THE
ERQUIMANS
Weekly
"News from Next Door" WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016
Tractors tangle with power lines, 4
^ . 2 9 ®D
50 cents
Plantation wraps up third pro tournament
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Albemarle Plantation
weathered a heavy rain that
postponed most of play one
day last week to finish the
third annual Biggs Cadil-
lac-Buick-GMC Classic on
Saturday.
Anthony Maccaglia
walked away with a $16,500
event for his victory.
“I think it went very
well,” said Kenny Saunders,
the golf pro at The Sound
Links. “We had all that rain
but they were able to make
it up. Our biggest concern is
the sponsors and our guests
and residents. It didn’t rain
on our parade.”
But it did rain on the golf
course.
Between Thursday night
and Thursday morning the
clouds dumped 4.5 inches
on the course. The standing
water in sand traps didn’t
just magically disappear,
Saunders said. He credits
Mike Horton, for making
it right. Horton oversees
maintenance of the course.
“Mike Horton and his
crew had to pump the wa
ter out and then rake the
traps and even them out,”
Saunders said. “It took a
lot of work and those boys
worked really hard.”
As a show of thanks,
Saunders said Horton took
his crew to Busch Gardens
Monday as a treat.
“Many of them had never
been,” Saunders said.
Tom Loughlin was one
of the area residents that
hosted a golfer for the
event. Frank Adams III, 37,
was last year’s Biggs Clas
sic winner and Loughlin
called him up to encourage
him to come and defend his
crown.
That was before Adams
qualified for last weekend’s
U.S. Open. Adams wasn’t
the only former Biggs Clas
sic player that made it to
See TOURNAMENT, 3
Seniors
see
varied
future
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Fewer Perquimans Coun
ty High School grads are
opting to go to a university
this year, and a bigger chunk
plan to go directly to work.
Out of a class of 12$ stu
dents, 33 (or 26 percent)
said they are going to a four-
year school. That compares
to 40 percent for the Class
of 2015. The number intend
ing to go directly into the job
market was 23 percent, up
from 13 percent last year.
The numbers can be de
ceiving, said Nancy Morgan,
the guidance counselor at
the school.
“Every year is different,”
she said.
Morgan said the num
bers Won’t reflect a lack of
academic achievement, she
.said.
“A greater number are
opting for a two-year col
lege,” Morgan said. “Many
are very capable of going to a
four year school but they’re
opting to stay at home for
the first two years.”
The numbers bear out
that 51 students (or 40 per
cent) of this year’s class
are headed to a two-year
school. Morgan said it’s far
less expensive that way.
And the number of stu
dents looking to go directly
to work is also not a reflec
tion of the lack of academic
ability, Morgan said.
This year at least three
students landed welding
jobs straight out of high
school. They had dual en
rollment classes at College
of The Albemarle and took
welding classes in Elizabeth
City in the morning and then
returned to PCHS to take
See PLANS, 4
Lending a Helping Hand
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Gary Draper poses from his wheelchair last week with some of the volunteers who spent time fixing up
his house in Hertford.
Crews provide help to homeowners
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
I f somebody wanted to find Gary
Draper’s house in Hertford, he
said giving directions was easy.
“I told them to look for the ugly
white house,” Draper said.
That was before River City
Community Development Corp,
provided a crew of volunteers who
gave it a facelift last week.
“Now I can say it’s the pretty yel
low house,” Draper said.
Group Workcamps is an interde
nominational Christian volunteer
home-repair organization headquar
tered north of Denver. The Eliza
beth City-based River City CDC
provides the building materials and
support.
Draper’s two-story home sits
at the corner of Pennsylvania and
Charles streets across from the
See CDC, 2
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Madeline Freed stands on a ladder to paint some of the
trim on Gary Draper’s home in Hertford last week.
Wind bill
faces
questions
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A bill that would severely
limit new wind power proj
ects in the state will not be
come law this year, predicts
Rep. Bob Steinburg.
The N.C. Senate passed
the Military Operations
Protection Act on June 20
with the support of Sen. Bill
Cook. It still has to be ap
proved by the House and
on June 22, it was referred
to the House committee on
rules, calendar and opera
tions of the house.
Steinburg said the bill
was pitched to the Senate
as a pro-military measure
designed to protect the vi-
ability of military bases and
training in the state. How
ever he said a map used to
convince Senators to sup
port the bill was inappro
priate and the Department
of Defense already has a
system in place to deal with
wind power projects.
“I can’t support this bill,
regardless of where I am
on wind energy and solar
energy,” Steinburg said Fri
day. “The fact of the mat
ter is this bill (HB 763) was
presented and sold under
false pretenses and those
that passed it didn’t have
all the facts. The fact is ethi
cally knowing what I know,
I can’t support a bill going
over to the house that was
not properly vetted.
“I do not think HB 763
will be considered in its
present form. It’s not going
to happen. Some of HB 763
may be turned into a study
where all the stakeholders
have a seat at the table.”
Sen. Cook maintains that
more rules are needed.
“In several cases, NC
coastal wind energy devel
opment has come in direct
See WIND, 4
Parade, fireworks
set for Saturday
From Staff Reports
Perquimans County will
celebrate Independence
Day a little early with both
fireworks and a parade on
Saturday.
The parade will start at 5
p.m. at Perquimans County
High School. It will proceed
down Edenton Road Street
to Dobbs Street and then
6 89076 47144 2
Church Street and Grubb
Street before heading back
down Edenton Road Street.
Vanora Brothers, the co
ordinator of the parade said
more entries will be accept
ed but only through Thurs
day. To enter call either 333-
8959 or 426-5956. Marching
bands will not play a role
this year, but anybody can
enter a float, car, truck, boat
or farm equipment. Mili
tary groups, fire and police
departments have already
signed up to take part.
See CELEBRATION, 4
Playground Takes Shape
STAFF PHOTO BY
PETER WILLIAMS
Workers
assemble
new
playground
equipment
recently
at the
Perquimans
County
Recreation
Center. The
$350,000
project
was made
possible by
a grant from
Trillium.