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The
Perquimans
April 19, 2001
Vol. 69, No. 16 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
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APR 1 8 2001
Tanker overturns, spills fertilizer on U.S. 17
Driver breaks
shoulder
CHIP ROMANOVICH
The Daily Advance
A tanker truck over
turned on U.S. Highway 17
a few miles south of
Hertford last Tuesday
morning, spilling approxi
mately 1,000 gallons of a
nitrogen fertilizer-water
mixture onto the roadway.
The spill, which was con
tained to a ditch in the
highway median, will
cause no long-term envi
ronmental damage, said
Perquimans County
Emergency Management
Coordinator Harry
Winslow.
“It’s just the fertilizer
that the farmer puts in the
field,” Winslow said. “It’s
non-flammable. It’s aU been
contained (and) will be
pumped up.”
The driver of the truck.
'■'if
i
Dally Advance photo
Members of the Bethel Fire Department hose down a section of U.S. Highwayl?
where a tanker truck transporting nitrogen-based fertilizer overturned last
Tuesday, spilling part of its load.
Jay Jefferson, 39, of
Tarboro, suffered a broken
shoulder in the accident.
He was treated at Chowan
Hospital and released.
State Highway Patrol
Trooper J.H. Blizzard said
the accident occurred
about 10:30 a.m. as
Jefferson tried to make a
left turn onto N.C. Hwy. 37.
“He was traveling south
on U.S. 17, and attempted to
make a left turn on N.C.
37,” Blizzard said. “I think
he might have taken his
turn a little too fast consid
ering his vehicle and the
load he was carrying. It
just rolled right over on its
left side.”
Jefferson, who was wear
ing a seat belt, was cited for
exceeding a safe speed.
Blizzard said.
The tanker, which is
owned by Benjamin
William Marsh of
Beaufort, was carrying
49,000 pounds of a 30 per
cent nitrogen-70 percent
water mixture at the time
of the accident.
In addition to the nitro
gen-water mixture, approx
imately 30 gallons of motor
oil, hydraulic oil and diesel
fuel spilled from over-turn
er tanker truck, Winslow
said. BMW is expected to
hire an environmental firm
to clean up that spill.
Meanwhile, Royster-Clark
Inc., a fertilizer company
that makes the water-nitro
gen fertilizer mixture, wiU
pump out the ditch,
Winslow said.
Following the accident,
members of the Bethel
Community Volunteer Fire
Department sprayed the
roadway with water, and
the Department of
Transportation brought in
“three or four pickup
loads” of sand to contain
the two spills, Winslow
said.
Because of the accident,
traffic was diverted at the
Perquimans County line on
U.S. 17 until the highway
was reopened at 12:50 p.m.
Winslow said.
Perquimans County
commissioners hired
Winslow as Emergency
Management Coordinator
on April 2. -
Seneca:
Large fish
kill near
Hertford
Weather, low
oxygen level
kill herring
ROBERT SMILES
The Daily Advance
Hot weather and low
oxygen levels are being
blamed for a significant
fish kUl along a one-mUe
stretch of Goodwin Creek,
located just northwest of
Hertford.
Ernie Seneca, a
spokesman for the N.C.
Division of Water Quality,
said Thursday that about
2,000 adult herring each
between eight and nine
inches long - were found
dead in the creek that flows
directly into the
Perquimans River on
Wednesday.
A field officer for the
state Wildlife Resources
Commission reported the
kill, and two state Water
Quality staff members
from the division’s region
al office in Washington,
N.C., immediately investi
gated, Seneca said.
“It looks like we have a
seasonal event here. We
found the dissolved oxygen
levels in the water to be
very low,” Seneca said.
“The reason I’m saying
seasonal, is that this may
have been a double hit.
There was stagnant swamp
water mixing with the
creek water, and this was
coupled with the warm
temperatures we’ve been
having.”
Fish kUls usually occur
between May and October,
when temperatures are
higher, Seneca said. This
type of natural fish kill, he
added, is not unusual and
is a state-wide phenome
non.
EvERYBUNNY HAD FUN
1
■
ms
PHOTOS BY SUSAN HARRIS
Everybunny had fun in downtown Hertford Saturday when the Easter bunny
arrived in time for breakfast with area children. The day went on to include
photos with the
bunny, a decorated
hat contest and an
egg hunt. For the
adults, there was a
flea market and
merchant specials
throughout town.
The annual event
was sponsored by
the Historic Hertford
Business
Association.
'i
Potato Festival back
in Albemarle area
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Folks in the Albemarle
found the Potato Festival
quite a-peeling for many
years, so a group of resi
dents went back to its roots
to dig up the tradition once
more.
The Albemarle Potato
Festival will return to the
area on May 18 and 19 in
downtown Elizabeth City.
Held at various times over
a 30-year span beginning in
the 1930s, the Festival was
an area-wide celebration.
As in times gone by,
months of preparation
have gone into planning
this year’s tribute to the
region’s hard-working
farmers and the agricul
ture community in general
The 21st century version
will include a parade, live
entertainment, free food,
children’s activities, clas
sic car displays, and more.
A pre-event party is set
for May 18 when the Fat
Ammons Band will fill
Roebuck Stadium on the
ECSU campus with favorite
beach and oldies sounds
beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets
are $25 and proceeds will
benefit the Museum of The
Albemarle. Call 335-1453 for
tickets.
The preliminary
Festival schedule calls for a
kick-off parade on
Saturday at 10 a.m. North
Carolina Commissioner of
Agriculture Meg Scott
Phipps wiU serve as grand
marshall and will be
accompanied by “Spud,”
the official Festival mascot.
Gates wUl open at the
Waterfront Park at 11 a.m.
for sail boat races, chil
dren’s activities, a car
show, antique farm imple
ment display and enter
tainment.
At 11:30 a.m., the Little
Miss Tater Tot contest will
be held. Old-fashioned
games will foUow at noon.
Time is running out to sign
up for the Little Miss Tater
Tot pageant. Contestants
must be 5 by May 1. Entry
forms must be postmarked
by April 20 and be accom
panied by an entry fee of
$10. Ten contestants wUl be
selected from the entries.
The $10 fee wUl be returned
to those not selected to par
ticipate in the pageant.
Entry forms are available
at the chamber office in
participating counties, or if
there is no chamber office,
at the county manager’s
office.
The National Potato
Peeling Contest will be
open to teams and individ
uals at 1 p.m.
The U.S. Coast Guard
wUl perform a search and
rescue demonstration at 3
p.m.
There will also be a
Potato Recipe Cook-off at
that time at the Pasquotank
Extension Center. The
deadline to enter is May 4.
Perquimans County resi
dents who wish to partici
pate but cannot be present
on May 9 may enter. CaU
the Perquimans Extension
Center at 426-7697 to enter
and for more detaUs.
An awards and recogni
tion ceremony is set for 6
p.m.
There wiU be free french
fries and Frito-Lay chips
given during the event.
Counties included in the
Festival area are Beaufort,
Camden, Chowan,
Currituck, Gates, Hyde,
Pasquotank, Perquimans,
TyrreU and Washington.
For further information,
check online at
www.NCPotatoes.org/festi-
val.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 61
Low: 42
Partly Cloudy
Friday
High: 71
Low: 54
Mostly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 77
Low: 59
Mostly Cloudy