Albert Lavon Anderson “Big Andy”: 1918-2015

September 22, 2015

Andy Anderson and wife Mary. Photo courtesy of family. — Andy Anderson and wife Mary. Photo courtesy of the family.

Albert Lavon Anderson “Big Andy,” 96, passed away peacefully at his home on Ocracoke Island, NC on Sept.r 19, 2015. He was born on November 29, 1918, to the late Albert and Mabel Anderson of Frankfort, Indiana. Albert joined the United States Coast Guard as a young man and was stationed at Ocracoke, where he met and married the love of his life, Mary Elizabeth Styron Anderson. After leaving the Coast Guard, Albert and Mary were married on Nov. 24, 1945, and moved to his hometown of Frankfort, Indiana, where they resided until retiring from his successful farming career in 1993 and returned to Ocracoke.

Islander Chester Lynn, a long-time friend, spent lots of time with him during his waning years.

“We both loved antiques,” Chester said. “He hand-carved wooden ducks and was also a skilled furniture maker. He had some beautiful pieces in the house that few people have seen.”

James Barrie Gaskill, the son of his wife Mary’s sister, related how during the hurricane of 1944, Andy carried him when he was just one year old from near Styron’s Store to the safer lighthouse.

“The water was up to his waist when he carried me,” he said.

Andy Anderson during his Coast Guard years, World War II. Photo courtesy of family.

“He was a very nice man. Always going to church and helping people. He was one of the last survivors of World War II veterans connected to Ocracoke.”

Ruth Toth, former owner of the Atlantic Cafe noted that Andy would visit the restaurant every Sunday with his wife Mary. After she died, he would come on his own. “He would always order the same dish,” she noted.

In 2013, Andy was honored by being the grand marshal for the Ocracoke Fourth of July parade.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary who died on Nov. 26, 2007. Albert and Mary did not have children of their own, but he is survived by his nephew, Edward C. O’Neal, Jr. and wife, Stella O’Neal, both of Ocracoke, whom he considered his own children.

” ‘Big Andy’ was much more than an uncle to us and his death has left an empty place in our family,” said Stephanie O’Neal.

He is also survived by numerous other nieces, nephews and friends. The family also acknowledges the friendship, love and support given to him over the last 8 years by Loretta “Annie” Mann of Scranton, NC, and the last year by Araceli Gonzalez “Cheli” of Washington, NC.

Funeral services honoring the life of Albert Anderson will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, in the Ocracoke United Methodist Church. The church will be open for viewing beginning at noon. He will be buried at the Ocracoke Community Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Ocracoke United Methodist Church, PO Box 278, Ocracoke Island, NC 27960.

Twiford Funeral Home, Hatteras is assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed at http://www.twifordfh.com.

Contact Information:
Twiford Funeral Home (Hatteras)
Hatteras, 57156 Kohler Drive
Phone: (252) 986-2554

Ocracoke now has an official lost-and-found location

September 22, 2015

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Captain Jason Daniels demontrates the new lost-and-found box. Photo by C. Leinbach — Captain Jason Daniels demonstrates the new lost-and-found box. Photo by C. Leinbach

By Connie Leinbach and Peter Vankevich

People on Ocracoke who have lost or found valuable items now have a reliable location to go.

A lock-box has been installed on the porch of the Hyde County sheriff’s department office beside the Ocracoke Convenience site. The box is similar to a bank night deposit box since the slot does not allow depositors to reach in.

The box will be used for both depositing found items and leaving a note about an item that is lost.

Lost n found PS 001 — Photo by C. Leinbach

“This is a great idea,” said Capt. Jason Daniels of the Sheriff’s Department about the new service.

Ed Fuller, Ocracoke’s chief ranger for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, also praised the new addition. “Park Service employees are approached frequently with items visitors have found or to report something lost,” he said. “Now we have a location to send people.”

Tommy Hutcherson, proprietor of the Ocracoke Variety Store, was also pleased to hear the news.

“Especially in the summer, visitors bring us wallets, sunglasses and cell phones they have found on the beach or somewhere else on the island,” he said. “Now we know where to direct people.”

Another location people have taken found items or wish to post that something has been lost is the island’s post office. Postmaster Celeste Brooks showed a wall with keys near the counter that people have turned in. She said she doesn’t mind if people bring found items to her.

Items can be delivered, however, only when the post office is open to the public.

The box is located outside because the sheriff’s office is often closed due to the need for the officers to be on patrol.

Daniels brought out box of found property stored in the evidence locker that people have taken to the Sheriff’s office over the last several years.

“We’ve gotten wallets with money and credit cards still in them,” Daniels said, showing one with cash. Other items he displayed were cameras, sets of keys and cell phones.

Daniels and the deputies spend time trying to locate owners, but sometimes have no luck.

Lost n found 021 — Deputy Sheriff Blackburn Warner looks at found items dropped off over the past few years. Photo by P. Vankevich

The slot on the box is large enough to drop a small- to medium-sized purse. He showed a green leather one turned in this summer that no one has claimed.

Flyers announcing that this box is available will be placed around the island, Daniels said. The non-emergency phone number for the sheriff’s office is 252 926-3171.

A year in the making, the need for such a community service was brought to Hyde County’s attention last fall by an editorial in the Ocracoke Observer. To read this, click here.

Mary Bassell’s island landscape pastels featured Sept. 23 in Down Creek Gallery

September 22, 2015

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"Summer Light," a pastel by islander Mary Bassell, will be among the new works on view Sept. 23 in Down Creek Gallery. — “Summer Light,” a pastel by islander Mary Bassell, will be among the new works on view Sept. 23 in Down Creek Gallery.

Island artist Mary Bassell, who paints vibrant island scenes with pastels, will show her new works of Ocracoke’s famous lighthouse Wednesday, Sept. 23, beginning 5 p.m. in Down Creek Gallery’s “Expose Yourself to Art” series of artists’ receptions.

All receptions are open to the public and feature refreshments and live music.

While many of her works depict the colorful hues of the beach, the marshes or the sandy lanes, this year she has been focusing on the Ocracoke Lighthouse and capturing it from different vantage points.

It wasn’t until Bassell was well into adulthood that she discovered her passion for this art medium—one in which the artist must layer her colors to achieve the desired effect.

Hailing from Long Island, NY, in her early twenties, Bassell worked in colored and stained glass and took classes from nationally known artists.

When she turned 50, she decided to follow her dream to draw and paint.

She spent an entire winter driving her old blue truck to the island creeks where she sketched day after day, capturing the nuances of shadow and light, the movement of the creeks and marshes.

In February of that year, she visited some pastel classes in Sonoma, Calif., and found her passion in pastels.

From realistic scenes, she evolved to softer, more flowing strokes resulting in the vibrant, impressionistic colors that mark her work today.

Musical guest for Bassell’s show will be Rob King.

Down Creek Gallery is located in the village near the Community Square, 260 Irvin Garrish Highway.

Ocracoke Sanitary District announces rate increase effective January

September 21, 2015

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Built in 1976, the Ocracoke water tower will need to be replaced in five to eight years. Photo by C. Leinbach

The Ocracoke Sanitary District, which runs the water plant, has voted to increase water rates by 8 percent in January.

“We’re looking to the future and having to replace the water tower within five to eight years,” said Scott Bradley, president of the sanitary district board.

In addition to an eventual new water tower, the rate boost will cover increased operating expenses “to continue providing safe dependable drinking water on Ocracoke.”

Bradley said the district is announcing the new rates now so that people with rental cottages will have a longer lead time to adjust their rental rates for next year.

Effective with the January meter reading and billing, rates will increase as follows:

The minimum rate for users under 5,000 gallons per month [Step A] will increase from $16 to $17. There are currently 883 meters in this category.

The minimum rate for users over 5,000 but less than 10,000 gallons per month [Step B] will increase from $42.87 to $46.04. There are currently 293 meters in this category.

The minimum rate for the highest usage of more than 10,000 gallons per month [Step C] will increase from $94.37 to $101.64. There are currently 70 meters in this category.

A copy of the rate schedule is available in the water plant office.

The last rate increase was 10 percent in January 2013. Rates are periodically adjusted by the board to reflect increasing operating costs, which include staff of six, electricity, insurance, and USDA bond payments for the $3.1 million plant expansion in 2010.

The other major consideration is planning for future capital improvements. The current 250,000-gallon water tower, built in 1976 when the water system was initiated, will need to be replaced at a projected cost of over $1.2M.

The district’s rate structures are designed using guidelines from the UNC School of Government Environmental Finance Center for “full cost recovery” to provide revenue stability to maintain, repair and operate the water system, pay principal and interest on USDA loans and build reserves for future capital improvements. Other key factors are maintaining affordability and encouraging conservation.

The district’s audits and finances are reviewed annually by the State and Local Government Finance Division and Local Government Commission within the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer.

Bradley said there are about 1,100 to 1,200 meters in use.

“When we expanded (several years ago), that added 500 impact units,” he said, and have only sold about 100 new ones.

To buy into the system at the entry-level starts at $5,000, he said.

Water plant manager David Tolson checks the machinery that pushes salt water through membranes that turn it into fresh, drinking water. Photo by C. Leinbach

Ocracoke’s water plant: turning salt water to fresh

September 21, 2015

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September 2015
By Anmargaret Warner

On Ocracoke, most homes have “city water,” but on an island 23 miles away from the mainland, what does that mean?

Most fresh water on Ocracoke comes the Ocracoke Sanitary District (OSD), also known as the water plant.

The plant began running in 1977 and was the first “reverse osmosis” plant in the state, said David Tolson, plant manager, who has worked there since 1978.

Before that, Ocracoke residents collected rainwater in cisterns or drew their own well water. The village water dripping from faucets originates from the bottom of a well, too.

Water plant manager Dave Tolson explains how the salty water is pushed through these membranes to filter the salt. Photo by C. Leinbach

Above the hum of the equipment inside the plant, Tolson explained reverse osmosis. “In Nature, osmosis is when salt water draws in fresh water,” he said.

“That’s why humans can’t drink salt water–because the salt water will draw in all of the fresh water and dehydrate you.”

At Ocracoke’s plant, the state-of-the-art, custom-designed equipment pushes the salt water through a membrane to take out the salt. “The fresh water goes out the other end and goes into storage tanks,” he said. The remaining salty water, called “concentrate,” is discharged into the Pamlico Sound.

“That water is actually less salty than the Sound water,” he said. “So it doesn’t negatively affect wildlife in the area.” To get the raw water, three wells extract it from the Castle Hayne Aquifer more than 600 feet below ground. This water lens, stretching over 12,500 square miles in eastern North Carolina, is the most productive aquifer in the state. While its upper layers contain fresh water, its lower depths contains salt water from where the plant draws its water.

“The well water is still clean, but has salt and hydrogen sulfide in it, which gives off that rotten egg smell,” Tolson said.

Every water system is designed for the source of water you have to use because different membranes have to be used according to the saltiness of the water, he said. “Technology for reverse osmosis has gotten better over the years,” Tolson said.

The fresh water comes out the pipe labeled ‘permeate,’ and the reject water, labeled ‘concentrate,’ is discharged into the Pamlico Sound. Photo by C. Leinbach

The island’s population and development growth since the water plant’s beginning are intertwined: as island development progressed, so have the plant’s capabilities to keep up.

Yearly production at the plant climbed steadily through the early 80s and into the late 90s, before dropping off in the early 2000s.

Tolson suspects the decline in water usage began as customers upgraded their toilets and shower heads to use less water. “In the summer, the island uses about 300,000 gallons a day,” Tolson said.

That amount drops to 80,000 to 100,000 per day in the off season. Janie Garrish, secretary of the office, who has worked for the OSD for 34 years, thinks the aquifer and plant will be able to handle water needs on the island as they evolve.

“The quality of water hasn’t really changed in all of the years I’ve been here,” she noted. The OSD didn’t allow any new meters to be installed on the island before the latest update in 2010. “

The island grew faster than the water system was able to,” Garrish said. Since 2010, they’ve started allowing new meters because the plant is able to handle that need.

Anmargaret Warner. Photo by P. Vankevich

Anmargaret attended Ocracoke School till the eighth grade and graduated from Mercersburg Academy (PA).She made the Dean’s List at Wake Forrest and her degree is in English Literature and with minors in journalism and communications. This past year, she was accepted into the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program. She taught English at the Balvantra y Mehta Vidya Bhawan Anguridevi Shersingh Memorial Academy in New Delhi, India.

Color Run PTA benefit attracts 150 runners

September 21, 2015

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Lots of color was the order of the day Saturday as 150 adults and children participated in the Color Run, a 5K fundraiser benefiting the Ocracoke School PTA.

In this event, runners get sprayed with colored water along the route and then doused in powdered color when they cross the finish line.

“I thought it was a fun way to do something different at the start of school,” said Susan O’Neal, a teacher who was organizing the runners. “They do this all over the country. One hundred and fifty is good for the first year.”

PTA president Ivey Belch spearheaded the event that was not a timed event, just a fun run.

Participating students paid $25, pre-registered adults $30, and day-of adult racers $40.

Nonetheless, youth and adult winners of the WOVV 5K/10K in April were the first to cross the finish line.

Kevin Perez, an Ocracoke School senior who was the winner of the 5K, was first with Alfonso “Chito” Guerrero, second-place winner of the 10K, close behind. Gustavo Trejo came in third.

The runners started at Ocracoke School, up Irvin Garrish Highway, down Middle Road, Jackson Circle, Sunset Drive, Back Road, British Cemetery Road, and the final stretch of Howard Street.

“It was fun,” said Ryan Mason of Raleigh. “I got a new tie-dyed T-shirt out of it. Everyone’s so bright and colorful.”

Although social studies teacher Gwen Austin didn’t run in the race and waited for all the runners to get back, she didn’t escape getting hit with a little of the powdered color by one of the students.

“How often do you get to squirt your principal and teachers with color?” she said.

Islander Kati Wharton shows off her color-doused shirt.

It was a cereus night

September 20, 2015

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A single flower from the night-blooming cereus, or Queen of the Night. Photo by Chaeli Moyer.

In between the full “blue” moon on July 31 and the Perseids meteor showers peaking Aug. 11 to 13, an earthly event occurred at the home of Jude Wheeler along Sunset Drive.

Jude has a non-native, night blooming Cereus (Epiphylum oxypetalum, or Hylocerceus undatus), whose blooms occur only at night and last only until the sun greets them.

She brought the plant to Ocracoke five years ago from Durham where she had adopted it almost 30 years prior from its home in the former Pyewacket Restaurant.

A tropical succulent, the Queen of the Night blooms from late July to the end of August, and every summer, Jude informs her friends of the pending events.

“I can tell pretty well when it’s going to open,” she said one of the nights she and five other island women gathered to await the bloom.

The night-blooming cereus bud. Jude Wheeler knows by the look of the bud when it will bloom. Photo by C. Leinbach

When the group arrived at Jude’s, the bud was closed. As they snapped photos of it, Jude explained that because she has had the plant for so long, she can tell almost down to the night it will bloom.

This night, Aug. 8, the bud—white with pale pink stripes—was the right color and size for an opening.

Kelley Shinn arrived at 10:30.

“It’s blooming!” she called out as she parked her car.

The group grabbed their cell phones and went outside to capture the delicate white flower with an equally delicate fragrance.

The majesty of the single flower lasted only through the night.

By morning, the flower was done, with the magic of the one-night bloom enduring only as a memory and a series of photographs.

The night-blooming cereus with several flowers. Photo by Jude Wheeler — The night-blooming cereus with three flowers. Photo by Jude Wheeler

Jude Wheeler. Photo courtesy of Jude Wheeler

Birds of Ocracoke: the Merlin

September 20, 2015

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Merlin photographed at the Ocracoke campground. Photo by P. Vankevich

To see more profiles in the Birds of Ocracoke series, click here

Merlin (Falco columbarius)
By Peter Vankevich

A small stocky agile-flying falcon, males can be distinguished by their gray backs, females and immature birds are brown and all of them have streaky breasts. Like most raptors, the females of this species are noticeably larger.

They feed on smaller birds. On Ocracoke, this includes shorebirds–Yellow-rumped Warblers and in the village, European Starlings and House Sparrows. They will also take large dragonflies, small mammals like voles and occasionally reptiles.

Not only do they nest in North America, they also are a circumboreal species, and in Eurasia, breed from Iceland to Eastern Siberia.

In the Western Hemisphere, most winter primarily South of the United States as far south as South America.

Best Time to see: Merlins migrate through the Outer Banks starting in September, peaking in October. Some will linger into winter. Spring migration is not particularly notable. The Ocracoke Christmas Bird Count, which takes place at the end of December every year since 1981, usually reports three to six individuals with the high number of 10 in 2004.

Where: Campground, Springer’s Point, power lines, water tower in village, in flight amidst the dunes and the beach.

Listen:

(audio provided courtesy of OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons)

Click here for the Birds of the Outer Banks checklist

Notes:

The Merlin is one of three falcons that seen on Ocracoke. The others are Northern Kestrels and Peregrine Falcons.

Last fall, while observing migrating raptors passing through Ocracoke, 67 individuals were recorded. To read more about Ocracoke’s raptor migration, click here.

Merlin seen on a Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Count. Photograph by P. Vankevich

The name Merlin derives from esmerillon, the old French name for this species. They were formerly known as pigeon hawks, not because of a fondness for eating pigeons but rather for their flight pattern which some thought has a similarity.

With a wingspan of about 24 inches, the females of this species are noticeably larger than males, weighing eight ounces; males are closer to six ounces. When lighting conditions are good, males can be distinguished by their gray backs; females and immature birds are brown and all of them have streaky breasts.

The Merlins spotted on Ocracoke breed in the Boreal, or Taiga, regions of the eastern northern United States and Canada. They prefer relative open habitat with low to medium-height vegetation and some trees that makes Ocracoke an ideal habitat for them.

If you are out and about on the island, at a given moment during the day, you may see a Merlin dash past you displaying both speed and agility pursuing its prey which consists primarily of small birds. I have seen them on the island flying fast and low to the ground in hot pursuit of an unfortunate Myrtle Warbler. Fearless and feisty, they will chase off a Bald Eagle who strays into its territory.

Merlins do not build their own nests but will use an abandoned one made by a crow or hawk. An interesting adaptation change is that within the last 30 years or so, Merlins have started to nest in suburban and even urban areas, particularly in the northern Great Plains. Since the late 1970s,

According to the state’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Merlin nests are increasingly encountered across Maine in varied settings ranging from offshore coastal islands to northern interior forests and mountains.

State budget is passed, more from Ocracoke’s state representative

September 19, 2015

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WRAL reported Friday that Gov. Pat McCrory says he signed the $21.7 billion budget, which lawmakers gave final approval in the early hours of Friday morning. To read more, click here.

Rep. Paul Tine (District 6) released the following on the 2016-17 state budget:

Raleigh–This week, the Senate and House are voting on the biennial budget and, as with any budget, there are both good and bad provisions. I have weighed both and feel that the budget moves the state and northeast North Carolina in a better direction than where we started. I am particularly proud of the transportation portion of the budget in which I was most directly involved.

District Benefits

Dredging: The local match was reduced from a 50-50 match to 1-to-4 local to 3-to-4 state for tier 1 counties and to 1- to 3- local with 2- to 3- state match for all other counties. (Hyde is a tier 3 county). This reflects a commitment on the state’s part to invest in our waterways. The funds were developed by increasing the transfer from transportation from 1/6 of 1 percent to 1 percent of the Highway Fund ($13.1 million), a straight-line appropriation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ($1.6 million), and the existing boat fees that were implemented last session ($5.1 million). There are no new or increased boat fees.

Ferry System: We eliminated the proposed fee for the priority pass on the Hatteras to Ocracoke Ferry. This route also received an additional $1.7 million to help compensate for the additional costs of running the long route.
NERSBA: Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agribusiness received $310,000 as it is the only regional school in the state to insure its sustainability and effect on the east.
Oysters: Much of my bill, HB-302: Strengthen Oyster Industry, was included in the budget with the addition of some significant improvements. There are provisions to cut down on regulations for oyster restoration, to invest in cultch planting, to support oyster sanctuaries, and to develop a seed hatchery at UNC-Wilmington.
Community Colleges: There is a $56.5 million investment in instructional equipment and technology in our community colleges.
Broadband: A variation of my bill HB-349: Develop Broadband Connectivity Planthat tasks the state CIO to develop a statewide strategic plan to ensure we have a robust broadband infrastructure. Additionally, $14 million over the biennium is being invested to insure connectivity in all of our schools.
Brody School of Medicine: ECU’s medical school is critical to maintaining access to quality healthcare in eastern North Carolina. There is $8 million per year to stabilize the activities of the school.
Rural Economic Development Grants: $2.5 million was added for grants to rural communities for economic development.
Historic Tax Credit: This program provides $8 million to invest in revitalization especially in our rural areas.
Sales Tax: Under the Senate proposed tax redistribution plan, Dare County would have lost millions of locally collected sales taxes. While the final plan needs continued work no county loses funds in the first year, and, based on a 3 percent growth rate, there is a statewide county obligation in year two of only $2.7 million. The new funds are from applying sales tax to some services and those funds are directly invested in rural communities for schools, economic development and infrastructure. Under the new plan, Beaufort County and its municipalities gain a total of $140,000. Washington County and its municipalities gain $276,000. Hyde County gains $26,000.
Elizabeth City State University: $3 million is appropriated per year for stabilization funds.

Statewide Benefits
Transportation

Investment: Transportation infrastructure is a key function of state government. This budget demonstrates this priority by investing $440 million more per year in roads, ports and bridges. The amount in new projects was increased by $337 million over the biennium.
Transfers: $219 million of transfers from transportation to the general fund per year is eliminated.
Reform: The additional transportation investments need to be met with additional efficiency and responsibility within the department. My comprehensive reform package that was in the House budget has only slight changes in the final version. The plan includes better transparency, efficiency goals, accountability standards and a requirement for a top to bottom restructuring plan.

Education

Teacher Assistants: Teacher assistant positions are fully funded. In negotiations we had to agree to the senate request to eliminate using these funds for any other positions. Some Local Education Authorities (LEA’s) have been using the money for additional teaching positions and other programs. The loss of the flexibility is unfortunate, but keeping the TAs is an important win. Our individually focused curriculum in early grades is tailored and requires multiple professionals in the classroom.
Drivers Education: Drivers Education is fully funded.
Teacher Pay: Beginning teacher pay is increased, step raises are met, and they receive a $750 bonus.
Quality Improvement: A principal preparation program is implemented to help increase student achievement. NC Career Coach Program aligns our community colleges and high schools by placing career coaches in schools. They will help students set goals and find the right community college programs to help students meet those goals. A new program is initiated to identify low performing local school administrations, ensure they have a strategic plan for improvement and that they have the resources to meet that plan.
Textbooks and Digital Learning: An additional $52.8 million will be invested over the biennium.

Health care

Mental Health beds: 72 beds will be added within our prison system alleviating some of the pressure on the public system. Additionally community beds are increased by 7 percent.
Medicaid reform: The transition to a blended system designed to improve the delivery and costs of our Medicaid system is funded.
Foster Care: Foster Care children will now be able to receive benefits until age 21 and will be supported with a new transition program to assist with moving to independence.

Justice and Public Safety

Body cameras: Police body camera funds will be available to departments that wish to implement them on a grant basis.
HERO grants: $1.6 million is appropriated for grants to combat sex crimes against children.
Highway Patrol– Highway Patrol officers will receive a 3 percent raise as both a reward of service and a retention tool.

Revenue

Medical deductions: Medical deductions are restored and uncapped for all taxpayers.
Charitable deductions: Charitable deductions are uncapped.
Mortgage deduction: The mortgage deductions were protected.
Income Tax: The standard deduction is increased to $15,500 from $15,000, and the personal income tax is dropped from 5.75 percent to 5.499 percent.

Negative Provisions
There were several provisions that I and several others find it very difficult to vote for, and, put in stand-alone bills, I would vote against.

Sales Tax: While I agree that we should be investing in our rural communities, expanding sales tax to some services is not the manner I feel we should be using. I have consistently advocated that we should not be doing further tax reform, and, instead, allow the reforms to work we made last session. While I do not like this type of sales tax expansion, the budget does provide for an overall tax cut of $74.7 million in year one and $308.9 million in year two.
Combining Local Education Authorities(LEA’s): I believe strongly that any consideration for combining education systems should be made within the context of a statewide plan that takes into account local input. I do not think that the state Board of Education should be tasked with making the decision. Along with several other representatives, we were able to ensure the Legislature would be able to see the plan and take action before any plan could be implemented.
No COLA: The House had a 2 percent cost of living adjustment for state retirees and employees. Unfortunately we were unable to win this position. The compromise was the $750 teacher bonus.
Solar Tax Credit: The solar tax credit will end this year. While I have felt that there are changes that are needed to be made to the system, I do not believe a wholesale elimination is appropriate.
Opportunity Scholarships: I have been adamantly opposed to vouchers. This budget increases vouchers for low-income families by 129 percent.

Officials investigating speared sea turtle in Frisco

September 18, 2015

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Loggerhead sea turtle. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia — Loggerhead sea turtle. Officials do not know what kind of sea turtle was speared in Frisco yesterday. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Update from the NPS at 5:47 p.m. Sept. 18, 2015

Thanks to all media contacts that covered the story on the illegal attempt to take of a sea turtle at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The carcass of a dead sea turtle was recovered in the Frisco Pier area this afternoon.

All questions and inquiries about this law enforcement investigation should be forwarded to NOAA law enforcement as the lead agency at 1-800-853-1964.

From the National Park Service Sept. 18, 2015

Island visitors yesterday reported seeing a male with a spear gun attempting to take a live sea turtle in the ocean waters under the Frisco Pier at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The sea turtle was struck in the back by the spear and was injured, but swam away. The Seashore and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are jointly investigating the incident.

NOAA, as the lead agency, has identified the suspect and is asking the general public for assistance in locating the injured sea turtle. If anyone finds an injured or deceased sea turtle on Hatteras Island or Ocracoke Island, please contact the National Park Service at 252-475-9010 or 9013.

Five species of sea turtles can be found on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches: loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), Green (Cehlonia mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbriacata).

All are either threatened or endangered species that are afforded protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Violations involving an endangered species are punishable by fines of up to $50,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

Crimes involving threatened species have fines of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 6 months.

Seashore law enforcement rangers are working with federal, state and local authorities to solve this crime.

The Dare Community Crimeline is offering a reward for information leading to the conviction in this case. For more information, please contact:

http://darecommunitycrimeline.org, or call 252-473-3111 or 800-745-2746.

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Click here for the Birds of the Outer Banks checklist

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