P The
ERQUIMANS
.WEEKLY
"News from Next Door" WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016
Shool honors Madelyn Byrum, 9
0CT ' 6 ^
50 cents
Wind project decision expected Nov. 14
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Nearly 50 hours of tes
timony spanning three
months wrapped up Satur
day morning with an hour-
long session before the
Perquimans County Com
mission.
The debate is over the
future of what could be the
tallest wind power project
in the country. The Perqui
mans County Commission
set aside 30 minutes for
each side to make closing
arguments Saturday. The ac
tual deliberations will take
place in November, after
the election but before new
members of the board take
office. That hearing is set to
start Nov. 14 at 4 p.m.
Apex Clean Energy, a
Charlottesville, Va.-based
firm, wants to build 105
wind turbines up to 600-feet
tall over a 15,000-acre site
that spans the Bear Swamp
area of Perquimans and
Chowan counties.
“It’s too big,” said attor
ney Chad Essick, then he
asked “why should Perqui
mans County be the testing
gr ound for the tallest tur
bines in America.” Essick
and Keith Johnson of the
Raleigh law firm Poyner
Spruill were hired by local
residents who oppose the
See WIND, 4
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Perquimans County Commissioners listen to closing arguments Saturday morning on the Apex Clean Energy
Timbermill Wind project at the Perquimans County Courthouse Annex. The final deliberations will take place Nov.
14 at 4 p.m.
Hundreds start voting early
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Nearly 700 Perquimans
County residents came out to
vote early during the first two
days last week.
In addition to a slate of
national and statewide candi
dates, voters will be asked to
elect three Perquimans Coun
ty Commissioners out of a list
of four candidates. Voters can
only vote for one, and the top
three win office.
Kyle Jones, a Republican,
is the only incumbent on the
ballot. He’s seeking a second
four-year term. Other chal
lengers are Alan Lennon, a
Republican and Democrats
Joseph Hoffler and Charles
Woodard.
During the first two days of
balloting, 315 Democrats cast
ballots compared to 207 unaf- '
filiated voters, 172 Republi
cans and three Libertarians.
Through at least the first
two days of early voting,
many of the voters tended
to be older. According to
carolinatransparency.com’s
votetracker Web site, 188 of
the 697 people who cast a
ballot were between the ages
of 68 and 72. A big majority
of the total (305) live in the
See VOTING, 4
JOSEPH W.
HOFFLER
■ AGE: 76
■ OCCUPATION: Retired
Alcohol and Drug coun
selor, published author.
■ EDUCATION: Gradu
ated Perquimans Union
High School, BS-Biology-
NC Central University,
MBA-Personnel Manage
ment-University of Mis
souri, Certification-Police
Administration-University
of Southern California,
Los Angeles.
■ MILITARY SERVICE:
Served 22 years in the Air
Force. Retired with rank
of Lt. Colonel
■ POLITICAL CAM-
See HOFFLER, 3
■ AGE: 31
■ OCCUPATION: As
sistant District Attorriey
(Prosecutor)
■ EDUCATION: 2003,
! Perquimans County High
School, 2007, B.S., East
Carolina University, 2011,
J.D., Liberty University
School of Law
■ MILITARY SERVICE:
None.
■ POLITICAL CAM
PAIGNS, SERVICE: 2012,
Elected commissioner.
■ CIVIL/COMMUNITY
AFFILIATIONS.Durant’s
Neck Ruritan Club,
Hertford Rotary Club,
See JONES, 3
ALAN
LENNON
■ AGE: 40
■ OCCUPATION: Sow
Farm Operations Man
ager, Smithfield Foods.
■ EDUCATION: Gradu
ated West Forsyth High
School, graduated col
lege with B.S. in Agricul
tural Business Manager
minor in Psychology
■ MILITARY SERVICE:
None.
■ POLITICAL CAM
PAIGNS, SERVICE: N/A
■ CIVIL/COMMUNITY
AFFILIATIONS: I have
served as Youth Pastor,
Deacon, and currently El
der at Open Door Church
See LENNON, 3
CHARLES
WOODARD
■ AGE: 70
■ OCCUPATION: Phar
macist, owner Woodard's
Pharmacy
■ EDUCATION: Perqui
mans County High School
1964, BS Pharmacy
UNC-CH 1969.
■ MILITARY SERVICE:
None.
■ POLITICAL CAM-
PAGINS, SERVICE: None.
■ CIVIC/COMMUNITY:
Past town zoning board,
past pharmacy represen
tative District Heath De
partment, past president
Hertford Lions Club, past
president Northeastern
See WOODARD, 3
Ward
donates
to COA
as well
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County
wasn’t the only benefactor
Charles Ward was thinking
about before he died. He
wanted to promote libraries
or athletic facilities
Last week the College of
The Albemarle announced
Ward had left them $600,000.
Earlier this month Ward’s
family gave a check for
$600,000 to the Perquimans
County Commission.
Ward served for five years
as a trustee on the COA
board and spent 20 years
as a Perquimans County
Commissioner. He died in
September 2014 at the age
of 76.
Ward gave both the COA
board of trustees and the
Perquimans County Com
mission a general idea of
how he wanted the money
spent, but he left it up to
See WARD, 2
FILE PHOTO
The annual Belvidere Day celebration is expected to draw a
crowd again this Saturday.
Belvidere hosting events Friday, Saturday
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Belvidere is preparing for a two
day celebration this weekend.
The Perquimans County Resto
ration Association will kick it off
Friday with a new event — Jollifi
cation. It’s all about the history and
heritage of the Belvidere commu
nity and includes tours, dinner and
music. The tours run from 2 p.m.
until 6 p.m. and the dinner runs
from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Tickets are
$20.
On Saturday the Belvidere Ru
ritan Club will mark the fourth an
nual “Belvidere Day” from 8 a.m.
until 5 p.m. The event is free and is
designed to bring attention to the
businesses in Belvidere and the his
tory of the area.
“Every year we try and add some
new things and every year we grow
bigger,” said Doug Layden, the own
er of Layden’s Supermarket and a
member of the Ruritan Club.
Layden’s Supermarket, 1478 Bel
videre Road will offer store specials
and free grocery store discounts,
while Red’s Trading Post will offer
antique specials. The Nicholson
House, 1500 Belvidere Road will
be offering a pumpkin patch and
gift store specials. Helping sponsor
the event will be Scott’s Store, Bel
videre Fanner’s Exchange, Andy’s
Body Shop and Craft Air Service.
Antique cars and tractors will be
on display and food vendors will be
available. There will be live music
all day. Layden says it will be a mix
of gospel, country and blue grass.
See BEVIDERE, 2
Retired captain to speak at veterans service
Lobster Sale
From Staff Reports
U.S. Navy Captain Glenn
H. McCranie, a retired Navy
chaplain, will be the guest
speaker at the Perquimans
County Veterans Day obser
vance on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.
on the Perquimans County
Courthouse green.
The event is hosted by the
Hertford American Legion
Post 126 with assistance
89076
47144
6
2
MCCRANIE
from Hert
ford Post
362.
McCra
nie started
out his life
in Valdos
ta, Ga, and
began his
military
service by
joining the Georgia National
Guard. He was 16 years old
and still in high school, but
he fudged his age.
Upon graduation, he en
listed in the U.S. Navy and
was stationed at the Navy’s
Stumpy Point bombing
range in Dare County. There
he met his wife, Violet Brat
ton, a Manns Harbor resi
dent. Upon completion of
his enlistment, McCranie
and his wife returned to his
hometown in Georgia. A
family crisis with their son
and their faith moved him
to entering the Methodist
ministry and receiving his
local pastor’s license and
a four church circuit. He
later enrolled in college and
following graduation, he
was commissioned in the
Navy’s Chaplain Candidate
program as an ensign, and
got a full tuition scholarship
to study theology at Emory
University in Atlanta.
Following completion of
his studies, Chaplain Mc
Cranie was oriented by the
United Methodist Church
and assigned to a local
church. He applied and was
accepted for full active duty
in the Navy as a chaplain
and was assigned to the 1st
Marine Division in Califor
nia. His other assignments
included duty as a circuit-
riding chaplain aboard the
USS Virginia CGN38 and at
Portsmouth Naval Hospital.
During Desert Storm, he
served as command chap
lain of the amphibian task
See VETERANS, 4
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Lobsters fresh out of the pot drain while members
of Holiday Trinity Episcopal Church prepare a new
batch Friday during the annual lobster sale held by
the church.