So far the summer of 2017 has brought us
warm temperatures, relatively calm weather, and
not-too-bad mosquito issues. Here is hoping that
we see more of this. Here are a few of the things
happening around Pine Knoll Shores and Bogue
Banks.
Next dinner with the mayor. Our next dinner
with Mayor Jones will be on Saturday, July 15,
at 5:30 p.m. at The Country Club of the Crystal
Coast. At this Saturday dinner in July we target second-home owners. All are
welcome.
Beach safety. I am sad to report that a 17-year-old boy lost his life on Bogue
Banks recently while swimming in the ocean. Once again the culprit was a rip
current. There are things every person going to the beach should know before
entering the water.
• Know how to respond if caught in a rip current. If you are coming to the beach
and bringing people who do not know this important life-saving technique,
take the time to tell them. When caught in a rip current a swimmer should not
attempt to swim directly back to shore. He or she should swim parallel to the
shoreline until out of the current, and then swim to shore.
• Know how to recognize a rip current. Sometimes a rip current is actually
recognizable. When you see a calm/flat area on the water where the waves are
breaking immediately to the right and left, that is probably a deeper area where
the water is moving fast away from the beach. This could be a rip current. Point
this out to all in your party when you arrive. An image clearly showing a rip
current is available at safebee.com/outdoors/how-survive-rip-current, a website
sponsored by UL (formerly known as Underwriters Laboratories).
• Know where you are on the beach. One of the most critical elements of response
by our paramedics/EMTs is to deploy them quickly to the right location. You
would be surprised by the number of people who do know where on the beach
they are located. AH of our public beach accesses have a letter assigned as an
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identifying marker. For our two large eastern private accesses: Ocean Park is at 99
Dogwood Circle, Salter Path Road, and Hammer Park is between 101 and 103 Bay
Street. For everyone else: if you have friends and guests at your homes, ensure they
know the street address on Salter Path Road where they are located. For a helpful
detailed map, visit townofyks.com\media and click on “Beach Access Map” at the
end of the “Know Where You Are on the Beach” post.
Summer pressure points in Pine Knoll Shores. Each year we enjoy the beauty
that exists in Pine Knoll Shores. Lets ensure we are all safe and have a great
experience by following these suggestions:
Safety/courtesy on the beach
• Have a cell phone in your party while on the beach. This is important.
• Check out the surf conditions and be aware of the warning flags (posted at all
public accesses and some private ones). If you do not know the surf condition,
call the Public Safety Department at 247-2268 and the Fire/EMS shift captain
will tell you.
• Dogs—this spring/early summer we have had a particularly bad time with
loose dogs, and the resulting mess they create. It would be great if everyone had
dogs that were appropriately trained and disciplined to heel on command and
run directly next to their handlers, but this is not the case. Please keep your
dogs on a leash and clean up after them—this is the law.
• Remember that the Pine Knoll Shores Code does not allow glass containers
on the beach, requires beachgoers to refill holes and to stay off the dunes, and
requires surfers to wear ankle leashes.
• As noted above, know where you are on the beach. Every public beach access
has an assigned letter; if you are on the beach in Pine Knoll Shores, you are no
more than one-half mile from one of these accesses. If you need to call 911, the
Carteret County dispatch center has these locations. Be able to say, for example,
that you are “just west of Access B.”
Crime prevention
• Lock your automobile doors. The police chief reports that the common
denominator for the vast majority of vehicle thefts is an open vehicle. It is not
uncommon for middle-of-the-night thieves to walk (or ride bikes) down our
streets looking for open cars.
• Call 911 if you see anything suspicious.
• For non-emergency situations, if you need to ask a Pine Knoll Shores police
officer a question or simply pass along some information, call 726-1911. You
may then ask that an officer contact you. For any situation that actually involves
suspected criminal activity, please call 911. When deciding whether to call 911
or the duty officer, consider this: if you need an officer to actually come to your
location, or if there is suspected criminal activity involved, always call 911.
Travel in and around town
• Obey the speed limits, particularly on the heavily used roads of Oakleaf Drive,
Mimosa Boulevard and Highway 58.
• Be mindful at all crosswalks, whether a driver or a pedestrian. Our police
officers have been directed to be particularly watchful here.
Crosswalks. During our recent focus on crosswalk safety in town, one common
issue identified by drivers was the poor visibility of pedestrians standing at
crosswalks at dusk/night. The town asked Carteret-County Electric Cooperative
(CCEC) to explore options to address this. CCEC will install new lights at all three
crosswalks on both sides of the road. Also, the reduced speed limit in the first half
mile of the east end of town, combined with the signage placed in the road, has
occurred without any significant inconveniences. We have not seen any accidents
there since this was put in place (we had three this spring alone prior to this). I
anticipate the town will ask NCDOT to make this permanent.
New town planner. Kevin Reed will arrive in Pine Knoll Shores on July 10.
Kevin spent more than 10 years in Emerald Isle, and has been in Pinehurst for the
past three years. He is a certified planner, a flood plain manager, is well versed in
CAMA regulations, and has extensive experience in development issues and code
enforcement.
12 The Shoreline I July 2017