Friday, Sept. 27 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Kate McNally Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ray Murray, 7 pm The Breeze: R.T. Johnson Band, 9 pm
Saturday, Sept. 28 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Music TBD Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ocracoke Rockers, 7 pm The Breeze: R.T. Johnson Band, 9 pm
Sunday, Sept. 29 Church services: Life Saving Church, 459 Lighthouse Rd., worship, 11am Ocracoke United Methodist Church: 71 School Rd., worship, 11 am. Streaming via its Facebook page Stella Maris Catholic Chapel: 95 School Road, Mass, 3:30 pm
NC12 on Ocracoke’s north end around 1:30 p.m. Sept. 22. NCDOT photo
From our news services
The National Weather Service is forecasting that although abnormally high tides have already peaked and are on the downtrend, but will still produce minor to locally moderate coastal flooding into Tuesday, according to a press release issued Sunday afternoon.
A Coastal Flood Advisory remains in effect through Tuesday afternoon from Duck to Ocracoke village.
Water level rises of 1 to 2 feet above ground on the oceanside, and up to one foot above ground on the soundside are expected to continue, especially around high tide.
Water encroached on NC12 at the north end of Ocracoke making travel difficult but ferry service was not suspended. Water rose in Ocracoke Village in many of the low-lying marshy areas and roadside ditches but did not overwhelm the roads.
The marsh along O’Neal Drive on Ocracoke spills onto the roadway Sept. 20. Photo: C. Leinbach
The NCDOT said that NC12 on Ocracoke Island remains open and passable with extreme caution and reduced speed.
On Sunday, there are four to seven inches of water in places, mostly on the edge of the southbound lane. Crews were on the scene trying to mitigate where the water is deepest.
On Hatteras Island, the rough surf and higher than normal tides contributed to a pair of houses on G.A. Kohler Court in Rodanthe to collapse on Friday.
A high risk of rip currents and dangerous shore break are also posted for the ocean on Monday.
The National Hurricane Center is closely monitoring a disturbance in the western Caribbean that is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone and threaten the Gulf Coast states by late this week.
It’s still too early to know if this system will bring any impacts to eastern North Carolina, but most models keep the center of circulation well to our west.
The NCDOT Ferry Division provides real-time text or email alerts from their routes via the Ferry Information Notification System (FINS) at www.ncdot.gov/fins. System-wide route status updates will also be posted on the Ferry Division’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
Sherry Atkinson, left, and her wife, Laura Michaels, are known as Yaya and Lulu, respectively, to twins Cora and Sam Walters. .
By Heather Johnson Photos courtesy of the family,
Sherry Leigh Atkinson, 62, of Ocracoke, passed away peacefully on Sept. 9, 2024, in ECU Health Medical Center, Greenville, in the company of her loving wife, Laura Michaels.
Born on December 2, 1961, in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, she was a daughter of the late Heidrun Jones and Bill Atkinson.
She grew up and attended college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 1994, she moved to her forever home, Ocracoke Island.
Sherry, like water, was a force! Gentle, nurturing, fierce, and powerful. Strong enough to cut through stone and reshape landscapes. Like the ocean, her love ran deep and wide.
Sherry had a deep love for culinary arts and sharing it with people. It’s been said, cooking, at its soul, is the love of nurturing people and caring for them on the deepest level. Sherry did just that. She loved and cared for people and in doing so created her own family and community while supporting the community in which lived.
After moving to the island she worked in numerous restaurants, forming close bonds with those she worked with, teaching many how to cook on the line, serve, and control the flow.
Working alongside so many young people, she became a sort of surrogate mother to many, loving them, teaching them, guiding them. She had a way of making you feel so supported you believed you could do anything.
Sherry with her favorite of the Ocracoke ponies, the late Easter.
She showed up — for her friends, family, and community, cooking for fundraisers, supporting businesses, and the school, officiating friends’ weddings, attending kids’ birthday parties. Whatever life had to offer, she was there with love, understanding and generosity. She volunteered with the NPS ponies for 22 years, providing quality care, maintenance and nurturing bonds with each pony.
To know Sherry meant you knew that she loved women’s basketball — UCONN Lady Huskies to be precise.
Like a good coach she was always cheering you on, teaching, guiding. Shamelessly honest with who she was as a person, she felt relatable, and this drew people to her. Fiercely loyal, she always had your back but would also not hesitate to put you in your place.
In 2000 she found another love, Laura Michaels. The couple married in 2017, sharing 24 years of love and life together.
In addition to her wife, Sherry is survived by her brother, Wayne Atkinson; nephew, Conner Atkinson; and niece, Lauren Atkinson, all of South Carolina.
A Celebration of Life is planned for Dec. 7; time and location to be announced.
The family is asking memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society at www.Cancer.org. Condolences to the family may be made online at Twiford Funeral Home, www.TwifordFH.com.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District has suspended Dare County’s permits for dredging in Oregon and Hatteras inlets and nearby channels for what the military said is repeated violations by the dredge operated as a public-private partnership.
According to a press release, the Corps has stopped all work conducted by EJE Dredging Service, which owns and operates the $15 million Miss Katie dredge that is funded by the state and county.
A letter detailing the suspension of five federal permits for dredging by the Miss Katie was received by Dare County Manager Bobby Outten late Wednesday afternoon.
“This suspension will remain in place until the county provides USACE with proper documentation that an enforceable and viable protocol is in place to ensure compliance,” according to a press release. “Dare County must monitor, prevent, and self-report any future violations and non-compliance.”
The Corps said notices were issued in April and August of 2023 for violations related to work in what is formally known as the Manteo/Shallowbag Bay federal channel, which includes multiple channels through Roanoke Sound, in and around Wanchese, Oregon Inlet, out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Data from the National Dredging Quality Management Program between September 2023 and June 2024 shows “work was unnecessarily conducted by dredging well outside the authorized widths and depths of the navigation channels,” the Army Corps said.
That data come from sensors mounted on board the Miss Katie, which is a 156-foot shallow-draft hopper dredge.
It pulls sand through a pair of suction booms, places it in the hold known as a “hopper”, then steams to another location, opens up the bottom doors and dumps the spoils.
The Corps said 98% of all dredging done in the Manteo/Shallowbag Bay area were not in compliance with the permit.
The News and Observer reported Thursday the data shows the Miss Katie dredged as much as 445-feet outside the authorized area, or “box,” while still dumping the spoils in areas that are authorized under the permit.
The N&O also reported the violations in 2023 were related to dredging outside the box and also deeper than permitted, and that EJE Dredging was not conducting surveys of the channels as required by the permit.
“The suspension is necessary due to the continued disregard of permit conditions and failure of implementing any corrective actions,” the Corps said.
EJE Dredging is based in Greenville, and had no experience as a dredging company when it was awarded the contract for the Miss Katie in 2018.
The company’s chief executive officer is Jordan Hennessy, who at the time was legislative assistant for former state Sen. Bill Cook (R-Beaufort), and is among those credited with securing funding from the General Assembly for the dredge.
The dredge was built by EJE Dredging using a forgivable loan, charging the state and county a reduced rate for work until the $15 million is paid off.
The dredge was completed at a Louisiana shipyard, and began working in the waters off Dare County in 2022.
Hennessy has come under recent scrutiny for ventures involving dealings with Dare County on proposed housing developments on Roanoke Island and in Kitty Hawk that stalled, and a state domestic violence program that is the subject of a grand jury inquiry according to The N&O. He currently serves as a member of the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission, after being appointed last year by Republican state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.
NC12 on Ocracoke at the overwash area. NCDOT photo
NCDOT reopenedNC12 on the north end of Ocracoke at 12:30 p.m. today (Wednesday.)
Motorists are reminded that there is still some water and sand on the roadway, so drive with EXTREME caution. Ferry service resumed with departures from both Hatteras and Ocracoke at 12:30.
Also, be aware of the possibility that the road may need to be closed again Wednesday night if the 8:30 p.m. high tide causes significant overwash from heavy rains Saturday and Monday.
The north end of Ocracoke at 8:29 a.m. NCDOT photo.
By Joy Crist, Island Free Press
Northern Ocracoke Island remains closed Tuesday morning with Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry service suspended, due to ocean overwash and water on the roadway while Hatteras Island had minimal ocean overwash at 7:10 a.m. high tide,
The North Carolina Department of Transportation closed N.C. Highway 12 between the ferry terminal and the pony pens on northern Ocracoke Island at 8:45 p.m. on Monday night.
NCDOT crews will be working to clear the roadway on Tuesday morning, and the highway will reopen, with resumption of ferry service, when it is safe to do so.
Bands of heavy rain will gradually move north and east throughout the day today, with rain expected to end for all of the Outer Banks by midnight.
Rain over the past week will make some low-lying areas more susceptible to flooding, while large breaking waves in the surf zone will continue to make beach erosion and ocean overwash more likely, and swimming dangerous.
There have been some reports of flooding in Western Hyde County. Mattmauskeet Schools will be on remote learning today.
Another round of ocean overwash was reported ahead of Monday evening’s 6:45 p.m. high tide on northern Ocracoke Island, northern Hatteras Village, northern Buxton, Pea Island, and on side streets in Rodanthe.
Per a press release from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, travelers are advised to avoid northern Ocracoke Island on Monday evening and to use caution around high tides for the rest of the week due to higher-than-average tides and an ongoing high surf advisory.
On Hatteras Island, visitors should use caution on the beach at the north end of Rodanthe, due to the presence of debris-related hazards from threatened oceanfront structures, such as building materials and parts of septic systems.
N.C. Highway 12 is open and passable as of 6 p.m., but salt water and sand remain on the highway, and drivers are advised to slow down as saltwater can damage vehicles.
High tide on Sept. 17 is at 7:12 a.m. and 7:40 p.m. On Wednesday, high tides are 8:02 a.m. and 8:28 p.m.
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) crews will continue to work to clear the roads of standing water and sand this evening, and Tuesday morning as needed.
Thursday, Sept. 19 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee: Brooke & Nick, 6-8 pm Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ray Murray, 7 pm
Friday, Sept. 20 Hyde County Health will hold a flu shot clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Community Center. Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee: Kate McNally, 6-8 pm The Breeze: The Barefoot Wade Band, 9 pm
Saturday, Sept. 21 Red Drum Shootout Fishing Tournament. Hyde County Health will hold a flu shot clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Community Center. Hyde County Health will hold a rabies vaccine clinic cats and dogs from 9 a.m. to noon at the Community Center. Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee: various musical artists, 6-8 pm The Breeze: The Barefoot Wade Band, 9 pm
Sunday, Sept. 22 Church services: Life Saving Church, 459 Lighthouse Rd., worship, 11am Ocracoke United Methodist Church: 71 School Rd., worship, 11 am. Streaming via its Facebook page Stella Maris Catholic Chapel: 95 School Road, Mass, 3:30 pm
El Departamento de Salud del Condado de Hyde llevará a cabo una clínica de vacunación contra la gripe y una clínica de vacunación contra la rabia en Ocracoke el viernes y sábado, 20 y 21 de septiembre, en el Centro Comunitario de Ocracoke.
La clínica de vacunación contra la gripe se llevará a cabo ambos días. El horario del 20 de septiembre es de 2 a 6 p. m. y de 10 a. m. a 2 p. m. el 21 de septiembre.
No es necesario concertar una cita, pero quienes deseen recibir la vacuna deben traer su tarjeta de seguro.
La clínica de vacunación contra la rabia para perros y gatos se realizará de 9 a. m. al mediodía el 21 de septiembre.
Todos los perros y gatos mayores de cuatro meses deben recibir la vacuna contra la rabia. El costo de las vacunas anuales es de $15.
Hyde County Health will hold a flu shot clinic and a rabies shot clinic on Ocracoke Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20 and 21, at the Ocracoke Community Center.
The flu shot clinic will be held both days. Hours on Sept. 20 are from 2 to 6 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 21.
Appointments are not necessary but those wanting vaccines should bring their insurance cards.
The rabies clinic for cats and dogs will be from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 21.
All dogs and cats over the age of four months are required to have rabies shots. The cost for the one-year vaccines is $15.
