July 13, 2016, in the Island Free Press. Used by permission.
By Catherine Kozak
Furious Hatteras Island watermen lashed out at the state Ferry Division on Monday, July 11, at the Dare County Oregon Inlet and Waterways Commission meeting in Manteo, despite that there were not enough members to actually hold an official meeting.
Only three of the eight commission members were in attendance: Ernie Foster, Steve “Creature” Coulter and Danny Couch, all island residents. Several Hatteras charter captains and a marina owner were in the audience, but there were no representatives present from the Ferry Division, the state or the county.
After determining there was not a quorum, commission administrator Jenny Gray Jones agreed that a general discussion with the representatives of the Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard would be acceptable, as long as no official business or action was part of it.
Foster, a Hatteras charter boat captain, immediately stated his unhappiness with the Ferry Division’s recent decision to abruptly stop its dredge from working at a clogged channel in Hatteras Inlet.
“We just had a dredging problem that went nowhere instantly,” he said angrily. “I am beyond the point of wanting to exercise reasonable decorum.”
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