Raleigh – High school girls interested in public service and a future career in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics can apply for summer internships in the Lady Cardinal Mentorship Program with N.C. Department of Administration (DOA).
This four-week, paid annual mentorship program with state government leaders is open to North Carolina high school girls, grades nine to 12. Ten to 15 positions are available.
Established in 2019 by DOA’s Council for Women and Youth Involvement, the Lady Cardinal Mentorship Program seeks to improve gender inequity by providing college-bound girls an opportunity to explore STEM-based careers within North Carolina state government.
“This program is designed to nurture the interest of our young women in public service while preparing them for careers that are often male dominated,” said DOA Secretary Pamela B. Cashwell. “We aim to change the current trajectory of STEM careers, building a better future for women, families and for the state of North Carolina.”
Interested students can apply for the Lady Cardinal Mentorship Program now through Feb. 24. Program and application information can be found on the DOA website.
Candidate interviews will occur in mid-March and selected applicants will be notified of placement in April. The mentorship program will run weekdays July 10 through Aug. 4.
All mentees are expected to work 40 hours a week, with time divided between working side-by-side with women leaders 24 hours per week and working on a group project 16 hours each week. The summer enrichment opportunity also includes lunch and learn sessions and field trips to various state government agencies.
Students will earn a $1,700 stipend at the end of the program.
This year’s participating state agencies include the departments of Administration, Commerce, Environmental Quality, Health and Human Services, Information Technology, Natural and Cultural Resources, Public Safety, Revenue, Transportation, Governor’s Office and the Office of State Human Resources.
In addition to working on a sustainability project, last year the Lady Cardinal mentees participated in a geology tour with the NC Department of Environmental Quality, explored the NC Museum of Natural Sciences’ Nature Exploration Center, and engaged in lunch and learn sessions with state government leaders among many other educational activities.
The Lady Cardinal Mentorship Program purpose and goals are based on recommendations from the 2018 Status of Women in NC Employment and Earnings Report released by the Council for Women and Youth Involvement in collaboration with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
The report highlights the growing disparity in employment and earnings among women and men in North Carolina. If unchanged, the gender wage gap will not begin to close until year 2060.
The report also underscores Gov. Roy Cooper’s N.C. Job Ready Initiative, which advocates for more internships, training and apprenticeships to prepare North Carolinians for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
Lady Dolphins varsity basketball. Photo: P. Vankevich
It’s basketball week on Ocracoke
Monday, Jan. 9 Middle school basketball: The Mattamuskeet Lakers cross the sound to take on the Dolphins. Lady Dolphins have the first game, 4 p.m. followed by the boys in the school gym, aka “The Tank.” Use entrance from Back Road. Games will be broadcast on WOVV, 90.1 FM and online: wovv.org.
Wednesday, Jan 11 Ocracoke middle school basketball
The Dolphins take on the rival Hatteras Hurricanes Lady Dolphins tip off at 4 pm, followed by the boys. Games will be broadcast on WOVV, 90.1 FM and online: wovv.org The school gym, aka “The Tank.” Use entrance from Back Road.
Thursday, Jan. 12 Ocracoke Tourism Development Authority meets at 12:30 pm in the Community Center
Ocracoke Advisory Planning Board meets at 5:30 pm in the Community Center
Ocracoke varsity basketball: The Washington Montessori Eagles visit the tank. Lady Dolphins first, 4 p.m, followed by boys. Games will be broadcast on WOVV, 90.1 FM and online: wovv.org The school gym, aka “The Tank.” Use entrance from Back Road.
MANTEO — The National Park Service has several government contracts for businesses to bid on at Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.
Businesses interested in bidding on federal government contracts must do so through the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://www.sam.gov.
On Ocracoke, the NPS seeks a bid for Recreational Vehicle (RV) Sites and Utilities Park Service North Carolina.
Location: Ocracoke Village, Ocracoke, North Carolina
Site Visit Date: Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023
Description: Construct ten RV sites and install utilities in an administrative area on Ocracoke Island.
Notice ID: 140P5523R0003
Bids Due: By 12 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023
For questions on this contract solicitation, contact Lara Wood at Lara_Wood@nps.gov.
Other bid opportunities include sites on Bodie Island, Buxton and Manteo. See more information here.
Ocracoke Dolphins varsity basketball The Dolphins take on the Ahoskie Christian School Warriors Lady Dolphins tip off at 5 pm, followed by the boys. Games will be broadcast on WOVV, 90.1 FM and online: wovv.org The school gym, aka “The Tank.” Use entrance from Back Road.
Ocracoke School message in a bottle found its way two years later onto a beach in Portugal. Photo posted on Facebook by Elena Bretan
By Connie Leinbach
For the last several years, Charles Temple, Ocracoke high school’s English teacher, has awaited the discovery of one of many bottles he has cast into the ocean on behalf of graduating seniors.
This year his wait was rewarded when a “message in a bottle” from one of the 2020 Ocracoke School seniors washed up on a beach in Portugal – more than 3,000 mile away.
Elena Bretan posted on her Facebook page on Dec. 20 that the bottle was found in Portugal, Setúbal, Tróia, on Dec.17.
“The message came in a bottle all the way from the Gulf Stream. Good luck everyone,” she wrote.
In response to Ocracoke School’s appreciative post, Bretan wrote: “We were also very glad to have found this message across the Atlantic Ocean … and we enjoyed sharing this experience with the managers of this event!! Wonder!!! Thank you!!!”
Temple explained that every year he does this for the seniors. They typically aren’t that excited about it, he said, because it’s the end of the school year.
“They’ve basically checked out,” he said. “So, I put together a model for each senior and write a little note about who the student is and send it on out there.”
Temple never expected anyone to find one of his bottles.
“I thought it was possible, but I certainly didn’t count on it,” he said.
But just in case, he included instructions how to get in touch with him in English, French and Portuguese.
“The three places (a bottle is) likely to wash up is on the southern shore in the UK or Ireland, the western shore of France or Portugal,” he said. “Those are where the currents tend to find land.”
Ernie Doshier, captain of the fishing charter “The Gecko,” during a fishing trip drops them into the Gulf Stream.
Ironically, the note Bretan found was the one Temple did for Doshier’s son Alan.
He usually doesn’t log it but he knows exactly where he threw this batch.
“One hundred fathoms, three miles southeast of Ocracoke in 630 feet of water,” Doshier said.
Dropping bottles in the Gulf Stream gives them a chance of going somewhere.
“We’d just find them up in Hatteras if we threw them off beach here,” Temple said.
Typically, the event occurs on graduation day, but not always.
“It’s sort of a nice send-off, even if the kids don’t realize it, or if I tell them and they don’t listen,” he said. “It’s a nice little coda to their senior year.”
He was talking to the Class of 2023 about this before Christmas break.
“I hope there’ll be more excitement now that this has popped up,” he said about the find.
However, he said research shows that, if it will happen at all, it takes about two years for a bottle thrown in the Gulf Stream here to wash up on a European shore.
“So, there’s no instant gratification,” he said. “It just takes as long as it takes.”
While he recognizes that he’s littering in the ocean, he hopes his project is somewhat “green.”
“To my thinking, what I’m throwing in there is a little bit of cork, which is natural and will eventually biodegrade, a little bit of paper, which will meltaway should it get broken and some glass that will eventually grind back into sand,” he said. “So, we’re not throwing any plastic over, keeping it fairly ocean consumable, I guess, so I palliate my conscience that way.”
Temple uses wine bottles with corks and then he melts some candle wax to seal the cork to keep the note dry.
This is proof of concept, he noted about the condition of the note.
“This one getting there dry was proof that that worked — at least once,” he said. “I was delighted to see it didn’t seem like it had been damaged over the years.”
Of course, there could be one sitting up on a piece of beach somewhere that somebody found and just chucked in the trash.
“That’s kind of the fun thing about it,” he said. “I do my own part sending it out there, but then it’s kind of up to the rest of the world and send it back.”
To read a story about a message in a bottle found on Ocracoke beach in 2021, click here.
A Google map shows where Troia, Portugal, is located.
A graphic depiction of the ocean currents, by Dana Savidge, courtesy of the Coastal Studies Institute in Wanchese, Dare County.
A Double-crested Cormorant displays signs of distress on Ocracoke Island. Photo by Connie Leinbach
By Peter Vankevich
Sightings of sick and dying birds on the Outer Banks and islands in the Pamlico Sound are pointing to a major outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Although officials believe the disease currently poses little risk to humans, people are warned to not touch distressed birds because contact could cause transmission to other animals.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only one human case has been documented this year. The patient worked in the poultry industry and reported fatigue for a few days as the only symptom and has since recovered.
The presence of HPAI, also known as avian, bird flu and HPAI H5N1, has caused the euthanization of nearly 53 million U.S. birds this year making it the worst outbreak in national history — resulting in higher prices for chicken, turkey and eggs.
Carmen Johnson is a wildlife diversity biologist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC). Last month she collected several dead cormorants and gulls while inspecting the dredge spoil restoration project on Big Foot Island, which is a few miles from Ocracoke village in the Pamlico Sound.
A dead Great Black-backed Gull found recently on the dredge spoil island in Big Foot Slough in the Pamlico Sound. Photo by Carmen Johnson, NCWRC
Those specimens were sent to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS), a diagnostic and research service established for the specific purpose of investigating wildlife diseases for state wildlife agencies. The lab results were presumptive positive for HPAI. They’ve now been sent to a second lab for confirmatory testing.
Although these may be the first regional results of a positive HPAI test this fall, many other specimens have also been sent off and are awaiting results.
Even if federal and state agencies and organizations are being cautious while awaiting results, there are plenty of sick and dead bird observations indicating this could or already has become a wide-scale HPAI outbreak.
“We are seeing hundreds of dead and dying cormorants at the large winter roost sites at the inlets of Cape Lookout National Seashore,” said John Altman, its supervisory biologist.
Lindsay Addison, coastal biologist with Audubon North Carolina, confirmed seeing dead and sick cormorants and pelicans on Beacon Island that are consistent with HPAI. Beacon Island, located a few miles into the Pamlico Sound from Portsmouth Island, is owned and managed by Audubon North Carolina and is an important nesting site for Brown Pelicans.
Dead and sick Double-crested Cormorants mingle with healthy birds on Ocracoke’s South Point. Photo by Amy Thompson, NPS
Addison said North Carolina typically sees Brown Pelican mortality in the winter months, particularly on the heels of cold spells. So, seeing some dead pelicans or other species of birds on the coast is not unusual.
“Without sending samples in for necropsy and pathology, we can’t be certain of the cause of death,” she wrote in an email. “We are working with the NCWRC to collect samples when they would be useful to the larger HPAI surveillance effort.”
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore, administered by the National Park Service, has no confirmed cases, but is awaiting test results of specimens that have been forwarded to the NPS Wildlife Health Branch out of Fort Collins, Colorado, said Michelle Tongue, acting chief of Resource Management and Science for National Parks of Eastern North Carolina. She noted in a Dec. 21 communication that approximately 200 dead cormorants have been found recently on Ocracoke’s South Point.
Up until now, there has not been a major HPAI outbreak for wild birds in eastern North Carolina but there have been some cases.
NCWRC reported last January that a hunter-harvested Northern Shoveler in Hyde County had tested positive for HPAI. Several other cases were also reported earlier in the year, some asymptomatic hunter-harvested waterfowl while others were symptomatic mortalities.
This fall, WRC received reports and lab results confirming that the deaths of 100s of Black Vultures in North Carolina are from HPAI. Vultures and Bald Eagles are particularly susceptible to HPAI as they will feed on carrion.
In anticipation of HPAI occurring, in October the agency issued a cautionary warning noting that wild birds are arriving from states and Canada where HPAI was present. It encouraged waterfowl hunters to be careful when handling wild birds during hunting season.
These safety procedures include refraining from harvesting or handling wild birds that are obviously sick, and to dress game birds in the field whenever possible wearing disposable gloves. After handling waterfowl wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based sanitizer.
“If someone comes across a mortality event involving five or more waterbirds or waterfowl, or a mortality event of any size for raptors or avian scavengers, including crows, ravens and gulls, we want to know about them,” said Sarah Van de Berg, wildlife biologist with NCWRC in a release. “We are particularly interested in morbidity events involving any number of those same bird species that are observed with clinical signs consistent with neurological impairment, like swimming in circles, head tilt and lack of coordination.”
Confirmed and expected wild bird HPAI cases are occurring throughout the United States, including Mississippi, Louisiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and California. “The Coloradoan” reported this week that more than 4,500 Snow Geese had died on the Eastern Plains, located in the migratory waterfowl Central Plains Flyway, which comprises more than half the landmass of the continental United States, before extending into Central and South America and is where tens of thousands of waterfowl congregate in winter.
Worldwide, the news is also bad. Canada is experiencing outbreaks in all provinces and territories.
This is the largest outbreak in European history, according to the European Food Safety Authority, with wild bird detections in 37 of the 45 European countries. In northern Scotland, thousands of Great Skuas and Northern Gannets have succumbed to the virus in the past two years, a source of major concern because these islands have the largest nesting colonies in the world for these sea birds.
The CDC has reported that HPAI has also been detected in wild birds in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
Before this year, the largest bird flu outbreak in U.S. history occurred in 2015, in what the USDA at the time called “arguably the most significant animal health event in U.S. history.”
At this stage, there is little that can be done to control the outbreak in wild birds and nature will have to take its course.
To help understand the scope of the outbreak, the public is encouraged to report die-offs of five or more birds, and erratic wild bird behavior by calling the N.C. Wildlife Helpline at 866-318-2401 or by email at HWI@ncwildlife.org.
Double-crested Cormorants can congregate on Ocracoke’s South Point in the thousands this time of the year. Photo by Amy Thompson, NPS
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2023 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award.
The awards program, created by the office of the governor in 1979, recognizes North Carolina’s most dedicated volunteers.
Through the years the award has been bestowed on thousands of North Carolinians who have shown concern and compassion for their neighbors by volunteering in their local community.
Any person, group or entity from the public, nonprofit and private sector may be nominated for an award to their county award coordinator. Hyde’s coordinator is Kris Bowen, literacy and outreach coordinator for the Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children in Washington, Beaufort County. Nominations are due by Feb. 2.
Each county selects up to 10 individuals, businesses, groups or teams and one paid director of volunteers to be recognized for their outstanding contributions to their communities.
One of the nominees will be nominated for the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service, which is awarded to the top 20 volunteers in the state. A local committee evaluates the nominations.
Nomination forms for Beaufort and Hyde counties are available online at the link below.
The nomination form can be completed electronically or can be printed and mailed/emailed to the Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children.
If using the nomination form, send the form to the county award coordinator. Online nominations will be sent to the county award coordinators.
Please return the completed forms to Jessica Burnham, Beaufort and Hyde County Award coordinator, at jburnham@bhckids.org or mail to Jessica Burnham at Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children, 979 Washington Square Mall, Washington, NC 27889 no later than Feb. 2.
For more information, please call 252-975-4647, ext. 107.
Hyde County has been awarded funding for the Urgent Repair Program 2022 from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.
This program is geared towards helping the elderly, disabled, veterans and single parents who are homeowners that may need financial help with repairing their homes.
Ten homes will be selected based on eligibility, with up to $12,000.00 in repairs awarded to each home.
The Urgent Repair Program (URP) finances emergency home repairs for North Carolina
homeowners who are elderly or have special needs and whose incomes are below 50 percent of the median for their area.
Emergency repairs correct housing conditions that threaten your life or safety, such as failing septic systems, dangerous heating systems or rotten floors.
The program can also pay for accessibility modifications that allow you to remain in your home after an injury or serious illness.
To be eligible for assistance under URP 2022:
Applicants must reside in Hyde County;
Applicants must prove they own and occupy the home in need of repair;
Applicants must have a household income which does not exceed 50% of the County median income for the household size (See income limits below);
Applicants must have a special need (i.e., be elderly, at least 62 years old, handicapped or disabled, a single parent with a dependent living at home, a military veteran, a large family with greater than five household members, or a household with a child below the age of 6 with lead hazards in the home);
Applicants must have urgent repair needs, which cannot be met through other state or federally funded housing assistance programs;
The property must be free of any back taxes or liens in default at the time of application unless a payment plan has been established and payments are current. If the applicant is unsure, he/she should call the Hyde County Tax Office at 252-926-4188 prior to submitting the application.
Applications can be obtained in person at the Hyde County Government Center, online at the Hyde County Government website, or you can request an application be sent by mail.
Return completed applications to Hannah Elkins, lead for North Carolina Fellow. She is also available to answer any questions regarding this program at 252-926-4191 or by email at helkins@hydecountync.gov.
Application deadline is Jan. 11. Households to be offered assistance will be selected by Feb. 13.
The National Weather Service out of Morehead City updated their forecast today (Dec. 21) as a massive winter storm makes its way from the Midwest to the northeast.
According to reports, the storm system is set to snarl holiday travel and bring an onslaught of wintry weather to millions across the Plains, Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Northeast and even interior Mid-Atlantic.
Beginning Thursday and continuing into this weekend, the Outer Banks will experience strong winds from this storm, freezing temperatures that could damage pipes, heavy rain up to two inches, minor to moderate sound side coastal flooding, dangerous marine conditions and coastal hazards.
No snow is in the forecast for the Outer Banks, but Wunderground forecasts temperatures for Ocracoke to dip to 23 degrees Friday night, then to a high of 33 and a low of 27 for Saturday. Christmas Day on Sunday (Dec. 25) should see a high of 38 and a low of 32 with temperatures climbing to 41 during the day and 38 at night on Monday.
Small craft advisories are in effect from 9 a.m. today (Wednesday) until 6 a.m. Friday. A gale watch is in effect from 6 a.m. Friday until 4 a.m. Saturday and a coastal flood advisory, which may affect N.C. 12 at the north end of Ocracoke, is in effect until 9 a.m. Saturday.
During this time period, cancellations of some ferry runs due to high winds may occur until it is safe to resume.
Holiday decorations by Ocracoke School students adorn the inside of the Ocracoke post office. Photo: C. Leinbach
Tuesday, Dec. 20 Open House: 46 Lawton Lane and 139 Howard Street 1 to 3 p.m.
Christmas caroling, 4:30 p.m. starts at the Methodist Church for ALL who want to go. We will have a trailer with chairs for those unable to walk. Cookies and hot chocolate in church after.
Wednesday, Dec. 21 Roanoke Island Animal Clinic at the Community Center. Appointments: 252-473-3117. 1718 Brewing Ocracoke: music by After School Surf Club & Sam on sax, starts at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 23 Ocracoke Convenience Site hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 24 Ocracoke Convenience Site hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Ocracoke United Methodist Church Christmas Eve Service 7 pm (No service Christmas Day).
Sunday, Dec. 25. Christmas Day. Have a nice holiday! Ocracoke Convenience Site closed.
Monday, Dec. 26 Ocracoke Convenience Site hours: 7 a.m. to noon
Appreciation to the Ocracoke community by the Ocracoke School staff is among the holiday decorations made by Ocracoke School students inside the Ocracoke post office.
