YO U R C O A S TA L C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R S I N C E M AY 2 0 0 2
May 9- May 15, 2019
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Volume 18 | Issue 19 | 25¢
Woman dies after being rescued from ocean currents off Wrightsville Beach Fire chief says death part of busy start to beach season that has already seen several rescues By Terry Lane Staff Writer
A High Point woman died after being rescued from the ocean off Wrightsville Beach two weeks ago, part of what the town’s fire chief said has been a busy start to the 2019 beach season that has already led to several lifeguard rescues. On Monday, April 22, Amy Williamson, 59, died after being rescued by Wrightsville Beach lifeguards, who had her on a rescue board before she fell unconscious and later died, despite several minutes of emergency rescue breaths by lifeguards, Wrightsville Beach Fire Chief Glen Rogers said. Williamson and a man with
whom she was vacationing on the island’s North End went for a swim in the ocean at about noon, in what Rogers said was the couple’s last swim before they planned to leave. The current pulled both out beyond the breakers, where some surfers noticed they were having issues and came over to help, he said. Two members of Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue were already in the area, Rogers said, and a lieutenant in the lifeguard squad went out to assist the woman, who was being helped by a surfer. The WBOR lieutenant reached Williamson and transferred her to a rescue board, where she was conscious and responsive, leading the lifeguard to signal to his supervisor that the woman appeared to be doing okay. However, as he was paddling her back in, the woman fell unconscious, and the lifeguard flagged down a nearby survey boat, which was doing measurements on Mason Inlet. On the boat, the lifeguards performed emergency resuscitation n See LIFEGUARD Page 2
Two crew members of Coast Guard Cutter Bayberry, a 65-foot inland buoy tender homeported in Oak Island, North Carolina, prepare to drop a buoy in Carolina Beach Inlet in Federal Point, North Carolina, May 3, 2019. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently extended their dredging of the channel, enabling the Coast Guard to reestablish the inlet’s navigational aids. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Herman)
Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, local partners mitigate navigational risks in Carolina Beach Inlet The Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and New Hanover County are working to together to mitigate navigational risks due to shoaling in Carolina Beach Inlet. The shoaling required the Coast Guard to temporarily discontinue navigational aids in the inlet earlier this month. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District and New Hanover County extended a planned dredging period through April 30. The Coast Guard is reestablishing the navigational aids based on the results
of the dredging project. “The most recent post-dredging survey is favorable and will allow the Coast Guard to safely reestablish the aids in the inlet,” said Coast Guard Lt. Brittany Akers, chief of waterways management division, Sector North Carolina. “We are hopeful conditions continue to improve so we can properly service the aids and provide a safe channel for mariners, which is our primary objective."
Sand Scripture
With construction of new Wrightsville Ave. store underway, ABC board plans to replace live oaks damaged by Florence By Terry Lane Staff Writer
With rake in hand and help from family members, Kirby, from Wilmington, is now making his spiritual sand messages a daily ritual. He is coming out each morning to Johnnie Mercer's Pier to create "scripture in the sand." His aim is to find helpers to spread the practice to every Pier along the coast, hoping to one day reach his native beach in New Jersey. Kirby asked not to be fully identified for the photo, saying he wanted the attention focused on his messages in the sand. Learn more by contacting scriptureinthesand.777@gmail.com.
Visitor Spending in North Carolina Grows at Near Record Pace North Carolina tourism generated record visitor spending in 2018 with a total of $25.3 billion. Governor Roy Cooper announced. The 5.6 percent increase from 2017 was North Carolina’s largest percentage growth in travel and tourism spending since 2011. Additionally, tourism industry-supported employment topped 230,000 jobs to set another record for the state. “Tourism is a major economic engine for our state
bringing billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs,” Gov. Cooper said. “We’re proud to welcome visitors from our mountains to our coast and want even more people to know what a great place North Carolina is to spend their time and money.” Gov. Cooper, who proclaimed May 5-11,2019, as Travel and Tourism Week in North Carolina, n See TOURISM Page 2
While the live oak trees that the New Hanover County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board planned to save at the new Wrightsville Avenue location died following Hurricane Florence, the board has plans to replace the trees. Marnina Queen, CEO of the New Hanover County ABC Board, said that the board will buy three two-year-old live oaks to replace the ones that died during the storm. Preserving the three live oaks, and other trees on the property, is a priority for the board, she said, noting that it was an important topic during the town’s approval of the property. With increasing sales at the store at 6730 Wrightsville Ave., the local ABC board and the town of Wrightsville Beach approved the construction of a new store at 7000 Wrightsville Ave., located next to the Craft Hardware Store. During the approval process last summer, the architects developed a site plan that would have preserved the three live oaks on the property, which most recently was was a
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mobile home park. However, September’s Hurricane Florence knocked down two of the trees, and an arborist recently determined that the lone remaining live oak would have to be removed due to damage from the storm, Queen said. That tree would have been located in the driveway accessing the store, she added. The board will buy three two-year-old live oaks to replace the ones that were destroyed in the storm, she said. “It truly broke my heart that so many of them didn’t make it,” Queen said of the tree loss on the site. By being able to strategically locate the new trees, Queen said they would have a better chance of survival. “It’s a better environment for the trees to survive,” Queen said. “They will create a nice canopy there. We think they will be there for generations to come.” Construction on the new store began last week, n See ABC Page 2
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