7
Godfrey leads Planning
Department. ■■ page 3
Teen Court Gears Up
page 7
Pirates Sail Past Gates
Lady Pirates Rebound...page 9
Subscriber of the Week:
Johnny Byrum Jr.
.— The
rERQUlMAlNS WEEKLY
September 19, 2007
Vol. 75, No, 38 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
"News from Next Door"
Bridge
closed
Causeway
' Undergoing
emergency fix
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
The causeway between
Hertford and Winfall is
closed for emergency re
pairs.
Sterling Baker, division
maintenance engineer with
the North Carolina Depart
ment of Transportation,
said settling of the old con
crete underneath the cause
way may take up to a month
to repair.
“Basically, we have to do
the same thing that we did
two years ago,” Baker said.
“We will build a bridge over
the old road and pave on top
of it.”
The concrete slab settled
eight inches to a foot just
last week, he noted, causing
the need for the immediate
closing of the roadway for
emergency repairs. In one
section of the causeway, a
very large dip showed paint
marks where the bottoms of
vehicles had struck it.
The river water actually
runs underneath the cause
way, he added, and highway
officials assume the settle
ment is being caused by
sections of the concrete be
coming eroded.
“We just can’t teU until
we open it up and see,” he
said.
The causeway was closed
to traffic on Sept. 17 and
is expected to reopen Oct.
12, if not sooner. Message
boards have been installed
around the area notifying
vehicle traffic of the clo
sure with a detour route
identified.
Perquimans County
Schools, however, took
school buses off the cause
way 10 days earlier because
of safety concerns after
receiving a report that the
causeway had fallen again.
Superintendent Dwayne
Stallings and Transporta
tion Director Donald Hur
dle met and determined
after riding the causeway
that it was necessary to
re-route the school buses
away from the causeway.
“The safety of our stu
dents and drivers is of ut
most importance to us,”
said Stallings. “The buses
will remain off of the
causeway until such time
as it is determined the road
is safe.
“This dilemma rears its
head each year,” he contin
ued. “The most desirable
situation is to keep the
buses off of Highway 17
and the high-rise bridge as
much as possible because
of the increased number
of vehicles and speed lim
its. However, when the
causeway exhibits ‘ques
tionable’ dropped areas in
pavement (as it currently
does), I did not feel confi
dent that buses traveling
across the causeway were
as safe as possible. Conse
quently, I had no choice but
to re-route the buses onto
Highway 17.”
The re-routing creates
additional expense for the
school system because of
the additional mileage;
however, school officials
believe it is imperative to
feel confident that students
are provided the safest
transportation possible.
/
A
911 observances
held in county
Local Schools RemembSince the aftermath and
devastation of 9-11, we are reminded that some of
our true heroes are the men and women who risk
their lives to serve and protect us — whether in the
armed services or emergency personnel such as fire
fighters, law enforcement or emergency workers.
Each year on 9-11, students take the time to rec
ognize and appreciate the efforts and sacrifices of
local heroes. It is difficult to fully understand the
value and cost of our freedom until such devastat
ing events as 9-11. Although Americans have re
turned to some sense of normalcy during the past
six years, we will never forget the lessons of 9-11.
“We should never take a moment with our loved
ones for granted. As we spend time with our fami
lies, children and friends today as we honor those
serving to protect us, our thoughts return again to
those who lost loved ones on that fateful day six years
ago. We can never fully express our feelings for the
sacrifices made each day, we can only pay tribute by
remembering,” said Principal Sylvia Johnson.
' «Hr »
w
iIliIUiU
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
PERQUIMANS CENTRAL SCHOOL HELD a 9-11 Re
membrance Service around the flag pole where stu
dents culminate the event by singing "This is Amer
ica." Perquimans High School also held a special
recognition/salute to soldiers during Open House on
9-11. The Rescue Squad also noted the occasion with
a memorial sign in front of their building.
Hertford department bums house
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
A vacant, dilapidated
house was burned to the
ground by local firefighters
last Thursday night with
no problems despite overly
dry conditions in the area.
Hertford Fire Depart
ment burned the house
located across from the
Albemarle Commission
Building on Church Street
around 6:45 p.m. at the re
quest of its owners. Within
minutes, the wooden house
roared into a blazing in
ferno as firefighters stood
by with primed fire hoses
ready to douse trouble
spots.
Firefighters quickly
extinguished several tree-
tops that ignited from the
fire. They also put out hot
spots that sparked across
the street in the grass field
adjacent to the Albemarle
Commission Building.
Chief Robert Reed said
firefighters were called
back to the scene of the
blaze two times during the
night when flames rekin
dled.
Preparations to burn
down the house have taken
several months. Interior
walls were removed, and
the owner was required to
remove all asbestos from
the property prior to burn
ing.
Debris around the
t'
4
house was cleared, and
firefighters earlier in the
day disked an area behind
the house in an effort to
prevent any flames from
spreading to a nearby
forest. They also soaked
the ground and trees sur
rounding the house with
water just prior to setting
the house on fire.
Reed was pleased with
the turnout by his firefight
ers for the controlled burn.
The exercise was part of
training for firefighters.
Firefighters created a
draft from the nearby Per
quimans River for their
water supply to control the
fire.
Members of the Hert
ford Police Department
blocked traffic from mov-
Town
Okays
annex
request
Company’s
property
straddles
town limits
CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
With no one speaking in
opposition last week, mem
bers of Hertford Town
Council approved the con
tiguous annexation of 87.15
acres of land located near
the intersection of U.S. 17
and Harvey Point Road.
Greenville Timberline
asked the town of Hert
ford to annex the property
since part of the parcel is
already located within the
town’s boundary.
Town manager John
Christensen explained
that the property lies be
tween two parcels that are
already within the town’s
boundaries.
“Part of Greenline’s
property is in the town lim
its. The commerce center
is in the town limits. The
property they are asking
to annex is the hole in the
middle,” he explained.
Annexing the property
would provide town wa
ter and sewer to the area.
Christensen had earlier in
dicated Green viUe Timber-
line is considering develop
ing residential properties
on the plot. The town’s
moratorium on developing
subdivisions expires in Oc
tober.
The annexation goes
into effect immediately.
In other town matters
last week. Bob Reed, Hert
ford fire chief, brought
council up to date on sev
eral projects involving the
fire department. He said
the department has or
dered a rescue truck with a
December delivery date. In
addition, the department
will be installing a $9,800
phone system on Engine
32. The department is also
in the process of begin
ning their annual letter
fund raising campaign.
Perquimans Weekly Photo by CATHY WILSON
FLAMES RAGED THURSDAY NIGHT as Hertford Volunteer Firefighters burned a
vacant house on Church Street across from the Albemarle Commission Building
at the request of the property owners. While the outdoor burning ban does not
affect local fire departments, it is still in effect and stiff fines will be imposed to
those violating the outdoor burning ban due to the dry conditions statewide.
ing through the area from
King Street to ARPDC
Street during the burn.
Reed pointed out that
the current outdoor burn
ing ban does not pertain
to fire departments. The
ban is still in effect due to
drought conditions in the
area and stiff fines will he
imposed on those who vio
late the han.
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 81
Low: 68
Scattered
T'storms
Football Friday
High: 82
Low: 67
Isolated T'storms
Saturday
High: 82
Low: 62
Scattered
T'storms