An update on fireworks, the mixed drink vote, and the weather
|
By IRENE
NOLAN
 Hatteras Island’s efforts to stamp out illegal fireworks have been, according to most folks, a booming success. Not that there haven’t been continued violations, but most agree they have been fewer than in past years. Calls to 911 to report lawbreakers increased this season, as did citations issued by the Dare County Sheriff’s Department. After bottle rockets caused a fire that came perilously close to burning down a house in Brigands’ Bay subdivision in Frisco last winter, Dare County Sheriff Rodney Midgett met with several groups of concerned islanders who were demanding action on illegal fireworks. He said at one of those meetings that he couldn’t recall a citation that had been issued any time recently for violating the state law against pyrotechnics. He also said that he wasn’t sure that the community wanted “100 percent enforcement” of the state law – with the chilling effect it might have on tourism. He said his deputies, when called, usually educated the violators. He also noted that there had been few calls about fireworks in the past couple years, and some of the islanders attending the meetings admitted that they hesitated to bother the deputies, especially during the summer when illegal fireworks were everywhere and there were other lawbreakers to attend to. That all changed with the fire that pretty well destroyed the front yard of the Frisco residents, but despite southwest winds gusting over 30 mph, the fire was put out before it got to the house. The fire did galvanize residents who were already fed up with the burgeoning use of illegal fireworks on the island. The pyrotechnics are not only a nuisance but also a serious fire danger on an island of mostly wood-frame homes often located close together. State law prohibits any pyrotechnics that propel or explode. Think of this as any fireworks that leave the ground and go “boom.” This includes bottle rockets, Roman candles, firecrackers, and cherry bombs. Other fireworks, such as sparklers and smoke bombs, are legal, according to state law. On the seashore beaches, federal law prohibits the use of all fireworks, including sparklers and smoke bombs and the like. Some Hatteras islanders thought the laws were confusing and sent a mixed message to visitors. State law prohibited certain fireworks, but allowed others. Many stores in the villages prominently displayed fireworks signs, though they sold only the legal sparklers or smoke bombs. Meanwhile, none of the fireworks were allowed on federal beaches. Islanders decided that the prudent course was to follow the lead of Ocracoke, which banned all fireworks, including the legal ones, in 2002 after a brush fire almost burned down the village. Hatteras residents bombarded the county’s Board of Commissioners with emails asking that they pass an ordinance banning the sale, possession, and use of all fireworks on Hatteras Island. On March 19, the board passed the law unanimously. The new law was effective June 1. The new ordinance made an exception for fireworks displays with permits, and the pyrotechnics went on as usual at the Avon Pier and in Hatteras village. Between March and June, volunteers posted notices on bulletin boards in all the villages about the fireworks ban. The county posted signs at strategic locations on the island – including a flashing message board just south of Whalebone Junction to alert all visitors headed to Hatteras. The Brigands’ Bay Homeowners Association hired off-duty deputies to patrol the neighborhood on certain nights and erected a sign at the entrance to the subdivision. I can tell you that it’s been a quiet summer in Brigands’ Bay, unlike past years when you could count on noisy fireworks displays with sparks blowing everywhere several times a week. There were a few incidents early in the summer, including one July 4 week. Then it was quiet.  There are still violators, especially along the oceanfront in the rental cottages, but, by and large, most will say, the law is working. Sheriff Midgett – at meetings and in interviews – urged residents to call 911 and promised to have deputies respond as often as possible. He also noted that the calls to 911 would help his department target problem areas. Well, call we did. Between June 1 and Oct. 8, there were 180 calls to the sheriff’s department about pyrotechnics, almost all from Hatteras Island with 141 those calls during June and July, and only 39 after that. Also, there were 67 calls, almost 40 percent of the total, during the week of July 4 – with 15 on the Fourth of July. Dare County’s sheriff’s deputies issued 30 citations. On the seashore’s beaches, park ranger handed out 15 violations notices and 11 written warnings over the summer, according to National Park Service Law Enforcement Specialist Paul Stevens. Stevens said that number was a decrease from previous years. “This is logical,” he said, “since the county has started to enforce its ordinance. I believe as the word spreads about the prohibition, our violations will continue to drop as visitors become aware of the laws.” Allen Burrus, Hatteras Island’s representative to the county Board of Commissioners who help lead the effort to ban all fireworks on the island, credits education with much of this summer’s success in eliminating illegal fireworks. “I’m happy,” he said, “and I think people on Hatteras Island, especially the volunteer fire departments, were very pleased.” Hatteras is heating up as mixed drink vote nears A referendum on serving mixed drink in restaurants and other establishments will be the only issue on the ballot on Nov. 6 for Hatteras islanders. Residents are already casting their ballots at the Fessenden Center in early one-stop voting that will continue this week through Friday, Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Residents who are not registered can vote by filling out a registration form and presenting the proper identification. Opponents of serving liquor by the drink were busy last week, knocking on doors, calling voters by phone, handing out flyers at the Fessenden Center, and erecting signs along the highway urging a “no” vote. Many of the signs started disappearing about mid-week and some were replaced. Corky Whitehead, Dare County zoning officer on Hatteras, said the county had not removed the signs and said he had some complaints from people in favor of liquor by the drink who objected to signs placed near their property. Most of the signs were in the DOT right of way. Whitehead said it has been the county’s policy to allow the signs as long as they are removed immediately after the election. There is more information about the referendum and a reader survey on the Local News subject page on this site. As of Monday, Oct. 29, the results of the survey were about 60 percent in favor of allowing liquor by the drink and 40 percent opposed with 152 votes cast. The polling places on the island will be open on Election Day, Nov. 6, from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. A warm and – finally—wet month October has been unusually warm and finally wet here on Hatteras. Four record high temperatures were set last week:
Some folks may get a chuckle out of those record highs. They’re not exactly the record high temperatures that many areas of the country had this month. That is one of the advantages of living on these islands, surrounded by water and 23 miles or so from the mainland. The water is a moderating factor on both winter and summer air temperatures. Our temperatures tend to stay cooler in the summer than inland cities and towns and warmer in the winter. Hatteras Island has never had a high of 100 in the summer since record high temperature statistics were first kept in 1957. Generally, our nights are warmer and our days cooler. We are slower to warm up in the spring than inland locations and slower to cool down in the fall. This is nice, but, then sometimes it seems that the wind blows hard all the time! We have also received some much needed rainfall this month. Through Friday, Oct. 26, 8.42 inches of rain has fallen in Frisco. However, we are still down 16 inches for the year. The low water table is especially evident in Buxton in the marshes in the maritime forest and in Jennette’s Sedge along the road to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. With a month to go in the Atlantic hurricane season, we’ve had no hurricanes and not even any close calls. All we’ve had is a brush with Gabrielle, a minor tropical storm. And we hope it stays that way. As I write this column on Monday, Oct. 29, fall has finally come to Hatteras. The northeast wind is blowing about 20 with gusts over 30 and the temperature and humidity has plummeted. Last night was good sleeping weather, and today high is forecast to be in the upper 60s. Check out our new reader polls An added feature in The Island Free Press this month is the Reader Poll. We have two underway now. One is with the story on the mixed drink referendum on the Local News page and the other is with Ernie Foster’s guest column on gamefish status for drum and rockfish on the Commentary and Letters page. These polls are not scientific measurements, but we hope they will be interesting for our readers to gauge which way the wind is blowing on Hatteras and Ocracoke. 
 |
|
|
|