Monday, January 23, 2012

Basketball

As many of our readers know, Ocracoke youth have been passionate about basketball for many years. About 40-50 years ago a small concrete court was laid down behind the school. In the mid-1970s a somewhat larger concrete court replaced the earlier one that was cracked and broken. I can't remember exactly when the indoor gymnasium was added to the schoolhouse, but even then the ball court was smaller than regulation size.

This past fall a brand new gym with a regulation-size ball court was dedicated.

I know this is slightly dated information, especially for those of you who keep up with Ocracoke Island events on Facebook and Twitter, but I want to share some exciting island news.

On Friday both the girls' basketball team and the boy's team scored unprecedented wins over their arch-rival, Hatteras. Because Ocracoke School is so small (presently about 150 students in grades K-12) games are seldom fair competition, especially against much larger schools. It has been many years since the Ocracoke "Dolphins" have prevailed against the Hatteras "Hurricanes." The double win on Friday, in fact, was the very first time both teams have ever defeated Hatteras.

The girls maintained a commanding lead throughout the game, winning 56-32. The boys' game was much closer from beginning to end. The Dolphins were ahead, 23-22 at halftime. By the 4th period, with only 4 and a half minutes remaining, the score was tied at 34 points. From then on the Dolphins pulled ahead steadily, securing a 49-37 win.

Congratulations to all of the players, coaches, and fans for an exciting and historic Ocracoke Island basketball game!

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the "Joe Bell" flower. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012112.htm.

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:32 AM

    So happy for all participants. Way to go!

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  2. Anonymous8:25 AM

    Congratulations to the team.

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  3. debbie s.10:20 AM

    way to go Dolphins! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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  4. Anonymous9:12 AM

    Just finished reading an article about Ocracoke Island high school it mentioned how housing can be an issue for first year teachers as rents are high and housing is catering to weekly rental to the tourists -- it begs the question how do teachers put down roots via the American dream of home ownership. Coincidentally enough the day befor I read an article about Katrina Cottages firt offered through owes now through another group. The Cottages are outstanding designs by the famous urban planner new Urbanist he was involved in Seaside Florida anyway the fact the PTA concerns teachers they should look into building a cute Katrina cottage floor plan for teachers to rent or work out some arrangement. Honestly this thought that a home can be a hurdle to the teachers is crazy.

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  5. Anonymous9:14 AM

    Look into Katrina cottages houseplans.com if you do a google search.

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  6. I searched for images of Katrina cottages on line. They look delightful. However, the biggest impediment to affordable housing on Ocracoke is the price of land. There is, of course, only a limited amount of buildable land in a small village surrounded by National Park Service on an island.

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  7. Anonymous2:31 PM

    From what I understand, some National forests rent land out to folks to live on --as needs change you would think that the Park Service could work something out and employ teachers part time and due to the remote location provide a place to live --- what if the community pulled together to build housing for teachers and well it was just a thought propose a model low cost housing for educators thru land leased from the park service unless someone asks or proposes a plan....

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  8. Oh, if only affordable housing on Ocracoke were that simple. It is highly unlikely that the National Park Service would relinquish any land...and if they did it would take an Act of Congress (literally, I believe).

    There have been attempts to provide affordable housing for teachers, county employees, etc., but costs for purchase, maintenance, property taxes (the county government will not waive these taxes -- Hyde Co is one of the poorest counties in NC), etc. have proven difficult to surmount.

    Please be assured that smart, competent, committed islanders have been frustrated working on this issue.

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  9. Anonymous10:45 AM

    do landlords pay to have a license ?has the business fee for operating a rental unit been increased now what do you mean by one of the poorest counties in NC poor by what measure? certainly not property values act of congress it is called lobby lobby and attach a rider

    please list top ten poor county identifiers

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