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"News from Next Door" OCTOBER 22, 2014 - OCTOBER 28, 2014 50 cents
Town to cap utility deposits at $350
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Town of Hertford will cap
the amount it charges for residen
tial utility deposits at $350.
For people that rent, that’s the
good news.
The bad news is that all custom
ers who pay their bills late or get
the power disconnected will pay
more based on a new town policy
adopted last week.
Most Hertford customers don’t
pay a deposit at all. Those that can
prove a good credit history with
a previous utility are exempt. Ho
meowners also don’t have to pay
money up front.
Any renter without good credit
moving into a house that has
a histoiy of high utility bills will
see some significant relief based
on the new policy. The old policy
required the new tenant to come
up with a deposit equal to two
months worth of the average bill
at that address.
With a house that had an av
erage monthly bill of $300, that
meant a deposit of $600. Under
the new formula, the new tenant
would pay $350.
Anne White, a former mem
ber of the town board, has been
pressing the town to reduce util
ity deposits. She said they unfairly
punish “the working poor” and
last week she proposed capping
the deposit at $250. She also op
posed increasing the fees charged
for connecting, disconnecting and
reconnecting electrical service.
Under the new policy custom
ers who get their power turned
off for non-payment and want it
turned back on will also pay $25
more. The old fee was $10 to dis
connect service and $15 to recon
nect. Both fees are now $25.
Town Manager Brandon Shoaf
crafted the new policy at the re
quest of the town board. He said
he was reluctant to recommend
going any lower on the residen
tial deposits because even with
the current policy the town gets
stuck when customers leave ow
ing money.
As of July, the town had $53,962
in bad debt and wrote off $19,697
of it as uncollectible.
White argued that some of the
See DEPOSITS, 2
County
receives
$600K
donation
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
Commission agreed Mon
day night to keep their op
tions open on how to spend
an unexpected $600,000 gift
from the late Charles Ward.
Ward, a member of the
board for 20 years, died on
Sept. 1. In his will he left
$600,000 to the county with
instructions that he wanted
the board to spend it on a
new public library or a new
athletic complex. He left it
to the county commission
to decide.
Both projects have been
in the works for years, but
the clock is ticking on the
athletic complex.
Dr. William Nixon, a
See GIFT, 3
Water Test
A Hertford Fire Department fire truck pumps water from the Perquimans River during an equipment test at
the town docks behind town hall, Thursday. The department conducts the tests every year.
Student
facing
drug
charge
BY PETER WILLIAMS
The Perquimans Weekly
One of two students dis
missed last month from the
Perquimans County High
School football team fol
lowing their convictions for
assault, is again in trouble
with the law.
Raheim Kee, 18, of
Camelot Drive, was arrest
ed at the high school Friday
on charges of possession
with intent to sell or deliver
marijuana.
According to Sheriff Eric
Tilley, Kee was arrested
about 2:30 p.m. after school
officials found in his pos
session a plastic pill bottle
containing four small bags
of marijuana.
See CHARGES, 2
Haste wins another governor’s praise, award
STAFF PHOTO
BY PETER
WILLIAMS
Erie Haste
stands in
front a
wall in his
office that
is filled with
certificates
and awards
he’s earned
over
decades of
community
service.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Erie Haste may need a
bigger wall in his office.
The long-time owner of J
Hertford Hardware Store
recently was awarded The
Old North State Award by
Gov. Pat McCrory for his
years of service to the com-
munity.
Just two years ago, Haste
was given the Order of the
Long Leaf Pine, the state’s
highest honor by Gov. Bev
Perdue.
Perdue is a Democrat,
McCrory a Republican,
but Haste has a history of
working with whatever po-
litical party is in power to
get something done.
“I could care less who
was in there (in Raleigh),”
Haste said last week. “I’ve
worked with both parties.”
The wall in his modest
office bears that out. He
has certificates signed by
governors Jim Holshouser,
James Hunt, Jim Martin
and Perdue.
The Long Leaf Pine
award is for people with
service of 30 years or more.
The Old North State is for
20 years and was created
by Gov. Mike Easley.
In some ways,. Haste,
80, has been serving since
he was a teenager. Back in
1949 at the age of 15 he was
a tour guide on the first his
torical house tour in Eden
ton. He grew up in a town
on West Church Street in
Edenton.
In 1959 after attending
the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill he
returned with his wife Pat
to eastern North Carolina.
Along with his father, he
purchased the Hertford
Hardware and Supply Com
pany in 1958. It is Hertford’s
longest continuously oper
ating business and opened
in 1903.
Along the way Haste
See HASTE, 3
Council looks to name bridge for Hunter
Homecoming QUEEN, KING
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Hertford Town
Council agreed last week
to ask the N.C. Depart
ment of Transportation to
name the U.S. 17 Bypass
bridge in honor of the late
Jim “Catfish” Hunter.
Allan Asbell, a retired
banker, presented the
issue Oct. 14 at a town
council meeting.
Perquimans County al
ready has a bridge named
Polls open for start of early voting Thursday
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County resi-
6
89076 47144
days this year from
the previous 12 days. The
number of hours remains
the same. Some days the
elections office will be open
2
for the Major League Base
ball Hall of Fame player.
About four years ago, a
small bridge near Hunter’s
home in Bear Swamp was
given the honor.
But Asbell said Hunter
deserves far, far more. As
bell is the driving force be
hind the effort, but he has
the family’s support.
Helen Hunter, Hunter’s
widow was at the meet
ing Tuesday as were chil
dren Kim and Todd Hunt
er. Todd Hunter said the
dents who want to
vote early can start
going to the poHs
on Thursday.
Early voting is
scaled back to 10
family did not object to
the bridge request. Helen
Hunter said it could raise
more awareness for ALS,
a disease that helped cut
short her husband’s life at
the age of 53. Other sup
porters included down-
town businessmen Erie
Haste and Charles Wood
ard.
Asbell, 65, said the idea
of renaming the bridge
is something he’s been
working on for about two
years.
for 12 hours but on
the two Saturdays
it will be open for
between three and
four hours.
The decision on
when to allow early
voting is a local one made
by the local board of elec
tions. The state only requires
that counties hold the same
The small bridge on
Center Hill Highway was
named in honor of the
baseball great because
someone who thought it
appropriate because it
was near Hunter’s home.
“I just don’t think this
does him (Hunter) jus
tice,” Asbell said. “This
has got to change. Fifty
people of day see that
(sign on the Center Hill
bridge) and thousands
See BRIDGE, 2
number of hours available
as it did in 2010.
The only contested major
local race is for the Perqui
mans County Commission.
Wallace Nelson, Stanley
Nixon, Fondella Leigh and
Ed Muzzulin are seek
ing one of the three spots.
See VOTING, 3
PHOTO BY CHUCK PAGELS
Jordan Chappell (left) and Tarik Hurdle were
named queen and king of the sehior class during
homecoming at Perquimans County High School
Friday night. For more photographs of the
homecoming court, see page 4.