Update: The concert scheduled for Thursday evening has been canceled.
The Mipso band will perform at the Deepwater Theater this Thurday, 7:30 p.m. .
The North Carolina quartet is known for combining a traditional string band format with close harmony and a variety of modern influences.
They were popular performers at Ocrafolk a few years ago and played in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in 2015.
State tournament action for the Ocracoke Dolphins begins today as both teams enter the first round of the 2017 1A basketball championships.
The Lady Dolphins (15-11) travel to Franklin County today to take on the Louisburg Warriors (15-8). Senior Sydney Austin is averaging 23 points and 14 rebounds per game.
The boys’ varsity team (10-16) will have their work cut out for them as they take on the Spring Creek Gators (20-6) in a neutral setting, Seven Springs,in Wayne County, at 7 p.m. The Dolphins top scorers this season are junior Liam Caswell 21 points per game and senior Matteus Gilbert, 12 points.
The Lady Dolphins game will be broadcast at 6 p.m. by WOVV (90.1 FM and online: wovv.org). School Principal Walt Padgett will call the game.
The boys’ middle team won the division championship on Feb. 8 defeating the Columbia Wildcats, 54-33.
In addition to Landrum and Van Nostrand, Gloria is survived by three sons, David A. Van Nostrand, Allan F. Van Nostrand and Russell L. Van Nostrand; a sister, Joan G. Smith; grandchildren, Sarah, Meg and Daniel Van Nostrand; a great-granddaughter, Winnifried Henke; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins, who cherished her dearly.
The family would like to express their deepest appreciation to Gloria’s devoted caregivers, who loved and honored her: Beverly Carthen, Pam Dickey, Diana Hill, Tanya Vega and Frances Foyah.
Expressions of sympathy: In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Crescent Hill Baptist Church, 2800 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206, or Hosparus, Advancement Department, 3532 Ephraim McDowell Drive, Louisville, KY 40205-3224.
For Ocracoke news, click here.
By Connie Leinbach
Hyde County announced today that it will contribute $70,000 to help fund the operating costs of the proposed Ocracoke tram system in conjunction with the advent of passenger ferry service in 2018.
“In response to legitimate concerns that were expressed at last week’s meeting of the Occupancy Tax Board (OTB), we have decided to reduce our request by $70,000 and to make up the difference from the Hyde County budget,” said Ocracoke Commissioner Tom Pahl in a press release. “We are aware of the needs of other groups and organizations that depend on Occupancy Tax funds and we don’t want to hurt any of those groups. By reducing our request and spreading it out over two years, we are hoping the Occupancy Tax Board will be able to find the necessary funding for all of these critical needs.”
Hyde County had asked the OTB on Feb. 7 to fund the first-year operations cost of $216,000 for a three-vehicle village tram system. They had recommended that the board set aside $108,000 from the 2017-2018 budget and appropriate the same amount from the 2018-2019 budget.
Last June, the N.C. General Assembly appropriated $3.6 million to the Ferry Division to activate the passenger ferry, and the N.C. Ferry Division applied for and received a Federal Lands Access Program grant of about $7 million that would include the building of one passenger ferry and cover the costs of a village tram system, including infrastructure on Hatteras and Ocracoke.
At the Feb. 7 meeting, attended by close to 80 islanders, Pahl, Hyde County Manager Bill Rich and others hired by the state to activate the passenger ferry, explained that a free tram system would supplement the other modes of transportation visitors arriving at the Silver Lake docks would need for their island visit.
Rich said the grant package from state and local sources covers the capital expense for this project, but not the operational costs of tram service.
Two of the trams would circulate around the village and the third one would take people from the north end of the village to the Lifeguard beach.
In making the request, Rich said Ocracoke needs some buy-in for these new transportation proposals, but some in the audience had asked where was Hyde County’s buy-in.
“It was a very legitimate concern,” Pahl said in an interview. “After that meeting, I said we need skin in the game.”
After conferring with Rich and the other four county commissioners, they agreed to find $70,000 in Hyde’s coffers to reduce the total request.
Pahl said the OTB can take this number, subtract it from the $216,000 total, and then decide to fund tram operations for $73,000 for each of the requested two years, or subtract the $70,000 another way.
“This was something we (the Hyde commissioners) all worked together on,” Pahl said about the county’s offer. “We didn’t want Hyde County to keep all of the reward of a successful economy on Ocracoke. We need to get through year one of this operation and have a satisfactory endeavor,” he said. “Then we’ll have to put our heads together and deal with where does the funding come from.”
Rich thinks the reward from the addition of passenger ferry service will speak for itself.
“Once this thing gets going, the increase in revenue to the businesses of Ocracoke and to the county will easily justify this expense,” Rich said about the tram service. “In fact, I don’t see it as an expense as much as an investment.”
Pahl stressed that the passenger ferry addresses Ocracoke’s loss of visitors since the inauguration of the long ferry route (of about an hour) running since late 2013 between Hatteras and the north end of Ocracoke.
This longer route was found after Hurricanes Irene (2011) and Sandy (2012) caused more shoaling in the Hatteras Inlet largely filling in the short route (about 40 minutes) that historically had been used between islands.
“Here’s a benefactor saying I have $9 million to help you solve this economic problem,” he said about the grant package. “They’re just looking for some buy-in. Now Hyde County’s part of the buy-in. I think we should support the tram.”
Moreover, the addition of a passenger ferry does not preclude recreating the short (or shorter) route, he said.
“This (passenger ferry) doesn’t meant that can’t happen,” Pahl said. “Dredging come from other piles of money from a different group of decision-makers who are plodding along.”
In addition to Hyde’s buy-in for tram service, Pahl said county officials agreed to include a plan for the construction of public restrooms somewhere central to the village as a part of the continued funding which will be required starting the second year of the operation of the tram system.
“Several people raised the question of public restrooms at the meeting and it is something that the study addressed, but was included in the infrastructure proposal only at the new passenger ferry terminal and not in the village,” Pahl said.
County officials will seek funding to keep the tram in permanent operation, and along with those operating funds, they will seek revenue to build public restrooms.
According to Rich, those funds may come from a variety of sources including adding an additional 2 percent to the occupancy tax, or adding a quarter percent additional sales tax, or finding other grant money.
The Occupancy Tax fund is derived from a 3 percent tax on top of the 6.75 percent sales tax on all lodging nights purchased, both hotels and rental homes. Yearly receipts generally amount to about $440,000, although in the 2015 fiscal year, total receipts were $453,780 and last year they were $454,535. The county receives 10 percent of that total to administer the fund.
Each year, the OTB decides how to dole out the fund money to island nonprofits from their grant proposals.
To read about the Feb. 7 Occupancy Tax Board meeting, click here.
For Ocracoke news, click here.
By Peter Vankevich
The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Commission (DMF) voted in Wilmington yesterday (Feb. 16) to approve a petition by the N.C. Wildlife Federation that would drastically restrict shrimp trawling in North Carolina coastal waters. The vote was five to three with one abstention.
This vote won’t affect shrimp fishermen immediately, but if this rule–or parts of it–goes into effect, several hurdles will be necessary to clear, including legal compliance issues and an economic impact study, which could take up to two years before any implementation.
The restrictions in the petition, which include limiting shrimping to three days per week, designating all coastal fishing waters not otherwise designated as nursery areas (including the Atlantic Ocean out to three miles from shore) as special secondary nursery areas; and defining the type of shrimping gear and how it may be used, were widely opposed by the commercial fishing industry, fish houses, restaurants and the Hyde County commissioners who in their January monthly meeting had unanimously approved a resolution opposing it. An extended public comment period preceded the DMF’s vote.
Hyde County’s resolution notes that shrimp trawlers are small, family-owned businesses that sell to seafood dealers, which benefits the local economy—both on the mainland and Ocracoke. The fear is that these changes will force shrimp trawlers out of business.
Hyde County manager Bill Rich, who attended the two-day meeting, voiced his disappointment.
“I’m still in shock about it,” he said. “I can’t believe that they voted on it after what I heard here and earlier in New Bern. There was a wonderful presentation on why the petition was flawed and it was completely ignored. I knew there were three votes, but there were two commissioners that didn’t say one word during the two days and they voted for the petition.”
Even with yesterday’s vote, Rich was skeptical that it would be implemented.
“I don’t believe the petition will be enacted in its present form, but there may be new rules and regulations that will come out of it,” he said.
Ocracoke’s county commissioner, Tom Pahl, echoed Rich’s sentiment.
“It’s terrible; extremely disappointing,” he said. “I attended the public hearing (Jan. 17) in New Bern and all five advisories committees were against it, and I think they were irresponsible in not taking their advice.”
In Pahl’s testimony last month, he noted:
“Bycatch reduction is the issue here, and it is a legitimate concern,” he said. “Again, no one thinks this is a bad idea, but don’t destroy a whole division of the North Carolina commercial fishing business when there are viable options yet to be implemented.”
The DMF is responsible for the stewardship of the state’s marine and estuarine resources. Its jurisdiction encompasses all coastal waters and extends to three miles offshore. Agency policies are established by the nine-member Marine Fisheries Commission and the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. North Carolina is a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
Voting for the petition were Mark Gorges, Brad Koury, Chuck Laughridge, Rick Smith, Mike Wicke. Opposing it were Sammy Corbett, chairman, Janet Rose and Alison Willis. Joe Shute abstained.
The petition, filed by the N.C. Wildlife Federation, was supported by N.C. Coastal Conservation Association, which describes itself as a community of recreational anglers working to protect our marine resources for future generations to experience and enjoy.
The petition proposes expanding special secondary nurseries that are essential to juvenile development for numerous recreational and commercially valuable species in North Carolina waters, especially citing weakfish, spot and Atlantic croaker. According to the petition, it is estimated that for every pound of shrimp harvested in North Carolina waters more than four pounds of non-target catch, including juvenile fin fish, are discarded.
Sadness was part of this meeting. Jimmy Nobles, who owned a seafood market in Greenville, collapsed soon after giving an impassioned speech against the petition and later died of a heart attack.
Megan Spencer, of Ocracoke and who hails from generations of Hyde County watermen, attended the meeting and has been an activist in opposing the restrictions, including creating an online petition on change.org that drew more than 7,500 supporters.
“I found it disheartening,” she said. “There was not one shred of economic evidence as what the damage this petition would do.”
N.C. Catch, a group that focuses on educating consumers on the importance of buying local seafood and which supports commercial fishing, said this petition process will be a long haul.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint, and everyone will need to remain engaged on this issue for the duration of the rulemaking process,” it posted on its Facebook page.
For Ocracoke news, click here.
By Connie Leinbach
Acting Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon said Monday he thinks the advent of passenger ferry service in 2018 will be a shot in the arm to Ocracoke’s economy.
“There are no boats hidden out there; that’s all we have,” Dixon said during the monthly meeting Feb. 13 organized by Hyde County with Ferry Division officials. “This is something I really think is going to help you guys.”
Dixon was named interim director following the departure of Ed Goodwin Jan. 31.
“We want to restore your service to what it was in 2012,” Dixon said. “This is something that’s achievable. But there’s no magic solution to the problem we’re dealing with.”
Dixon was referring to the long ferry route (of about an hour) that has been running since 2013 between Hatteras and the north end of Ocracoke. This longer route was found after Hurricanes Irene (2011) and Sandy (2012) caused more shoaling in the Hatteras Inlet largely filling in the short route (about 30 minutes) that historically had been used between islands.
The long route goes farther west into the Pamlico Sound in a natural channel, and because of the length, the Ferry Division makes fewer runs resulting in fewer vehicles per day to the island.
The passenger ferry feasibility study conducted by Volkert in June of 2015 and released last year concluded that because of the long wait times in peak season for a ferry at the Hatteras docks, about 9 percent of the vehicles waiting left the queue.
“This loss of ridership directly results in lost visitor spending on Ocracoke,” the study says, noting that since the short route was closed, island businesses have reported about a 20 percent downturn in revenue. That study can be viewed here.
As a result of islanders’ concerns, the Ferry Division proposed adding passenger ferry service from Hatteras to Silver Lake. Last year, the North Carolina General Assembly appropriated $3.6 million towards this new option, and the Ferry Division received a Federal Land Access Program grant of about $6 million to fund the building of two such ferries as well as infrastructure on Hatteras and Ocracoke, including tram service. See more on the passenger ferry and a the request for tram service operations costs here.
“There’s no magic solution to the problem we’re dealing with,” Dixon continued. “I understand it’s a change, but if we’re running more boats over here it’s more than what we have now.”
He stressed that he wants Ocracoke’s buy-in.
“I’m not happy with the status quo, but we need your participation and support,” he said. “I’m all in favor of more boats to Ocracoke. You should get behind (the passenger ferry) and get excited about it.”
Dixon said the addition of the passenger ferry to the mix of access to the island is important for the island’s future.
“It’s gonna take a concerted effort,” he said about the passenger ferry. “What have we got to lose? It will help with the unmet demand. We can’t plan on our future to count on the short route.”
Dixon said the passenger ferry is in the final stages of design and because some initial costs estimates are about $1 million more than what they expected, they are refining the bids. They can’t seek bids until the Coast Guard approves the plans, and those plans will involve a catamaran-style of ferry, preferably powered by water jets.
He said four different boat-building firms are interested, one of which is Armstrong in Swansboro.
Dixon encouraged islanders with questions about the passenger ferry to talk to Hyde County Manager Bill Rich.
Dixon discussed the shoaling problem near the Ocracoke terminal, which is called the south dock. the Hatteras terminal is the north dock.
“We finished dredging at the south dock in December and it filled right in,” he said. “This is getting worse and worse and it’s not lasting like it used to. Water is flowing through that place like a river.”
Thus, the dredged area has filled back in.
“The mouth of the south dock is a problem,” he said.
He met with the Park Service about putting “rip-rap” where the spoil is—to help the dredging hold–and the Park Service is working on getting permits for this.
Rip-rap is an island term for busted up chunks of concrete used for building jetties.
Additionally, the areas of the channel along Hatteras island also continue to have shoaling problems. Years ago, Hatteras island extended farther south and that land protected the inlet making it smaller and deeper. In the last 16 years, the Hatteras Inlet has gotten wider making the navigable water shallower and more shoaled.
“You’re fighting mother nature,” he said. “We’re in full agreement in restoring the short route but we don’t know if it will work.”
He said the Army Corps of Engineers is continuing to look at the inlet and doing a study on creating some other, shorter route.
Dixon said he would share with Ocracoke the Corps’ findings.
In the meantime, there may be times when shoaling and fog prompt captains to cancel ferry runs. Twitter is the best means of learning that quickly, versus a notice on the electronic sign at the north end of the village, which takes an hour to be set up with notifications, he said
“Fog is a problem and can come and go quickly,” he said.
Some of the 16 islanders who attended the meeting were interested in the number of vehicle ferries available for service this year.
Dixon said there are seven in the fleet at Hatteras. Six of those make the daily runs with one spare, and they will be ready by the time the season starts, Dixon said.
“We have an efficient system with six scheduled,” said Chris Bock, Hatteras Inlet operations superintendent, who also attended the meeting. In the peak summer months, the ferries are scheduled to run every 15 to 20 minutes.
As for questions about ferry boats being in dry dock in the summer, Dixon said they try not to do that and that he will be glad to bring the dry dock schedule to the next monthly meeting.
At a meeting in the fall last year where Amy Srail asked then-director Goodwin for a copy of the dry-dock schedule, Goodwin had declined and suggested she could file a Freedom of Information request for it.
“I will answer all of your questions,” Dixon said Monday. “You need to hear it from me.”
Dixon also announced that the Swan Quarter ferry will have Wi-Fi this summer in a pilot program. There was a trial period in 2012 on that ferry, but was discontinued. The technology has improved significantly since then, he said.
“Initially, it won’t cost for customers,” he said. “We need proof of the concept, then we’ll figure out the cost.”
Below is a time-lapse video Dixon shared showing the distance between the end of Hatteras island to Ocracoke when it was three-fourths of a mile wide to the two miles wide it is today.
By Connie Leinbach
Islanders had lots of questions at an Occupancy Tax board meeting Feb. 7 about Hyde County’s request to fund operations costs of $216,000 for the first year of village tram service in 2018 in conjunction with the addition of passenger ferry service to the island.
The board did not make a decision but will do so at a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in the Community Center.
Chairman Bob Chestnut said that while the meeting will be open, it will be a working session for us and there will not be
an opportunity for questions or comments from the audience.
At this point, if someone wants to be heard they should email their comments to Chestnut and he will pass them along to the board prior to the meeting.
Chestnut’s email is bob@surfocracoke.com.
At the Feb. 7 meeting, Bill Rich, Hyde County manager, formally asked the board to set aside $108,000 in both the 2016 to 2017 and 2017 to 2018 fiscal years for the project.
The passenger ferry is expected to begin runs sometime in 2018, and asking for half of this total amount this fiscal year and half next would “soften the blow” on the Occupancy Tax funds, Rich said.
Of the total amount, $123,000 would be for salaries and wages; $61,000 would be for the direct costs of three 23-passenger trams, such as maintenance, fuel, training and insurance; and $32,000 would be for indirect costs.
None of these were broken down for the audience, but the Occupancy Tax Board members received a
breakdown.
Last June, the N.C. General Assembly appropriated $3.6 million to the Ferry Division to activate the passenger ferry, and the N.C. Ferry Division applied for and received a Federal Lands Access Program grant of about $7 million that would include the building of one passenger ferry and cover the costs of a village tram system, including infrastructure.
However, Tom Pahl, Ocracoke’s county commissioner, explained that the county would be on the hook to pay for the operating costs of a tram system.
Hyde County would lease the trams from the NCDOT. Beverly Paul, director of the nonprofit Hyde County Transit, said they are looking into whether the trams should be electric or gas and where they would be housed.
“Once (the passengers) arrive, they need a way to get around the island,” said Will Letchworth, a transportation engineer with Volkert, who did the passenger ferry feasibility study. Arriving passengers could choose the tram or other means of getting around the island.
Two passenger ferries making several round trips a day from Hatteras to Silver Lake could potentially bring 500 people, he said. In addition to another terminal at the ferry dock, some sidewalk improvements around the curve on Irvin Garrish Highway near the Berkley Manor would be required.
Letchworth said his firm surveyed 4,000 people at the ferry docks in 2015 and 90 percent were day trippers wanting to shop and go to the beach.
“There’s a demand for people in their cars to use (the tram),” he said.
A critical aspect for this first year would be that tram service be free.
Two trams would circulate around the village, and one would be an express to the Lifeguard Beach from Howard’s Pub.
Rich explained that the entire grant package from state and local sources covers the capital expense for two passenger ferries, infrastructure on Hatteras and Ocracoke and tram service on Ocracoke, but not the operational costs of said tram service.
“We always assumed operation costs would not be part of the grants,” Rich said. “Tourism, agriculture and fishing are our main industries in Hyde County and this is our effort to make tourism more important than it is,” Rich said.
Two of the 23-passenger trams would circulate around the village and the third one would take people from the north end of the village to the Lifeguard beach.
The idea is to have the tram be free and open to any and all who want to hop on and hop off.
“Locals going to work could hop on,” said Claire Brinkley, a transit planner, who was one of several others in attendance. “The best use of public money is to make it available for everyone.”
“What if others non on the passenger ferry clog it up?” said Sue Dayton.
“I hope it gets overused,” said Alan Sutton, owner of Tradewinds Tackle.
Some islanders were concerned about the stops along the proposed route, most of which are narrow streets with no sidewalks, and would have visitors standing around in peoples’ yards waiting for trams, but Letchworth and Pahl said the route could be further discussed.
A proposed stop at Springer’s Point would cause traffic congestion and people milling around in an area that has no space for people to wait.
“I don’t think it needs to go down Loop Road,” said islander Debbie Leonard after the meeting.
A couple of islanders asked about funding for subsequent years, but Rich said he didn’t know about that.
“We think this will sell itself,” he said. “If sales tax (revenues) goes up like we think, we won’t need Occupancy Tax.”
The Occupancy Tax fund is derived from a 3 percent tax on top of the 6.75 percent sales tax on all lodging nights purchased, both hotels and rental homes. Yearly receipts generally amount to about $440,000, although in the 2015 fiscal year, total receipts were $453,780 and last year they were $454,535. The county receives 10 percent of that total to administer the fund.
Once you set aside the reserve, Chestnut said there’s only $365,000 to fund all of the projects seeking money.
“What’s plan B?” he asked. “What if we don’t give all (of the request)?”
Pahl said he would follow the Occupancy Tax Board’s recommendation.
“It’s not my intention to override the Occupancy Tax Board,” he said. He was referring to the fact that the Hyde Board of Commissioners has the authority to not accept or override any spending recommendations by the Occupancy Tax board.
Earl Pugh Jr, chairman of the Hyde County Board Commissioners, concurred with Pahl.
“Ocracoke Occupancy Tax is county money, but it’s for Ocracoke,” said Darlene Styron, owner of the Sweet Tooth and a former Hyde County commissioner. “Why can’t the county put some money into this?”
Stephanie O’Neal, one of the Occupancy Tax Board members agreed and suggested that the county also look into other sources of funding.
Pahl said this idea hadn’t been part of the budget but could be part of the discussion.
Rich added that the state is looking for community to have some buy-in.
“Sure, it’s a risk, but it’s a darn good one,” he said.
Among the concerns islanders had was that these trams would cause more street congestion in the already-congested summer months. What if the wind picks up and the ferries can’t run? What if a passenger ferry breaks down?
Jimmy Jackson noted that a village trolley in the 1990s created traffic problems.
A few made comments about the lack of public restrooms in the village except for at the NPS Visitors Center and the Lifeguard Beach.
Kari Styron said it seemed like a lot of money to spend for just a few months.
Letchworth said the passenger ferry would run in the high season, from May to September as would the trams.
Kris Noble, assistant Hyde County manager and county planner, added that they are looking into what else the trams could be used for in the community, such as shuttling people to games at Community Park and around the village for Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree.
Elizabeth Dyer, who moved to the island a few years ago, said that as a visitor for decades she would have loved to have had something like this proposed tram.
“You will make a space for visitors to come together,” she said. “It will be a great thing to circulate. It’s a great idea.”
Also attending the meeting was Ed Timoney, the passenger ferry project manager.
“Everyone has a lot of good questions,” he said after the meeting, adding that a request-for-proposal should go out in April. “It’s a new undertaking for the NCDOT and for Ocracoke,” he continued. “There are a lot of issues Ocracoke has that have to be resolved. There’s a lot of interest in the community. A lot want to see their community succeed.”
.
The monthly Ocracoke Ferry Meeting will be today, Feb. 13, 2017, 1 p.m. at the Ocracoke Community Center 999 Irvin Garrish Highway. The public is invited to attend and ask questions.
By Peter Vankevich
The late Leonard C. Meeker had a long, distinguished career in public service, diplomacy and social justice law. He served as the Legal Adviser to the U.S. State Department under President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1969 and as Ambassador to Romania 1969 to 1973.
His first visit to Ocracoke was in 1952 with longtime friend,
Charles Runyon. After he retired, he lived full-time on Ocracoke and was active in the community, passing away on Nov. 29, 2015 at the age of 98.
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 2012, Meeker gave a standing-room-only presentation titled “President Kennedy and Cuba” at the Ocracoke School and Public Library.
During the crisis, he was serving as the acting legal adviser to the U.S. State Department, He presented his views in what he characterized as a “tense meeting” on Oct. 19, 1962, attended by the Kennedy administration’s top officials — including Dean Rusk, Robert McNamara, Robert Kennedy, McGeorge Bundy, C. Douglas Dillon, Paul Nitze, Theodore Sorensen and Dean Acheson.
The lecture can be heard here.
Meeker graduated from Harvard Law School in 1940 and joined the Army in 1941 and discharged as a first lieutenant in 1946. During his period in the Army he worked in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the wartime intelligence agency.
One of his assignments was traveling throughout China to assess the impact should the communists assume power. This is the second lecture he gave on Oct. 22, 2013 at the Ocracoke Library that recounts his visit to China as the communist movement was taking place entitled Two Chinas.
Listen:
For more information on Leonard Meeker, click here
For Ocracoke news, click here.
For Ocracoke news, click here.
Traducido por Alfredo Contreras
To read in English, click here
La comunidad Latina de Ocracoke es presentada en la edición de febrero de la revista Nuestra Revista Estatal.
El reportaje, por parte de Louise Flynn, muestra como la comunidad de Ocracoke ha acogido a los vecinos Latinos, y especialmente refleja el primer festival Latino que se llevó a cabo el pasado Noviembre.
Dicho reportaje incluye entrevistas con Alfredo “Freddy” Contreras, Eduardo Chávez, dueño del puesto de comida Mexicana Eduardo’s, y a David Tweedie, quien ayudo a organizar el festival Latino.
El coeditor del periódico Observer, Peter Vankevich, quien mientras era gerente de la biblioteca de Ocracoke entre los años 2012 y 2014, superviso un programa tutorial entre isleños queriendo aprender español y latinos queriendo aprender Inglés.
