“News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 $1.00
PAGE A6
See what pets are
available at the animal
shelter
Town
Sets
Curfew
Hertford Mayor Ear-
nell Brown has imposed
a week-long curfew to
ensure the safety of citi
zens that started Tuesday
and ends next Tuesday,
Sept. 22.
Children and youth be
low the age of 18 are to be
off the streets from 4 p.m.
to 6 a.m.
Adults 18 and over are
to be off the streets from
9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
The exceptions are for
See CURFEW, A3
Trio of
Shootings,
One Fatal,
Examined
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Local and state law enforce
ment officials are investigating
a trio of recent shootings in
Perquimans County, one that
claimed the life of a Hertford
man, two others that sent two
men to area hospitals.
And Perquimans Coun
ty Sheriffs Office arrested a
county woman Saturday in
connection with a stabbing in
Holiday Island that sent a man
to a Greenville hospital.
The first of three shootings |
began around 2:36 a.m. Sunday
morning when, according to
the PCSO, authorities received
a report of a shooting in the 100
block of Miller Street outside
Hertford.
Tay’quan Coleman, 23, of
Hertford, was shot in the inci
dent, the Sheriffs Office said.
Coleman was transported to
Sentara Albemarle Medical
Center in Elizabeth City where
he died from his injuries, the
sheriff said.
Roughly 13 hours later, at
3:30 p.m. Sunday, Hertford po
lice and the PCSO responded
to a second shooting incident
in the area of King Street and
Edenton Road in Hertford.
Responding officers found
a man who had been shot nu
merous times. Police did not
identify the man but said he re
mains in stable condition at an
area hospital.
According to witnesses, oc
cupants of a tan or brown older
model Buick sedan and an old
er model boxy silver SUV shot
the man and then left the area,
Hertford police Chief Dennis
Brown said.
“Officers are working sever
al leads. However, we are ask
ing anyone with information to
call 252-426-5751,” Brown said.
See SHOOTINGS, A3
6 1 89076 47144
2
Vol. 86, No. 38
@2020 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
Hertford Town Council Nixes HUD Complex
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Hertford Town Council vot
ed against plans to pursue the
possible development of a 245
residential unit federal Hous
ing and Urban Development
housing complex during Mon
day’s meeting.
Also, council approved plans
to pay past due 911 fees due to
the county.
Principal of the YEAR
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Flanked by a family that has deep ties to the Perquimans County School system, Hertford Grammar
School Principal John Lassiter (center/blue shirt) has been named county schools’ Principal of the Year.
Lassiter Named Perquimans
Schools Principal of the Year
‘I believe that by serving
others, I am serving my Savior.’
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
John Lassiter, principal of
Hertford Grammar School, has
been named this year’s Perqui
mans County Schools 2020-
2021 Principal of the Year.
Lassiter joined the Perquim
ans County Schools’ family as
principal of Hertford Grammar
School in 2018. Prior to that hq
served as principal of Chowan
Middle School from 2015-2018,
Assistant Principal at Currituck
County High School from 2013-
2015, and as a math teacher
at Perquimans County High
School 2011-2013 and John A.
Holmes High School from 2009-
2011.
See LASSITER, A3
ARHS Reports More Deaths from Virus
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Albemarle Regional Health
Services reported two more
deaths from COVID-19 on Friday,
raising the death toll from the
respiratory disease in the health
agency’s eight-county region to
70.
ARHS said one of those who
died lived in Perquimans Coun
ty, the other in Hertford County.
Both were over 65, ARHS said.
The Perquimans death was
More to come from Monday’s
council meeting will appear in
next week’s Perquimans Week
ly-
After a couple hours of de
bate, council voted 3-2 against
paying $25,000 for legal fees
to explore whether a low to
moderate income HUD housing
complex is feasible - a project
estimated to cost $40 million
- money that would come pri
marily from an Urban Develop
A Pirates’ alumnus, John Lassiter has dedicated his life to public
education. “There is nothing like walking into a classroom where
a teacher is in her element ‘turning light bulbs on’ for students.
If I serve teachers well they can serve students better. I try to
balance out my personality with acts of service because I believe
that by serving others, I am serving my Savior,” said Lassiter,
principal at Hertford Grammar School.
the county’s third. The Hertford
death was that county’s 25th
overall and seventh of the week.
Meanwhile, the number of
lab-confirmed cases of corona
virus in the eight counties sur
passed 2,500 — an increase of
nearly 200 in a week.
The number of active cases
in the region as of Friday was
327, down from 358 a week ago.
Pasquotank and Hertford coun
ties, both of which have sur
passed 600 COVID cases, were
ment Block Grant, if the grant
was awarded.
Mayor Earnell Brown along
with councilmen Ashley Hodg
es and Jerry Mimlitsch voted
against pursuing the project
while councilmen Frank Nor
man and Quentin Jackson
voiced their support for the
town house complex.
Mayor Pro Tern Hodges pre
sented an extensive presen
tation as to why pursuing this
reporting the most active cases,
80 and 75, respectively. Chowan
County, which has 269 cases, had
54 active cases. No other county
had more than 32.
The number of recoveries —
those persons presumed to have
recovered from COVID — rose
to 2,118 on Friday, an increase
of 213 from a week ago. That’s
about 84 percent of all cases.
ARHS also released updated
See VIRUS, A3
project would be a financial
disaster for the Town of Hert
ford. Brown and Mimlitch
shared their own thoughts as
to how housing complex would
adversely affect the citizens.
Jackson and Norman coun
tered that a project this size
would benefit the town not
only through economic de
velopment and enhanced
See COMPLEX, A2
Round-up
Birthdays,
Rotary
Photo Tour
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
A round-up of all things Perqui-
mans County...
XA. Mary Alice Brum cele
brated her 95th birthday Sunday.
See story and photos on page Bl.
It’s always nice to cover good
news. Lot of people joined the
birthday celebration. In contrast to
other news stories percolating up
over the weekend, it was refreshing
to see Hertford put its best foot for
ward by honoring one of its own.
Speaking of birthdays, Phil
McMullan Jr. of Hertford turned
90 onMonday. He’s lived a long
productive life as has been written
about in these pages in past,
editions. Born Sept. 14,1930, Phil
endured the Great Depression,
I the War years, came of age in
1 the 1950s, witnessed the nation’s
struggles during the Vietnam era,
70s’ malaise, 80’s restoration,
90s’ grunge, 2000’s awakening to
I global terrorism, the 10’s decade
of cultural and political upheavals
topped off by 2020’s pandemic and
economic uncertainty. Now that’s
something.
Shepard-Pruden Librarian and
Perquimans resident Jennifer
Finlay has been swimming and
body boarding in the Perquimans
I River. An accomplished swimmer,
Finlay has been swimming open
water for years in various locales
including the San Francisco Bay.
I’m envious, so I may join her the
next time she takes a dip in the
Perquimans River.
Gary Lico of Albemarle Plan
tation has written a few books -
that’s a new twist to the biography
of everyone’s favorite local Santa
Claus and the guy behind Forensic
Files.
Lico’s newsletter says, “Feeling
a little blue these days? A lot of
us are. As a guy who has gone
through a few valleys in his life,
I’ve assembled a couple of col
lections of motivational writings,
pep talks and spiritual passages.”
They’re yours for free - head to the
website: https://www.garylico.tv/
free-motivational-books.html
In other news, the Rotary Club
of Hertford is hosting a photo
tour rally of Perquimans County on
October 9-11,2020 designed to en
courage our community to “get out
of the house”, explore our county,
take a selfie photo to show that
you were there, and submit your
photos to qualify for a series of
prizes including a two day vacation
at a Wyndham Resort.
Our community can do all of this
and keep within the guidelines of
“social distancing”. We hope it will
be a lot of fun plus raise money for
our scholarship program.
Usually the Rotary Club of
Hertford sponsors a concert to raise
See ROUNDUP, A2