KERQUIMANS
.X WE E K Ly
"News from Next Door" WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2015
“National Register of Historic Places”
sign dedicated, 2
50 cents
Storm drenches county, delays events
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Hurricane Joaquin largely
left Perquimans County
alone, but a slow-moving
low-pressure system over
the southeast dumped more
than three inches on the
county over a four-day pe
riod.
The rain canceled some
things, and delayed others.
A member-guest golf
tournament at Albemarle
Plantation went on despite
the weather last week. A
football game between
Perquimans County High
School and Gates County
was pushed back one time,
from Friday to Monday and
then a second time from
Monday to Tuesday.
The SAT exams sched
uled for Oct. 3 at Perqui
mans County High School
were rescheduled for Oct.
17.
The annual Jim “Catfish”
Hunter ALS Walk did go on
as scheduled Sept. 26. De
spite the rain for the ALS
walk, organizers had col
lected $22,000 for the local
charity as of last weekend.
However the three-day
ALS softball tournament
was first delayed from Sept.
25-27 to Oct. 24 and now is
set for this Friday, Saturday
and Sunday. The tourna
ment is held at the Hunter
ball fields in Winfall on Wig
gins Road.
Between Oct. 1 and Oct.
5, Hertford reported three
inches of rain, according
to Town Manager Brandon
Shoaf.
“I’m very thankful the
See STORM, 4
PHOTO BY
CHUCK PAGELS
A truck runs
through
standing
water just
north of the
S-Bridge in
Hertford last
week.
AMES BRUNSON
Teens
being
held for
murder
From Staff Reports
Two Perquimans County
teens are being held with
out bond for the murder of
a 17-year-old Elizabeth City
resident.
Nahcier Brunson, 18, and
' Kamani Ames, 17, made
separate first appearances
before District Judge Mead
er Harriss III in Camden Dis
trict Court on Friday.
Harriss ordered both
Brunson and Ames to re
turn to court on Oct. 9 for a
probable cause hearing.
Neither of the suspects
apparently were or had been
enrolled in the Perquimans
County School system.
The two are being held in
the death of Unique Graham
whose body was found lying
face down in shallow water
at a Camden County park.
The medical examiner’s of
fice concluded he died from
a gunshot wound to the
head.
According to arrest war
rants, Graham is believed to
have been killed on Sept. 27.
Brunson, of the 900 block
of Chapanoke Road, and
Ames, 17, of the 100 block
of Red Banks Road, were
arrested on Sept. 29.
Brunson and Ames,
both in shackles and in jail
jumpsuits, told Harriss they
couldn’t afford attorneys.
Harriss appointed the Pub
lic Defender’s Office to rep
resent them. Assistant Pub
lic Defender Evan Ausband
represented both Brunson
and Ames at Friday morn
ing’s hearing.
District Attorney Andrew
Womble, in an email follow
ing Friday’s hearing, said
he anticipates his office
will present formal murder
charges against Brunson
See TEENS, 2
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Tommy Harrell speaks out against wind energy Monday night at a Perquimans County Commission meeting.
Wind moratorium approved
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
Commission voted Monday
night to impose a moratori
um on new industrial-sized
wind turbine projects until
Feb. 2.
In a way, the 6-0 vote
was symbolic since Apex
Clean Energy — the only
new potential developer
— has not submitted a re
quest for a conditional use
permit for its project. Even
one Apex spokesman
promised commissioners
the company would not
submit a request for at
Couple challenges Iberdrola project
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A Perquimans County
couple is asking a state
agency to determine if a
wind power project in Per
quimans and Pasquotank
counties was properly per
mitted.
Jillanne Gigi Badawi and
her husband Stephen Ow
ens are asking the Office of
Administrative Hearings in
Raleigh to force state regu
lators to conduct a new re
view of the Amazon Wind
least 60 days.
Don Giecek said Apex
has been working on the
project based on the 2010
Perquimans ordinance.
He said the company has
invested $1.5 million in re
search and development
thus far. He and at least
one other speaker Monday
talked about the “chill
ing effect” a moratorium
would have on any new
industry looking to build in
Perquimans.
But more than a dozen
speakers clearly wanted
the county to do more to
stop construction of wind
turbine projects because
Farm U.S East project.
Through their attorney,
Elliot Engstrom of the
Raleigh-based Civitas In
stitute, the couple claims
they are being harmed by
actions by the Department
of Environment and Natu
ral Resources.
“We (Civitas) didn’t go
out to Perquimans County
to see who wanted to sue,
but they said they are con
cerned,” Engstrom said of
the couple. “They were dis
turbed and they wanted to
do something.”
of their threat to property
values, health and natural
beauty of the land.
The moratorium is de
signed to give the Perqui
mans County Planning
Board a chance to review
the current ordinance and
recommend any changes.
A three-member subcom
mittee of that board has
already met once.
When the moratorium
was first proposed in Sep
tember, the county com
mission directed County
Attorney H. Hackney High
to look into what’s in
volved.
“What you have to be
He claims the project
has changed since Iberdro
la Renewables first pitched
it. He also questions how
DNER dealt with the proj
ect.
“We maintain the
changes are material and
it makes it a very different
project,” Engstrom said.
The couple is worried
about property values, aes
thetics, noise and potential
dangers for birds, accord
ing to the papers filed with
the hearings office.
Perquimans County
careful about is you have
to follow the statues,” High
said Monday.
He said the moratorium
couldn’t be “open ended”
and it has to have an expi
ration date. He cautioned
against making it too long.
“The longer the dura
tion, the closer scrutiny it
will get,” High said.
Alan Lennon, one of the
speakers against the Apex
project, wanted a longer
ban, but he took solace in
a ban until Feb. 2
“I feel safer,” Lennon
said. He said he asked for
See MORATORIUM, 8
property records show the
couple bought the house in
the 1000 block of Swamp
Road in April 2012. The
21-year-old three bedroom,
two-bath house sits on 12
acres, including eight acres
of private forest.
On Friday Paul Copie
man, a spokesman for
Iberdrola, said the project
was properly permitted.
“We are evaluating the
new petition but it appears
similar to the previous
See LAWSUIT, 8
Layden
selected
for state
board
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A Belvidere woman has
been named to a state board
that is charged with fighting
human trafficking in North
Carolina.
Dianne Layden was
named to the position by
Phil Berger, president pro
tern of the Senate. The term
is from Oct. 1, 2015 through
Sept. 30,2017.
“I appreciate your willing
ness to represent the Senate
in this capacity,” Berger said
in a letter to Layden. “I am
confident that you will con
tribute much to the Human
Trafficking Commission.”
Layden, 64, said she asked
to be named to the board.
The body is made up of 12
members. The president pro
tern of the Senate appoints
four of those. One has to
be from Legal Aid of North
See LAYDEN, 4
Combs
named
an ACC
legend
From Staff Reports
Former All-American
cornerback Freddie Combs
(1965-67) was named to the
2015 Atlantic Coast Confer
ence Class of Football Leg
ends announced by the con
ference.
Combs, from Hertford,
was an All-America defen
sive back and record-break
ing return specialist for the
Wolfpack teams of the mid-
1960s, Combs joined twin
brother Francis at NC State
after stellar high school ca
reers in Hertford. There they
See COMBS, 4
Area school systems adopt new bus safety regulations
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
If it seems like school
buses are taking longer
when they drop off and pick
up children this year, you’re
right.
The N.C. Department
of Public Instruction has
rolled out a new bus safety
program. It’s mandated af
ter Jan. 1.
However Jeffrey Miller,
who heads transportation
for the Perquimans School
System, told school board
members thatthey’ve started
to implement the new when
school started in August. All
of virtually all of Albemarle-
area schools did the same.
Currituck County, the Eden
ton-Chowan school system
and the Elizabeth City-Pas
quotank Public Schools also
rolled out the policy when
school started. Camden of
ficials could not be reached
for comment.
“When we started school,
it was just easier,” said San
dy Kinzel, the assistant su
perintendent in Currituck.
“We had the opportunity to
train our bus drivers then.”
The new process might
add 30 seconds to a minute
when the bus picks up or
drops off a student who has
to cross the street to get to
the vehicle. It may add 15
minutes to the length of the
total bus trip for students.
“When drivers get stopped
behind a school bus they get
impatient anyway,” Miller
said. “But it only takes a
few extra moments for the
process. The general public
will have to have patience
as well.”
Motorists who ignore
stopped school buses with
their lights and signs are
the main way students get
injured at bus stops.
“North Carolina has been
one of the worst states
when it’s come to students
being injured getting on and
off the bus,” Miller said.
Statewide about 800,000
students ride a bus and in
Perquimans County, about
1,000 do that each school
day.
The problem is students
are often hurt by drivers
See SAFETY RULES, 2