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"News from Next Door" 2 4 ZOlO 2010 - NOVEMBER 30, 2010
Hranko: Well unknown to restaurant
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Shirley Hranko, owner of
the former Nickalena’s Res
taurant, says no one associ
ated with the restaurant
had anything to do with the
private well pump found in
the Hall of Fame building
that was Ulegally linked to
Hertford’s municipal water
supply back in September.
Hranko said she only
County
is hit by
burglaries
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Area burglaries around
the county and in the town
are keeping law enforce
ment officials busy.
Sheriff Eric Tilley is
concerned about a rash of
residential break-ins that
have occurred in the coun
ty over the past year, in
cluding one that occurred
last week on Great Hope
Church Road.
The break-ins have sev
eral factors in common
causing law enforcement
officials to believe the
same thieves are targeting
local homes.
TiUey said the five
break-ins in Perquimans
County are similar to nu
merous burglaries report
ed in the WeeksviUe area
of Pasquotank County as
well.
Thieves are apparently
picking houses that are
surrounded by trees, or
that have carports located
in the back of the home
that allow the thieves to
park vehicles behind the
home, out of sight.
They then kick in the
back door, ransack the
house, and steal items,
mostly cash, guns, jewelry
and, surprisingly enough,
cleaning supplies.
“It’s the cleaning sup
plies that shock me,” said
TUley. “They are not items
that are used in the dope
trade.”
The thieves throw
clothes out of closets, flip
mattresses, and pull chair
cushions out of chairs
and sofas in their effort to
search the house for cash.
Last Wednesday, a home
on Great Hope Church
Road was burglarized with
the thieves taking $800 in
cash found in a pickle jar
containing change.
They also stole a
See BURGLARIES, 9
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High; 61 Low: 35
Showers
Saturday
High: 54 Low: 37
Sunny
Sunday
High: 59 Low: 39
Sunny
89076 4
7144
helped town employees lo
cate the problem.
“When they were looking
for the problem, I told them
I could hear something run
ning back behind my freez
er room,” Hranko said. “I
had never heard that noise
before during the five years
we were there. The noise
started about the same
time the buUding starting
having problems with the
water.”
When they followed the
soimd, town public works
officials discovered the
noise came from a room
with a closed door that
had no handle, she said.
Inside, they fovmd a pump
and pressure tank inside
the structure connected
to a well underneath the
building located on Church
Street. Further investiga
tion showed that untreated
water was pumped from
Christensen
a private
well cross-
connected
to the mu
nicipal wa
ter supply.
The dis
covery was
made after
tenants in
the build
ing complained to town of
ficials that the water tasted
“like wen water”, said
Town Manager John Chris
tensen. Public works em
ployees were also trying to
find out why chlorine levels
in the water in that area
of town were lower than
should be, he added.
Town officials immediate
ly contacted the building’s
owner, Randy Lassiter of
Belvidere, who shut down
the pump and disconnected
the well from the town’s
water supply
Town officials believe
that when the well’s pump
was operating, it back fed
imtreated well water into
the town’s treated munici
pal water system, killing
the chlorine levels in the
town’s water supply in that
general vicinity
Public Works Director
Chris Wharton said water
samples were taken and
See WATER, 3
A Thanksgiviiig Moment
STAFF PHOTOS BY BRETT A. CLARK
Volunteer Sue Hivner gives out Thanksgiving meals at the Open Door Food Pantiy in Winfall, Monday,
‘Tis the season for giving thanks
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
F rom turkey dinners to
moving to another area of
the state, local residents
are giving thanks during this
season of Thanksgiving.
At least 250 families in the
county are giving thanks for
the Open Door Food Pantry
which on Monday distributed
turkey baskets that will feed a
Thanksgiving holiday dinner
to 479 individuals.
The food, money and volun
teers who prepared the baskets
were provided by local church
es, individuals, and organiza
tions.
' “We give thanks for all of our
blessings and sincerely ap
preciate all that is given to us,”
said Rosemary Smith, director
of Open Door.
The baskets were based on
family size and included a
tTirkey mashed potatoes, fresh
sweet potatoes, green beans,
stuffing, gravy, cranberry
sauce, muffin mix, and pump
kin pie.
Smith said volunteers pack
aged the food, cut the pies, and
set up for the distribution site
over the weekend. The Food
Bank of the Albemarle deliv
ered the Thanksgiving turkeys
early Monday morning.
“This year the Thanksgiving
food was all distributed on one
day rather than two days as in
previous years,” said Smith.
“The distribution was
Volunteers Sandy Bluteau (left) and Joan Lofhjelm are all smiles giving out
See THANKSGIVING, 5 Thanksgiving meals at the Open Door Food Pantiy in Winfall, Monday.
With the holidays, remember needs of the hungry
This week'brings the cel
ebration of Thanksgiving,
a day centered on sharing
a bountiful meal with fam
ily and friends, a day to be
thankful for our good for
tune.
As we prepare to cel
ebrate the holiday, we
should be especially mind
ful of those for whom
good fortune has been
replaced by misfortune
— loss of jobs, loss of
homes. Though unem
ployment and foreclosures
have inched downward in
some of the counties in the
Albemarle region, many
families and individuals
continue to struggle, and
face the grim reality of not
knowing where their next
meal will come from.
You can help bring food
to their tables by partici
pating in the third annual
Albemarle Food Relief,
Hunger Hurts, Giving
Heals fund-raising cam
paign for the Food Bank of
the Albemarle.
Today you will find an
envelope in your Perqui
mans Weekly addressed
to the Food Bank. This
year, these envelopes were
provided by our campaign
partner. Farm Fresh. You
can mail your contribu
tion, or drop the envelopes
at any of the First Citizen
bank locations are at The
Daily Advance office in
Elizabeth City, Perquimans
Weekly office in Hertford
Food Bank
III..II — i„iii —I— of the
AQbemarQe
AMiiiCA
or Chowan Herald office in
Edenton. For every dollar
you donate, the Food Bank
can buy 5 pounds of food
or enough for four meals.
What does hunger look
like in the Albemarle area?
Data from the Food Bank
provides a paint-by-the-
numbers picture:
• 20 percent of the recipi
ents are working poor;
• 80 percent are not work
ing;
• 16 percent are senior
citizens;
• 15 percent more new
families sought assistance
this year than in 2009;
• 40 percent of the house
holds served also receive
food stamps.
Many of those in need
are on fixed incomes or
disabled.
Liz Reasoner, executive
director of the Food Bank,
said that overall there
has not been a dramatic
increase in the number
of people seeking food at
the Food Bank and other
pantries. The number of
households seeking assis
tance grew by 2 percent
from 2009 to 2010, total
ling 88,095. Some people
visit the Food Bank or its
partners only once, oth
ers might come monthly
based on their circum
stances. Over time, people
develop coping skills to try
to stretch their resources,
Reasoner said.
Statewide unemploy
ment rates declined by .1
percent in October, from
9.7 to 9.6 percent. County
unemployment rates from
September in the Albe
marle region ranged from
11.4 percent in Northamp
ton County to 4.1 percent
in Currituck County Most
counties fell in the 8 per
cent to 9 percent range,
including Pasquotank,
Perquimans and Chowan.
New county figures will be
See FOOD BANK, 5