COA prepares for trip, 6
"News from Next Door”
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018
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Jackson charged with punching Eley
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Hertford Town Council
man Quentin Jackson was
scheduled to be in court to
day on charges he punched
another council after a re
cent meeting.
Councilman Sid Eley, the
victim of the alleged assault,
would not comment Tues
day morning.
“I have been advised by
law enforcement to only say
JACKSON ELEY
that the matter is under in
vestigation,” Eley said.
Court documents show
Eley claimed that on Oct. 1
Jackson hit him on his left
temple with a closed fist.
District Court Judge Ed
gar Barnes is scheduled to
hear the case, which starts
at 9:30 am.
District Attorney Andrew
Womble said his office is
looking into the alleged as
sault.
“We are aware of the inci
dent and there is an ongoing
investigation into the events
at the Town of Hertford
board meeting.”
Jackson claims it was
self-defense.
“It was unavoidable,”
Jackson said Tuesday. “It
was self defense. It was af
ter the meeting and I just
asked the man a question.”
Jackson said he asked
Eley if it was true he was
not going to support the
Democratic Party because
it supported both he and
Councilman Frank Norman
in the last town election.
“He just blew up,” Jack
son said of Eley. “He got up
in my face and was spitting
and butting on me and I
asked him ‘please get out of
my face.”’
When he said Eley was
spitting on him it was not
“like he hocked one on me.”
“He had been eating and
his food was getting on my
face.”
“I begged the man for two
minutes and he wouldn’t get
out of my face.”
Jackson claimed Eley
had him boxed in and he
couldn’t get to the door.
“I begged him. I didn’t
want to hit him. He is my
former teacher and my for
mer football coach. But ev
erybody knows he doesn’t
like me or Frank Norman
being on the board.”
Jackson said magistrate
George Long asked him if he
wanted to file cross charges
against Eley.
“I come from an era
See JACKSON, 4
Davison to
step down
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
PAL Show
The executive director of
the Albemarle Commission
has resigned, advising the
10-county agency’s Board of
Delegates that she plans to
leave early next month.
A press
release
from the
Albemarle
Commis
sion said
Cathy Da
vison’s res
ignation
Oct. on
Nov. 2. The
release said Davison’s res
ignation was voluntary and
not requested by the Board
of Delegates. Davison’s con
tract with the commission
required her to provide 30
days notice to the board if
she intends to leave.
“I am sorry to see Ms. Da
vison leaving the Albemarle
Commission,” Board of Del
egates Chairwoman Marion
Gilbert said. “On behalf of
the board, I wish Ms. Davi
son the best of luck in all of
her future endeavors.”
Gilbert, a county com
missioner in Currituck,
declined Wednesday to dis-
See DAVISON, 4
STAFF PHOTO S
BY PETER WILLIAMS
Top, the
Perquimans Arts
League held
their annual
show and sale
Saturday both
inside and outside
the Perquimans
Recreation
Center. Right,
a vendor gives
a customer a
hug Saturday
Perquimans Arts
League show in
Hertford.
Sheriff
candidates
talk policy
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The two candidates for
Perquimans County Sheriff
agree the drug problem is
the biggest one facing the
county but simply arresting
people alone won’t cure it.
Sher-
iff Shelby
White and
challenger
Jim Bray
agreed that
drugs are
the underly ¬
ing cause of WHITE
crime.
But re
habilitation
has to play a
role.
“An ag
gressive law
enforcement
strategy that
includes
saturation
BRAY
patrols and surveillance
techniques combined with
uncover officerscanbean
effective way to address the
rising drug problem in this
county,” Bray said. “I plan
to implement a traffic unit
that focuses on high crime
See SHERIFF, 2
SUBMITTED
PHOTO
Katie Miller
rides her
horse,
Wildwynn
Wesley,
during
a recent
competition.
Miller, Wesley excel at Dressage
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Picture yourself as a 4-
foot-10 woman with a dance
partner that weighs 500
pounds and has two left
feet. Yet you two can still
dance to “Dirty Dancing”
songs and win in national
competition.
Katie Miller can.
This summer she and her
partner Wesley won nation
al honors at a competition
near Chicago out of a field
of 300 entries.
Despite his size, and that
he has two left feet, Wes
ley also has two right feet.
Wesley, or more accurately
Wildwynn Wesley, is a Welsh
gelding. A pony.
They compete in a sport
called Dressage which dates
back to classical Greek
horsemanship in 400 BC. It
became an Olympic sport in
the 1912.
Miller, a 39-year-old trans
planted Belvidere resident,
likens Dressage to a dance.
Both rider and horse per
form together. Picture a
ballet with two dancers, but
one is sitting on top of the
other and the bottom one
has four legs and a tail.
Miller came late to the
sport, but not horses.
“I think I started in youth
in second or third grade and
went on and competed with
the collegiate team at N.C.
State when I was in college,”
Miller said.
But then she was doing
western and hunter-jumper.
And for about 18 years, she
didn’t ride. She focused on
a nursing career and suc
ceeded.
But when her husband A. J
said they needed to move
from her native Raleigh to
Perquimans County, Miller
said she knew she wanted
See MILLER, 2
Storm expected this week
BATTLE Of The Bands
From Staff Reports
Emergency officials
were keeping an eye on
Hurricane Michael as it
approached the panhan
dle of Florida on Tuesday.
“We continue to moni
tor the forecast very
closely and will begin
communications with NC
Emergency Management
today,” said Jonathan Nix
on, Perquimans County’s
emergency management
director.
The National Weather
Service office in Wake
field, Va. issued a report
Tuesday morning saying
Michael should become
a m^or hurricane in the
Gulf of Mexico late Tues
day or Tuesday night.
It is expected to weak
en to a tropical storm as it
moves inland.
It was expected ,to hit
northeastern North Caro
lina with wind and rain
Thursday afternoon and
Thursday night. By Friday
morning, it was expected
to be off the coast of New
York state.
Tropical storm force
winds and locally heavy
rain are expected across
portions of the local area
late Thursday night into
Friday.
Michael was expected
to be a fast moving system,
which would limit the risk
of prolonged heavy rains.
PHOTO BY CHRIS DAY
The Perquimans County High School Marching
Pirates compete in the 43rd annual Battle of the
Bands on the football field at John A. Holmes
High School in Edenton, Saturday. The band got in
the Halloween spirit by dressing in costumes and
playing the theme song from the popular 1990s
show, “Tales from the Crypt.” In the 1A division,
Perquimans finished in first place, second in
percussion; second place for drum major; third
place for color guard, third place for effect, third
place for music and third place best overall band.
PCHS football
season to move on
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
High School varsity foot
ball program will go on
as scheduled this season,
Superintendent Matthew
Cheeseman said Friday.
Cheeseman meet with
coaches and school officials
Friday to consider the op
tions they had. Just a day
before one of those options
was forfeiting the varsity
season because there aren’t
enough players.
After the meeting Chee
seman said he is convinced
that the season should go
on and the program can be
maintained while protect ¬
ing student safety. Student
safety, he said was and is his
top priority.
“We’re going to field a var
sity team and continue on
withourseason,’’Cheeseman
said. “In our mind there isn’t
really a question of player
safety and we can sustain
our program and complete
our season.”
He said the shortage of
varsity level players was an
“unintended consequence"
of creating a junior varsity
team this year.
“If we did not offer a jay-
vee program, it’s unlikely
we would have this situa
tion,” Cheeseman said. “The
See FOOTBALL, 2