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4:41p Over 500 wheels. Crisp air. Sunshine. It’s become an Oriental tradition: The Annual Thanksgiving morning Turkey Pedal.

Thanksgiving 2023 was the highest attended ever, some 250 riders. TownDock’s Video crew was there:

9:59a Spirit of Christmas is right around the corner. What is the Spirit of Christmas?

During the second weekend in December, Oriental goes all out for the holidays with a parade, seasonal lights, decorating contests, flotillas, a tree & a star lighting, and business open houses.

It’s driven by volunteers and those who want to make the season special.

Find out what’s coming – and how you can join in or help out with the 2023 Spirit of Christmas.

8:17a Happy Thanksgiving Day dear reader.

Sunny. Dry. Today’s high might reach 60.

See ya out there for a bike ride.

Word is, you forgot to get apple cider and sweet potatoes. The Piglet is open today til 1p to save your reputation.

2:10p TownDock.net co-founder Melinda Penkava-Smith passed away Thursday, Nov 9. You can read about her life here.

Services will be held in spring, 2024.

9:56a Two-tenths of an inch. That’s how much rain we’ve seen this morning.

Skies were briefly clear this morning, but the rain will continue into the afternoon.

What does that mean for tomorrow? Clear and cool weather for the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Pedal.

The Bean will open in the morning as scheduled, and close “noon-ish.”

In consideration of last minute holiday grocery needs, the Piggly Wiggly is staying open until 9p tonight.

And for those super last minute needs, the Piglet is open Thanksgiving Day 7a – 1p tomorrow.

7:34a Today at nine, St. Peter Catholic Church opens the doors on their annual Gourmet Bake Sale.

Pick up cookies, cakes, breads and other desserts for your Thanksgiving meal. St. Peter is on White Farm Rd. The sale runs from 9a – 1p.

Monday evening, the Board of Commissioners held a Special Meeting. The purpose: discuss the various town boards & their functions, and the duties of Commissioners within town government and as board liaisons.

One topic that came up: moving monthly meeting times back to the evenings. Two years before, they were at 7p.

Though no decisions will be made until the December 5 Town Board meeting, Commissioners have tentatively agreed to begin a six month trial of evening meetings.

Meaning that in January 2024, Town Board meetings will likely be held at 6p (not 7p like before) on Tuesday evenings – at least for the first half of the year.

9:46a The Oriental Board of Commissioners have called a special meeting for this evening at 5p.

It’s a pre-organizational meeting for the newly elected and incoming Board of Commissioners, who will be sworn in a the December 5 Town Meeting. Tonight’s meeting is at Town Hall and open to the public.

In the county, Pamlico County Commissioners meet tonight at 7p for their second monthly meeting. It’s also open to the public, at the County Courthouse Annex.

High in the mid-60s today, with rain in the forecast Tuesday and Wednesday.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast

6:37a If you’re in the area of Alligator Creek Rd or Gibbtown Rd, you’re on the Pamlico County water lines. Last evening a line was cut and water pressure was low or non-existent there and in nearby areas.

The County advises boiling your water for 24-48 hours after water pressure is restored, to kill any bacteria that might have entered the system.

Read the full notice from Pamlico County here.

4:57p Jasmine Tasty Thai is serving tonight at the Brewery, until 8p. Patrick Bliss plays from 5-7p.

Saturday, the Farmer’s Market open on Hodges Street from 8-11a.

In the afternoon, La Cocina del Coqui serves from 3-8p at the Brewery. It’s also Princess Bride Day at the Brewery, from 3-7p. Come dressed as your favorite character from the movie, play movie trivia, and watch (or join) the movie reenactments.

Sunday, The Bonafides of New Bern perform a matinee of their Fleetwood Mac Tribute at the The Old Theater at 3p. (Their Saturday evening show is sold out).

To find out what else is going, check out What’s Happening.

10:16a High today and tomorrow near 70.

This coming Sunday, daytime temps are forecast to drop 10 degrees. Low tonight in the mid 50s.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Neuse River at Oriental Water Level Gauge

Sad news to share: Carlton Maxwell Muse passed away last weekend. Carlton was a veteran of the Coast Guard and a commercial fisherman. He lived with his family in Little Pamlico.

Services are at 11a today at Pamlico Methodist Church.

11:17a Thursday nights at the Brewery are usually quiet affairs. Tonight is a little different.

2021 MerleFest Band Competition winners, and frequent performers at The Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival, Into the Fog play the Brewery beer garden stage tonight from 5-7p.

Roadside Dogs serves out front from 3:30 – 8p.

Bring your chairs, and your jackets: tonight’s low is in the mid 50s.

This is Into the Fog:

9:32a Oriental’s next big event is also a long-standing tradition: the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Pedal.

There’s no registration, no trophies, and no spandex.

Bring yourself and your bicycle to The Bean on Hodges Street in the morning.

At 9a, you, your neighbors, some holiday visitors, a few sailors, and the occasional dog set off on a leisurely ride around town.

Visit the different marinas and boat yards, take in the fall scenery, and end up back at The Bean before 10a.

2:52p Last Thursday evening, 18 year old Abigail Bretz was in a head-on collision on Highway 55 near Walmart.

Surprising everyone, including first responders on scene, Abigail survived, although with severe injuries. After being cut from her car, she was airlifted from the scene to the ECU Medical Center.

Abigail is supposed to graduate from Pamlico County High this year. Her mother, Kalie Styron, is focused on getting her there. A GoFundMe has been setup to help Kalie and Abigail during the long recovery.

If you’d like to help the family directly, checks can be made out to ‘Abigail’s Angel’ and delivered to First Citizens Bank.

10:30a November’s meeting was a long one.

The Comprehensive Plan was sent back to the Planning Board, a public hearing for a special use permit for an artist’s studio was deferred until next month.

The full story is coming.

8:22a Oriental’s monthly Town Board Meeting is happening now at Town Hall.

Gregory Redman, the town’s auditor, is giving a report on the town’s budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Coming up is a public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan, an ordinance to sell the Police Charger, and a request from the Pamlico Chapter of the Special Olympics.

11:33a March is a winter season away, but the folks at Bow to Stern – and the college sailing kids – are getting the word out early.

March 16, 2023 is the first Bow to Stern Boating College Regatta – a regatta of the North League of the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA).

Bow to Stern will host up to 18 collegiate sailing teams in town for the weekend, as they compete on the water. The event is need of a few sponsors.

Want to become a sponsor or help college sailing in Oriental another way? Reach out to Mark at Bow to Stern at mark@bowtosternboating.com or at 252-249-2424.

8:31a Overnight lows were in the mid to low 40s. High today near 60.

Less than an inch of rain fell over the weekend, but it took its time doing it. There’s more rain in the forecast, but not until the end of the week, and then less than 50%.

Highs will stay in the 60 – 70 degree range throughout the week.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Neuse River at Oriental Water Level Gauge

2:18p Sad news to share. Oriental resident Scott Pickard, formerly with St. Barts Yachts, passed away last Sunday. He was 50 years old.

Memorial services are tomorrow, Saturday, November 11 at Cotton Funeral Home, beginning at 11a. Learn more about Scott here.

10:37a McWilliams, Hoff, & Bailey get together for a few tunes in the Beer Garden at New Village Brewery from 5:30 – 7:30p. All About Churros serves empanadas, papas & chorizo – and churros – on site from 5-8p.

There’s a lot going on Saturday – its Veteran’s Day, for starters. Celebrate at Fred A. Anderson Elementary School with a free drive-thru chicken dinner from 11a – 2p. There’s also prizes, a free raffle, and live music on site.

In the morning, the Oriental Farmer’s Market sets up on Hodges Street, and runs from 8-11a. The Spirit Shack, open at 10a, is having a 50% off closing sale through the end of November.

The Woman’s Club on Gilgo Rd hosts their Annual Bakery Boutique & Fine Arts and Crafts Show from 9a – 1p. Buy your baked goods by the piece or the pound, and pickup some handmade items for the holidays.

In the evening, a new-to-Oriental food truck comes to the Brewery: Southern Breeze Seafood. Shrimp and flounder – as plates or burgers, crab rolls, cheese curds – and even regular burgers and chicken tenders for the non-seafood eaters. They’ll be at the Brewery from 4-8p on Saturday. Southern Breeze Seafood has cancelled for Saturday. They’ll return 11/25.

Sunday, the local chapter of the Coast Guard Auxiliary hosts a course on Navigating Local Waters at Fairfield Harbor, from 1-5p. Registration is required.

It’s all in What’s Happening.

8:34a Melinda Penkava-Smith passed away early this morning at her home in Oriental.   

She had over a decade long illness with Parkinsons and Multiple System Atrophy.    She fought the diseases as few would, participating in a Parkinson’s boxing exercise program as recently as Tuesday this week.   

Melinda hosted talk shows and voiced newscasts on NPR.  She was a DJ on a pirate radio ship off the coast of England.   She sailed to Cuba and Nova Scotia with her husband.   

She co-founded TownDock.net.   She created an amazing brick and blue-bottle garden at her South Water Street home.  

January 21, 1959 – Nov 9, 2023.

Services for Melinda will be held in the spring.

12:47p A Venician gondola. A mullet caught in Pamlico County. You wouldn’t think they have much in common.

TownDock sat down with fisherman Keith Bruno this week and found out there may be a connection:

Keith is likely to have fresh oysters starting Monday Nov 13. For fresh fish, stop by Endurance Seafood and say hi. 252-249-2558.

9:40a Yesterday’s high vote count (447) in Oriental seemed like a record high. But was it?

We checked the TownDock archives, and it turns out while a near record, there was at least one higher vote count: 2005. What turns out to be the outlier was the unusually low vote count in 2021.

2023: 447
2021: 184 (only 5 candidates for 5 seats, plus COVID)
2019: 202
2017: 359
2015: 342
2013: 385
2011: 428
2009: 443
2007: 412
2005: 457 (12 candidates for town board, and 2 candidates for mayor)

Oriental will have a new board for 2024 (the new board will be sworn in at the December 2023 town meeting). New commissioners will include Bonnie Crosser and Breena Litzenberger.

Breena, at age 35, is decades younger than the rest of the board. She and her husband operate a local business – Inner Banks Canvas.

Returning board members include Allen Price, Frank Roe and Charlie Overcash.

Whomever you supported, all these board members have a track record of providing time and effort into supporting Oriental. Oriental’s town board and mayor are non-paid positions.

All the candidates responded to a questionnaire last week, providing an insight into their thoughts about Oriental.

7:38p For commissioner, elected are Allen Price 292 votes, Frank Roe 269 votes, Breena Litzenberger 268 votes, Charlie Overcash 260 votes, and Bonnie Crosser with 258 votes.

Greg Bohmert received 246 votes, and will not get a seat on the board. There were 18 write-in votes for commissioner.

Sally Belangia was re-elected mayor, with 368 votes. There were 14 write-in votes for mayor. For whom write-in votes were for will get reported in coming days.

7:37p 447 votes were cast today in Oriental. Awaiting results.

4:44p Elections results will be on TownDock.net, as soon as the results are available. Polls close at 7:30p, results will be available sometime after. When? In the past it’s sometimes quick (15 minutes), sometimes well over an hour.

9:47a With no early voting this year, good weather could effect the total vote count. If so, this is good voting weather.

Sunny & mid 70s today. Wednesday sunny and near 70, Thursday warms up to 80 degrees.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Neuse River at Oriental Water Level Gauge