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WE E K LY
COA to hold ‘Pork and Pearls,’ 5
"News froth Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017
SEP 2 $ RECIko cents
NTSB releases crash report
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A helicopter that crashed
in a field in Perquimans
County this month had re
cently undergone inspec
tions, but witnesses report
ed seeing smoke trailing
behind it before it crashed.
The National Transporta
tion Safety Board released
the preliminary findings
Tuesday morning. The full
investigation could take a
year to 18 months.
The six-year-old Euro
copter was equipped with
an on-board audio and
video recording system but
the unit was damaged by
heat. However, the memory
device remained intact, ac
cording to the report. The
unit was sent to the NTSB
vehicle recorder laboratory
for examination.
On Sept. 8 the helicop
ter flew from Johnston Re
gional Airport in Smithfield
where it is based to Eliza
beth City Regional Airport
and refueled with 70 gallons
of fuel.
It arrived at Sentara Albe
marle Hospital about 10:22
am. At 11:08 am., the pilot
radioed the company op
erations center and advised
that that they were depart
ing for Duke Hospital with
two hours of fuel and foui-
people on board.
There were no further
communications with the
helicopter.
Several witnesses re
ported seeing smoke trail
ing .behind the helicopter
while it was in flight. The
smoke was described by
some witnesses as “heavy”
or “dark”, while others re
ported the color as “black”,
“dark blue” or “blue.” One
witness reported that the
helicopter was “hovering”
and “not traveling forward”
while it was a “couple of
hundred feet” above the
See NTSB, 4
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Duke hospital released photos of the flight crew and the helicopter that crashed in Perquimans
County earlier this month.
Four crash victims remembered
Draft
I-87 plans
released
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The four-way stop on U.S. 17 and
Harvey Point Road/Church Street
would be replaced with an inter
change and access would be limited
or eliminated in other areas based on
the preliminary design for Interstate
87 unveiled earlier this month.
When complete, the Interstate
would link Raleigh with Norfolk. The
idea is to mostly use existing four lane
roads and bring them up to Interstate
standards. But the $1 billion project
has yet to be funded.
This month’s plans are just prelimi
nary and designed so cost estimates
can be done.
Shane York, a feasibility studies
engineer for the NC Department of
Transportation, stressed that at this
point there will be plenty of oppor
tunities for more public input before
the project is finalized. Cost estimates
based on the present design may be
available by Christmas.
. “These designs we are presenting
are not the final designs,” York said.
“We can still move, this and change
that and this could take 20 years,” he
■ said, pointing out that federal funding
hasn’t been approved yet.
Property owners along U.S. 17 will
likely lose access as they know it. In-
j stead access roads parallel with the
See 1-87,2
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Services have been held for the
four people killed this month in a
helicopter crash in Perquimans
County this month.
The Duke Life Flight helicopter
went down in a field off Swamp
Road on Sept. 8. It may be a year
before the final report is released,
according to Terry Williams, a
spokesman for the agency.
Flight nurses Kris Harrison and
BARTLETT
Crystal Sollinger
and pilot Jeff
Burke died in
the fiery crash,
according to
Duke Health.
A funeral service for Bartlett
was held on Saturday at Corner-
stone Missionary Baptist Church
in Elizabeth City.
Dr. Walter L. Smith officiated
over the service. Burial was in
Reward offered
in Bosta case
Mary Bartlett, ■ New Oak Grove Cemetery.
BY LINDELL JOHN KAY
AND PETER WILLIAMS
Cooke Communications
70, an Elizabeth
City resident,
also died in the
crash. She was
Smith, who has been pastor of
the church since 2006, said Mrs.
Bartlett was a very nice woman.
Smith was at the hospital that
being transported from Sentara morning and met with the flight
Albemarle Hospital to Duke for
treatment. See VICTIMS, 4
Gov. Roy Cooper is offering $5,000
for information about the 2015 disap
pearance of a Perquimans County
woman whom authorities now believe
Firefighters, EMS crews honor the fallen
BY BETH VELLIQUETTE
The Daily Reflector
GREENVILLE — Members of
city and volunteer fire depart
ments and EMS crews stood si
lently by their vehicles last week
as they paid tribute to three
Duke Life Flight crew members,
who died Friday in a helicopter
crash in Perquimans County.
Three hearses carried the
bodies of pilot Jeff Burke and
nurses Crystal Sollinger and
Kris Harrison from the morgue
at the East Carolina University
Brody School of Medicine at Vi
dant Medical Center back to the
Durham area.
“We embark this morning
on the most important mission
of our lives, to bring our fallen
brothers and sister home,” Duke
Life Flight posted on its Face-
book page this morning. “Thank
you all for your continued
prayers, love and support while
we carry out this most honor
able of tasks.”
The helicopter had picked
up a patient, 70-year-old Mary
Bartlett, from the Sentara Albe
marle Medical .Center in Eliza ¬
beth City and was returning to
Duke Hospital in Durham, ac
cording to news reports, when it
crashed in a grassy field near the
town of Belvedere. Bartlett also
died in the crash.
Jay Morris, deputy fire mar
shal for Pitt County, said he re
ceived a call from a man in John-
See FALLEN,4
was murdered.
Karen Rae Bosta,
39, was last seen
May 31, 2015, while
she was shopping
at the Food Lion
formerly located at
North Broad Street
and Coke Avenue in
Edenton.
Previous reports
indicated Bosta was
BOSTA
last seen at a Walgreens pharmacy,
but new information places her at the
Food Lion prior to her disappearance,
Perquimans Sheriff Shelby White said
See BOSTA, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Adam Lassiter, Craig Craft and Stan Winslow stand next
to a plane loaded with supplies for hurricane victims in
Florida.
Groups seek to help hurricane victims
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County is
reaching out to Florida’s
Hurricane Irma victims by
air and land this month.
Craig Craft of Craft An-
Services set out to Florida
last week in a Beechcraft
Baron twin-engine aircraft
packed with supplies pro
vided by local businesses.
“They took the two seats
out of the back and packed
it,” Leslie Craft said of the
plane.
Craig is flying as part of
Operation Air Drop.
They plan on working
out of Tallahassee and take
the high-value items to just
where they’re needed and
do it quickly. The plane is
capable of speeds of over
210 miles an hour.
Bagley Swamp Wesleyan
Church is helping. coordi
nate a collection drive that
will head out by land on
Sept. 24. Michael Stallings of
Stallings Farm Trucking in
Winfall, has offered the use
of one of his tractor-trailers
and will provide a driver to
take locally collected items
to Florida, free of charge.
Pastor James Spaugh of
Bagley Swamp understands
dollar donations to hurri
cane funds are important
but he said sometimes he
said people just need to feel
they are more involved.
“When people can tan
gibly help, it helps us feel
like we’re doing something.
When you send diapers you
bought, it feels like you
helped.”
And things like diapers is
one of the things the church
has singled out. The church
is not asking for clothing. It is
See HURRICANE, 2
Principal reflects on improved high school ABC score
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County High
School didn’t just suddenly
improve from a “C” to a
89076
47144
6
2
“B” school
said Melis
sa Fields,
the princi
pal for the
past two
years.
Ittooka
lot of work
and coor
FIELDS
dination, she said.
“The results demonstrate
the impact of hard work,
dedication, and commit
ment on behalf of the entire
Pirate team,” she said earlier
this month.
She admits at first she
didn’t think the “B” score
was possible at first. But that
was the goal of Superinten
dent Matthew Cheeseman.
“When Mr. Cheeseman
challenged the high school
to become a “B,” I originally
thought it was a near impos
sible feat,” she said.
“However after carefully
studying the data, we found
a path to make it a reality.
We set rigorous goals for
each area of the account-
ability model and developed
a focused plan to achieve
those goals.”
At first she said he team
looked' hard at the master
schedule and made sure
there was common planning
times for departments. That
way, she said teachers had
time for Professional Learn-’
ing Communities (PLCs) to
focus on standards, dissect
data, and plan for individual
student needs.
“We also looked at student
scheduling — using data to
cluster students by need so
they could receive targeted
support. Another “out of the
box” idea we implemented
was team teaching in Math
I. This strategy allowed the
teachers to strengthen foun
dational skills with students
while mastering the Math I
content.”
She said Gear UP funds
were used to hire retired
certified teachers to provide
additional support for our
students in End of Course
See SCORE, 2