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