Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Jan. 17, 2007, edition 1 / Page 1
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County offers incentives Rage 2 Income tax assistance offered Page 3 Seniors present projects Rage 4 The IQTIIMANS /v . January 17, 2007 Vol. 75, No. 32 Hertford, North Carolina 27944 Welkly Dryer fire empties nursing home Staff safely evacuates facility MARGARET FISHER A fire in a gas dryer caused 21 residents of a nursing home in Winfall to evacuate for more than 24 hours last Wednesday. At about 4:50 p.m., Brenda McPherson, manager of Country Oaks Manor at 464 Two Mile Desert Road, called 9-1-1 and reported the smell of smoke in the facility’s kitchen. The residents walked or were taken to a mobile home located on the premises by the time Winfall and Belvidere fire departments and emergency personnel arrived. Firefighters could see flames at the back of the building and were able to put the fire out in about five minutes, said Winfall Fire Chief Gerald Christian. The fire actually started in the laundry room, but smoke had entered the kitchen through the heating duct. The fire and dam ages were completely contained in the laundry room, said Fire Marshal John Long. No damage extended into the rest of the building. Firefighters searched the attic from the outside of the building to make sure the fire was com pletely out. Access to the attic above the laundry room from the inside was not possible because the opening into the space was Continued on page 9 (jonrt Day of celebration MARGARET FISHER Local officials met with a court safety official from Raleigh last week to discuss ways to improve security at the old courthouse. They also approved a motion, suggested by attor ney Janice Cole, to forward a five-year plan to develop a judicial center to county commissioners. Ford Heath, safety and health consultant with the Administrative Office of the Courts, brought a list of recommendations to the local court security com mittee. About 10 committee members, including District Judge J.C. Cole, law enforcement, county and court representatives and a citizen, were present. Ford’s- responsibilities include the health and safe ty of court employees in all 100 counties. “In light of recent volatile courthouse inci dents, my office has been tasked with making recom mendations to insure that maximum security meas ures are in place in our statewide courthouses,” Ford wrote in a memo to committee members. Todd Tilley, clerk of court, told members that Perquimans County Criminal District Court cases alone averaged around 50 to 60 every two weeks about 17 years ago. Now there are more than 150 each week. The county is in the top five, percentage-wise, in the state for number of court cases. Ford said. While the upstairs court room in the annex building has been made secure, the old courthouse, like others across the state, was not originally designed with security in mind. Continued on page 2 Travis Mitchell, president and chief executive office at Rejoice Radio National Network in Dallas, Texas, was the featured speaker at the Martin Luther King Day service Monday afternoon. Jubilee focus of King program MARGARET FISHER The Perquimans County NAACP sponsored a celebra tion of Martin Luther King Day that began with a motorcade procession through Hertford and ended with a stirring event in Winfall on Monday. Jubilee Day and Martin Luther King Day was cele brated by more than 100 people at Melton Grove Baptist Church after about 30 cars made their way from Missing Mill Park to the church. “It was good participation,” said Winfall Mayor Fred Yates. The guest speaker was Travis Mitchell, president and chief executive officer at Rejoice Radio National Network in Dallas, Texas. In explaining the purpose of the Jubilee, Estelle Felton compared the Jubilee day set aside for the Jewish nation by God to remember their freedom from Continued on page 7 PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER Winfall Mayor Fred Yates speaks to Rev. Charles Eason, speaker at a Martin Luther King Day break fast Monday. Rig loaded with wrecks turns over near Hertford No one was injured in a truck wreck last week. MARGARET FISHER A tractor-trailer pulling four smashed vehicles to a salvage yard toppled over while the driver was mak ing a turn last Wednesday. The driver, Reginold Vincent of Boykins, Va., was charged with driving left of center, said Trooper K.R. Briggs of the N.C. Highway Patrol. At about 1 p.m., Vincent was heading towards Hertford on Center Hill Highway and made a right turn onto Cedar Stretch Road near Beech Springs Road. Briggs said Vincent told him that the vehicle turned over on its own as he made the turn. The vehicles remained chained to the truck during the incident. The rig, owned by Rudy Lozano of R.L. Trucking in Tyner, was carrying flat tened vehicles, including a bus, to a wrecker in Chesapeake, Va. MARGARET FISHER School officials from the region wiU be meeting in Edenton tomorrow to explain to state representa tives the condition of their school facilities. Education: Everybody’s Business Coalition will be holding a public forum on school facility needs that will be open for the public to attend and give input. “Our coalition, which includes education groups and the business leadership of our state, believes we have reached a ‘Crisis in the Classroom’ with regard to the deplorable conditions that too many of our stu dents and teachers face daily in public school facili ties,” said Jo Ann Norris, chairwoman of the Coalition and associate executive director of the Public School Forum. School officials across the state will be seeking a state bond referendum, similar to the $1.8 billion bond referendum that was authorized by the General Assembly and approved by voters 10 years ago. A portion of that money is what paid for the build ing of Perquimans Central School, said Brenda Lassiter, Perquimans County Schools public information officer. PCS Superintendent Kenneth Wells will be pre senting the needs of the four county schools before Continued on page 2 The vehicles were taken off the rig and placed on a lot near the accident scene. The rig was towed back to Tyner. The following morn ing, another truck was brought in to take the vehi cles away. Damages to the tractor- trailer were about $15,000 according to the trooper’s report. Lozano said the truck is repairable. A court date for Vincent is set on Feb. 14. Weekend Weather Thursday High: 52, Low: 41 Few Showers Friday High: 56, Low: 29 Parry Cloudy Saturday High: 43, Low: 29 Sunny/Windy
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Jan. 17, 2007, edition 1
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