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December sunrise at Lou Mac Park (Homer Walden photo)

4:07p There’s a holiday concert – tonight – 7:30p at St Peter The Fisherman Church on White Farm Rd. The Pamlico Community Band plays Christmas classics. It’s free, and you’re invited.

8:16a Yup, that is frost out there. Overnight it dropped to 34 degrees in Oriental. The sun will do its best to warm this place up to the low 60s today.

Congratulations to Frank and Lili and their team at New Village Brewery – the brewery was awarded Business of the Year by Pamlico County Chamber of Commerce last night:

Also receiving awards, Alecia Williams of PAWS as Volunteer of the Year, Hospice of Pamlico as Non-profit of the Year, and Joy Baker of Pamlico County Disaster Recovery Coalition is the Pamlico Chamber Citizen of the Year.

Tuesday was the December Oriental Town meeting. The newly elected commissioners were sworn in, and a public hearing set for what is called a “Solar Ordinance” that would define the size and placement of solar panels on residential and commercial properties in Oriental. The meeting report is here.

3:14p An Oriental tradition is coming back: the Lighting of the Tree of Names and Lights at Lou Mac Park.

From 1989 – 2007, a tree was put up at Lou Mac Park for Spirit of Christmas and decorated, for a donation, with handmade ornaments either ‘In Honor of’ or ‘In Memory of’ loved people or pets.

Longtime Oriental resident Grace Evans is here to bring the event back. For a $5 donation, Grace creates an ornament with your loved ones’ name (person or pet) to hang on the Tree of Names and Lights. The tree will be lit at 4p, December 14, after the Spirit of Christmas Parade, and stay up until New Year’s Day.

Find out how to donate and get your ornament here. Donations go to the Ocracoke Recovery Fund.

9:31a Getting in the holiday spirit often necessitates holiday-themed music. The Pamlico Community Band is here to help. Tomorrow evening at 7:30p, the band performs at St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church. Admission is free. You’ll likely hear ‘Sleigh Bells’ and might find out ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’.

High today in the low 50s. Tonight, low mid 30s.

3:31p Spirit of Christmas is coming. There’s a parade in the streets and a lighted flotilla on the water.

Friday night, December 13 at 5p, intrepid paddlers cover their boats (and sometimes themselves) in lights and brave the December weather, paddling into Oriental Harbor for the Lighted Kayak Flotilla. To join their ranks, and get more information, click here.

Saturday, December 14 at 2:30p is the Spirit of Christmas parade. This year’s theme: My Traditional Christmas. Decorate your floats, golf carts, or marching bands and register here for the parade.

9:18a Just like the book, all things are bright and beautiful; 55 and sunny today and tomorrow.

Last night’s Town Board Meeting set a public hearing date on February 4, 2020 for the addition of a Solar Ordinance to the Growth Management Ordinance. The Planning Board will meet on December 18, 3-5p at Town Hall to take a final look at the proposed ordinance. Planning Board meetings are open to the public.

Mayor Belangia and the recently elected Town Commissioners were sworn in. Story coming.

2:57p Ocracoke has had a long year – Hurricane Dorian hit the island hard. Now shoaling is a problem, reducing ferry schedules. From NCDOT:

OCRACOKE – Due to extreme shoaling in Bigfoot Slough just outside of Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor, the North Carolina Ferry Division is reducing its schedule for service between Cedar Island, Swan Quarter and Ocracoke.
The schedule, beginning Dec. 4, will be as follows:
• Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7am and 1pm
• Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 10am and 4pm
• Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 1pm and 7pm
• Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 10am and 4pm

The shoaling, which has caused low water conditions in and around Bigfoot Slough, means that only the smaller Sound Class ferries M/V Carteret and M/V Cedar Island are able to navigate the ferry channel.
The new schedule will remain in place until conditions in the ferry channel improve. The Ferry Division has already reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers to request emergency dredging assistance in the area.
Schedules between Hatteras and Ocracoke are not affected by the shoaling.

10:07a This cruel world is still in need of a few angels. Yolanda Cristiani writes in:

9:50a This is Giving Tuesday. You can make the day count locally – read on.

Tonight is the December Town meeting. As well as regular town business the new Town Board will be sworn in. The board includes incumbents Allen Price, David White, Charlie Overcash, and Dianne Simmons. The Town Board newcomer is J. Martin Barrow. Mayor Sally Belangia (running unopposed) was re-elected. All were elected November 5.

5:25p It’s late in the day – but if you see Oriental Police Officer Nic Blayney… it’s Happy Birthday time.

Cool tonight – low may reach the high 30s. Add wind to that… tonight west winds 15 to 20 with gusts up to 30 mph.

A Small Craft Advisory on the Neuse tonight & Tuesday morning.

4:03p Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Part of what makes Oriental and Pamlico County magic are the many local non-profits. If you’re giving this year, consider giving locally.

7:57a This evening, from 5:30-6p, your aspiring shepherd, lamb, or wise man can audition for their spot in the Live Nativity during Spirit of Christmas. Auditions are held at Oriental United Methodist Church.

High today in the low 50s.

6:25a Power returned a few minutes after midnight. It’s just another Monday in a semi-civilized world, now with working lights.

9:49p Power in Oriental will not be back by 10p, as previously predicted. From Duke Energy:

6:33p From reader Art Whalen:

6:10p TownDock Odd Facts:

This is the first day in 6 months that isn’t hurricane season. And the power went out.

5:28p Duke’s power restoration guesstimate has been updated – it’s now 10p tonight.

4:10p The power is out for a reason that isn’t rare – a car hit a pole on Hwy 55.

FYI, power is always on at Oriental’s Piggly Wiggly (they invested 100k in a huge generator a couple years ago.) Hot food will be waiting. The Piglet is open til 8p tonight.

3:39p Nautical Wheelers never lets a power outage stop the wheels of commerce. Camilla is there, with wine & shoes waiting. Maybe you can pick up a sympathy card for your neighbors without power. Apparently Bill wrote this without Camilla buy-in. Nautical Wheelers closed til 10a Monday. Bill sleeping on couch.

3:26p Power is out in Oriental – it went out about 3:17p. Duke Energy estimates restoring power before 6p.

There are 1,099 customers without power – Duke crews are on the way. Here is the map of the area without juice:

12:04p TownDock counted 173 wheels in the 2019 Thanksgiving Day bike ride. Take a look.

5:37p In just a few hours Hurricane Season 2019 officially ends. The names used this year were Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah and Sebastien.

Dorian was the one that got our attention. We didn’t see significant harm in Oriental, but nearby Ocracoke did, and the Bahamas were devastated with a many year recovery ahead.

The Hurricane Dorian Oriental stats: Highest Surge, 6 ft 2 inches on Sept 6 (by comparison, Florence a year earlier caused a surge a full 3 1/2 ft higher.) Peak wind 56 mph.

This was the satellite view of Dorian’s visit:

High water in Oriental liberated an ice machine. Never did see it again:

The Dorian creative adaptation award went to a Garland Fulcher Seafood worker who put a car on pallets (using a forklift) to stay above flood waters. It worked:

click pics for larger view

9:20a Spirit Of Christmas is just two weeks away. More about 2019 Spirit and how to register for the parade is at this link.

9:03a November won’t be leaving us with a warm feeling. It’s last day has a raw cold to it… cloudy and a high that won’t crawl much above 50.

For those hardy enough to head out on the water, it will at least be gentle… winds just about 5 knots today. On the Neuse Sunday gets challenging. Warm air brings high winds, south 15 To 20 knots, with gusts to 30 knots Sunday afternoon.

11:10a Seeing autumn color means a drive to the mountains for many. Some of us might find they can find color in a tighter radius. TownDock crew took on a look on Highway 306.

9:14a Cool & clear days… it must be late autumn. High to day & Saturday just near 50… temps snuck down to 39 early this morning.

Sunday warms up to 70, but that warm air brings along an 80% chance of rain.

The marine forecast shows why those temps will change. Today, north winds 10-15. Sunday, south winds 10-15.

Seeking a meal with no turkey? Jasmin Tasty Thai food truck is serving from noon til 7:30p today at the brewery.