P The
ERQUEMANS
''News front Next Door"
JULY 14, 2010 - JULY 20, 2010
Summer
2010
edition of
Aibemarle
Magazine,
iNSIDE
# ■
County changes towers ordinance
By CATHY WILSON
^taff Writer
County commissioners
have recharged the coun
ty’s ordinance regarding
the construction of new
communications towers in
the county
After months of work
by members of the Per
quimans Planning Board
and their consultant, Citi-
Scape, Inc., commission
ers approved the planning
board’s recommendations
regarding changes that wUl
update requirements per
taining to location, type,
height, and safety of com
munication towers, usually
called cell phone towers.
Changes approved in
clude dropping the set
back along the coimty’s US
Highway 17 corridor firom
1,000 feet to 500 ft., allowing
construction of monopoles
and lattice towers, and add
ing provisions that require
technological justification
for building new towers. As
a result, thd county may see
more towers closer to High
way 17, more monopoles
built rather than guyed
towers, and a hierarchy
in place to make sure the
company can justify con
struction of a tower and
construct it safely
The ordinance allows
construction of both mono
poles ' and lattice towers.
Guyed towers, which are
the design of most towers
already buUt in the coimty
now, are allowed but only
under a hardship clause. If
a company wants to buHd
a tower, but can’t afford
to build anything other
than a guyed-wire tower,
the company can petition
the county for approval to
build such a tower.
Consultants have advised
the county that monopoles
usually cost 20-30 percent
more to construct. Mono
poles towers are construct
ed up to 220 ft. with the lat
tice tower buUt higher.
Guyed towers are report
edly the cheapest way to
bufid a tower over 300 ft,
but require more land to do
so. Today, most television
and radio towers are guyed
towers.
Commissioner Charles
Ward pushed to allow the
guyed towers, voicing
concerns over lack of ceU
phone service in remote
areas of the county such
as Bear Swamp or Belvi-
dere. In addition. Ward was
concerned over the cost of
building the shorter mono
pole towers, which require
a large, deep concrete foun
dation, he said.
See TOWER, 2
all aboard for the ...
SKATEBOARD TOUR
Teen charged
with shooting
at occupied car
IWo children were
inside the vehicle
From staff reports
A 17-year-old Perquimans
County youth faces a felony
charge of shooting into an
occupied vehicle following
an incident qp King Street
back in Jime.
According to Hertford
Police, O’Shea Tyquan Lee,
also known as “Gook”, is
currently being held in Al
bemarle District Jail under
a $50,000 secured bond fol
lowing an incident on June
14 during which shots were
fired into a 2001 Chevrolet
Blazer carrying four adults
and two children under the
age of 5. No one was injured
in the shooting. Police said
one bullet hole was found
in the vehicle between the
left rear tire and the door.
According to police re
ports, the vehicle was driv
en by Tracie Lee Collier of
300 block Stokes Drive at
the time of the shooting.
Police reports state that
Collier was driving the
Blazer and a man known
as “T” was in the front seat
beside her. Her children
were in the back seat be
tween another man (known
as Psycho) and a pregnant
female.
See SHOOTING, 2
STAFF PHOTOS BY BREn A. CLARK
Thomas Morgan, 12, attempts his first drop in on the half pipe at the Fun Junktion skate park in Pasquotank County
during Skateboarding Camp sponsored by the Perquimans Recreation Center, July 9.
Perquimans rec group going piaces
By CHIC RIEBEL
Daily Advance
T he only thing better than
spending a summer day
skateboarding is traveling to
different cities to do it.
Just ask the seven boys who
signed up for the Perquimans
County Parks and Recreation
Department skateboarding camp.
For four days this week, the
kids, who ranged in age from
7 to 12, piled into a van and
jom-neyed to skateboard parks in
GreenviUe, Gates County, “Little”
Washington, Virginia Beach (Va.)
and Elizabeth City to ride their
boards.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said
Mason White, 13, after taking a
break from skateboarding at Frm
Junktion Friday, the last stop on
the camp tour. “We got to go to a
lot of different places to skate
around. Then we got to eat out
later.”
“It’s really something for them
Roper man headed
home during chase
Thomas Morgan, 12, Aidan McGonigle, 8, and Jonathan Glover, 12, take a break
from skating at the Fun Junktion skate park, July 9.
to go from our little park in Hert
ford to Mt. Trashmore in Virginia
Beach with ramps four times as
big as what we’ve got,” said Der
rick Page, the rec employee who
chauffeured the kids. “We’re try
ing to give them an idea of how
big a sport it is developing into by
taking them to other parks in big
ger cities.
See SKATEBOARD, 6
From staff reports
A 23-year-old Roper man
led local and state police
on a high speed chase
from Hertford to his home
in Roper July 3 involving
speeds up to 100 miles per
hour.
Melvin Cortez Carter, 23,
now faces two felony charg
es of fleeing to elude ar
rest, and two misdemeanor
charges of driving while
license revoked in connec
tion with the early morn
ing incident. He is current
ly being held in Albemarle
District Jail under a $6,000
secured bond.
Hertford Police Chief
Joe Amos said Sgt. Shawn
Swindell and new reserve
Patrolman Desean Bogues,
were patrolling on Market
Street around 3:30 a.m.,
when they saw a black
Jeep Cherokee speeding
on Church Street. Police
caught up with the vehicle
near AI^DC Street and
saw the Jeep weave in its
travel lane multiple times
as it tuned onto Highway 17
southbound.
When police activated
lights and siren in an at
tempt to stop the vehicle
on suspicion of drunk driv
ing, the Jeep sped up in
stead. By the time the cars
reached the intersection of
Edenton Road Street, they
were traveling nearly 80
miles per hour.
A nearby North Carolina
Highway patrolman also
tried to stop the Jeep which
accelerated up to 100 miles
per hour as it travelled
southbound past Snug Har
bor Road.
Both police cruisers con
tinued the chase as the Jeep
turned left onto NC 32, trav
eling over the sound bridge
and into Washington Coun
ty. The Jeep continued onto
NC 94, where a Washington
County deputy joined the
chase. The vehicle even
tually turned onto a side
street after it entered the
' See CHASE, 2
Weekend
Weather
Friday
High: 94 Low: 78
Scattered Storms
Saturday
High: 94 Low: 78
Scattered Storms
Sunday
High: 94 Low: 78
Partly Cloudy
Discussion of school electric bill to continue
Hertford says bill
still has to be paid
By CATHY WILSON
Staff Writer
Hertford Council took
no action on reducing the
school’s $258,889 electric
bfil debt Monday night, but
agreed to meet with county
officials to discuss the mat
ter Aug. 2.
By not taking action,
council members basically
stood their ground on their
decision last month that
the school system should
repay the full debt in the 26-
month time period allowed
by town policy, citing con
cern over setting precedent
for other town electric cus
tomers in the future. The
town will allow the school
system to repay the debt
by paying an additional
$10,000 over their normal
monthly electric bill which
has also increased drasti
cally now that the error has
been corrected.
Town Manager John
Christensen said the school
has paid its regular month
ly electric bfil, which in
creased in May to just over
$21,000 and up to $25,000 in
June. The school’s first debt
repayment installment was
due July 10. As of Monday,
it had not been paid.
“What do you want me
to do?” Christensen asked
council. “Town policy is
the customer is subject to
having its power cut off if
the bill has not been paid
within 10 days after a late
notice goes out. This board
will have to vote if you
want to turn the power off
to the school.”
Council agreed that since
the school’s electric bill
was paid on time, the town
would only send out a late
notice to the school and
charge a $7 late fee on the
non-payment of the debt
repayment amount rather
than cut off power.
In May, local officials re
alized that the town had
under billed Perquimans
County High School over
$258,000 in electricity
charges over a period of
26 months after a town em
ployee entered an incorrect
billing multiplier when the
school’s new gym was con
structed. At that time, the
school’s entire electrical
system was reconfigured,
consolidating four meters
into one.
The error was discovered
when the county’s emer
gency management officials
performed load testing on
the school’s electrical sys
tem while evaluating the
school for possible use as
an evacuation shelter in
the event of a disaster
When the town notified
the school system of the
electric bfil debt, the school
system, backed by county
commissioners, asked
Hertford officials to forgive
the debt, citing the money
spent by the schools on put
ting in a new transformer
and making improvements
to Jimmy Hunter Drive,
both of which benefit the
town.
When council failed to
forgive the debt, school and
county officials asked the
See BILL, 2