Monday, Nov. 14 Veteran’s Day remembrance, 8:15 a.m. Ocracoke School gym
The Dynamics of Extreme Events People and Places project will present its findings from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 pm, Ocracoke Community Center.
Ocracoke School Dolphins basketball at home; girls varsity 4 pm; boys varsity 5:30 pm; Ocracoke School gym.
Tuesday, Nov. 15 Albemarle Commission Area Agency on Aging and the Hyde Health Department present Healthy Aging 101 from 10 am to 1 pm, Ocracoke Community Center. Learn more about healthy aging and managing chronic conditions. Hyde Health will also provide free health screenings and free flu shots.
Stunned Turtle Stranding training by NEST. 3-5 pm. Ocracoke Community Center. Volunteers of all ages needed.
Community meeting with Dr. Melanie Shaver, new Hyde County Schools superintendent. 4:15 pm. Ocracoke School modular units.
Wednesday, Nov. 16 Roanoke Island Animal Clinic. Ocracoke Community Center. Appointments: 252-473-3117.
Ocracoke Civic & Business Association community meeting. 5 to 6:15 pm. Ocracoke Community Center.
Team Trivia: Fundraiser for the Boys Middle School Basketball team, 6-8 pm. 1718 Brewing Ocracoke.
Ocracoke Waterways Commission, 6:30 pm. Ocracoke Community Center
Thursday, Nov. 17 Ocracoke Advisory Planning Board, 5:30 pm. Ocracoke Community Center
Friday, Nov. 18 Trillium Mobile Mental Health van, Ocracoke Community Center parking lot.
Ocracoke Tourism Development Authority, 9 am. Ocracoke Community Center and on Facebook at Hyde County Public Information.
The Ocrafolk 2019 finale jam. Gary Mitchell in yellow.
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich
WOVV, Ocracoke’s Village Voice community radio station, has been around for 12 years and Gary Mitchell has been on the island playing music a lot longer.
Recently, the two converged in a new show that Mitchell calls “Ocracoke Music Sampler.”
The one-hour show runs on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. and is rebroadcast at 6 p.m. on Thursdays. During it, Mitchell showcases the musical gems he has mined from his more than 25 years living, playing and recording music on the island.
He has had a home recording studio, Soundside Studio, since the 1990s.
Gary Mitchell at the Magic Bean Coffee Bazaar on School Road.
Although the studio has been mostly about recording the band he founded originally with his wife Kitty Mitchell and Fiddler Dave Tweedie, Molasses Creek, which has produced 13 albums, he’s also recorded other performers: Noah Paley, Bob and Sky Zentz, Martin Garrish and some old timers, such as the late Roy Parsons and John Golden.
Sifting through the many CDs, he decided to document the music on Ocracoke.
“I found all kinds of little treasures that we’ve recorded,” he said. “A lot of them that I’ve just forgotten about.”
One way to promote these musical treasures, he thought, would be to host a radio show.
“Ocracoke Music Sampler” debuted on Oct. 4, the latest weekly show for Ocracoke’s nonprofit community radio station at 90.1 FM.
One show was based on the 1998 Ocrafolk Music CD, which featured songs by Roy Parsons, Jule Garrish, Martin Garrish, Rob Temple, Molasses Creek, Michael and Johnny O’Neal, Pat Garber, Jim Wynn, Kevin Hardy, the Ocracoke Cabaret, Bill and Libby Hicks, David Styron and Sundae Horn.
Many fans of the Ocrafolk Music Festival and the island music scene in general will recognize the artists featured on his shows.
He hopes to interview local performers as part of his show.
Ocracoke Music Sampler has an intro: “Roy Parsons, this old timer, born and raised here, had this famous quote. He’d say, ‘Gary, music is good,’ and that just summed up a lot right there.”
In addition to his music recordings, Mitchell also produces music videos that can be seen on his YouTube channel Gary Mitchell.
“I’ve always enjoyed making music videos and during the COVID lockdowns, I did a lot more,” he said.
With much community support and involvement, WOVV was officially launched in June of 2010 with terrestrial broadcasts (90.1 FM), and streaming online (wovv.org) followed a year later.
Mitchell joins a lengthy list of programs on WOVV, many by islanders.
Local broadcasters include “Classic Cuts & Such” hosted by John Simpson, “Down Creek Blues” by Tom Cain, “Beats with Beatle” by Beatle Haddad, “The Outdoor Shower Power Hour” by Chad Macek, “Full Throttle” by Matt Tolson, “Just Good Music from the Second Floor of the Old Fire House” by Peter Vankevich, “Island Morning Mix” by John Alexanderson and “Rockin’ Radio Show,” by Tommy Hutcherson and Larry Ihle.
Several off-islanders also have shows: “Sound Crossings” by LeAnne Astin, “Gospel Train” by Jim Bakay, “Brewer World Tour” by Dave Brewer, “Ramsey & Reality” by Tor Ramsey, “Beck Black’s Beach Shack” by Beck Black and “You Never Know Radio” by Uncle Sal.
The daily schedule can be found on the station’s website wovv.org and daily postings are on its Facebook page.
The station also has some scheduled music themes, such as the “Reggae Hour” on Saturday afternoons and classical music from 3 to 6 a.m.
In the absence of scheduled programs, the automated jukebox plays a free-reeling variety of music.
A frequent observation by the station’s fans is that the appeal of WOVV is you never know what song will be next.
Molasses Creek perform at the 2019 Ocrafolk Festival.
Molasses Creek performs ‘I’ll Fly Away’ at the Ocracoke United Methodist Church. From left, Fidler Dave Tweedie, Gary Mitchell and Kitty Mitchell.
Turkey trotters take off in the November 2021 race. Photo: C. Leinbach
Ocracoke Island’s Thanksgiving Eighth Annual 5K Turkey Trot will begin at 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 24, at 1718 Brewing Ocracoke.
Registration will end at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 22.
This is still a fun, relaxed race, but is timed. All participants will receive a shirt and a medal.
Start your morning off by taking a run, walk or stroll through Ocracoke Village, celebrate your finish with friends and then head off to enjoy your Thanksgiving feasts.
All proceeds will be donated to a fund to replace the floor in the Ocracoke School gym.
From massive flooding from Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, the school was destroyed and is in the process of being rebuilt.
While there’s an acceptable floor in place in the school gym, it is far from perfect, and the school wants to replace it, said Angie Todd, tournament director and Hyde County Board of Education chair.
Oyster tasting at Native Seafood Nov. 25
Native Seafood will hold an oyster tasting event from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25, in the parking lot of their store along Irving Garrish Highway.
This is an event to taste raw oysters, said Susie Scott O’Neal, owner of Native Seafood.
“I love oysters,” she said, especially raw.
So, she has invited several eastern North Carolina oyster growers to bring their oysters to sample. Those include oyster farmers from Ocracoke, Hatteras, Cedar Island and mainland Hyde.
Admission is $10 per person and covers condiments, amenities and a cup of clam chowder.
Oysters to taste will be individually priced per each grower and attendees will be able to buy oysters by the bushel if they want.
Steamed shrimp also will be available and the store will be open, she said.
“We probably will be roasting some oysters, too, for those who don’t want raw,” she said, “but tasting the raw oysters is the point.”
O’Neal noted that this is the traditional time of the year along the eastern shore to have oyster roasts, and she remembers her parents taking her to oyster roasts.
Plus, it’s after turkey day.
“I feel we’re missing something around Thanksgiving that focuses on seafood,” she said. “It’s peak oyster time and I want to promote the North Carolina Oyster Trail and oyster farming.”
No tickets will be sold ahead of time.
Pattie Johnson Plyler of the Ocracoke Seafood Company said the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association, which operates the seafood store, will not hold an oyster roast this year.
“Oysters are just too expensive, and we can’t afford it,” she said.
The last oyster roast was held in December 2018.
Boat Parade on Silver Lake
The holiday boat parade will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, on Silver Lake. This isn’t sponsored by any organization, and it doesn’t spend any money. There are no prizes. It’s just for fun.
Organizer Sundae Horn said the parade will go if there’s a light rain, even for the hour from 5 to 6 p.m. If it’s a total rainout, the event might be postponed to Saturday evening. Wunderground is predicting rain for Friday (Nov. 25) with a 40% chance at 5 p.m.
Holiday Market to be held in Berkley Barn
The Ocracoke Civic & Business Association will host a Holiday Gift Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, in the Berkley Barn.
This event allows Ocracoke businesses, restaurants, and individuals to sell anything from gift certificates to hand-made goods to larger items. You do not have to have a business to sign up, but you are responsible for your transactions.
Island businesses wishing to participate should click on this link to sign up (deadline Nov. 18).
The Dynamics of Extreme Events People and Places project will present its findings from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14, in the Ocracoke Community Center.
The DEEPP projects seeks to improve our understanding of how families and communities prepare for, are affected by, and recover from extreme storms, which Eastern North Carolina experiences every year.
Over the past two years, the DEEPP team of researchers has been interviewing Ocracoke residents about their experiences before, during, and after Hurricane Dorian.
They have completed their survey in Ocracoke and the final report and would like the opportunity to present their findings to the community
The goal is to provide communities and policy makers with information to use in preparing for and recovering from these events.
After the presentation of results, the DEEPP team will answer any questions and hope to discuss which data will be most useful to the community.
The pen is mightier than…. Some souvenir pens from the 2020 election were still available at the Ocracoke voting station.
By Peter Vankevich
Results of yesterday’s elections surprised many veteran pollsters and pundits.
Despite some predictions of a national red tide of votes, control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives is still to be determined, although it appears that in the House, Republicans will take control by a slim margin.
Overall, it was a good night for North Carolina Republicans.
Republicans won key elections state-wide with three-term congressman Ted Budd (R) beating former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley (D) in a close race. Budd replaces retiring Republican Richard Burr.
All state judicial races by candidates identified as Republicans won their elections, regaining control of the state Supreme Court and winning two seats on North Carolina’s highest court thus tilting it to a 5-2 Republican majority.
There was one bright side for the Democrats. North Carolina added a new Congressional district based on population data from the U.S. Census, making a total of 14. Jeff Jackson (D) won the new district, beating Pat Harrigan (R). With one flipped seat to the Democrats, the state will send seven Democrats and seven Republicans to Washington in January. Currently it is eight Republicans and five Democrats.
Republicans retained control of both houses of the N.C. General Assembly, but Democrats appear to have prevented Republicans from winning a supermajority in the state House by just one vote, which would help preserve the strength of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. Three-fifths majorities are needed to override vetoes. That’s 30 votes in the 50-member Senate and 72 votes in the 120-member House.
Locally, many of the seats were uncontested, permitting the incumbents to continue.
Based on the redrawn maps, Ocracoke and all of Hyde County is now part of State Senate District 1 and House District 79. The Republican incumbents for these two seats were unopposed and Norman Sanderson will be the representative for the Senate and Keith Kidwell for the House.
For Hyde County Board of Commissioners, all registered voters vote for each open seat.
For the Swan Quarter Township, Jan Moore (R) defeated Eyleen Gibbs Brooks (D), 969 to 833. Moore will replace Goldie Topping (D) who did not run for reelection.
Shannon Swindell (Unaffiliated) will return for a four-year term to represent Currituck Landing Township. In the spring, he missed the filing deadline to be listed on the ballot but was the only one to qualify as a write-in candidate. Although he needed just one vote, 147 voters named him.
The current Hyde County Board of Education members, Angie Todd for Ocracoke and the two at-large seats, Lindsey Mooney and Aleta Cox, will continue. Moony and Cox beat back a challenge by Robert Wayne.
For the Ocracoke Sanitary District which administers the island’s water plant, Flavia Burton, Bill Caswell and John Simpson will continue.
County Sheriff Guire Cahoon (D) was reelected beating back challenger Larry Weston (Unaffiliated).
According to Hyde County Elections Director, Viola Williams, there remain provisional ballots to be counted. Incoming mail-in ballots, postmarked by Nov. 8, must be received by Nov. 11. So these results are unofficial.
She received several calls yesterday from Ocracoke voters who could not get back to the island to vote due to the suspension of ferry services from high winds. For those who voted elsewhere, their ballots are considered provisional and will be reviewed to determine they complied with election rules.
Official results will be posted on the “Day of Canvass,” Nov. 18, when the county board of elections compiles election results from all precincts and makes the official report of the outcome of the election within the county.
Monday, Nov. 7 Hyde County Board of Commissioners meeting, 6 pm. Community Center and on Facebook at Hyde County Public Information. See agenda below.
Tuesday, Nov. 8 National Election Day, voting at the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, 822 Irvin Garrish Hwy, 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 pm.
Ocracoke Preservation Society fall membership meeting. 7 pm. Community Center.
Wednesday, Nov. 9 The NPS opens the Discovery Center from 10 am to noon and staffs the base of the Ocracoke lighthouse from 1 to 3 pm Wednesday to Saturday, October through January.
Red Cross Blood Drive, sponsored by the Ocracoke School BETA Club, Community Center, noon to 6 pm. To make an appointment online, visit http://www.redcrossblood.org and type in Ocracoke’s zip code, 27960, in the search bar, or call or text Bryson Schmidt at 252-343-7297. Postponed. New date: Nov. 30
1718 Brewing Ocracoke. Team Trivia, 6 pm
Thursday, Nov. 10 The NPS opens the Discovery Center from 10 am to noon and staffs the base of the Ocracoke lighthouse from 1 to 3 pm Wednesday to Saturday, October through January.
Red Cross Blood Drive, sponsored by the Ocracoke School BETA Club, Community Center,8 am to2 pm, or call or text Bryson Schmidt at 252-343-7297.Postponed. New date: Dec. 1
Ocracoke Advisory Planning Board, 5:30 pm. Community Center–Canceled
Friday, Nov. 11 The NPS opens the Discovery Center from 10 am to noon and staffs the base of the Ocracoke lighthouse from 1 to 3 pm Wednesday to Saturday, October through January.
Saturday, Nov. 12 The NPS opens and staffs the base of the Ocracoke lighthouse from 1 to 3 pm Wednesday to Saturday, October through January.
The American Red Cross and Ocracoke School Beta Club and community blood drive scheduled for this week in the Community Center was canceled due to high winds and rough seas that suspended ferry operations Tuesday and part of Wednesday.
Bryson Schmidt, the drive coordinator for the Red Cross, said the new dates are from noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 30 and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 1.
November ushers in the season in which we give thanks and reflect.
The weather is cooler, and the glare of summer has given way to wonderful late afternoon fall lighting and award-winning sunset photos.
It’s a time for calming down and lessening stress.
We can give thanks for another great year in which our livelihood – tourism – has held in the waning COVID-19 pandemic and that no major hurricanes aimed for our island since Hurricane Dorian hit Sept. 6, 2019.
For the most part, the village is faring well while trying to address the challenges of living on an island – transportation issues, affordable housing issues, not enough help.
Some islanders have moved on and newcomers have purchased homes and relocated to this place which they may have fantasized about for years.
But to get to a sense of peacefulness and gratefulness, there is a major speed bump to cross. Will we truly have a season of thanks?
These new families bring new energy and, we hope, willingness to contribute to the community.
So, we are thankful that Ocracoke continues to rebound, that new energy continues to flow.
But to get to a sense of peacefulness and gratefulness, there is a major speed bump to cross — the Nov. 8 election.
All indications are that many are concerned and worried about our future as demonstrated by unusually high early voter turnouts in a nonpresidential election.
There is much uncertainty over what will happen on election day and afterwards and whether the political losers and their supporters will accept the results.
Many of us would prefer politics be just one of many issues in our lives and not the obsession of news cycles and barrage from social media that it has become.
The reaction to the election and the aftermath will determine how we as a nation will have that spirit of gratefulness come Thanksgiving.
Then there is the sound of distant thunder — the Russian invasion of Ukraine, now dragging on for nine months.
It is heart wrenching to watch the destruction of a country by drone missiles. On top of that is the threat of nuclear war there and from North Korea.
Those of us “of a certain age” can recall the great worry of nuclear war in the early 1960s and it is disheartening to have that worry return.
To play off John Donne, yes, Ocracoke is an “island entire of itself”; but it also is linked to the continent, “a part of the main.”
What happens elsewhere happens to us.
“Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind. And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Prong Road, adjacent to the north end ferry terminal (South Dock) will be closed to the public Nov. 7 through the end of the month while NCDOT trucks use it to transport dredge spoil to vulnerable parts of N.C. 12. Photo: C. Leinbach
Prong Road at the north end of Ocracoke Island will be closed from 6 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 7, through the end of the month, as part of a North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) project to protect a vulnerable stretch of N.C. Highway 12 from flooding.
Prong Road is an ORV-accessible soundside beach that is next to the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry terminal.
The closure of Prong Road will allow the NCDOT to safely access the existing spoil pile and more efficiently haul sand to the sandbag area of N.C. Highway 12, as large dump trucks will be able to avoid areas of erosion and soft sand through the temporary use of Prong Road during the project, according to an NPS beach access notice.
If Prong Road reopens prior to the end of November, it will be announced on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s beach access table at: http://go.nps.gov/beachaccess.
The Albemarle Commission Area Agency on Aging is partnering with Hyde County and Hyde County Health Department to host a three-week series on various aging related topics for residents living on Ocracoke Island.
The workshops will be held in the Ocracoke Community Center and pre-registration is required for all four events since lunch will be provided to all attendees.
Individuals can register by calling Teresa Adams at 252-921-0053 or emailing tadams@hydecountync.gov.
Tuesday, Nov. 1, 10 am to noon: Advance Care Planning. A session about the importance of planning for your future medical needs. Attendees will learn more about living wills and Health Care Power of Attorney documents. Participants will receive a FREE Toolkit to assist with future planning.
Tuesday, Nov. 15, 10 am to 1 pm: Healthy Aging 101. Learn more about healthy aging and managing chronic conditions. The Hyde County Health Department will be on site to provide FREE Health Screenings & FREE Flu Shots!
Tuesday, Nov. 22, 10 am to 1 pm: Prepare to Care: Learn more about the Family Caregiver Support Program and services available to family caregivers on Ocracoke Island. Learn the importance of emergency planning and managing caregiver stress.
Tuesday, Nov. 29 (postponed from Oct. 18): 10 am to 1 pm, Medicare: Learn more about various Medicare plans and benefits. Beneficiaries will also have the opportunity to explore and sign up for 2023 Part D plans during open enrollment.
