,4
FEErrr
February 4, 2009
Vol. 77, No. 5 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
^*News from Next Door*^
Schools
mull sex
offender
policy
updates
New state law
tightens
oversight
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The Perquimans County
Board of Education is con
sidering a policy that would
ban convicted sexual of
fenders from school prop
erty.
Convicted sex offenders
would be banned from
school property, and ven
dors will be required to
do employee background
checks.
In addition, the new pol
icy would also require all
vendors that do business
with the school system to
perform sex offender reg
istry .checks or criminal
background checks on their
employees who may come
in contact with students.
The policy, which was in
troduced to board of educa
tion members last week, fol
lows the Jessica Lunsford
Act that went into effect in
North Carolina Dec. 1.
The law, named after
the 9-year-old Florida girl
who was kidnapped, raped
and killed by a repeat sex
offender in-2005, basically
tightens the reins on repeat
sex offenders and creates
new criminal offenses that
make it unlawful for sex
offenders to be on certain
premises as well as requires
school contractual person
nel who interact with stu
dents to have background
checks.
If the vendor does not
provide the school system
with a letter clearing the
employees who must come
onto school property, the
school system will not con
tinue to do business with
that vendor.
“This wni be a massive
undertaking,” ' said Ella
Fields Bunch, director of
CONTINUED on page 2
¥iMim
Thursday
High: 36 Low: 28
Sunny
Friday
High: 52 Low: 35
Sunny
Saturday
High: 60 Low: 43
Partly Cloudy
Perquimans Weekly photos by CATHY WILSON
DOUG LAYDEN TRIES TO cajole a higher bid on items at
the Perquimans Chamber of Commerce banquet at The On-
ley Place in Belvidere Friday evening. Blake and Murrielle
Harmon were among the guests who looked over items
available at the silent auction. The relaxing evening raised
about $3,000 for Chamber operations.
Chamber draws
large crowd for
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Holding up a red and
white frilly negligee and
thong, auctioneer Doug
Layden asked Chamber
Director Sid Eley to model
the next item up for bid.
While the sexy items
brought $50 during Friday
night’s Chamber of Com
merce fund raiser, several
people offered much more
for Eley NOT to put on the
Valentine “nightie.”
It was all part of the fun
as the community turned
out in record number to
help the local Chamber
of Commerce raise funds
during the annual fund
raising auction and ban
quet.
Held for the first time
at The Onley Place near
Belvidere, over 175 tick
ets were sold for the event
which included auction
ing everything from a free
make up lesson to a teak
deck chair.
“It was a fun night
raising funds,” Eley said.
“Every dollar spent was
a dollar we didn’t have. It
was a relaxed, fun evening
and we want to keep it that
way.”
Layden led the regu
lar auction with his fast-
paced chant and eagle eye
that didn’t miss a waved
hand, nod of the head, or
flip of the auction card.
He relished in starting a
bidding war on a popular
item, working the poten
tial buyers with good-na
tured pressure.
Larger items placed for
bids during the silent auc
tion lined the back of the
room with the winners an
nounced at the end of the
banquet.
More than $3,000 was
raised to help the Cham
ber, Eley said.
“With the economy situ
ation the way it is, I think
we did extremely well,”
said Eley who didn’t have
to model the negligee af
ter all. “This enables us to
keep the cost of member
ships down and add other
programs as well.”
A variety of items were
donated by area merchants
and individuals.
To help spice up the auc
tion, three large grab bags
were auctioned, sight un
seen. Bidders took chances
bidding on the bags with
out knowing what was in
side.
One bag surprised the
winning bidder with a
gift cheese-box filled with
goodies from Layden’s
Country Store.
“We enjoyed holding
our banquet at The Onley
Place where we could re
main casual in a fun atmo
sphere,” Eley said. “We’re
a blue collar Chamber
holding a fun-filled event
rather than a gala.”
A catered dinner was
served by Captain Bob’s
and entertainment for the
evening was provided by
singer Andy Faircloth.
This marks the ninth
year for the Chamber fund
raiser which includes the
sale of corporate tables for
the event. It is the Cham
ber’s only fund raiser for
the year.
Chamber member
ship is open to busi
nesses, organizations,
civic groups, churches,
school groups, govern
ment agencies and indi
viduals. Call 426-5657
for information.
Winfall begins curbside collection program
Free program
provides blue
recycling cans
for pick-up
■89076"
7143
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The citizens of Winfall
are going green.
A new curbside recycling
collection program began
in town Nov. 20 and more
citizens are encouraged to
take part. Big blue recy
cling carts with wheels can
be rolled to the curb twice a
month for easy pick-up.
“This is the first time
that Winfall residents, busi
nesses, and schools can re
cycle a wide variety of ma
terials using roll-carts that
are emptied at the street in
front of the home or busi
ness,” wrote Anne Blindt
with Albemarle Regional
Solid Waste Management
Authority in an email.
“This program is virtually
the same as the one that the
town of Hertford - started
this past fall...The interest
ing thing is that the towns
and the Perquimans Coun
ty recycling programs are
now coordinated to accept
the same materials.
“All of the materials
that are collected in the re
cycling compactors at the
county convenience sites
are now collected in the
carts in both of the towns,”
she added.
Cost of the recycling pro
gram is funded by a grant
from the North Carolina De
partment of Environment
and Natural Resources,
Division of Pollution Pre
vention and Environmen
tal Assistance. The grant
pays for recycling bins and
to conduct educational and
promotional activities.
Winfall’s recycling bud
get is $24,000 with the state
paying 90 percent, stated
Blindt.
Taking part in the curb-
side recycling program is
free to town residents and
businesses. Just fill the cart
with plastic bottles and
jugs, cardboard, aluminum
and steel (food) cans, glass
bottles and jars, newspa
per, magazines, catalogs,
mail, office paper, paper
bags, phone books, paper-
board (cereal, shoe boxes).
Remove the lids from all
bottles, and rinse food and
cleaning product contain
ers. You do not have to re
move any labels.
Items that can not be
placed in the blue recycling
carts include plastic bags,
tubs, buckets, toys, motor
oil bottles, microwave con
tainers, cups, plates, flow
erpots, dirty or wet paper,
trash, leaves, liquids, win
dow glass, mirrors, or ce
ramics.
The carts should be
placed curbside by 7 a.m.
every other Thursday
morning. Waste Industries
of Elizabeth City has the
contract to collect these
materials which are taken
to Tidewater Fibre Corpo
ration in Chesapeake for
sorting, processing, and
marketing.
All businesses and resi
dents are encouraged to
recycle. If you need a recy
cling cart, please call the
Town of Winfall at 426-5015.
In addition to curbside
recycling in tovra, citizens
may also use the county
convenience sites for re
cycling and for dropping
off large household items,
scrap metals, appliances, or
yard waste.
Chief
uses
taser
Amos: Taser
may have
prevented
use of deadly
force
CATHY WILSON
,Staff Writer
Police responding to a do
mestic situation at Wynne
Fork Apartments Jan. 26
tased a man armed with a
foot-long butcher knife.
"Now we have in some
cases an option that is
safe for the officers as well
as the suspects we have to
arrest."
HPD Chief Joe Amos
Hertford Police Chief Joe
Amos said Cecil Beasley,
46, of 102 Wynne Fork Ct.,
faces charges of resisting
a police officer and posses
sion of drug paraphernalia
in connection with the inci
dent. Beasley is being held
in Albemarle District Jail
under a $1,000 bond.
Amos said he and Officer
Melissa Right responded to
a 9-1-1 call reporting a do
mestic dispute around 5:30
p.m. The dispatchers ad
vised they could hear yeff
ing in the background when
they received the caU.
Amos arrived at the scene
first and heard people yell
ing inside the apartment,
he said. When the female
that placed the caU opened
the door, Amos walked into
the living room of the apart
ment and saw Beasley hold
ing a large kitchen knife in
his right hand down by his
side.
Amos puUed his service
weapon and ordered Bea
sley to put the knife down,
he said.
Instead of complying,
Amos said Beasley wdlked
away from Amos and head
ed towards the kitchen
where the female had gone.
Beasley then stopped at a
doorway and turned his
back on Amos which gave
Amos time to puU his Taser
and aim it at Beasley.
Amos said he lowered his
firearm down to his right
side, then grabbed the taser
and fired, shocking Beasley
in the upper left side of his
chest. Beasley dropped the
knife as he feU backwards
to the floor.
Once down, the suspect
was ordered to roU over and
place his hands behind his
back. Beasley was taken
into custody without any
further incident, Amos
said.
“Had it not been for the
new tasers recently pur
chased by the town, the out
come may have been very
different,” Amos comment
ed. “In the past officers had
little choice on caUs like
this. We could try to fight
the suspect and run the risk
of getting hurt ourselves or
we could use deadly force.
Now we have in some cases
an option that is safe for the
officers as weU as the sus
pects we have to arrest.”