Turtle Tracks

Sea Turtle Season is Here Again

Several Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol volunteer walkers were rewarded on May 28 and 29 when they found tracks in the sand that were determined to be nests!

Nest 1 was discovered on May 28 by walker Charlie McCurry and his visitor Annelies Gentile. Nest Response Team (NRT) members reported to the nest. In addition to Charlie, NRT Liz Cox and Zone Coordinator Diana Yeames were able to locate the pit of eggs. NRT Cheryl Balthrop explained the process of taking the DNA from an egg to Charlie. This was a very good start to the 2021 Sea Turtle season.

Nest 2 followed quickly the very next morning. Lore and Bob Gottberg and Laura Sylvester were the walkers who discovered this nest. Zone Coordinators Charmione Marcell and Teresa McAteer reported to the potential nest to assist. Once the nest was discovered, the decision was made to relocate the nest because it had been laid too close to the tide line. Moving a nest is a very careful process. NRT Cindy Henry carefully removed the eggs from the initial pit. Meanwhile, NRT Patty Foley assisted in creating a new pit (made to EXACTLY replicate the original pit) further up the beach and closer to the dunes. NRTs very carefully transferred the eggs into the new location.

Tom Gill, our volunteer and resident author, has had several more books in his series of children’s books published. These cute books follow Tom and his granddaughters as they learn about local marine life/happenings. “Tuesday is For Turtles” has been followed by “Fridays are for Fish.” Additionally, “Saturdays are for Seashells” should also be available now.

You can find these books at the Emerald Isle Bookstore, Beach Book Mart in Atlantic Beach, Dee Gee’s in Morehead City and on Amazon.

Part of the mission of the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol is educating the public. This summer, magnets and doorknob hangers will be provided to oceanfront homes to inform residents and visitors of ways they can help protect sea turtles too.

Our thanks to donations that made it possible for us purchase these so we can improve communication with visitors.

Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol operates as a nonprofit organization. We have various fundraisers throughout the year to help pay for the supplies needed at the nests all summer - fall. Several local business’ generously support our program ... and we very much appreciate it. Each month this season, we will let you know about businesses who help us out.

THANK YOU to Ace Hardware as they have been selling our “I Saw a Sea Turtle Nest” shirts since last year (pink or blue tie dyed). The shirt sizes range from kids sizes up to 3XL adult sizes. Our fun shirts are a wonderful souvenir of your visit to Emerald Isle AND helps our program raise money for supplies, education etc.

We also want to thank Hwy 58 Bikes for the very generous donation they recently gave to the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol program. After getting all new child seats for their bikes this year, the bike shop sold the ones they had before and donated all that money to our program!

Thank you to these owners, and others, for supporting our program.

Always remember: When you leave the beach please leave nothing behind on the sand but your footprints!

Valerie Rohrig E.I. Sea Turtle Patrol

A Sense of Community

Mayor John Brodman

Here we are in June already; Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and, by the time you read this, many of us will be planning for the annual July 4th Independence Day celebrations. Summers fly by fast, even though we are on “Island time.” Nevertheless, there are a few developments in Pine Knoll Shores (PKS) that I would like to pass on to our readers.

Re-opening of Town Hall: Following recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), the PKS Board of Commissioners voted at their meeting on May 26 to reopen Town Hall to the general public effective May 28, at 8am. Mayor Brodman (yours truly) lifted the Covid state of emergency, which had been in effect since March 2020 at the same time. The main doors will now be unlocked during normal business hours, 8am-4:30pm. We still have a few precautionary measures in place related to Covid regarding entry and use of Town Hall:

If you are unvaccinated, please wear a mask upon entering Town Hall.

One-on-one meetings/discussions with staff members will take place either in the Board Room or Conference Room. Please let Betty Carr know who you would like to speak to, and if they are available they will come up front to greet you and conduct business. The best way to accomplish this is to call ahead to the appropriate staff member and schedule a meeting (252-247-4353).

For homeowner associations, clubs and other groups who have traditionally used Town Hall for meetings, please schedule these meetings and reserve a room with Betty Carr as you have done in the past (pre-Covid). We are working on putting some procedures in place related to cleaning/sanitizing that we will ask you to comply with, and entry to Town Hall on the weekend will be a bit different as we now have a new, keypad entry system.

Speed Limit Change: The N.C. Department of Transportation changed the speed limit in PKS to 35 mph along Highway 58. The speed reduction covers the full length of Highway 58 in PKS and is effective year around. Low-speed vehicles (LSVs) are also prohibited from driving E-W on Highway 58, but this does not prohibit a LSV or a golf cart from directly crossing Highway 58. For more information, contact the Public Safety Administration at 252-247-2268.

Other Noteworthy Developments: The Bogue Banks PostFlorence Beach Nourishment Project, Phases I, II and III, was officially completed, including the planting of beach grasses on the dunes, on May 28, thanks largely to the ongoing efforts of Rudi Rudolph, the director of the Carteret County Shore Protection Office. PKS will add sand fencing to the dune system after the summer holiday season.

PKS is continuing to revamp and upgrade our public beach accesses to improve the experience for residents and visitors alike.

Last, but not least, PKS has convened a Pedestrian Planning Group to explore possible extensions of our sidewalk and trails networks to improve connectivity between different parts of Town and enhance pedestrian safety.

Stay safe and enjoy the summer fun!

pks club news

PKS Women’s Club

The Pine Knoll Shores Women’s Club held their Installation Luncheon at the Coral Bay Club in Atlantic Beach. Full length windows provided a picturesque view of the dunes and the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop and inside rang laughter and cheer as we gathered sharing our smiles and hugs. How pleasant it was to be in the company of our fellow club members.

We look forward to our incoming officers for the 2021-2022 year: CoPresidents Libby Gallagher/JoAnne Ferguson; Co-Vice Presidents Carrie Critz/Lee Sullivan; Treasurer Brenda Sheppard; Recording Secretaries Mary Cam Boudreau/Cindy Batson; and Corresponding Secretary Carroll Beckham. We know they are already preparing our club for a splendid year!

We also had several past presidents present at our luncheon and we will continue to honor them for their dedication and service to the Pine Knoll Shores Women’s Club.

Also, a big thank you to our outgoing officers: President JoAnne Ferguson; Vice President Libby Gallagher; Recording Secretary Maria DeCandia; Corresponding Secretary Ronnie Stanley; and Treasurer Donna Ross. This has been a very difficult year for all of us and we are truly thankful to have outstanding ladies lead our club.

During the summer months we will not have regular meetings. However, we are anticipating a wonderful year ahead focusing our efforts on Caroline’s House, Mile of Hope, and our very own Bogue Banks Library. We hope all of you enjoy your summer with friends and family and put us on your calendar for the fourth Friday in September.

If you are not a member of the Pine Knoll Shores Women’s Club but are interested in joining, we welcome any woman to join us who lives or works in Pine Knoll Shores or any woman living or working on Bogue Banks or any surrounding community who is not served by another women’s club. Our meetings are normally held on the fourth Friday at 10am. For the summer we will not meet but resume meetings in September. Please join us. You can also check out our Facebook page.

From left: JoAnne Ferguson, Barbara Bagby, Bonnie Ferneau, Marian Goetzinger, Bobbie Hill, Kay How, Elaine Tempel, Pegge Knecht

Kayak for the Warriors Events Close Out 14th Year

Organizers would like to thank everyone for their commitment and dedication to making the 14th year a successful one.

The first event, held on May 21, was the 2nd Annual K4TW Golf Tournament at the Crystal Coast Country Club. It was a gorgeous morning for the 96 golfers to hit the links. There were lots of fun holes, including Beat the Pro, Luck of the Draw and the infamous AR-15 that shoots golf balls 320 feet! Try to do that on a drive.

The winners are: First Place – Clint Johnson, Russ Landen, Jim Pridgen and Kenny Tetterton; and Second Place: Tim Bowen, Robert Garris, Jeff Garris and John Garris

Golfers were treated to a barbecue lunch, a golf auction and a raffle. A big thank you goes to Kathy Blowers and her team for spearheading this event. The second event, the signature Kayak/Paddle Board Race, was held on Saturday, June 5.

A beautiful morning kicked off the event. It looked at first that Mother Nature was not going to cooperate, however, it turned out to be clear and sunny. Setup at Garner Park was delayed until early that morning because of weather threats. As kayakers and paddle boarders registered, Garner Park was a beehive of activity early in the morning. Marines from the Cherry Point Single Marines Program jockeyed kayaks from cars to the water as on-site registration was taking place and raffle tickets, T-shirts and lunch tickets were sold. Pine Knoll Shores Realty set up for the lunch, which included delicious barbecue from Roland’s in Beaufort. Hope for the Warriors table was set up.

Mayor John Brodman began the ceremonies with the Pledge of Allegiance and opening remarks after the presentation of the colors by the US Coast Guard Honor Guard. An invocation was given by Marian Goetzinger. The pre-race briefing was conducted and then the elite group of racers was signaled to start. These were individuals who felt they could do the 3.2-mile course in 35 minutes or less. The paddle boarders took off in the second group, followed by the tandems. Then the more leisurely kayakers started their event.

The fastest winning time this year in the Elite division was 31:59 posted by Ray Moore. Congratulations! The Warrior Trophy, which is awarded to the team gathering the highest amount in donations, went to Team Hamel with over $3,100.

Complete results can be found on the Facebook page, Kayak for the Warriors, or on the website, www.k4tw.org.

Responsibility for these two events was divided among three very competent and dedicated individuals. They were tasked with making this all work. And, boy, did they. Thanks to Kathy Blowers (Warrior Golf Tournament) and Adam and Michelle Phillips (Kayak/ Paddle Board Race). Adam and Michelle stepped right up to take over the vacant captain slot this year and did an outstanding job. Take a look at the great photos taken by Amy Mansfield and others on our website and Facebook pages. We also had a drone, manned by Chris Losack, taking a video of the race.

Thanks, also, to the innumerable hours put in by our terrific volunteers who do this year after year and make it better and better. At press time, the final tally has not been made, but we are in the process of gathering all of our information together, and we should have a total soon.

We begin planning for our three events soon for next spring! WE are looking forward to the gala and auctions returning. Jean McDanal

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