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FEB 2 5 RECD
THE
ERQUIMANS
. W E E K LY
"News from Next Door" FEBRUARY 25, 2015 - MARCH 3, 2015
Albemarle Sounds sings to teacher, 4
50 cents
STAFF PHOTOS BY PETER WILLIAMS
Ice covers a shrub near tennis courts on Grubb Street in Hertford last week.
Weather
wreaks
trouble
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Ice and extreme cold
temperatures closed area
schools, damaged power
lines and set a new record
high for electrical demand
last week.
And don’t put away those
snow shovels yet.
Schools closed early
again Tuesday and games
were canceled because of.
the threat of snow.
Temperatures should
climb, back to the mid-40s
Wednesday, then dip down
to about 23 Thursday with
a 90 percent chance of rain
or snow.
That’s still warmer than
last week.
The U.S. Coast Guard
base in Elizabeth City re
ported a new record low of
eight degrees on Friday. The
previous record, 18 degrees,
was set in 1941.
Perquimans schools were
closed Feb. 16 for Presi
dent’s Day and remained
closed throughout last week
because of ice on the roads
posed a danger.
Bobby Riddick (left photo) shovels ice from
the parking lot of the Hertford Post Office
on Feb. 17.
A lineman (above )from the Town of
Hertford clears away limbs near power lines
on Church Street on Feb. 17 after an ice
storm.
See ICE STORM, 2
Bridge
projects
moving
along
BY PETER WILLLIAMS
News Editor
A project to replace eight
bridges in Perquimans
and Pasquotank counties
should be all but complete
by the end of this year.
The N.C. Department
is holding off on the last
bridge — one on Turnpike
Road in northeastern Per
quimans County — until
early 2016.
DOT is saving the Turn
pike Road bridge for last
so construction can happen
between January 2016 and
mid-April to minimize the
impact of farmers.
County Manager
Frank Heath said Perqui
mans already has a mu
tual aid agreement with
See BRIDGE, 2
Chowan
debates
wind
projects
BY REGGIE PONDER
Chowan Herald
Chowan County officials
are debating how to handle
proposed wind farms, in
cluding one that is proposed
to straddle the Perquimans
County line.
Representatives of the
company planning the Tim
bermill Wind Project in
Chowan and Perquimans
County noted last week that
Chowan’s wind energy ordi
nance measures the maxi
mum allowable height of a
See WIND, 2
State Employees’ Credit Union to move soon
STAFF PHOTO BY
PETER WILLIAMS
Workers install
landscaping
around the
sign for the
new State
Employees
Credit Union
location at
142 Ocean
Highway South
in Hertford.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A statewide credit union
plans to move to a larger
permanent home in Hert
ford by April.
The State Employees’
Credit Union (SECU) has
operated a branch in Hert
ford since May 2008. The
current branch is located in
a shopping center that once
housed a Bi-Lo Grocery
store.
The new location is
across Church Street and
has direct access to U.S.
17 South. It will also have
an on-site automatic teller
machine and more drive-
through lanes.
“SECU is looking for
ward to completion of the
new building to better serve
Hertford area members
with a larger branch, easily
accessible location and on-
site ATM for additional con
venience,” said Dale Jones,
vice president of SECU’s
Hertford office.
Construction on the new
office started in May 2014
and is expected to be com
plete by April. The credit
union declined to discuss
the cost of the project.
The credit union has
nearly 2 million members
statewide and about 5,000
are located in Hertford.
The local branch will of
fer the same products and
services at the new loca
tion, but the new office will
be 6,658 square feet, about
1,000 more than it has now.
The new branch will em
ployee about eight people,
the same as at the current lo
cation, but Jones said there
is the potential to grow. The
new location will also have
three drive-through win
dows, vs. the one window at
the current site.
Local photographer looking to tackle new project
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Ed Leicester’s latest proj
ect is to photograph old
buildings in Perquimans
County, but there was a time
when his big project was fo
cusing on staying alive.
For 29 years, Leicester
worked
for Sprint,
the phone
company
and for 20
years, he
was a vol
unteer on
the Hert
ford Fire
LEICESTER
6 89076 47144
2
Department.
Then in 2002 he was di
agnosed with corticobasal
syndrome, a progressive
neurological disorder that
may involve the motor sys
tem, cognition or both. He
was given four to five years
to live.
He didn’t hide his illness
but he also didn’t broadcast
it.
At the time, Leicester was
the state prayer coordina
tor for the group N.C. Bap
tist Men and the group was
having a regional meeting
at Hertford Baptist Church.
Not many people knew of
his illness.
“During the meeting, we
took a break and the top
See PROJECT, 3
PHOTO BY ED LEICESTER
Local
photographer
Ed Leicester is
looking for public
input on a project
to capture images
of old buildings
in Perquimans
County and team
some of their
history. This barn
is in Bear Swamp.