DEL 2 0 2006
Christmas Greetings
Santa Letters
Section B
December 20, 2006
Voi. 74, No. 51 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
FERQUIMANS
Weekly
Argument turns into shoot-out
MARGARET FISHER
After a front yard
shootout took place in Snug
Harbor involving two
brothers who shot each
other, a deputy arrived to
find the two quietly sitting
at the kitchen table.
Earlier in the evening,
Roger Hollingsworth and
his wife, Virginia, and
Benny Hollingsworth, sat
together eating dinner at
the latter’s residence at 154
Hemlock St, said Mario
Reel, investigator for
Perquimans County
Sheriff’s Office. Dinner
allegedly included an unde
termined amount of alco
hol.
After dinner, Roger
Hollingsworth said it was
time to go home and his
wife apparently didn’t
agree. The two began argu
ing about it_ until Roger
Hollingsworth drove off
and went home. He
returned shortly after with
a gun and began yelling for
his brother to come out
side, and then he began
shooting at the house.
“A bullet actually did
make entry into the house,”
Reel said. That bullet hit a
chair inside the house.
Benny Hollingsworth
told officers that he told
Virginia to go hide and stay
down, and then he grabbed
his gun. He went outside to
the back of the mobile
home and told his brother
to put his gun down.
Roger Hollingsworth
allegedly fired and the bul
let grazed his brother’s
head. Benny Hollingsworth
allegedly fired back and hit
his brother in the leg. Then
Roger Hollingsworth
allegedly shot Benny
Hollingsworth in the pelvic
area. As many as eight
shots were fired. Reel said.
Both men dropped their
weapons and began tus
sling in the yard. Reel said.
Then they helped each
other back into the house.
Neighbors began, calling
Telecommunications at
about 10:50 p.m. Virginia
Hollingsworth called to
request an ambulance.
When deputy Tully
Langley arrived, the broth
ers were sitting at the
kitchen table. Reel arrived
shortly after.
“It was obvious that
Benny was shot,” Reel said.
Roger Hollingsworth told
the officers that he had pre
viously taken pain medica
tion for a medical condi
tion.
The brothers were taken
to Chowan Hospital where
Roger Hollingsworth wa's
treated and released.
Benny Hollingsworth was
airlifted to Pitt Memorial
Hospital where he under
went surgery.
Charges of discharging
a barreled weapon or
firearm into an occupied
property and assault with a
deadly weapon with intent
to kill inflicting serious
injury are pending against
Roger Hollingsworth.
Suspect
arrested
under
false
name
MARGARET FISHER
Police discovered last
week in court that a man
caught with a large quanti
ty of cocaine and cash on
Dec. 8 had given them a fic
titious name and address.
The man, Carlton
Simpson, 32, of 103 Clay
St., Elizabeth City had
given Hertford Police offi
cer Jeff Thomas a driver’s
license which turned out to
not be his own when
Thomas stopped the car
Simpson was driving on
Ocean Highway for speed
ing. Upon being stopped,
Simpson took off running.
He was apprehended by
officer Kevin Worster.
Just prior to being
caught. Cave threw a siz
able bag into some bushes.
Officers retrieved from the
bushes 784 grams of pow
der cocaine estimated at a
street value of $50,000, He
also had $8,100 in cash.
Simpson gave the name
of Toriano Marcellus Cave,
36, of High Point, and pro
duced a drivers license.
Police are looking into who
the license actually
belongs to.
Last' Wednesday,
Simpson appeared in court
charged as and signing
documents under the name
. of Cave. In addition to
charges filed on Dec. 8,
Simpson, under the name
of Cave, was being charged
with maintaining a vehicle
for transportation of nar
cotics.
“In the process of
adding additional charges
to him, officers found out
what his real name was,”
said Police Chief Dale
Vanscoy.
He was then taken
before the magistrate and
re-charged with trafficking
cocaine, possession with
intent to deliver, resisting
arrest, speeding and the
additional charge under
his real name.
Simpson was taken back
into the courtroom and his
bond was set at $331,000
secured. He was taken to
Albemarle District Jail
where he remains.
Extreme collections
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
Hertford Beach resident June Manke lovingly places a piece of her elaborate Christmas village. Manke and
her husband, Bill, fill their home with holiday collectibles, a task that takes several weeks. For an inside
look at these extreme collectors, please see page 8B.
Hertford electric rates to drop
MARGARET FISHER
With gas and other
prices continuing to rise.
Town of Hertford residents
can be relieved that their
electric rates will be drop
ping.
The town’s wholesale
rate will be decreasing by
1.5 percent, so town coun
cilors approved dropping
the retail rate by 1.2 per
cent. In dollars, customers’
rates will go from 1.14 of a
cent to one cent per kilo
watt hour. That’s a savings
of $1.40 per 1,000 kilowatt
hours, said John
Christensen, town manag
er.
Rate reduction will
begin during the bill period
running from Jan. 10
through Feb. 9. Bills will be
mailed out in February and
customers will see the
decrease on their bill that’s
due in March.
Although this fiscal
year’s budget is tight, Jo
Ann Morris, town coun
cilor, said that the budget is
where it needs to be, includ
ing the electric depart
ment’s budget.
“(Councilors) feel that,
given the electric rates, if
we did get an electric rate
reduction, we’d pass that
on to the customer,” Morris
said. “Everyone’s rates are
higher than we want them
to be, and ours are higher
than we want them to be.”
Operation costs of the
N.C. Eastern Municipal
Power Agency’s coal and
nuclear plants are decreas
ing as the debt service con
tinues to be paid off, so
more decreases could be
seen in the future,
Christensen said. In a cou
ple of years, the decreases
may be dramatic, he said.
“When we decrease it,
it’s pretty much a solid
decision,” he said, “and
we’re not looking to take it
back.”
Local school violence rate remains static
MARGARET FISHER
The Department of
Public Instruction released
the Annual Report on
School Crime and Violence
early this month.
During 2005-2006,
Perquimans County
Schools reported 11 inci
dents - the same number as
the previous school year.
However, the number of
incidents per 1,000 students
dropped from 6.4 to 6.3
because the student popula
tion increased from 1,723 to
1,770, said Brenda Lassiter,
PCS public relations offi
cer.
In fact, the incidents per
1,000 students have
decreased each year at least
since 2002-2003 school year.
The current figure is less
than the statewide number
of 7.9 per 1,000 students.
Within the seven-county
area, Perquimans and
Currituck counties tied
percentage-wise with more
incidents than the other
five counties.
“We’re very vigilant
about reporting the inci
dents,” Lassiter
said.TypicaUy, all the inci
dents have occurred at
Perquimans County High
School, but this reported
year, three of the 11
occurred at Perquimans
County Middle School.
However, Pasquotank,
Chowan, Gates and
Currituck all reported inci
dents in at least one of
their elementary schools.
“We’re seeing violent
behavior on students at an
earlier age,” Lassiter said.
But violent behavior
may include a student
bringing a medication in
another person’s name to
school, an alcoholic bever
age container inadvertent
ly left in a vehicle or carry
ing an object that resem
bles a weapon.
“To my knowledge,
we’ve never had anyone
with any (direct) intent to
harm anyone — it was
always poor decision-mak
ing,” Lassiter said.
PCHS reported five pos
session of controlled sub
stance, two possession of a
weapon and one possession
of an alcoholic beverage.
PCMS reported two
assaults with a weapon,
which was not a gun, and
Continued on page 10
Break-in
stopped
by police
911 call alerts
officer
MARGARET FISHER
Police apprehended a
man attempting to break
into a feed store Sunday
morning.
A person called 9-1-1 at
about 7:30 a.m. and said
that they , saw a suspicious
person at the Farmers Feed
& Seed on Grubb Street.
Sgt. Brian Riddick of
Hertford Police
Department arrived on
foot from the back of the
store and observed a man
at the front holding what
appeared to be some kind
of prying tool, said Police
Chief Dale Vanscoy.
The man, Jamel
Fletcher, 20, of 405 Dobbs
St., took off running.
Riddick called for backup
and chased him to his
Dobbs- Street home.
Assisted by Deputy T.J.
Langley of the Perquimans
County Sheriff’s Office,
Riddick approached the
house and told Flether’s
grandmother what had
taken place.
Upon listening to the
officers, Fletcher’s grand
mother escorted him out of
the house and handed him
over to the officers,
Vanscoy said.
Fletcher was charged
with breaking and enter
ing, damage to real proper
ty and resisting arrest. His
bond was set at $5,000 unse
cured and he was released
to his father. A first appear
ance court date is Jan. 17.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 62, Low: 43
Feew Showers
Friday
High: 68, Low: 56
Few Showers
Saturday
High: 69, Low: 45
Showers