The
QU IMANS
EEKLY
“News from Next Door”
SATURDAY, JULY 22, 2023
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INSIDE
Our annual section
paying tribute to the
men and women of
the U.S. Coast Guard
PAGE 3
ECU Health pro
vides $335K grant
to Perquimans EMS
Winfall, Edenton voters to decide contested races
As of Tuesday, only 3 had filed
for open seats in Hertford
BY REGGIE PONDER AND
VERNON FUESTON
Staff Writers
Voters in Winfall and
Edenton will have contest
ed races to decide in this
November’s municipal elec
tion. But as of the presstime
for this story on Tuesday,
only three candidates had
filed to run for the three
open local government
seats in Hertford.
Filing ended Friday at
noon for municipal offices
in all three towns.
In Winfall, voters will
have a contested race for
mayor, as both Preston T.
White and Delane Ritter
Jr. have filed to run for the
town’s top elective post.
But it appeared the race
would be the first in more
than three decades in which
Fred Yates’ name wouldn’t
be on the ballot. Yates, who
has served as Winfall mayor
since t>'e early 1990s, had
not filed for re-election as of
Tuesday, and he previously
said he didn’t plan to seek
another four-year term this
year.
Cynthia Gale White Cun ¬
ningham has filed for one
of two open town commis
sioner seats in Winfall.
White has served nearly
11 years on Winfall’s Board
of Commissioners and cur
rently serves as the board’s
mayor pro tern. He mounted
an unsuccessful campaign
for mayor against Yates in
2019.
“I would like to see the
town continue to move for
ward and prepare for the
future,’’ White said.
White, who is 57 and lived
in Winfall all his life, said he
believes that with the right
See FILING, A2
Christmas in July
Edenton considers
alcohol ‘social
district’ downtown
PHOTO COURTESY GARY LICO
Santa Claus, also known as Gary Lico, bursts into laughter during Story Hour at the Perquimans County Library,
Thursday, July 13, as part of last week’s Christmas in July events in Hertford. The Jolly Old Elf treated a group of
young readers to four books, including an updated version of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas." Afterward, the
kids “ambushed” him with hugs. See story, page A3.
Biz can opt out, not allow
alcohol beverages on premises
BY VERNON FUESTON
Staff Writer
EDENTON — Edenton
town officials last week
further discussed a pro
posed new downtown
“social district” where out
door alcohol consumption
would be allowed but took
no action on the concept.
Assistant Town Manager
Dewayne Whealton, who
is also the town planner,
reviewed the ordinance
and answered questions
from both the public and
Town Council during the
July 11 meeting.
Whealton said approv
ing a social district ordi
nance would allow people
to carry single servings of
alcohol sold at businesses
within a confined area of
the downtown. The idea
WHEALTON
of a social
district is
designed,
he said,
to attract
more
people to
local busi
nesses.
The
social dis
trict being considered in
Edenton would cover two
blocks of Broad Street
from the waterfront up to
Queen Street, including
the Herringbone Restau
rant and East King Street
beside Surf, Wind, and
Fire. The district would
not include either of Eden
ton’s waterfront parks.
Wealton said he and a
steering committee are
still collecting feedback
from other communities
that have adopted similar
ordinances.
See DISTRICT, A6
Group offers ‘safe place’ for discussion
Edenton Racial Reconciliation
Group meets each Thursday
BY VERNON FUESTON
Staff Writer
EDENTON — “Find me
another group that has
been together for this many
years, who have nothing
Jordan promoted to Perquimans DSS head
Former social work supervisor
took reins at agency June 1
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
HERTFORD — Longtime
social worker Angela Jordan
became social services direc
tor for Perquimans County
last month.
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in common, and still come
together every Thursday at
7 p.m.,” the woman said.
The woman was a mem
ber of the Edenton Recon
cihation Group, an informal
discussion panel that’s been
meeting weekly for years,
though there is some dis
agreement over just how
long. Some say the group
JORDAN
As direc
tor, Jordan
supervises
the work of
the 31-per-
son staff
at the Per
quimans
County De
partment
of Social
Services.
2
One of the main
challenges she’s feeing,
she said, is hiring staff,
especially because the
agency has compete
with DSS agencies in
neighboring counties
with the salaries it can
pay.
started in 2014; others say
it started a year or two later.
The group has been re
markably resilient, surviv
ing not only disagreements
but the COVID-19 pandem
ic. On this particular night,
July 13, eight members
were present in person at
Edenton Methodist Church
on Virginia Road, and anoth ¬
“Staffing is always a chal
lenge,” Jordan said.
Still, she has filled seven
positions and has had only
one employee resignation
since becoming DSS director
on June 1.
Jordan credits the working
conditions at the agency for
helping to attract employees.
“I think we have a very
good working relationship
here,” she said.
Jordan said she works to
boost morale for employees
of Perquimans DSS, and she
knows that employees re
spect each other and eqjoy
working together.
Another challenge is find
ing and maintaining enough
er four joined the meeting
virtually, an innovation the
group adopted during the
COVID epidemic.
Members physically
attending the meeting in
cluded Emma Bonner, Dr.
Benjamin Speller, Jessie
Rivers, Deborah Davis,
See EDENTON, A6
foster care homes and re
spite homes for children.
But Jordan said that Per
quimans is fortunate right
now to have all its foster chil
dren placed in homes either in
Perquimans or in neighboring
Chowan or Gates counties.
Jordan started at Per
quimans DSS in October
2007 as a social worker in
Investigative Assessments
and Treatment within Child
Protective Services. Begin
ning in July 2012 she was
promoted to social work
supervisor, a position she
remained in until being
promoted to director of the
See JORDAN, A2
Warrants: Former
Hertford employee
embezzled gasoline
Sheriff Downing misused caid
31 times, stole $1.6K in gas
BY JULIAN EURE
Managing Editor
HERTFORD — A for
mer Hertford public works
employee is accused of
misusing a town gasoline
credit card more than 30
times to steal more than
$1,600 in gasoline, the Per
quimans County sheriff
said.
Keenan Ny’rek
Kei’shaun Downing, 21, of
the 200 block of King St.,
Hertford, is charged with
14 counts of felony embez
zlement by a public official
or trustee, according to
arrest warrants. He’s be
ing confined at Albemarle
District Jail in lieu of a
$280,000 secured bond.
According to warrants,
Downing was employed
as a Hertford public works
employee when he “did
e m b e z -
zle and
corruptly
use and
misapply”
a town
gas card
on May
6 “in the
DOWNING amount
of $80.”
He would go on to misuse
the gas card 13 more times
over the next month and a
half, allegedly stealing an
other $867.43 in gas from
the town. His last illegal
use of the gas card was for
$55 on June 27, according
to warrants.
Perquimans Sheriff Shel
by White said Monday that
Downing also misused the
town gas card for his own
personal use an additional
17 times during roughly
the same time period in
neighboring counties. He
said that brought the total
See EMBEZZLE, A6