P The
ERQUIMANS
WEEKLY
Pirates focused on finishing strong, 8
"News from Next Door"
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016
AUG 1 7 RECD
50 cents
County rolls out Text-2-911 Service
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Cellular phone users who are
hard of hearing, can’t reach a
voice line because an outage or
don’t feel comfortable talking be
cause they are in danger can now
send a text message to 911 to get
help in Perquimans County.
The new service was rolled
out in the last few days but it’s
been in the works for some time,
said Jonathan Nixon, Perquimans
County’s emergency management
services director.
The real life value of the Text-
to-911 service was driven home
this summer for perhaps hundreds
of Perquimans County Verizon
customers when they found they
couldn’t make or receive voice
phone calls on their cell phones.
Lightning knocked out the voice
transmission service on a tower
near Albemarle Plantation.
While the voice service didn’t
work for nearly a week, Verizon
said customers did have the ability
to send text messages for most of
that outage. Nixon said the county
tested the Text-to-911 system dur
ing the Verizon outage with a Veri
zon customer. The phone wouldn’t
work in voice mode but it could
send text messages.
“In the event of an emergency,
this is another form of communi
cation that can be used to request
assistance from our first respond
ers,” Nixon said.
“It’s also a big advantage for
the deaf and hard of hearing com
munity,” Nixon said. He said TTY
landlines might work, but they
only work at a physical location,
not in a car.
Nixon said there are times when
somebody doesn’t want to or can’t
talk to a 911 operator, Nixon said.
“If somebody was hiding in a
closet because an assailant is in
the house or there was a shoot
ing somewhere or somebody has
difficultly breathing and can’t talk
the service will play a vital role,”
Nixon said.
Nixon offers this advice.
See TEXT-2-911,3
New
post
office
coming
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Winfall will be getting a
new post office.
The old one, located in a
leased building, was closed
in August 2015 because
the 125-year-old structure
was no longer safe. The
old building has since been
torn down.
It will be replaced with
a 500-square foot pre-con
structed unit that will be
located on the same site on
Main Street.
Mayor Fred Yates de
scribed himself as “peacock
happy” with the decision to
bring a post office back to
town.
Richard Hancock, a real
estate specialist for the U.S.
Postal Service, could not
give a firm date on when
they new post office would
be open.
“My folks are looking at
what site improvements
need to be completed and I
don’t have a firm construc
tion date,” Hancock said.
“We’re working on it.”
He said he’d know more
in 60 days.
“We look forward to get
ting it taken care of and
moving forward. We do this
all over the country and
there is a process and we
have to just let the process
work.”
The new Winfall post of
fice will be constructed at
some other site and shipped
to Perquimans County.
The new post office
will have a counter where
people can buy stamps and
drop off or pick up pack
ages. It will also have space
for post office boxes.
For the past year, Win
fall customers have had
to drive to Hertford to get
their mail. Yates described
that as a hardship.
“Besides, the Hertford
Post Office isn’t the best
in the world,” Yates said.
He referred to the fact that
See POST OFFICE, 2
Robin Trueblood gets on his knees to paint the lower trim on one hallway at Perquimans bounty Middle
School last week. i
Schools prepare for new year
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
W hen Perquimans County
students return to school
on Aug. 29, James Davi
son wants their first impression to
be a good one.
Davison took over the job as
head of maintenance for the school
system on Feb. 15.
“This all goes
back to first im
pressions, they
are everlasting,”
Davison said.
“We’re making
every effort to
spruce up the en
trances of all our
schools.”
DAVISON
He expects the process may
take some time, but they’re work
ing on it.
“I have a small group of good
hardworking guys, but you can’t
eat an elephant in one bite.”
The halls of Perquimans County
Middle School and the lockers all
got a fresh coat of paint this sum
mer and crews will work as they
can on landscaping. In the grassy
area behind the school system’s
central office, a 28x32 foot shel
ter has been built. It can be used
by the band or athletic teams who
practice there to get out of the sun
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Perquimans County Middle School principal Laura Moreland holds up
one of the pieces of art that will hang on the seventh grade hall at
the school last week.
on hot days.
The roof over the auditorium at
the high school is also getting re
placed. That wing of the school as
built in 1924, and the warranty on
the last roof had expired. That’s ex
pected to cost $90,000 and should
be finished by Aug. 22, Davison
See MAINTENANCE, 2
Wind
hearings
set for
next week
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A year-old debate over a
new wind farm project will
come down to two days of
hearings next week.
The Perquimans County
Board of County Commis
sioners is scheduled to hold
quasi-judicial hearings to
consider the Apex Clean
Energy project on Aug. 24
and Aug. 25. Both meetings
start at 5:30 p.m. and will
be held in the second floor
courtroom at the Perqui
mans Courthouse Annex.
The meetings cap a pro
cess that started last sum
mer when crowds started
to pack county commission
meetings to voice their con
cerns about the project.
Apex’s Timbermill Wind
project would span 16,000
acres of Perquimans and
Chowan counties, and in
clude 105 wind turbines
more than 500-feet tall. The
project is expected to cost
between $300 million and
$400 million. The project is
expected to generate mil
lions of dollars in local tax
revenue over the 25-year life
of the project.
The Perquimans commis
sion has approved a similar
wind project in the past -
what is now called Amazon
Wind Farms East. However
residents in the Bear Swamp
community and elsewhere
argued the zoning laws deal
ing with wind weren’t tough
enough or they didn’t want
to see the new project at all.
In October, the six-mem
ber comity commission
agreed to put a four-month
moratorium on new wind
projects to give the county
planning board a chance to
review the rules.
The planning board is
made up of people ap
pointed by the commission
to make recommendations
when it comes to interpret
ing the zoning code. The
board members are paid $50
each time they meet.
Many of the issues the
See HEARINGS, 3
Group seeks funds for county’s visitor center
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
Restoration Association
is trying to raise the last
$18,000 it needs so it can
complete renovations to the
visitor’s center at the New
bold-White House.
Philip McMullan, the
president of the PCRA, said
the total project is expected
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2
to cost $60,000 and $42,000
has already been raised.
The PCRA is a 501 (c) 3 non-
profit corporation and dona
tions are tax deductible.
The Newbold-White
house is not a state funded
historic site. Unpaid volun
teers make the house avail
able for tours during the
spring, summer and early
fall.
The visitor’s center hous
es exhibits, meeting rooms
and the offices for PCRA. It’s
located adjacent to the New-
bold White house, which
was built in the 1730s and
is the oldest brick home in
North Carolina. The house
is off Harvey Point Road.
About 25 years ago, the
visitor’s center was built but
over time it needs work.
“The first phase has al
ready been done,” McMul
lan said. “We’ve replaced a
lot of the old siding and built
a new porch.”
Phase II will complete
the restoration and re-sid
ing of the north and east
sides of the building. It will
also expand the building
to the east and provide an
interior gallery that would
allow the hosting and cater
ing of special events. PCRA
See FUNDS, 3
STAFF PHOTO BY
PETER WILLIAMS
The
Perquimans
County
Restoration
Association is
raising money
now to make
improvements
to the visitor’s
center at the
Newbold-White
House.