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A2 THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7,2021 Shootings Dominate 2020 Crime Coverage BY MILES LAYTON Editor Local law enforce ment agents had a busy year investigating inci dents of gun violence reported in Hertford and Perquimans County during 2020. Provided below is a list ing of shooting incidents since Jan. 1 that are/were under investigation. ■ Dec. 4, a shooting in Hertford ended with a vehicle striking a house in Elizabeth City. Ac cording to the Hertford Police Department, of ficers heard what ap peared to be gunshots in the King and Stokes streets area around 9:53 p.m. Friday. Offi cers found a 40-year-old man on Stokes Street who had been shot. Po lice have an eyewitness who saw the driver of the vehicle fire gun- shots at the man, Hert ford police official says. Four juveniles, who are between the ages of 13 and 17, are suspected of taking part in the shoot ing have been arrested, according to HPD. ■ Nov. 4 after some one was shot on King Street, Perquimans High School and the Hertford Grammar School were temporarily on a modi fied lockdown. ■ Oct. 31, a man was shot at a house party on Market Street and Eden ton Road. ■ There was a trio of shootings in Perqui mans 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. In the wake of the shootings, a two-week curfew was en acted that started Sept. 15 and ended Sept. 29. The first shooting that was reported at 2:36 a.m. Sept. 13 at 112 Miller St. outside Hertford where Tay’quan Coleman, 23, of Hertford was shot. Cole man was taken to Albe marle Hospital where he died. State Bureau of In vestigation was called in to assist. Second shoot ing occurred around 3:30 p.m. Sept. 13 when HPD and PCSO respond ed to a shooting in the area of King Street and Edenton Road in Hert ford. Officers arrived on- scene and found a man shot numerous times. Final shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. Sept. 14 when HPD responded to a report of a shooting where a man had been shot by King and Brace streets. ■ June 3, the Perqui mans County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the United States Marshal Service and the Bertie County Sheriff’s Of fice, arrested Torrance Brock, 18, of Edenton. He faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon with the in tent to kill inflicting serious injury and at tempted murder. Brock was placed under a $1 million bond and taken Albemarle District Jail. Warrants were issues for the arrest of Brock, who was wanted in con nection with the May 23 shooting of Ahmad Trafton in Perquimans County. Deputies re sponding to a shots fired report found Trafton at a residence in Burnt Mill Creek Trailer Park. ■ May 24, a shooting was reported into an occupied dwelling on Edenton Road. ■ According to HPD, an officer responded to a reported shooting and robbery at the Food Lion off U.S. Highway 17 on Saturday (Feb. 15). No in juries were reported in the incident. HPD conducted an intensive investigation which led to the arrest of Don Juan Myers of Snug Harbor for assault with a deadly weapon with in tent to kill, robbery, and a felon in possession of a firearm. ■ A shooting was re ported Dobbs Street reported at 12:30 a.m., Feb. 5. A silver Nissan Versa or Audi pulled up with several young males inside. HPD said a male approached an older resident while he was exiting his car. The older male told the younger male late teens early twenties to stop. The young man pulled out a pistol and shot at the older man multiple times. The older male was not injured. No one was hurt. Obituary S. Ann Benton Order Extends Evictions Moratorium HERTFORD - Sallie Ann Benton, 77, of 1171 New Hope Road, passed away Friday, December 25, 2020 in Elizabeth City Health and Reha bilitation. Miss Benton was born in Perquimans County on June 2,1943, and was the daughter of the late John Marvin Benton, Sr. and Essie Barclift Ben ton Turner and step-fa ther, Robert W. Turner. A graduate of East Car olina University with a Masters in Education, she was a retired ele ¬ mentary teacher having taught 1st grade for over 30 years at Central Elementary School in Elizabeth City. Following her retirement from teaching, she volunteered for many years with Elizabeth City- Pasquotank Public Schools. An active member of Woodland United Method ist Church, she served as its Music Director and played piano for 65 years having started playing at 12 years of age. Other memberships enjoyed in cluded the Alpha Delta Kappa Teachers Sorority, Forestburg Ruritan Club, and formerly with the Red Hat Society. In addition to her parents and step-father, she was preceded in death by her brother, John Marvin Benton, Jr. Surviving are her sister-in-law, Cynthia R. Ben ton; a niece, Pamela Benton Brown (Scott); two nephews, John Linwood Benton (Rebecca) and Karl Wayne Benton (April), all of Hertford; two great-nieces, Katlyn Benton and Jewel Benton; and two great-nephews, LTJG J.L. Benton, Jr. and Jer emiah Brown. Graveside services were held Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in Cedarwood Cemetery and were conduct ed by her pastors, the Revs. Toni Wood and Renee Edwards. Memorial contributions may be made either to Woodland United Methodist Church, 453 Wood land Church Road, or to the Ramp Ministry at Hert ford Baptist Church, PO Box 34, both in Hertford, NC 27944. Miller & Van Essendelft Funeral and Cremation Providers, 1125 Harvey Point Road, Hertford, is as sisting the family with arrangements, and online condolences may be made by visiting www.miller- fhc.com. Obituary Policy For information on submitting obituaries or death notices Mon day through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., call 252-329-9505 or email obits@apgenc.com and specify that you are interested in obituary information for The Perquimans Weekly. On weekends and holidays, email obits@apgenc. com. We do not accept notices by fax. Law Enforcement Log Perquimans County Sheriff’s Arrests between Dec. 23 and Dec. 30: Obituaries must be received, processed and approved by noon on Tuesday to appear in print in the Thursday edition. Death notices are $25 and can include the name and age of the decedent; funeral and visitation or view ing information; and the name of the funeral home. Bond was set at $100 secured. FROM SUBMITTED REPORT RALEIGH — Gover nor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order 184, extending North Caroli na’s evictions moratori um through January 31, 2021, on December 31, 2020. Research shows that eviction moratoriums help prevent the spread of COVID-19. States that let their eviction moratoriums lapse saw a COVID-19 incidence rate that was 1.6 times higher than states that COUNCIL Continued from Al Elizabeth City in Novem ber. Town Manager Pam Hur dle was asked if the search for a permanent utilities di rector remains ongoing or if the search ended. Hurdle replied that yes, the search continues. In other business, coun cil discussed raising em ployee pay based on a sal ary study conducted by the Management and Person nel Service Group. Previously, Town Hall hired the MAPS Group to provide a comprehensive assessment of personnel/ HR policies to including identifying appropriate pay ranges for each Town staff position. Mayor Pro Tern Ashley Hodges, who presided over Monday’s meeting, said council did this for two rea sons: 1. Hertford hasn’t per formed this study since 2005. If that sounds like a long time it should - most municipalities in North Carolina perform this study about every 5 years. 2. The Town has experi enced extraordinary staff turnover the last few years which is both expensive and disruptive to Town op erations. “We always welcome new patients.” . COMFORT • QUALITY • EXPERIENCE Modern Dentistry in a relaxed environment for the entire family. DR. CHRIS KOPPELMAN, DDS DR. ETHAN NELSON, bDS 482-5131 103 Mark Dr. Edenton, NC (behind Chowan Hospital)^ ALBEMARLE DENTAL ASSOCIATES QenetalarulCosmetic Dentistry kept a moratorium in place. “Too many families are living on the edge, trying to do the right thing, but left with im possible choices. This Order will help them stay in their homes, which is essential to slowing the spread of the virus,” Cooper said. E.O. 184 clarifies and expands the federal eviction moratorium, which was extended by Congress until Janu ary 31, 2021. With many people struggling finan cially due to this pan ¬ Noting the high staff turnover within the last two to three years, Hodges said the goal of the study was to identify steps council could take to address these issues and consider implementing them in the FY21-22 budget year. All members of Council have expressed their desire to see the pay adjustments implemented as soon as possible, but there are still some sticking points in the personnel policies that they will work through in the coming weeks. “I believe the implemen tation cost for the salary portion is estimated to be about $67K, meaning our operating costs would in crease by $67K every year moving forward,” Hodges said. “We’ll have to work hard in budget season to identify where we can find those additional funds, but I think we’re in unanimous agreement that it needs to happen if at all possible.” Councilman Frank Nor man added, “We are prob ably the most underpaid community that there is and while we know we don’t have some of the fi nances other communities have, we have to be fair to our employees if we want to keep them.” In other business, local businessman Tony Riddick criticized council’s decision demic, this Order halts evictions for nonpay ment of rent. In North Carolina, an estimated 485,000 adults in rental housing reported that they are not caught up on rent and nearly three million adults reported diffi culty in covering usual household expenses, ac cording to the Center on Budget and Policy Prior ities. This order also ex tends protections for individuals applying for assistance through the state’s Housing Oppor from September not to pur sue the possible develop ment of a 245 residential unit federal Housing and Urban Development hous ing complex. In September, council voted 3-2 against paying $25,000 for legal fees to explore whether a low to moderate income HUD housing complex is feasi ble - a project estimated to cost $40 million - money that would come primarily from an Urban Develop ment Block Grant, if the grant was awarded. Though the total annual revenue was forecast to be $2.3 million per year, that figure didn’t take into ac count maintenance costs and $1.2 million annually estimated depreciation costs. If the project had moved forward substantial up- grades to existing infra structure would be needed, necessitating the hire of additional public safety and public works personnel. Riddick asserted that the housing complex would’ve created jobs and served as a safety net for more and more people who have fall en behind economically, particularly in these trying times. Also, Riddick took aim at Town Hall’s attempt to eliminate blight and en force the collection of back (USPS428-080) Published Each Thursday A publication of Adams Publishing Group Established 1934 111W. Market St., Hertford, NC 27944 Robin L. Quillon Publisher Sean O’Brien General Manager Miles Layton Editor Bev Alexander. Advertising Representative Phone 252426-5728 ■ Fax 2524264625 Email: mlayton@ncweeklies.com Subscription Rate Home delivery. $35 + tax per year Information For subscription questions, delivery issues, classified ads, legal notices, and obituaries, please call Customer Care at 252-329-9505 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Perquimans Weekly, Hertford, NC 27944 . ♦ i tunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program. This program assists North Carolinians fac ing financial hardship by providing rent and utility payments direct ly to landlords and utili ty companies. Over 21,000 renters have been notified that they will receive rent or utility payment help and award notices totaling $37.4 million have been issued as the HOPE Pro gram continues to pro vide more assistance to its applicants. taxes. Last year 57 prop erties meeting the criteria of being uninhabited and have owed taxes for more than three years were iden tified to go to Zacheaus Le gal Services for resolution pending final confirmation with the Perquimans Coun ty Tax Office. “If the town is genuine ly concerned about the citizens, if a citizen is be hind in their taxes or what have you, the first impres sion should not be to take the property,” Riddick said. “The first impression should be how can I help the citizen maintain their property and how to help the citizen keep their prop erty.” And lastly, council ap propriated somewhere in the neighborhood of $67K of its CARES Act funds to provide grants to small businesses directly impacted by the Gover nor’s COVID-19 executive orders. This amounted to roughly $5K per business and the checks went out just before Christmas. Also, there will be no of ficial town-sponsored car show this year. However, car enthusiast JT one stop and upholsteiy will be hold ing a small show later this year. More Town Council news to follow in a future edition. ■ Quintina Artis of Greenville was arrested Dec. 24 and charged with failure to appear. ■ Lawrence Wilson of Explorer Arch, Hertford, was arrested Dec. 24 and charged with as sault on a female. Bond/other.
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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