NPS Facilities Reopen After Government Shutdown Ends
The brief federal government shutdown ended Monday night with the passing of a bill that reinstated federal funding until Feb. 8.
All National Park Services have reopened to the public. Online services. such as ORV permit purchases and campground reservations, are back.
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Staff report
The Ocracoke Foundation plans to repave the Community Square parking lot this winter with completion expected before Easter.
Scott Bradley, Foundation president, said the project is possible thanks in part to a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation, Rocky Mount.
This project involves repaving the parking lot with pervious concrete—a costlier, environmentally significant option which absorbs rain water instead of draining into Silver Lake, improving the harbor’s water quality.
However, the new lot will lose four to six parking spots.
Golden LEAF has also granted the Foundation $175,820 to save, restore and improve the Will Willis Store and Fish House (ca. 1930), its support structure and surrounding dock, which were seriously compromised in October 2016 by Tropical Storm Hermine and Hurricane Matthew.
This building and dock is home to the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Exhibit, and refurbishing is planned to begin late in the 2018 off-season.
The Foundation also has cleared the final hurdles to soon proceed with the installation of waste water improvements at the Community Square. Repaving the parking lot is part of this phase of the Community Square Revitalization Project.
“This will allow the existing toilets to empty into updated septic, but there will not be enough capacity for public use beyond the current limited use by employees,” Bradley said.
Since 1918, Ocracoke’s Community Square has been the heart of the island’s maritime heritage, a welcoming gathering place for watermen, merchants, students, locals and tourists alike.
The Foundation purchased Community Square in November 2013 with two loans totaling $1.6 million, half each from The Conservation Fund (TCF) and a Private Donor.
“TCF was recently repaid, thanks to generous donations, large and small, from many of you, and a partnership loan from TowneBank,” Bradley said. “We will continue raising funds to secure debt free ownership over the next two years. This will enable us to direct rental income into a Community Fund to benefit island needs, and to preserve the five National Register Historic structures and two docks.”
To assist the Foundation in securing this iconic area of Ocracoke Village, donations may be sent to The Ocracoke Foundation, P.O. Box 1689, Ocracoke, NC 27960-1689.
Contact information is as follows: ocracokefoundation@gmail.com, and the website is here.
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Reprinted courtesy of the Outer Banks Voice
By Sam Walker on January 20, 2018
Wirght Brothers National Memorial Saturday. (Rob Morris)
Facilities at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site are closed until further notice in the wake of the federal government shutdown that went into effect at midnight on Saturday.
While all buildings, including offices, visitors centers, restrooms and off-road vehicle permit offices are closed, access to the parks themselves is not restricted.
“We’re doing everything we can to allow the public to utilize areas of the park that don’t require staffing this time of year,” said Outer Banks Group superintendent David Hallac.
That includes keeping the beaches, parking lots and access roads open, except for the gates at the front entrance of Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills.
“Because we collect fees with personnel at the gate, those will remain closed during the shutdown,” Hallac said.
During the shutdown, a limited number of law enforcement rangers will be patrolling the three Park Service sites. The rest of the staff, including Hallac, will be on furlough.
That means the national parks’ social media accounts and websites won’t be updated, and the campground reservation system through Recreation.gov has been disabled.
Unlike the last shutdown in October 2013, the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center will be able to stay open.
“We have a great operator at the fishing center, and because it doesn’t require any Park Service personnel to run there is no reason to close it,” Hallac said.
Congress returned Saturday to work on a compromise spending bill to fund the federal government.
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By Peter Vankevich
There are rare birds and then there are spectacular rare birds. One of the latter showed up recently on Ocracoke Island.
Islanders Heather Johnson and Claire Senseney last Tuesday (Jan. 16) came across a real beauty. That morning they decided to visit the beach at the north end.
“Just as we passed the Nature Trail, I caught a glimpse of this brightly green-colored bird right at the marsh line on the side of the road,” said Johnson.
“I just saw the craziest bird. We have to turn around,” she exclaimed and provided the following details:
“We did a U-turn and went back. There he was, just wading in the water eating things. We sat in the car watching him and taking a few pictures. He’s the most beautiful bird I’ve ever seen on this island–deep indigo purple head, bright iridescent green body, bright red and yellow beak. At first, he had his head tucked down into his shoulders. He actually looked kind of cold. Once I got out and slowly started moving toward him he perked his head up and I was surprised that he had a neck. He was cautiously watching me. He continued hunting for food and that’s when I saw his bright, long, yellow legs.
“We watched for a little while longer then drove to the Nature Trail parking lot so I could call Peter Vankevich. We also Googled to see if we could find out what species he was. Because he was so brightly colored I immediately thought he had to be tropical and was obviously lost. Then after seeing his legs I knew he was a wading bird of some kind. After a little searching and double checking–Google first told us it was an American Coot–we concluded that it was indeed a Purple Gallinule.”
Serendipitously, Pat Garber and Denny Dobbin were walking to the parking area after doing some birding from the dunes and beach. Johnson called to them to look at the bird. They spent a lot of time observing it and Dobbin also took some photos.
“I’ve seen this bird farther south, but never on Ocracoke,” Garber said.
A member of the rail family, the Purple Gallinule is related to the American Coot and the Common Gallinule both of which can be seen on Ocracoke, especially in the fall and winter. The Common Gallinule, formerly known as the Common Moorhen, is similar in appearance but its plumage is more subdued with a brown back, gray flanks, darker head and white in the wing and tail. See photo below for comparison.
In the South, the Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) is also called a swamp hen. It breeds in suitable habitat in the Lower Coastal Plain of Gulf states and along the Atlantic seaboard to South Carolina. One of the best locations to see this species is the Florida Everglades, which is where Dobbin has seen them.
Its typical habitat are freshwater ponds or impoundments with floating vegetation such as lily pads, and they forage by walking on the pads. They also can be seen in marshy vegetation.
In the past there have been a few records of breeding in Brunswick County in the southeastern are of the state.
The Birds of the Outer Banks checklist describes it as a rare or accidental visitor to the Outer Banks.
The Carolina Bird Club website–Birds of North Carolina–notes: The species has an odd proclivity of straying anywhere and practically any time, even appearing far out of normal habitat, such as in downtown areas.
Not surprising, with the extensive wetland losses from 1950s to 1970s in Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, there was a corresponding decline in this species, and habitat loss continues to add to its decline.
Johnson appreciated this extraordinary sighting.
“It was just hanging out on the side of the road and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” she said. “It reminded me of a time when I was in elementary school and a Bald Eagle had been seen hanging out at the Nature Trail, so my Mom pulled me out of school early that day to go look at him.”
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By Connie Leinbach
Stories abound about cats hitching inadvertent rides under vehicle hoods, but islander Kate McNally may have dibs on the first known chicken hitching a car ride.
McNally was on the 7 a.m. Swan Quarter ferry from Ocracoke Friday when a ferry worker knocked on her car window and asked, “Are you missing a chicken,” said her fiance William Howard.
Howard related the story since McNally, with their son, Hatton, 1, continued on their way to Greenville to visit family.
But none of their 15 hens had been invited.
“Ferry workers saw it crawl out onto the ferry deck then go back in under the wheel well,” Howard said about one member of their flock. “Kate didn’t know what she was going to do.”
When the Silver Lake docked at Swan Quarter, the hen didn’t make a run and ferry staffers got to work removing the left rear tire from McNally’s car, which was the last one in line.
“We had a whole crowd helping,” said Mitch Russell, chief engineer, talking about it at the Ocracoke dock. “We had to take everything out—guitars, baby supplies—and the baby stayed in the back seat.”
As the crew jacked up McNally’s car to get to the wheel, Hatton giggled the whole time, Howard said.
In short order, the workers were able to grab the Rhode Island red hen and gave her to McNally, who tucked the bird inside her coat.
“It didn’t squawk,” Russell said about the chicken. “She was tickled. Then she ducked her head inside Kate’s coat. I think she was embarrassed.”
While McNally, a singer-songwriter, continued on her journey, the ferry workers found a box in which to transport the hen back to the island on the 10 a.m. departure.
Ferry worker Walt O’Neal dropped the hen off at Howard’s house where she promptly dashed into the coop, Howard said.
Howard’s family has a long history of having chickens.
“My grandfather had them; my great-grandfather had them,” he said. “The island used to have all kinds of animals to eat. You needed them to survive.”
Howard was astonished and overjoyed at the ferry workers’ help.
“Those guys deserve a pat on the back,” Howard said as the Silver Lake left on its afternoon run across the Pamlico Sound. “I smiled the whole time. Those kinds of things don’t happen every day. It gives you faith in people.”
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By Connie Leinbach and Peter Vankevich
Ocracoke islanders woke up Thursday morning to a winter wonderland outside.
The storm, expected to impact most of the state, surprised many with the amount of snow.
Yesterday, anticipating a snowfall in the one- to two-, possibly three-inch range, Hyde County announced a delayed opening for government offices that were supposed to be noon today. By daylight, all offices were closed for the day as was Ocracoke School. Hyde County government offices will remain closed on Friday.
The NPS offices were closed Thursday but will open Friday. Ocracoke School begins at 11:45 a.m. and Hyde County offices will open at noon.
High winds in the 25 to 35 mph range started at nightfall, accompanying the precipitation that began as icy rain, caused Hatteras/Ocracoke route to be suspended.
That run resumed midday although the Cedar Island and Swan Quarter ferries did not run.
As the storm wound down, the National Weather Service reported at 5:30 a.m. this morning that Ocracoke village received 7.5 inches of snow. Mainland Hyde reported in several locations over 7 inches, and Southern Shores in Dare County had 9.5 inches. Further inland, up to a foot or more fell in parts of Chatham, Person, Durham and Orange Counties.
Nathan Spencer, owner of Coastal Gas in Coinjock, Currituck County, reported 7 inches of snow at his office and 5 to 6 inches of snow where he lives in Grandy.
It’s not every winter that Ocracoke gets a significant snowfall, and island youngsters wasted no time getting out into the below-freezing temperatures early this morning to get in some fun before the melt set in later in the day. Island kids typically use boogie boards to slide down the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department driveway.
“It’s too powdery,” said Jason Wells, who supervised his son, Griffin, and a few other kids around 9 a.m., but after making a path, they soon had some successful slides.
Island NCDOT workers spent the day scraping the slushy snow off island roads, on which a melt had begun by midday.
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Update 10 a.m.: The Hatteras/Ocracoke ferry route will resume this morning with a 11 a.m. departure from Hatteras and 12:30 p.m. from Ocracoke.
Update 7 a.m.: All ferry departures from Ocracoke, Cedar Island, and Swan Quarter have been suspended until further notice due to winter storm conditions. For more information please call 252-928-5311
Ocracoke School is closed today, Thurs., Jan. 18.
The NC Ferry Division announced that due to deteriorating conditions, the last ferries from Hatteras tonight (Wednesday) to Ocracoke will be at 6 and 7:30 p.m.
The last trips from Ocracoke to Hatteras tonight will be 6:15, 7:30 and 8: 45. Operations will be suspended at this time until conditions improve.
Hyde County Government Offices will open Thursday at noon.
The latest advisory (Wednesday at 3 p.m.) from the National Weather Service out of Morehead City announced that a coastal low will develop and bring a period of locally heavier snow to the Eastern N.C. coast tonight through the early morning hours with up to 2 to 4-inch totals. Heavier amounts are possible, especially on the Outer Banks.
With the precipitation, strong northerly winds and dangerous seas will quickly develop tonight as low pressure strengthens off the coast. Winds will peak at 25 to 35 mph tonight with gusts up to 45 mph. This will produce dangerous seas of 7 to 11 feet. Winds and seas will gradually subside late Thursday.
The NWS forecasters have high confidence in the event duration and expect that the precipitation will have cleared our coast by sunrise. Temperatures will not rise above freezing until after 11 a.m. Thursday, but sunny skies will create suitable melting conditions absent temperatures above freezing.
On Friday, temperatures will rebound into the 50s.
The Hyde County Emergency Services Department will continue to monitor the forecast and issue advisories as appropriate.
N.C. Hospitality & Pride customer service training from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension is now available to businesses in Hyde County.
The goal of this training is to recognize the role played by each employee in their organization and community and to improve customer service skills statewide.
Organized into five modules, this training now covers the importance of customer service, effective communication, host and guest relationships, local knowledge and community pride, and becoming civically active.
Businesses who previously participated in the training will find that 60 percent of the material is new.
Businesses interested in taking part in this training can contact Renee Harvey, extension area agent, Family and Consumer Sciences, at 252-926-4486, or renee_harvey@ncsu.edu.
County youth are invited to attend Youth High Tech Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, in the Davis Youth Center in Engelhard.
This free event will help area youth to become more familiar with career opportunities in technology. Speakers will talk on various technology topics, such as drone technology, medical technology, cryptocurrencies and more.
All area-wide youth are invited. A light lunch will be served. Those individuals or groups interested in attending are asked to call Keys Benston, Davis Youth Center’s board member, so that the group can prepare enough food.
Benston said donations of money and food will be appreciated and are tax deductible.
For more information, call Keys Benston at 919-917-6732.
Betsy Anna O’Neal Midgette, 70, of Beaufort County, died Sunday, Jan. 14.
Born Dec. 25, 1947, she was a daughter of the late Edward Carlson O’Neal Sr and Edna Styron O’Neal.
Although she was a lifelong resident of Ocracoke Island, due to declining health, Betsy lived with her son, Bradford Earl Midgette, Jr., in Bath, Beaufort County, for the last two years.
Betsy was known and loved by many, and her laughter will be missed. Betsy worked at the Island Inn most of her working life, and through those many years made some lifelong friends and touched many lives. She was a member of The Ocracoke United Methodist Church.
In addition to her son, she is survived by her granddaughter, Allyson Maye Midgette, and great-granddaughter, Makenzie Spruill; her grandsons, Thomas Midgette and Garrett Midgette.
Also, a brother, Edward Carlson O’Neal Jr and wife, Stella Spencer O’Neal; and nephews, Edward O’Neal III, Andy O’Neal and Albert O’Neal, and niece, Stephanie O’Neal and their families.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, in Ocracoke United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Betsy to Ocracoke United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 278, Ocracoke, NC 27960.
Twiford Funeral Home, Hatteras, is assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed online at www.TwifordFH.com.
