Merry Christmas Pups

Merry Christmas To All Outer Banks Pups

(click above)

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County Overspent for Legal Fees

A statement of audit certification issued by the independent firm of Potter & Company, P.A. reveals that Dare County overspent in budgeted legal fees by a total of $146,000 during the year ending 6-30-09.
The auditor states this is a "significant deficiency", but does not reach the level of being a "material deficiency"
(all of which is auditor mumbo/jumbo). 

Source: (click here)

To any layman who follows Dare County board of commissioners' actions from time to time, this might come as no surprise.

For instance EOD previously noted our commissioners had budgeted $100,000 for legal fees during the year ending 6-30-08,  in order to get themselves needlessly involved in the "Beach Access" court battle. The total expenditures for that mess ended up exceeding $430,000 and EOD has yet to find out why it was allowed to get so high.  And, we do not know if the independent auditor picked up on it. (yes folks, sometimes they do miss things).

We have requested copies of any budget amendments and/or source of funding for the excess $330,000+, but to date, have not received them.  Requests were sent to Commissioner Burrus and Shea and the county finance office.  Our request was repeated today via an email to the County Public Information Office.

We believe we will prevail and get this info....soon.

Merry Christmas.
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Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas to All

This is one of the nicest and most beautiful Christmas cards we have received this year.  And, our thanks to Danny Etheridge of Mechanicsville, VA (formerly of Wanchese, NC) for sharing it with us.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did, and we hope that you and your love ones have a most Joyous Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.

May the Spirit of Christmas remain in your hearts throughout the year.

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Let common sense prevail

Nags Head officials say a "terminal groin" on their beach (like those in New Jersey) would be a "valuable tool" for their community and it would protect the beach and help retain sand placed there with a nourishment project.  Is there any doubt where this town is headed, if Mayor Oakes and his board get their way?  A groin could dramatically improve the longevity and effectiveness of putting sand on the beaches, said the town board.

This letter, below, was entered into the "public comments" official record of the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management's state mandated "groin study."

The letter is followed in the records by statements of opposition to the placing a groin on Nags Head beaches by the North Carolina Coastal Federation and Eye on Dare, among others.

Let's hope that old-fashion common sense prevails here.

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Shipwreck Uncovered

Last week's northeaster uncovered this large portion of an old sailing ship on the beach near the Corolla Lighthouse. The ship's timber are put together by wooden tree pegs.

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More on Groins

CAMA Groin Study

Many comments offered by proponents of ocean groins along North Carolina's coastline (see story here) are ludicrous, to say the least, and self-serving at best. And, why on earth did the Division of Coastal Management chose three of five existing groins for their study when two of them are located on the Gulf coast of Florida and the other on the east side?  Do they really believe conditions there are anywhere near what we have on the Outer Banks?

Duke University  Professor Orrin Pilkey is correct.  An ocean groin is a seawall; and a seawall is an ocean groin. The terms are inter-changeable and these hard structures will have the same bad effects on our shoreline.

Even Jim Gregson, Director of Coastal Management got it wrong when he said...."The concern is that this (groin idea) will open the door to other things, such as seawalls and revetments."  And here's why.

The Virginian Pilot article states..."Terminal groins are low-slung barriers of steel or rock that are designed to trap sand in near-shore currents, and allow excess sand to pass over them.." And we all agree there is a groin at Oregon Inlet. Well now, wait a minute folks. Has anyone seen sand "passing over" that 10+ ft high rock  groin?  We don't think so. Has sand accumulated on the south side? Yes. Is the water deeper on the north side of that groin?  You bet.  And some sand will accumulate on the south side of any Outer Banks beach where one is placed; but, it will rob sand from the northside and leave deeper, eroded holes in its place. You can count on it.

EOD is beginning to believe it would be poetic justice if the Town of Nags Head and its oceanside, investor residents with properties on Old Oregon Inlet Road get the "groins" they want so badly.  Then, they could rename that section of town " Jersey Beach" and promote it as such.

However, EOD, like most of the silent majority in Dare County doesn't want to see our beaches ruined in this manner.  And our elected leaders are not listening to us.  As with Nags Head Commissioner, Anna Sadler, they continue to ignore our votes and push forward.  It needs to stop. 

(groins on New Jersey beach)

In short, we have a choice here, folks. We can have a revitalized, natural and clean beach  in south Nags Head, void of rundown rental shanties with exposed septic tanks, sandbags and concrete boulders in the surf; or, we can have continue down the same road and trap all that debris inside of useless groins.  There is no in-between.
EOD
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Da Dredge, Da Dredge !

Well, it looks like the dredge has finally arrived in Southern Shores.  It came in on a flatbed trailer on Thursday and was lifted off and placed into the water by a crane.  Judging from the pics. which EOD swiped off the town website, both of them could have been built with Junior's 1950 style Erector Set.  OK, we're sniping at the dredging contractor; but, gee whiz, we were expecting something like that giant side casting monstrosity that dredges sand in Oregon Inlet.  For goodness sakes, this is the posh canals of Southern Shores, you know;  and they deserve no less.
It's EOD's guess this tinker toy dredge will do just fine as it works the main channel leading out of the North Marina.  Other than choking on a few hundred beer cans tossed overboard by the boat club boys, it'll get the job done.

However, once it gets inside the residential canals, which are the real reason for this multi-million dollar project and starts sucking up on those water sogged oak and bayberry stumps, we'll  see just how that new fangled hydrocyclone machine works.  EOD is cautiously pesimistic that the project will flow smoothly.  Stay tuned.
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Kitty Condos

Wifey just returned from the grocery store. Have you noticed Food Lion double bags every single item these days with those 'recycled/biodegradable bags'?  Well, at least they make EOD's six cats very happy campers. But, now that our garage floor is littered with these new free (?) kitty toys EOD has no free pooper scooper plastic bags anymore.  Some win, some lose.

But, here's an insider's secret.  You can ask for "plastic" at Bear Drugs and get a free pooper bag.

Now, don't tell us to go out and buy those politically correct (?) cloth bags. EOD will throw an old tater sack on the checkout counter before he buys one, because either way,  the cost of our groceries is going to rise to pay for these kitty condos. and I might as well make the cats happy.

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Erosion in Las Vegas

Did anyone read the news story coming out of Las Vegas last week?


According to the article, dust from the desert is causing a huge problem with the city's slot machines, by causing the gears to erode.
And that drives up the costs of operating the casinos and cause compliants from visitors about the squeaky gears in the one-arm bandits.
"The sky is falling on us," said Las Vegas County Commissioner, Willie Fudge. "People will stop coming here if we don't do something," added mayor Bobby Oaks.

Other local government leaders say the problem is going to get worse.  They say Mother Nature is taking a toll on the surrounding mountainside and global warming is causing a rapid breakdown of mineral elements in the Las Vegas soil.

City leaders are calling for immediate action, joined by calls from special interests groups such as the Casino/Hotel Association, the Board of Realtors and local brothel union #ICUDOIT.

These casinos are our "Federal Express plant and our revenue stream," said Fudge. " We cannot lose our cash cow," said Rosie LaRue, operator of the Pussy Cat Ranch.

"If the gears continue to erode, we'll lose all the slot machines and people will go elsewhere to gamble. Retreat is not an option. We have too much invested," said Oaks.

Officials are proposing  to completely pave the city limits of Las Vegas, extending 20 miles out into the surrounding desert. "This should help keep the dust down," said one casino operator.

It will be an engineered job", added Fudge. "And then, if earthquakes crack and destroy the paving,  we believe FEMA will step in and bail us out."

"It should be a one-time project. We must promise all of our citizens. We will raise taxes only one time.. And, since it is a one-time effort, it is only right we let all illegal aliens working in the hotels and casinos cast their vote for this project" said Commissioner Annie Saddlehorse.

 "Hell," said  Rosie LaRue, "I think we should let everyone vote, no matter where they live. After all, they spend their cash here. It's their money that puts sheets on my girls' beds, cleans my towels and sends me to Brazil every winter."

A 75% property tax increase is being proposed to defer the cost of 4 million cubic yards of concrete. "Local people should pay their share," said ex-mayor, Rennie Calhoun. "Without these casinos, they would not have a job. Retreat is not an option."

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Coffee for Mayor Bob Oakes

EOD thinks it's time to serve up a cup of coffee to Nags Head Mayor Bob Oakes to wash down the

Pie-in-the-Sky blogpost  we wrote on December 8th.  Oakes knows we haven't forgotten that he has done a complete 180 degree turn on beach nourishment since he decided to run for elected office a few years ago.

But, just in case his Nags Head constituents have forgotten what was in Oakes' heart and mind when this whole fiasco began, we would like to refresh their memory too.  Here is a copy of a newstory that appeared in the
Outer Banks Sentinel March 11, 1999.  Comments made by or pertaining to Oakes are hightlighted in red.

BY RAY MIDGETT

SENTINEL STAFF


Another side of the beach nourishment issue arose when the Nags Head commissioners met last week.
Ray Sturza, Dare County planning director, has been attending board meetings in the county's coastal communities, offering to interpret the Corps' Northern Dare Beaches Hurricane and Storm Protection Plan Feasibility Study.
At the Nags Head meeting March 3rd, Sturza said that studies for erosion control have been conducted in Dare County as far back as 1960 and again in 1980. The cost estimate on the project 30-some years ago was $240,000. Neither study resulted in action.

Sturza hopes officials in Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills will act before interest in the latest effort wanes. "We can take one or two years off the (Corps') schedule if we put pressure on and get started by the year 2002, especically if the project is limited in scope or size," Sturza said.
Prior to Sturza's presentation, Nags Head resident and business owner, Bob Oakes appeared before the board. In a mild and polite manner, Oakes urged the commissioners to proceed cautiously before committing to the beach project. There is still considerable debate about the economic feasibility of beach nourishment, as well as its impact on "our beautiful beaches."
"I first became interested in the nourishment issue in the late 1980s, when I read that about two-thirds of a $40 million sand project washed away in three days," said Oakes, who has served on public boards. "Does this sound like an investment you would want to make personally?" asked Oakes. "And if you wouldn't make it personally, why make it with public tax funds?"

Oakes said federal funding for such projects is tentative, at best, with the Clinton administration removing monies from the Corps' budget every year since 1995.

A Feb.1 news release issued by the Corps of Engineers states that only $36 million has been budgeted nationwide by the Clinton administration for shoreline protection projects for the year 2000.
These appropriations are intended to cover previously approved projects in six states, not including North Carolina. The release further states that ..."the Administration's policy on shore protection projects remains unchanged. Recreation or tourist destinations usually have beaches and other facilities that generate considerable income. This ability to generate income allows shore protection projects for these areas to be funded at the state or local level using a portion of that income.

"We would consider funding projects that mainly protect permanent residential, commercial, and industrial areas that are not recreation or tourist destinations and do not involve significant long-term Federal investments beyond the initial construction." In other words, Dare County officials will have to go directly to Congress to seek the 65 percent funding and without the blessings of the current administration.

Oakes added that areas where other projects have been successful, such as Kure Beach and Miami Beach, have entirely different beach dynamics than the Outer Banks area north of Cape Hatteras.

"Nourishment is what New Jersey does to its beaches," says Oakes. "There's been a general trend of people coming here from the Jersey beaches, largely because we're the "natural choice."
Oakes questioned what might become of such offshore diving attractions like the Triangle wrecks and the Huron. "We made it (Huron) a sanctuary, and now we're going to cover it up?"

Sturza has convinced Kill Devil Hills commissioners to pass a resolution requesting acceleration of the project. Nags Head commissioners, while attentive to Sturza's report, delayed action until their March 17 meeting. They will hold a "public comment" period then.
Mayor Renee Cahoon said that 43 percent of Nags Head's tax base lies on the east side of N.C. 12, where the threat of beach erosion is constant.
"I'm in favor of moving the process forward," said Cahoon. But that's not to say that we should not look at other options, she added.
"What is our alternative if we don't (move forward)?" asked commissioner Doug Remaley. Before an answer came, he said, "We need to get on the bandwagon now."
Commissioner Bob Muller interjected that the board needs some good answers as to why public money should be used to protect private lands.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently placed a $60-million-dollar sticker on renourishing the 13.6 miles of Dare County's beaches. Thirty-five percent of that figure, or $21 million, would come from state and local governments or private funding.
Nags Head's total annual budget barely exceeds $8 million. Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk budgets are $9.6 million and $2.4 million, respectively.
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EOD Footnote: The Army Corps of Engineers'  projected costs had escalated to over $100 million by the time they shelved this project a few years ago.
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