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 Two die and three are critically injured in explosion of fireworks truck on Ocracoke. Two people were killed and three were critically injured today on Ocracoke in an explosion of a tractor-trailer truck carrying fireworks for a July 4 display. ....Read more |
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 July 4 weekend on Hatteras and Ocracoke has something for everyoneIslanders and visitors will find a wide array of events on the islands this weekend – fireworks, a parade, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a sand sculpture contest, a beach access rally, and more. ....Read more |
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 UPDATE….Two people who died on seashore beaches are identified The National Park Service has identified two people who died after swimming in the ocean on the seashore yesterday. According to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Chief Ranger Paul Stevens, the two victims were Barbara Eugenia Mason, 64, of Kitty Hawk and Paul Kozuch, 87, of Fenelton, Pa. ....Read more Two people die in apparent drownings on seashore beaches Park Service rangers, Emergency Medical Services personnel, and rescue squads were busy on Thursday afternoon, June 25, with steady calls for ocean rescues on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Two people who were involved in the incidents died, according to seashore Chief Ranger Paul Stevens. ....Read more |
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 Ferries between Ocracoke and mainland return to normal schedules The ferry runs between Cedar Island-Ocracoke and Swan Quarter-Ocracoke will return to the normal schedule effective Friday, June 26. ....Read more |
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 Details about ban on plastic bags on Outer Banks State Sen. Marc Basnight’s office has released details on Senate Bill 1018, which would ban plastic bags at certain retail stores on the Outer Banks. Here are details that are of interest to Outer Banks businesses, as well as islanders and visitors. ....Read more Outer Banks plastic bag ban awaits governor’s signature The Outer Banks is set to become the first community on the East Coast to banish those wispy plastic bags. Gov. Bev Perdue is expected to sign the bill that bans large local retailers from using the ubiquitous bags, spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson said Tuesday. The state Senate passed the bill 44-2 on Monday. Story by Catherine Kozak in The Virginian-Pilot. http://hamptonroads.com/2009/06/nc-plastic-bag-ban-awaits-governors-signature |
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 Nine students graduate from Ocracoke School….WITH SLIDE SHOWNine seniors in the Ocracoke School Class of 2009 received their diplomas on Sunday evening, June 14, during ceremonies at the school. ....Read more |
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 60 students receive diplomas at Cape Hatteras Secondary School….WITH SLIDE SHOWSixty seniors received their diplomas at the Cape Hatteras Secondary School of Coastal Studies graduation ceremonies on Saturday evening, June 13. School guidance counselor Betsy Gwin said the class was the largest in the memory of any of the school administrators. Fifty-nine seniors graduated in 2006, Gwin said. Last year, there were 41 graduates. ....Read more |
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 Water line replacement at Hatteras village nears completionReplacement of a 12-inch water supply line along Highway 12 north of Hatteras village is expected to be completed by Friday, June 12, with no interruption of service to customers. ....Read more |
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 Cape Hatteras graduate is coming home to practice medicine on the island Jamie Francis graduated from Cape Hatteras Secondary School in 1997 as valedictorian of her class. She left the island to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has been gone ever since. After she earned her bachelor’s degree, she went on to UNC School of Medicine. She graduated from medical school in 2005 and is now winding up a four-year residency in Delaware. This summer she will return to the island after 12 years away as Dr. Jamie Francis Fountain. At age 29, she will begin her new career at HealthEast Family Care on Aug. 17. ....Read more |
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 Community rallies around family of child killed in tragic accidentThe Hatteras Island community is rallying around the family of a 7-year-old boy who was killed in a traffic accident in Buxton on Sunday, June 7. According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Cesar Ascensio Ramirez died after a neighbor backed over him in his vehicle as he was backing out of his driveway on Nace Jennette Road in Buxton. ....Read more |
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 Kite gets tangled in electric lines and knocks out power to the islands A kiteboarder who lost control of his kite on Wednesday, June 3, about mid-day caused a power outage on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands and was cited by the National Park Service for operating a kite within 150 feet of an electric line. ....Read more |
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 Outer Banks Scenic Byway path dedicated in BuxtonOn Wednesday afternoon, June 3, the sixth grade class of Cape Hatteras Secondary School, along with a handful of teachers and community members, gathered at the school’s cafeteria to dedicate a portion of Hatteras Island’s first, and so far only, Scenic Byway pathway. The pathway, which begins in front of the United Methodist Church on Buxton Back Road, currently extends seven-tenths of a mile, ending at Crossway Road. When completed later this month, the path will be 1.5 miles long, will cover the entire Back Road, and will continue up Highway 12, ending in front of the entrance to Lighthouse Road the road that leads to the Cape Hatteras Light. ....Read more |
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 Divers and fishermen express concerns about ongoing review of Monitor sanctuary managementSmarting from the sting of federal actions that have closed public access to stretches of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Dare County fishermen and divers last week expressed little faith that an ongoing management review of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary would address the concerns of the local community. “We have a real sense of déjà vu. We’re hearing talk about the importance of the process, public input, and advisory committees, but we’ve just suffered through 18 months of the same thing with the federal government on the beach access issue,” said Rob Alderman, producer of the “Outer Banks Angler” television program. ....Read more |
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 The future of the island’s pharmacies is in danger The rising cost of health care is an issue that has left millions of Americans either underinsured or uninsured. It is an issue even for those who have insurance, and it has both insurance companies and employers trying to cut costs. Caught in the squeeze are independent pharmacies, such as Beach Pharmacy in Avon and the Beach Pharmacy in Hatteras, and the health and well-being of island residents and visitors. ....Read more |
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 Buxton Beach is No. 7 on Dr. Beach’s Top Ten list Buxton Beach at Cape Hatteras has moved up a notch on Dr. Beach’s Top Ten list of America’s best beaches for 2009. This year the lifeguarded beach near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse ranks No. 7 on the list – up from No. 8 last year. ....Read more |
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 Wind energy projects in coastal waters will likely generate controversyWind - always a subject of passionate debate among Outer Banks fishermen, surfers, and kiteboarders - is likely to generate controversy when the first wind energy projects are proposed for waters off the North Carolina coast. “There are no formal proposals at this time, but there have been general discussions and there are developers with interests,” said Bob Leker, renewable energy program manager with the State Energy Office in Raleigh. A number of stakeholders -- including commercial fishermen, recreational boaters, environmentalists, coastal residents, airline pilots, and passenger ferry operators – have concerns. ....Read more |
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 Attorney disputes state on Bonner bridge right of wayAn attorney for an environmental group is questioning the state's interpretation of right-of-way issues that affect the replacement for the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge. In a letter sent to state Secretary of Transportation Eugene Conti on Thursday, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center said the state Department of Transportation is incorrect in its belief that two recently discovered old deeds give the state right of way in perpetuity for N.C. 12 through Pea Island. The attorney, Derb Carter, contends that the state gave away its interests to the United States in 1954 but that it reserved rights to build roads through the seashore lands and not the refuge lands. An article by Catherine Kozak in The Virginian-Pilot. http://hamptonroads.com/2009/05/attorney-disputes-state-nc-bridge-right-way Unearthed deeds clear fresh path for bridge project The discovery of two old deeds will allow the state Department of Transportation to save $300 million on a replacement for the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge. The deeds apparently let the department get around right-of-way issues, which have been a major impediment to construction, through Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. The bridge will no longer have to stay within an established corridor through Pea Island. By Catherine Kozak from The Virginian-Pilot http://hamptonroads.com/2009/05/unearthed-deeds-clear-path-bonner-bridge-project |
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 Community Care Clinic aids Dare’s uninsured and underinsuredIn an economic climate that includes a 14.6 percent unemployment rate, one of the highest in the state, the free Community Care Clinic of Dare is as important to local residents as ever, operating the first and third Tuesday night every month from its office at the new Dare County Office Building in Frisco. Staffed with a combination of volunteers and paid staff, the clinic’s mantra is that “Basic healthcare is a necessity...not a luxury.” ....Read more |
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 Budget problems cutting ferry routesNorth Carolina’s revenue shortfall and budget cuts are taking a toll on the state’s ferry schedules, including the Pamlico Sound toll ferries between Ocracoke and Cedar Island and Swan Quarter. ....Read more |
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   Winter sunsets Few sights are as spectacular as the winter sunsets on Hatteras and Ocracoke. These breathtaking views don't happen every evening, but they happen often enough to make us thankful for winter days. Lynne Murray lives in Brigand's Bay in Frisco in a soundfront home and takes photos of special sunsets to share with neighbors and friends. We thought we would share two special ones with you. The first was on Dec. 16 of last year, and the second, on Jan. 29. Maybe we will add to them over the winter.  These photos were sent to us by John Fairbanks and were taken at his house in Frisco. "Can you see the shark in the sky?" Fairbanks asks. He says it's "jumping over the Frisco Volunteer Fire Department. " We could see it. Can you?  That's my boy!
David Lee Pitt, son of Alan and Jenna Pitt, eyes some passing beach beauties in this photo from Memorial Day weekend of 2007 near Ramp 49 in Frisco. David's parents live in Richmond and regularly visit Frisco, where they have a place at the Frisco Woods Campground. Alan, the proud father who took this photo, says the day is special because it's the first time David, who was eight months old, crawled on his own. "Not only did he accomplish that on my favorite chunk of land on this planet, but he headed right for the sea! His ogling the bikini girls was an unexpected bonus," says Alan.  Favorite
Scenes
Beverly Vogel of Manassas, Va., took these photos in January. She and her family have been visiting the area for 23 years and used to come four times a year to stay at the General Mitchelll Motel, which was destroyed in Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Her photos include the Bodie Island Lighthouse at sunrise, "Mighty Hatteras," and the "I have a personality" pelican, photographed on Roanoke Island.  Kinnakeet
vacations
Mark Augustson is a Hatteras Island native who now lives in Cary, N.C. His family includes Grays from Avon, and he often returns there to vacation. He says he misses the island and has shared some of his favorite photos with us.  Winter on
Ocracoke
Ben Spain of Tarboro, N.C., a regular visitor to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands for many years, took these photographs on a weekend trip to Ocracoke in February.  Deer Go To
School
Cape Hatteras Elementary School first-grade teacher Trish Dempsey took these photographs of a doe and her fawn just outside her classroom window on Feb. 25. "It was so cool," observed Dempsey, "they stayed around for a few minutes, giving students time to check them out! How neat is this?"  Salvo Sunset
Jenny Hooper of Salvo sent us these photos of a January sunset at the National Park Service's Salvo Day Use Area.  A little piece of Heaven Paul and Shirley Kelly of New Milford, Pa., have owned a unit at Hatteras Cabanas for 24 years. Shirley says they have trouble thinking of another place that they want to vacation. They already thought they had found their “little piece of heaven” when they came for a visit in late October. “This beautiful rainbow happened on a gloomy week for us in Hatteras,” Shirley says, “but it reminded us how, even in the dreariness, we seem to always find something glorious to make our time there memorable. The photo were taken on Oct. 26 from the upper deck of Cabana 16. The cabanas were totally destroyed in Hurricane Isabel in 2003. “It is wonderful just to be back and part of our beautiful community again,” Shirley says.  A bagpiper on the beach Only on Hatteras would you be riding your bicycle through the village on the day before Thanksgiving and hear a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace” coming from the other side of the dunes, but that is what happened to Buddy and Anne Swain. “Knowing that to be a bit unusual,” Buddy says, “we parked the bikes and did a little investigating. As we crested the dunes, there, silhouetted by the sun, was the guy you see below playing his heart out. Of course, I raced home, got my trusty camera, returned and clicked away.” We’re sorry we don’t know the name of the bagpiper, but if you do, please let us send it along.
Fire in the Sky Many
of us believe that only on Hatteras and Ocracoke can you view winter's
most spectacular sunsets. These photos of the sun setting on
the Pamlico Sound were taken by Lynne Murray of Frisco from her home in
Brigand's Bay. And they do, indeed, look like there is a fire
on the horizon.
Taking a marlin for a walk Only on Hatteras can you see a blue marlin being taken for a walk. As renovation work progressed on the Hatteras Village Community building, the world record blue marlin had to be moved from the glass display case in the front of the building to safer quarters. The marlin will reside at the Hatteras Marlin Club until the work is complete. After a beauty treatment, the marlin will return to a refurbished showcase in the front of the building for all to admire. The original plan was for the men pictured to load the marlin in a truck for the trip to its temporary home. However, the day was nice and the Marlin Club is only a short distance, so they decided to take the giant fish for a walk.
Fall on
Ocracoke
Only on Hatteras and Ocracoke are the colors in the late afternoon sky so lovely. These photos were taken on Ocracoke by Jo Anna Chrismon of Clayton, N.C., on Sept. 27 of last year. "Ocracoke is my piece of heaven, and I try to pay an annual homage trip there," Jo Anna says. 
A
white winter on Pea Island
Swans and white pelicans share the ponds at The Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on Hatteras in this photo taken by Ed Rebstock on Jan. 8. Ed says he thought all the birds on the pond were swans until he looked at his photos and noticed the white pelicans.
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