TME PEK'(
MANS WEEKLY
Volume 33, No. 27
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, July 7, 1977
15CENTS
r
PRESIDING Baxter Williams of Cur- over the recent meeting of the group
rituck County, (left) chairman of the. while Levin Culpepper, representative
: : AADA Highway Committee, presides from Pasquotank County, listens.
.
STRATEGY DISCUSSED - Shown
discussing the action taken by the AADA
Highway Committee, which included
priority setting, are (1. to r.) Bud Am-
Highway Committee
Establishes Priorities
By KATHY M. NEWBERN .
Priority setting was the order of
business when" the Albemarle Area
Development Association's (AADA)
Roads Committee met June 28 at
Angler's Cove Restaurant in Per
quimans County.
The 10 counties in Region R are
represented on the AADA Roads Com
mittee. At the June 28 meeting, all coun
ties were represented except Camden
and Washington. Perquimans County's
representative is Joe No well, Jr., a
former member of the State Highway
Commission and a current County
Commissioner. ? '
After much discussion,' the committee
came tip with four priorities and several
recommendations at their recent
meeting. All present were in agreement
. that the four-laning of U.S. 17 from the
Virginia line to Elizabeth City was the
first priority that should be worked
toward collectively. Levin Culpepper,
representative from Pasquotank Coun
ty, voiced his support of this project and
presented several arguments favoring
endorsement by the group. Culpepper
admitted that there is a need for a better
road from northeastern North Carolina
to Raleigh, but added that "it is not in
I bur best interest for us to support road
i projects from our area going outside." '
He added, "Our greatest need is for us to
improve. roads in our area." Culpepper
further explained that he sees a trend of
growth pushing south from the
Tidewater, Va. area into northeastern
- North Carolina. He predicted that
growth : will reach our area ' 10
years; In addition to U.S. 17, Culpepper ;.
cited roads 168, 158 and 64 as roads that
are going to lead to the development of
North Carolina. Culpepper also brought
out economic factors by explaining that
well over 1,000 people in the Pasquotank
area commute to jobs in the Tidewater
area daily. v.- w ''-rv"
Nowell added that in a recent visit to
State Auditor Honored
' Henry L. Bridges, who has
served as Auditor for the'
! "State ' of North Carolina 30
V' . years, was recently honored
'' by his supporters " and
'.friends at a fund raising
.dinner held on the Campus
: of Elizabeth City State
Universi -
'. Bridges was appointed to
: - the position of State Auditor '
; in 1247 to fill an une.r;ired
t:rn &ni has been re :' ' : 1
slace for e:.,'.t c;n-'
c-r
burn of Edenton, Levin Culpepper of
Elizabeth City, and Mayor Bill Cox of
Hertford.
Raleigh, he talked about upcoming pro
' jects in North Carolina relating to road
improvements. He said that according to
information he received, the only major
project in the area that had chance for
funding under the present administra
tion was U.S. 17. Nowell further ex
plained that four to five years of work
has already been invested in the U.S. 17
: project. When the project was first con
sidered, Nowell added, the estimated
cost was at $27 million. Now that cost is
close to 135 million. Nowell said he felt
that if the U.S. 17 project was approved,
other road improvements would then
become necessary due to the amount of
traffic funneled into the area.
Discussion continued and members
emphasized the importance of being
"heard in Raleigh" on : road im
provements. Bud Amburn of Edenton
made a motion that the committee go on
record endorsing the U.S. 17 project.
That motion passed unanimously. He
then made a motion that the committee
solicit support of the Southern
Albemarle Association for better
highways in northeastern North
Carolina. That motion passed and the
AADA Roads Committee chairman,
Baxter Williams of Currituck County,
was asked to appoint a sub-committee to
.meet with a committee from the
Southern Albemarle Association for that
purpose.
Members appointed to serve on this
joint committee, representing AADA,
were Levin Culpepper, Baxter Williams,
: Joe Nowell Jr., and Marc Basnight from
Dare County. It was pointed out that
- several counties belonging to AADA are
. already members of the Southern
Albemarle Association, which historical
ly has gotten support for improvements
to bridges, ferries, and roads in its area.
' Before adjourning, the committee
came up with, three additional projects .
to support in addition to the U.S. 17 pro
ject. These included U.S. 158, N.C. 12 and
; U.S. 64 from Jamesville to Plymouth.
secutlve terms, the last in
1976.;, . . '
The duties of the State 4
Auditor include conducting
a thorough financial audit of
each state agency and in
stitution to determine that
all receipts are properly
deposited and that all expen
ditures are r.ade in ac-r
cordance to law; to develop, '
implement and monitor all
accounts? s;-:r.s within
State Goverr.r"-t; and to
conduct opera;;.
ual audits'
0
to determine if operations of
state agencies are being
handled in the most efficient
and effective manner. -
Bill Owens of Elizabeth
City served as Toastmaster
for the fund raising .event
Words of welcome were
presented by ECSU
Chancellor Dr. Marion D.
Thorpe with remarks by
Lorimer Midgette. Phil
Sawyer introduced the guest
speaker, the honoree, Henry
L. Lridzes.
Winf all Residents
By KATHY M. NEWBERN
The Fourth of July was
unexpectedly interrupted
for the residents of Winfall
just after 8:30 p.m. Monday
when they were asked to
temporarily evacuate their
homes due to a chemical
leak at Albemarle n Chem
ical Company, located in
Winfall. ..'.
The leak, reported' as
nitrogen liquid fertilizer
with high contents of am
monia, was discovered by
Larry Stalling!, Assistant
Manager at Albemarle
Chemical Company. Stall
tags reported the leak to
Charles Skinner Jr., Chief of
the Hertford Fire Depart
ment. Skinner then reported
the incident to the Per
quimans County Dispatcher
who alerted the Winfall and
Hertford Fire Departments
to report to the scene.
According to Wayne
Winslow, Chief of the Win
fall Fire Department, a
5,000-gallon tank containing
the liquid, which "fortunate
ly was not full," developed a
leak. Employes 1 of the
chemical company were
trying to pump the liquid out
for transport when the
tank's valve broke. At that
time, fire officials were
called to hose down the toxic
vapors. Fire officials added
that there was at no time,
any danger of fire.
The evacuation of
residents in the immediate
area began - shortly after
firemen arrived on the
Police
By a unanimous vote,
The Hertford Town Coun
cil appointed Marshal
Merritt as Chief of the
Hertford Police Depart
ment at their Tuesday
night meeting. Merritt
replaces retiring Police
Chief Ben Gibbs who
served in that capacity
for 17 years. The appoint
ment became effective
July 6. Before that an
nouncement was made,
however, a problem of
concern to the local police
was brought to the atten
tion of Council members.
A group of 15 concerned
citizens appeared before
the Council to register
a complaint over dis
turbances by teenagers
prowling in yards and on
porches at late night and
early morning hours. The
group explained that they
wanted it to be known
that a complaint had been
Council
Meets
RALEIGH - The North
Carolina Secondary Roads
Council met June 28 for its
final official meeting.
The Council approved ad
ditions, abandonments, and
improvements to North
Carolina's secondary roads.
Each of the 14 members
received a letter of ap
preciation for serving on the
Council, signed by Governor
James B.Hunt Jr.
The Governor wrote to
E.V. Wilkins of Roper, "You
have worked hard to finalize
the improvement priorities
for secondary roads for each .
county in your Division."
Governor Hunt also urged
Wilkins to "continue to
assist with the secondary
roads program.' f
Wilkins represents Divi
sion One which ; includes
Bertie, Camden, Chowan,
Currituck, Dare, Gates,
Hertford, Hyde, Martin,
Northampton, Tyrrell, Pas
- quotank, Perquimans, and
Washington counties. ,
The members of the
Secondary Roads Council
were appointed by Governor
" Hunt in March. The Council
..was abolished by the 1977
: General Assembly. Respon
sibility for secondary roads
; will now be vested with
new 21-meber Board of
Transportation. "
scene. The families
returned to their homes
shortly after 11 p.m. Fire of
ficials reported the vapors
were under control by 10:30
p.m. Chief Skinner added
that the evacuation was a
safety precaution and was
not a "mass migration."
All residents in the area
evacuated and returned to
their homes without injury.
One member of the Hertford
Fire Department did
receive some injury when he ,
fell in a ditch containing a
large amount of the liquid.
He was hosed down with
water on the scene by
another fireman and then
taken to Albemarle Hospital
where he was treated and
soon released.
Thomas Johnson,
Manager of Albemarle
Chemical Company, ex
plained that the investiga
tion into the cause of the
leakage was continuing
this morning at press
tinve and he therefore could
nor give out any informa
tion. He said there was no
available information as to
the amount of liquid that
leaked from the tank. Win
fall Fire Chief Winslow did
however estimate the
escaped liquid at between
1,700 and 1,800 gallons.
Johnson did express his ap
preciation to the efforts of
the fire departments and
Perquimans County Rescue
Squad and the neighbors in
the area for their actions
during the "unfortunate
accident."
Chief Is
registered and further oc
currences of this nature
would be reported to the
locar'authdrities. A mo
tion was passed by the
Town Council to have
Mayor Bill Cox seek
answers as to the ques
tions of the rights of the
property owners and
legal action available to
them. This motion car
ried unanimously.
Mayor Cox comment
ed, "I think the solution to
this is all of us, including
the police, working
together. I don't think
we've got a problem so
big that we can't handle
it."
The newly appointed
Chief of Police expressed
a willingness to work with
the citizens to bring the
problem under control.
Merritt, a native of Red
Springs, N.C, has lived in
Hertford the last eight
Assisting at the scene
were the Hertford, Winfall,
and Belvidere-Chappeil Hill
Fire Departments. The .
Inter-County and Bethel
Fire Departments were
available on stand by and
the Edenton Fire Depart
ment was contacted for ad
ditional air packs for use by
firemen. Also at the scene
was the Perquimans County
Highway
RALEIGH Plans are
underway for a massive,
statewide effort to obtain
public comment and involve
the general public in the
planning process to improve
the State's highway system.
North Carolina Depart
ment of Transportation of
ficials report that 14
separate public meetings
will be held during July and
August to provide the
general public with an op
portunity to participate in
the annual "update of
the Highway Improvement
Program."
One such meeting is
scheduled to be held in Hert
ford on Monday, Aug. 8. The
specific location and time
for the meeting as well as
the name of the chairperson
will be published at a later
time.
The Highway Improve
ment Program is a planned
and programmed course of
highway construction that
Named
years. He has been a
Hertford police officer for
three of those years. He
holds an Associate degree
in Police Science and has
completed a number of
courses at the Elizabeth
City Police Academy. He
and his wife, Frances,
reside in Woodland Circle
and have two sons, Paul,
age 11; and John, age 7.
ASSUMES DUTIES -Marshal
Merritt has
assumed the duties of
Chief of the Hertford
Police Department as of
July 6.
F1
. : V.r :,v- fx C : ,
Evacuate
Rescue Squad which ad
ministered oxygen to
firemen as it was needed.
Members of the Highway
Patrol and the Perquimans
County Sherrif's Depart
ment assisted as well as
many individuals who
helped direct traffic away
from the escaping vapors.
Winfall Fire Chief
Winslow commented,
Meeting
balances anticipated
revenues against estimated
highway project costs in the
coming years. The Highway
Improvement Program is
the department's basic plan
ning document and includes
projects on North Carolina's
rural primary and urban
highways (generally U.S.
and N.C. numbered
highways).
"This year's effort to ob
tain public input and in
crease public participation
in the highway planning pro
cess is the most extensive in
the Department's history,"
commented Secretary of
Transportation Thomas W.
BradshawJr.
"We encourage and ac
tively seek publie participa
tion in these meetings," said
Bradshaw. "I have in
structed my staff to record
all public comment at these
meetings so that the sugges
tions and concerns voiced by
our citizens can be made
Commissioners Meet
The Perquimans County Board of Commissioners met in
regular session Tuesday morning.
The Board asked that the following tax rates be published
in an effort to clear up misconceptions concerning the
recently adopted budget for Perquimans County. The
following tax rates are based on each S100 assessed valua
tion of taxable property: General Fund $.34 (for the
general expenses incident to the proper government of Per
quimans County); Debt Service Fund $.025 (for the pay
ment of maturing principal and interest on outstanding
bonded debt of Perquimans County); Special Tax $.01
(Revaluation Res); Aid Dept. Children Fund $.03; State
County Assist. Fund $.02; General School Fund $.325;
School Supplement Fund $.10; Capital Outlay Schools
$.10. The Perquimans County tax rate per one hundred
dollars ($100) assessed valuation is $.95. Such rates are
based on an estimated total appraised value of property for
the purpose of taxation of $93,400,000 with an assessment
ratio of 100 per cent of appraised value. Estimated collec
tion rate of 95 per cent is based on fiscal year 1976-77 collec
tion rate of 96 percent.
Highlights of the Tuesday morning meeting included:
The Commissioners resended a motion from June 16 that
all roads and sub-divisions be made public;
Tom Watts, District Attorney, presented an annual report
and informed the Board that Perquimans County had paid
$560 for four terms of court;
A resolution was passed authorizing Farmer's Home Ad
ministration to sell water bonds at five per cent;
A $5,000 grant was announced for the county planner's
salary; .
Durwood Reed Jr. was reappointed as county accountant
for another two-year term.
"Everything went smoothly
thanks to Belvidere and
Hertford Fire Departments
and the Rescue Squad. We
are thankful for all the
assistance."
Hertford Fire Chief Skin
ner said, "We assisted Win
fall as we were needed.
There was real fine coopera
tion and response from all
agencies."
Planned
known to the full Trans
portation Board for its
consideration," added
Bradshaw.
In three previous years an
average of seven annual
meetings were held to seek
public input. This year's ef
fort of 14 meetings doubles
the average number of
meetings held in 1974, 1975,
and 1976.
The public meetings will
be held in each of the State's
14 highway divisions, and
will be chaired by a member
of the North Carolina Board
of Transportation.
In addition to the Hertford
meeting, meetings will also
be held in the following
North Carolina cities:
Monroe, Lincolnton,
Henderson, Lexington,
Wilson, Lumberton,
New Bern, Wilmington,
Carthage, N. Wilkes
bord, Asheville, Sylva and
Burlington.
DAY OF CELEBRATION -A
day of celebration, the
Fourth of July, began in
Perquimans County Mon
day with a parade. One
featured parade partici
pant, the Perquimans Coun
ty Marching Unit, is shown
in the above picture at left.
After a variety of other
events and activities in
cluding a flag pageant, fried
chicken supper, countywide
church service, and Fun
Festival, the day came to a
close with a fireworks
display. (Staff photos by
Kathy M. Newbern)