4
THE
Perquimans
Oeekly
"News from Next Door” JANUARY 25, 2012 - JANUARY 31, 2012
50 cents
STAFF PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
Petition
seeks
action
on DA
The Daily Advance
A home on Woodville Road was destroyed by fire early Monday. Mary Frances James, 83, managed to get herself and her daughter, 51, out of the burning home
at 3:30 a.m. No one was injured but the house was destroyed.
A Dare County law en
forcement officer has filed
a petition in Pasquotank
Superior Court asking the
court to determine wheth
er District Attorney Frank
Parrish should be removed
from office or suspended
because of his handling
of two matters in Dare
County
Parrish
is the dis
trict at
torney for
District
1 which
includes
P e r q u i -
mans, Pas
quotank,
Fire destroys Woodville home
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Members of the close-knit
James family in Woodville were
giving thanks Monday morning
after their 83-year-old mother
escaped from her burning home
without injury
Mary Frances James and her
51-year-old daughter were asleep
in their two-story frame/vinyl
siding home when flames broke
out around 3:30 a.m. Family mem
bers say James usually has diffi
culty getting up in the mornings,
but, thankfully, not this time.
She woke up and got out of bed
to go to the bathroom when she
saw smoke and flames and heard
popping sounds in her home. She
woke her daughter, and together,
they made their way out of the
burning house with only the pa
jamas they were wearing at the
time.
“For her to get up and get out
of that house, God was certain
ly with them,” said her oldest
daughter Joyce who lives behind
the burning home. ?By the time I
heard about the fire, flames were
coming out of the top.”
Approximately 30 firefight
ers from three volunteer fire de
partments fought the blaze that
burned the sprawling house and
a car parked inside the garage.
“When we arrived on the scene,
fire was coming out of the ceil
ing in the garage and living room
areas,” said Chief Bobby Swayne
See WOODVILLE, 5
Banquet honors area’s top crop growers
Chowan, Dare, Gates,
Camden, and Currituck
counties.
Andy Ennis, who identi
fied himself in court docu
ments as a police officer
with the Kill Devil Hills
Police Department, alleges
in a petition filed last week
that he presented to Par
rish evidence of criminal
violations by Kill Devil
Hills Police Chief Gary
Britt and “Mr. Parrish re
fused, neglected or failed
to act” on them.
Ennis states in the peti
tion that he had requested
a copy of his personnel file
and learned there were
several copies of the file in
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
T op crop producers
in the county were
recognized last week
during the annual Perqui
mans Farm/City Banquet
held at the Perquimans
Community Center.
Awards were presented*
to the top producers in
wheat, corn, and soy
beans.
Recognized for their
growing efforts in wheat
yields during the past
season were Laurence
Chappell (1st) with 126.42
bushels per acre and
Ricky Stallings (2nd) with
114.42 bushels per acre.
Stallings also took top
honors in the corn yields
with 239.28 bushels per
acre followed by David
Temple with D&S Farms
producing 216.43 bushels
per acre, and Scott Miller
in third place with 207.33
bushels per acre. Leaders
in soybeans were Matt
Perry with 57.13 bushels
per acre, Proctor Farms
with 56.14 bushels per
STAFF PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
Top crop growers in the county were recognized last week during the annual Perquimans Farm City Banquet held at the
Perquimans Community Center. Awards were presented to the top producers in wheat, corn and soybeans. The top growers
include: (l-r) David Temple with D&S Farms, Allen Stallings, Pete Proctor with Proctor Farms, Matt Perry, Ricky Stallings and
Laurence Chappell. Not pictured is Scott Miller.
acre, and Allen Stallings
with 49.34 bushels per
acre.
The yield awards were
sponsored and presented
by the Perquimans
County Ruritan Clubs,
Hertford Lions Club,
Southern States Coopera
tive, Inc., and the Perqui
mans County Extension
Service.
Those attending the
popular banquet heard
Al Wood speak on his trip
to Brazil last year where
he learned about Brazil
ian agriculture. Wood is
an Extension Agent in
neighboring Pasquotank
County.
He travelled to Brazil
last January as part
of the North Carolina
Agricultural Leadership
Development Program, a
2-year program through
the College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences at NC
State University. The pro
gram is designed to help
develop leaders in the lo
cal agricultural communi
ty, Wood explained, help
ing them gain knowledge
and experiences to help
make informed decisions
on public issues that may
shape rural communities
in the future.
Brazil is a major pro
ducer now of soybeans
and wheat, he said, add
ing that some areas of
that country have over 80
million acres of land that
may be degraded eventu
ally to pasture or acreage
for row crops.
“If you think Brazil is
See BANQUET, 7
See PETITION, 7
Nixon
will not
run in
2012
Jones throws his hat
into political ring
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Veteran county commis
sioner Mack Nixon will not
seek reelection in 2012.
In a sepa
rate devel
opment,
New Hope
resident
Thomas
“Kyle”
Jones an
nounced
Tuesday
Schools’ finance
officer terminated
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The finance officer
for Perquimans County
Schools was terminated
Friday after being on
the job for two years.
Superintendent
Dwayne Stallings said
Pearline Bunch was
6 89076 47144 “ 2
terminated because he
felt the school system
needed to go in a differ
ent direction.
“The financial posi
tion of the school sys
tem is great,” said Stall
ings. “She gave us two
years of great service.
I felt that we needed to
go in a different direc
tion.”
The firing came just
three days before the
school system’s annual
See OFFICER, 7
Three facing drug charges
From staff reports
A Currituck County woman and two
Perquimans County men face a host of
drug charges following a traffic stop Sat
urday night.
According to the Hertford Police De
partment, Katrina Elaine Falvey of the
500-block NW Backwoods Road in Moyock,
Aaron Michael Harrell of the 400-block
Body Road, and Ian Thomas Armstrong
of the 100-block Anglers Cove Road were
arrested after police found a number of
suspected illegal drugs in the vehicle in
which they riding.
Falvey, 18, faces five felonies and four
misdemeanor charges and was taken to
Albemarle District Jail under $11,500 se
cured bond. Both Harrell (22) and Arm
strong (22) face four felonies and two mis ¬
demeanors and were jailed under $9,000
secured bonds.
Police say various suspected drugs
were found including 17 Ecstasy pills, 15
Xanax pills without a prescription, and
marijuana. In addition, an array of drug
use/manufacturing equipment was found
inside the vehicle including rolling paper,
marijuana grinder, and a marijuana bong
and bowl. Also seized were $269 in cash,
cell phones, and fireworks.
Police reports state that Hertford offi
cers first saw a 2004 red Mazda RX parked
at the basketball courts on King Street
before traveling through town. A check of
the license plate on the vehicle came back
to a Honda Civic rather than a Mazda.
Police stopped the vehicle near Larry’s
See CHARGES, 5
morning he will run for
county commissioner.
Nixon, who has served
for 20 years, says he is hon
ored to serve the county
residents but notes he
seeks to spend more time
with family.
“It’s time for new blood
to come in,” he added.
“Plus, I really want to
spend more time with my
grandchildren.”
Nixon served for sev
eral years as board chair
man and is known for his
strong sense of history in
county matters as well as
common sense leadership.
He served as commission
er from 1990-98 and again
from 2000 until now. He
See NIXON, 7