Two businesses open in Hertford
Page 2
Basketball update
Page 7
Students receive golden keys
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February 14, 2007
Vol. 75, No. 7 Hertford, Norrti Carolina 27944
Weekly
Tko
airlifted
for help
after ATV
accident
Woman hits
boyfriend
MARGARET FISHER
A woman driving an all-
terrain vehicle ran into her
boyfriend, causing injuries
to both on Saturday.
Angela Viera of 161
Pinewood Trail was riding
the ATV in her yard around
5 p.m. when she lost control
of the off-road vehicle, said
Perquimans County Sheriff
Eric Tilley.
She ran into James
Camp of 521 Lawton Road
in Hilton, N.Y.
When deputies Thomas
Reid and Gary Riddick
arrived. Camp was laying
in the yard complaining of
pain in the hip and lower
abdomen area and was
bleeding from his head. He
was taken to Albemarle
Hospital by Emergency
Medical Services and air
lifted to Sentara Norfolk
General Hospital in
Virginia.
Viera was lying on the
couch inside her home and
said that her left arm and
leg were in pain. She was
airlifted to Pitt Memorial
Hospital in Greenville.
Bethel Fire Department set
up a landing zone for the
helicopter.
There was evidence that
the ATV had been spinning
around in the yard, Tilley
said.
“At this point, we do not
have any indication that
anything that was done was
intentional,” Tilley said.
; Viera was not wearing a
helmet. Helmets are
required when riding an
ATV No charges have been
filed at this time.
At long last, love
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
For Laura White and Hayward Spruill, it was love at first sight and the third time around when a mutual
friend gets them together after 10 years of trying. They each bring three sons into their family and
White's two grandchildren. Read their story on page 4. *
Faulty electricity causes fires
MARGARET FISHER
Two fires occurred in
Hertford residences over
the weekend.
The first happened on
Friday at about 9:10 p.m. at
the historic George E.
Major House at 131 Market
Street. Steve and Tammy
Lane were walking near
the unoccupied house
when they began to smell a
heavy odor of kerosene,
Steve Lane said.
When they realized that
more than a usual amount
of smoke was coming from
the chimney and no one
was home, they went to
their car and reported it to
Central Communications.
When Hertford Fire
Department arrived, there
was smoke around the
whole block area, especial
ly around the house and
furnace chimney, said Bob
Reed, fire chief
Firefighters were able to
get into the house after con
tacting the real estate
agent. They found that the
furnace had malfunc
tioned. When it didn’t
ignite, fuel kept being
pumped in, eventually
spilling over into the fur
nace room, located in the
basement. When it finally
lit, it pushed the smoke
through the vents and into
the rest of the house and
attic, Reed said.
Firefighters were able tor
put the fire out in the fur
nace room with a fire extin
guisher, he said. They ven
tilated the building with
fans until about 11 p.m.
The home, owned by
Sydney Jessup, is listed for
sale. The home isto be used
by the Newbold-White
House for its International
Wine Tasting and Food
Pairing, put on by the
Friends of the Vineyard.
The home is not dam
aged, but needs cleaning
Utility poles split in two separate wrecks last week
MARGARET FISHER
Two utility poles were
hit in two consecutive days
last week requiring their
replacement.
On Feb. 6 at about 5:50
p.m., a utility trailer being
pulled by a Dodge Durango
traveling east on Dobbs
Street began to sway, said
Dale Vanscoy, Hertford
police chief
The swaying caused the
truck to veer to the right in
the 700 block and strike a
basketball goal, trash can
and utility pole, effecting
the integrity of the pole.
The force of the truck
hitting the pole caused a
water line to rupture
underground and water to
bubble up.
Although no charges
were pressed, the driver,
Michael Fitzhugh, 51, of
224 Woodland Circle, is
responsible for the replace
ment of the utility pole. No
power outages or injuries
occurred. As of Monday
night, the pole hadn’t been
replaced, said Chris
Wharton, public works
director.
On Wednesday at abolit 3
p.m., James Blake Call, 17,
of 203 Church St., was driv
ing a Thunderbird west on
Grubb Street with a friend
after leaving the high
school.
He lost control of the
vehicle and veered off to
the left at Covent Garden
Road. He drove up the curb
past a fire hydrant while
missing a parked van and
drove along the yards and
sidewalk. The car flattened
the handrails of a set of
steps at 128 W Grubb St. It
hit a garbage can sending it
sliding up the road and a
utility pole in front of 124
W. Grubb Street.
“I was stepping on the
brakes and it did not work,”
Call said. “...I just cut it
(towards the curb) so I
wouldn’t hit the van.”
The pole snapped about
10 feet up and caused a
power outage at four resi
dences. Though the pole
moved in the ground sever
al inches, the car didn’t
show a dent.
The town’s public works
department set a new pole
and restored power by 5:30
,p.m. On Thursday,, wires
were transferred to the new
pole and the old pole was
removed.
Call was charged with
unsafe movement and pos
session of an open contain
er of alcohol. A breath test
did not reveal any alcohol
consumption, Vanscoy
said. No injuries were
reported.
The cost for both
replacements of utility
poles was not calculated
before press time.
PHOTO BY MARGARET FISHER
James Call, 17, said his
brakes did not work when
his vehicle hit and
snapped a utility pole on
Grubb Street last week.
from smoke, Reed said.
Jessup was out of town at
the time of the fire.
Another fire occurred at
706 W. Grubb St. on
Saturday at about 10:45 p.m.
Tenants Jacqueline
Thatch and her son were
not at the home, owned by
Erie Haste, when the fire
broke out.
A neighbor said that one
of the tenants was visiting
him. When he returned
home, he found that the
house was on fire. Thatch’s
son was reported to have
called Central
Communications to report
Continued on page 9
Police
seize
drugs
MARGARET FISHER
In two separate inci
dences, drugs were confis
cated during a traffic stop.
On Sunday at about 11:15
p.m.. Officer Kevin Worster
of the Hertford Police
Department saw a vehicle
traveling north at 70 miles
per hour in a 50-mile-per-
hour zone along U.S
Highway 17. The officer
pulled the driver over north
of the high rise bridge.
While obtaining the dri
ver’s identification,
Worster thought he smelled
marijuana, Hertford Police
Chief Dale Vanscoy said.
The driver, Jeffrey Lynn,
18, of 3619 Trotters Drive,
Wilson, and a passenger
consented to a search. A
plastic bag containing eight
smaller bags of marijuana
was found under the pas
senger seat. Another bag
containing 11 smaller bags
of marijuana was found
under the driver’s seat. A
total of 12 grams of mari
juana was confiscated.
Lynn, an Elizabeth City
State University student,
was charged with posses
sion with intent to
sell/deliver marijuana,
speeding and careless and
reckless driving. He was
placed in Albemarle
District Jail under a $1,000
secured bond.
At about 1:10 a.m. on
Monday, Officer Jeff
Thomas observed a vehicle
driving in a suspicious
manner on Edenton Road
Street. He stopped the vehi
cle on Dobbs Street and
detected the odor of mari
juana.
After a pat down of the
driver, Thomas found three
grams of crack cocaine and
one and a half grams of
marijuana in the driver’s
pocket. A smoking pipe was
found in his jacket.
The driver, Tokura
White, 24, of 2017
Pepperstone Point, Apt. D,
Greensboro, was charged
with possession of crack
cocaine, possession of mar
ijuana and possession of
drug paraphernalia. White,
who told police he was vis
iting his mother, was taken
to Albemarle District Jail
and placed on a $,1000
secured bond.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 42, Low: 22
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High: 60, Low: 26
Sunny/Windy
Saturday
High: SI, Low: 33
Partly Cloudy