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School
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Hertford firefighters celebrate year
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Courts, cops
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Perquimans sweeps Gates l
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December 17,2008
Vot. 76, No. 51 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
**News from Next Door
ff
Gunman
robs
Joe’s
Hertford police are look
ing for a lone gunman who
robbed a female store clerk
at Joe’s Place on the west
ern edge of town Friday af
ternoon.
According to Chief Joe
Amos, officers responded to
the store around 2:44 p.m.
after receiving a report
that the clerk was robbed
of an undisclosed amount
of cash. The clerk was not
harmed, and the gunman
fled the scene on foot.
The suspect is described
as a male dressed in black
with a silver tab on a shoe
lace. Police said the clerk
could not describe the race
or age of the robber.
Investigation is continu
ing. Anyone with infor
mation may contact the
Hertford Police Department
at 426-5587. Callers may re
main anonymous.
Site work
begins
on FedEx
project
Company
to get local
incentives
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Site preparation work
has begun for the reloca
tion and expansion of the
FedEx distribution center
from Don Juan Road to the
county’s commerce center.
Hertford Baseline De
velopment, LLC recently
bought approximately 8.36
acres in the Commerce Cen
tre at $25,000 per acre. Plans
call for the construction of
a 28,000 square foot build
ing that will be leased to Fe
dEx. The land and building
represent a $3 million-plus
investment.
A smaller FedEx ground
distribution is currently
located on Don Juan Road
that employs two full time
CONTINUED on page 2
WtaMMK
Thursday
High: 56 Low: 47
Cloudy
Friday
High: 71 Low: 51
Few Showers
Saturday
High: 64 Low: 45
Showers
6""89076"4714S
TO Give
Perquimans Weekly photos by CATHY WILSON.
THE MANGER AT HERTFORD Baptist Church and the names
still left on the Santa tree at Woodard's Pharmacy remind us’
that Christmas is about giving. There is still time to choose
a name from the tree, sponsored by the Parksville Ruritans,
and give a brighter Christmas to a child.
W
Sheriffs deputy subject of SBI probe
SUSAN HARRIS
A Perquimans County
sheriff’s deputy resigned
after Sheriff Eric Tilley re
quested an SBI probe into
allegations that she could
have broken the law.
Mario Reel, an investiga
tor in the Perquimans sher
iffs office, resigned Dec. 2,
Tilley said Monday.
Tilley declined to say
why Reel resigned but he
did confirm she is being in
vestigated by the State Bu
reau of Investigation for a
matter unrelated to her du
ties at the sheriff’s depart
ment.
Tilley said he noted some
things involving Reel in
early November that caused
him concern. Following
what he tagged “very pre
liminary’’ investigation,
Tfiley met with District At
torney Frank Parrish and
an SBI agent to discuss his
concerns. Tilley said as a
result of that meeting, he
asked Parrish to request an
SBI investigation and also
decided to immediately
suspend Reel without pay
pending the outcome of the
requested SBI investiga
tion.
According to Tilley, Reel
worked for the Perquimans
Sheriffs Office about 10
years, first as a road deputy
and most recently as an in
vestigator.
Area leaders meet with Butterfield Monday
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Congressman G.K. But
terfield and his staff lis
tened Monday afternoon
as community leaders from
four counties shared chal
lenges faced by localities in
tight economic times.
While he promised little,
the congressman represent
ing District 1 committed
himself to inspiring and
encouraging citizens in his
district and to reinstating
respect to the 111th Con
gress that reconvenes Jan.
6.
“Despite our challenges,
we are still a great nation,”
Butterfield told leaders from
Pasquotank, Perquimans,
Chowan and Gates coun
ties seated around a table
at the Perquimans County
Recreation Center. “There
is no problem too big that
we can’t overcome.”
The country’s two great
est challenges, he said, are
terrorism and balancing
the federal budget. Nation
al leaders will also have to
craft energy policies that
are not dependent on for
eign oil, but focus on renew
able energy sources instead
like new bio fuels, wind,
and solar.
He listened intently
as leaders voiced lo
cal concerns ranging
from unemployment in
Edenton to additional fund
ing for Tier 1 designation
in Gates County to United
States Department of Agri
culture (USDA) bureaucra
cy in Pasquotank to funding
additional police patrols in
Hertford.
“We need help to put
these people back to work,”
said Richard Bunch, direc
tor of the Edenton Cham
ber of Commerce. He also
said employment benefits
should be extended.
Butterfield pointed out
that an economic stimulus
package is expected to be
voted on in Congress the
third week in January. That
package should include
funding for a wide range
of infrastructure projects
such as water, sewer, recre
ational trails, bicycle trails:
projects that should help
put people back to work, he
said.
The funds wfil go direct
ly to state governments.
He encouraged localities
to ready their projects now
and apply for funding as
quickly as possible.
“If you have your project
ready to go, the more likely
you will get funded,” he
added.
Butterfield explained
that he didn’t expect the
projects to include match
ing funding from the locali
ties. Funds would be availa-
bale for one-time capital
projects instead.
Gates County leaders
spoke of several concerns
including funding school
system improvements and
repairs, the need for ad
ditional funding for dis
tressed counties, increased
broadband internet service
to the county, and opposi
tion to the outlying land
ing field sought by the U.S.
Navy.
Randy Keaton, Pasquo
tank’s county manager,
compared working with
USDA funding to a dreaded
trip to the dentist.
“I’d almost rather have
a root canal than deal with
USDA,” Keaton told Butter
field. “What they do goes
way beyond funding. They
get involved in the design
status resulting in numer
ous change orders. It’s a
bureaucracy that could be
done away with.”
Keaton said the USDA
even tried to block the fund
ing of a county project by
contacting the lending in
stitution involved.
Both Butterfield and his
staff members said to no
tify them if anything like
that happens again in the
future.
Sid Eley, mayor of
Hertford, said funding is
needed for additional police
patrols. He also encouraged
Butterfield to help local
“Mom and Pop” store op
erations.
“The government is giv
ing banks and automobile
companies big bailouts,”
said Eley. “What about our
Mom and Pops?”
Butterfield said he voted
against both federal bailout
plans for that very reason.
“When I heard that the
stock market would drop if
the bailout plan didn’t pass,
I said the Dow went down
700 points in my district a
long time ago,” he added.
Monday’s meeting was
one of six meetings held
throughout the 23 counties
Butterfield represents in
congress.
Town
raises
electric
rates
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Town electric customers
will see another rate hike
in February.
Members of Hertford
Council voted to increase
electricity cost by 3.5 per
cent effective with the Feb.
1 billing cycle. Their ac
tions follow continued rate
hikes by Electricities, the
electricity managing agen
cy that sells power to the
town.
Electricities rates will
increase 4 percent Feb. 1,
costing the town an addi
tional $108,000 annually.
“The wholesale cost to us
is going up. We don’t have
much of an alternative,”
said Councilman Carlton
Davenport. “The town ei
ther has to absorb it or we
go up on our rates. The
money has to come from
somewhere.”
Councilwoman JoAnn
Morris pointed out that the
town absorbed part of a
rate hike earlier this year.
The motion to increase the
electric rate passed 3-2 with
councilmen Horace Reid
and Anne White voting
against it.
This latest increase fol
lows an 8.9 percent hike in
2008. Half of the increase
went into effect for local
customers in July with the
remaining half impacting
local electric bills in De
cember.
Town manager John
Christensen explained that
Electricities is stiU experi
encing increases because
their working capital is not
sufficient.
’’Without a rate increase,
the power company can’t
pay their bfils through
the middle of 2009,” he ex
plained.
An average town elec
tric customer uses about
897 kilowatts per month,
Christensen said. With the
new rate, that bill should
increase from $127.36 to
$131.79 in February.
Mayor Sid Eley said he
hopes the town wfil look
into providing customers
budget plans to help with
increased electricity costs
in the future. He also en
couraged town customers
to take advantage of the
town’s free energy audits to
find ways to conserve elec
tricity and therefore lowers
their monthly costs.
In other matters, coun
cil amended the town or
dinance allowing wedding
chapels in commercial
zones with a conditional
use permit.
Town Planner Bran
don Shoaf also announced
that the town recently re
ceived a public access grant
through the North Carolina
Public Beach and Coastal
Waterfront Access Program
for $7,720 to build canoe/
kayak launches at Missing
Mill Park. The town wfil
pay $1,286 in cash with the
same amount being spent
in inkind services for the
project.
“This project will be a
benefit to the community,”
Shoaf said.