P The
ERQUIMANS
Weekly
"News front Next Door"
APRIL 22 - APRIL 28, 2009
Albemarle
Chorale to
perform
Sunday at
PCHS
pg.4
County
approves
waterfront
housing
By Cathy Wilson
Staff" Writer
A new subdivision offering
up to 140 single family resi
dential lots is planned at the
end of Snug Harbor Road.
Point Pleasant on the Albe
marle was approved last week
by county commissioners.
Owned by Enterprise Real
ty, the nearly 100-acre planned
unit development located on
the Yeopim Creek and river
near the Albemarle Sound is
adjacent to the Snug Harbor
community.
It will receive water from
the county and have a central
wastewater treatment plant
and disposal system. All oth
er utilities will be buried un
derground.
In addition, a 100-plus slip
marina, boat storage area,
and community center are
planned.
“I still have a lot of design
hoops to jump through,” said
Derrick Smith of Greenville,
one of the three owners of
Enterprise Realty
Other owners include Dean
Sinatra of Charleston, S.C.
and Dan Girouard of Rich
mond, Va.
“We anticipate getting the
preliminary plat approved in
the next three months,” he
added.
Lots are expected to be
ready to market by fall. Each
lot will be at least 15,000
square feet. The develop
ers anticipate custom-built
homes using local builders,
he said.
The property is now farm
land that includes one house
built in the early 1800s. Prop
erty owners say they intend
to preserve the house for its
historical significance and
either use it as a residence or
let it become part of the Prop
erty Owners Association.
There is also an existing
boat ramp on the property
that is currently used by the
pubic for a daily fee, as well as
an abandoned building once
used as a marina store.
The owners propose to ren
ovate the store building and
convert it into a boat house
complete with lockers, ice
machine, and sitting areas.
The boat ramp is slated to
be upgraded and maintained
to ensure continued access
for the community.
The subdivision wih have
walking trails and open space
available to residents.
A marina that would pro
vide water access to the in
terior lot owners is proposed
for the south side of the prop
erty, providing both the state
and county give approval.
A ROCKING
BOAT SHOW
Hertford opposes new
proposed S-bridge rules
Coast Guard, DOT want to
shrink opening times; have
two-hour advance notice
By Cathy Wilson
Staff Writer
The town of Hertford has gone on record
opposing the Coast Guard’s plans to require
a two-hour advance notice in order to open
the historic S-bridge for boat traffic for seven
months of the year.
Last week, members of Hertford Town
Council unanimously expressed opposition to
the new regulation that would not only require
two-hoiar advance notice, but would reduce the
times the bridge could open as well.
Currently, the draw^ bridge opens for boat
traffic on signal from 8 a.m.—midnight April 1
- Sept. 30, and from 10 a.m.—10 p.m. the rest of
the year. The new regulation would allow the
draw bridge to open on signal from 8 a.m.—10
p.m. May 1—Sept. 30, and from lO a.m.—8 p.m.
with two-hour advance notice the rest of the
year.
“As you can see the proposed schedule will
Christensen
eliminate a bridge tender from
being on premises for seven
months of the year,” Town
Manager John Christensen
said. “Historically during this
seven months, one-third of the
openings has occurred.”
According to the USCG pro
posal detailed on the federal
register, the request to require advance notice
and cutting back on the hoiirs is sought by the
North Carolina Department of Transportation
due to the decreased number of bridge open
ings annually. According to NCDOT figures on
the registry, the draw bridge opened 363 times
in 2006, 451 times in 2007, and only 266 times
in 2008. The draw bridge itself, however, was
forced to close to boat traffic for about two
weeks last year for repairs.
According to the registry, changing the regu
lation would allow for more efficient use of the
bridge during months of infrequent transit.
Council members, however, believe the
town has several reasons why the regulations
should not be changed. The town proposes to
build a public marina west of the S-bridge in
See BRIDGE on PageA2
Visitors center creates a Jim
‘Catfish’ Hunter mini-museum
SUSAN HARRIS/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Top, Carolina Robertson was the first to try to climb the rock wall at
the 8th Annual Northeastern North Carolina Boat Show Saturday at
the Perquimans County Recreation/Community Centre.
From kayaks to fishing vessels to luxury cruisers with sieeping and
cooking accommodations, boats of all sizes and prices were on
display at the boat show over the weekend.
By Cathy Wilson
Staff Writer
The Perquimans County Visitors Center/
Chamber of Commerce is creating a small mu
seum devoted to the legendary National Base
ball Hall of Earner Jim “Catfish” Hunter.
The former New York Yankee pitcher, origi
nally from Hertford, was inducted into the Na
tional Baseball HaU of Fame in Cooperstown,
N.Y. in 1987 after beginning his career in the
major leases in 1965. He died in 1999 follow
ing complications from ALS. His family stfil
resides in Perquimans County
“We have visitors who come into the Visi
tors’ Center asking to see things pertaining
to him,” said Sylvia Wyatt, secretary “There
are many people who followed his career and
are interested in seeing memorabilia from his
baseball days.”
The mini-museum will feature artifacts dis-
Hunter
played in antique oak and glass
cases. Donations of memora
bilia will be accepted or can be
offered on loan for the public to
enjoy, Wyatt explained.
The size of the mini-mu
seum depends on the amoimt
and size of memorabilia given,
pointed out Sid Eley director.
He hopes to have the .mu
seum in place by Perquimans
Coxmty Day at the Edenton Steamers baseball
game slated for July 25. This year marks the
22nd anniversary of Himter’s induction into
the HaU of Fame. He is also remembered in the
North Carolina Sports HaU of Fame.
According to the state library. Hunter rose
to superstar status in basebaU whUe maintain
ing his down-home character. He was an out-
See MUSEUM on PageA2
Code enforcement process begins
Four homes chosen
from substandard
properties list
By Cathy Wilson
Staff Writer
Weekend
Weather
Thursday
High: 69 Low: 52
Sunny
Friday
High: 72 Low: 52
Sunny
Saturday
High: 73 Low: 55
Sunny
Four properties deemed
substandard have been tar
geted for code enforcement
by the town of Hertford.
Members of Hertford
Town Council last week ap
proved beginning the code
enforcement process on the
four properties based on
recommendations by Town
Manager John Christensen.
Christensen based his se
lections on criteria used to
prioritize 19 properties cur
rently on the town’s substan
dard properties list. Chris
tensen visited and graded
each property with the top or
worst-scored properties sug
gested to the councU for code
enforcement.
Those properties include:
320 King Street, owned by
WiUiam D. Ferebee; 315 W.
Market Street, owned by
Gladys Thompson HiU; 319
W. Market Street, owned by
Thomas E. White heirs; and
221 King Street, owned by
Thomas A. Riddick.
During the code enforce
ment process, owners may
either improve the property
or the town can demolish
the house, place a lien on the
property and then recover
the cost of demolition from
the owner.
Criteria upon which each
property was judged in
cludes: the location of the
property, and its visibility
and neighborhood; whether
it houses criminal behavior;
the condition of the house
and yard; and the number
of years since the house was
last occupied.
Each of the four houses
scored high in criminal be
havior and poor condition
of the house and yard. The
house at 320 King Street
has been vacant for a year,
221 King Street for 12 years,
315 W. Market Street for five
years, and 319 W Market
Street for 11 years.
According to Christensen,
the house at 320 King Street
has deteriorated, but the
roof is okay. The doors are
open, the yard is trashy with
building materials stacked
in the back yard, and, while
the grass has been cut, the
bushes are overgrown.
The house at 221 King
Street has a deteriorated
roof; the windows and doors
are boarded up, with the
exception of the back door,
which is broken in and open;
and the back porch is falling
down.
The two homes on Market
Street are deteriorating as
well. The roof on the house
at 315 W Market Street is
falling off, the front door is
unsecured, and heavy brush
covers the uncut yard. A dog
is chained to a tree in the
back yard. Since the house is
unoccupied, Christensen be
lieves someone is using the
yard to keep the dog.
The house at 319 W. Market
Street is located on a lot that
is heavily overgrown with a
lot of trash and debris in the
yard. The doors and windows
are open and broken.
Christensen said aban
doned houses can become
havens for crime.
Police Chief Joe Amos
agrees.
“The main thing with all
the locations is that they
are used by people as a place
to gather as well as some
people breaking and enter
ing to have a place to stay,”
said Amos. “The problem
with that is, of course, when
you have people living in an
abandoned house, they tend
to use fires to keep warm and
that can lead to a house fire
that might threaten a house
next to the vacant house.
Also, when you have people
gathered up at a house or
breaking in the house, you
tend to see drug or alcohol
abuse and that can lead to
other problems as well.”
These four houses are the
latest in the town’s efforts to
rid the area of substandard
properties. Five years ago,
43 properties in town were
identified. Since then, 24
have either been improved
See CODE on PageA2
DOT releases traffic
accident statistics
Crashes
Perq. ‘07 - 233 ‘08 - 232
Chowan ‘07-249 ‘08-263
Pasq. ‘07 - 46 ‘08 - 806
By Cathy Wilson
Stajf Writer
Perquimans County didn’t
follow the state’s trend in low
er traffic-related fatalities last
year, but has seen significant
decline the past two years.
While traffic deaths de
creased by more than 17 per
cent last year statewide, Per
quimans County actually saw
an increase.
According to figures pro
vided by the North Carolina
Department of Transporta
tion, no lives were lost on
county roads in 2007 yet one
person died in a traffic acci
dent in 2008.
Chowan County also saw
an increase in traffic fatali
ties, going from one in 2007 to
two in 2008.
In Pasquotank County, how
ever, the number of fatalities
feU by two.
NCDOT qualifies its figures
by pointing out that many
traffic crashes go unreported
for a variety of reasons.
The number of highway
crashes that occurred in Per
quimans County actually re
mained fairly steady Crashes
Injuries /Fatalities
Perq. ‘07 - 96/0 ‘08 - 74/1
Chowan ‘07 -108/1 ‘08 -110/2
Pasq. ‘07 - 368/3 ‘08 - 444/1
here totaled 232 in 2008 and
233 in 2007.
The number of injuries re
sulting from those crashes,
however, decreased from 96
to 74.
In Chowan County, NCDOT
figures show that 263 crashes
occurred in 2008 with 110 in
juries and two fatalities com
pared with 249 crashes in 2007
which caused 108 injures and
only one fatality
There were 806 crashes re
ported in Pasquotank Coimty
with 444 injures and one fatal
ity compared with 846 crash
es in 2007 causing 368 injuries
and three fatalities.
An eight-year analysis of
highway crashes, injuries and
fatalities overall shows that,
for the most part, while there
were more crashes in Perqui
mans, the number of those in
jured or dying decreased.
“Safety is our top priority,”
State Transportation Secre
tary Ge^e Conti said. “This
decrease is significant and
demonstrates what can be ac
complished when state and lo
cal agencies work together to
make North Carolina a safer
place to travel.”
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