P I The JUN 19 reco
ERQUIMANS
Weekly
"Neivs from Next Door”
JUNE 19, 2013 - JUNE 25, 2013
Retirees have 138 years combined service - 4
50 cents
Solar project may be moving forward
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Plans for a large solar
farm in southern Perqui
mans County are still on
track according to a com
pany spokesman.
L^t month Shelley
Layden of Solar Green De
velopment LLC wrote aletter
to the Perquimans County
Commission with an update
on the plans. The county
granted a conditional use
permit in September 2011 to
develop up to 20 megawatts
of solar generating capacity
on a 100-acre site off U.S.
17. That’s enough power to
serve between 2,600 and
2,800 homes and it would be
the first large-scale renew
able energy project in the
region.
What’s holding it back is
the price a buyer is wiULug
to pay.
Layden said the company
has an agreement with Do
minion Power. But between
the time the deal was started
and now, the price of power
was reduced by 30 percent.
Dan Conrad, a spokes
man for the N.C. Utilities
Commission said the next
step will be for Solar Green
to publish legal notices once
a week for fom weeks. If no
body objects, the commis
sion will grant Solar Green’s
request. If there is an objec
tion, the commission will
consider it.
The solar plant, while
industrial in size, is small
compared to the footprint
of the wind power project
proposed for the other side
of Perquimans County and
Pasquotank County. Desert
Wind as proposed would
cover 20,000 acres and cost
about $600 million. It would
produce about 300 mega
watts.
Layden said not all of the
See PROJECT, 6
Budget
shortfall
may hurt
schools
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
'The extra school security
officer hired to finish out the
2012-13 school year may not
return in the August when
classes resume.
The fate of some other
personnel also is a question
mark.
The schools hired the of
ficer and used reserve funds
to pay for the position in the
last school year. But there
may not be enough money
left in reserves to do that
again for the 2013-14 school
year.
That leaves one Perqui
mans County Sheriffs Dep
uty based at Perquimans
Coimty High School but cov
ering all four of the schools,
including the two on the
other side of the river.
When the extra officer
was in place, he serviced
both Perquimans Central
School and Perquimans
County Middle School.
Perquimans Superinten
dent Dwayne Stallings said
he simply doesn’t know at
tins point where the school
system will go. 'That largely
depends on decisions made
by the General Assembly
and the Perquimans Coimty
School Board.
'The $726,000 in capital
funds the schools had re
quested fi'om the county this
year included $243,000 to re
place a like amount that the
school system had to draw
out of the reserve fund this
past school year. One of the
items it paid for was the re
source officer. ’The county
budget provides $215,000 in
See SHORTFALL, 6
A Place of Honor
JUN 1 9 RECD
PHOTO COURTESY JULIA STAPLETON
An honor guard approaches the flag pole at a new flag circle at Albemarle Plantation on Friday. See story on page 2.
No tax
increase
proposed
for town
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Town of Hertford is
proposing no property tax
increase and small hikes in
the base charge for water
and sewer customers in
2013-14.
The budget hearing is
scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Thursday at town haU.
Town Manager Brandon
Shoaf is recommending the
town keep the property tax
rate at 35 cents per $100 in
value. 'The monthly charge
for water customers will
increase by $1.45 from the
current $21.05 and sewer
customers will pay $1.75 on
top of the current charge of
$28.25.
“We tried to hold the line
as much as possible,” Shoaf
said last week.
The general fund bud
get is projected to be $1.5
million. Of that, $644,203
goes to the police depart
ment and $314,945 goes to
the street department. The
water/sewer fund is a sepa
rate $1.2 million operation
and the electric department
budget totals $3.1 million.
The utilities are operated
separately from the general
fund and designed to stand
on their own. There are no
increases projected for the
sanitation department.
Electric customers won’t
see an increase, but town
residents should expect to
see an increase in 2014-15.
“But increases in the
wholesale rate are project
ed for tlie years following,”
Shoaf said.
City workers will not see
a cost of living raise this
See INCREASE, 6
Students get technology on loan
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
More than $17,000 in
technology and 3,600 books
walked away fi'om the me
dia center at Perquimans
Central School one day last
month and school officials
say that’s fine with them.
In fact they encouraged
it.
'The school system is
adopting a program this
year that allows students
to take home Nooks for the
summer.
'They not only get the
computers, they come
packed with books for the
children to read over their
89076 4
7144
NOOKTablet
noo
vacation.
'The machines are on loan
and the school wants them
back in August In order to
be part of the program, par
ents had to sit in on an hour-
long orientation program,
sign a contract and pay a
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
The box of a Nook Is
shown here.
$10 insurance fee.
In exchange their child
got the use of a reader val
ued at $200 that came pre-
loaded with 42 books. Most
of the books are valued at
between $1 and $4 but some
are much more. So the li
brary contained inside each
device could cost a par
ent more than $150 if they
bought the books them
selves.
The money to buy the
Nooks and book scame
from a mix of federal 'Title
I funds. Race To The Top
money and other money set
aside for technology.
As students read the first
batch of books, they’ll be
See NOOK, 6
N.C. State’s return to
CWS rekindles memories
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
For 45 years, Freddie
and Francis Combs could
say they were part of the
only N.C. State University
baseball team to make it to
the College World Series.
They can’t say that any
more, and they’re fine with
that.
'The 2013 squad did
something that hasn’t beeii
done since the Combs
brothers firom Perquimans
County helped their team
do it in 1968.
'They earned a spot in
the 2013 World Series. The
WoUpack beat UNC-Cha-
pel Hill on Sunday and ad
vanced to a game 'Tuesday
night against UCLA.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Freddie Combs speaks to Perquimans High student-
athletes during an assembly in Hertford in 2005.
Francis flew out to Oma
ha, Neb. with the team last
Wednesday. His brother
took a commercial flight
on Saturday.
'The Combs brothers
were members of the
Perquimans County High
See MEMORIES, 6
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