P i The - ...
IRQI
^Weekly
“News from Next Door”
.oo 04 ,A\"V
- 00® b wAV^'
^^ S
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
Museum exhibit to focus on Vietnam, 6
$1.00
Plantation project may include plans for hotel
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Developers plan to take
a proposal for a 2,400-unit
second phase of Albemarle
Plantation to the Perquim
ans County Commission
next month.
The development would
dwarf the size of Phase
I, which has roughly 500
homes and includes a golf
course, marina and club-
house.
Phase II would be the
largest single development
in Perquimans County and
could include an 80-unit
hotel. It would be located
across the road from the
first phase and comprise
about 1,500 acres with two
miles of frontage on the Per
quimans River.
The plans were approved
last week by the Perquim
ans planning board. The
next meeting of the county
commission is Nov. 4.
The developers, Preserve
Communities, have for so
far termed the project “Al
bemarle Preserve” in keep
ing with the company’s
name.
Preserve is seeking ap
proval of the project as a
Planned Unit Development,
or (PUD). The property is
presently zoned for rural
agriculture, but as a PUD,
a three-story, 80 unit hotel
could be allowed as well as
homes, based on the plan
ning board decision.
Under conventional zon
ing, a hotel is only allowed
in the highway commercial
zone.
“With a PUD you try and
envision all the projected
uses and try and have some
flexibility that adjusts for
the life of the project,” said
Bobby Masters, a spokes
man for the developer.
He said any construction
might not place until 2021
on a phase of the project.
“Everything we’ll be do
ing depends on what people
want.”
He said one way to view
the hotel is as place where
people can come to stay at
a resort and eqjoy golf. Mas
ters said it is not likely the
hotel will part of the early
development of the project.
Masters said the new
project will be focused on
what people want now.
“People really don’t want
large houses, but prefer
1,800 to 2,400 square feet.”
He said some condos or
townhouse units are includ
ed in the current design but
he said those number only
about 50 units.
If the county commission
approves the project, the
next step would be to build
a first phase with about 100
lots, he said. That will re
quire getting a preliminary
and then final plat to show
See PROJECT, A2
SEWER Repairs
Judge rejects
complaint
from Jackson
STAFF PHOTO BY PETER WILLIAMS
Heavy equipment excavates a hole in Market Street Monday as part of a project to replace aging sewer lines. The
construction has forced the closure of some roads.
Jurors watch video of jail killings
BY SANDY SEMANS ROSS
Correspondent
MANTEO — Jurors saw
video of the grisly aftermath
of a failed inmate escape
attempt at Pasquotank Cor
rectional Institution and
heard from witnesses who
lived through it during the
first day of testimony in
Mikel Brady’s first-degree
murder trial in Dare County
on Monday.
Brady, who is charged
with taking
part in the
murder of
four prison
workers at
PCI during
the escape
attempt
on Oct.
12, 2017,
Board OKs use of lottery funds for schools
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County Commis
sion signed off on a request this month
that will allow the school system to
use $105,000 in lottery money to pay
for half the cost of replacing an aging
heating and air control system that
runs two schools.
The replacement of the DDC con
trols was already in the school sys
tem’s high priority category in the
capital budget for this year. It’s been
on the list for at least the past two
years, but until now, project hasn’t
moved forward in part because of the
high cost. To replace the entire system
for Perquimans Central, Perquimans
County High School and the central
office will cost $210,000. The school
system will match the lottery funds
with $105,000 from its own capital
spending account.
The school system was hit with a
series of unexpected failures at the
start of the school year, including
the loss of HVAC pumps beneath the
PCHS auditorium. The pumps had to
be replaced in order for a large portion
of the high school to hate air at the be
ginning of school in August.
Lightning also struck a component
at Perquimans Central. The $12,000
repair has been made and insurance
should cover about $7,000 of that, but
it was unexpected. All told the unex
pected repair cost more than $66,000.
Superintendent Tanya Turner made
the argument to county commission
ers that replacing the DDC system was
an urgent matter to maintain the abil
ity to heat and cool the two schools
and the central office. The middle
school and Hertford Grammar School
operate off a different system. ‘
“They don’t have the same urgency
that these schools do,” Turner said.
The DDC system works to save en
ergy by making things energy efficient.
The current system is so old that a sin
gle update of the Java system software
that it uses could make it inoperable.
Turner said replacing the DDC sys
tem for the other two schools will be
See FUNDS, A2
BRADY
showed no emotion as
prosecutors showed video
from a police officer’s body
camera that captured the
carnage.
Superior Court Judge Jer
ry Tillett opened Monday’s
court session by announc
ing that anyone displaying
outbursts during testimony
would be removed from the
courtroom.
The first witness called
was William Davis, a patrol-
man with the Elizabeth City
Police Department, who
said he was dispatched to
PCI in response to a mutual
aid request for law enforce
ment assistance to a report
ed fire and attempted prison
break.
Davis testified that he
was directed by PCI staff
to the prison’s loading dock
after his arrival. After arriv
ing there, he said he was di
rected to the elevator shaft
where he’ll never forget the
strong smell of blood.
Working with a nurse
he knew — Michele God
frey — who worked at the
See TRIAL, A2
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
District Court Judge
Amber Davis dismissed a
complaint filed by Hertford
Mayor Pro Tern Quentin
Jackson against a citizen
he said was stalking him.
Jackson maintained Mu-
rielle Harmon had followed
him and taken pictures
of him driving the town’s
Chevy Tahoe. He also said
Harmon was loud and ag
gressive at town meetings
and got a temporary re
straining order against her.
Judge Davis found that
Jackson did not prove his
case and so she dismissed
the complaint .
“I didn’t win, the town of
Hertford won,” Harmon said
of the court case. “Hopefully
people will realize you can’t
intimidate people. Hopeful
ly this will bring out more
people to the polls.
“She (Davis) told him if
he really wanted to stay in
the political arena, he’ll have
to develop thicker skin,”
Harmon said. “She said she
had been threatened a cou
ple of times with murder,
but she said that didn’t stop
her from doing her job.
“There were three alle
gations, and he could not
prove any of them. He did
not prove I had taken the
pictures, and that I was
following him. And he said
I was confrontational at
town meetings and that was
Bridge closed to
vehicle traffic
From Staff Reports
Hertford’s S-Bridge was
closed to vehicular traffic
Monday after a problem
developed with the locking
mechanism.
“There is currently a
problem with the mechan
ical system that locks the
swing span to the fixed
portion of the bridge,” said
Clemmon W. “Win” Bridg ¬
JACKSON
causing
him ‘se
vere men
tal stress.’
Jack-
son is
34-years-
old and
stands
over 6-foot
tall. Harmon is 76-years-old
and stands 4-foot-lO. Jack-
son declined to comment
on the court decision.
While Jackson has two
years remaining on his council
seat, he is running for Mayor
in November. He faces a chal
lenge from Earnell Brown.
Mayor Horace Reid decided
not to seek re-election.
In court Jackson said he
would appeal the ruling by
Davis in the civil case, but
Davis said he couldn’t since
she dismissed the case. He
then he would seek crim
inal charges against Har
mon. Davis said he hasn’t
shown he can meet the cri
teria for criminal charges,
Harmon said she doesn’t
plan on backing down. She
will to continue to attend
town meetings and ques
tion town officials when
she thinks they are not act
ing in the public’s interest.
She quoted Margaret
Mead, the late American
cultural anthropologist:
“Never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful, com
mitted citizens can change
the world; indeed, it’s the
only thing that ever has.”
ers, Jr., the division main
tenance engineer for the
N.C. Department of Trans
portation. “These locks
are necessary to stabilize
the swing span for vehicle
traffic. The bridge is cur
rently closed to vehicular
traffic until this repair can
be completed.”
He said crews were ac
tively working on diagnos
ing the problem.
Early voting starts today
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
One-stop early voting for mu
nicipal elections in Hertford and
Winfall starts today and will rim
through Nov. 1. Early voting
takes place at the elections office
on Edenton Road Street.
6 89076 47144
In Hertford, Mayor Pro Tern
Quentin Jackson is running
against for Earnell Brown for
the seat of mayor. Mayor Horace
Reid opted not to seek re-elec
tion. ,
There are also four candidates
running for two open seats on
the Hertford town board.
They include Gracie Felton,
who was appointed to the
seat vacated by exit of Archie
Aples. Political newcomers also
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Perquimans County Sheriff's Office and
Sheriff Shelby White are collecting used bicycles.
Sheriff collecting used bikes for kids
2
See VOTING, A2
From Staff Reports
The Perquimans County
Sheriffs Office is collecting
used bikes so they can be
repaired and given away to
local children this Christ
mas.
Sheriff Shelby White said'
that as of last week they’d
received 30 bikes and all
were in very good shape.
He said he has a donor who
plans to give some but they
may need work.
“We might be able to use
parts off one of them and fix
maybefive of them,” White
said.
White said as the holiday
approaches, he plans to get
with the school system to
find children who are in the
need of a bike.
Anyone interested in do
nating can call the sheriff’s
office at 426-5615 or drop
the bike off at the sheriff’s
office, 110 N. Church St. in
Hertford.