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EEKLY
“News from Next Door”
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022 $1.50
@SCAN ME
PAGE A6
Thanks to
grant, 2 ‘Little
Libraries' coming to
Perquimans
PAGE A6
Durants Neck
Ruritans bright
en Christmas for
families
PAGE B2
Pirate boys
drop fourth
game to Bruins
at home
Albemarie Commission celebrates its 50th anniversary
Agency manages employment
training, aging programs
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The Albemarle Commis
sion last week celebrat
ed 50 years of service to
the region in areas such
as grant administration,
service coordination, and
management of services
like senior nutrition and
employment training.
State Sen. Bobby Han-
ig, R-Currituck, told those
gathered Tuesday, Dec. 6,
for a celebratory dinner
at Seven Sounds Brewing
in Elizabeth City that the
Albemarle Commission
makes a difference every
day in the lives of people
in a 10-county region of
northeastern North Caro
lina.
Although an early iter
ation of the commission
was organized in Novem
ber 1964 as the Albemarle
Rural Planning and De
velopment Commission
— with an annual bud
get of slightly more than
$14,000 — the anniversary
being observed this year
is 1972. That’s when aging
programs and a Manpow
er Planning Board were
added to the organization’s
responsibilities and then
Gov. Robert Scott desig
nated the commission as
the regional clearinghouse
for grant applications, ac
cording to a history pre
pared by Albemarle Com
mission staff.
The commission assist
ed in the acquisition of
more than $500 million in
grants for the 10-county
area in its first decade of
existence, according to the
summary of the history.
Environmental studies,
water projects in Hertford
and Columbia, regional
solid waste planning, grant
oversight for the Econom
ic Improvement Council,
administration of Commu
nity Development Block
Grant projects, and admin
istration of numerous loan
programs for business
es and homeowners are
among the many projects
the Albemarle Commis
sion has overseen or spear
headed.
“In other words, over the
last 50 years the Albemarle
Commission has provided
services directly and in
directly as a grant writer
See ANNIVERSARY, A3
REGGIE PONDER/THE DAILY ADVANCE
State Sen. Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck, addresses the
audience Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the 50th anniversary
celebration of the Albemarle Commission at Seven
Sounds Brewing Co. in Elizabeth City.
The Bodacious Bandit
Firm to provide
clearer view of
town’s finances
JOHN FOLEY/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Beth Sessoms, author of the children’s book, “Blackbeard: The Bodacious Bandit and Fascinating Tales of
Perquimans County,” recently attended a book-signing event at the Perquimans Arts League in Hertford. The book
follows the adventures of a misguided snake named Blackbeard and his quest to find happiness among the
colorful creatures of the Albemarle Sound.
Author pens different Blackbeard tale
Sessoms’ book follows
exploits of a misguided snake
BY JOHN FOLEY
Staff Writer
The exploits of Edward
Teach, the English pirate
better known as the noto
rious Blackbeard, are the
stuff of fact and legend.
The pirate, who got his
nickname from his thick
black beard and frightening
Solar farm permit gets two-year extension
Pender Road only facility
OK’d in county not yet built
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The only permitted solar
farm in Perquimans County
not yet built will have anoth-
6 " 89076 47144
Vol. 87, No. 50
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visage, plundered ships off
the East Coast and West In
dies in the early 18th centu
ry until he was killed during
a ferocious battle with Co
lonial soldiers and sailors
off the coast of Ocracoke in
1718.
However _for Hertford
resident Beth Sessoms,
Blackbeard is a misguided
snake who will always be
close to her heart and occu
py a prominent place on her
bookshelf.
er two years to come online.
The Board of Commis
sioners last week granted
a final two-year extension
to the developer of the
planned solar solar at the
north end of Pender Road in
Perquimans County.
Representatives of Pine
Gate Renewables, the com
pany developing the
Pender Road Solar
Farm, asked for the
2 permit extension at
the Dec. 5 Perquim
ans Board of Com
missioners meeting.
The board approved
the permit extension
Sessoms, a first-time au
thor, self-published the chil
dren’s book,. “Blackbeard:
The Bodacious Bandit and
Fascinating Tales of Per
quimans County,” in April.
The book, published by her
company, Fascinating Tails
Publishing, follows the ad
ventures of a misguided
snake named Blackbeard
and his quest to find hap
piness among the colorful
creatures of the Albemarle
Sound.
unanimously on a motion by
Commissioner Kyle Jones.
The project is designed to
be a 5-megawatt facility on
about 60 acres.
The solar farm was ini
tially permitted in 2019 and
commissioners had already
granted a two-year exten
sion once before. The two-
year extension granted Dec.
5 is the last extension the
project is eligible for.
Mikala Newsom of Pine
Gate Renewables explained
that all permits have been
obtained for the project
and that the only hold-up
is working out an inter-con ¬
Sessoms, who recently
signed copies of her book at
an event at the Perquimans
Art Gallery, said she penned
“Blackbeard: The Boda
cious Bandit and Fascinat
ing Tales of Perquimans
County” with her grandchil
dren in mind.
“I wanted to leave my
six granddaughters some
thing original from me,” she i
said. “I also was interested .
See BLACKBEARD, A3
nection with Dominion
Power.
Newsom told county
commissioners that the
schedule is dependent on a
large-load customer that is
expected to go off line. The
large load customer had
targeted the end of this cal
endar year to go offline but
that has now been reset to
June 2023, Newsom said.
The wait is necessary
because Dominion’s trans
formers near the planned
Pender Road solar farm
can only accommodate a
See FARM, A3
First Tryon’s model will
correlate spending, impacts
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The town of Hertford
will contract with a con
sultant to seek a clear
picture of town finances
— especially the impact of
spending and borrowing
on water and sewer rates,
taxes and fees charged
to residents and property
owners.
At its regular meeting
Monday night, Hertford
Town Council voted unan
imously to hire financial
services firm First Try-
on $35,000. According to
town officials, the firm will
develop a financial mod
el that will correlate the
town’s debt, fund balance,
spending, revenues, inter ¬
See FIRM, A3
REGGIE PONDER/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
A light display synchronized with music has been set
up on the lawn of the historic Perquimans County
Courthouse in Hertford. A former county manager
described the light show at the courthouse Monday,
Dec. 5, as a “travesty.”
Lights have fans
— and detractor
Retired county manager
calls lights ‘travesty’
BY REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer
The Perquimans Festi
val of Lights on the lawn
of the historic Perquim
ans County Courthouse is
drawing people to down-
town Hertford for a hol
iday-themed light show
— but one former county
official is not a fan of the
display.
Paid Gregory, who
served as Perquimans’ sec
ond-ever county manager,
characterized the lights
est, and other variables to
determine short- and long-
term impacts of purchas
ing, spending and borrow
ing decisions.
Interim Town Manager
Janice Cole recommended
council approve First Try
on’s proposal.
It was the lack of such
a long-term financial mod
el that Councilor Ashley
Hodges, council’s may
or pro tern, cited at last
month’s meeting for the
town not proceeding with
a loan application to fund
much-needed sewer infra
structure.
Hodges said as much
as the work needs to be
done, he’s not comfortable
taking on additional debt
for the town until Hertford
officials have a clear, long-
term model of the town’s
display as a “travesty” be
cause of the historic nature
of the courthouse during
remarks to the Perquim
ans Board of Commission
ers Monday, Dec. 5.
Gregory acknowledged
at the outset of his remarks
that his opinion was likely
a minority viewpoint.
He said the county has
done a good job of mod
ernizing operations inside
the courthouse without
disturbing its exterior ap
pearance.
But the flashing lights
are out of place, Gregory
said.
See LIGHTS, A3