P The
ERQUIMANS
BWeekly
"News from Next Door" WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
THIS
WEEK
Fall edition
of Albemarle
Magazine
WILL BE
AVAILABLE
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TOWN HOSTS ANNUAL FESTIVAL
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
T housands flocked to
downtown Hertford
Friday and Saturday,
but the crowds at the 34th
annual Indian Summer
Festival were down from
previous years.
Organizers would not pin
down a single issue for the
decline or cite attendance
figures. Some put the
count at between 2,000 and
3,000.
The festival fell on the
same date as the Taste of
Edenton that Friday and
the Currituck Wildlife Festi
val Saturday and Sunday.
Lynne Raymond, the
president of Historic Hert
ford Inc. — the group that
puts on the Hertford event
— was undaunted. She
framed it as a “quality” vs.
“quantity” issue.
“We’ve got people of all
ages from all different seg
ments of the community,”
See FESTIVAL, 2
A crowd participates in the Stung-Tongue Challenge Friday night at the Indian Summer Festival.
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Crowds pack the new municipal dock in Hertford
Saturday to watch a simulated water rescue by the U.S.
Coast Guard.
wildlife
Awhile]
nerJEestival
STAFF PHOTO
BY PETER WILLIAMS
Scouts and the
honor guard from
the Hertford Fire
Department pay
tribute to 9/11
Friday at the start
of the Indian
Summer Festival.
Woman
killed in
wreck
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A 21-year-old Perquimans
County woman was killed
early Friday morning after her
car ran off the road and over
turned in a ditch.
Highway Patrol Trooper J.
Jacobs said Molly Holder was
not wearing a seatbelt and
was ejected from the 1997
Chevy Cavalier.
“The family would really
like to get the message out
there that people need to wear
their seatbelts,” Jacobs said.
The wreck happened on
Lake Road near the north en
trance to a racetrack there.
It happened about 12:30 am.
during a severe thunder-
storm.
“It looks like she ran off
the road on the right hand
side and just kept going,” said
See FATAL, 10
Landfill
effort wins
award
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
An innovative plan to
graze cattle over the old Per
quimans County landfill in
stead of paying to mow it re
ceived an award last month
from the N.C. Association of
County Commissioners and
the Local Government Fed
eral Credit Union.
For the past 20 years, Per
quimans, Chowan and Gates
taxpayers have shared the
cost of moving the grass up
to 11 times a year at a cost
of $10,000 a year.
Since February 16 black
cows have been keeping the
grass down at no charge on
See LANDFILL, 9
Perquimans agrees to consider wind regulations
BY PETER WILLIAMS
> News Editor
Even as one wind power project moves for
ward, Perquimans County elected and appointed
officials agreed last week to consider tighter regu
lations on more new industrial wind farms.
The Perquimans County Commission directed
the county attorney to take a look at what’s in
volved in imposing a moratorium on new wind
projects. The idea was to freeze new development
until the county planning board can review any
proposed changes to the wind ordinance.
Two days later, the county planning board did
agreed to review changes and take up discussion
again at its next formal meeting. Thursday’s meet
ing was a work session.
Both meetings drew packed crowds. The com
mission and the planning board traditionally meet
See REGULATIONS, 10
PHOTO BY CHUCK PAGELS
Burt Eure speaks to the Perquimans County Planning Board
about wind turbine issues at a meeting last week.
Board defends
Chowan planner
BY REGGIE PONDER
Chowan Herald
Chowan County commissioners defended the county’s
planning director last week against a widespread - but
inaccurate, according to county officials - criticism that
the planner exceeded the commissioners’ authorization
in drafting a wind energy text amendment.
The county’s planning board has recommended to
the commissioners a text amendment that would make
the wind energy ordinance somewhat stricter than it
currently is - for instance, requiring noise levels to be
measured from the nearest property line rather than the
See PLANNER, 10
Rotary, Habitat presidents step down from their posts
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A Hertford husband and
wife have stepped down
from their leadership roles
in two prominent commu
nity organizations but don’t
plan to totally back away
from the efforts.
6 89076 47144
2
Dan Westra, 60, was in
stalled as president of the
Hertford Rotary Club in
June. His wife Regan, 53,
has been president of the
Chowan-Perquimans Habi
tat for Humanity since June
2014. Both have resigned
their offices but they will
remain affiliated with the
groups.
The move was brought
about when Dan accepted
a job in a start-up company
that deals with arbitration
and mediation data. West
was retired, having stepped
down from his post as vice
president of engineering for
Philip Morris at age 54.
He said the Bill Slate, the
CEO of Dispute Resolution
Data, gave him “an offer I
couldn’t refuse.” The new
company is based in South
Carolina.
“This is a sales job and
my territory is all of North
America and it starts next
week,” he said Wednesday.
The couple already owns
a home in Florida, 30 min
utes from the Jacksonville
International Airport. He
said Jacksonville offers a lot
more flights than Norfolk
does and the proximity to
the airport is closer in Flori
da. He expects to do a lot of
traveling for the new job.
The couple have owned
property in Hertford since
2006 and lived there full-
time since 2010. The couple
wants to maintain ties with
Hertford.
“I’m just not sure when
I’ll be in town,” Dan said.
For now they’ll keep their
See WESTRA’S. 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Dan and Regan Westra.