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THE
ERQUIMANS
. WEEKLY
”News from Next Door 1 WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017
Bronze winners, 6
JUL 0 5 lira
50 cents
Timbermill Wind project may be suspended
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The developers of a pro
posed wind power project
in Perquimans and Chowan
counties got a double dose
of bad news last week.
A Superior Court Judge
upheld Perquimans Coun
ty’s decision to reject the
Timbermill Wind project.
Then in the early morning
hours Friday, the N.C. Gen
eral Assembly passed a bill
imposing an 18-month mor
atorium on all wind energy
projects.
The second decision may
force Apex Clean Energy to
suspend the project.
“This is an anti-business
moratorium shrouded as a
pro-military measure,” said
Apex President and CEO
Mark Goodwin. “In even
the best circumstances, de
veloping a wind project in
volves time and risk. An 18-
month delay coupled with
the near-certainty of addi
tional red tape means we
will almost certainly have
to suspend Timbermill Wind
if House Bill 589 becomes
law.”
The bill goes to the gover
nor who can veto it, but so
far the General Assembly
has shown it has the votes
to override that.
Supporters of the bill say
the moratorium grants time
for state officials to deter
mine if wind projects pose a
problem for military opera
tions. Military officials have
said a number of times they
don’t and there are safe
guards already in place to
make sure that doesn’t hap
pen.
“It’s unfortunate that a
small number of elected of
ficials were able to hijack
what should have been a
bright moment for clean
energy in North Carolina,”
Goodwin said. “House Bill
589, as passed, threatens
private property rights and
jeopardizes hundreds of
millions of dollars of invest
ment in rural economies.
This moratorium sends a
clear signal that wind ener
gy is not welcome in North
Carolina while selfishly
seeking to divide the renew
ables industry. This is not
the behavior of a pro-busi
ness, pro-property rights
legislature.
“It’s worth reminding ev
eryone that in addition to
other facets of permitting,
there already exist clear,
thorough reviews at both
the federal and state levels
for potential wind energy
interactions with military
installations.”
See WIND, 3
Schools
look to
spend
reserves
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County
School Board voted unani
mously last week to raise
teacher supplements and
add some new positions and
pay for it by using money
from their reserve account.
Superintendent Matthew
Cheeseman said the fund
balance got a windfall in the
past year because some po
sitions weren’t filled. As a re
sult the reserves, which had
been $395,000 a year ago,
grew to about $500,000.
At Cheeseman’s recom
mendation, the board agreed
Thursday to turn around
and spend the unexpected
savings by raising teacher
supplements, hiring a coor
dinator for digital learning,
and contract for a curricu
lum program. The total cost
will exceed the $100,000 in
growth in the fund balance
account, but will still leave
the school system a com
fortable buffer, he said.
“The school board just
wanted to show our employ
ees and the county commis
sion that they are appre
ciated,” Cheeseman said.
“When the smoke clears it
(the fund balance) will be
about $250,000 left.”
School systems are rec
ommended to have enough
money in reserves to oper
ate for one month.
“This keeps us in the safe-
See SCHOOLS, 2
Sheriff White promotes Reid to ‘Chief Deputy’
REID
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County Sheriffs
Deputy Tom Reid has been el
evated to the number two po
sition of Chief Deputy, Sheriff
Shelby White announced last
week.
“I picked Tom for is leader ¬
STAFF PHOTO BY THOMAS J. TURNEY
Chad McCann tees of on the 12 hole during the third round of the Biggs Classic at Albemarle Plantation on
Friday.
McCann holds lead after three rounds
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to an
early deadline because of the Fourth
of July postal holiday, final results
of the Biggs Cadillac Buick GMC
Classic were not available for this
edition. Also parade and fireworks
coverage happened after the dead
line, but will be featured in the next
edition.)
BY MALCOLM SHIELDS
The Daily Advance
Chad McCann posted a 2-under par
69 to hold a slim lead after the third
round of the Biggs Cadillac Buick
GMC Classic on Friday.
McCann (-12) is two shots ahead of
second place Brian Richey, who is at
-10.
McCann and Richey were the final
group to tee off on Friday.
Richey posted his second consecu
tive strong round of the tournament
as he shot 4-under par 67 on The
Sound Golf Links at Albemarle Plan
tation.
A 7-under par 64 third round moved
Thomas Bass into third place at -9.
Mark Silvers posted his third con
secutive round under par with a 4-un
der par 67 to sit in fourth place at -8
for the tournament.
McCann was open about the fact
that score-wise, it wasn’t his best
round of the tournament as he over
came a bogey on six and a double bo
gey on seven during the round.
“I battled pretty hard. Hit a lot of
bad shots, a lot of good shots, but my
See MCCANN, 2
ship,” White said. “He’s well
known in the community and
he goes above and beyond to
help people. Even on his days
off, he calls in to make sure that
inmates are transferred here.
He’s got good people skills,
knows a lot of folks and can
talk to people.”
While the Perquimans Coun
ty Commissioner approved
creating the position of chief
deputy, it did not create a new
position. Reid, a 14-year veter
an of the department, has been
assigned to road patrol duty.
Sheriff White has nine road
patrol deputies and promoting
Reid will technically leave him
with eight. However White said
Reid, 58, will continue to do
road patrol as needed.
Reid said that’s not an issue.
“I have no problem with
that,” Reid said. “It’s not about
me. It’s about the department
and the community we serve.”
It marks the first time in
See REID, 2
DOT now
favors
truss
design
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The new S-Bridge may
look a whole lot like the
old one.
Plans to build another
metal truss bridge are
part of a Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA) sent to
the U.S. Coast Guard last
week by the N.C. Depart
ment of Transportation.
Shelby Reap, an archi
tectural historian at DOT,
has seen the plans for the
new bridge and how they
compare.
“It will look very simi
lar,” Reap said. “It won’t
be identical, but it’s very,
very close.”
Building another truss
bridge is a reversal of
DOT’s earlier stance. Just
last November when DOT
met with parties in the de
bate, DOT ruled out build
ing another truss bridge.
DOT originally wanted
to build a fixed high-rise
bridge like the one that
carries traffic on U.S. 17
Bypass. But in 2016 DOT
changed their preferred
option to a swing span
- like the S-Bridge - but
without the metal truss
over it.
Since November, DOT
has had a change of
heart.
“We figured nobody
does trusses anymore,
but it turned out that a
truss is probably a better
option for a swing span
from a structural stand
point,” said Jay McInnis,
a DOT engineer who has
been spearheading the
project for the last sev
eral years.
Because the new bridge
will swivel to allow boat
traffic in and out, weight
is an issue. The more the
bridge weighs, the more
energy it takes to move it.
The advantage of a truss
bridge design is it’s both
light and strong.
See TRUSS, 3
Church opens economic center
Bonner Finalist for Award
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A church in Winfall
opened its doors last week-
end to help Perquimans
County residents who need
help in finding ajob.
Spirit and Truth Minis
tries will run an Economic
Development Center out of
space in the building at 206
W. Main St. in Winfall.
6 89076 47144 2
The first session was held
on Saturday. Pastor Arthur
Manigault said future ses
sions would depend on
what people need.
“At first we’re looking at
doing this twice a month,”
he said. “It depends on the
needs of the community.
Manigault hopes the
center can offer job refer
rals, job etiquette training,
a course on interviewing
skills, GED preparation and
a car-buying program. The
church also offers free Wi-Fi
and fax machine access.
“For a lot of people they
don’t have access to Wi-Fi
and fax and they’re looking
for employment. We can
also help them prepare re
sumes.”
Manigualt knows that
something as simple as ac
cess to a fax machine can
be important.
He also said having re-
liable transportation can
also mean the difference
between getting a job and
keeping it and not getting a
job. Manigualt has worked
with two car dealerships in
Elizabeth City and has some
connections.
See CENTER, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Michael Bonner,
a Perquimans
County native,
accepts a check for
$25,000 on The
Ellen DeGeneres
Show in January.
Bonner teaches at
South Greenville
Elementary. See
more on Bonner
on Page 2.