P THE
ERQUIMANS
JAWeekly
"News from Next Door" MARCH 21, 2012 - MARCH 27, 2012
Junior Woman’s Club holds poetry
contest: Read this and other school
news on pages 12-13
50 cents
Mother of murder victim coping day by day
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Vicki Colson
(right) is
shown with
her late son
Chad, who was
found beaten
and stabbed
to death in a
roadside ditch
last month.
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
W rhen her son didn’t
return home that Mon
day after being away all
weekend, Vicki Colson knew
something was wrong.
Call it mother’s intuition.
Call it knowing her son well as
most mothers do. Something
just didn’t feel right.
She knew her son Chad
would need and want clean
clothes after a weekend of
partying - if that’s what he had
done.
Plus, he knew she was plan
ning to make him his favorite
cake - a pig picking cake - for
his upcoming birthday. In fact,
she bought the ingredients
for the cake that Sunday after
work. He was looking forward
to it.
When he didn’t show up at
her Holiday Island home to get
a shower and clean clothes to
start off the new week, alarm
and concern began gnawing in
her belly.
She left her doors unlocked
that Monday night, expecting
him to walk is as if nothing had
happened. Monday came and
went. The gnawing in her belly
grew.
Early Tuesday morning, she
found out Chad’s grandmother
had died. She wondered how
she would tell her son that the
grandmother he loved so much
was gone.
See MOTHER, 11
Liquor
store is
robbed at
gunpoint
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Two males robbed the
Hertford ABC store at gun
point shortly before clos
ing time Monday night.
Interim Chief Mike
Carver said two men en
tered the store around 8:43
p.m. demanding cash. One
suspect pointed a handgun
at the two employees while
the other suspect took the
cash drawer out of the
cash register. An undeter
mined about of cash was
taken, police said.
Witnesses told police
both suspects fled the scene
in a green mini van.
Detective Chris Firkle
found a van matching the
description provided by
witnesses about 30 min
utes later parked in the
parking lot at the Wynne
Fork Court apartments,
said Carver. Police have
impounded a green Ford
Winstar van registered to
a resident of Stokes Drive,
he added. The State Bu
reau of Investigation has
been called in to process
the van.
Police say the van’s own
er reported the van stolen
just after the robbery oc
curred.
The suspects are de
scribed as two black males,
about 6 feet tall, wearing
white tee-shirts and black
pants. As of Tuesday
morning, no arrest has
been made.
This makes the third rob
bery or robbery attempt
around local businesses in
the past 28 days. On March
11, two suspects attempted
to rob the Ming Hing Res
taurant at gunpoint as
workers were closing for
the night.
In that incident, one of
the suspects stood lookout
at the door while the other
put a black semi-automatic
handgun to the head of the
cook. The robber demand
ed money and forced the
cook to the ground.
Another restaurant em
ployee reportedly fright
ened off the robbers by
waving a stapler in the air
as if it were a gun. Both
suspects fled out the back
door.
No money was taken and
no one was injured in the
incident, police reports
state.
The would-be robbers
were described as black
See ROBBED, 4
STAFF PHOTOS BY CATHY WILSON
The Perquimans County Community Angels sponsored a Cinderella Ball at the Perquimans County Recreation Center Saturday night. The contestants
vying for King/Prince and Queen/Princess danced a waltz during the colorful ball. See more photos from Cinderella Ball, page 14.
Contestants make their grand entrance during the Cinderella Ball, which raised money
to help the Perquimans Community Angels attend a cheer/dance camp in Myrtle Beach this spring.
The Queen of the
Ball was Asia White.
RMon Hodges is cool in his shades.
Extension reaching out to help
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
For years Scott Maxwell
tried desperately to work
his way through a maze
of paperwork following
family illnesses.
First, his wife suffered a
stroke and needed therapy
and long-term care. Then
his adult son was injured
in an accident and later
diagnosed with ALS. The
paperwork starting pil
ing up into what almost
seemed an insurmount
able mountain to climb.
Enter Jewel Winslow,
family and consumer sci
ence agent with the Per
quimans County Coop
erative Extension Center.
She helped pave a way
through the mountain of
paperwork, saving Max
well time and giving him
peace of mind.
“I found an angel that
day,” Maxwell told mem
bers of the county board
of commissioners who at
tended a breakfast meet
ing at the Extension Cen
ter last week. “All that
paperwork was very dif-
\
STAFF PHOTO BY CATHY WILSON
Perquimans County commissioners and other local residents enjoyed breakfast Thursday dur
ing a meeting hosted by the Perquimans County Extension Service..
ficult to handle properly.
The paperwork was mon
strous! Her help to this
old guy was invaluable.”
Several folks spoke
positively about all as
pects of the Extension
programs during the
annual breakfast. Like
Maxwell’s account, addi
tional testimonies were
heard praising the works
of 4-H, Expanded Food
& Nutritional Education
Program, aquaculture,
and assistance for field
crops and livestock.
Grower Burt Eure said
farmers throughout the
region depend on the Ex
tension Service for help
in research in order to
grow the operations.
“Farmers need the ex
tension agent’s help,” said
Eure. “I’m not a NC State
graduate, but I’ve gotten
my education through
Extension.”
The local Extension ser
vice helps farmers, with
See EXTENSION, 4
Eure
seeking
election
petitions
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
A fifth person is circulate
ing petitions seeking to be
placed on the November
ballot for county commit
sioner.
William L. Eure, better
known as “Chicago”, has
until June 29 at noon to
present petitions bearing
four percent of the coun
ty’s qualified registered
voters to the Perquimans
County Board of Elections
for his name to join four
others seeing three seats
on the county commission
ers’ board. He seeks to run
as a candidate unaffiliated
with any political party.
Eure, 45, says he just
wants to be part of the
community
See PETITIONS, 4
6
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