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An Unexpected Wall
September 15, 2014

O

riental’s new Town Dock may be at the center of yet another controversy. A month ago, it was large fishing ships tying up to a dock many believed was intended for recreational boats. Before that, it was the land swap that left the Town with a smaller property & docking area than it would have had before the swap.

The latest issue is a fence that now stands between the Town’s new docking area, and the property to the north on the harbor, the Oriental Marina & Inn/Toucan Grill/Tiki Bar. The Town did not erect the fence, which went up last week. It has sparked this letter:

Dear Editor:

Most late Wednesday afternoons I and my crew can be found racing around the government marks on the Neuse River not too far from Oriental. Afterwards we will usually take advantage of the new free town dock to tie up and walk over to the Tiki Bar to celebrate or commiserate on our win or loss. Afterwards, we avail ourselves of the Toucan Restaurant for dinner and then have a night sail back to Pierce Creek.

To our great dismay, this past Wednesday, we came across the most unfriendly thing I’ve seen in the otherwise very friendly town of Oriental. A fence had been erected across the path from the free dock, which was created to entice boaters to stop in Oriental. This prevents our boating visitors that support our businesses from easy access to the town harbor.

It is most uninviting and sets a bad tone to the boating community. It is my understanding that the condo owners placed it there. It certainly does not add value to the condos nor does it entice anyone to the restaurant or Tiki bar.

To paraphrase President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Gorbachev in 1987 – Tear Down This Fence!

Joe Valinoti
S/V Il Gatto
Oriental
9/15/14

TownDock.net welcomes correspondence on this subject and others. Please limit your letter to 500 words. Send your letter to letters@towndock.net. No anonymous letters will be accepted. Well-made, civilly-spoken points welcomed. Please include the city & state where you live. If you cc TownDock letters you send to government officials, they may be included in the Letters column. (Such correspondence to government – town, county, state federal – is part of the public record.)