RECFIVEO
Winslow flies high
Page 4
Pirate, Tiger teams win!
Page 8
School news
L I tw,
Candidate profiles
"'T " ^ I if , ac-.
y
October 22, 2008
.^Vol, 76, No. 43 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
**News from Next Door
35 cents
‘W,
17*
^4.
U,
>4..
rx.
tn
'Mi
jK -• • r >.44
■r.
i >
S:, ..'.1 ,'f^^ »■■''
#
Perquimans Weekly photos by CATHY WILSON
TWINKLING LIGHTS AND LAWN decorations are no longer confined to Christmas. Many people enjoy
seasonal displays all through the year, adding whimsy and a personal statement to their homes. At top,
the collapsed witch makes one wonder if she fell on the broom or passed out from using it! This season
lawn display was spied on Edenton Road Street.
Woman falls asleep, flips Jeep on US17
Driver suffers
head trauma,
airlifted to
hospital
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
A young mother was
flown to Norfolk Sentara
with head trauma following
a car accident Oct. 13 that
caused the car she was driv
ing to flip four or five times
on U.S. Highway 17.
According to the Trooper
T.J. Langley with the North
Carolina Highway Patrol,
Memorie Leigh Wilkerson
of Edenton, 25, was trapped
inside the 1999 Jeep Chero
kee after it wrecked about
a half mile north of OM
Hickory Road around 6:42
p.m. She was extricated
from the wreckage by fire
fighters and transported to
a nearby yard where Night
ingale landed to ferry her to
the Norfolk hospital.
As of Oct. 15, Wilkerson
was listed in fair condition
at Norfolk Sentara Hospi
tal.
Police said her 7-year-old
son apparently was not in
jured and managed to get
out of the car on his own.
He was later taken to the
hospital by his grandmoth
er to be examined, police
said.
Langley said the boy was
able to describe how the ac
cident occurred. According
to the boy, his mother fell
asleep at the wheel while
traveling southbound, caus
ing the car to run into the
median, then travel back
onto the roadway before
traveling towards the ditch.
The car then came back onto
Highway 17, overcorrected,
causing the car to flip four
or five times, police said.
The car came to rest in the
median right side up, with
two of its wheels torn off.
Police said both mother
and son wore seat belts at
the time of the accident.
Investigation is continuing
and charges are pending^
police said.
Members of the Inter-
County Volunteer Fire De
partment, Perquimans EMS
and Perquimans County
Sheriffs Department re
sponded.
WbllMR
Thursday
High: 64 Low: 51
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High: 70 Low: 58
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 72 Low: 60
Rain
Hardee’s comes back to Hertford
6 ■89076"47143 ■'5
SUSAN HARRIS
Hardee’s opened in
Hertford recently, bring
ing back the variety for
which the fast-food chain
is known, and introducing
its thick burgers and junior
thick burgers to the town.
Hardee’s was the first
fast food restaurant to open
on the U.S. 17 bypass, but
later sold out to Popeye’s.
Now, the franchise is back
with hot dogs, burgers, fried
chicken, ham and cheese
sandwiches, salads, chilli
cheese fries, milk shakes
and their famous biscuits.
The chain has evolved
into a more made-to-order
eatery than it used to be.
Burgers are now made fresh
to order, and while patrons
stfil order at the counter,
those who choose to eat in
the restaurant are likely to
Perquimans Weekly photo by SUSAN HARRIS
LOCAL OFFICIALS GATHERED TO welcome Hardee's back to
Hertford at a Chamber of Commerce-sponsored ribbon cutting
recently.
take a number to their table
and have a server bring the
food out after the cook staff
has it ready.
They’re open early and
late, and offer dining room
and drive-through service
seven days a week.
Resident
foils intruder
Deputies
arrest alleged
perpetrator
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Apparently a shotgun
trumps a butt-kicking.
According to the
Perquimans County Sher
iffs Department, a man
who reportedly crawled
into a home through a side
window to “kick (another
man’s) butt” wound up face
to face with a shotgun in
stead.
Sheriff Eric Tilley said
Russell Heath, of 136 Holly
Street, is charged in con
nection with entering a
home at 1222 Snug Harbor
Road around 1 a.m. Oct. 13
apparently with the inten
tions of beating someone in
the house. Meeting the in
truder, however, was Doug
las Ellis holding a shotgun.
Police say Heath then
grabbed a woman in the
home, Chelsea Criminger,
allegedly put a knife to
her throat, and backed his
way out of the house using
Criminger as a shield until
he reached his car which he
entered, released the wom
an, and left the scene.
Criminger, police say,
was not injured.
Heath is charged with
damaging personal prop
erty, breaking and enter
ing, resist/obstruct/delay,
breaking out of a dwelling,
assault on a female, and
kidnapping.
He is currently being
held in the Albemarle Dis
trict Jail under a $76,500 se
cured bond.
No injuries in bus
wreck last week
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Seven students were
on a school bus when it
was struck from behind
Wednesday afternoon, but
none were injured.
According to the North
Carolina Highway Patrol,
a Perquimans County Pub
lic School bus was travel
ing west on State Road 1328
around 3:50 p.m. when it
came to a stop at a stop
sign. A 2001 Chrysler trav
eling behind the bus, how
ever, failed to reduce speed
and collided with the bus in
the back left quarter.
The bus was driven
by Katherine Carter of
Hertford, and was moved to
a nearby parking lot.
The Chrysler, driven
by Laura Sawyer, also of
Hertford, left the scene, but
was later located. Sawyer
is charged with failure to
reduce speed in connection
with the accident.
No injuries were report
ed.
According to Brenda
Lassiter, the schools’ public
information officers, mid
dle school-aged students
were on the bus at the time
of the accident. The driver
checked to make sure aU
students were safe and
not injured, and called the
school’s transportation di
rector so other system staff
could be notified. Parents
were also notified of the sit
uation, where the bus was
located, and that the chil
dren were safe, she added.
“Transportation Direc
tor Donald Hurdle and
Administrative Assistant
Julie Williams handled the
situation in a prompt, pro
fessional manner, “Lassiter
said. “Working coUabora-
tively with the bus driver,
parents were notified of
the situation, informed of
the location of the bus in
case they (parents) wanted
to pick up children and re
ported to the site of the acci
dent to ensure appropriate
paperwork was filed with
local law enforcement.”
This week is National
School Bus Safety Week.
“It is a great time to re
mind everyone to approach
buses with caution and
care.;.they hold our most
precious resource...our
children,” she added.
Police investigate fires
at Missing Mill Park
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Hertford police are in
vestigating several suspi
cious fires that broke out
last Thursday morning at
Missing Mill Park.
According to Chief Joe
Amos III, Hertford police
and the Hertford Fire De
partment responded to a
report of a trash can fire
around 4:40 a.m. Oct. 16 at
the park located on Grubb
Street.
Officer Eric Priebe ar
rived on the scene and
found multiple fires burn
ing in trash cans including
one trash can located inside
the men’s rest room and an
other on the covered fishing
pier.
Priebe managed to ex
tinguish two of the trash
can fires with the fire ex
tinguisher from his patrol
car. The fire department ex
tinguished the rest, Amos
wrote in a press release.
Damage to the rest room
was listed as minimal while
the pier sustained damage
to both the floor and sides.
A three foot by three foot
hole burned in the pier,
which will be repaired,
Amos said. Smoke damaged
the pier’s roof.
“Had it not been for
the quick response from
the Hertford Fire Depart
ment, the entire covered
pier might have been lost,”
Amos wrote in the press re
lease.
Perquimans County Fire
Marshall Mark Rogerson
was notified of the fires.
Anyone with informa
tion about the fires is asked
to contact the Hertford Po
lice Department at 426-5587.
Callers may remain anony
mous.