Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Sept. 1, 2010, edition 1 / Page 1
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The RECEIVED SEP 0 t ZDin ERQUIMANS Weekly lUJ ^ r ■ *•* # > •■■ tET JbI Pirates stay undefeated, 9 PCS year opens with ease, 4 ''News front Next Door" SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 - SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 cent^ New Hope man faces first degree rape charge Woman left for dead at her home By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer A New Hope man is be ing held under a $1 million secured bond after being charged with first degree rape involving a New Hope woman, and leaving her for dead over the weekend. Perquimans County Weekend Weather Friday High: 96 Low: 73 Partly Cloudy Saturday High: 85 Low: 66 Mostly Sunny Sunday High: 82 Low: 68 Partly Cloudy 6"'-89076 47144 Sheriff Eric Tilley said Herbert Anthony Wilson, 27, of the 3200 block of New Hope Road, is charged in connection with the Satur day morning rape of a 30- year-old woman in a New Hope residence. Police say Wilson appar ently stopped at a house in New Hope around 4:30 a.m., knocked on the door and asked for a piece of gum saying he was concerned about running into a traf fic stop in the area. The woman, who knew Wilson through a prior acquain tance, opened the door, and when she turned to get the gum, the man ran into the house and attacked her, po lice said. No weapon was involved during the sexual attack, police said, but the wom an, who tried to fight off her attacker, was stran gled afterwards and even lost consciousness at one point. Her attacker tried to contaminate the crime scene, covered her with a sheet, stole her ceU phone, and ripped the phone cords from the wall before he left the house, police say. “She got to a point that she played dead to end the attack,” Tilley said. “She was strangled after the rape. We believe he thought she was dead and left her there.” After the man-left the house, the victim managed to walk to a neighbor’s house to caU police. She was taken to a nearby hos pital by law enforcement officers. Tilley said Wilson was arrested around 8 a.m. at his home without inci dent. TiUey said he expects further charges against Wilson will follow when a county grand jury con venes on Sept. 13. Wilson, Tilley said, was charged in Pasquotank County back in 2004 with second degree kidnapping, attempted rape, and com mon law robbery Police say Wilson was later convicted in January 2008 of assault with a dead ly weapon/inflict serious injury, second degree kid napping, and common law robbery and was ordered to serve 29-43 months in jail. Schools won’t take repayment schedule By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer School officials disagree with the town’s sched ule for repaying the high school electric bill and have requested additional time to develop a plan of action. In an Aug. 19 letter to town officials. Superin tendent Dwayne Stallings and Board of Education Chairman Amy Spaugh ex pressed their disappoint ment and concern that Hertford council members voted on a repayment plan last month after voicing support to cooperate with the schools working to re solve a $258,889 electric bill at the high school. “We were surprised and confused to learn that the council had voted on a repayment plan that was inconsistent with our gen eral understanding from the Aug. 2 joint meeting,” wrote school officials. “In stead of giving the board of education time to research and develop a mutually beneficial and amicable so lution to the under-billed $258,000, we were asked to begin repayment in Sep tember.” School officials were under the impression that the school would be given adequate time to develop a proposal and have been working with engineers and Electricities, the town’s power supplier, to come up with a plan of ac tion regarding utility us age and repayment of the debt, noted the schools’ Public Information Officer Brenda Lassiter. As of Monday, the school system had no plans to be gin the repayments this See REPAYMENT, 4 Open trail \i ar-r- STAFF PHOTO BYTHOMASJ.TURNEY Maty Weeks (left) leads a horse cart across the S-Bridge in Hertford as part of a test run on Aug. 22 for The Friends to Freedom Wagon Train event scheduled for next month. The wagon train will roll through Perquimans County, Winfall and Hertford in October. Also shown, Sarah Weeks drives the cart followed by a horse-drawn wagon and several riders. Wagon train rolls through test run By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer O rganizers say a recent test run for the upcoming Friends to Freedom Wagon Train went well despite a traffic accident and an apparent need for a horsey pooper-scooper. The wagon train, set for Oct. 7-10, will include wagons, carts, and horse riders from around the state to help raise funds for its sponsoring organization, the Perquimans County Restoration Association. The three-day ride will begin at the Newbold-White House, then mosey through Beech Springs and to Belvidere for a designated camp spot Friday night. On Saturday, the train trav els to Bagley Swamp, Winfall, and through Hertford back to the rep lica Quaker homestead in time for Saturday evening festivities. “I think the test run went re ady weU,” said organizer Sarah Weeks. “I think we (including the police) spotted a few minor problems along the route. Noth ing major, but things we can be better prepared for when the big day comes in October. That was really our main objective for the test nm on Aug. 22.” Weeks says she won’t know for sure how many riders or wagons will register to take part in the first ever Wagon Train and trail ride recounting the early Ameri can Quaker exodus from Perqui mans County in 1812. During the test run on Aug. 22, a wagon, cart and several horses made their way from Winfall over the Causeway and his toric S-bridge, through historic Downtown Hertford via Church Street to Highway 17 where police officers stopped traffic for the caravan to cross both lanes of the busy highway to Harvey Point ‘ Road. Once on Harvey Point Road, traffic was also stopped to allow the group easy access to the New- bold White House. Unfortunately, one driver failed to see the stopped traffic, and rear-ended a stopped vehicle. Hertford Police Chief Joe Amos said the only other complaint he received was about the horse poop left on the town streets. Town Manager John Chris tensen said the town will make sure the poop is cleaned from the town streets following the trail ride. “The Winfall to Newbold leg of the trip is the most challenging for us logisticaUy,” Weeks said. “The causeway will have to be closed to motorist for about 30 minutes until we can get the train across the bridge and into See WAGON, 6 Officials watching, preparing for Earl By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer Area officials are keep ing a close eye on Hurri cane Earl as the storm con tinues to track close to the North Carolina coastline. Perquimans Emergency Management Co-ordina- tor Jarvis Winslow said he and local officials are monitoring the situation closely “Basically, it aU depends on how quick the cold front gets here to keep Earl out at sea, and the speed of Hurricane Earl getting here,” said Winslow. Following an 8 a.m. brief ing Tuesday morning with the National Weather Ser vice, Winslow indicated the track of the storm still suggests it will stay out to sea, but noted that the most eastern tip of Per quimans County (Durants Neck area) may see winds gusts up to about 40 miles per hour Friday morning. “They are saying there should not be much rain with this for us, just some wind,” he added. “Of course, that could change with the next briefing. We’re hoping the hurri cane won’t shift any more to the west.” Depending on the amount of storm surge at the coast, the level of wa ter in the Albemarle Sound may rise as well, he noted. To be on the safe side, Winslow said officials are checking to make sure ham radios systems are in good shape, and generators are ready in case of power outages. See EARL, 2 Dropout back in class to get diploma By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer Candice Godfrey is not your normal high school senior. The petite 18-year-old dropped out of Perquimans County High School last year, just one month before graduating. “I made a stupid deci sion,” she admits now. “I just didn’t want to go to school anymore.” Over the summer, how ever, Godfrey realized she needs to obtain her high school diploma first in or der to enter the workforce. She has returned to the high school, and must com plete first semester in order to graduate. “I thought it was neces sary if I want to get a good job one day,” she said. “I don’t want to be the normal dropout.” The opening of school this year presents an op portunity for Godfi'ey to not only complete her high school studies but begin her journey that will hopefully lead her to community col lege. She aspires to one day have a career in interior design. “I have a creative mind,” she said. “I enjoy designing things. I used to redesign my bedroom every week.” According to Rebecca Martin, the school system’s parent coordinator/alter native education counselor, seeing high school dropouts return to the high school to obtain a diploma is not the norm. During the 2008- 09 school year, 18 students dropped out of school and none returned the follow ing year. This year, however, three of 15 students who dropped out of school last year re turned to school last week in an effort to continue their education. Martin at tributes that to efforts made by several staff members working to reach the stu dents and to the work being done through the Drop Out Prevention Grant. “Part of my job is to go out and find these students and get them back in school,” * STAFF PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON Candice Godfrey, 18, dropped out of Perquimans County High School last year, but is back in school this school year attending See GODFREY, 2 classes and working toward getting her high school diploma.
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Sept. 1, 2010, edition 1
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