MflFMW KME / WMHT MS
NEXTLEVEL
WWW.CAROLINACHRYSLER.COM 1252-335-0724 11001 HALSTEAD BLVD
ELIZABETH CITY
PERQUIMANS'WONTO PLAY
RAM Jeep ^w^/
P I THE
ERQUIMANS
. -JVE E K LY
Lane: Civil
debate makes
America great,
6
"News from Next Door"
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Witnesses raise their hands to get sworn in Monday
during a hearing on a new solar power project before
the Perquimans County Commission.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 20^ 0 ^
50 cents
New solar project OK’d
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
Commission approved a re
vised plan for a 35-acre so
lar power project on U.S. 17.
Monday night.
Perquimans is under a
self-imposed moratorium
that bans the acceptance of
any new applications for so
lar power projects until the
county has a chance to re
view its rules. The planning
board has submitted some
proposed changes, but the
commission has yet to act
on them.
However the Conditional
Use Request for the White
Family Sun Farm was sub
mitted before the morato
rium, and scaled down from
75 acres to 35 acres and re-
submitted.
The vote Monday was 4-2
in favor. Both Commission
ers Charles Woodward and
Joseph Hoffler voted against
the project. The meeting
lasted until midnight.
Heath McLaughlin, the
developer of the project,
laid out why he thought the
project met the county’s
Hiles by stressing two issues
in the CUP process that deal
with issues of “harmony”
with surrounding land uses
and questions if the project
would produce “substan
tial” property damages to
surrounding property own
ers.
The CUP process is the
same for solar projects, wind
projects and electrical sub
stations and other uses. The
“harmony” and “substantial
See SOLAR, 2
JOBS SKILLS PROGRAM HONORED
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A Perquimans County program de
signed to teach job skills was honored
last week as the county was named a
NC Works Certified Work Ready Com
munity.
A ceremony was held at the annual
Perquimans County Chamber Expo
at the Perquimans Comity Recreation
Center.
The NC Works designation came
from the North Carolina Chamber
Foundation.
Jill Cohen, the director of the Career
and Technical Education program for
Perquimans Comity Schools, said the
■ designation is an important milestone
for both the school system and the
community that supports it.
“From a business standpoint, they
can find we are producing people who
are work ready based on national work-
ready certificates. From an economic
development standpoint it allows us
to market our community and to show
our employers, our workforce devel
opment programs and our schools, in
cluding our community college, are all
on the same page.”
Perquimans Comity Manager Frank
Heath, who accepted the plaque, said
the efforts are important.
See EXPO, 4
STAFF PHOTOS BY PETER WILLIAMS
Perquimans County Manager
Frank Heath accepts a
certificate naming Perquimans
County a NC Works Certified
Work Ready Community last
week during the Business Expo
held by the Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce. Right,
Amanda Pulley addresses a
crowd Thursday at the annual
Perquimans County Chamber of
Commerce Expo
Water quality
issues raised
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Dwayne Hinson said area rivers and the
Albemarle Somid are sending signs that
something isn’t right,
Hinson, a technician
with the Pasquotank Soil
and Water Conserva
tion Office, said what’s
not clear is how to fix it.
Hinson was one of the
speakers at a Field Day
Wednesday that involved
tours of two projects
designed to improve the HINSON
quality of the Little River
and ultimately, the Albemarle Sound.
“We don’t know what’s going on, but
something has changed,” Hinson told a
group of about 20 people. Some included
other soil and water officials, farmers and
forestry officials.
He pointed to a significant increase in
green algae forming in area waters. That
poses health dangers.
“I don’t even let my dog go in,” Hinson
said.
Algae blooms were once a common
thing 30 years ago, but it’s largely not been
a problem until recently.
See WATER, 4
Sprague named ambassador for national effort
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Tarnier Sprague, a 10-year-
old Perquimans boy who bat
tled cancer, has been named
the National Ambassador for
the third annual Great Cycle
Challenge USA.
During the past two years,
nearly 40,000 riders in all
50 states, pedaled 3 million
miles throughout the months
of June during the Challenge
and raised $4.7 million to fund
childhood cancer research.
For the event this year, Tan
ner will be the public face for
the organization.
Tanner was diagnosed with
osteosarcoma in 2016. It is
deadly bone cancer that affects
hundreds of kids each year. He
had to undergo surgery and
the bone in one arm had to be
removed and replaced with a
bone from his leg.
Laura Sobiech, a commu
nity outreach coordinator for
the Challenge, said Tanner
was picked because of his at
titude and the attitudes of his
parents.
“He’s just an awesome kid,” •
Sobiech said. “His family re
ally understands the power
of a story and are willing to
talk about it to help change ,
See SPRAGUE, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Tanner Sprague
gives a thumbs
up wearing a
Great Cycle
Challenge
jersey recently.
Sprague, who was
diagnosed with a
rare cancer, and
has been named
the National
Ambassador for
the biking event.
Plantation upgrades marina
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Albemarle Plantation
residents and some of the
staff recently completed an
improvement project at the
marina.
With the completion of
the work, for the first time
ttie Plantation is opening up
the marina to people who
don’t live there but want
to lease boat slips. In addi
tion, the Dockside CafA©
has now reopened after be
ing closed for several years.
It too is open to non-resi
dents.
The docks were built in
the early 1990s and were
starting to show their age,
said resident Robert “Jock”
Muir.
The main focus was “C”
dock. It’s also serves as the
fuel dock. Muir said over
about three months the
regular Plantation staff re ¬
placed the decking. At the
same time about 35 resident
volunteers took the job of
refurnishing the power ped
estals.
“Finding volunteers here
at the Plantation is never
difficult,” Muir said. “Our
residents volunteer in many
community events, projects,
civic and historical endeav
ors throughout Perquimans
and Chowan counties.”
The pedestals were re
moved from the dock,
cleaned up, taken apart, re-
See MARINA, 2
Garden Show
STAFF PHOTO BY
PETER WILLIAMS
Katy Shook
demonstrates how to
propagate new plants
from stems Saturday
during the annual
Garden Show held at
the Perquimans County
Recreation Center. The
event brings together
Master Gardners from
across. Perquimans,
Chowan and Gates
counties. Shook
administers the local
Master Gardner program.
Movie '
Marathon
-STA R. WA Rf.
MAY™ 4th
■"■^ #MayThe4thBeWithYou
campcale.com
(252) 264-2513