OBX Alert

Hallelujah!
One lane of NC 12 on Hatteras Island now open to all traffic
The one lane for all vehicles, including trucks and regular passenger cars, was opened at 3 o'clock this afternoon replacing the temporary four wheel drive lane that had been in use since Sunday. More shortly...

Governor declares Dare County state of emergency
Gov. Beverly Perdue took at air tour of the damage left by last week's nor'easter, especially that at Rodanthe on Hatteras Island, after declaring Dare County a disaster area.

The state of emergency declaration is intended as a first step in seeking federal funds to help offset the state Department of Transportation's high cost of completely restoring N.C. 12 on the island.

Travelers: Flood warning in effect for the Williamston area affecting Martin County

NC 12's full reopening date uncertain
When Nights in Rodanthe was filmed in 2007 about a couple of visitors stuck at an inn during a nor'easter, many residents of the area signed up to be extras in the movie. Now they would prefer not to be part of a drama.

State repair crews are working 'round the clock in an effort to restore some 250 yards of Hatteras Island's only highway that were inundated at the movie's locale last Thursday when a devastating nor'easter whipped up a monster high tide.

The state's District 1 Transportation Dept. engineer, Jerry Jennings, calls the damage to NC 12 at Mirlo Beach just north of Rodanthe "the worst" he has ever seen in the area. Repairs are limited to periods of low tide as unusually high ones continue to roll in. Even at low tide, waves are washing across the highway.

All of Hatteras Island is in a state of emergency declared last Thursday by the chairman of Dare County's control group. The only way to get on or off the island other than by boat, plane or ferry, is a single lane around the road work that is restricted to 4-wheel drive vehicles and essential travel.

At first, DOT headquarters said it planned to reopen the highway sometime late Sunday afternoon. But after Jennings reported that 700 to 800 feet of NC 12 (shown above, click to enlarge) were washed out or undermined, DOT revised its hopes for reopening the road to late Tuesday afternoon at best.

The highway is now open on Ocracoke but during the height of the storm it was closed at the north end of the island. There was widespread flooding, Ramp 72 was under water and Ocracoke lost power for several hours.

Skies cleared this week along the northern Outer Banks but the effects of the Veterans Day nor'easter linger on and are of far greater consequence than Hollywood's version of Nights in Rodanthe.

Beach house break-ins during the storm
Kill Devil Hills Police Chief Gary Britt says there seems to be a pattern and "it is our belief that there are several persons or groups responsible for these crimes."

His officers arrested and charged an Elizabeth City man with an outstanding warrant for Probation Violation from Pasquotank County and three counts of second degree burglary after responding to a Saturday afternoon call of forced entry at a Beach Road home.

John Antonio Boseman III is being held in lieu of bond set at $47,000. Police believe that Boseman had an accomplice and/or accomplices and may have friends in the Kill Devil Hills area, Chief Britt said. "The investigation continues and we expect other charges to be forthcoming."

Anyone with information is asked to call Capt. Johnson or Detective Towler at 449-5338.

Kill Devil Hills had eight breaking and enterings last month, but already has had 15 this month, most of them at Beach Road homes, according to Chief Britt. "The suspect(s) are taking cash, video games, and flat screen TV's," he said. "Some are forced entry and some are unforced where the suspects enter an unlocked window or door."

New Senate majority leader selected
Democrats in the North Carolina Senate have selected veteran Buncombe County lawmaker Martin Nesbitt as their new majority leader.

A veteran of 30 years in the legislature, Nesbitt will become the top lieutenant of Senate president pro tem Marc Basnight of Manteo who's been in charge of the Senate since 1993.

Trivette appointed Judge
His wife reports that Kitty Hawk attorney Robert Trivette, a former assistant district attorney, received a phone call from the governor's office Friday afternoon informing him that Gov. Perdue has appointed him a District Court judge for the First Judicial District.

Trivette will fill the vacancy created when Judge J.C. Cole of Hertford was recently elevated to Superior Court.

"We are very excited!" Donna Trivette told friends. Her husband, she said, "will be sworn in before the end of the year" and assume his new position on the bench January 1st.

Outer Banks debate about Sarah Palin's new book:
Republican wife: "I'm going to vote for her as president."
Unaffiliated husband: "You won't have the opportunity, she'll never make it on the ticket.

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Bonner Bridge replacement behind schedule
The chief operating officer of the state Department of Transportation says replacement of old faithful with a new bridge across Oregon Inlet is six to eight weeks behind schedule. Many would say its years overdue.

Nonetheless, Jim Trogdon told a meeting of the Dare County Committee to Replace the Bonner Bridge by telephone Tuesday that construction of a new bridge is still scheduled for completion in 2014.

The Pea Island refuge manager continues to call plans to build the new bridge parallel to the current one “incompatible" with the refuge. And Trogdon said "We’ve had strong indications that the (Southern Environmental Law Center) is considering a lawsuit.”

But, he said, “We have a high level of confidence from attorneys that the approach we are taking is legally defensible.”

Better than Candy
A middle school in Goldsboro, North Carolina, didn't raise much money selling candy last year, so it began selling grades – with the endorsement of its principal.

A $20 "donation" to Rosewood Middle School would get a student 20 test points – 10 extra points on two tests of his or her choice. That could raise a B to an A, or a failing grade to a D.

Principal Susie Shepherd said a parent advisory council came up with the idea, and she approved it. Were the parents of the inmates running the asylum? Seems they were for a while.

That was before Raleigh's News & Observer ran a story Wednesday. Wayne County school administrators then stepped in and ordered Ms. Susie to stop the grade-selling immediately and return any money collected. The school district said further action will be taken if deemed necessary.

It's official:
Two in, two out by just three votes
Election squeakers in Hertford and Southern Shores were almost identical
The Dare County Board of Elections has the recent municipal elections, including Southern Shores write-in candidate George Kowalski's victory by only two votes over incumbent Councilman and mayor pro tem Brian McDonald.

In nearby Pasquotank County the day before, newcomer Lillian Anne Holman was certified as the winner by just one vote over veteran Hertford Councilman and town vice mayor Horace Reid.

"You always feel badly when you lose," said Reid, "but if that’s what the people want, that’s what they’ll receive." McDonald was of the same mind. "There's no point torturing people with a recount," he said, "if it won't make any difference."

Southern Shores Mayor Don Smith was a bit less contained about his landslide loss to former mayor Hal Denny. Asked by The Virginian-Pilot if he will seek office again, Smith replied, "No way! Are you kidding me, after dealing with these kind of lunatics?"

Beach Lifestyles – a go-cart track in Corolla?
The man who has dotted Dare County with eye-catching – some say eyesore – Wings variety stores from Duck to Nags Head and Buxton plans to add his special touch to Corolla in neighboring Currituck County.

If granted a special use permit by the county, Israel Golosa intends to plant a 3.3-acre fun park in the upscale beach community that will include an arcade, a 36-hole miniature golf course and a go-kart track. Residents are excited about the idea, to say the least. A report...

YMCA building in Maple to cost $12 million
The center as planned will be both a Currituck County recreation facility and a YMCA that will open no later that December of 2011, according to The Daily Advance.

Currituck officials have reportedly agreed to a deal with YMCA of South Hampton Roads in which the county will construct a 50,000 square-foot building and the 'Y' will provide up to $10,000 for "design and development" in return for a 30-year lease on space for its center in Maple.

The newspaper said construction is expected to begin in December of next year and quoted the Y's chief operating officer as saying “We want to build a YMCA in the middle of Currituck that gets people to drive” from different places in the Albemarle area. For a member living in Camden but working at Currituck County airport, he said, it will be only a mile-and-a-half drive to the YMCA.

Health Care
A hospital for sea turtles
The Star-News of Wilmington reports that a construction company of that city will design and build a 14,200 square foot facility to be known as the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Surf City on the southern Outer Banks.

The center will include 45 rehabilitation tanks, a laboratory, a surgical suite with an X-ray and an observation deck so the public can witness the care given sea turtles such as this loggerhhead, of a species that has been on the federal endangered list since 1978.

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

Things to See and Do:
* Thursdays: Currituck County Yoga Class, classes are held twice weekly, 5:45 - 6:30 p.m. at the Cooperative Extension Building. Call 232-3007 for more information.
* Saturday, Nov. 14: 29th Annual Kitty Hawk Turkey Shoot, 9 a.m. at The Promenade, sponsored by the Fire Department Association.
* Tuesdays: Bingo, Kill Devil Hills, at the Lions Club starting at 6:30 p.m.
* Wednesdays: Bingo, Kill Devil Hills, at the Colington Fire Department, 6:30 p.m., doors open at 5:30.

Links:
Currituck County
Dare County
- Animal Shelter and Adoptable Pets
- Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station
- Confederate Fortification Markers
- Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
- Lighthouses
- N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island
- Outer Banks History Center
- Outer Banks Visitors Bureau
- Roanoke Island Festival Park
- The Lost Colony
Hyde County

Other links of particular interest:
Carova Corner
Eastern Carolina Radio News
N.C. Beach Buggy Association
N.C. Fishing and Hunting Licenses
Ocracoke Newsletter
Outer Banks Free Press
Outer Banks Marinas
Russ's Outer Banks Journal
Southern Shores Times

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The Editor