More Vandalism of Shorebird Closure Fencing

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - A new act of vandalism/trespass to posted shorebird protection areas has occurred at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, this time on Bodie Island Spit just north of Oregon Inlet. On Sunday, June 22, 2008, Seashore staff discovered damaged fencing and off-road vehicle tire tracks that violated three resource protection areas that were in place south of Ramp 4 towards the inlet.

The violation apparently occurred between the hours of 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 21 and 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 22, 2008. The park ranger who investigated the violation observed one sign destroyed and numerous, obvious tire spin-out tracks in the sand, including zigzagging across the beach, “doughnut” tire marks, and evidence of sand thrown considerable distances from the tire tracks, which suggest the vehicle was traveling at an excessive speed for conditions. At the time of this press release there are no leads to the identity of the vehicle or operator.

The April 30, 2008 court ordered Consent Decree, which resolved a lawsuit related to shorebird and sea turtle protection at the Seashore, requires the National Park Service (NPS) to automatically expand the closure area by 50 meters if a first confirmed deliberate act disturbs or harasses wildlife or vandalizes fencing, nests, or plants. In this case, Seashore staff documented the incident and expanded the closures by 50 meters each as ordered by the Consent Decree. The Consent Decree also requires that if a second such act occurs, the buffer shall automatically be expanded by 100 m. And if a third act occurs, the buffer shall be expanded by 500 m if NPS determines it is necessary to minimize the extent of further disturbance.

“This was an egregious violation, plain and simple,” said Superintendent Mike Murray. “Irresponsible behavior such as this not only puts nesting birds at risk, which under the Consent Decree, leads to more stringent protection, it also reduces access for the many park visitors who do comply with the rules.”

Destruction of government property and entering a resource closure are federal criminal violations, each subject to up to a $5,000 fine and up to six months imprisonment.

What a bunch of idiots! I don't think this is going to help, people. "Spin-Out Tracks" - hmmmmmm, a bunch of drunk visitors, maybe? How about putting some of this energy into working with our park service to create a balance.

Another Food Lion in Nags Head!?

The last of our local grocery stores recently closed, with its space being taken over by a big chain store... now, we have ANOTHER Food Lion on the way!? I have to say, I found this story a little shocking - why in the world do we need another?

THE VIRGINIAN PILOT - Once intended as the site for an Albemarle Health facility, one of the largest undeveloped pieces of property in Nags Head is now planned for a Food Lion supermarket, two banks and some small retail shops.

The preliminary site plan was submitted to the Nags Head planning department on Thursday.

Manteo developer R.V. Owens agreed in March to buy the 10.5 acres from Pasquotank County for $7.25 million.

Owens, the former owner of R.V.'s Restaurant in Nags Head, said he wanted to build a low-impact development that would serve the local community.

"I tried to listen to everybody and what they were saying," he said. "I tried to find a mix that's a good fit for the area."

Located off U.S. 158 between Abalone Street and Baltic Street near Milepost 10.5, the 35,502-square-foot grocery store is to be on the northern end of the tract, with 10 retail shops, from 1,013 square feet to 1,400 square feet, in front.

On the other side, a 9,900- square-foot State Employees Credit Union is to be built on 2.15 acres. In between, there are to be a 3,000-square-foot OBX Bank and parking.

Owens, who also developed the Food Lion plaza in Avon, said there are no retail tenants yet.

"I think we can rent our small shops, because it's great visibility," he said.

Tim Wilson, Nags Head Planning and Development director, said the planning board is expected to review the preliminary plan on July 15. If a completed application is submitted by July 24, the project could be on the planning board agenda on Aug. 19 and to the Board of Commissioners on Sept. 3.

Pasquotank County bought the land for about $1 million in 1984 with the intention of building a regional health care facility. Those plans were abandoned after The Outer Banks Hospital was built.

In 2000, Regional Medical Services Inc., an Albemarle Hospital subsidiary, and representatives of the Outer Banks Family YMCA were negotiating a deal that would essentially trade use of 3 acres of the Nags Head land for space in a planned recreational facility for preven tive and rehabilitative medical care.

The Pasquotank commissioners rejected the proposal, and the Y ended up building about a half-mile down the road.

A Virginia Beach company bid $9.45 million for the property in 2005 and planned to build a hotel, restaurant and time-sharing units. The company terminated the agreement in July 2007 because of the town's density restrictions.

Owens' bid is the first the county has considered since then. He said he expects the deal to close in November.

CDC investigating source of tomato illness

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in many states, the Indian Health Service, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate an ongoing multi-state outbreak of human Salmonella serotype Saintpaul infections. An epidemiologic investigation conducted by the New Mexico and Texas Departments of Health and the Indian Health Service using interviews comparing foods eaten by ill and well persons has identified consumption of raw tomatoes as the likely source of the illnesses in those states. The specific type and source of tomatoes is under investigation; however, the data suggest that large tomatoes, including Roma and round red, are the source.

Full Story at CDC Website

Heat wave breaks nc records

AP Story at WAVY TV 10

AccuWeather was reporting "RealFeel®" temperatures of around 112 today! Hoping to see a break tomorrow with temperatures expected to be only in the upper 80's.

Crews continue to battle wildfire

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, N.C. - Crews continued building containment lines around a massive wildfire burning in a sparsely inhabited rural area of eastern North Carolina on Monday.

Fire trucks were getting ready in case the fire made a run at a populated area, a spokesman said.

The fire is moving northeast into a section of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, said spokesman Jody Brady of the North Carolina Forest Service.

About 130 fire trucks from 30 fire departments have gathered at a school in case the fire nears homes.

Brady said the fire wasn't expected to threaten buildings for a couple of days.

As of Sunday evening, the fire had burned 32,556 acres, or more than 50 square miles, since it was started by lightning June 1. Officials say it is 40 percent contained.

The fire has been battled by more than 250 people, mostly from the state forest service and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which owns the refuge.

An air tanker, three helicopters, a scout plane, 34 pieces of heavy equipment and other vehicles are involved in the effort, which has cost more than $1 million so far.

Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency last week for Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties.

Spokesman Bill Swartley of the North Carolina Forest Service said firefighters also plan to pump water from Lake Phelps onto smoldering peat fires burning in the ground.

Health officials have been warning people with breathing problems to stay indoors, away from smoke, or leave the area if possible. Last week, when winds were stronger, smoke could be detected as far away as Richmond, Va.

Smoke from Hyde County fire impacting Outer Banks

WITN News

Ponzer, NC -- North Carolina Division of Forest Services says the fire jumped containment lines last night and has engulfed some 9,500 acres of woods in Hyde and Washington counties.

Public information officer Ned Berg tells WITN News that the fire jumped lines around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday night and headed toward Lake Phelps. Berg says the fire has now tripled in size from Tuesday. Lightning started the fire Sunday.

In Washington County, a state of emergency remains in effect. That means evacuees must remain evacuated. Fire crews are "backburning" at Evans Road near Lake Phelps to try to contain the fire.


Washington County manager David Peoples says the evacuations are at Newland Road and Shore Drive in the southern portion of Lake Phelps. Peoples says 39 homes are in danger.

A change in the wind direction may have saved those homes, Peoples said Wednesday morning. The fire made it to Lake Phelps Tuesday night. Peoples said the mile-wide fire was moving fast, at a rate of one mile per hour Tuesday night. One thousand acres in Washington County burned, as of 2 a.m. Wednesday.

N.C. Division of Forest Services spokesman Brian Haines tells WITN News that the fire last night jumped containment lines and "made a five mile run". The fire has also now spread into the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

Haines says they have 100 firefighters battling the blaze, brought in from across the state. They are also looking at bringing a plane in from Florida to help as well.

The change in wind direction is good news for the homes in Washington County, but bad news, Peoples added, for Tyrrell County.

Currituck County officials now are warning those on the Outer Banks that smoke from the fire could impact them. Citizens are advised to be cautious when outdoors, and remain indoors if having difficulty breathing.

Full Story: WITN

Alleged child molester tracked down in Kill Devil Hills

WVEC News

MORGANTON, N.C. -- An alleged child molester, on the run for four years, admits to abusing boys while working as a recruiter for the Eastern Burke County Rescue Squad.

“Very apologetic to all victims involved,” said Richard Murphy to reporters as investigators took him into the Burke County Sheriff’s Office Friday.

From 2003 to 2004, Murphy was a recruiter for the rescue squad. He had access to schools.

“He was sexually molesting young boys and he had two residences during the time that this was going on,” said Sheriff John McDevitt.

Murphy’s job was to recruit junior volunteers for the rescue squad. The alleged abuse took place in his Burke County homes.

“Since 04’ we’ve identified five victims,” added McDevitt.

Murphy’s alleged victims were young men, ages 13 to 15. McDevitt is positive more victims will now come forward.

“The fact that he was in the school system, this is not something you do in '03 and '04 and stop doing,” McDevitt said.

When Murphy found out he was under investigation, he fled to the Outer Banks and changed his name to Trevor Dale Fury.

“He had bragged that the name he changed his name to was a comic book character,” said McDevitt.

Agents with the State Bureau of Investigations tracked Murphy down in Kill Devil Hills.

“He’s 58 years old now. We want to keep him off the street for the rest of his natural life,” McDevitt added.

Investigators told WCNC that Murphy has a graveyard tattoo on his back. The head stones have names. At least one of the names belongs to one of Murphy’s alleged victims, according to investigators.

Murphy could face as many as 50 charges.

Full Story: WVEC

UPDATE 6/4/08: More info at Virginian-Pilot

2008 Memorial Day ORV Summary

PRESS RELEASE - NPS
May 29, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend 2008 marked the first major holiday weekend of implementation of the court-ordered consent decree to protect nesting birds and sea turtles at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The consent decree, in general, has thus far resulted in larger temporary resource protection closures being implemented during the shorebird and sea turtle breeding season than has occurred in the past, which has coincidently reduced the miles of beaches open to pedestrian and off-road vehicle (ORV) access as we head into the summer season. The National Park Service (NPS) provides the following summary of resource protection and ORV management activities for the 2008 Memorial Day weekend.


With fewer miles of beaches open to access, the Seashore’s park ranger staff were prepared to deal with potential vehicle congestion and safety concerns at ORV access ramps and on beaches open to ORV use. NPS used aircraft and park rangers on the ground to monitor vehicle levels on Seashore beaches throughout the holiday weekend. At about 1:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, during an overflight NPS observed approximately 641 vehicles on the beaches north of Oregon Inlet; approximately 1,135 vehicles on the beaches of Hatteras Island; and approximately 292 vehicles on the beaches of Ocracoke Island. Only one area of beach became sufficiently crowded to trigger a temporary restriction on beach access. On Sunday afternoon, park rangers implemented a one-on, one-off restriction at Ramp 4 north of Oregon Inlet for about an hour when vehicle congestion reached the point that there was no longer room for additional vehicles to park on the beach while maintaining a safe width for two-way traffic. This occurred with approximately 700 vehicles on the beach. The level of congestion soon eased and unrestricted access to the open beach accessible from Ramp 4 was fully restored.

Overall, compliance by the majority of park visitors with park regulations and with measures implemented under the consent decree was very good. Park rangers dealt with the normal range of law enforcement incidents that occur on a busy holiday weekend, including a number of alcohol violations, unsafe operations, out of bounds camping and several driving under the influence arrests, but the total number of violation notices issued were less than in 2007. Five violation notices were issued for resource protection area violations (1 on Bodie Island, 1 of Hatteras Island, and 3 on Ocracoke Island).

"The beaches were busy, but not overwhelmingly crowded," stated Superintendent Mike Murray. "We greatly appreciated the high level of compliance and cooperation from the vast majority of park visitors."

National Park Service

Open house expo planned at Administration Building

The Virginian-Pilot

Dare County is planning an open house expo Friday at its new Administration Building with the theme "protecting our children."

Tours of the building will be from 2 to 6 p.m., and there will be exhibits showing programs and departments that are involved in protecting children.

There also will be a hurricane preparedness exhibit.

A special ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 5 p.m., when winners of the County Government Week Student Art Contest will be recognized.

Refreshments will be available.

The 43,098-square-foot building at the intersection of U.S. 64 and N.C. 343 next to the county's Justice Center houses several county departments and offices that had been scattered around Manteo. It cost just more than $13 million and opened for business in late March.

Story: The Virginian-Pilot

Hotel Bookings 75-80 Percent For Holiday Weekend

Despite steep gas prices and some beach closures on Hatteras Island, local officials predict a busy Memorial Day weekend with sunny skies and warm weather in the forecast.

Hotels and motels are at between 75 and 80 percent of capacity for the holiday weekend, according to Carolyn McCormick, managing director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

Following up on this story after going out to run a few errands this afternoon... Yep, the season is here. It's like somebody flipped a switch and the visitors appeared out of nowhere. Have a great summer everyone!

Full Story: Virginian-Pilot

New Starbucks Open For Business

They're here! The new Starbucks Coffee is now open at The Marketplace in Southern Shores. Since we were up in that part of town last night, we decided to drop in and check it out. Well... it's a Starbucks - not much to report. As always, I ordered my "large" coffee and had the barista repeat my order back to me, changing it to the proper "venti" coffee "with room". Ahhhhh - gotta love that corporate standardization.

The new store is open from 6am-9pm during the week and 6am-9pm Friday and Saturday.

More Vandalism of Shorebird Closure Fencing

A second vandalism incident to a signed resource protection area was discovered by Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff on Friday, May 16th, 2008. Park staff found over 1,500 feet of fence protecting an American Oystercatcher nest had been damaged. This closure area is located on the ocean side of Hatteras Island, about .8 of a mile north of Buxton in a pedestrian use only zone.

Full Story: National Park Service

Fisherman's Wharf Reopens

WANCHESE - A sense of community and local heritage has been saved with the reopening of Fisherman's Wharf Restaurant.

In recent years, many of the familiar, family-run restaurants on the Outer Banks have disappeared, whether they've been sold, razed or burned down. Each had its own personality: The Oasis, George's Junction, Quagmires, By George, Etheridge's, the Seafare, The Wharf, Queen Anne's Revenge, the Pilot House, even Mrs. T's Deli. With their demise went a bit of the charm and character of the barrier islands.

That's not something the Rev. David Daniels wanted to see happen to his family's restaurant, which his father, Malcolm Daniels, had located at the place where the fish were offloaded by the now multimillion-dollar business he started, Wanchese Fish Co.

Original Story at Virginia-Pilot

KDH police need help

The Kill Devil Hills Police Department is seeking information about this unidentified male.


On March 14 at 5:17 p.m., an unidentified white male entered K-mart in Kill Devil Hills with a young girl. The male made a purchase and took a credit card that was left by the previous customer. The credit card was then used approximately five to 10 minutes later to make a large gas purchase across the street at the Hess station.

Anyone with information can call Detective Solomon Mills at 252-449-5330. Caller may remain anonymous. Or call the Outer Banks Crime Line at 1-800-745-2746, OuterBanksCrimeline.org, where tipsters are eligible for a cash reward and do not have to testify in court. Story via Outer Banks Sentinel

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