It started with a trickle after Hurricane Sandy passed by the Outer Banks in late October with high winds and ocean and soundside flooding.
Small piles of debris started appearing along roadways.
In my neighborhood, it was understandable. Homeowners started gathering downed tree limbs, picking up stray pieces of lumber that floated in, and raking the eel grass that ended up in their yards after the soundside flooding.
Then in certain areas, mostly along Highway 12, the piles started getting larger and larger as more and more folks started piling up their ?storm? debris ? most of which we all know is not storm debris.
Now there are mounds of old lumber, junk, mattresses, sofas, and even an old hot tub on the sides of some roads.
One of the largest dumps is in Frisco, not far from the firehouse. It grew and grew until it was about as long as a football field along the highway.
It?s not in an area with a lot of homes, but along a wooded stretch.
There is also a smaller but growing pile of debris in Frisco along a wooded stretch that runs for a mile or two ? no homes in that area.
There are a few piles in Hatteras village, one on the Buxton Back Road, and one that is still growing near the motels in north Buxton. There are probably some other dumping sites in the northern villages.
There was ocean flooding at the motels, so much of that probably really is storm debris, but we all know that most of it elsewhere is not.
Some of this trash is coming from other areas ? even other villages, some people say.
In some cases, people in trucks with the name of a business or establishment on them have been spotted unloading debris miles from where they are located.
I guess they don?t want all that trash in their neighborhoods.
Dare County announced a schedule for storm debris pickup several weeks after the hurricane. The Hatteras Island pickup was scheduled for early December when county officials thought Highway 12 would be open by Thanksgiving.
Back-to-back northeasters set back repair work on the highway, which is now expected to be open on or before Christmas.
Edward Mann, Dare County?s public works director, said the Hatteras debris pickup is postponed until after the highway opens because it is not practical to send all of the trucks and heavy equipment needed for the pickup on the limited emergency ferries.
Regular garbage pickup is proceeding on schedule.
Mann said he is as frustrated as Hatteras residents who have complained about the dumping to his department and other county officials and on Facebook.
He?d like to know who is doing it, as would Lt. Greg Wilson of the Hatteras Island Sheriff?s office.
The dumping is illegal ? a misdemeanor for fewer than 500 pounds and a felony for anything over that weight.
Proving who is doing the dumping and that it not storm debris is not an easy job, Wilson said, but he would like to hear from anyone who has witnessed illegal dumping and is willing to say so. You can call him at 252-216-6509.
Many residents are offended that their neighbors would dump all this trash illegally ? not in their own neighborhoods but in others.
It?s an eyesore, said one resident and business owner. Visitors to Hatteras Island over Thanksgiving saw all this junk piled along the highway, and now visitors at Christmas will be seeing even bigger piles.
The Buxton transfer station ? aka the Dump ? is open and accepting everything but vegetative debris.
Mann noted that the first 500 pounds is free for residents hauling their debris. Commercial haulers must pay.
Some of the illegal trash was picked up earlier this week by the county Sanitation Department.
But there?s plenty left to do.
When Highway 12 reopens, Mann said, ?We?ll be down there with everything we?ve got to pick it up.?
ANOTHER SURPRISE IN HYDE COUNTY
In last week?s blog, I wrote about how hard Hyde County is working to keep its reputation as the most dysfunctional county in North Carolina intact.
The incoming Board of Commissioners? first order of business was to fire the county manager, a Hyde County native who had been on the job fewer than two years.
A county public information officer provided some background. Since the 1980s, she said, the average length of service of a Hyde County manager has been 18 months.
Well, this week, the commissioners outdid themselves by appointing the newly elected chairman of the board, Barry Swindell, as the interim manager.
Swindell will be paid $50 an hour, but it won?t take him many hours to get the job done, he said.
Apparently, this is all legal. But there is just something about it that just doesn?t pass muster, especially with Ocracokers.
IS A DARE SUPERIOR JUDGE UNDER INVESTIGATION?
Sandy Semans Ross of Stumpy Point may have retired from newspapering and lost a write-in campaign for a seat on the Dare County Board of Commissioners, but she is still keeping an eye on our local government and local officials.
She does it now on her blog, which you can find at http://sunshineobx.blogspot.com/.
The story she posted this week is one you should read for yourself. It?s about the convoluted story of Dare County Resident Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett and whether the Judicial Standards Commission may be investigating his actions related to the Kill Devil Hills Police Department.
The article is based on public documents and raises some serious questions about Tillett?s judicial conduct.
It?s definitely worth your time.
