Hot Springs in Madison County. Photo from North Carolina’s Weather Authority Facebook page
RALEIGH: Gov. Roy Cooper is encouraging donations to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund to help communities recover from catastrophic damage caused by Tropical Storm Helene. “There is a massive effort underway to get help to the people of Western North Carolina including state and federal relief, but we know there will be additional needs,” Cooper said in a press release on Sunday. “If you’re able to give, please consider a donation to help North Carolinians as they clean up and recover from Helene.” To donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund, visit nc.gov/donate. Donations can also be mailed to: NC Disaster Relief Fund, 20312 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-0312. Or NC Disaster Relief Fund, c/o United Way of NC, 1130 Kildaire Farm Road, Suite 100, Cary NC 27511.
Donations made to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund will go to nonprofits working to meet the immediate needs of storm victims such as food and water, cleaning supplies and other emergency supplies. All of the donations made will go to disaster relief.
United Way of North Carolina is the fiscal agent for the Fund and will provide grants and reimbursement to nonprofits working in impacted communities.
“United Way of North Carolina is proud to partner with the Governor’s Office to manage the NC Disaster Relief Fund. We recognize the critical importance of delivering resources to communities for effective relief efforts. Together with the Governor’s Office, we are committed to ensuring that communities in western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene receive the support they need. This unprecedented situation calls for collective action to provide both immediate relief and long-term recovery assistance,” said Brittany Pruitt Fletcher, President and CEO of United Way of North Carolina.
Eligible non-profits can seek grants and reimbursement of up to $10,000 from the NC Disaster Relief Fund for efforts to meet immediate storm recovery needs via the United Way of North Carolina at https://www.unitedwaync.org/nc-disaster-relief-fund-helene.
Gail Covington. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
Gail Covington, a family nurse practitioner on Ocracoke, will retire at the end of December.
She made the decision after learning that her supervising physician also is retiring.
In North Carolina, nurse practitioners must have a supervising physician, and they can take 10 to 20 percent of her patient fees.
Her physician has not taken a fee, and a new one probably would, she said.
“And I don’t want to pass that on to my patients,” she said in a recent letter to them. “I’m definitely sorry to leave people on the lower Outer Banks without health care, especially after hours.”
In 2019, Covington was among the recipients of The Order of the Long Leaf Pine award, bestowed on persons who have made significant contributions to the state and their communities through their exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments.
Covington’s practice is Island Mobile Clinic.
As such, she travels to anyone’s home or business for consultation and treatment from Avon to Ocracoke—perhaps the most remote areas in the state.
Hurricane Helene, now Tropical Storm Helene, is battering Western North Carolina with record rain levels. The Outer Banks and nearby mainland are under a tornado warning until 6 pm.
High wind gusts and dangerous rip currents are in effect along with some showers and a possible thunderstorm on Friday afternoon.
Below are possible times for potential tornados and tornado sheltering guidelines
Bill Gilbert, right, hands over the keys to the Anchorage property to Bill Rich.
Text and photos by Connie Leinbach
After 27 years of owning and managing the Anchorage Inn & Marina, Bill Gilbert turned his dozens of keys over to islander Bill Rich on Aug. 28.
The Ocracoke landmark will become condos in a deal that closed on Aug. 27.
“Nothing’s changing with the footprint,” Rich said in an interview about the change in ownership, but there will be some improvements.
The big change is that all of the motel rooms are for sale as condos and each condo comes with a boat slip.
Condo owners will have the option to be in the “transient” program, in which they can rent either or both their condos and boat slips.
Of the 38 rooms (two of which are top-floor suites), Rich said 21 are under contract and after the sale is finalized all of these will be rented out as motel rooms.
Condos that will be in the rental program must stay pretty much the way they are to be rented, Rich said, although some aspects of the rooms will be upgraded, such as bathroom vanities, TVs and mattresses.
The Crown Hotel and Tourist Development Group in Wilmington will manage and market all of the condo and boat slip rentals and the owners’ association. Rich is handling the sales.
Bill Rich points out the Anchorage property.
Boat slips are available for anyone to rent by calling the marina or Crown.
Marina and hotel staffers are staying on board, Rich said, and all of the charter fishermen and other renters are remaining.
He just renewed a three-year lease with SmacNally’s, and Island Golf Carts has a one-year lease.
“I own the real estate, not the businesses,” Rich said.
As for the marina, Rich has gotten approval to enlarge the fueling dock about 20 feet into Silver Lake to be even with the pier behind Island Golf Carts so that large boats can pull in.
The Coastal Area Management Act, under the Coastal Resources Commission, approved the change, he said, and now the project is in the 75-day review process by 10 other agencies.
He also will add 13 new slips.
Rich said his Anchorage Partners LLC owns the property and includes himself as the managing partner and majority owner of 30%. The seven others, all from North Carolina, some of whom are family members, own 10%.
He said the property sold for $6.3 million and his investors chipped in $1.4 million with financing obtained for the $4.9 million.
Rich had been trying to sell the Anchorage and marina for a few years; some wanted just the hotel and not the marina.
Finally, after hearing about other motels going condo with boat slips, he decided to just buy it himself, got it under contract and put his little group together.
“Six of them said yes immediately,” he said. “They get a condo and a boat slip, and they get 10% of the profit.”
Boat slips are the key, he said: Everyone wants one, but neither the rooms nor the boat slips will be sold separately.
However, condo owners will be free to rent out their boat slips however they want to.
Prices for the rooms/boat slips range from $225,00 to $325,000. The penthouses are $625,000.
Architect Ben Cahoon, the mayor of Nags Head, did all the condo engineering and drawings and islander J.H. Miller did all the survey work.
Local men will improve the existing dock for the added boat slips.
Except for the two penthouses that have living rooms and kitchens, all the regular rooms are typical hotel rooms with mini fridges, microwaves and coffee makers.
These will not be able to be renovated with full kitchens.
Purchasers may purchase two rooms and knock out part of the dividing wall to link the rooms, Rich said. Three people bought doubles and someday may convert them with living rooms and kitchens.
“Every wall is solid brick and every floor is concrete,” he said.
Every condo owner also gets an assigned parking space, he said. He will add to the 50+ spaces already there for about 70 total spaces.
The docks are in good shape, Rich said, and don’t need any work.
“Bill kept them up,” Rich said. “I’ve been in this business for 52 years and I’ve never had anybody I dealt with any better than Bill Gilbert. Every aspect of this deal was just beautiful because he and I just worked so well together.”
The name will stay the same.
“It’s what’s so special about this thing,” he said. “People who have been renting rooms at the Anchorage have been doing so since the 80s.”
When Scott Cottrell in 1982 built the imposing four-story structure overlooking the tiny harbor, “his act of bravado hit the island like an ocean squall,” notes David Shears in his 1989 book “Ocracoke: Its History and People.”
“The storm over his Anchorage Inn goaded the islanders into adopting rules designed to stop such building in (the) future.”
Shortly after that, the Ocracoke Development Ordinance was adopted setting a 35-foot height limit and forbade construction of large buildings on small lots, Shears writes.
The severe weather threat for eastern North Carolina from Hurricane Helene has increased, as well as the potential for minor coastal flooding on the beaches of Hatteras and Ocracoke, as well as along the sounds, rivers and creeks in the border counties.
Helene expected to make landfall this evening along the Florida Panhandle as a category three storm, with what the storm surge forecast for the Big Bend area.
Rain and wind is expected to continue spreading into North Carolina today, with the worst conditions expected in the mountains and Piedmont where a frontal system has stalled and will combine with Helene to create life threatening flash flooding.
We could see some gusty southeasterly winds, heavy showers and thunderstorms, and maybe even a few tornadoes, mainly on Friday.
A Coastal Flood Advisory continues today for water level rises of one feet above ground from Duck to Ocracoke.
That is unrelated to Helene, but rather due to the continued onshore flow since Labor Day, waves from what is now Tropical Storm Isaac in the far central Atlantic and is on a track away from the United States, and residual elevated tides from last week’s full moon.
Minor overwash is possible at the usual troublespots in Rodanthe, Buxton and the north end of Ocracoke between 1 and 5 p.m. with this afternoon’s high tide.
Southeasterly winds of 20 to 30 mph, with locally higher gusts, are likely, especially over the coastal waters starting early Friday.
That will lead to surf of 4 to 8 feet, and a High Surf Advisory will be in effect for areas south of Oregon Inlet from 3 a.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Saturday.
A High Risk of rip currents, with powerful shore break, is posted again Thursday for all of the beaches. Red flags are flying indicating it is too dangerous to be in the ocean.
Winds from the southeast have already started pushing up water levels in the Currituck and Albemarle sounds and their tributaries.
That is combining run off from last week’s heavy rains to cause minor flooding in many areas that usually see water from a southerly breeze.
Elevated water levels also continue along the soundside of the Outer Banks. The winds are expected to push the water towards the shorelines along the mainland.
But the sound water won’t be returning with any speed, or rising to flood levels, as winds are forecast to slowly ease as Helene becomes a giant rainmaker while losing its tropical characteristics over the Appalachians and Ohio and Mississippi valleys.
Saturday’s forecast looks to be dry and seasonably warm, with highs in the mid 80s.
A chance of showers and storms returns late Sunday and into Monday as Helene’s remnants move across the area, with highs around 80.
The NCDOT Ferry Division provides real-time text or email alerts from their routes via the Ferry Information Notification System (FINS) at www.ncdot.gov/fins. System-wide route status updates will also be posted on the Ferry Division’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
The Outer Banks and eastern North Carolina will likely avoid significant impacts from Helene, which became a tropical storm on Tuesday, and is forecast to intensify into a major hurricane before making landfall along the Florida Panhandle on Thursday.
But the region could still see some rain which may cause flooding due to already saturated soils, a few thunderstorms with isolated tornadoes, and gusty winds, especially on the southern coastal waters.
“While the current track would keep the most significant impacts to our west, this will be a large storm and we may still experience at least some impacts in Eastern North Carolina,” said forecasters at the Newport/Morehead City office of the National Weather Service.
The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for Helene to reach category 3 status, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph by Thursday as it moves over the warmer-than-normal waters of the northeast Gulf of Mexico.
Following landfall, the center is forecast to move inland while the system grows in overall size as it moves through the southeast U.S., over the Appalachians and into the midwest.
The heaviest rainfall is expected over the mountains and Piedmont of North Carolina as of Tuesday afternoon.
Friday, Sept. 27 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Kate McNally Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ray Murray, 7 pm The Breeze: R.T. Johnson Band, 9 pm
Saturday, Sept. 28 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Music TBD Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ocracoke Rockers, 7 pm The Breeze: R.T. Johnson Band, 9 pm
Sunday, Sept. 29 Church services: Life Saving Church, 459 Lighthouse Rd., worship, 11am Ocracoke United Methodist Church: 71 School Rd., worship, 11 am. Streaming via its Facebook page Stella Maris Catholic Chapel: 95 School Road, Mass, 3:30 pm
NC12 on Ocracoke’s north end around 1:30 p.m. Sept. 22. NCDOT photo
From our news services
The National Weather Service is forecasting that although abnormally high tides have already peaked and are on the downtrend, but will still produce minor to locally moderate coastal flooding into Tuesday, according to a press release issued Sunday afternoon.
A Coastal Flood Advisory remains in effect through Tuesday afternoon from Duck to Ocracoke village.
Water level rises of 1 to 2 feet above ground on the oceanside, and up to one foot above ground on the soundside are expected to continue, especially around high tide.
Water encroached on NC12 at the north end of Ocracoke making travel difficult but ferry service was not suspended. Water rose in Ocracoke Village in many of the low-lying marshy areas and roadside ditches but did not overwhelm the roads.
The marsh along O’Neal Drive on Ocracoke spills onto the roadway Sept. 20. Photo: C. Leinbach
The NCDOT said that NC12 on Ocracoke Island remains open and passable with extreme caution and reduced speed.
On Sunday, there are four to seven inches of water in places, mostly on the edge of the southbound lane. Crews were on the scene trying to mitigate where the water is deepest.
On Hatteras Island, the rough surf and higher than normal tides contributed to a pair of houses on G.A. Kohler Court in Rodanthe to collapse on Friday.
A high risk of rip currents and dangerous shore break are also posted for the ocean on Monday.
The National Hurricane Center is closely monitoring a disturbance in the western Caribbean that is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone and threaten the Gulf Coast states by late this week.
It’s still too early to know if this system will bring any impacts to eastern North Carolina, but most models keep the center of circulation well to our west.
The NCDOT Ferry Division provides real-time text or email alerts from their routes via the Ferry Information Notification System (FINS) at www.ncdot.gov/fins. System-wide route status updates will also be posted on the Ferry Division’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
Sherry Atkinson, left, and her wife, Laura Michaels, are known as Yaya and Lulu, respectively, to twins Cora and Sam Walters. .
By Heather Johnson Photos courtesy of the family,
Sherry Leigh Atkinson, 62, of Ocracoke, passed away peacefully on Sept. 9, 2024, in ECU Health Medical Center, Greenville, in the company of her loving wife, Laura Michaels.
Born on December 2, 1961, in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, she was a daughter of the late Heidrun Jones and Bill Atkinson.
She grew up and attended college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 1994, she moved to her forever home, Ocracoke Island.
Sherry, like water, was a force! Gentle, nurturing, fierce, and powerful. Strong enough to cut through stone and reshape landscapes. Like the ocean, her love ran deep and wide.
Sherry had a deep love for culinary arts and sharing it with people. It’s been said, cooking, at its soul, is the love of nurturing people and caring for them on the deepest level. Sherry did just that. She loved and cared for people and in doing so created her own family and community while supporting the community in which lived.
After moving to the island she worked in numerous restaurants, forming close bonds with those she worked with, teaching many how to cook on the line, serve, and control the flow.
Working alongside so many young people, she became a sort of surrogate mother to many, loving them, teaching them, guiding them. She had a way of making you feel so supported you believed you could do anything.
Sherry with her favorite of the Ocracoke ponies, the late Easter.
She showed up — for her friends, family, and community, cooking for fundraisers, supporting businesses, and the school, officiating friends’ weddings, attending kids’ birthday parties. Whatever life had to offer, she was there with love, understanding and generosity. She volunteered with the NPS ponies for 22 years, providing quality care, maintenance and nurturing bonds with each pony.
To know Sherry meant you knew that she loved women’s basketball — UCONN Lady Huskies to be precise.
Like a good coach she was always cheering you on, teaching, guiding. Shamelessly honest with who she was as a person, she felt relatable, and this drew people to her. Fiercely loyal, she always had your back but would also not hesitate to put you in your place.
In 2000 she found another love, Laura Michaels. The couple married in 2017, sharing 24 years of love and life together.
In addition to her wife, Sherry is survived by her brother, Wayne Atkinson; nephew, Conner Atkinson; and niece, Lauren Atkinson, all of South Carolina.
A Celebration of Life is planned for Dec. 7; time and location to be announced.
The family is asking memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society at www.Cancer.org. Condolences to the family may be made online at Twiford Funeral Home, www.TwifordFH.com.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District has suspended Dare County’s permits for dredging in Oregon and Hatteras inlets and nearby channels for what the military said is repeated violations by the dredge operated as a public-private partnership.
According to a press release, the Corps has stopped all work conducted by EJE Dredging Service, which owns and operates the $15 million Miss Katie dredge that is funded by the state and county.
A letter detailing the suspension of five federal permits for dredging by the Miss Katie was received by Dare County Manager Bobby Outten late Wednesday afternoon.
“This suspension will remain in place until the county provides USACE with proper documentation that an enforceable and viable protocol is in place to ensure compliance,” according to a press release. “Dare County must monitor, prevent, and self-report any future violations and non-compliance.”
The Corps said notices were issued in April and August of 2023 for violations related to work in what is formally known as the Manteo/Shallowbag Bay federal channel, which includes multiple channels through Roanoke Sound, in and around Wanchese, Oregon Inlet, out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Data from the National Dredging Quality Management Program between September 2023 and June 2024 shows “work was unnecessarily conducted by dredging well outside the authorized widths and depths of the navigation channels,” the Army Corps said.
That data come from sensors mounted on board the Miss Katie, which is a 156-foot shallow-draft hopper dredge.
It pulls sand through a pair of suction booms, places it in the hold known as a “hopper”, then steams to another location, opens up the bottom doors and dumps the spoils.
The Corps said 98% of all dredging done in the Manteo/Shallowbag Bay area were not in compliance with the permit.
The News and Observer reported Thursday the data shows the Miss Katie dredged as much as 445-feet outside the authorized area, or “box,” while still dumping the spoils in areas that are authorized under the permit.
The N&O also reported the violations in 2023 were related to dredging outside the box and also deeper than permitted, and that EJE Dredging was not conducting surveys of the channels as required by the permit.
“The suspension is necessary due to the continued disregard of permit conditions and failure of implementing any corrective actions,” the Corps said.
EJE Dredging is based in Greenville, and had no experience as a dredging company when it was awarded the contract for the Miss Katie in 2018.
The company’s chief executive officer is Jordan Hennessy, who at the time was legislative assistant for former state Sen. Bill Cook (R-Beaufort), and is among those credited with securing funding from the General Assembly for the dredge.
The dredge was built by EJE Dredging using a forgivable loan, charging the state and county a reduced rate for work until the $15 million is paid off.
The dredge was completed at a Louisiana shipyard, and began working in the waters off Dare County in 2022.
Hennessy has come under recent scrutiny for ventures involving dealings with Dare County on proposed housing developments on Roanoke Island and in Kitty Hawk that stalled, and a state domestic violence program that is the subject of a grand jury inquiry according to The N&O. He currently serves as a member of the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission, after being appointed last year by Republican state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.
