P I The
ERQUIMANS
"Neivs front Next Door”
MARCH 27, 2013 - APRIL 2, 2013
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MAR 2 7 RECO
Man, 29, linked to 2012 murder
By PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A 29-year-old Stokes
County man was arrested
last week as an accessory
after the fact in the murder
of a Perquimans County
man last year.
Brian King, Breezy
Lane, King, was arrested
Thursday after Perqui-
Colson King
mans County deputies
went to the Stokes County
Sheriffs Department to in
terview him. Another man,
Michael Helms of Myrtle
Beach, S.C. was arrested
last February and charged
with the murder of Chad
Austin Colson.
A Perquimans magis
trate’s warrant, prepared
last week, alleges that King
tried to help Hehns escape
arrest and avoid detection
by cleaning a vehicle and
destroying evidence.
Colson, 28, of Hog Neck
Road, Perquimans County,
had multiple cuts to his
upper torso, Colson’s body
was found lying in a ditch
on Holiday Island Road by
a person riding a bicycle on
Feb. 21,2012.
At the time, Tilley said
the sheriffs office suspect
ed that Colson had been
killed elsewhere and the
body dumped on Holiday
Island Road. Hehns stepped
forward and accepted re
sponsibility for the crime,
Tilley said.
TiUey said he doesn’t
expect any more arrests in
Colson’s murder. King was
arrested because deputies
have continued following
leads.
“We believe there were
several things that Mr.
King was involved with af
ter the murder. They were
aU working with the same
construction group out of
South Carolina,” Tilley
said.
According to the sheriff.
See '12 MURDER, 6
Getting Ready For The Big Show
STAFF PHOTOS BY PETER WILLIAMS
Chelsea Farrar, (top
photo, left) playing Queen
Agravain, works with
fellow student actors
Dalton Winslow and
Amber Winslow during a
rehearsal for the Perqui
mans County High fine
arts production of “Once
Upon A Mattress” at the
school last week. The
musical comedy will be
performed April 11-12 in
the school's auditorium.
Amber Winslow (bottom
photo) still dances while
others have collapsed in
one of the scenes during
the reshearsal. For more
on the play, please
see story page 9.
Chamber
leaders
look for
solutions
By PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County has
the tools to tackle its prob
lems, but it lacks a coordi
nated effort to use them.
That was the attitude
expressed by some leaders
at a brainstorming session
held last week at the Per
quimans County Cham
ber of Commerce. Newly
elected chamber president
JoAnne Jones asked for
the meeting. She said she
didn’t expect aU the prob
lems would be resolved,
she simply wanted to get
more people working on
the solutions.
“I just want to see the
town come together,” Jones
said.
Jones sought ideas on
something she called
“Christmas in Perqui
mans.” It wouldn’t be so
much adding new activi
ties, but tying together
many of the ones that are
already happening and
focusing everything that
weekend around that.
“I know the idea is much
bigger than me,” Jones
said.
Jobs — or the lack of
them — seemed higher on
a lot of agendas.
David Goss, the county’s
economic development
director, said he thinks
the economy is on the re
bound.
“The economy has
turned around, and I
think there will be more
opportunities for small
businesses,” Goss said. “I
think you’re going to be
more hiring soon, but do
we have the workforce for
those jobs? If the chamber
would take a strong role, I
win do everything I can. If
See SOLUTIONS, 6
County, schools
eye joint package
By PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County is
poised to be the first county
in the state to make a joint
effort between the local gov-
89076 47144
ernment and school system
to tackle wasted energy.
The county commission
and the school board are
looking at working together
on a performance contract.
The agreement would
look at what energy needs
are now and what can be
done to reduce them in the
future.
See PACKAGE, 6
Weather service seeks volunteers
By PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County spans 247
square miles and from tip to tip,
some 25 miles long and 15 miles
wide.
But when it comes to reporting
rainfall data to a national volun
teer database, it all comes down to
Leon Pace.
The 75-year-old Belvidere resi
dent is the lone member of the Na
tional Weather Service’s Commu
nity Collaborative Rain, Hail and
Snow network. The group known
as CoCoRaHS, is now the largest
provider of daily
precipitation ob
servations in the
United States.
To fiU in the gaps
and in the spirit
of March Mad
ness, the weather
service is doing
a contest to see
Pace
which state can recruit the most
number of CoCoRaHS volunteers.
As of March 20, Texas was in first
place followed by North Carolina
in second with 82 new volunteers.
Pace said a lot of those new vol
unteers are really needed in north
eastern North Carolina.
“Pasquotank County has a lot
of them, but the rest of us have
little to none. I’ve tried to talk-it up
in the community, but people say
they’re too busy.”
Pace figures he spend about 10
minutes a day to compile and send
the information.
“Once you get your' rain gauge
set up, it’s just a matter of going
out there at a specific time of the
day, getting the measurement and
then going back to the computer
and putting in the information.
See WEATHER, 6
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