The Ocracoke Lady Dolphins defeated the Manteo Redskins (5-4) on the road, 54-44. The Dolphins jumped off to a 15-6, first quarter lead. The Redskins battled back to trail by one point, 25-24, at halftime. Ocracoke rallied to outscore the Redskins 19-13 in the third quarter. Individual player stats were not available at press time. The Lady Dolphins record is now 8-3.
The boys (2-9) lost 69-52. Trailing 19-9 in the first quarter, they outscored the Redskins (5-4) 20-13 in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 32-29. Manteo took command of the second half in their win. Evin Caswell led the Dolphins with 15 points, followed by Matteus Gilbert with 13. Brandon O’Neal had 9 points. Dalton Kalna and Liam Caswell each had six points, and Waylon Underwood hit a three-pointer to finish the game.
The next week’s schedule starts at home against the Mattamuskeet Lakers, Monday, Jan. 12. Lady Dolphins tip-off time is 4 p.m. followed by the boys. Friday (1/16), will be away playing Cape Hatteras and the teams return home to host the Camden County Bruins on Saturday, first game starting at 1 p.m.
Games will be broadcast by WOVV, 90.1 FM on the island and online at wovv.org.
North Carolina General Assembly Representative Paul Tine announced today (Jan. 7) that he is he changing his political status from Democrat to unaffiliated, or Independent. Tine represents District 6 which includes Beaufort, Dare, Hyde and Washington Counties. He lives in Kitty Hawk and is owner of the Midgett Insurance Agency.
First elected in 2012 by defeating Republican candidate Mattie Lawson in a very close race, he won a rematch with her in November garnering almost 54 percent of the approximately 31,000 votes cast.
One of the reasons for this change, his press release stated, is that he has been offered to caucus with the Republican majority party in Raleigh.
“Our region’s economy continues to lag behind the rest of the state and I cannot allow party affiliation to stand in the way of getting work done,” he said in the release.
Another reason he cited for this change was his political philosophy, stating: “I am a fiscal conservative who believes in a common sense approach to making our district and state a better place. These ideas have become increasingly less welcome in the Democratic Party over the past several years.
“The majority party in Raleigh has said they will make room for a more moderate approach and I look forward to continuing to be this voice in Raleigh. I have always been and continue to be a centrist that puts my district and my state first.”
In the Generally Assembly, among other assignments, Tine has served on the transportation, education and insurance committees and worked on several issues that could affect Ocracoke.
He actively opposed fees for the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry, supported small school funding and was against the game-fish bill that would have stopped the commercial fishing for red drum, spotted sea trout and striped bass.
In the November election, he got 85 percent of the Ocracoke vote (269 -39).
Senate chamber, NC State Capitol Photo courtesy of Commons.Wikimedia.org
Gerrymandering creates partisan environment that’s not conducive to compromise
By Bob Phillips
It may be the off-season for Ocracoke but in Raleigh things are about to get very busy.
The North Carolina General Assembly convenes in mid-January and lawmakers, including Rep. Paul Tine and Senator Bill Cook, who represent Hyde County, will arrive in the capitol city for a legislative session that will likely stretch well into the summer months.
It’s a little known fact outside of Raleigh, but the North Carolina legislature arguably makes more decisions that have greater impact on our lives than any other elective body.
If you care about the funding of Ocracoke’s school, the future of the NCCAT program, the maintenance of Highway 12, the possible tolling of the Hatteras ferry and whether offshore drilling should be rejected or approved, then you should know the North Carolina state legislature will be the body making those decisions.
The hope, of course, is that decisions on these issues and all others will all be made carefully and thoughtfully, but don’t hold your breath.
The overwhelming majority of state lawmakers arrive to Raleigh with the best of intentions, yet the environment they face doesn’t often lend itself to compromise much less civility.
A big reason for that is gerrymandering–a word that describes how the state’s congressional and legislative districts are drawn to the advantage of the political party in power. Basically, lawmakers in the majority party get to draw their own districts. They choose their own voters rather than the other way around.
Democrats did it when they were in charge; Republicans did it when they took over in 2010. So in North Carolina, the overwhelming majority of legislative and congressional districts are non-competitive. In fact, last year nearly half of the 170 state legislative candidates ran uncontested, meaning they had no opponent. Of those with competition, more than 90 percent won their races by double-digit margins.
The good news for Hyde County is that Tine’s and Cook’s contests were the exception–both races were competitively decided by single-digit margins. But across the state, most state legislators breezed into office only having to appeal to the base of their own political party.
That leaves the middle–where most North Carolinians are unrepresented. Lawmakers who only have to cater to their party’s base have no inclination to reach across the aisle to find common ground. They hardly have to worry about being held accountable to the voters, or be concerned with scrutiny from the media.
It all creates a bitter, toxic, partisan environment where big decisions are not always made with great care and thought.
But lawmakers can take action this year to improve our democracy. They can opt to give up their power to draw their own districts. They can pass legislation to have a citizens commission, or a non-partisan panel draw the district maps guided by firm rules that take the politics our of the process.
Other states do it with success, and the good news is there’s bi-partisan support to try this in North Carolina. It’s a concept that is in the interest of both political parties.
The reason is simple: no party in North Carolina will hold power forever. Our state is rapidly changing, diversifying becoming more urban and less rural. Think about how Ocracoke is changing. The political pendulum swings back and forth more frequently. True redistricting reform will at least guarantee that both political parties have a voice in our democracy, which is how it should be since our state is truly one of the most politically competitive states in the nation.
Ending gerrymandering will improve our democracy in Raleigh and Washington as the folks in elective office make those big decisions that impact our lives.
Let Rep. Tine and Senator Cook know you want them to support redistricting reform this year in Raleigh.
Bob Phillips is executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, based in Raleigh. He and his wife, Kathy, have a home on Ocracoke.
The potential for a leash law for dogs, a proposed raise for the members of the Board of Education and the approval of funds for the Ocracoke Childcare building renovations drew a full house at the Hyde County commissioners’ meeting Jan. 5 in the Ocracoke School Commons room.
Waiting for the County Commissioners’ meeting to begin. Photo by P. Vankevich
Hyde County Schools Superintendent Randolph H. Latimore again requested that the Hyde County Board of Education be given an increase in monthly compensation of $353 per month for members, up from a $42 per meeting rate. The board chairman would be raised to $470, up from $50, or about $22,000 total for the board members.
Latimore said that he was not asking for more money from the commissioners but would reallocate the money from the current education budget. Nevertheless, Kelley Shinn, who has two children attending Ocracoke School, said in the public comment period she was trying to understand why the art program was cut due to lack of funding yet the Board of Education wants a raise. She also pointed out that the budget is not posted on the Hyde County Schools’ website. She vowed that she would not give up on her quest to have art classes restored as part of the school’s curriculum.
Essie O’Neal speaks at the County Commissioner’s meeting. Her mother, Nancy Leach, is at left. Photo by Peter Vankevich
The room erupted in applause when Essie O’Neal, 5, and in kindergarten, said “I want to get my art class back.”
Ocracoke’s commissioner, John Fletcher, said it had been brought to his attention that a National School Board of Education study revealed that 75 percent of board members in small school districts are not paid at all. He suggested that the county manager look into this and find out if it is accurate.
“Maybe we are overpaying them,” Fletcher said. The commissioners agreed to table voting on this increase until next month’s meeting.
The second education item, described as “school funds held,” turned into a non-issue. Fletcher said he put it on the agenda because some parents thought money was being withheld from the pre-K program which has eight students. Latimore said this was not correct.
A possible contentious agenda issue was downplayed when County Manager Bill Rich said that there are already adequate enforcement measures to deal with aggressive animals and a new dog leash ordinance was not necessary.
In December, a free-roaming dog attacked and killed one of the feral cats that lives in the vicinity of the Ocracoke Island Realty Company.
Ruth Fordon, President of Ocracats, a nonprofit island group that helps the feral cats on the island, said she had a petition with 137 signatures requesting that a leash ordinance be set up to control aggressive dogs. Before reading her statement, she said that she, as well as others, were unaware that there were measures already in place to deal with these animals. In her testimony, she displayed a photo of a cat that was seriously hurt by an attack. Hyde County Animal Control Officer J.M. Eakes said the attacking dog should have been quarantined for 10 days.
Ruth Fordon shows a photo of a cat injured by another animal, possibly a dog. Photo by P. Vankevich
The commissioners unanimously approved three Ocracoke Occupancy Tax Board fund requests. The first was for renovations to the Ocracoke Childcare building; the second to help move the WOVV community radio studio from its current location on Silver Lake harbor to the second floor of the old firehouse on the school campus and the third request to pay the remainder of the three-year contract for the two lobbyists hired to help stop ferry tolls and advocate for initiatives that would benefit Hyde County.
Rich also announced that a public meeting on Ocracoke Jan. 12 will allow Ocracokers the opportunity to provide input on the NC Ferry Division’s proposal for using passenger ferries. He requested that the commissioners write a letter to the NC Ferry Division in support of having a passenger ferry from Hatteras to Silver Lake.
Fletcher said he supports a passenger ferry, but people he has spoken to are divided as to whether the ferry should go to the north terminal or all the way into Silver Lake. He requested that the letter replace Silver Lake with Ocracoke. The commissioners voted to write the letter as amended.
Fletcher also said that a lot of Ocracokers take the Cedar Island ferry for one-day shopping visits and proposed and the commissioners agreed to write a separate letter to the NC Ferry Division requesting that the last Cedar Island ferry to Ocracoke be scheduled as late in the day as possible.
Rich noted that he has been in contact with U.S. Rep. Walter Jones’ office and has been assured that the National Park Service will pay for the entire funding for lifeguards on the Ocracoke public beach this summer.
The Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department was commended by the county manager for their work in putting out a camper trailer fire that could have burned a neighboring house if not for their quick response.
Know Your Park Series: World War I: U-boats off the North Carolina Coast
The National Park Service Outer Banks Group Know Your Park citizen science program series continues this winter with a presentation at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, in the Ocracoke Community Center by Michael Lowrey, World War I historian and main contributor to the web site uboat.net.
His program, titled World War I: U-Boats off the North Carolina Coast, will also be held in the Fessenden Center in Buxton at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13. Both programs are free and will last approximately one hour.
World War I touched the shores of Cape Hatteras, nearly 100 years ago, in 1918. Lowrey’s presentation will focus on archaeological and historical data of German U-boat activity which threatened the North Carolina coast during World War I and will bring to life this little known, but all important, story of America’s maritime history.
For information on the Outer Banks Group national park sites, visit www.nps.gov/caha, www.nps.gov/wrbr, www.nps.gov/fora; Twitter: @CapeHatterasNPS, @WrightBrosNPS, @FortRaleighNPS; or call 252-473-2111.
The Hyde County Board of Commissioners Meeting will be on Jan. 5 starting at 6 p.m. in the Hyde County Government Center Multi-Use Room (30 Oyster Creek Rd, Swan Quarter) and via video conferencing in the Ocracoke School Commons room (120 Schoolhouse Rd, Ocracoke). The public is invited to attend.
Some items of note will be a presentation by Dr. Randolph Latimore regarding a Board of Education request, a dog leash proposal for Ocracoke and an overview of the Swan Quarter Landing Project. The County Manager’s report will include updates on passenger ferries, lifeguards on the public beach and acknowledging the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department.
The agenda and information packets can be viewed here.
Note: This is a corrected version issued from Twiford Funeral Home Jan. 5, 2015
Bernice “Bunny” Forbes Gaskins, 90, of 206 Loop Rd., Ocracoke, died on Jan.1, in her home. A native of Ocracoke, she was a daughter of the late Irving and Alma Bragg Forbes, and also the widow of John Gaskins.
Bunny was a homemaker who enjoyed cooking, crossword puzzles, bird watching and watching the flowers grow. She would often sit on her front porch as the people went by and watch all the activities taking place around her.
Bunny is survived by a son, Dennis E. Gaskins, and wife, Patty of Townsend, DE; two granddaughters, Kelly Waltz and her husband, Eric and their children, Beckett and Brody and their dog, Harley of Florida, and Stacie Gaskins, and Marc and their dog, Buster of Delaware.
A graveside service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Community Cemetery, Ocracoke. The family will receive friends and relatives at Bunny’s home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Ocracoke EMS, 307 Back Road, Ocracoke, NC 27960; Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 71 School Rd., Ocracoke, NC; or Ocracoke Island Assembly of God, 459 Lighthouse Road, Ocracoke, NC.
Twiford Funeral Home, Hatteras, is assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed to the family at http://www.twifordfh.com.
“The water was warmer than I expected,” said Whisper Meacham. This was the general consensus of the brave souls who gathered on the beach at the airport ramp and welcomed the New Year by diving into the Atlantic Ocean.
Joelle LeBlanc who helped publicize this relatively unorganized event, thought there were more than 35 plungers and perhaps an equal number of friends, family and the curious watching from the beach. Justin LeBlanc, Joelle’s husband, found the whole experience exhilarating.
“This was the fourth year for this on Ocracoke,” he said. “Last year, I think there were only six or seven of us that did it. This year we put it on Facebook and the local newspapers publicized it and the turnout has been great.”
Philip Howard has a personal tradition of making three dips instead of the minimal one dip
Elsewhere, this is also known as a polar bear plunge and there are many organized events in the U.S., Canada, the UK and the Netherlands, especially on New Year’s Day. These events are often used as fundraisers for charitable organizations. One of the largest is the PlungeFest that will take place this year on January 24th at Sandy Point State Park, at the base of the western side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland. Several thousand participants are expected to take the plunge, raising money for the Special Olympics. Their inspiration derives from the Coney Island Polar Bear Club founded in 1903 and whose members take regular plunges throughout the winter. Plunger Jarett Werley noted that St. Andrews University in Scotland has a tradition called the May Dip which is held annually at dawn on May Day when the students stay awake until dawn, at which time they jump into the North Sea.
Stuart Eiland and Megan Aldridge emerge victorious
Stuart Eiland warmed up by jogging about two miles from his house across from the lighthouse to the airport. “I’m ready to cool off,” he quipped. This was the second time for Scott Bradley. Asked how he prepared for it mentally and physically he said he had a thimble and half of wine. Melinda Sutton thought the latest in the year she had swam on Ocracoke was October and was looking forward to it.
For some, this was a family event, Kim and Roger Meacham and their two children Whisper and Django all plunged as did Megan Aldridge and her son Parker.
Whisper and Kim Meacham
Many watchers were equally content not to participate and just enjoy the day. “I’m not a cold weather girl,” said Molly Lovejoy, who last year transferred from Emerson College in Boston to the University of New Orleans.
The water temperature was about 60 degrees. “It was not as shocking as I expected. The water was actually quite pleasant. But I won’t be doing it every day, though I will do it again next year,” said Megan Aldridge.
“It’s a great way to start the New Year. I’m ready for it,” she added.
Peter Vankevich and Connie Leinbach, co-owners of the Ocracoke Observer. Photo by Ruth Fordan
We thank all of our readers, subscribers, advertisers and so many of you that gave such great suggestions in making 2014 a very successful year the Ocracoke Observer. Our first executive decision when we purchased the newspaper in March was to go from the projected six print issues a year to 10, not publishing only in January and February.
We did this somewhat on “blind faith,” believing that if we created good content, we would have our island community, off-island subscribers and advertisers take in interest in the paper, and we believe we have accomplished this.
Reading this you know that there is a now a website component of the Observer. We launched it last summer and now have more than 250 postings, many of them on Ocracoke’s culture, history and nature. You can find the categories on the home page and we encourage you to take a look.
A website was inevitable. Almost all print newspapers have websites these days and we consider this an integral supplement to our paper.
Ocracoke is fortunate to now have two online news services, check us both out. We will cover different issues and when we cover the same, perhaps provide different perspectives.
We want our website to be unique and appealing to a broad readership. It is multilingual with articles about Ocracoke in French, German and Spanish. French and German are posts that we hope will encourage foreigners to visit our island. Spanish will be a working language providing information to those living on the island. We have an audio component that will increase. Ambassador Leonard Meeker’s now legendary lecture at the Ocracoke library in October of 2012 can now be heard on this website.
Ocracoke Observer team with Jock Lauterer, in back
So many of you have offered excellent suggestions for the Ocracoke Observer, and we cannot thank you enough. We want to note two major league advisers in particular.Jock Lauterer the director of the Carolina Community Media Project and senior lecturer at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the author of “Community Journalism: Relentlessly Local.” Jock visited us and gave an excellent workshop for the many writers of the Observer.
The other to thank is James Grimaldi, an investigative reporter with the Wall Street Journal. During his tenure at the Washington Post, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 2006 for his work on the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Their many suggestions and support have been immeasurable but, we hope, obvious.
We also thank all of our contributors–writers and photographers–for their invaluable help this year. They are what makes the Ocracoke Observer compelling reading. We’ll be back with a print issue soon. So, here’s to a great 2015!
