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High threat of rip currents remain in effect today

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Southpoint beach, Ocracoke NC
Stormy Southpoint beach. Photo: C. Leinbach

The National Weather Service out of Newport/Morehead City said that the rip current risk will remain high in Eastern North Carolina through Wednesday evening.

This is a result, in part, of the  lingering swells of Hurricane Gert that passed north approximately 250 miles east of Cape Hatteras. 

The most likely time for strong rip  currents to occur is a couple of hours on either side of low tide.  Low tide on Wednesday on Ocracoke will be at 8:36 a.m. and 10:39 p.m.

The NWS on its website reports that the surf is dangerous for all levels of swimmers. Remember to heed the advice of the local beach patrol and flag warning systems.  

While lifeguards are on duty, they may have red flags out indicating no swimming, but when the lifeguards leave and take down the flags, that does not mean the threat is over, just that the lifeguards are off duty.

On Monday, a 63-year-old male died at around 5:10 p.m. while swimming near Ocracoke’s pony pen beach access.

He was reported to have been caught in a very strong rip current while attempting to rescue another swimmer in distress, according to a press release from the Outer Banks Group of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

To view the NWS rip current danger webpage, click here.

Wednesday’s weather forecast: A slight chance of showers between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

Wednesday night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. Northeast wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

 

 

A few points about the power outage, financial loss and compensation

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Observer commentary

By Connie Leinbach and Peter Vankevich

Getting compensation from an economic disaster on the scale that affected Hatteras and Ocracoke islands with the recent power outage will be a drawn-out process, and those with losses have options on how to attempt to recover their lost income.

As this meanders through some form of resolution, there will be some confusion at various stages for those seeking relief.  Here are some details.

Several class action lawsuits have already been filed in federal court and at the state level including Dare, Hyde and Wake counties.

Additionally, Hyde County government officials in a community meeting on Aug. 4 offered to compile claims by those on Ocracoke who have been adversely affected that could help speed up the process once settlement monies become available. Those affected can be businesses, nonprofits, individuals and vacationers. Hyde County will submit its own claim for lost occupancy and sales tax revenues.

At that public meeting attended by more than 70 islanders, Hyde County Manager Bill Rich said the county will be the liaison with PCL and it has developed its own claim form that islanders can fill out and submit to the county if they want to go that route.  He indicated he had no idea how long it would take to reach a settlement, but said this route involves no legal fees that would be deducted from plaintiff’s awards in class-action lawsuits.

“Hyde is not going to the negotiating table with anyone,” Rich clarified in an Aug. 9 interview. “It will all go through attorneys. PCL had to turn this over to a legal team.”

Rich said the PCL claim form is a complement to what the county is doing.  While the county established a deadline of Aug. 11 for islanders to submit these forms, Rich said the deadline is fungible and that the county will update the data received every two weeks.

Today, Assistant Hyde County Manager Kris Noble released a letter to the community clarifying the county’s role.

“We took a lead position at our Aug. 4 community meeting to help protect the citizens of Ocracoke and ward off the frenzy of lawyers circulating the island and creating a sense of urgency looking for class action,” she wrote.

Since that meeting, the county has had several discussions with PCL, their advisors and the Attorney General’s office concerning this matter and all agree that “direct contact between each person and PCL is now the most effective means to a timely and successful end,” Noble wrote.  “PCL has set up a website where businesses and individuals can file their claims directly. This website was not available when we started this process.”

Noble said in an interview Monday that the county can assist people in filling out the claim forms or who are unable to do so electronically.  She already has a stack of forms eight inches high on her desk that she will go through in the next few days and call each person.

The county wants to remain in the claims process to “ensure everyone is treated in a fair manner,” she said.  “We don’t want anyone left behind.”

Noble’s complete letter is below.

Robert Zaytoun of Zaytoun Law Firm in Raleigh, whose firm also has filed a class-action lawsuit, contacted the Observer after a story on the meeting was published disputing Rich’s claim about PCL’s “reaching out” to Hyde County.

“No admission of liability has been made by PCL,” he said in an interview Aug. 9.

Zaytoun said that a Raleigh attorney representing PCL, Rod Pettey of the Raleigh law firm of Yates McLamb & Weyher, said there was “no direct contact” with Hyde County and that PCL is “not collaborating in any manner. There’s no process with the county.”

He added that this claim form “does not go beyond out-of-pocket losses.”

The Observer also contacted Pettey on Aug. 10, who said originally one claim form had been posted on PCL’s website and a link from its Facebook page but they were in the process of creating three categories for residents, businesses and vacationers, which has been done.

The online claims form found here states:  “For those affected by the Outer Banks power outage, a claims process has been established and a form is available. To submit a claim, download one of the claim questionnaires and follow the instructions.”

There are three options, and the website includes the PCL Outer Banks Claim Team at 844-402-8570.

The Observer called that number and the recorded message provides prompts for information on the losses and requests a name, phone number and email address and someone will call them back with 48 hours.

“We are making this (claim form) available to people who were affected,” Pettey said about the website. “It’s available to anyone who feels they have a claim.”

PCL’s also has the claim form link on their Facebook page here.  It requires some scrolling and lots of comments and shares to others have been posted.

Also on Facebook are paid ads for class-action lawsuits by law firms.  Stay tuned.

The power outage occurred July 27, in the height of the tourist season, when PCL Construction crews rebuilding the Bonner Bridge accidentally damaged the main electric transmission cables, severing the power to Hatteras and Ocracoke.

When it became clear the power would not be restored quickly, Hyde County declared an evacuation of visitors  effective 5 p.m. Jul. 27 that lasted until noon on Aug. 4.

During that week, the island was powered by three portable generators with enough electricity for residents but not enough for the full complement of summer visitors.

During the crisis, the Ocracoke Advisory Control Group met twice daily to get updates on the power restoration status and other related issues. 

Two lawyers with the N.C. attorney general’s office attended one of those meetings and during the crisis and private lawyers began filing class-action lawsuits against PCL.

Laura Brewer, a spokesperson in Attorney General Josh Stein’s office, said on Aug. 10 that the attorney general’s office “is focused on information gathering and hearing from concerned citizens, local businesses and officials.  We aren’t playing an official role in negotiating any settlements.”

That website is www.ncdoj.gov.

At the same time, Hyde County officials began investigating if island businesses and individuals could come together on their own to aggregate the island’s total loss and present that bill to PCL for restitution.

“We wanted to put out the fire from the circling attorneys,” Rich said in an interview Aug. 9. He added that the state attorney general’s office “said we were doing the right thing going the high road.”

Dennis Rose of the Rose Law Firm in Kill Devil Hills, who is local counsel for a class-action lawsuit filed July 31 by Salisbury firm Wallace and Graham, contacted the Observer after we ran the story about Wallace and Graham’s filing of a class-action lawsuit, which already included several Hatteras Island businesses, to tell us he is local counsel.  

A representative from Wallace and Graham visited the island on Aug. 1 and met with several islanders but the Observer did not attend that meeting.

Swimmer dies in waters off Ocracoke’s pony pen beach

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A 63-year-old male visitor from out-of-state died yesterday at around 5:10 p.m. while swimming near Ocracoke Island’s Pony Pen beach access.

He was reported to have been caught in a very strong rip current while attempting to rescue another swimmer in distress, according to a press release from the Outer Banks Group of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Seashore law enforcement rangers, Hyde County deputies, lifeguards, Ocracoke Emergency Medical Services and the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department all responded to the incident and attempted to revive the male swimmer, but the attempts were unsuccessful.   The other swimmer was able to safely return to shore.

No further details were available.

“Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time,” said Seashore Superintendent David E. Hallac said in a news release.

This is the island’s first rip current-related fatality this year. Two other men died while caught in rip currents earlier this year in Frisco and Corolla.

Rip currents are strong all along the Outer Banks, including Ocracoke.  Visitors are advised to read related stories about identifying rip currents here and visit the Observer’s Rip Currents page for more information.

New N.C. Ferry Division director visits Ocracoke first day on the job

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N.C. Ferry Director Harold Thomas
Longtime N.C. Ferry Division employee Harold Thomas visits Ocracoke on his first day as the new director of the division. Photo: C. Leinbach

For Ocracoke news, click here 

By Connie Leinbach

Longtime N.C. Ferry Division employee Harold Thomas is the new director of this sub-agency of the N.C. Dept. of Transportation.

Thomas, along with Jed Dixon, who was interim director and resumes his former position as deputy director, and Chris Bock,  District One superintendent of operations at the Hatteras terminal, was on the island Monday for the monthly Ferry Division meeting with islanders.

Monday was Thomas’s first day as director of a job he had held from 2011 to 2014 when he was demoted by former Gov. Pat McCrory to one of two deputy director positions in favor of Ed Goodwin whom McCrory had appointed director in April of 2014. Goodwin departed Jan. 31.

Thomas, of Newport, plans to visit the island on Thursday to talk to as many people as he can.

“I want to do a lot of listening,” Thomas said. “There are a lot of great ideas over here and I want to soak up some of that knowledge.”

He wants to determine how the division can improve.

“How do we meet our needs and your needs as a department?” he said.

His first focus will be customer service, he said–from the time they pull up to the dock to when they load off the boats.

He also said he will look at the shoulder season schedules knowing that Ocracoke School’s athletic teams travel to away games then and need to get back to the island, often catching the midnight ferry.

He will look at adding later runs from Cedar Island to Ocracoke in the off-season for those islanders who travel that way for doctors and other reasons so that they can return the same day. While the summer long-route Cedar Island schedule includes evening departures, the fall and winter season departures end around 4 p.m. making it virtually impossible for islanders to visit doctors in Morehead City and return the same day.

“It’s an endeavor that’s forever changing,” Thomas said about the ferry system.

Thomas has worked in the division for 25 years, having started at the bottom in 1993 in an entry-level general utility worker, then as an engineer and also as a deputy director.

“I’ve enjoyed my career in the Ferry Division,” he said.

As for other concerns, Dixon noted that since the power crisis July 27 to Aug. 4, the traffic at the Hatteras terminal has dropped considerably.

“Our April and May were the best we’ve ever had,” he said. “June was better than last year. July was about the same until the power outage.”

He noted that on the busiest days, they have been moving the cars well and thought it was due to travelers getting the message to arrive early or later in the day, not at midday.

“Even on the very busy days, we were moving (the cars),” Dixon said.

He also said they have been working on contacting bus companies that bring school children to the island in the spring for school trips about their using the upcoming passenger ferry instead of the vehicle ferries.

“Those buses can take up an entire ferry,” he said.

Harold Thomas, right, the new director of the N.C. Ferry Division, talks with islanders in the Ocracoke Community Center along with Chris Bock, center, superintendent of operations at Hatteras, and Jed Dixon, deputy Ferry Division director. Photo: C. Leinbach
Harold Thomas, right, the new director of the N.C. Ferry Division, talks with islanders in the Ocracoke Community Center along with Chris Bock, center, superintendent of operations at Hatteras, and Jed Dixon, deputy Ferry Division director. Photo: C. Leinbach

As for the passenger ferry, Dixon said that Armstrong Marine Inc. in Swansboro, who received the contract to build a 98-passenger, catamaran-style boat, is still on track to deliver the new boat by the end of April or in May.

He said the Ferry Division has a supplemental work contract with HMS Global, a company that is operating a new passenger ferry service between the boroughs in New York City, to operate the passenger ferries at the outset.

Dixon said  summer tours of the division’s shipyard  in Manns Harbor, located on the western bank of the Croatan Sound, approximately eight miles from Manteo, have been popular for both locals and vacationers and the next four scheduled tours are full.

“They gain a better appreciation of what it takes to keep the Ferry Division going,” Dixon said.

“It’s another way to connect to the people throughout the region,” Thomas said.

 

Barbara Adams to show new work at opening Aug. 16 in Down Creek Gallery

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‘Nesting on Beacon,’ is among the new paintings by islander Barbara Adams on view in Down Creek Gallery starting Aug. 16.

Island artist Barbara Adams will show new works from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 16) in Down Creek Gallery’s continuing Expose Yourself to Art series of receptions that are open to all.

“I enjoy capturing light and shadows which sometimes leads me to new challenges and techniques,” says Adams about her work in oils, watercolors. “With a combination or mixture of impressionism in the background, I attempt to bring out a realist image.” 

She frequently adds elements such as raised surfaces and images on wooden boards and canvas, which she then coats in resin to complete the piece. She has built her own frames out of seashells and found objects.

The reception features light hors d’oeuvres, and live music for the evening will be provided by April Trueblood.

Book Review: Living at the Water’s Edge: A Heritage Guide to the Outer Banks Byway

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For Ocracoke news, click here

The Ocracoke Preservation Society, 49 Water Plant Rd., will host a book signing at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, Aug. 15) for “Living at the Water’s Edge” 

By Peter Vankevich

The Outer Banks Scenic Byway is in good company.

Certain roads throughout the country capture travelers’ imaginations if they are through areas that are off the beaten path and shine a light on our historical culture.

Route 66, established in 1926, is one of those. This highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the country, runs from Chicago, Ill., to Santa Monica, Calif., covering a total of 2,448 miles.

The road was used by many who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, making it into the John Steinbeck classic, “The Grapes of Wrath.”

It was popularized by a song, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup and a popular television show with the same name in the 1960s.

Due to the growth of the Interstate Highway System, Route 66 fell into decline as have many others now considered back roads.

Out of this road-rave fascination came legislation in 1991 creating the National Scenic Byway for  roads recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation for having one or more of six “intrinsic qualities”: archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic.

The Outer Banks Byway was added in 2009 and is one of these 150 byways.

From the north, it begins at N.C. 12 at Whalebone Junction just below Nags Head and heads south through Hatteras and Ocracoke islands and passes through the villages of the Down East Core Sound region. It comprises a combination of 138 road miles and 25 ferry miles.

Barbara Garrity-Blake and Karen Willis Amspacher have written a heritage guide to this byway, “Living at the Water’s Edge: A Heritage Guide to the Outer Banks Byway” (UNC Press).

The book is organized around the themes of water, land, people and change and includes historic and contemporary photographs and stories of the 21 villages along the way.

Significant throughout is the theme of adaptation to constant change for those living–to borrow Michael Parker’s novel title about Portsmouth Island–in this “watery part of the world.”

Ocracoke is part of the OBX Scenic Byway. Photo: C. Leinbach

For those interested in maritime history, one can learn how Mirlo Beach in Rodanthe got its name and read about the heroic efforts of John Allen Midgett and his six-member crew of the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station.

Ocracoke, of course, is included, and the authors veer off to take a look at Portsmouth Island, just across Ocracoke Inlet.

The village, abandoned in 1973 and now maintained by National Park Service, is an important part of the region’s history.

Aycock Brown’s photo of one of  Ocracoke’s most famous citizens, Sam Jones, shows Jones at the piano entertaining friends inside the Castle, one of Ocracoke’s most iconic buildings (which Jones built). Present in the room is his beloved his horse, Ikey D.  (Both are buried in the Springer’s Point cemetery).

Roy Parsons, an island musician, and Muzel Bryant, an African-American who lived on Ocracoke till her passing at age 103, are included as well as the long running mail boat, the Aleta, and the recently opened Ocracoke Community Park, which has the island’s only baseball and soccer field.

Garrity-Blake, a cultural anthropologist, and Amspacher, director of the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island, have succeeded in their portrayals of the past and present and include a wary eye on the future of the ever-changing Outer Banks.

For the reader, this is a wonderful primer to those who wish to take one of our nation’s roads less-traveled.

For the two authors, it must have been a pure joy to put this book together and to be able to share the rich cultural heritage with others.

On the island, the book is on sale at Books to Be Red and the Ocracoke Preservation gift shop. 

Update Aug. 16, 2017: The Ocracoke Preservation Society said today that they’ve sold out of “Living at the Water’s Edge,” but will get more in about a week. You can purchase the books online at ocracokepreservation.org. OPS phone is: 252-928-7375. Books to Be Red also has them. Phone is: (252) 928-3936.

Ocracoke events week of Aug. 14 to 20

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Monday, Aug. 14
Meeting with N.C. Ferry Division; Ocracoke Community Center, 1 pm
Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum: museum tour, 1 pm
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Aaron and Jackie, 7 pm
Deepwater Theater: Blackbeard: An (Historical/Hysterical) Account, 8 pm
Gaffer’s: JP3, 9 pm

Tuesday, Aug. 15
Ocracoke Preservation Society: “Living at the Water’s Edge” book signing, 1 pm
Jolly Roger: Aaron Caswell and Jackie Willis, 6 pm
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Bryan Mayer, 7 pm
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Jon Lea, 7 pm
Coyote Music Den: Coyote Plus One, Kim France, 8 pm, doors open at 7:30 pm
Gaffer’s: JP3, 9 pm
Gaffer’s: Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, 7 pm

Wednesday, Aug. 16
Ocracoke Preservation Society: Kids Create-a-Craft: Ocracoke ponies, 1 pm
Maker’s Market, Wahab House lawn, 161 Irvin Garrish Hwy., 1 to 7 pm
Ocracoke Community Library: Family movie night, 6 pm
Jolly Roger: Edgar Scrubbs, 6 pm
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Bryan Mayer, 6 pm
Dajio Restaurant: Jon Lea, 7 pm
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Mike Norris, 7 pm
Coyote Music Den: Just We Two, 8 pm, doors open at 7:30 pm
Deepwater Theater: Dingbatter’s Guide to Ocracoke, 8 pm
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Karaoke, 9 pm
Gaffer’s: Jayke Steele, 9 pm

Thursday, Aug. 17
Ocracoke Preservation Society: Porch talk: Ocracoke history, 1 pm
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Martin Garrish and Lou Castro, 3 pm
Dajio Restaurant: Raygun Ruby, 80s music, 7 pm
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Kate McNally, 7 pm
Deepwater Theater: Molasses Creek band, 8 pm
Gaffer’s: Jayke Steele, 9 pm

Friday, Aug. 18
Fig Festival: Ocracoke Preservation Society, 6 to 8 pm
Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum: museum tour, 1 pm
Jolly Roger: Willis Gupton, 6 pm
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Kate McNally, 7 pm
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Mike Norris, 7 pm
Coyote Music Den: Playing your Ocracoke Memories, Martin Garrish, 8 pm, doors open at 7:30 pm

Saturday, Aug. 19
Community Square, Fig Festival, 10 am to 11 pm
Jolly Roger: Willis Gupton, 6 pm
Dajio Restaurant: Kate McNally, 7 pm
Community Square, Ocracoke Rockers 7 pm
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Kim France, 7 pm

Sunday, Aug. 20
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Will Roberts, Ventura Highway, 7 pm
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Mike Norris, 7 pm
Gaffer’s: Matt Irie, 9 pm

The nighttime sky on Ocracoke has a starring role

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Ocracoke NC night sky
The nighttime celestial backdrop at Ocracoke’s Lifeguard Beach, by Aaron Stiles.

For Ocracoke news, click here. 

See below for information about the NPS nighttime sky appreciation event 7 to 10 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14, at the Lifeguard Beach.

By David Mickey

Since the beginning of time, the nighttime celestial vista has been a source of wonder and inspiration.

On Ocracoke, the stars are clear from horizon to horizon since the island, 23 miles off the mainland, and it is the darkest place on the East Coast, according to National Park Service (NPS) information.

And it is poised to get even darker as the NPS seeks Dark Sky Designation from the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), Tucson, Arizona.  When accepted, it will be the first such designation for a national seashore. 

Since 2001, the IDA has designated 13 national parks, monuments and preserves in the United States as Dark Sky Parks, although most are located in the western United States far from urban light sources where light pollution hinders visibility of the nighttime celestial vista. 

In its 2016 Cape Hatteras National Seashore State of the Park Report, the Park Service classifies the night sky as “good,” which means that hundreds of thousands more stars are visible here than in urban areas.

“The Milky Way is visible from horizon to horizon, showing great detail, such as the Prancing Horse” constellation the report says.

Receiving Dark Sky designation is an involved process beginning with an inventory of all light sources in the park, initial conversion of 67 percent of those lights to dark-sky lighting, a five-year plan for 90 percent conversion and a 10-year plan for 100 percent conversion. 

Applicants prepare a lightscape management and a monitoring plan to assure protection of the night sky resource.  Public access and regular education programs are major requirements for designation.

The multi-year application process continues. 

Stacey Sigler, acting chief of Resource Management and Science for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said the park counted 487 Park Service light fixtures. Of those, 327 must be retrofitted for the IDA application.  The Park Service has applied for Department of Interior grants to cover the cost.

Since Dark Skies criteria include partnering with neighboring agencies, public utilities and electric co-ops, on Ocracoke that means Tideland EMC. 

In May, Tideland initiated a program to replace all 7,300 security lights with LED fixtures.  Ocracoke’s first LED security light is installed outside the Working Watermen’s exhibit in Community Square.

“The replacements are ‘dark skies’ compliant, meaning light shines down and not up or into neighboring windows,” wrote Heidi Smith in the June “Tideland Topics” in the publication “Carolina Country.”

The Park Service is only responsible for fixtures they own, so replacing Tideland’s security lights on Park Service property, such as at the Ocracoke Campground, will enhance the park’s night sky.

LED security lights reduce electricity use and removes a potential source of mercury pollution.  Mercury vapor and high-pressure sodium fixtures will be sent to a recycling facility for safe disposal.  Tideland also collects CFL light bulbs that contain mercury at their Ocracoke office on Odd Fellows Road.

The NPS effort to gain Dark Sky recognition will be gradual. 

“This process will likely take three to four years depending on how quickly we can get our lights retrofitted,” she said.  “As we continue to work through this process, we plan to continue to offer educational opportunities to the public to celebrate our night skies.”

In 2016, the NPS celebrated its Centennial Founders Day with a special stargazing event on Hatteras.  This year a similar program is planned for Ocracoke from 7 to 10 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Lifeguard Beach.

In addition, every Monday evening through Sept. 4 the NPS hosts “Ocracoke After Dark” at the Ocracoke Campground for an hour of stargazing between 8:45 and 9:45 pm.  Bring blankets, beach chairs and bug spray.

Home owners and renters are encouraged to turn off outside floodlights when not needed.

Hot lunches available to island seniors

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The Senior Nutrition Program, which is known as Meals on Wheels, is available weekdays year-round to deliver hot, locally cooked meals to islanders aged 60 or over.

In addition to the minimum age, recipient qualifications include difficulty preparing their own nutritious meals and they do not drive.

A team of volunteers delivers the meals.

For details, call or see Elizabeth Dyer or Art Mines, 252-928-3951.

The Senior Nutrition Program is made possible on the island through the Albemarle Commission Area Agency on Aging.

Hyde mainland communities helping Ocracoke

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Chris Williams, owner of Chris’s Grocery in Swan Quarter and the Engelhard Red & White, is shown adding donated items to the Food Drive baskets he has set up in each store. Photo by Margie Brooks

For Ocracoke news, click here. 

Ocracoke’s friends and neighbors across the Pamlico Sound on mainland Hyde County have organized a mainland-wide food drive to help restock the Bread of Life Food Pantry in the Ocracoke Assembly of God Church.

The recent loss of power on Ocracoke and a mandatory evacuation of all non-residents (July 27 to Aug. 4) resulted in most Ocracoke businesses closing their doors and many residents without a job (or paycheck) for a week.

The loss of income at a time when businesses make their money for the year–and the loss of food in their own refrigerators and freezers–has been felt across the island. 

During the week-long crisis, the pantry quickly depleted their food stock–serving 270 families in a two-day period.

With an eye to the possibility that the island may be further impacted this year if a hurricane or even a nor’easter storm is forecasted, Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Jeffrey Stotesberry felt that time was of the essence in restocking the pantry.

He is being helped by local churches, businesses and residents.

“Such an event could result in similar evacuations of the island and additional loss of income for business and residents,” Stotesberry said.  “We want to help the Ocracoke community prepare for their future food needs by getting those pantry shelves full again.”

Donation boxes have been set up at the following mainland locations:

–In Swan Quarter: the Hyde County Government Complex lobby
Chris’s Grocery
the NC Ferry Terminal
the Swan Quarter VFD
–In Engelhard:
Spencer True Value Store and the Red and White Grocery

–In Ponzer: the Ruritan Club (front porch).

Many mainland churches will also be conducting drives within their churches and delivering items to the Swan Quarter ferry terminal for delivery to the church.

Stotesberry said other folks with a love of Hyde County but who reside elsewhere may want to help.

Monetary donations (marked “Ocracoke Food Drive”) may be mailed to the SQVFD, P.O. Box 97, Swan Quarter, NC 27885.

 Please contact Stotesberry at 252-542-0901, or firechiefjeff@embarqmail.com, for more information or to help with the food drive.

  

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