The Ocracoke Occupancy Tax Board is gearing up to award grants to Ocracoke nonprofits and has scheduled the 2024-2025 appropriations meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, in the Ocracoke Community Center.
Request packets should be dropped off no later than Friday, March 8, at Ride the Wind Surf Shop, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Packets also can be mailed to Bob Chestnut, PO Box 700, Ocracoke, NC. 27960.
Angie Todd is race director for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot and the Scallywag 5K/10K/half-marathon. Photo: C. Leinbach
Ocracoke Islander Angela Todd and chair of the Hyde County Board of Education has resigned as of Jan. 17, Hyde County Schools has announced.
Since Todd is a Democrat and the Democratic Party of Hyde County was not able to appoint or recommend candidates at this time the board is opening up a call for any resident of Ocracoke Island interested in serving as the Ocracoke representative on the Board of Education.
Those interested in the position are asked to submit an email of interest to Dr. Melanie Shaver, superintendent of schools, at mshaver@hyde.k12.nc.us no later than Friday, Feb. 2.
Interested citizens also need to plan to attend the next Board of Education meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6 at either of the meeting sites (O.A. Peay School or Ocracoke School Commons) for an interview conducted by the current board members so they may decide who will be appointed.
Todd most recently worked at North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching on Ocracoke and has taken the position of magistrate on Ocracoke.
“It was certainly with a heavy heart that I resigned my seat on the school board,” she said in an email to the Observer. “I feel that we have been doing great work for Hyde County Schools, but I am very excited about taking on the magistrate position.”
Todd served as a member of the Board of Education since 2016 and has led the board as the chair since January 2022.
During her tenure, Todd demonstrated unwavering dedication and leadership, playing a pivotal role in advancing Hyde County Schools’ educational initiatives, the press release said. Her visionary guidance and commitment to excellence have greatly contributed to the success and growth of the Board of Education.
“We are profoundly grateful for Ms. Todd’s outstanding service and invaluable contributions during her tenure as the Chair of the Board of Education for Hyde County Schools,” said Shaver in a press release. “Her passion, wisdom, and steadfast leadership have left an indelible mark on our educational community.”
For more information, please contact Julio Morales, public relations officer at jmorales@hyde.k12.nc.us or 252-926-3281 Ext. 3500.
Work began Jan. 29 to refurbish and raise the Double Keepers Quarters at the Ocracoke Light Station. Photo: C. Leinbach
From our news services
Construction work has begun for a $3.6 million project to raise and make repairs to the Double Keepers’ Quarters (DKQ) and other structures at Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Ocracoke Light Station.
During the 12-month project, access to the boardwalk and lighthouse will mainly remain open, though there will be temporary closures to install an accessible pathway from the existing boardwalk to the DKQ. Parking directly in front of the light station will be closed for the duration of the project.
Visitors should park in the gravel parking lot located approximately 200 feet northeast of the light station on Lighthouse Road or one further south near the Life Saving Church.
A tree health assessment was conducted as part of the design phase of this project. All the larger live oak trees, determined to be in fair or good health, will be protected and remain on the landscape.
Rendering of raised Double Keepers’ Quarters at the Ocracoke Light Station. Provided by NPS
Of 28 trees that were assessed, eight were identified to be in poor condition due an advanced state of decline. Four live oaks in the front of the DKQ will be removed due to poor condition and to allow for appropriate installation of beams and other equipment to raise the structure.
Additional site preparations and initial construction include:
Removal of all shrubs and saplings within 6 feet of the house, primarily located south and west side of the house to allow for raising of the structure.
Construction fencing will be installed around the limit of construction to include the current parking area in front of the light station.
Interior demolition will begin to prepare the house for raising. Chimney stacks may be disassembled and reconstructed as part of the project.
Large trucks may begin to deliver construction materials and other equipment. These deliveries may result in short travel delays in front of the light station.
Visitors to the site should expect the entire area to be under construction for a minimum of twelve months.
Invision Diagnostics will bring its mobile 3-D mammography van to Ocracoke from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 16 and 17 p.m. and will be stationed in the NPS parking lot.
Women who are over 35 years old and have not had a mammogram in the past year are eligible for a mammogram. Women ages 35 to 39 are eligible for one scan within those years; 40 and over are eligible annually.
Invision will process everything through each client’s insurance, so there is no cost to the client. If you do not have insurance the self-pay price is $185 for the 3-D image or $165 for the 2-D image. All images will be compared to previous year’s images and read by a Breast Fellowship board-certified radiologist and sent to the patients’ primary care provider.
To schedule your appointment, call 877-318-1349, or go online at www.invisiondiagnostics.com. Click “Schedule a 3D Mammogram” Enter Zip Code 27960. Patients are asked to bring insurance cards and driver’s license to your appointment.
Jeanie Owens, left, and Leslie Cole are ‘persons of the week’ as Cole retires on Wednesday and Owens moves into the Ocracoke School principal position on Thursday. Photo: P. Vankevich
Monday, Jan. 29 A reception will be held for new Ocracoke School Principal Jeanie Owens from 3:30 to 4:30 pm in the Ocracoke School commons room. All are invited.
Tuesday, Jan. 30 A community farewell/pep rally retiring Ocracoke School Principal Leslie Cole will be held at 2 p.m. in the Ocracoke School gym. All are invited. Her last day will be Wednesday, Jan. 31.
Ocracoke School varsity basketball vs. Mattamuskeet at home. Games will be broadcast on WOVV 90.1 FM. Lady Dolphins tip off at 4 pm, followed by the boys.
Thursday, Feb. 1 Ocracoke Decoy Carver’s Guild meets at 7 pm in the Ocracoke Community Center. Rescheduled to Feb. 8
Friday, Feb. 2 Ocracoke School varsity basketball vs. Columbia at home. Games will be broadcast on WOVV 90.1 FM. Lady Dolphins first, 4 pm, followed by the boys.
Saturday, Feb. 3 National Take Your Child to the Library Day at Ocracoke Community Library, with ice cream, games, story time door prizes and more. 9 to 11 am. Also, Seed Exchange and Skill Swap for island gardeners. Bring seeds to share with neighbors.
Ocracoke School Fourth Grade Fundraiser: Mexican food lunch: Tamales, tostada, empanada & drink: $15/plate. Inside the school at the concession stand. 11 am until sold out.
Sunday, Feb. 4 Church Services Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 71 School Rd. 11 am
Life Saving Church Ocracoke Assembly of God, 11 am 459 Lighthouse Rd.
Stella Maris Catholic Chapel, 95 School Rd. 3:30 pm
Ocracoke School Principal Leslie Cole, right, distributes academic honors with Assistant Principal Jeanie Owens. Photo: P. Vankevich
Ocracoke School Principal Leslie Cole on Wednesday handed out academic awards for the last time in her Ocracoke School teaching career.
Her last day will be Jan. 31. After that, Assistant Principal Jeanie Owens will take over as principal.
A reception will be held for Owens from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 29, in the commons room in Ocracoke School A community farewell/pep rally is planned for Cole at 2 p.m. Jan. 30 in the Ocracoke School gym.
A total of 54 students were honored with 18 making the Principal’s List (with grade point averages of 93 to 100) and 36 the Honor Roll (with grade point averages of 85 to 92) for the second academic term.
Below are the academic awards. Recipients of Dolphin Awards are chosen by their teachers for their enthusiasm, special interests and contributions to their classes.
Principal’s List recipients. Photo: P. Vankevich
Honor roll recipients Jan. 24, 2024. Photo: P. Vankevich
This warning sign was recently posted at the Springer’s Point Reserve entrance. Photo: P. Vankevich
By Connie Leinbach
The Ocracoke community has been buzzing recently about a sighting of a black bear on the island.
Though it may no longer be an issue, Springer’s Point Nature Reserve on Tuesday installed a warning sign of a bear sighting in the area.
Island visitor Justin Rolfe on Jan. 15 captured a video of a bear getting out of the east side of Silver Lake harbor in front of the Horizon Condos. Islander Charlie Mason, who knows Rolfe, posted the video on Facebook and said the bear then took off toward Springer’s Point reserve.
Another islander later posted that while walking on the beach area at Springer’s Point Reserve, she saw tracks leading into the water but another islander walking South Point Road said she saw bear tracks in the road.
The bear hasn’t been seen since, but the sighting prompted Springer’s Point steward Lena O’Neal to contact the Coast Land Trust, who owns the reserve.
A screen shot of the video posted on Facebook by Justin Rolfe.
“I contacted them that day and we got a sign just to make people aware that one had been sighted in the area,” she said in an interview. “To my knowledge, it hasn’t been spotted on Springer’s.”
It hasn’t been spotted anywhere since on the island, and a bear on Ocracoke or any of the Outer Banks islands is unusual, said Chris Turner, a biologist with the Wildlife Resources Commission’s District 1, which comprises 13 counties.
The last time a bear was spotted on the island, he said, was in 2006.
He said he heard about it when it first appeared Jan. 15, but hasn’t heard anything since; the bear is either gone or lying low.
He said it’s an American black bear, which is the only species of bear on the East Coast.
While bears can swim, he said the unusual thing about this is the timing since January through April is hibernation season.
A black bear print in mud. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
“This is a time of low activity,” he said. “You generally don’t expect to see them this time of year.”
July is typically a time of higher bear activity because that’s the breeding season, he said.
Sometimes they are hit by cars, which can be deadly for both bear and driver.
And, really, Turner said, bears don’t want to see people, but what attracts them is human food.
The main thing is for the community to prevent bears from coming into residential areas. That means securing food scraps, trash cans and grills so that bears don’t find ready food sources.
“Bears don’t want to be around people, but people make it an issue with food,” he said.
People should not try to feed bears, either purposely or inadvertently, and that means take up food that’s outside, such as dog or cat food or uncleaned grills.
Turner has no plans to come to the island about this, but wants the community to keep tabs on it in case something changes. He can be contacted at chris.turner@ncwildlfe.org or 252 221-9961.
If things change in a negative way, he wants to know. A big change would be if the bear is seen getting into trash.
“There’s plenty of wild food out there,” he said, but because bears need about 10,000 calories a day, human food, such as pizza and birthday cake, provide a calorie bonanza.
Hyde and its neighboring counties have large black bear populations, and Turner said there has never been a bear attack on a human in Hyde County.
“For the number of bears we have, apart from the collisions, there are not a lot of problems,” he said.
Winter sunset, Silver Lake harbor, Ocracoke, NC. Photo: C. Leinbach
Ocracoke school basketball teams will play several games away this week:
Monday, Jan, 22 Ocracoke School Middle School Basketball at Hatteras, 4 pm.
Tuesday, Jan. 23 Ocracoke School JV and varsity basketball at Hatteras, JV tipoff at 5 pm. Lady Dolphins and boys varsity follow. Game will be broadcast on WOVV, 90.1 FM and wovv.org.
Wednesday, Jan. 24 Ocracoke School Middle School Basketball at Mattamuskeet, 4 pm
Thursday, Jan. 25 Ocracoke School JV and varsity Basketball at Hobgood, 4 pm. Games will be broadcast by WOVV, 90.1 FM and wovv.org.
Saturday, Jan. 27 Pancake breakfast; United Methodist Church Rec Hall, 7 to 11 a.m. Adults $7; children 8 and under $5. See flyer below.
Looking ahead: A reception will be held for new Ocracoke School Principal Jeanie Owens from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 29, in the commons room in Ocracoke School A community farewell/pep rally is planned for retiring Ocracoke School Principal Leslie Cole, 2 p.m. Jan. 30 in the Ocracoke School gym. Her last day will be Jan. 31.
Ocracoke’s new pharmacist Christie Woolard. Photo: P. Vankevich
By Peter Vankevich
With little fanfare, the Ocracoke Health Center Pharmacy opened its doors on Dec. 11.
Up to then, Ocracoke residents either had to rely on next-day deliveries to the health center from Beach Pharmacy, located in Hatteras village, go off island for prescriptions or use a mail-order service.
And next day delivery is subject to the ferries running and NC 12 Highway open. Bad weather can disrupt this service, sometimes for more than one day.
Located behind the health center at 305 Back Rd. in the renovated building that served for many years as a bunkhouse for Hyde County EMS employees and more recently as an admin office and storage space for the health center, patients can now pick up their medications prescribed the same day.
Open hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number is 252-928-0784. As an open pharmacy, off-islanders can also bring prescriptions to be filled.
Christie Woolard is the director of pharmacy services and the pharmacist. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D) degree from Campbell University, Buies Creek, Hartnett County. Over her long career, she has worked as a pharmacist in North Carolina, New Mexico, South Dakota and Washington.
Even with her impressive background, she says opening a new pharmacy is very complicated.
“Health insurance companies won’t recognize a filing until I put the pharmacy information into their system, which is very time consuming,” she said.
Despite these processing delays, prescriptions are being filled.
The pharmacy will have some over-the-counter items such as vitamins and cough medicines, but don’t expect to see CVS-style Friday laundry detergent sales, said Joe Rockenstein, chief executive officer of the Ocracoke Health, Engelhard Medical and Manteo Community Health centers, in an interview last year on WOVV, Ocracoke’s community radio station.
The over-the-counter shelves are sparsely filled for the time being as Woolard works on finding the best distributor. Vitamins and other products can vary in quality and price, she said, and she is seeking the highest quality and best prices.
Inside Ocracoke’s new pharmacy. Photo: P. Vankevich
The island’s Variety Store stocks many health-related products.
Joe Rockenstein, health center CEO, said prescription prices will be lower than at commercial pharmacies.
Funding for the pharmacy derived from a grant received under the American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2), Health Center Infrastructure Support.
Within this grant the health center contracted with Cardinal Health, a company that specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical products and serves more than 100,000 locations, according to its website. They spearheaded the complex licensure process, provided a floor plan and shelving design and the many necessary security requirements.
The conversion from a bunkhouse/admin/storage space to the pharmacy was done locally by Ihle Construction Inc.
The Ocracoke Health Center board of directors had been discussing a new pharmacy for the last few years.
“I am just thrilled that we’re going to bring this service to the island, that our CEO has followed through and gotten this going for us,” said Sue Pentz, president of the health center board, when the project began in earnest. “It’s exciting and will be a huge service to any of us and the tourists that visit.”
This is big for Hyde County as this is its first open-to-all pharmacy. The only other pharmacy is in the Engelhard Medical Center and is restricted to its patients.
The new pharmacy is located behind the Ocracoke Health Center, 305 Back Rd. Photo: P. Vankevich
The National Weather Service has forecasted temperatures going down to below freezing tonight (Jan. 20) for Ocracoke and the Outer Banks.
While the midday temperature is in the mid-30s, strong gusty winds will push the temperatures down further. Wind chills are forecasted to be in the 20s today and 11 degrees Saturday night. Cold temperatures and strong winds will continue on Sunday, with air temperatures in the mid-30s throughout the day.
A small craft advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. on Sunday due to northwest winds of 15 to 25 knots, with gusts up to 30 knots, and rough waters expected.
The public is advised to protect outdoor pets and sensitive vegetation as needed, and to take precautionary steps to protect pipes from freezing. As temperatures drop, keeping a slow flow of water in faucets may help keep uninsulated pipes from freezing.
Much warmer weather is expected next week, with a few days in the 60s and 70s.
