“News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 $1.50
rn SCAN ME
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Cole urges more
mental health
money for state
courts
PAGE 6
No Tarboro
comeback this
time: Pirates
slam door 82-67
is
PAGE 8
Iroquois
Confederacy
helped inspire
founding fathers
Shortages tied to COVID delay S-Bridge completion to June
Contractor has trouble keeping
workers, getting materials
BY TYLER NEWMAN
Staff Writer
Shortages of workers and
building materials caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic will delay
completion of the replacement
S-Bridge in Hertford until this
summer, according to the N.C. De
partment of Transportation.
The $57 million project, which
was originally slated to wrap up in
March, will now be completed in
June, Tim Hass, communications
officer for NCDOT, said.
“COVID-related staffing issues
have been the biggest factor in the
delay,” Hass said. “At times, our
contractor has been reduced to
half to two-thirds of its usual labor
force. On top of that, fabrication
issues with bridge components
and other material delays have
also been contributing factors.”
Commenting on what types of
bridge materials have been de
layed, Hass said it’s “pretty much
a little bit of everything.”
“From the structural steel we
get from a plant in Birmingham,
Alabama, to the plywood and the
power cable that will run to the
bridge tender house,” he said.
“Nearly every supplier has been
hit by COVID-related staffing
shortages, and that’s resulted in
delays in a whole array of deliver
ies.”
The original S-Bridge, which
was built across the Perquimans
River in 1928, has been moved
by barge to its current site along
side Missing Mill Park in Hertford.
Town and county officials are
hopeful it can repurposed to be
come part of bike and pedestrian
paths along the town’s waterfront.
While much of the new bridge is
complete, there is still some work
to be done.
In Winfall, the last bents of con
crete piling for the structure have
been driven. There are also a few
timber piles for the pile-supported
roadway remaining to be installed.
Placement of curbs and gutters
will resume in Hertford once the
See BRIDGE, A3
TYLER NEWMAN/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Work continues on the Hertford S-Bridge project as seen from
North Church Street in Hertford.
Preparing for the worst
Bland draws 2
GOP challengers in
judgeship primary
CHRIS DAY/THE DAILY ADVANCE
Perquimans Sheriff’s Investigator James Fowden (right in black hat), the incident commander for an “active
shooter" drill held in downtown Hertford, Friday, is seen speaking over the radio alongside other emergency
service workers in the incident command center. A number of Perquimans, state and federal first responder
agencies took part in the exercise at the Perquimans Courthouse and Annex.
First responders drill for gun attack
Scenario put 3 gunmen in
Perquimans courtrooms
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
Organizers wanted Fri
day’s “active shooter” drill
at the Perquimans County
Courthouse to be as realis
tic as possible.
But the drill took an un
expectedly real turn as the
Hertford Fire Department
was dispatched to an acci
dent scene just moments
before the exercise started
and had to extricate some
one from a vehicle.
Details about the acci
dent weren’t immediately
available but it’s timing un
derscored the uncertainty
first responders face when
having to react to emergen
cies.
At 1:19p.m. the first
shots “fired” during the drill
rang out in the Perquimans
County Historic Court
house. About that same
time a “fire” was started in
the space between the his
toric courthouse and the
annex.
Two men entered the
courthouse just before the
shots were fired. They were
wearing hooded sweat
shirts; one was canying a
shotgun, the other held a
rifle.
Within two minutes of
the first gunshots the 911
emergency communica
tions centered received
three calls. The first report
ed the fire between the two
buildings. The second call
stated the deputy at the
metal detector had been
shot, and the third caller
said someone had been
stabbed in the courtroom.
In just a couple of min
utes after those calls the
sound of sirens could be
heard as deputies and other
first responders headed to
the courthouse.
In a pre-event briefing,
consultant Sam Mickey and
county Emergency Services
Director Jonathan Nixon
both stressed the importance
See DRILL, A3
Moreland, McAvoy hope to
unseat newly sworn-in judge
BY PAUL NIELSEN
The Daily Advance
For perhaps the first time
ever, tire First Judicial Dis
trict will have a Republican
primary for judge.
Two lawyers — one an
assistant district attorney,
the other in private practice
— are challenging recently
seated District Court Judge
Jennifer Bland in the May 17
GOP primary.
Bland, a former assistant
district attorney, was ap
pointed to the District Court
by Democratic Gov. Roy
Cooper in late August and
was sworn in Sept. 2. Bland
replaced Judge Eula Reid,
who was appointed by Coo
per to fill a vacancy on the
Superior Court created by
Judge J.C. Cole’s retirement
last March.
At the time of her swear
ing-in, Bland was a regis
tered Democrat. But she
switched her party registra
tion from Democrat to Re
publican on Sept. 3, telling
The Daily Advance she did
so because the GOP best
reflects her values as a con
servative.
Bland’s declared chal
lengers include Jeff More
land, an assistant district
attorney, and Bernard “BJ”
McAvoy, a Dare County at
torney. Filing for the May
17 primary resumes Feb. 24
after being halted in Decem
ber because of legal chal
lenges to the North Caroli
na’s newly drawn maps for
legislative and congressio-
BLAND MCAVOY
MORELAND
non-criminal
nal districts.
Bland said
her first four
months on
the bench
have been
“fulfill-
ing.” She is
currently
only pre
siding over
matters be
cause the state’s judicial
standards require a six-
month “cooling off’ period
for former prosecutors who
are either elected or ap
pointed district judge.
Bland said she will begin
hearing criminal cases on
March 2, when the cooling
off period ends and she’s
completed the second of
two weeks of “judge school”
in Chapel Hill.
“I really love the job,”
Bland said. “I’m doing civ
il cases, child support and
child custody cases, domes
tic violence cases. When it
comes to child cases, I feel
like I can make an impact
on children’s lives and fam
ilies lives.”
Moreland has been an as
sistant district attorney since
2016 after having worked in
private practice in Perquim
ans County. He said he is the
See JUDGE, A3
New Chamber director Lee enjoys helping Perquimans biz
Lee’s family also operates Owl
Feed Ya food truck in area
BY ANNA GOODWIN MCCARTHY
Correspondent
As both a Perquimans County na
tive and local business owner, LeAn-
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Vol. 87, No. 6
WWW.PerquimansWeekly.com
@2021 Perquimans Weekly
All Rights Reserved
na Lee is excited
about her new role
helping businesses
grow and thrive in
Perquimans.
Lee was named
executive director
of the Perquimans
County Chamber
of Commerce in
October. She for
merly worked as a warehouse spe
cialist at the Coast Guard base in
Elizabeth City.
In her nearly four months as
Chamber director, Lee has already
plannedanumber of upcoming
networking and educational events
for Perquimans businesses.
On Feb. 22, the Chamber and
the Perquimans County Schools
will partner on “Discovering Pos
sibilities,” a program similar to the
job-shadowing programs held in oth
er communities.
During Discovering Possibilities,
a group of students from Perquim
ans County High School will have an
opportunity to visit businesses in the
county and see first hand how differ
ent workplaces operate.
Lee said one of her goals is to
build on the success of past Chamber
events while also creating new ones.
She’s also excited about the opportu
nity to work with both current and
budding business owners.
“I love being able to see an out
come,” she said.
Lee is also looking forward to April
9, when the Perquimans Chamber
will host its spring expo and vendor
fair at the Perquimans County Recre
ation Center. Lee said the Chamber
is still accepting applications for ven
dors for the expo that will focus on
weddings, celebrations and gifts.
Lee is also excited about the ren
ovations currently underway to the
Chamber’s building at 118 West Mar
ket Street in Hertford. Lee said once
the renovations are complete in a
couple of weeks, she hopes to plan a
grand opening for the community to
come and see the improvements.
When she’s not busy with her
Chamber duties, Lee helps her hus
band and her parents with her fami
ly’s food truck business. The family’s
Owl Feed Ya food truck operates sea
sonally and caters to special events.
Lee said “my husband dad and
husband do all the cooking,” while
she and her mother manage the
business.
Lee said her favorite items on
the Owl Feed Ya menu are the vin
egar-based barbecue and brisket.
For more information about
the Perquimans County Chamber
of Commerce, visit the organiza
tion’s Facebook page.