ERQUIMANS
MWeekly
See PCMS sports awards photos, 10
"News from Next Door" JUNE 6, 2012 - JUNE 12, 2012
MN 0 6 2012
50 cents
No tax increase in county budget
Employees would get
2-percent pay hike
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Perquimans County commis
sioners will consider a proposed
budget for the next fiscal year
that includes no tax hike, gives
the school district slightly more
money than last year, holds the
line on utility fees, and awards
county employees a 2-percent
pay raise.
Monday night, County Man
ager Frank Heath presented
a proposed $12.7 million gen
eral fund budget for 2012-13 that
spends less than 1 percent more
than the current year’s amended
budget. Because of slow growth
in revenues, funding for county
departments basically remains
the same as last year.
“Fiscal Year 2012 was a chal
lenging budget year for Perqui
mans County and Fiscal Year
2013 promises more of the same,”
Heath told commissioners in his
written budget message. “Per
quimans’ economic growth, like
(that in) many counties in our re
gion, is still in a weakened state.
Although we have seen some im
provement in sales tax revenues,
ad valorem property tax growth
remains at below one percent.
Despite the continued stagna
tion of economic conditions that
leads to little revenue growth,
the budget proposes no tax in
crease, keeping the ad-valorem
property tax rate at 44 cents per
$100 (of property) value.”
Revenues from property taxes
are expected to increase by less
See BUDGET, 8
Civil War footstone returns home
From staff reports
an Confederate soldier
A who has been dead
more than 100 years
was remembered in a cer
emony Saturday, in which
his missing footstone
was dedicated after being
returned to his gravesite
by the Sons of Confederate
Veterans.
Uriah Winslow Speight,
who was a sergeant in
Co. I, Regiment 17 of the
North Carolina Infantry
for the Confederate States
Army, was taken prisoner
of war at the Battle of
Roanoke Island in 1862. He
was eventually released
and returned to his native
Perquimans County. He
died on Jan. 5,1912.
While the government
created footstones for
Confederate veterans
back then, the stone was
not given to the family if
the grave already had a
marker. To this day, no one
knows the whereabouts
of the Speight’s footstone
from the time it was cre
ated by the government
until it showed up last au
tumn when the Magruder-
Ewell Camp of the SCV in
Newport News learned the
marker still existed.
The footstone was in
the hands of a thrift store
owner who wanted to see
the marker returned to
Speight’s family Harry
Winslow of Hertford
said the footstone appar
ently was bought at a flea
market and later traced to
the Perquimans County
veteran.
The Magruder-Ewell
Camp contacted the Wil
liam F. Martin Camp and
plans to return it began.
On Saturday, approxi-
STAFF PHOTOS BY CATHYWILSON
Mary Beth Merrell sings “Amazing Grace” during Saturday’s ceremony marking the return of a footstone to the gravesite of a Confederate soldier from Perquimans.
Dressed in Confederate attire, an honor guard fires a 21-gun salute at Saturday’s ceremony.
mately 35 people watched
the unveiling of the
footstone, with gunfire
salutes from gray-clad SCV
members and the singing
of “Amazing Grace” and
“Dixie.” Members of the
WFM and ME camps par
ticipated in colonial dress
as well as members of the
Daughters of the Ameri
can Revolution.
One of the Speight fam
ily members, Oscar Elbert
White Jr. of Edenton, gave
a brief, but emotional
speech expressing appre
ciation.
An unidentified man portraying a Confederate general stands at
attention during Saturday’s ceremony at Cedar Wood Cemetery.
The service marked the return of a footstone to the gravesite of
Uriah Winslow Speight, a Confederate soldier from Perquimans.
“Both of my parents
died in 2007 and I thought
that you lose a lot of your
family history when
somebody like that passes
away,” White said. “And
it’s good to know that
there’s still ways to re
member members of your
family”
Before he died, Speight
served as a register of
deeds for the county
William West of The
Daily Advance and Cathy
Wilson of The Perquimans
Weekly contributed to this
story.
Stevenson, Copeland lead Class of ’12
From staff reports
Sarah Stevenson and Katie Cope
land will graduate as valedictorian
and salutatorian, respectively, Fri
day night at Perquimans County
High School.
The duo will lead the Class of 2012
during commencement exercises at
7 p.m. on the Perquimans County
Schools Veterans’ Memorial Field.
Approximately 102 seniors are ex
pected to receive diplomas during,
the ceremony.
This year’s Top 10 honor students
Summer Breeze concert is Sunday
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The season’s first Summer
Breeze Concert set for Sunday eve
ning will feature the talents of lo
cal musician Travis Walsh.
The free concert gets under
way at 6 p.m. on the grounds of
the Newbold-White House. The
grounds will open one hour before
the concert. Bring a lawn chair, a
blanket, or a picnic basket for the
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include Jennifer
Shriver, Shannon
Johnson, Katie
Copeland, Sarah
Stevenson, Dakota
Givens, Molly New
bern, Shoniqua
Powell, Allen Kish-
paugh, Desember
Mears and Brittany
Chappell.
Stevenson
Stevenson, daughter of Henry
and Mary Ann Norman of Belvi
dere and Keith and Lynette Steven
son of Elizabeth City, plans to at-
whole family.
In the event of inclement weath
er, the concert moves indoors to
the Perquimans County Recreation
tend the University
of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill to
major in pharmacy
Her main goal after
leaving high school
is to stay focused
and to do her best
in college. She will
also strive to have
One Hertford officer
fired, another resigns
DA: Officers no longer effective witnesses
fun and enjoy herself in her next
stage in life.
Stevenson says her most
See CLASS, 8
FILE PHOTO
Travis Walsh and Cosmos kick off the Sum
mer Breeze Concert Series Sunday on the
grounds of the Newbold-White House.
Center.
Walsh and acoustic group Cos
mos perform jazz, blues, bluegrass,
gypsy and rock music. Walsh is a
singer-songwriter who relocated
from New York to the Albemarle
area in 2003. He plays guitar, per
forms as a solo artist, and as a part
of several musical groups, includ
ing the House Blend Band, TMG,
Riddle, and most recently Cosmos.
His broad musical interests and
songs reflect largely on his life and
family.
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
A Hertford police ser
geant and patrolman are
no longer employed by the
town after town officials
were notified by the district
attorney that the two law
enforcement officers may
not be effective witnesses
in future court cases.
Hertford Town Manager
Brandon Shoaf said Sgt.
Shawn Swindell and Offi
cer Glenn Needham ended
their employment with the
Hertford Police Depart
ment May 9. Swindell was
terminated by Shoaf and
Needham resigned, said
Shoaf.
The change in employ
ment occurred five days
after “the district attorney
decided he wouldn’t accept
testimony” from the two
officers, explained Shoaf.
According to a May 4 let
ter from District Attorney
Frank Parrish to former
interim Police Chief Mike
Carver, the district attor
ney’s office is obligated to
disclose any impeaching
evidence pertaining to a
key witness in court cases.
Failing to do so could result
in constitutional error.
“In the case of both Of
ficer Needham and Sgt.
Swindell, the state would
be obliged to disclose such
impeaching evidence to
defense counsel,” the let
ter states. “This impeach
ing evidence, with respect
to each of these officers
would, in my opinion, se
verely undermine and im
pair their effectiveness as
state’s witnesses,” Parrish
wrote.
Shoaf said he believed
the fact that Swindell was
convicted of misdemean
or assault in July 2011 in
connection with an alter
cation involving former
police chief Joe Amos and
Kenneth Ferebee is the im
peaching evidence Parrish
was alluding to Swindell.
Swindell has been admin
istrative duty every since
the conviction, Shoaf
pointed out.
Regarding Needham,
See POLICE, 4