Tuesday, Oct. 10 Ocracoke School Varsity Soccer at home, 4 pm
Lighthouse by plein air painter Joanne Geisel.
1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Jocob Ritter of Wilson Spring Hotel
Wednesday, Oct. 11 Ocracoke Planning Board, 5:30 pm. Community Center.
Friday, Oct. 13: Rabies vaccine clinic, 9 am to noon. $15 per shot. Community Center. All dogs and cats over the age of four months must be vaccinated according to North Carolina law.
Ocracoke School JV and varsity volleyball at home, 4 pm
Ocracoke School varsity soccer at home, 4 pm
Plein air artists show & sell their work, 3 to 6 pm at 31 Creek Road.
Bingo. Fundraiser for Ocracoke basketball. 6 pm. Community Center.
1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Brooke & Nick, 7 pm
The Breeze: The Pollocks, 9 pm
Saturday, Oct. 14 Clam Chowder Cook-off. Tasting from 4-5:30 pm. Community Center.
RALEIGH – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting entries to its 19th annual Wildlife in North Carolina Photo Competition. Entries will be accepted until Jan. 31.
The contest is open to amateur and professional photographers of all ages, except for employees of the Wildlife Commission and their immediate families (children, siblings and spouses).
Adult competition entrants must be current magazine subscribers. Photographers in the two youth categories (13-17 years old and 12 and under) may enter without a subscription.
Only digital entries in JPEG format, no larger than 2 MB, will be considered — no slides, negatives or prints will be accepted. Photographs must have been taken in North Carolina on Sept. 15, 2019, or later.
Entrants may submit a maximum of two photos per category. The competition categories are:
Animal Behavior
Birds
Invertebrates
Mammals
Outdoor Recreation
Reptiles and Amphibians
Wild Landscapes
Wild Plants and Fungi
Youth Photographer, 13-17: Any of the above subjects, shot by children ages 13-17.
Youth Photographer, 12 and under: Any of the above subjects, shot by children 12 and younger.
Photos of captive native animals are allowed, but photos of animals that are both captive and non-native to North Carolina will not be accepted. No pets or domestic animals will be accepted, except animals participating with people in an outdoor activity, such as hunting dogs or horses with riders.
Entries will be judged by a panel comprising staff from the Wildlife Commission and professional wildlife photographers. The grand prize winner’s photo will be published on the cover of the July/August 2024 issue of Wildlife in North Carolina, and the winner will receive a cash prize of $200.
All winning photos will be published in the July/August 2024 issue. Cash prizes of $100, $75 and $50 will be awarded to the first, second and third place photographers, respectively, in each category.
Additional details about the contest and past winning photos are available at ncwildlife.org/contest.
When an animal is part of a sustained news cycle, it frequently is not good news.
The monarch butterfly is one of them. This beautiful large butterfly seen primarily in the fall here has distinctive orange and black wings.
It ranges from southern Canada, throughout the United States to northern Mexico. They are famous for making a fall migration, some as many as thousands of miles, to the mountainous forests of central Mexico.
Formerly a common sight, a decline began over the last 40 years.
In 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a disturbing report that one billion monarchs had disappeared from their wintering habitat.
The eastern migratory monarch butterfly population has decreased by more than 80%, according to one study.
A major cause of this precipitous decline is a loss of milkweed plants, the only plant where they will lay their eggs and the caterpillars will feed on the leaves. The loss of these plants is due to extensive use of herbicides and habitat loss.
Although not on the endangered species list, the monarch is a species of concern and the governments of Canada, United States and Mexico and a host of nongovernmental organizations, state agencies and academic institutions are making multiple conservation efforts to make them a common sight like old times.
On Ocracoke, Gil and Jann Randel who for years have recorded in a database called Hawk Countthe number of migrating falcons, hawks, ospreys and vultures that pass-through Ocracoke in the fall, also keep a list of the number of monarchs they see and record them in the Hawk Watch Monarch Butterfly Migration Monitoring database
On the personal level, folks can customize their backyard gardens to make them monarch friendly. Such a garden can have residual benefits by helping badly needed pollinators and other fauna.
Can Ocracoke be monarch friendly?
Joseph Ramunni, owner of the Ocracoke Garden Center, says it already is because many flowering plants will provide food for monarchs on their migratory journey.
He doesn’t sell milkweed plants but said that most of the flowering plants in the center always have butterflies around them.
At her house on British Cemetery Road, Anne Becker is giving milkweeds the old college try.
“I have a small yard but want to create a safe and abundant stop for both monarch butterflies and birds on their journeys,” said Becker, who has planted a dozen milkweeds. “It’s important to get the right kind, though,” she added.
While all milkweed is attractive to butterflies, the so-called Eastern Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), the one with pink flowers, is the one to plant here, she said.
Becker was referring to Asclepias incarnata, the milkweed that was once abundant along the East Coast and that monarchs uniquely rely on.
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons by Fritz Flohr Reynolds
Just about anyone on Ocracoke can plant Eastern Swamp Milkweed as it thrives in our hot and humid environment and, once established, requires little if any regular care.
It can be sensitive to intense storms and flooding. So, milkweed should be planted in a raised bed or any spot that doesn’t flood, including in pots on your deck.
After monarchs arrive in the late summer, when the leaves get munched and disappear, that simply means they’ve succeeded in laying and hatching their offspring.
Becker planted her milkweed two years ago, and it is now starting to spread.
Her biggest plant now looks like a giant green twig, which shows that monarchs were there and laid eggs and the babies fed.
Not waiting for the milkweed to mature, Anne has planted other native plants including the saltmarsh fleabane (Pluchea odorata), considered one of the 50 best butterfly attracting plants for North Carolina.
Saltmarsh Fleabane. Photo: P. Vankevich
Now is the time to shop for Eastern Swamp Milkweed, which should be planted in autumn or early spring.
The Ocracoke Garden Center currently does not have milkweed plants, but several online nurseries will even ship milkweed plants.
MedAssist is offering a free over-the-counter medicine giveaway in Hyde County this month.
Ocracoke residents can submit forms to Teresa Adams at the Ocracoke liaison office in the Community Center from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 16 or Oct. 18. Meds will be delivered to the island.
According to medassist.org, NC MedAssist is the only statewide non-profit pharmacy in North Carolina. Through its various programs, they provide prescription and over-the-counter medications to our neighbors in need at no cost.
Although the mobile free pharmacy will be on the mainland on Oct. 20 and the flyer below is geared toward that event, see it for details on how to register to get the meds on Ocracoke.
MedAssist ofrece este mes un obsequio gratuito de medicamentos de venta libre en el condado de Hyde. Los residentes de Ocracoke pueden enviar formularios a Teresa Adams en la oficina de enlace de Ocracoke en el Centro Comunitario desde las 9 a. m. hasta el mediodía el 16 o 18 de octubre. Los medicamentos se entregarán en la isla. Según medassist.org, NC MedAssist es la única farmacia estatal sin fines de lucro en Carolina del Norte. A través de sus diversos programas, brindan medicamentos recetados y de venta libre a nuestros vecinos necesitados sin costo alguno. Aunque la farmacia móvil gratuita estará en el continente el 20 de octubre y el siguiente folleto está dirigido a ese evento, consúltelo para obtener detalles sobre cómo registrarse para obtener los medicamentos en Ocracoke.
As the NC Senior Tar Heel Legislature delegate for Hyde County, I stand in support of Ageism Awareness Day on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Ageism refers to the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) toward others or oneself based upon age. It is pervasive in every domain of American society. Ageism harms everyone, but it particularly harms our economy. AARP estimated $850 billion in lost gains to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a result of involuntary retirement, underemployment, and unemployment among older workers. In a 2005 article in the Journal of Social Issues Todd Nelson said, “Ageism is prejudice against our future self.”
Adults age 60+ comprise 23% of NC’s population, yet our state’s appropriations for funding for services that enable us to age with choice, at home, are less than 1% of the state budget each year. None of us want to think we could be guilty of ageism.
This year, the NC Senior Tar Heel Legislature (NCSTHL) recommended to the NC General Assembly the appropriation of $18.75 million in additional recurring funds to address critical issues facing older adults. The five recommendations of the NCSTHL were aimed to ensure that “seasoned citizens” have access to resources that enhance their lives and health outcomes across programs such as Adult Protective Services, senior centers, the state block grant supporting services such as home-delivered meals, and long-term care improvements. The NC General Assembly did not respond to the NCSTHL’s recommendations to support the needs of the growing older adult population.
It is quite concerning that issues for North Carolina’s aging population seem to have such a low priority. On Ageism Awareness Day, Oct. 7, let’s take a moment to consider how we treat older adults and how we want to be treated as we age. Let’s support the NC Senior Tar Heel Legislature and its efforts to ensure that North Carolina is not only a great place to grow up, but a great place to grow old.
— Jan Moore, Hyde County Commissioner for Swan Quarter
About the NCSTHL: The North Carolina Senior Tar Heel Legislature was created as a nonpartisan, unicameral body by the North Carolina General Assembly with the passage of Senate Bill 479 in July of 1993. Its purpose is to identify the most pressing issues facing older adults across the state and propose legislation that will improve their quality of life to the NC General Assembly. The NCSTHL is composed of delegates and alternates representing each of North Carolina’s 100 counties, supported by the Area Agency on Aging serving the state’s 16 service areas.
At a recent public meeting of government officials one of those present was talking about a news story and said, “It was one of the few times a journalist got it right.”
We are dismayed hearing this kind of bashing of newspapers and journalists because most journalists do try to get it right.
Journalism does have a rollicking history –- that includes a young Mark Twain making up outright lies about citizens on the frontier of Nevada and the muckraking newspapers of the early 20th century.
Setting aside the sensational tabloids, that kind of journalism for serious newspapers has subsided quite a bit due in part to many excellent journalism programs in colleges and universities nationwide.
Time was when aspiring journalists were taught in vibrant newsrooms, often by crusty editors, to “get the facts right,” which is something that involves constant questioning and fact checking to make sure that, yes, we got it right.
Of course, there are always two or more sides to any story, and most journalists do try to present them.
We don’t know which news outlet this official was referring to, but it may be that nowadays and for the last several years, some people don’t like to read or know “the facts.”
At a time when Americans have more media access than ever, we at the Observer do our best to get the facts right and make us a reliable source of information.
“We are inundated with stories, memes, videos and promotions 24 hours a day,” says Dean Ridings, CEO of America’s Newspapers, in honor of National Newspaper Week, Oct. 1 to 7. “Most of us are on social media, which is built to provide an endless feed of content to keep us glued to our screens. And unfortunately, misinformation is prevalent and much of that content isn’t fact-checked, verified or professionally produced.
“The result is that we’re not always shown what we need to know, or the information that is most likely to impact our lives. That’s where local newspapers come in.”
But local news outlets are becoming fewer.
According to Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications’ October 2022 State of Local News report: “Newspapers are continuing to vanish at a rapid rate. An average of more than two a week are disappearing.
“Since 2005, the country has lost more than a fourth of its newspapers (2,500) and is on track to lose a third by 2025.
“Even though the pandemic was not the catastrophic ‘extinction-level event’ some feared, the country lost more than 360 newspapers between the waning pre-pandemic months of late 2019 and the end of May 2022.
“All but 24 of those papers were weeklies, serving communities ranging in size from a few hundred people to tens of thousands. Most communities that lose a newspaper do not get a digital or print replacement. The country has 6,380 surviving papers: 1,230 dailies and 5,150 weeklies.”
The Outer Banks would seem to be an outlier from these statistics as it has several local news sources. In addition to the Ocracoke Observer, there are online The Island Free Press, The Outer Banks Voice, WOBX.com and OBX Today.
These papers are run by journalists who believe in fairness, accuracy, integrity and getting the facts right, in making a difference.
We aren’t perfect and when we make mistakes, we like to quickly correct them.
But be aware that, as Philip L. Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post said, “Journalism is the first rough draft of a history that will never be completed about a world we can never really understand.”
This is particularly true with major breaking news stories which become more accurate with subsequent updates.
The news business is exciting, and the adrenaline can flow when chasing a major event, striving for accuracy, fairness and good writing.
It’s a lifelong learning job, in which those working in it enjoy learning and illuminating both the good and the bad in society.
Whether you access the content from your local newspaper in print or online, remember that it is produced for you. And behind the articles, columns, and images is a team of local residents who are committed to making your community stronger.
Many years ago, radio was declared dead. It wasn’t. Ocracoke has its own, vibrant community radio station, WOVV (Ocracoke’s Village Voice).
Newspapers are down, but not dead.
It’s time for a resurgence for community newspapers.
Monday, Oct. 2 Hyde County Commissioners, 6 pm. Community Center and on Facebook at Hyde County Public Information.
Wednesday, Oct. 4 Deepwater Theater: “A Binding Truth” documentary film about the North Carolina history of racial divides and civil rights in the Charlotte area in 1965 and reconciliation that has been happening since then between the two hosts, will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Deepwater Theater.
Friday, Oct. 6 Ocracoke School Homecoming: Events start at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. There will be hotdogs for sale at the new concession stand (Even veggie hotdogs), plus a coed alumni basketball game and coed student volleyball game.
De Kirkpatrick and Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick will attend the showing.
A documentary film, “A Binding Truth,” about the North Carolina history of racial divides and civil rights in the Charlotte area in 1965 and reconciliation that has been happening since then between the two hosts, will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 4) in the Deepwater Theater.
Admission is free but donations will be accepted.
Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick and De Kirkpatrick, about whom the film was made, will attend.
In 1965, Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick made a decision that changed history and swept him into one of North Carolina’s most volatile civil rights cases, played out at the explosive intersection of football and race.
Jimmie Lee grew up in an all-black community on the outskirts of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County. His father left the family when Jimmie Lee was 11 and he was raised by his mother and grandparents. His great-grandmother worked for a wealthy white Charlotte family as a domestic worker and a cook. It was a time when there were separate white and black drinking fountains and negative consequences for crossing societal lines.
A gifted athlete like his dad, Jimmie was a sensational running back, one of the best in North Carolina. He became deeply conflicted when a school boundary changed and presented him with a choice for his senior year: Stay with friends and teammates at all-black Second Ward High, or move to affluent, white Myers Park High, that offered many more opportunities.
Almost 50 years later, in 2013, a Charlotte Observer newspaper series told of the connections between Jimmie Lee’s undefeated 1965 football season at Myers Park, a high-stakes civil rights case filed by Julius Chambers against the Shrine Bowl – the result of Jimmie not being selected to play in the iconic all-star game – and the bombings of four civil rights leaders’ homes in Charlotte.
Jimmie Lee said then he lives in two worlds: “I see my white friends and my black friends, but never together.”
Among those who read the Observer articles was De Kirkpatrick, a forensic psychologist and a white high school classmate of Jimmie Lee’s.
The two weren’t friends at Myers Park, but, because of their last name, had jokingly called each other “cuz.” They made plans to talk for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Many of those years, Jimmie Lee was in search of his genealogy, a complicated family history, and his own identity.
In a shocking phone call, he shared with De what he had discovered – that their connection went back far further than high school, to a plantation in Mecklenburg County on the eve of the Civil War. “Your great-great-grandfather owned my great-great-great grandfather.”
This truth stunned De. Learning that his ancestors were slave owners was a life-changing moment and sparked a journey for both men at age 65.
“Put aside your guilt and I’ll put aside my anger,” Jimmie Lee said to De, “and we have a chance to learn from each other.”
Although this story is rooted in the South, it is also America’s story – one of slavery’s legacy, present-day racial divide, and the hope that by learning from each other, we can heal deep wounds that many of us have never faced.
The national test will consist of two portions: testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones. This will be the third nationwide test, but the second test to all cellular devices. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset.
The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will be the seventh nationwide EAS test.
FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with EAS participants, wireless providers, emergency managers and other stakeholders in preparation for this national test to minimize confusion and to maximize the public safety value of the test.
The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level. In case the Oct. 4 test is postponed due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the back-up testing date is Oct. 11.
The WEA portion of the test will be initiated using FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), a centralized internet-based system administered by FEMA that enables authorities to send authenticated emergency messages to the public through multiple communications networks. The WEA test will be administered via a code sent to cell phones.
This year the EAS message will be disseminated as a Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) message via the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System-Open Platform for Emergency Networks (IPAWS-OPEN).
All wireless phones should receive the message only once. The following can be expected from the nationwide WEA test:
Beginning at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET, cell towers will broadcast the test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, WEA-compatible wireless phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower, and whose wireless provider participates in WEA, should be capable of receiving the test message.
For consumers, the message that appears on their phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
Phones with the main menu set to Spanish will display: “ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia. No se necesita acción.”
WEA alerts are created and sent by authorized federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies through IPAWS to participating wireless providers, which deliver the alerts to compatible handsets in geo-targeted areas. To help ensure that these alerts are accessible to the entire public, including people with disabilities, the alerts are accompanied by a unique tone and vibration.
Important information about the EAS test:
The EAS portion of the test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and will be conducted with the participation of radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers and wireline video providers.
The test message will be similar to the regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar. It will state: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.
