P . THE
ERQUIMANS
.Weekly
"News from Next Door”
MARCH 19, 2014 - MARCH 25, 2014
50 cents
1® 6 I WH
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Two vacant homes were destroyed and a third was damaged early
Friday by a fire in the 800 block of King Street in Hertford. The
Hertford Fire Department received the alarm around 2:50 a.m. and by
the time they got there the two homes were fully engulfed in flame.
Neither was occupied at the time, but one was undergoing repairs
according to Hertford Fire Chief Robert Reed. No cause of the blaze
was known Friday and there was no estimate as to the total damage.
Fire destroys two homes
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Two vacant homes were de
stroyed and a third was dam
aged early Friday morning by
a fire in the 800 block of King
Street.
The Hertford Fire Depart
ment got the alarm about 2:50
a.m. and by the time they got
there the two homes were fully
engulfed in flame. Neither was
occupied at the time, but one
was undergoing repairs ac
cording to Hertford Fire Chief
Robert Reed. The fire depart
ment remained on the scene
for about five hours and traffic
was disrupted on Edenton Road
Street.
The Hertford Fire Depart
ment got help from departments
in Winfall and Bethel as well as
Elizabeth City.
“Elizabeth City came with
their ladder truck which was a
big help,” Reed said Friday.
The added height helped fire-
fighters spray water down into
the fire. Still both of the homes
were totally destroyed Reed
said.
Another home in the 800
block of King Street did suffer
heat damage.
“That’s the one we concen
trated on when we got there,”
Reed said. The siding was
melted and buckled from the
heat but the building wasn’t de
stroyed. The family that lived
there was given temporary
housing help from the American
Red Cross. An electrical inspec
tion was planned and if the wir
ing checks out, the home can be
reoccupied, Reed said. Friday
afternoon crews were working
to repair the outside damage.
The fire chief had no cause
for the fire and no estimate of
the total damage. The Hertford
Police Department was called
in to secure the scene. Police
Chief Douglas Freeman could
not be reached for comment.
Teachers
surveyed
on work
conditions
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Teachers across North Caro
lina are being asked again to rate
the working conditions at their
schools.
The survey runs through April
4.
Local school officials say the
survey helps them determine
where improvements need to be
made. It’s valued enough that in the
off years when the state doesn’t do
a survey, Superintendent Dwayne
Stallings has the school system do
one on their own, said Brenda Las
siter, a spokesman for the school
system.
“It is a tool,” Lassiter said of the
survey. “It lets you know where
there are weaknesses.”
In the 2012 survey, two of the
four schools saw their rating drop
when it came to the question of
“overall, my school is a good place
to work and learn.” That survey
compared 2010 with 2012.
At Perquimans Central School,
the percentage of of teachers an
swering yes fell from 94.3 percent
to 89.2 percent. At Hertford Gram
mar School the numbers improved
80.6 to 83.9. Perquimans County
Middle School also showed a gain
from 80.6 percent to 83.9 percent.
Perquimans County High School
saw a dip from 90 percent to 87.8
percent.
Comparing the data from 2012
to what is happening today might
be misleading. It also takes time
See CONDITIONS, 2
MBABSAlJORSjiSIf
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Perquimans Sheriff Eric Tilley
(above, right) dances with a Harlem
Ambassadors player Monday during a
charity basketball game at Perquimans
County High School. The Perquimans
Schools Foundation and The Rotary
of Hertford hosted the event. The
Foundation will use their proceeds for
scholarships and Rotary will use their
proceeds for community related projects.
All 800’tickets were sold and some had
to be turned away at the door.
Debie Owens (left photo) of Hertford
gets encouraged to do a little dance by
Harlem Ambassadors player Lade Majic
Monday night.
Hertford
agrees to
more talks
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Hertford officials want to continue
discussions with Duke Power on a deal
that would allow municipalities a chance
to sell their share of Duke-owned power
plants.
Hertford is one of 32 members of the
N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency.
The agency owns shares in the plants.
Because of issues in the 1980s, the
debt owned by the agency and the mu
nicipalities can make up about a third of
a customer’s electric bill. The municipal
group has sought financial relief.
A closed-door meeting with power
agency officials was held April 6 at Albe
marle Plantation. It included members of
the Edenton town council. The following
Monday in an open meeting, the Hert
ford town board unanimously adopted a
resolution to move forward with talks.
Town Manager Brandon Shoaf said
he can’t say much about the discussions
with Duke. He signed a confidentiality
agreement and the town board is bound
by it as well.
He did say that the town’s action
doesn’t bind it to a final decision to ap
prove a deal, it simply says the town sup
ports more discussion.
The power agency says the process
could take 12 to 24 months. It would re
quire regulatory approval and perhaps
even the support or approval of the leg
islature. In the end all 32 members of
NCEMPA would have to agree to it. If
even one failed to do so, the deal would
be off.
The municipalities own a share in the
two nuclear power plants at the Bruns
wick facility in Southport as well as a
share in the Harris nuclear plant near
Raleigh. It also owns shares in two coal-
See MORE TALKS, 2
Pierce named YMCA vice president for healthy living
From staff reports
Wendy Pierce has been
named to a new position as
vice president of healthy
living for the YMCA of
South Hampton Roads —
an organization that serves
250,000 children and fami-
hes throughout a two-state
region.
Pierce lives in Hertford
with her husband Wade,
three daughters and four
dogs.
The YMCA
of South Hamp
ton Roads serves
coastal Virginia and
northeastern North
Carolina. One of
the centers is in
Elizabeth City. The
group has a $45.6
million budget and
PIERCE
is the ninth largest YMCA
in the country.
Pierce works in the main
YMCA office in Virginia.
Pierce’s position will
oversee the imple
mentation of the
YMCA’s diabetes
prevention pro
gram. It’s a com
munity-based life
style improvement
effort for adults
with pre-diabetes.
The purpose is to
empower adults with last
ing lifestyle changes that
will improve their overall
health and reduce their
chance of developing type
2 diabetes.
“Providing a supportive
environment to promote
chronic disease prevention
is a priority to the Y,” Pierce
said. “I’m looking forward
to the opportunity to de
velop community collabo
rations and partnerships
that maximize available re
sources to promote health
and wellness initiatives.
I’ve had the opportunity to
be both a member as well
as a former community
partner of the YMCA and
it is an honor to join the
team.”
She brings to the Y her
expertise in planning and
implementing lifestyle
modification programs and
managing project teams to
implement community-
based programs and re
gional partnerships.
Pierce holds a Master’s
Degree from Walden Uni
versity in Public Health
with a concentration in
community health. Her pre
vious work has been with
Albemarle Health, Port
Discover and Albemarle
Regional Health Services.
Pierce has worked as a
health educator and has
served non-profit organi
zations to promote com
munity health for nearly 10
years.
She also enjoys boat
ing as well as volunteering
and coaching for the local
youth sports leagues.
Solar projects face more review
From staff reports
Two boards agreed last week
they wanted more time to con
sider two new solar power proj
ects in Perquimans County.
The Town of Winfall planning
board reviewed the proposal for
an 83-acre solar farm on March
10. That board recommended
the town follow the county’s
lead on how to regulate the fa
cility. About half of he project
is in Winfall and the rest of it is
north of Winfall in unincorpo
rated Perquimans County.
The next night the Perqui
mans County Planning Board
agreed to postpone a decision
until April so staff could work
out details with the same devel
oper of another farm. It is on a
92-acre site near the Chowan
County line and Drinking Hole
Road.
Solar Green Development
LLC. is proposing both projects.
Industrial-sized solar farms are
considered as conditional uses
under the county’s zoning rules.
As such they are subject to cer-
See PROJECTS, 2
STAFF PHOTO BY
PETER WILLIAMS
A sign identifies
the site of one
of two new
solar projects
in Perquimans
County on Two
Mile Desert
Road. A
Dominion Power
substation is
pictured in the
upper right.