P The
ERQUIMANS
. _3V E E K LY
Pirate boys fall to Camden, Edenton, 8
"Veils from Next Door"
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A Virginia company has appealed a Perquimans
County Commission decision to deny a permit for
part of a $400 million wind power project.
Apex Clean Energy filed the appeal Dec. 20 in
Perquimans County Superior Court. Opponents of
the project filed a cross petition with the court the
next day in support of the county decision.
Apex wants to build 104 turbines in Perquimans
and Chowan counties, each nearly 600-feet tall.
Chowan officials approved the Conditional Use
Permit (CUP) for that half of the project. Apex an
nounced Wednesday it plans to proceed with the
Chowan part of the project.
“We remain hopeful that the Superior Court will
reverse the Perquimans County denial of Timber
mill’s permit,” said Don Giecek, senior manager of
project development for Apex Clean Energy. “This
would allow the project to meet its full potential. In
the meantime, we will also continue developing the
project in Chowan County and pursuing the other
state and federal permits required for the project.”
Leary Winslow, one of the residents who hired
their own lawyers to fight the Apex plan, expressed
dismay about the decision by Apex to appeal.
“We are disappointed that Apex cannot accept
the decision of our county commissioners on be
half of the residents of Perquimans County,” Win
slow said. “In an abundance of caution and in order
to preserve additional and alternative grounds for
denying the permit, we will be filing a cross peti
tion later today.”
So far, Apex has paid die Perquimans County’s
legal expenses related to the Timbermill project.
As part of the CUP process, Perquimans required
See LAWSUIT, 2
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 201Q , g ^
APEX APPEALS PERQUIMANS DECISION
Residents file cross petition in wind case
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A group of nine individu
als have petitioned a local
court to upload a Perquimans
County decision to deny a
permit for the Timbermill
Wind project.
The cross petition was
filed on Dec. 21. In it, at
torney Chad Essick also
questioned the handling of
the Conditional Use Permit
(CUP) hearings and the vote
to recuse Commissioner
MattPeeler.
A 3-2 majority of the board
voted to prevent Peeler from
voting on the CUP applica
tion based in part on a series
of e-mails he wrote opposing
wind power.
“Several of the board’s de
cisions, made before its deci ¬
Couple files petition against Chowan board
BY REGGIE PONDER
Chowan Herald
EDENTON — A Para
dise Road couple opposed
to the proposed Timbermill
Wind project has filed a pe
tition in Chowan County
Superior Court asking that
the Conditional Use Permit
(CUP) for the project be re
voked.
Patrick Flynn filed the
appeal on behalf of him
self and his wife, Belinda
sion on the ultimate issue of
whether to grant or deny the
application, violated consti
tutional provisions and were
Flynn.
The Flynn’s own and live
on property next to a tract
that is part of the proposed
Timbermill Wind Project.
Last month the Chowan
County Board of Commis
sioners approved a CUP
for the Chowan portion of
the Timbermill Wind Proj
ect, a 300-megawatt wind
energy generation facil
ity proposed for the Center
Hill and Bear Swamp areas
of Chowan and Perquimans
based on errors of law,” Es
sick said in his petition.
On the issue of Peeler,
Essick maintains Apex had
counties.
Perquimans officials de
nied the CUP request for
the Perquimans portion of
the project. Charlottesville,
Va,-based Apex Clean En
ergy Inc. announced this
week that it is appealing the
Perquimans decision.
Also, a spokesman for.
Apex said Wednesday that
the company had deter
mined, it would be eco
nomically feasible to move
forward with a project sited
e-mails from Peeler before
the first hearing started on
Aug. 24 but didn’t seek to
have Peeler recused until
entirely in Chowan County
and intends to pursue such
a project.
The appeal by Patrick
and Belinda Flynn alleges
that the project will harm
the value of their property
- reducing the value by as
much as 22 percent.
“Timbermill’s own evi
dence shows conclusively
that the project will dam
age the value of adjoining
and abutting property,” the
appeal states.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A simulation shows what
the Timbermill Wind
project may look like from
the home of Paul and
Kristi Copeland on Bear
Swamp Road.
Sept. 24.
The decision to recuse
Peeler “set a dangerous prec
edent in North Carolina, if
that decision is allowed to
stand, for allowing board pol
itics to significantly alter the
potential outcome of quasi
judicial proceedings through
the guise of alleged “potential
bias,”’ Essick wrote.
Peeler did not seek re-
election and is no longer on
the county commission.
The petition is being filed
by Leary Winslow and Alli-
See PETITION, 2
The appeal also cites a
likelihood of harm to per
sonal health, especially for
Belinda Flynn, who suffers
from vertigo.
Much of the appeal fo
cuses on environmental
studies that Apex Clean
Energy performed in prepa
ration for the Timbermill
project but did not submit
to county officials as part of
the application for a CUP.
See CHOWAN, 2
50 cents
Schools
brace for
closure
of bridge
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Motorists — even those
that may never even use
Hertford’s S-Bridge — are
in for change for at least the
next three months when it
closes.
The temporary closure
will also mean many stu
dents could be spending
more time on the bus and
motorists may be seeing
buses in places they nor
mally don’t.
The bridge will close to
vehicle traffic on Jan. 9 and
remain closed until late
March. During that time
the road surface will be re
moved, repairs made and a
new wooden driving surface
will be added to reduce the
weight.
School officials are warn
ing parents to be prepared
for an even longer disrup
tion.
“Although a three-month
repair time has been
See BRIDGE, 4
Red Cross
steps up
blood
drives
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The American Red Cross
is making a push for blood
donations over the coming
weeks, including one blood
drive Thursday and three
more in Perquimans County
in January.
“In the winter months and
during the holidays we tend
to see a dip in donations as
many of our regular donors
are traveling and enjoying
time with friends and fam
ily,” said Bernadette Jay, an
external communications
manager for the Red Cross.
“Where available we’ve
extended hours for blood
drives in addition to operat
ing additional drives to help
prevent any shortfalls in de
mand for hospital patients
in critical need.”
The blood drive Thursday
is from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. at
the Belvidere-Chappell Hill
Fire Department.
See RED CROSS, 4
Girl beats disorder, father dies
Food Donated
BY JOSH SHAFFER
The News & Observer
Nine years ago, Zelene
Turner watched helplessly
as her infant daughter shook
from seizures, lost hair and
turned red without a fever
— symptoms that took weeks
to diagnose.
Then doctors discovered
the truth: Jayla lacked a thy
mus gland and suffered from
DiGeorge syndrome, a rare
immune disorder that leaves
victims vulnerable to the
HOW TO HELP
■ An online campaign to
assist the Turner family can
be found at www.gofundme.
com/in-memory-of-jj-turner.
common cold, usually fatal
by age 2. She turned to her
husband, J.J., and said, “Our
baby is going to die.”
But Jayla Turner did not
die, thanks to the thymus
transplant surgery that is
only performed at Duke
University Hospital. She
walked into Duke for a fol
low-up exam on Wednes
day — a fourth-grader who
likes “Charlotte’s Web” and
recess.
At 9, her immune system
is healthy enough now that
she can tolerate measles and
mumps vaccines. “Look at
the VIP today,” said a nurse
who passed Jayla in the hall
at Duke. “Y’all got a mira
cle.”
But this year, a new
shadow has fallen over the
Turner family. J.J. Turner,
Zelene’s husband and Jayla’s
father, died on the day after
Thanksgiving at their home
in Perquimans County. He
was watching television at
night and died of natural
causes at 52 — likely a heart
attack, his wife said.
His death strikes an espe
cially hard blow because J.J.
See TURNER, 4
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Stephanie Bateman (left) delivers a ham and other Christmas meal items to Jessie
(Leroy) Byrum Jr. Saturday in Hertford. An anonymous corporate donor provided
the food and Bateman, the new owner of Larry’s, prepared it for dozen families for
Christmas. The same donor provided 10 meals for Thanksiging.