White is princess for a day
Rage 3
Readers speak in letters column
Rage 6
Summer league updates
Rage 7
June 27, 2007
Vol. 75, No. 27 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
idC.
J (■
.= ...-1 i r-V-
»if ACrlDF^sfy cV ' '-''-'"vaF. '
IE
w
Ferquimans
Weekly
Return to roots
Hertford
festival to
focus on
forgotten
histoiy
SUSAN HARRIS
History aborwids in
northeastern North
Carolina. The counties and
small towns that dot the
coastal region each have
things about which they
boast.
But Hertford has a his
toric first that is known to
very few: The oldest memo
rial in the country — that’s
the whole United States —
dedicated to black Civil
War troops is located on the
corner of Hyde Park and
King streets.
Saturday, the first
NortheasternNorth
Carolina African-
American Festival wiU be
held around the monument
to help bring an awareness
of this historic marker and
the important contribu
tions of African American
soldiers in the Civil War to
the region.
The festival is the brain
child of ECSU history pro
fessor Dr. Jahi Issa, who
said Monday he hopes it
will become an annual
event. Its sponsor is T-
Square Developers in
Hertford, a real estate
development company
Issa has chosen as the
symbol of the festival
SANKOFA, a goose with its
neck turned backwards. He
said it means go back and
fetch what you lost, or
return to your roots. And
returning to the roots of
those black Civil War sol
diers will be what Saturday
is about.
Featured will be the
Matunda African Dancers,
a Chesapeake, Va. group
specializing in Central and
West African dances; a jazz
band, a black Civil War re
enactment; and a presenta
tion at 4 p.m. by Nana Yaw
This often-overlooked monument at the
corner of Hyde Park and King
streets is the oldest v,
memorial honoring
black Civil War soldiers
in the United States. An
information board
that sits next to it
gives a brief history of
the contributions of
TfitJse~-«)kliers to the
effort. Saturday*;
yaTWilT-eftcaurage
leamTt _
jbering more about
mese important con-
Yikenkyi of Ghana, West
Africa, who is a traditional
high priest.
There will also be free
games for children, includ
ing a moonwalk, potato
sack race, double dutch
contest and more.
Several vendors will be
offering a variety of festi
val-type foods, as well as
what Issa termed “soul
food.”
Issa said organizers have
PHOTOS BY SUSAN HARRIS
planned a day of family fun
— and learning more about
the area’s rich history —
from 2-7 p.m.
For more information,
call T-Square, 426-7474 or
Issa, 335-3201.
4th Fest nears
SUSAN HARRIS
Those who enjoy a relaxing 4th of July capped with a
light show exploding in the night sky will find happiness
at Missing Mill Park next Wednesday.
Thanks to the generosity of local governments, busi
nesses and individuals, there will be fireworks on
Independence Day after the sun sets over the Perquimans
River. A detail of dedicated individuals led by Michael
Hurdle will shoot the pyrotechnics, with the Hertford
Fire Department standing by.
For the crowd that usually begins gathering in the
early evening to get a favorite spot from which to enjoy
the show, vendors will have festival-type foods available.
The Forestburg Ruritan Club will offer hamburgers, hot
dogs, french fries, funnel cakes, drinks and more from its
mobile kitchen. Bagley Swamp Wesleyan Church will
also grill hamburgers and hotdogs.
Non-profit or church groups interested in setting up a
booth or game at the park may call Susan Harris at 426-
5728 (day) or 426-5307 (evening) for information.
An update on 4th of July activities will be published in
next week’s paper, which will come out on Tuesday, Jrdy
3. Contact the newspaper with anyplanned public events.
Progress
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
Steel is erected and concrete block walls are going up
at the new high school gymnasium. Construction on
the $12 million-pfus project is expected to take about
a year, and began last December. In addition to the
new gym, the auditorium is getting a much-needed
facelift. Once the gym is complete, the present gym
will be renovated to become a media center and the
present media center, administrative offices.
Bethel man
murdered in
his own bed
SUSAN HARRIS
A Bethel man was apparently shot and killed in his
own bed as he slept Friday night, jump-starting a joint
investigation by the local sheriff’s department and SBI.
The lifeless body of Thomas Woodrow White, 58, of
117 Mill Drive, was discovered by his wife in their home
after midnight, according to Sheriff Eric Tilley.
Tilley said Monday that he and SBI investigators
have not named any suspects or ruled anyone out as sus
pects in their quest to determine who shot White and
why.
Officials were called to the scene at 12:57 a.m.
Saturday to investigate a possible breaking and enter
ing and an unresponsive subject, Tilley said.
Deputy Ray Fesperman responded, and found White
deceased on a bed in the northeast corner of the house.
It appeared that he had suffered a gunshot wound to the
head.
Fesperman called TUley and sheriff’s investigator
Shelby White to the scene. The officers assessed the sit
uation and called in SBI officers to assist with the inves
tigation. The SBI sent two agents.
Tilley said White’s widow, Jenne White, told officers
that she and her daughter had been at the Moose Lodge
in Elizabeth City earlier in the evening. White, who had
prostate cancer and post traumatic stress disorder
resulting from his service in Vietnam, according to his
wife of 27 years, did not go with the two.
Upon returning to the Mill Drive residence, the two
found the door to their home open and their dog at the
door. The dog wanted to go out, so Jenne White w'alked
away from the house with the dog. Upon entering the
house, she noticed items on a bed and some drawers thaT
looked as if someone had gone through them, Tilley
said Jenne White told investigators. She then went to
awaken Thomas White and found him unresponsive. It
was then that she called law enforcement.
Tilley said his officers and SBI agents assigned to the
case have been conducting interviews and following up
on all leads. Anyone with information should call the
sheriff at 426-5615.
Failed brakes
lead to flipped
truck on US 17
BOB MONTGOMERY
The Daily Advance
A truck driver's quick reactions are being credited
with preventing a traffic accident at a busy Hertford
intersection Tuesday from becoming something much
more seihous.
Hank Chappell, a driver for C.A. Perry & Co., was
driving north on U.S. Highway 17 toward the Church
Street intersection about 2:30 p.m. when he noticed that
the brakes on his spreader truck had failed, Police Chief
Dale Vanscoy said.
Chappell swerved to avoid colliding with several cars
at a traffic light at the intersection, and the movement
flipped his truck, Vanscoy said.
"The driver did every
thing he could to alert
traffic, blowing his
horn," said Vanscoy. "He
cut the wheel to the left to
avoid striking any cars
and it caused the vehicle
to flip. He cut a hard left
and landed in the middle
of the intersection in the
southbound lanes of traf
fic."
No cars were struck,
and Chappell suffered
only minor injuries for
which he received treat
ment at Chowan
Hospital, he said.
A spokesman for C.A.
Perry & Co. said
Chappell was en route
from Edenton with a load
of fertilizer for delivery
to a farm field near
Hertford when the acci
dent occurred.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 92, Low: 74
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High: 827, Low: 69
Isolated Tstorms
f
Saturday
High: 81, Low: 66
Isolated T'storms