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"News from Next Door 1 ' WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27,2018 75 cents
DOT to present new plans for Hertford S-Bridge
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Officials from the N.C.
Department of Transpor
tation will hold a meeting
Thursday to present the
current designs for replac
ing Hertford’s S-Bridge.
There will be no formal
presentation, but members
of the project team will be
available to answer ques
tions from 4 p.m. until 7
p.m. The meeting will be
held at the Perquimans
County Recreation Center,
310 Granby St.
Randy Midgett, a DOT
engineer in Elizabeth City,
said some of the design has
been changed in the past
18 months, and Thursday’s
meeting will show some of
the changes.
The project is more than
10 years in the making, and
is now scheduled to start
construction during the
summer of 2019.
Midgett said mailers were
sent out last week to people
who asked to be on the list,
but admits it wasn’t a lot of
warning.
“Unfortunately it was
scheduled by Raleigh a little
quickly,” he said last week.
“I think they were trying to
get it in before the Fourth of
July if possible.”
The project is now esti
mated to cost $56,925,000.
The original estimate was
$32 million, but DOT of
ficials say they admit they
didn’t have a lot of data to
base that on because North
Carolina doesn’t build swing
bridges much anymore.
The project will replace
the S-Bridge with another
swing-span bridge. Instead
of using the existing cause-
way, travelers will go over
an elevated bridge that
roughly tracks the causeway
and there will be a sidewalk
on one side of the bridge
that extend all the way from
Hertford to Winfall. That is
something that is lacking
now.
The design-build contract
See BRDIGE, 2
Bridge
work to
close road
From Staff Reports
A portion of Creek Drive in
Winfall will be closed to traffic
starting July 9 so a bridge can
be replaced.
The $1.9 million contract
was awarded to T.A. Loving of
Goldsboro in May. Work is ex
pected to be complete by Nov.
30 according to N.C. DOT en
gineer Randy Midgett.
The new bridge will be
about a foot higher off Brights
Mill Creek than the current
one.
DOT wants to complete the
replacement now because in
the summer of 2019, construc
tion is to start on the replace
ment Hertford’s S-Bridge.
The link between Hertford
and Winfall will be cut off start
ing around September 2020 for
about eight to 10 months.
Harriss files
for election
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
District Court Judge Mead
er Harriss has filed to rim for
a second term in this fall’s gen
eral election.
Harriss, who was first elect
ed in 2014, serves on the bench
in the seven-county First Ju
dicial District that includes
Camden, Chowan, Currituck,
Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, and
Perquimans counties.
“I am committed to serving
the citizens of the First Judi
cial District and the fair and
impartial administration of
justice in our great state,” Har
riss said in a press release.
As a District Court judge,
Harriss presides over crimi-
See HARRISS, 2
Hertford woman, 22, arrested for fraud
From Staff Reports
A Hertford woman has been
charged with insurance fraud after
state officials say she filed a false
insurance claim for damages to her
vehicle from an accident.
Shar’dayzeia Lonniece John
son, 22, of 306 Stokes St., also was
FILE PHOTO
Fireworks will light up the sky over Hertford and Winfall on July 6 during the annual display for
Independence Day. Donations to pay for the fireworks can be made to the Perquimans County
Fireworks Committee, 104 Carolina Ave., Hertford, N.C. 27944.
Fireworks coming next week
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Fireworks will light up the
skies next week in observance
of Independence Day, but it some
places it will be earlier than oth
ers.
Fireworks in Elizabeth City and
Edenton are scheduled for the ac
tual Fourth of July, a Wednesday.
The display in Perquimans
charged with attempting to obtain
property by false pretense, accord
ing to a press release from the N.C.
Department of Insurance.
According to a warrant, John
son filed a claim with National
General Insurance Co., saying her
vehicle was involved in a hit-and-
run traffic accident. Special agents
with the N.C. Department of Insur
ance Criminal Investigations Divi
sion say Johnson’s claim sought
$1,795.78. However, the investiga
tors determined the damage to her
vehicle “was not consistent with
damage from such an accident.”
According to the press release,
Johnson was arrested on May 22
and released on a $1,000 unsecured
bond. The offenses for which she’s
charged occurred between March
21 and May 21, the insurance de
partment said.
Johnson’s arrest was the second
fraud arrest on the same day.
See FRAUD, 2
County is set for July 6. Perqui
mans officials have found they
can get more “bang for the buck”
by holding it a different day in
stead of competing with fire
works and licensed operations
who are putting on displays else
where in the region.
Donations are still needed to
help pay for the Perquimans dis
play. Checks can be mailed to:
Perquimans County Fireworks
Committee, 104 Carolina Ave.,
Hertford, NC, 27944.
Interim Hertford Town Man
ager Pam Hurdle, said the Per
quimans County Commission
and the towns of Hertford and
Winfall contribute funds for the
fireworks, but it doesn’t cover the
estimated $7,000 cost.
The Perquimans display will
See FIREWORKS, 2
Agency
board
rejects
budget
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Albemarle Commission
board rejected a new budget
Thursday night by a 9-2 vote
and instead voted to adopt a
continuing resolution to fund
the agency for now.
The move means there won’t
be funds available add more
staff or programs to move the
agency from Hertford to Eliza
beth City, at least for now. A
special called meeting is set
for Thursday at 5 p.m. the sole
purpose of adopting the 2018-
2019 fiscal year budget.
The commission is a 48-
year-old, 10-county regional
agency that provides planning
and economic development
services. It also administers
job training programs, senior
nutrition programs.
The proposed budget was
$6.8 million, or about $400,000
more than the 2017-18 budget.
By adopting a continuing reso
lution, no new programs or
staff can be added.
Director Cathy Davison
floated a plan last year to
build new headquarters for
the agency in Hertford. How
ever since all 10 counties
would be required to pay their
share of the debt, the plan was
scrapped when Pasquotank
County said no.
So Davison was asked to
look into leasing a building for
the agency in Elizabeth City.
Davison presented that plan
to the board Thursday. The
cost of leasing is estimated
at $149,000. The cost to lease
the current headquarters off
Church Street is about $45,000.
Perquimans County owns that
building.
Davison said the agency
has outgrown the current lo
cation and it’s expensive and
inefficient for staffing needs.
They are having to rent space
to hold meetings and it is cost
ing about $17,000 every three
months to pay salaries and
mileage for staff to attend
See BUDGET, 2
Nutrition director honored by state group
From Staff Reports
Perquimans County
Schools School Nutrition
Director Shirley Pelletier
was recognized by 700 of
her colleagues as retiring
president of the School Nu
trition Association of North
Carolina (SNA-NC) in a
special ceremony last week
at the association’s annual
week-long conference in
Greensboro.
SNA-NC is a 2,600-mem-
ber professional organiza
tion which advocates for ef
fective nutrition services for
students in public schools,
charter schools and residen
tial child care institutions.
Pelletier’s term as SNA-NC
President follows previous
service in several roles in
cluding terms as both the
association’s vice-president
and president-elect.
Pelletier has worked 28
years as a child nutrition
professional including 15
years as director of Sup
plemental Nutrition Pro
grams for Women, Infants
and Children (WIC) for the
Bertie County Health De
partment and the Martin-
Tyrrell-Washington Health
District. She has served as a
director of school nutrition
programs for 11 years and
is beginning her third year
as School Nutrition Direc
tor for Perquimans County
Schools.
She holds a Master’s De
gree in Public Health Nutri
tion from The University
of North Carolina - Chapel
Hill and she is credentialed
as a Registered Dietician,
Licensed Dietetien/Nutri-
tionist and School Nutrition
Specialist.
Pelletier said she chose
a career in child nutrition
because she wanted to be in
public service and saw good
child nutrition as a key to
helping children thrive and
succeed.
Pelletier said research
constantly supports the idea
that “good nutrition sets
See DIRECTOR, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
School Nutrition Association of North Carolina President
Shirley Pelletier (center) along with Vice-President Fred
Gilbert and President-Elect Amy Stanley cut the ribbon
to open the New Horizons Trade Show as part of the
annual conference of the association.