P The
ERQUIMANS
WEEKLY
Pirates roll to 53-12 win
over private school, 7
"News from Next Door”
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
SEP 2 8 RECD
50 cents
Peeler prohibited from voting on p^yjnjt
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
When the Perquimans Board of Commissioners
makes its decision on whether to grant a conditional use
permit for the Apex Clean Energy project, it will be with
out Commissioner Matt Peeler.
The board voted 3-2 Wednesday night to recuse Peeler
from any vote on the $300 million project.
The board’s decision follows the release of emails by
Peeler including one to state Sen. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort.
They appear to show Peeler’s desire to stop or severely
limit wind power in the state.
“I will admit now and in the future I will oppose these
things on their health and welfare impacts,” Peeler said
in one e-mail. “
Voting for recusal were board Chairwoman Janice
Cole and Commissioners Fondella Leigh and Ed Muzzu-
lin. Voting against recusal were Commissioners Wallace
See PEELER,3
E-mails paint picture
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
E-mail messages from Perquimans County Commission
Matt Peeler paint a picture of what he saw as a partisan
fight over renewable energy and his desire to stop or se
verely limit wind power development in not only Perqui
mans County, but also the entire state.
The e-mails were produced last week by an attorney for
Apex Clean Energy to show that Peeler’s mind was made
up before the quasi-judicial hearings even started in Au
gust.
In one of them Peeler compares the threat of wind pow
er to a 15-foot alligator in with him in a 14-foot boat. Peeler
compared solar power with a 6-foot alligator swimming
See E-MAILS, 3
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Perquimans County Commissioner Matt Peeler listens
to a discussion last week during a hearing on a motion
to recuse him from voting on the Apex Clean Energy
project.
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
PHOTO BY PATRICK WHITEHURST
People prepare to start the annual Jim
“Catfish” Hunter ALS Walk Saturdy at
Perquimans County High School.
Walkers start off Saturday’s annual Jim “Catfish” Hunter ALS Walk down Edenton Road Street. More than
$20,000 was raised as of Monday with more donations coming in. Another ALS event, the 18th annual Jim
OCatfishO Hunter ALS softball tournament will start Friday and run through Sunday at the Jimmy Hunter Fields
on Wiggins Road in Winfall. For more information, call 252-340-0210. A corn hole tournament will be held
Friday at 7 p.m. For information call 619-8136.
PHOTO BY ASHLEY STOOP
ALS patients prepare to cut the ribbon at the start of Saturday’s ALS
walk in Hertford.
Wind project to
move forward
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
Commission rejected two
appeals to cut short the
review of the Apex Clean
Energy wind power project
because Apex didn’t submit
a complete application and
failed to meet the burden
of proving the project was
safe.
Attorneys Chad Essick
and Keith Johnson made the
two motions Wednesday at
the start of the fifth night of
hearings on the Conditional
Use Permit (CUP) applica
tion.
Before they could vote on
the motions, the board had
to decide what to do about
a request to recuse Commis
sioner Matt Peeler.
That vote was 3-2 in favor
of recusing Peeler. Once that
was done, the five remain
ing members unanimously
denied the two requests to
cut short the review.
Among other things Es
sick and Johnson argued
that Apex did not submit
environmental assessments
of the project when it asked
for the Conditional Use Per
mit.
“This is not some legal
technical point,” Johnson
said.
Apex also didn’t sub
mit background data as
to sound levels in the area
of Bear Swamp where the
project will be.
Lawyers for Apex argued
Chowan
member
excused
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
EDENTON — Chowan
County Commissioner
Emmett Winbome was
excused from participat
ing in Monday night’s
hearing on the Condition
al Use Permit application
for the proposed Timber-
mill Wind Project after
he submitted a letter cit
ing “personal medical is
sues” that would prevent
him from attending this
week’s hearings.
The board met Monday
night on the CUP applica
tion by Charlottesville,
Va-based application by
Apex Clean Energy Inc.
and has hearings planned
also for Tuesday and
Wednesday of this week.
Vice Chairman Keith
Nixon read the letter from
Winbome and explained
that Winbome was asking
to be excused from this
week’s hearings. Nixon
said Winbome could be
excused, but not recused,
from attendance at the
hearings and allowed to
continue participating in
the hearing process as
See PROJECT, 4 See EXCUSED, 4
Property owner
fears energy project
Rain causes problems across county
BY REGGIE PONDER
Chowan Herald
For Patrick Flynn, some
of the wind turbines includ
ed in the proposed Timber-
mill Wind Project are just
too close for comfort.
Specifically, one of the
wind turbines proposed as
part of the 300-megawatt
wind energy generation
facility being developed in
Chowan and Perquimans
counties by Charlottesville,
Va.-based Apex Clean En
ergy Inc. is only about six-
tenths of a mile from Flynn’s
home on Paradise Road.
In interviews last week at
the Edenton Coffee House
and at the family home
— a wooden structure built
around 1770 and known
as Paradise Plantatation
— Flynn expressed concern
about the effects that sound
from the nearby wind tur
bine could have on his and
his family’s health.
“This is really going to
affect my wife,” Flynn said,
explaining that his wife,
Belinda, has vertigo and is
greatly affected by sound.
Sounds that might not both
er other people can disturb
her equilibrium because of
the vertigo, he said.
“So she really is going to
be affected by this health-
wise,” Flynn said.
He added that he himself
has sensitive hearing, often
commenting about sounds
that are bothering him only
to have others around him
insist they don’t hear any
thing at all.
See OWNER, 4
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Heavy rain closed
schools, covered roads and
caused two sewage spills
in Perquimans County last
week.
The remnants Tropical
Storm Julia dumped about
14-inches of rain over a
two-day period Wednesday
and Thursday.
“In a word, it’s been wet,”
said Perquimans County
Emergency Manager Direc
tor Jonathan Nixon said
Wednesday afternoon.
As a result Gov. Pat Mc-
Crory declared a state of
emergency in 11 counties,
including Perquimans. The
declaration allows the state
to move any resources it
needs to respond. McCrory
also issued an executive
order that waives certain
truck restrictions on weight
and hours of serve to help
speed up storm response.
Schools closed early at 1
p.m. Wednesday and stayed
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Jeff Miller, the director of transportation for the
Perquimans County School system took this picture
of flooding on Great Hope Church Road from the cab
of his pickup truck. A car can be seen in the distance.
closed Thursday and Friday
because of standing water
on some roads.
Jeff Miller, the direc
tor of transportation for
the school system, said all
students got home safe on
Thursday.
“I want to thank the bus
drivers and all the school
staff,” Miller said. “They did
an amazing job getting all
the students home safely.”
Miller knows what it was
like. He served as a substi
tute driver for a bus route
that goes to New Hope.
N.C. 37 in Belvidere
only opened to traffic on
Monday. On Friday Great
Hope Church Road and
Bagley Swamp Road were
passable for motorists, but
there were high water signs
posted, according to Per
quimans County Manager
Frank Heath.
Nixon said some two-
lane roads were reduced to
one lane last week because
of flooding, and the area
known as Jennies Gut on
Edenton Road Street near
Perquimans County High
School was closed because
of flooding. The area often
floods because of runoff
from nearby farm fields and
woods, town officials say.
Sanitary sewer systems
See RAIN, 4