QUIMANS
EEKLY
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“News from Next Door"
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
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PAGEA6
Montana is one of the
pets up for adoption at
the Tri-County Animal
Shelter.
PAGE Bl
Ruritan Club helps food
pantry feed community
PAGE B2
Ben E. King was born
on Sept. 28, 1938,
in Henderson.
Dead People Should Not be Able to Vote
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
File this story to come in the
next edition as an eye opener.
Kathryn Dixon Hoyle Schmitt
was sent four applications so that
she could request an absentee bal
lot to cast her vote in November’s
general election. Trouble is, Kath
ryn died more than a year ago in
April of 2019, so voting could be a
bit of a problem for her.
Photo shows Kathryn’s hus
band Walter holding up one of the
letters his dear departed wife has
received in the mail.
Notice that the letter from the
Raleigh based Center for Voter
Information is postmarked with a
paid permit from Lansdale, Penn
sylvania - a reliably Democratic
Philadelphia suburb that is a long
way from Perquimans County.
What’s even more interesting
is that Kathryn, a Democrat, re
ceived four applications to apply
for absentee ballots, while her
husband, Walter, a Republican,
has not received any such pa
perwork - even though he is still
among the living - from the Cen ¬
ter for Voter Information.
According to the Center for
Voter Information’s website,
the organization is a non-profit,
non-partisan partner organization
to Voter Participation Center, both
founded to provide resources and
tools to help voting-eligible citi
zens register and vote in upcom
ing elections.
In the days ahead, the Perquim
ans Weekly is going to ask a lot of
questions about how a dead woman
can vote even if she receives such
See VOTE, A3
PHOTO BY MILES LAYTON
Perquimans County
is not Chicago nor
Texas where dead
people are said
to have the right
to vote, so why is
Walter Schmitt’s
dear departed
wife Kathryn being
sent letters so she
can request an
absentee ballot so
as to be able vote in
November general
election?
Hertford
Curfew
Extended
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
Mayor Earnell Brown has ex
tended tire curfew until midnight,
Thursday (Sept 24).
Brown said Hertford citizens
should “be cautious and stay
aware of their surroundings.”
“Thanks to all citizens for ad
hering to these strict measures to
keep everyone safe,” she said.
In the wake of a trio of shoot
ings, a curfew was enacted that I
started Sept. 15 was to end Tues
day, but has been extended.
Children and youth below the |
age of 18 are to be off the streets
from 4 p.m. to 6 am.
Also, adults age 18 and over are
extended an extra hour, to be off
the streets at 10p.m., not 9p.m.
The exceptions are for sched
uled doctor appointments and
employment Visits to the store,
gas stations and to pick-up pre
scriptions should be done during
non-curfew hours.
The police are enforcing the
curfew.
Police Chief Dennis Brown
said if someone violates the cur
feworder, officers have discretion
on how to handle each incident
on an individual basis.
Moreover, he said initially po-
lice/town hall has taken the op
portunity to educate anyone out
after curfew and this approach so
far has been successful. He said
overall, the goal, as with all law
enforcement actions, is voluntary
compliance.
Local and state law enforce
ment officials are investigating
a trio of recent shootings in Per
quimans County between Sept
13 and Sept. 14, one that claimed
the life of a Hertford man, two
others that sent two men to area
hospitals. No update on the health
status of the men who are in the
hospital.
Law enforcement has not in
dicated if any arrests have been
made.
In related news, during a spe
cial meeting held Wednesday
(Sept. 15) Hertford Town Coun
cil approved plans to hire a new
police officer and buy protective
gear.
Due to extreme space and
time constraints, more about
council’s affairs, particularly
regarding the HUD housing de
bate and other matters, will ap
pear in future edition.
6 1 89076 47144
2
Vol. 86, No. 39
@2020 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
Seven Decades of Fashion History
Hartman To HEART
Power
to Forgive
BY PASTOR CHUCK HARTMAN
Up River Friends
Editor’s Note: Based on
I recent headlines, the Perqui-
I mans Weekly sought Pastor
Chuck Hartman’s thoughts to
j put the matters in a perspec-
i live of faith.
PHOTO BY MILES LAYTON
White’s Dress Shoppe manager Joanne (Meads) Jones and husband Bernie have decided to close
the store that has long been a fashion institution for downtown Hertford and northeastern NC.
White’s Dress Shoppe Poised to Close
BY MILES LAYTON
Editor
After 74 years of being
a family-owned business,
White’s Dress Shoppe in
downtown Hertford is clos
ing its doors.
A sunny day was Tuesday
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Located at 108 Market St., White’s Dress
Shoppe is closing in October after more than
seven decades of business. Check out some
great deals and bargains before it’s too late!
Old photo of when White’s Dress Shoppe was on
Church Street.
Police Chiefs Dismiss Company’s Crime Survey
BY CHRIS DAY
AND MILES LAYTON
Adams Publishing Group
Elizabeth City ranks 50th safest
among North Carolina’s 57 mid-
sized cities, according to a new
crime survey from a New York-
based business and research orga
nization.
morning, White’s manager
Jo Anne (Meads) Jones tells
the story about a woman
who came into her store,
who wasn’t from around
these parts.
“Woman needed a dress
for a wedding, so we let her
take it home for her husband
Hertford and Edenton rank 76th
and 145th, respectively, among the
state’s 174 small cities, according to
AdvisorSmith’s survey of the state’s
safest cities.
Area law enforcement officers
shrugged off the study as flawed
because it provides an inaccurate
portrayal of crime statistics.
AdvisorSmith used data from the
to see,” Jones said. “Later
when the woman and her
family moved to Perquimans
County, she said that friend
ly experience at our shop
was what convinced her that
Hertford is a nice place to
See WHITE’S, A2
FBI’s most recent Uniform Crime
Reports (UCR) to compile its sur
vey. The FBI uses crime statistics
reported by about 18,000 participat
ing federal, state and local jurisdic
tions to compile the UCR.
AdvisorSmith only used data
from law enforcement agencies in
communities that had reported at
least two months of crime statistics
W hat can I say, I con
template the violence
in our world, and the
future seems bleak. We have
been blessed to live in a pro
CHUCK
tective bubble,
and have pos
sibly thought,
violence from
outside could
never break
through the
blessed life we
know in our
corner of the
HARTMAN world, yet it
has. Why?
The sages
from antiquity to present have
attempted to answer why, and
I will not endeavor to add
to their reasons. What I will
say is the same thing that so
many of you feel—I hurt, I am
saddened, and I am angry that
such violence happens, both
in our global and local com
munities.
I do not desire to sound
political, nor do I want to
appear overly spiritual.
Nevertheless, I want to speak
blessings and encouragement
over our town, its residence,
its leaders, and all who serve
her so diligently.
A wise person once said,
the tiniest action today pays
dividends down the road.
I note this because we can
allow anger to move us.
In grief, we can return vio
lence for violence, or we can
take control over anger.
If we allow anger to move
us—move us to actions of
love, care, compassion, and
forgiveness, these actions will
pay dividends down the road.
See HARTMAN, A2
to the FBI, the survey’s methodolo
gy stated.
Hertford police Chief Dennis
Brown responded to the survey first
by stating that as the county’s gov
ernmental seat and economic en
gine, crime will inevitably occur in
Hertford. His police force is trained
See SURVEY, A2