P , THE
IRQ
1/C11******CAR-RT LOT**C 001 A0027
i|i|ii T h |, i|ii" ,ll,, l ! ill , lll , ii ,l,,l iiihiil , l l iiii l !i , ‘l l l'
110W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD NC 27944-1306
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
Senior Night, 7
"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017
50 cents
Man
charged
with credit
card theft
BY LINDELL JOHN KAY
Rocky Mount Telegram
Authorities have charged
an Edenton man with using
a credit card last known to
be in the possession of a
Perquimans County woman
reported missing more than
two years ago.
Thomas Edward White
Sr., 62, of the 700 block
of Johnston Street, was
charged Oct. 3 by the Per
quimans County Sheriffs
Office with obtaining prop- !
erty by false pretense and
attempting to obtain prop
erty by false pretense.
White was released on
a $10,000 unsecured bond.
He is scheduled to make an
appearance in Perquimans
County District Court in De
cember.
White is accused of using
a credit card belonging to
Arlene Murin, the mother
of Karen Rae Bosta. Bosta, [
39, was last seen May 31,
2015 shopping at a Food
Lion store formerly located
at North Broad Street and
Coke Avenue in Edenton.
Bosta’s 1997 Lincoln Con
tinental was found in apark- |
ing lot behind an Edenton
apartment complex a few
days after her disappear
ance. The locked car was
found in a parking space.
Her keys, which she kept
on abutterfly key ring, were
not with the car.
Murin said she gave her
credit card to her daughter
to use purchasing a carton of
cigarettes. Bosta left for the
store and never returned.
White allegedly used the
card the day after Bosta
vanished. Warrants charge
him with using the card to
purchase gasoline from a
convenience store. Warrants
allege he again tried to use I
the card at a grocery store,
but the card was declined.
According to investiga
tors, Bosta knew White,
who has a long criminal
conviction record. In the
1990s he served time for
breaking and entering. He |
was convicted a decade
later of financial card fraud,
fraud of special identifica
tion and violation of vital re
cords laws, according to the
N.C. Department of Public
Safety.
White’s statements to po- I
lice about how he came into
possession of Murin’s credit
card changed over the
course of the investigation
into Bosta’s disappearance, 1
authorities have said. He
first told deputies he found
the card in his girlfriend’s
car. He later said he found
it on the front porch of his
mother’s house, according I
See BOSTA, 2
Belvidere Day
NOV 0 1 RETD
Early
STAFF PHOTOS BY
PETER WILLIAMS
A tractor pulls a
hayride trailer full
of people past a
line of antique
cars Saturday
during Belvidere
Day. Right,
crowds applaud
a performance
Saturday at the
fifth annual
Belvidere Day
celebration.
voting
turnout
is low
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Voters have until Satur
day to cast an early ballot
for municipal elections in
Perquimans County.
Both Winfall and Hertford
each have two seats up for
a vote this year. As of noon
Monday, just one of the 369
Winfall voters had cast an
early ballot. In Hertford, the
figure was 146 out of 1,383
registered voters.
Voting at the county elec
tions office, 601 S. Edenton
Road St., continues today
from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. On
Nov. 2-3 the hours are 8 a.m.
until 7 p.m. The Saturday
hours are 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Election day is Nov. 7.
Hours are 6:30 a.m. until
7:30 p.m.
One change this election
will be the location one of
the two precincts in Hert
ford.
West Hertford voters will
See VOTING, 2
PCMS teacher named finalist for award
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Kaley Kiffner, a teacher at Per
quimans County Middle School, is
one of two finalists for Regional
Teacher of the Year.
If Kiffner makes it, she will fol
low Amy Parker, another Perqui
mans teacher who won the region
al award last year. Parker teaches
at Hertford Grammar School. That
same year, Jason Griffin, the prin
cipal at HGS was named both
regional Principal of the Year as
well as N.C. Principal of the Year.
There are 15 school systems in the
region.
The next step
in the selection
process is an on-
site visit at PCMS
on Nov. 21. Ob
servers will talk
to Kiffner’s class-
room, as well as
parents and ad
ministrators.
“Considering you have so many
school districts in the region, it
would be an amazing fete to have
another Regional Teacher of the
Year,” said Superintendent Mat
thew Cheeseman.
The northeast region includes
Dare, Camden, Currituck, Chowan
and Pasquotank.
To make “NC Teacher of the
Year” would mean that the win
ner would be the best out of some
90,000 teachers in the state, the su
perintendent said.
“Mrs. Kiffner is the best science
teacher in the state,” said Laura Mo
reland, the principal at PCMS. She
pointed to the fact that 86 percent
of Kiffher’s students last year rated
as proficient on the state exam.
“Her continuous efforts to ensure
science comes alive in the hands
of our students is extraordinary,”
Moreland said. “I feel privileged to
work with her every day and am so
proud of her accomplishments.”
Cheeseman said the people who
visit in November will look at Kiff
ner’s classroom environment, her
interaction with students and con
duct fact finding.
It’s not an idle exercise. The
point of the Teacher of the Year ef
fort is to find out what is working
best in North Carolina schools and
help spread it to other schools.
“She is remarkable at what she
does,” Cheeseman said of Kiffner.
See TEACHER, 2
Grant funds help improve sidewalks in Hertford
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Crews work on creating a wheelchair ramp on a
sidewalk on Grubb Street near the Perquimans County
Library last week.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Federal funds are allow
ing the N.C. Department of
Transportation to upgrade
some of the sidewalks in
Hertford so they are more
accommodating to those
with disabilities.
David Otts, a local
spokesman for DOT, said
the state is using $87,000
in federal funds to upgrade
sidewalks in Hertford,
Edenton, Gatesville and
Elizabeth City to Ameri
cans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) standards. In all, 23
ramps will be built in Hert
ford. Otts had no break
down on what the dollar
figure for Hertford is. The
town made the application
to get the funds, said Town
Manager Brandon Shoaf.
At the end of a traditional
sidewalk where it reaches
an intersection there may
only be a steep curb be
tween the sidewalk and the
pavement. The sidewalk
project underway now
creates a sloped area that
is easier for a wheelchair
to traverse. There are also
raised dots in the pavement
of the ramp to alert some
one who is blind and using
a cane will know they are
at an intersection.
Otts said some ramps
built in the past were prob
ably too steep for someone
in a wheelchair, and those
are being replaced under
this program.
All of the Hertford work
will take place on Grubb
from Church Street to Rail
road Avenue.
Otts said NC DOT can
See GRANT, 2
Families invited to resource fair
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A group of agencies that
help families will hold a
resource fair Nov. 9 at the
Perquimans County High
School gym.
The event will run from
3:30 p.m. until 6 p.m., said
Susan Nixon, the executive
director of the Chowan/Per-
quimans Smart Start Part
nership.
State Champs Honored
The Perquimans Com
munity Collaborative is not
new, she said.
“It is spear-headed by
Trillium Health Resources
by their System of Care Co
ordinator, Tracey Webster,
for our region. This group is
composed of mental health
personnel, school person
nel, community agency
personnel, Department of
Social Services, and court
counselors who work with
children up through age
18.”
Webster said this fair will
focus mostly on behavioral
health issues, mental health
and substance abuse. Based
on the input they get, next
year another fair may be
held for other issues.
“It will depend on the
needs of the stakeholders,”
Webster said.
The collaborative meets
every other month in Per
quimans County.
“As part of our work-plan
for this year we are trying to
get information out to fami
lies about resources and
services available to them,”
she said.
The event in November
will be open for anyone to
come hear about local re-
See FAIR, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Perquimans Union
High School 1965
team captains
Forrest Skinner and
Harry Spellman,
(left) and offensive
left end Melvin
Felton (right) pose
with Perquimans
Superintendent
Matthew Cheeseman
and the state football
championship trophy.
For more, and results
of the Pirates’ win
over Camden, please
see page 8.