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P The
ERQUIMANS
Weekly
"News from Next Door”
Lady Pirates split two
APRIL 7, 2010 - APRIL 13, 2010 games. See page 8.
State: Winfall finances still unacceptable
Level declines for
second year in a row
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
For the second year in a row,
the state treasurer’s office has
determined that Winfall’s over
all financial condition has de
clined to unacceptable levels.
In a March 27 letter to Winfall
officials, Sharon G. Edmundson,
director, fiscal management sec
tion of the state and local gov
ernment finance division and
the Local Government Commis
sion, noted that the town’s gen
eral fund balance at the end of
fiscal year 2009 was in the hole
$11,628 or -2.31 percent of total
fund expenditures.
“Statewide, the average fund
balance available. for • compara
bly-sized municipalities was
86.94 percent of their total gener
al fund expenditures,’’ Edmund
son wrote. “For cash flow pur
poses, local governments need
to maintain adequate amounts
of fund balance to finance their
operations during periods of de
clining revenues. Also, fund bal
ance represents a reserve that
can be used for emergencies and
other unexpected expenditures
or to take advantage of financial
opportunities that may unexpect-
effiy arise. The town’s available
fund balance should not be al
lowed to drop below 8 percent of
total general fund expenditures,
which is equal to one month’s
average expenditures.”
Last year, the town’s finances
at the end of fiscal year 2008
showed a negative $8,545 in the
general fund or -1.95 percent of
total fund expenditures.
Apparently, the town is using
the age-old practice of robbing
Peter (general fund) to pay Paul
(water and sewer fund).
According to Edmundson,
whose staff analyzed the town’s
financial statements, the town’s
water and sewer fund isn’t gen
erating enough revenue to oper
ate, so the town borrows money
from its general fund to keep
the water and sewer fund opera
tional.
“It appears that a primary fac
tor in the negative fund balance
available in the General Ftmd is
the amount owed to the General
Fund from the Water and Sewer
See WINFALL, 10
'Race horses of the sky'
STAFF PHOTO BY BREfT A. CLARK
Charlie Jones talks about his hobby - racing homing pigeons - during an inteiview last month from inside his pigeon
coop located at his home in Camden County.
Shiloh man breeds homing pigeons
By ROBERT KELLY-GOSS
The Daily Advance
C huck Jones, public
works supervisor for
the town of Hert
ford, knows about pigeons,
thanks to his father, Charlie
Jones.
The cooing sound of
about 100 pigeons carries
softly through the air be
hind Charlie Jones’ Camden
County home. Behind his
house is a coop that houses
the pigeons, birds that will
race hundreds of miles
before they return home.
The older Jones has been
keeping homing pigeons
since he was about 14, back
in 1953. When he worked
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT A. CLARK
See PIGEONS, 10 Charlie Jones shows off one of his prized homing pigeons at his Shiloh home.
Police seek man in
attempted murder
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Police are looking for a
31-year-old Knotts Island
man wanted for attempted
first degree murder in con
nection with the December
beating of a Hertford busi
nessman.
Hertford Police Chief Joe
Amos said a warrant has
been issued for the arrest
of John Kenneth Tubbs,
Jr., alleging that Tubbs
tried to kill Jim Bishop at
Albemarle Homes in Hert
ford.
Police said Tubbs’ last
known address was 149
Solo Lane in Knotts Is
land.
Amos said the warrant
information has been m-
Tubbs
eluded in
the Nation
al Crime
Index data
base. The
case is also
stiU un
der inves
tigation
as police
suspect a
second man may also have
been involved. Anyone
with information is asked
to call the Hertford Police
Department at 426-5587. AU
calls can remain anony
mous.
Amos said the investi
gation centered around
Tubbs from the beginning
after Bishop was found
See MURDER, 10
County slows down
wind project plans
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
County commissioners
took no action Monday
night to change ordinances
that would allow a tempo
rary meteorological tower
that could pave the way for
a future wind energy proj
ect.
Instead, leaders decided
to slow down a bit rather
than agree to a hastily-sub
mitted request by Iberdrola
Renewables (IR), a global
company that already has
wind power projects in 13
states,
IR is currently talking to
landowners in the north
ern part of Perquimans
County about leasing land
on which to possibly build
wind turbines in the area
commonly known as “the
desert”. Before that can oc
cur, however, the company
must test the winds in that
area to see if the wind
could sustain any future
wind energy project.
Commissioners consid
ered changing language
(that was provided by the
company) in the county’s
ordinances that would al
low construction of a tem
porary meteorological tow
er in that area, but, instead,
deleted that language from
other ordinance changes
approved Monday night.
Such towers are not al
lowed under the county’s
current ordinance.
The tower, called a met
tower, would be just under
200 ft. taU, 10 inches in di
ameter, and would serve as
a platform for instruments
like anemometers, wind
vanes, barometers, and
thermometer that would
measure wind speed, di-
See PLANS, 10
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High: 72 Low: 52
Partly Cloudy
Saturday
High: 72 Low: 51
Sunny
Sunday
High: 72 Low: 53
Sunny
Work begins on Pasquotank’s $20M water plant
Plant to serve some
Perquimans users
By REGGIE PONDER
The Daily Advance
Last week was a busy week
in the construction of Pasquo
tank County’s $20 million re
verse-osmosis water plant that
is also expected to serve por
tions of Perquimans County.
Workers were spaying con
crete Thursday on the out
side of the two-mUlion-gallon
water storage tank at the RO
water plant. Elsewhere, crews
were laying the discharge and
main transmission lines, and
preparing to install the dis
charge header in the Albemar
le Sound.
Construction of the water
plant itself will begin this
month, according to Pasquo
tank Water Superintendent
John Gregory.
The goal for completing the
project is for the county to
receive the facility from the
contractor Jan. 1 of next year.
Gregory acknowledged, how
ever, that on a project the size
and scope of the water plant,
it’s always possible the con
struction won’t be completed
on time.
Gregory said some facets of
the project are running slight
ly behind schedule but the
contractors should be able to
catch up this summer “when
we have beautiful weather.”
Thursday’s sunshine
prompted a flurry of activity
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT A. CLARK
A crew from the CROM Corporation works on the new two-million-gallon bulk stor
age water tank last Thursday at the new Pasquotank County Reverse Osmosis Wa-
See PLANT, 10 ter Plant on Foreman Bundy Road.
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