FORMA DE PAPEL: Puede obtener una copia en el Centro de salud de Ocracoke o aquí como se proporciona.
TELÉFONO: Llame al número de teléfono designado para vacunas COVID al 252-489-3622. Deje un mensaje con su nombre, fecha de nacimiento y número de teléfono. Alguien le devolverá la llamada. Múltiples mensajes retrasarán los tiempos de devolución de llamadas.
The National Weather Service today updated its forecast this morning and severe weather, including the possibility of tornadoes, is expected to begin late Thursday afternoon (March 18) across eastern North Carolina.
The Storm Prediction Center has an Ehanced Risk for the Outer Banks. All severe hazards remain possible, including wind gusts that could lead to structural damage, trees down/uprooted, power outages and large hail in excess of one inch in diameter. A few tornadoes could be strong.
The Outer Banks can expect northerly wind gusts up to 45 to 50 mph with possible beach erosion and ocean overwash.
Minor to moderate coastal flooding is possible for several locations adjacent to inland sounds and tidal rivers. w
On Friday, a strong cold front will push across the region bringing strong northerly winds. This could lead to minor to moderate coastal flooding for portions of sound side Outer Banks and tidal tributaries, and ocean overwash across the northern Outer Banks.
Gale warnings, wind advisories and coastal flood watches have been issued in anticipation of the strong winds Friday into the weekend.
Ava Johnson, an R.N. with the Hyde County Health Department, prepares a COVID-19 vaccine. Photo: C. Leinbach
By Connie Leinbach
As of today, Hyde County has zero COVID-19 cases.
Hyde County Health Director Luana Gibbs said in an interview today that the one case Hyde had in the last several days was released from quarantine on Tuesday.
COVID-19 cases are decreasing statewide, she said, and activity at the Health Department has finally started to slow down.
“We don’t have the high demand for vaccines and testing has waned,” she said, noting that January was especially hectic and stressful.
Gov. Roy Cooper gave a hopeful report in a press briefing today.
“With more students in the classroom and millions of people receiving vaccines, there is hope on the horizon,” Cooper said. “But with this virus and its variants continuing to spread, it is too early to let our guard down.”
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, noted that all the key metrics of the pandemic are declining but with new, more contagious variants in the state, everyone needs to keep their guard up as recent data shows an increase in these more contagious variants among those infected in North Carolina.
North Carolina continues to focus on distributing vaccines quickly and equitably. To date, the state has administered over 3.4 million doses. 25.7 percent of those 18 and up is at least partially vaccinated, and 16.5 percent of those 18 and up have been fully vaccinated.
The state is also seeing progress in its continued efforts to emphasize equity in vaccine distribution. Today, the CDC released a report that puts North Carolina among the top ten states in the nation for equitable vaccine distribution.
People in Group 4 with high-risk medical conditions or who live in certain congregate living settings can start getting vaccines starting today Wednesday (March 17).
The rest of Group 4, which includes other essential workers will become eligible April 7.
Both the Hyde County Health Department and the Ocracoke Health Center are asking that all Hyde citizens may pre-register for COVID-19 vaccines.
The Ocracoke Health Center issued the following information today:
We continue to follow the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines and are vaccinating Groups 1 through 4.
Preregistration will allow us to make your appointment and have vaccines available to you. There are three ways to preregister:
PAPER FORM: You can get a copy at the Ocracoke Health Center or by clicking the above link.
PHONE: Call the designated phone number for COVID vaccines at 252-489-3622. Leave a message with your name, DOB, and phone number. Someone will call you back.
Multiple messages will delay callback times.
People should continue to protect themselves and those around them by practicing the Three Ws: Wear a mask, wait six feet apart, and wash hands often.
Cheryl Ballance, the Ocracoke Health Center CEO, at right, helps at the first Ocracoke Seafood Festival in 2019 that benefitted the health center. Photo: C. Leinbach
From our news services
After almost 30 years serving the communities of Hyde County, Cheryl Ballance will retire as CEO of the Ocracoke Health Center.
Through the years, Ballance worked as an R.N. for the health center as well as Hyde County Health Department.
Under her administration, the Ocracoke Health Center and Engelhard Medical Center became a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in 2013 providing quality medical care to residents and visitors of Hyde County and opened the first pharmacy in the county in 2014 at the Engelhard Medical Center.
She has remained committed to having strong teams of clinical and administrative staff at both locations to provide quality healthcare in this area.
“My career at the health center has been very fulfilling and I’ve really enjoyed working with my staff and the communities of Hyde County, but it’s time for me to step down,” Ballance said. “Although challenging with the uniqueness of the area and hurricanes, it has been fulfilling to see both centers flourish and continue to provide consistent and quality service to our residents.”
The Ocracoke Health Center is not taking walk-ins, but patients may call for appointments (phone or virtual) at 252-928-1511. Photo: C. Leinbach
With Ballance retiring, the board of directors of the Health Centers have established a CEO Search Committee. Finding a replacement for Ballance will not be easy and they are emphasizing the need for a strong leader that can continue to guide the growth of this organization and someone who loves and appreciates this rural area and the uniqueness of living and working here.
They have set a goal to find a qualified candidate by May and have engaged the SPARKS Group to manage the recruitment process.
The National Weather Service today forecasts the potential for severe weather across the southeastern U.S. Thursday afternoon and evening, including eastern North Carolina.
The Storm Prediction Center has increased our risk level to Moderate for most of the area. The main risks remain damaging wind gusts, large hail in excess of one inch in diameter and tornadoes.
In addition to severe weather, a strong cold front is forecast to push across the region on Friday bringing strong northerly winds. This could lead to minor to moderate coastal flooding for portions of sound side Outer Banks and tidal tributaries, and ocean over wash across the Northern Outer Banks.
Deanna Randalls, rear, Hyde County Covid coordinator, and Ava Johnson, R.N., administer COVID-19 vaccinations inside the Hyde County Health Department in Swan Quarter. Photo: C. Leinbach
Editor’s note 2:08 p.m. March 17, 2021: As of today, Hyde County has zero active COVID-19 cases, said Luana Gibbs, Hyde County Health director.
By Connie Leinbach
As of Friday, Hyde County Health Department reported one active case of COVID-19 in the entire county.
In addition to that one case, of the 642 total cases to date since the pandemic began last year, 633 have recovered and there have been eight deaths.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services COVID-19 dashboard, Ocracoke has had 94 cases.
Misty Gibbs, Hyde County preparedness coordinator, said every Hyde County citizen can register to receive a vaccine regardless of the grouping timetable, though it’s not an automatic appointment.
“You will get on the waiting list and receive a call back,” she said in an interview last week. “Every person in Hyde County who wants a vaccine needs to call us as soon as possible.”
That number is 252-926-4467.
The health department is still prioritizing the groups but wants to preplan for the next groups.
Group 3 is eligible for vaccines now and eligibility for people with high-risk medical conditions or who live in certain congregate living settings in Group 4 begins Wednesday (March 17).
The rest of Group 4, which includes other essential workers will become eligible April 7.
Gibbs said that the health department does not administer shots to people from out of state.
“North Carolina issued a rule: No shots to out-of-state people unless they own property in the state,” she said.
If you work here or own property here you can get a shot, she said. Just visiting from out of state doesn’t qualify.
The Hyde health department is administering the Moderna vaccines which require two shots. North Carolina recently was authorized to receive the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is only one shot.
Misty Gibbs, Hyde County preparedness coordinator, chats with clients in the Hyde County Health Department. Photo: C. Leinbach
“We are very fortunate to now have three tested, safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines that keep people out of the hospital and prevent death from this virus,” said Health & Human Services Department Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen in a statement last week. “With improving supplies, North Carolina can get more people vaccinated sooner and meet our goals to provide equitable access to vaccinations in every community in the state.”
As of March 15, Hyde County has administered 2,902 shots. Of this total, 975 people are fully vaccinated, and 1,627 are partially vaccinated.
Much information is provided on the NC DHHS website, including, but not limited to the number of cases (by zip code or countywide), deaths, vaccinations, and includes demographics. Go to https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard and you can access the data you wish by clicking on the links to the right of the page.
People should continue to practice the 3 Ws:Wear a face mask; Wait six feet apart; and Wash your hands frequently.
For 24/7 on-call services, dial the Coronavirus Hotline: 1-866-462-3821.
Jerniman’s opened their restaurant on Friday. Photo: C. Leinbach
To catch up on Ocracoke news and much more, click here
By Connie Leinbach
Ocracoke got a new eatery on Friday when Jerniman’s opened their restaurant inside the refurbished gas station building along Irvin Garrish Highway.
Clayton Jernigan waited on customers and bused tables while his business partner, Drew Batts, cooked in the refurbished kitchen.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” Batts said on Saturday as the burgers and barbeque sizzled.
The grill has been more than a year in the making.
“We bought (the property) Aug. 1 (2019) and the building was ours on Sept. 1,” Batts said in an interview on Monday.
Then Hurricane Dorian hit Sept. 6, inundating and upending the island.
Since then, Jernigan and Batts have had to rebuild their building and the campground from the devastating flooding just like the rest of the island.
For now, the restaurant has in-person seating at only five four-seat tables and five seats at the bar, Batts explained. That’s because of septic system restrictions, he said.
“What we serve we can get people in and out fast,” he said. Those menu items are hamburgers, hot dogs, fried and barbecue chicken, barbecue, side dishes and more.
As it gets going, Batts said he will have specials, such as fried pork tenderloin or steaks.
Drew Batts is the head cook in Jerniman’s. Photo: C. Leinbach
Lots of meat. Well, it’s a “man thing.”
Batts said he wanted to have a place where you could use your “man card,” and the name reflects that: half of Jernigan’s name and “man card,” or Jerniman’s.
Batts got the cooking bug when years ago he worked at Parker’s in Wilson, known for its barbecue.
“I got a lot of practice eating,” he quips about graduating to cook, but then explains that he did a lot of catering work and kitchen work with them. “I like cooking for lots of people,” he said. “It’s like cooking for friends. I like to be busy.”
Hungry islanders and visitors are encouraged to call for take-out orders for breakfast, lunch and dinner at 252-928-0308.
The lunch and dinner menu is the same and the breakfast menu offers “a big country breakfast,” steaks, pancakes, biscuits and gravy and more.
Jerniman’s is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 a.m. and Sunday at 8 a.m., All until about 7 p.m. The restaurant is closed Wednesdays.
When they get their beer license, they will have an appetizer menu from 7 to 11 p.m.
Jerniman’s has two pool tables. Photo: C. Leinbach
As soon as the easing of COVID-19 restrictions allow, the Jerniman group will open “The Breeze” nightclub and bar next door in the former Gaffer’s.
Jamie Jernigan, Clayton’s wife, said that they want to be open 100 percent—not partially– and hope that may be by the end of April when the band Steel Country Express is booked for that night and April 24.
Since it will be designated as a private nightclub, all those entering will have to join for $1.
“We will have your ID on file,” she said. So patrons won’t need to remember their cards.
The Breeze is named in honor of Jamie’s father who for many years had a bar of the same name in Wilson.
And the signature drink will be “The Breeze,” she said, also a drink her father created.
“It tastes like cotton candy,” she said.
It, as well as all drinks made with mixes will be made with home-made juices, no pre-made mixes.
“Our main goal is to keep a safe place for everyone,” she said. “Keep it classy and in a safe environment.”
Hours will be 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
The Breeze nightclub hopes to open by the end of April. Photo: C. Leinbach
Sunshine Week was launched in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors — now News Leaders Association — and has grown into an enduring initiative to promote open government.
By Paul Mauney and Bill Moss It’s Sunshine Week across America, March 14 to 20, a time when the public’s right to see government records and attend government meetings — in order to hold government officials accountable to the people who employ them — is traditionally celebrated.
So it’s an especially good time to take stock of where the people’s right to know about government stands in our state. Unfortunately, for as long as anyone can remember, North Carolinians have been forced to suffer under the weight of one of the worst public records laws in the country.
For more than 50 years, transparency of North Carolina government has been badly hindered by the lack of public access to arguably the most important government records, those surrounding the hiring, promotion, suspension, demotion, termination or discipline of state and local government employees. And yet public access to these records — vital to holding public officials from teachers to law enforcement officers accountable— is guaranteed by the law in the states surrounding North Carolina and about 35 others.
This sad state of public affairs could change, thanks to a bill soon to be filed in the North Carolina General Assembly by Senators Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick) and Norm Sanderson (R-Craven).
The bill, titled The Government Transparency Act of 2021, would open the door ever so slightly to public viewing of the reasons for terminating, promoting, suspending, demoting or disciplining a government employee. From our perspective, it is a sea change long overdue, and we strongly support the bill.
In an odd twist of thinking on the subject, other General Assembly members are preparing to file a bill at the urging of NC Attorney General Josh Stein to continue the culture of secrecy surrounding government employee misconduct records. We are told this would be accomplished principally by creating a pair of databases containing law enforcement disciplinary and use-of-force incident records that law enforcement agencies would see, but not the public.
The idea behind the Stein bill is the polar opposite of government transparency. These state criminal justice sector databases would be created under the guise of criminal justice reform that is misleadingly claimed to improve visibility of records on wayward law enforcement officers. But by barring the public from seeing these records, something routinely done in 40 states, North Carolinians would remain in the dark about the records of those who police their streets and manage their state and local law enforcement agencies. Stein’s is a secrecy bill, not a transparency bill.
At the end of the day, what is our government trying to hide in refusing to make public the reasons for disciplining, suspending, demoting or even firing government officials? Instead of inspiring public confidence in government, blocking public access to government personnel records of this kind simply creates suspicion. And that erodes our public institutions, which are staffed by and large with principled and dedicated people.
We are thankful the Republicans in the North Carolina Senate who are behind the real government transparency bill have come to understand that the culture of secrecy that underlies government employee personnel records in our state is public policy that needs to change. The current policy prevents all North Carolinians from being equipped with information necessary to separate good teachers and law enforcement officers from bad ones.
But the winds may be shifting with the Republican Senators’ bill, one that unlike the criminal justice “reform” bill backed by AG Stein, is charting a course for renewing the public’s confidence in government through real transparency. It’s high time.
Paul Mauney
Paul Mauney is regional president of Adams Publishing Group’s news publications in North Carolina and serves as President of the North Carolina Press Association
Bill Moss is publisher and editor of Hendersonville Lightning and hendersonvillelightning.com, a digital and print edition newspaper serving western North Carolina and is Chair of the North Carolina Press Association’s Legislative Committee.
Roy Huntley with his message in a bottle. Photo by Ann Huntley
By Connie Leinbach
Flotsam bottles containing messages are one of those treasures that beachcombers dream of finding.
Roy and Ann Huntley of Raleigh, who have a house on Ocracoke and visit frequently, got a longtime wish when they found such a bottle on the beach last November.
“I mean, I was pretty excited,” Roy said. “I never found a message in a bottle before. It had a big ole piece of paper in it and I got pretty excited that we were gonna rescue somebody somewhere.”
The Huntleys took the 12-ounce green bottle home and tried to remove the screw top. But that didn’t work and though they didn’t want to, they broke the bottle to retrieve the message.
Condensation incursion had erased about three fourths of the message, Roy said.
But they persevered and figured out “Canada,” a town starting with “Br” and ending in “t,” and then deciphered “PEI” for Prince Edward Island.
Roy and Ann knew P.E.I. was small from their trip there in 1986 when they’d visited while camping in a Volkswagen van.
Ann suggested they try another tack—contact the local media.
They contacted “The Guardian,” a newspaper on P.E.I., and reporter Alison Jenkins contacted the couple.
The Huntleys sent her photos and after the story ran the community weighed in with clues. The day after the story ran the author of the message, a little girl Dani McCormack and her family were found, said Jenkins in an email.
Dani is now eight but was five when she threw the bottle into the water three years ago during a boating trip off the Naufrage Harbor, according to Jenkins’ story.
“We thought that bottle had been around for a few months,” Roy said.
The faded message from Prince Edward Island. Photo by Ann Huntley
But it was three years before it landed on Ocracoke’s beach.
If someone threw a message in a bottle into the ocean off the coast of maritime Canada and three years later it turned up on an Ocracoke beach, what route would it have taken?
Viewing graphics of Atlantic Ocean currents show it could have gone a variety of ways—over toward England, down along Europe and Africa and back across the Atlantic to pick up the Gulf Stream and a ride north to Ocracoke.
Or, it could have attached to currents that go up and down along the Continental Shelf along the East Coast in the mid-Atlantic and south Atlantic bights, said Dr. Michael Muglia, an oceanographer with the Coastal Studies Institute in Wanchese.
Cape Hatteras is the dividing line of water going north and south, he said.
“If we get a north blow, eventually that Hatteras flow will make its way to Ocracoke,” he said.
Soon after learning about Dani, the Huntleys called the girl.
“I asked her how did she get the idea (to throw the bottle in the ocean) and she said, ‘My mom made me do it,’” Ann said.
Ann learned that Dani, who’s in third grade, loves to read.
“So, we sent her two of my favorite books,” Ann said. “’Taffy of Torpedo Junction’ and ‘Misty of Chincoteague’ just to give her a flavor of our beach.”
Oh, and a Cape Hatteras National Seashore map of Ocracoke.
So, Roy and Ann might not have rescued someone from a desert island, but they added to the friendship between the United States and Canada.
A graphic depiction of the ocean currents off Ocracoke, by Dana Savidge.
Hurricane Isabel over the Outer Banks,September 18,2003. NOAA photo
By Peter Vankevich
No official statements regarding how active this year’s Atlantic hurricane season have yet been made, but changes may be forthcoming.
For more than 50 years, the official start of the Atlantic Hurricane season is June 1 and ends on Nov. 30, but next year it may begin earlier.
This follows from a December discussion at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) hurricane conference on starting the season earlier. The reason is that tropical level storms have formed in May in each of the past six years.
Last year, Tropical Storm Arthur formed on May 16, followed by Tropical Storm Bertha on May 27.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), an agency under the auspices of the United Nations and which controls all the major storm names worldwide, will have the final say and will discuss the potential change for 2022 at its spring meeting.
In any event, the National Hurricane Center said it will begin issuing Tropical Weather Outlooks in May, weeks before the official start of hurricane season. This is an important notice for those who live on the Outer Banks and along the Atlantic Coast.
Tropical storms that originate in the Atlantic Basin—the area encompassing the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico — and that reach sustained wind speeds of 39 mph get a name. Any storm that reaches a sustained wind speed of 74 mph on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale qualifies as a hurricane. As intensities rise, they are classified up to Category 5 if they reach winds of 157 mph and over.
Here is the list of the 2021 storm names in alphabetical order. The letters Q, U, X, Y and Z, which have few common names, are not used. Ana Bill Claudette Danny Elsa Fred Grace Henri Ida Julian Kate Larry Mindy Nicholas Odette Peter Rose Sam Teresa Victor Wanda The names selected come from one of six rotating alphabetic lists of 21 names. So, this list will be used again in 2027 with the possible exceptions that some storm names will be retired and replaced with other names.
If this year, as in 2020, the names are all used, storms will be named in the order of the Greek alphabet. Last year, the following letters were used: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta and Iota.
Should there be even more for this year, then Kappa, Lambda, Mu and Nu would follow.
The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the worst storm seasons — the most active and fifth most costly on record. Despite its name, the last, Hurricane Iota, was not a small or insignificant storm. It was the latest Atlantic hurricane to attain Category 5 intensity and only the second Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record to occur within the month of November. Iota caused severe damage to areas of Central America already reeling from devastation caused by Hurricane Eta two weeks earlier. The deadly 1932 Cuba hurricane was the first November Category 5 storm.
According to Hurricane Facts, the etymology of the word hurricane comes from the Taino Indigenous Caribbean word hurakán meaning “god of the storm.”
The Spanish took the word and added the names of patron saints on whose feast days the storms occurred. “Hurricane Santa Ana,” which struck Puerto Rico on July 26, 1825, is an example.
In addition to having saint names, prior to 1950, storms were frequently named for a location, year or even an object. Examples are the Great Colonial Storm of 1635, the Great Galveston Hurricane (1900), the Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 and Racer’s Hurricane (1837), which got its name from the Royal Navy ship “HMS Racer,” which encountered this storm in the northwestern Caribbean Sea.
Because they were not formalized, these older hurricanes have gone by various names. The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944 — one of the most powerful storms to ever strike the eastern United States and which is frequently compared with Hurricane Dorian (2019) as to its intensity and damage to Ocracoke Island — locally is referred to as the ’44 Storm.
For several years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Australians used various naming systems for tropical cyclones, but discontinued their efforts. The story goes that it got out of hand when the weatherman Clement Wragge started naming them after politicians he disliked.
The 1950 Atlantic hurricane season was the first year the National Weather Service gave official names for hurricanes but not tropical storms. The names were taken from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet, beginning with Able, Baker, Charlie, and so on. It was a highly active season with 16 tropical storms, 11 of which developed into hurricanes.
In retrospect, that may not have been the best system for naming hurricanes. Notable names were Hurricane Dog, Hurricane Jig, Hurricane How, Hurricane Item and, perhaps worst, Hurricane Love. Adding to the confusion, the same names and order were continued for 1951 and 1952.
Women’s names In 1953, the National Hurricane Center overhauled the system by creating an alphabetical list for Atlantic tropical storms that would change from year to year and would be exclusively women’s names. It is not official, but one speculated reason is the NHC took it from the habit of naval meteorologists, who named the storms after their wives or girlfriends.
There was no unanimous support for assigning women’s names only which led to many stereotypical clichés and descriptions of these storms in headlines and news reporting.
Efforts to change the naming system grew. In 1969, pushed by activist Roxcy Bolton, the National Organization for Women (NOW) passed a motion at its national conference “that a communication be sent to National Hurricane Center in Miami asking that hurricanes not be named exclusively female names.”
The naming system of using only women’s names in the Atlantic Basin continued until 1979. Juanita Kreps, the first woman to be Secretary of Commerce which oversees NOAA, urged that the name list, by then controlled by the WMO, have alternate men’s and women’s names. A year earlier, storms in the Eastern North Pacific, which get a separate list of names, began alternating gender names with the first male being the largely forgotten Tropical Storm Bud.
This naming change, which few even think about these days, generated both support and resistance and became part of the raging culture wars of the 70s and linked to the women’s liberation movement.
A critical article in the New York Times back then began with the pun “Hell hath no fury like a woman stormed.”
The Washington Post later cited a 1979 Houston Chronicle column. Here are some excerpts: Bob. Hurricane Bob. Utterly ridiculous. Like many seafarers who look south to the winds and tide of capricious fate, I am insulted and offended by this sell-out labeling of storms. “Bob” rather than “Barbara” or “Brenda” or “Betsy” typifies the lack of character that seems to be stifling the 70s. That decision, which shows a total void of tropic sensitivity and respect, was surely made in some landlocked office far removed from salt breeze and common sense. The sea is a “she.” Fisherman and sailors around the world know that. Boats and ships that ply the open currents are “shes.”
Retired names If you cannot find your name on a current hurricane list, there could be a reason.
When a hurricane is so destructive or costly, for reasons of sensitivity, the name is retired and no longer used, a decision made by the WMO Hurricane Committee.
Up to 2018, 89 names have been retired. In 2018, Both Florence and Michael, after causing extensive fatalities and damage from Florida north to Virginia, will be replaced with Francine and Milton on the 2024 list.
Decisions on retiring names from the 2019 and 2020 years were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be forthcoming and expect more.
