Category Archives: WEATHER
Matthew flooding likely to top Floyd
Neuse River at Kinston continues rise
(National Weather Service graphic)
Click to enlarge
KINSTON – Dreaded storm surge and vicious hurricane-force winds did not wreak the havoc. This time horrific damage and at least 19 deaths are coming belatedly from North Carolina’s swollen river basins – with the normally placid Lumber River being perhaps the worst culprit.
The Neuse River near Kinston has yet to crest where officials expect to see flooding 28 feet above normal levels – toppling the record set by 1999 flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd.
Throughout the state’s coa…
City preps for Hurricane Matthew
Colleen M. Roberts | Public Information Officer
NEW BERN — Although the forecast track for hurricane Matthew remains uncertain, the City of New Bern is taking steps now to prepare and is encouraging residents to do the same. National Hurricane Center meteorologists say the storm could pose a threat to the United States by week’s end, but forecast models vary widely as to where or if the hurricane will make landfall.
“We will know more about the track of the storm in the next 24-48 hours, but we are using this valuable time to get staff, equipment and storm supplies in place and ready to g…
Happy Times are (almost) here again!
VANDEMERE – A late June start-back for this faith-based camp seemed much closer to reality Wednesday, after a flurry of activity throughout the day.
Under the wistful / apprehensive gazes of Camp Vandemere board member Ken Hill and Camp Director Rick Price, crews and a massive crane began the careful positioning of nine 70-feet long modular units atop tall pilings on the banks of windy Bay River.
By the end of the day, the girls dorm and the boys dorm – each capable of accommodating up to 70 campers – were mostly in place, and the modular units that will form the Kitchen / Dining Hall were sche…
Linemen tackle widespread power outages
Joe Jackson, a B-Lineman with Utility Line Construction Services, arrived late Tuesday. He and his counterparts face a long, cold night of repairs.
A fleet of trucks mustered in the parking lot of the elementary school in Bayboro.
BAYBORO – Like a cavalry to the rescue, a dozen massive bucket trucks and more than 20 heavily clothed linemen pulled into the parking lot of Fred A. Anderson Elementary School shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Their uniforms: White hard hats and fluorescent green safety vests. Their mission: Restore electricity to thousands in numerous eastern North Carolina cou…
Arthur’s early arrival a bummer
By Jeff Aydelette | Staff Writer
NORTH CAROLINA – The state typically gets 80 percent of its hurricanes and tropical storms during the months of August, September, and October, making Arthur’s expected July 4th appearance somewhat of an aberration. In recent years, the earliest of named storms arrived May 7, 2007, when Andrea showed up. Way back in 1925, weather archives reveal that an unnamed tropical storm moved across the Outer Banks on Dec. 2, 1925.…
Snowplows crunch mailboxes
By Jeff Aydelette | Staff Writer
This box caught the brunt of ice and snow during last Friday’s road-clearing operations.
REELSBORO – Broken and dismantled mailboxes often occur when the state’s snowplows work their magic, as more than a few eastern North Carolina homeowners discovered last Friday morning. And, here in this part of the county where residents in Reelsboro and Olympia have those infernal New Bern postal addresses, all undelivered mail is returned and held at the main New Bern Post Office – an expensive and time-consuming roundtrip to the big city!
One little known fa…
Camp Vandemere gets green light to rebuild
By Jeff Aydelette | Staff Writer
VANDEMERE – Elected officials gave their approval Monday night for a much bigger Camp Vandemere, subject to several conditions meant to moderate any disruptive impacts on this small waterfront community. The Baptist-sponsored summertime destination – a fixture in the town since the mid-1960s — was devastated by Hurricane Irene, which struck two years ago. The camp’s executive director, Rick Price, said construction will begin soon on a Kitchen / Dining Hall facility, to be built 15 feet above ground, a design meant to withstand future storm…
Piggly Wiggly customers snap up Flavor Burst on hot summer day!
Piggly Wiggly employee Doug Phillips serves a Flavor Burst sample to a grateful young customer!
By Jeff Aydelette | Staff Writer
GRANTSBORO – Piggly Wiggly’s new Flavor Burst soft serve ice cream triggered plenty of smiles Saturday as grocery store veteran Doug Phillips stayed busy for much of the afternoon dishing out free samples!
Yes, of course, free is always fun!
But the really big grins came as folks nodded approval while savoring their frozen treats!
“Flavor Burst is really thick ice cream, and the flavors are infused,” explained Phillips. “You’re not getting a lot of ai…
Restaurant takes a licking during public hearing
But Oriental Steamer to keep on ticking
From left, Tim Rogers and Patti Rosencrantz – who live near the restaurant –and owner Jeff Tomczak swear to tell the truth Tuesday night in a quasi-judicial public hearing.
By Jeff Aydelette | Staff Writer
ORIENTAL – Town officials gave reluctant approval Tuesday night for the Oriental Steamer Restaurant to feature games and pool tables where Chef Jeff Tomczak once offered fine dining – before Hurricane Irene struck in August of last year.
Tomczak told the commissioners and Oriental Mayor Bill Sage that pool tables and electronic game…
THANK YOU 8 Days of Hope!
Army of faith-based volunteers, 1500 strong, arrives this week
‘Largest all-volunteer effort in North Carolina history,’ say officials
Left, Dawn Baldwin Gibson, Executive Director of the Pamlico County Disaster Recovery Coalition, confers Wednesday afternoon with Skip Lee and Jolene Sawyer of the Building Inspections Department. Permits have been issued for repairs to 123 homes throughout the county, with more in the works.Center, Stephen Tybor III, seen here at a staging office at Camp Seafarer, founded 8 Days of Hope “when my dad and I thought we would take a couple of…
