Commissioner says slot machines on ferries would raise more money than tolls

By CONNIE LEINBACH Hyde County commissioner John Fletcher thinks the N.C. Department of Transportation should look into installing slot machines on the long-haul ferries to help with the revenue crunch. He proposed this idea Feb. 3 at the monthly meeting of the Hyde County Board of Commissioners. Fletcher is the Ocracoke representative. “The money that […]

Local News |  Full Article

Ferry tolls back on the table; could it be as much as $7 for Hatteras to Ocracoke?

The specter of tolls on the Hatteras-Ocracoke route is again rearing its head. In December, the N.C. Board of Transportation adopted a resolution in response to a law passed in the General Assembly last year that authorizes the state DOT to “prescribe and collect tolls on the ferry routes.” The resolution requires the DOT to […]

Local News |  Full Article

Ocracoke woman with metal legs aims to spread her message about life with disabilities

Kelley Shinn finds Ocracoke the perfect place to write her memoir about losing her legs—and almost her life–when she was 16. Shinn, 40, an adjunct professor of writing at the University of Akron, is living on the island with her two children on a writer-in-residence fellowship to chronicle her life. She also is conducting a […]

Island Features |  Full Article

Pirates and visitors swarm Ocracoke for first annual Blackbeard Jamboree…WITH SLIDE SHOW

History re-enactors call what they did over the weekend at the First Annual Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree on Ocracoke “time tripping.” “This is as authentic as you can get,” explained Bill Burgess, one of the Devilmen of Cape Feare, after the “Battle of Ocracoke” in Silver Lake with three period boats and lots of gunpowder making […]

Local News |  Full Article