid of the
dilapidated houses, then
you get rid of the crime,”
Hester said.
Jane McMahon, owner
of Hertfordshire Antiques,
agreed that awareness is
crucial. She said that the
problem is not police
response time, but getting
people to report crime
activity.
Tom Moriarty, owner of
Out of the Past, said he was
amazed that Barbaro could
recognize indications of
gang activity in about a 45-
minute tour of the county.
“Somehow, we have to
keep pressure on the town
government that they do
something,” he said.
Small towns are not
immune to problems of
crime, said Hertford Town
Councilor JoAnn Morris.
“There is a misconcep
tion that because we live in
a small town, we don’t have
problems,” Morris said.
“We have all the problems
ECU crew seeks
sunken treasure
MARGARET FISHER
Whatever mysteries are
lying on the bottom of the
Perquimans River, Larry
Babits, director of mar
itime studies at East
Carolina University, is hop
ing to discover.
He and three graduate
students have been comb
ing the river with high-tech
equipment for more than a
week in hopes that sunken
vessels and clues to the his
tory of a vast shipping
industry will emerge from
the study.
“(The Perquimans) is
one of the earliest areas of
settlement that’s been doc
umented, and I’ve been fas
cinated with the Newbold-
White House since I came
to North Carolina in 1973,”
said Babits, who holds a
doctorate in anthropology
from Brown University
The maritime studies
program received a $50,000
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric
Administration grant to
survey and compare the
Roanoke and Perquimans
rivers for sunken vessels
and artifacts.
The three students
include Adam Friedman
and Matthew De Felice and
Amy Leuchtmann, who
will write a thesis provid
ing analytical and interpre
tive information. A final
report is due to NOAA by
September 2007.
“I think a lot of (the the
sis) will focus on the histo
ry of this river, what its
uses have been and the peo
ple who settled on it,”
Leuchtmann said.
The students used sonar,
a magnetometer, which
detects metal, and sophisti
cated software to get under
water data that they will
later analyze.
The crew began their
surveying on Aug. 10 near
the mouth of the
Albemarle Sound. Last
week, they covered the
upper portion near
Belvidere and the areas
around the bridges. They
wiU complete the survey in
October.
On the computer, the stu
dents create survey lanes
on which they travel back
and forth using a 25-foot
Privateer. The side scan
sonar retrieves digitized
information from as far
away as 80 feet from either
side of the boat.
While the students man
the steering and tracking
devices, Babits takes an
inventory of what can be
seen from the boat with a
camera. He isn’t just inter
ested in past history. He’s
also recording current his
tory for future generations.
Babits said they were
building ships here from
the 18th century to 1898.
Continued on page 8
Clark fears for
personal safety
of a large city, just on a
smaller scale.”
Waters said she believes
that there are subtle signs
of gang activity Some gang
members may be clean cut,
but there may be a particu
lar aspect, such as an arti
cle of clothing, that indi
cates they are in a gang,
she said.
Crime in general is
down, but violent crimes
are up. Parish said. To com
bat the growing problem of
weed-like crime, you have
to treat the roots, he said.
The type of crime that is
increasing is juvenile
crime, said District Court
Judge J.C. Cole. Crime in
Edenton and Pasquotank
County is gradually mov
ing in on Perquimans
County, he said.
“This little 4-year-old
was kicked out of daycare,
right here in this county,”
Cole said.
Barbaro left local offi
cials with a blueprint of
how to form a committee,
zero in on specific prob
lems and practical solu
tions and motivate the com
munity to action.
SUSAN HARRIS
A woman who was
denied a handgun permit
by Sheriff Eric Tilley and
has appealed his decision
all the way to the Supreme
Court, wants people who
have heard about this situ
ation to know two things: 1.
She is not a troublemaker,
and 2. Her husband’s felony
conviction was over 40
years ago and stemmed
from a youthful mistake.
Eve Clark said last week
that she didn’t look for
trouble, but events brought
trouble to her doorstep and
she sought a handgun per
mit out of fear. She wants
to be able to protect herself.
Clark said people she
would not name held a gun
to her son’s head and also
on his girlfriend several
months ago in the Snug
Harbor mobile home they
occupied. She said arrests
were made in the case, but
her son did not testify
against the alleged perpe
trators because he was
threatened, feared for his
life and left town. As a
result, she said, those
arrested were not convict
ed.
The mobile home in
which her son formerly
lived was subsequently one
of several in the communi
ty to burn. Officials suspect
arson, although law
enforcement officers say
they have no direct evi
dence linking any persons
of interest to the fires. No
arrests have been made.
Fear kept Clark and her
husband, Michael Clark,
up day and night for
weeks. She said the people
who terrorized her son ride
by her house making
threatening gestures and
have been seen on the
perimeter of her property,
and she fears them.
“They were saying
things and just hanging
around, riding by at all
hours of the night yelling,”
Clark said. “We thought
they were going to burn
our property. We always
have someone watching
our house. I’m on guard.”.
As for her husband’s
felony conviction, Clark
Continued on page 8
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 88, Low: 72
Partly Qoudy
Friday
High: 89, Low: 73
Mostly Sunny
Saturday
High: 90, Low: 75
Mostly Sunny