The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Local News

Related Photos

December 28, 2009

Pinetops native brings victims' families together for holiday event

KIMBERLY BELLAMY

A dinner, gifts, fellowship, and inspiration to move forward were all things that Pinetops native Quenesha McNair gave the families of women reported missing or dead in Edgecombe County.

McNair’s non-profit organization, beGlobal, gathered the women’s 17 children and their guardians together at Golden Corral in Rocky Mount on Christmas Eve to give them a free meal, courtesy of the restaurant and Conetoe Chapel Missionary Baptist Church; gifts for the children, and a chance to turn their attention away from their deceased or missing loved ones during the holidays.

“It’s people like her (McNair) that make you believe in the next day,” said Jackie Wiggins, whose daughter Nikki Thorpe was murdered in 2007.

Wiggins is now raising four of Thorpe’s children and has adopted three of them.

Other women who were found murdered or missing include Jarniece Hargrove, 31, Elizabeth Smallwood, 33, Taraha Nicholson, 28, Ernestine Battle, 50, Melody Wiggins, 29, Denise Williams, 21, Yolanda Lancaster, 37, Joyce Renee Durham, 46, and Christine Boone, 43. Thorpe was 35.

The event changed the outlook of the holiday for 13-year-old Latrevier Nicholson, who mother Taraha Nicholson was murdered in March.

“I think it’s going to be a good Christmas. At first, I thought it wouldn’t have been the same,” Nicholson said.

Latrevier’s grandmother, Diana Nicholson, expressed appreciation for what McNair did for her grandchildren.

“They were so excited … they couldn’t wait to get here,” Diana said as she was holding Nicholson’s two-year-old son, Jamarius Nicholson.

“It’s been hard by she being gone … it’s just so touching. Someone was out there that was caring, and it met a lot to me,” Diana said.

Four SouthWest Edgecombe students involved in beGlobal, Jasnique Clayton, Donneshia Sweet, Mercedes McNeil and Jessica Randolph, all pitched in for the event by wrapping gifts and talking with the children to make them feel more comfortable.

“This has made me realize that I’m blessed to have the things I have, and it makes me more thankful for the things I have,” Clayton said, 17.

Conetoe Chapel’s pastor, Rev. Richard Joyner, said that his church will continue to provide support to initiative, beGlobal tackles past them helping fund the meal for the families.

“The needs of the family are not met by one day, but how we live every day,” he said.

The investigation for the children’s mothers continues as a task force comprised of local, state and federal agencies work together to find out who is behind the deaths and absence of these women.

The only murder case that has gotten some closure is Nicholson’s when Antwan Maurice Pittman, 31, was charged with her death in September.

Text Only
Local News
  • Car burglars arrested

    A Tarboro man has been arrested and charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor by the Tarboro Police Department detectives division after he allegedly stole GPS systems from two separate vehicle.

    May 25, 2012

  • Historic Albemarle Tour a benefit to area communities

    Even though the price of gas has dropped significantly over the past several weeks, the fact it climbed to nearly $4 per gallon had a significant impact on the budgets of many people.

    May 25, 2012

  • NOAA: Less active season

    Six-weeks after storm researchers from Colorado State University suggested the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season will be less active than normal, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) agrees — more or less.

    May 25, 2012

  • Perdue’s Budget would aid ECPS

    Despite her lame-duck status and a General Assembly controlled by the opposing party, Gov. Bev Perdue’s 2012-2013 budget, unveiled this past week, calls for a net increase of more than $562 million in K-12 school funding over what is currently planned for next year.

    May 25, 2012

  • ECPS students chosen for 2012 governor’s school

    Two 11th-grade students from Edgecombe County Public Schools have been chosen to attend North Carolina Governor’s School this summer.

    May 25, 2012

  • DAR Micajah Pettaway Chapter sees fashions and styles of Jackie Kennedy Onasis

    The DAR Micajah Pettaway Chapter met 11:00 a. m., Thursday, May 17 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.  After Frankie Powell, First Vice Regent, welcomed everyone, she introduced new members Mary Ann Crawford, Angela Urquhart and prospective member Jaiann Rains from Rocky Mount.

    May 24, 2012

  • Civitas Poll: Parents primed for school reform

    If legislators listen to their constituents, school reform in North Carolina will happen.
    In a new poll released Wednesday by the Civitas Institute, results indicate that by large margins North Carolinians support a wide range of school reforms now before the state legislature.

    May 24, 2012

  • Edgecombe health stats spiral down

    In 2011, there were 12,164 premature deaths in Edgecombe County, according to a 2012 report compiled by County Health Rankings & Roadmaps.
    In the same report, it was noted that 1,167 county citizens were treated for a sexually transmitted infection. In the same report, North Carolina averaged 445 and the national benchmark was 84.

    May 24, 2012

  • Americans will remember fallen Monday

    On Monday, Americans honor the fallen men and women who have served our country through the military with the annual observance of Memorial Day.

    May 24, 2012

  • CORRECTION

    In a story titled “School board approves Roberson revisions” that appeared in the Thursday, May 17 edition, there were numerous errors. The story was written about the May 14 meeting of the Edgecombe County School Board.

    May 23, 2012