Dec. 3, 2008

Not just any old bottle...
This one, with a message in it, was tossed off the Jersey shore 39 years ago and eventually washed up at Corolla. It was recently found stuck in the sand by a vacationer from Pennsylvania who was out walking the beach with his 3-year-old daughter. The story...

‘Property insurance disaster’ predicted if Beach Plan isn’t fixed
A special joint committee of the General Assembly meets in Raleigh this afternoon to further address the Beach Plan, which Outer Banks property owners and other coastal residents rely upon for windstorm insurance.

The meeting comes as yet another study warns that “without change, the Beach Plan could result in higher insurance costs for nearly all North Carolina residents, massive withdrawal of insurance companies from the North Carolina market, and fiscal turmoil throughout the state.”

New county board of commissioners sworn in
It took little more than two minutes, and it really wasn’t a new Dare County board that took the oath of office on Monday morning, the first day of December. It was simply a formal reorganization of the board, as required in December following local elections every two years.

There were no new faces, the four incumbents – including the chairman and vice chairman – had all been re-elected without opposition in November. Still, the day’s first item of business was the swearing in ceremony. The ‘new’ board then re-elected both Warren Judge of Kitty Hawk as chairman and Allen Burrus of Buxton as vice-chairman for another two years.

Editorial: A Moment in History

A December invitation...
The manager of Mackay Island National Wildlife has invited those who enjoy watching wildlife to tour the remote refuge this weekend during “Open Door Days.” Normally, most of the refuge and all of its waterways are closed to the public from October 15 through March 15 to protect thousands of wintering snow geese and other inhabitants.

But this Saturday, Dec. 6, from 7 a.m. until sunset, and again on Sunday, visitors willing to make the trip will be able to drive the roads around the Mackay Island refuge and watch nature at work and play. It’s well off the beaten path, as you see from the map, but accessible from Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach, or by taking the free ferry from Currituck.

Slammin’ Sammy’s last night
That was Sunday, the last day of November, when the popular Nags Head sports bar that featured 43 TVs tuned to the games of the day closed its doors for the last time. For the last time at its present location anyway.

Sammy and fellow investors have sold their Nags Head building to Dirty Dick’s Crab House, which will move from its current location in Kill Devil Hills.

And what about all those TV sets at Sammy’s ─ the pool tables, shuffle board, dart board, the pictures on the walls and the laminated bar with a history of its own? They will be preserved. We’re told Sammy’s will probably reopen at another location in the future, “not tomorrow or this year, but eventually.”

Black Friday wasn't blue
There were fears that in view of the economy Black Friday, as it's called, might be blue for many retailers. But that wasn’t the case at Tanger Mall in Nags Head where manager Debbie Moore was quoted as saying things were “crazy busy” from midnight, when it opened, until 3 a.m. Debbie herself was outside helping direct traffic when we called.
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At 6 o’clock Friday morning, when Kmart in Kill Devil Hills opened, there was a crowd outside waiting to get it. “I’m very encouraged,” said store manager James Dygan. “It’s been going better than we expected.”

The smiles were not isolated. At 5:30 in the morning, when the doors to Wal-Mart in Kitty Hawk opened, the line outside was “unbelievable,” according to store manager Max Dutton. “It took about 45 minutes to get inside.”

“It’s been an outstanding morning,” he said. “So far, I’m very pleased.” The same thing in Manteo, where Ace manager Sheila Varner said, “We’re very busy.”

Traditionally, the post-Thanksgiving shopping season accounts for up to 40% of annual retail sales. Those who keep track of such things had predicted that this season could be the worst since the early 1990s, with November sales down 2.2% compared to the 4% growth of November a year ago.

Friday morning’s story was not the full one, of course. Final reports are yet to come. But from all indications Black Friday 2008 was not blue, as predicted. And that was heartening as we roll on toward Christmas and the “Season of Light.”

ECU Pirates to play Tulsa in conference championship game
Greenville (AP) - East Carolina had already locked up its spot in the Conference USA championship game and had little to gain in last Friday's home finale against UTEP.

Still, the Pirates sure didn't look like a team playing a meaningless game.

Brandon Simmons (left) ran for three scores and had a touchdown catch to help East Carolina beat UTEP 53-21, giving the Pirates plenty of momentum and confidence heading into the league title game.

The Pirates will play West Division winner Tulsa this Saturday for the Conference USA championship, to be televised by ESPN2 beginning at 12 noon EST.

Two ambitious politicians cost state major role in recovering $18 million
That is the amount a federal judge says North Carolina has at stake in attempting to recover money on behalf of 820,000 pensioners in the suit against failed mortgage backer Freddie Mac. But squabbling in Raleigh has been costly.

The culprits: state Treasurer Richard Moore and state Attorney General Roy Cooper, who have continually jostled one another for ‘face time’ in their quests for recognition and higher office. The story...

Dare County home sales hit new low, foreclosures now total 170
Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk had the most new ones
The nation’s ailing economy continues to impact Dare County as evidenced by foreclosures and also home sales, which slowed to barely a trickle during the past week. “We hit an all time low again,” reported Mike Ross of Southern Shores Realty.

And he wasn’t just speaking about that company’s sales.

Of 2,814 properties in Multiple Listings (excluding Hatteras Island and the Dare mainland), only 135 were under contract. That’s a sales ratio of 4.7%. “A healthy market,” Ross said, “should be 25 to 35%.”

During the recent real estate boom years on the Outer Banks, the ratio rose to 50& or more “and that’s unhealthy,” Ross added. “It makes prices shoot up. Right now, prices are about where they were in 2003.”

Supply and demand account for that. Further, Ross noted, more foreclosures at discounted prices are “coming on the market, including high-priced properties on the soundside and Martins Point.”

In August of this year, a new North Carolina law was enacted giving property owners 45-day notice before proceedings can begin. Still, Dare County had 36 foreclosures last month, according to RealtyTrac, a national service that promotes the purchase of foreclosed properties at discounted prices.

Kill Devil Hills suffered the most foreclosures in October, 12 (including a $760,000 home), followed by Kitty Hawk (10), Manteo (8), Nags Head (4) and Waves on Hatteras Island with two.

RealtyTrac, in its most recent report, listed 170 foreclosed properties in Dare County, 144 of them bank owned. Currituck County had 173, 72 of them bank-owned. But Currituck had only one new foreclosure in October, a property in the Grandy area.

Home sales throughout North Carolina declined 29 percent during the month of October compared to a year ago and are now down 25 percent for the year, according to the North Carolina Association of Realtors.

Things to See and Do:
* Now thru Dec. 29: The Christmas Show, presented in Kitty Hawk by The Outer Banks Musical Showcase. Call for tickets: 252-261-7505
* Dec. 5 - 6: 11th Annual Rockfish Rodeo, Roanoke Island Festival Park, Manteo. Registration, 2-8 p.m., Friday; fishing and awards, Saturday, Dec. 6.
* Sunday, Dec. 14 - at the Dare County Regional Airport: the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation’s restored aircraft, The Spirit of Freedom. The plane that flew between the divided sections of Berlin during the Cold War of the 1950s will make exhibition flights and be open to the public. 2 p.m. on: reenactment of candy drops to children in East Berlin; Santa will arrive and greet local children.
* Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 15-16: The Spirit on public display.

Avalon Fishing Pier Reports
Cape Hatteras Fishing Reports
Oregon Inlet Fishing Reports
Golf Courses, Conditions
N.C. Lottery Results

Links:
Currituck County
Dare County
- Animal Shelter and Adoptable Pets
- Confederate Fortification Markers
- Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
- Lighthouses
- N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island
Hyde County
N.C. Fishing and Hunting Licenses
OBX Alert documents
Outer Banks Free Press
Outer Banks History Center
Outer Banks Marinas
Topix - Kill Devil Hills

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Thanks, The Editor