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ERQUIMANS
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"News from Next Door”
DECEMBER 3, 2014 - DECEMBER 9, 2014
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Some question local voting system
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Twenty-five years after a voting
law was passed to increase minor
ity representation in Perquimans
County, some question if the solu
tion is the best one.
While there is some debate over
the system, nobody argues the
system didn’t achieve what it was
set out to do.
Under the present system if
there are three seats open on the
Perquimans County Commission
voters can cast a ballot for just
one candidate — not three.
It didn’t used to be that way.
Before 1989 each of the five
townships had a representative on
the county commission but all the
voters got to cast ballots. A candi
date may have to live in Bethel or
Parkville, but voters in Hertford
and Belvidere had a voice in if
they got elected as well.
While popular for some, under
that system, black candidates did
not get elected in Perquimans
County. White male Democrats
dominated local boards.
In 1989, that all changed.
The General Assembly passed a
law that increased the number of
members on the county commis
sion from five to seven, did away
with the districts and give voters
just one vote, even if more than
one seat was open.
Leaders involved in the process
said Perquimans County residents
and leaders realized that there
was a problem long before 1989
and they sought to come up with
a local solution, instead of having
one forced on them by the courts.
Michael Crowell remembers
it well. He was an attorney that
worked with the county on the
election system back then. Today
he is professor in the UNC School
of Government.
“There is no question it’s un
usual,” Crowell said of the Per
quimans system. “It strikes a lot
of people as odd. People say if you
have five seats you ought to have
five votes.”
Paul Gregory, the county man
ager at the time, also recalls what
went on. Gregory served as Per
quimans County Manager from
1987 through 2004.
See VOTING, 2
Stance
changes
on bridge
option
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A coordinator for a state
agency that has a say in
how Hertford’s S-Bridge is
replaced says she’s changed
her mind and now supports
an option that would funnel
traffic away from the historic
district.
Renee Gledhill-Early says
the latest plans by the N.C.
Department of Transporta
tion would seriously harm
the district along Church
Street.
“There is a concern on
how the project has changed
and how it’s going to effect
the historic-district,” Gledhill-
Early said Monday.
She said the retaining wall
required to build a high-rise
bridge known, as D-Mod
would change the character
of the area
DOT has narrowed the list
of bridge options down to
three and two of them — D-
Mod and Alternative B — im
pact the historic district along
Church and Front streets.
Glendhill-Early said she
can’t support either D-Mod or
Alternative B — a swing span
that would also be in the his
toric district. The only option
that doesn’t impact the his
toric district is Alternative E,
a fixed span that extends off
of Edenton Road Street.
Charles Woodard,
the owner of Woodard’s
See BRIDGE, 3
County’s athletic policies stricter than most
From staff reports
Two Perquimans County High
School athletes who were perma
nently banned from sports this year
because of a local policy would
have been allowed to continue
playing in Chowan, Pasquotank and
Currituck counties. Had they been
in Camden they would have faced
a lesser penalty, but they wouldn’t
have been permanently banned.
According to a survey conduct
ed by The Daily Advance, Eden ¬
STAFF PHOTOS BY PETER WILLIAMS
Chris Cartwright adjust a bow on a street
light on Church Street Monday. The Town of
Hertford decorated the downtown area and
courthouse green in preparation for Friday
night’s Grand Illumination and Saturday’s
Christmas parade.
ton-Chowan, Elizabeth City-Pas
quotank and Currituck schools all
operate under the §tate athletic
association’s policy. That state
policy allows players to continue
playing so long as their crime is not
a felony.
Trevon Coleman and Raheim
Kee were arrested and convicted
of misdemeanor assault and bat
tery charges. Under the Perqui
mans County High School policy,
any athlete convicted of theft or
assault is banned’from sports per ¬
A bucket truck from the Town of Hertford
lowers a Christmas tree to the ground
on the green at the Perquimans County
Courthouse on Monday. The town will
be celebrating Grand Illumination Friday
night and will host a Christmas parade
on Saturday. Winfall will also be hosting a
parade Saturday.
manently, even if the charge is a
misdemeanor.
Perquimans Superintendent
Dwayne Stallings said high school
coaches and staff are reviewing the
policy. It was created at the high
school level, not the school board,
and he said it’s the high school, not
him or the school board that is tak
ing the lead role in reviewing it.
“Somebody created it over there
(at the high school) at some time,”
Stallings said.
Stallings said reviewing policies
from time to time is normal.
“I feel confident their discussion
will see how to make it more rel
evant to this day and time.”
Aside from Perquimans, Camden
is the only other area school that
has a policy that is stricter than the
N.C. High School Athletic Associa
tion. In Camden Coleman and Kee
would have been suspended from
practicing for 10 days and couldn’t
participate in any games for 20
See POLICIES, 5
Hunters,
farmers
raise
concerns
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
Commission agreed Mon
day night to hold off on act
ing on a request to extend a
deal with a developer plan
ning to build a $100 million
wind turbine project be
cause of concerns voiced
from fanners and hunters.
The group says they are
being hurt because of poli
cies enacted by Iberdrola,
the company looking to
build the project. While the
board didn’t act on the de
veloper’s request, the county
commission did leave open
the option of acting on the
request later this month at a
workshop meeting.
Iberdrola has leased some
property in the Four Mile
Desert area of Perquimans
and Pasquotank counties. It
originally planned to build
a 20,000-acre development
with more than 100 giant
wind turbines. The turbines
would generate electricity
without fossil fuel and farm
ers could still farm on the
property under them.
But farmers told the
board that since Iberdrola
leased the land it’s virtually
eliminated hunting on it.
As a result deer aren’t kept
under control and they are
in turn are damaging crops
like soybeans.
Craig Poff, the represen
tative from Iberdrola told
the board the company did
cut back on hunting, but
has since eased its restric
tions. Poff suggested it. was
more an issue to control
hunters who were coming
onto property illegally, not
something aimed at hunters
specifically.
The county commission
first approved the Iberdrola
deal in April 2011. It was
based on a timeline that
.. required the company to
make a significant invest
ment by December 2015.
Poff said that won’t happen
and he wanted the deadline
See CONCERNS, 4
Belvidere native Lassiter named acting vice chancellor
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Josh Lassiter, a 29-year-
old Belvidere native, has
been named acting vice
chancellor for business and
finance at Elizabeth City
State University.
Lassiter is filling the seat
held by Benjamin Durant.
Durant took a similar posi
tion at N.C. Central Univer
sity in Durham.
Lassiter was a three-sport
athlete at Perquimans Coun
ty High School and gradu
ated third in his class.
He was awarded the
George and Frances Lon
don Scholarship and attend
ed N.C. State University on
a full academic scholarship,
graduating in 2007. He then
earned his master’s degree
in accounting and is on track
to earn a master’s degree in
business administration.
Lassiter served as budget
director at ECSU since June
and was assistant controller
from January 2013 through
June. Before that, he was
director of contracts and
grants for about a year and
a half.
Lassiter said he returned
to Perquimans County
from Raleigh because this
is home. “I was looking for
an opportunity to come
back home and be near my
family,” he said Monday. “I
have an extended family
— aunts, uncles, cousins,
See LASSITER, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Josh Lassiter,
a Perquimans
County native,
has been
named acting
vice chancellor
for business
and finance at
Elizabeth City
State University.
He is pictured
with his wife
Gabrielle.