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ERQUIMANS
PAL hosts book signing, 5
Albemarte Chorale
concerts scheduled, 3
"JVetvs from Next Door"
DECEMBER 1, 2010 - DECEMBER 7, 2010
Jedele pleads guilty to ’07 killing
From staff reports
A former Hertford po
lice officer pleaded guilty
last week to first degree
murder in connection
with the 2007 kidnapping
and murder of Donald B.
Smithwick of Ahoskie.
According to the Roa-
noke-Chowan News Her
ald (RCNH), Raymond
Christian Jedele of Kill
Devil Hills accepted a plea
agreement last Tuesday
Employee
firing info
must be
released
From staff reports
Recent changes to North
Carolina’s open records
law require school dis
tricts and other public
agencies to disclose more
information to the press
and public about the &ing
of public employees, an at
torney advised the Perqui
mans Board of Education
last week.
John Leidy, attorney for
the Perquimans school
board, said that under the
changes, public agencies
must now release a public
worker’s employment his
tory, including salaries and
promotions, demotions,
suspensions or dismissals.
If an employee is fired,
then a statement of the
former employee’s acts or
errors must also be made
a matter of public record,
Leidy said.
“And it really changes
the landscape quite a lot,”
he said.
In the past, when citi
zens or reporters asked
about the firing of a public
employee, the public agen
cy was prohibited from
saying why the worker had
been dismissed.
Leidy noted that in the
past, a governing body like
a school board might not
have issued a termination
letter to an employee be
cause the board was only
verbally upholding an ad
ministrative decision.
But based on a recent
opinion by the state Attor
ney General’s Office, Leidy
believes governing boards
now have to keep termi
nation letters on file, and
have had to do since Oct. 1.
“That’s the good news,”
Leidy said. “The bad news
is, ifj^the letter) exists, it’s
See BOARD, 9
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High: 49 Low: 32
Mostly Sunny
Saturday
High: 53 Low: 39
Mostly Sunny
Sunday
High: 45 Low: 36
Showers
during a Winton court ses
sion that was expected to
only include pre-trial mo
tions
Jedele’s accomplice,
Janet Denise Harrell of
Edenton, plead guilty to
second degree murder.
Published reports indi
cate Superior Court Judge
Cy Grant sentenced Jedele
to life in prison without
the possibility of parole
while Harrell received 157-
198 months in prison.
Jedele was charged with
capital murder and was
facing the dealth penalty
if convicted. He was ex
pected to stand trial next
month in Hertford Coun
ty.
According to the RCNH,
Smithwick, then 33,
was kidnapped from his
Ahoskie home during the
early morning hours of
Oct. 4, 2007 as he left for
work.
His body was discovered
five days later in a wooded
area near Edenton by a
North Carolina Wildlife
officer.
Law enforcement of
ficers belived Smithwick
was tazed, bound and kid
naped after finding blood
both in his driveway and
in his pick-up truck which
was found abandoned a
few blocks away from his
home.
After Smithwich was
reported missing, various
law enforcement agencies
and search and rescue per
sonnel searched the area
surrounding the U.S. 17
bridge over the Chowan
River between Bertie and
Chowan counties.
Investigation revealed
that Jedele was involved in
a vehicle accident on that
bridge around 7 a.m. the
morning of Smithwick’s
disappearance.
Earlier court appear
ances revealed that Har
rell and Smithwick were
involved in a custody bat
tle over their two children.
Jedele, who was employed
at the time as a police offi
cer with the town of Kitty
Hawk, and Harrell were
friends.
According to the RCNH,
Smithwick apparently
won the custody fight and
was scheduled to sign
custody paperwork in the
Chowan County Court
house on Oct. 5.
Christmas time in the city
FILE PHOTO
Bells will be ringing and chiidren wiil be singing during Hertford’s annual Christmas Parade, which is slated to begin at 2 p.m., Saturday.
Illumination and parade usher in the holiday
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
T he town kicks off the
upcoming holiday season
Thursday night with the
annual Grand Illumination fol
lowing by the annual Christmas
Parade on Saturday.
A flipping of the switch
Thursday evening will trans
form Hertford into a festive
celebration of lights during
the Grand Illumination begin
ning on the historic courthouse
green at 6 p.m.
Entertainment will be provid
ed by members of the Perqui
mans County High School band.
Senior Citizens Choir, and First
Baptist Church Mass Choir of
Hyde Park as they offer Christ
mas carols. Officials will flip the
switch illuminating the official
18 ft. town Christmas tree,
courthouse trees and shrubs,
and downtown buildings at 6:30
p.m.
Also shining this year wfll
be River Trees, 24 illuminated
Christmag trees that light up
the river shoreline on Front and
Church streets.
Luminaries will again line
the sidewalk leading to the Per
quimans County Courthouse.
Lmninaries may be purchased
in memory, honor, or in celebra
tion of loved ones for $5 each.
Luminaries can be purchased
at the Perquimans Chamber of
Commerce, or the Perquimans
Weekly office.
Many of the downtown
merchants and restaurants will
remain open late for holiday
shopping and good eating!
Thursday’s Christmas cele
bration is sponsored J)y Historic
Hertford, Inc.
Saturday’s Perquimans
Chamber of Commerce Annual
Christmas Parade gets under
way at 2 p.m. and wfll feature
the special theme “Christmas
Blessings” this year. Grand
marshall for the event is non
other than Superior Court
Judge J.C. Cole who wfll be ac
companied by his wife, Janice, a
county commissioner.
Frank Roberts will provide
See illumination, 5
AEMC: Furr resigns, Bray steps in
89076
Bray is named as
interim manager
From staff reports
The general manager of
Albemarle Electric Mem
bership Corp. (AEMC)
resigned last week and an
interim manager has been
named.
AEMC spokesman Chris
PoweU said Brad Furr’s
resignation took effect im
mediately foUowing his
abrupt resignation last
Tuesday morning.
On Nov, 29, Gerald
“Zach” Bray, 45, was named
interim general manager
by the AEMC Board of Di
rectors.
Powell called Furr’s de
cision to resign a person
nel matter. He declined to
elaborate further.
Efforts to reach Furr for
comment were unsuccess
ful.
L. A. Harris Jr., president
of the AEMC board, said
he has complete confidence
in Bray’s ability to run the
co-op while a search for a
full-time general manager
is conducted.
Harris said the search
for a full-time general man
ager could take as much as
six months.
“Zach Bray has extensive
knowledge of Albemarle
EMC’s computer network
and has taken a lead role
in overseeing construction
of the new office building,”
Harris said.
“He is an ideal person
to oversee the cooperative
during the search for a full
time general manager.”
Bray started with the co
op in 2004 as a GIS techni
cian. He was promoted to
information systems su
pervisor in 2006.
In 2008, he was promoted
to manager of technical
services.
Bray is from Elizabetli
City and is a graduate
of Northeastern High
School.
He has a bachelor of sci
ence degree in mathemat-
Food Bank
envelopes
are inside
The Albemarle Food
Bank fund-raising appeal
was published in error in
last week’s Perquimans
Weekly, and the envelopes
were not inserted in the
paper.
You will find the enve
lope in today’s edition. If
you choose to contribute,
you can mail the donation
or drop your envelope off
at the Perquimans Weekly
office at 111 W. Market St.,
Hertford or at local First
Citizen Bank locations.