The Dare Soil & Water Conservation District is now accepting applications until September 4th for the Community Conservation Assistance Program (CCAP) grant.

Dare Soil & Water Conservation District Now Accepting Community Conservation Assistance Program Grant Applications

The Dare Soil & Water Conservation District is accepting applications until September 4th for the Community Conservation Assistance Program (CCAP). The CCAP is a voluntary, incentive-based program designed to improve water quality through the installation of various best management practices (BMPs). BMPs include options such as cisterns, rain gardens, permeable pavement, grassed swales, and shoreline protection practices. Applications are ranked based on local water quality priorities and drainage concerns. If selected, landowners may receive financial assistance up to 75% of the pre-established average cost of the BMP.

Visit http://www.ncagr.gov/SWC/costshareprograms/CCAP/index.html and contact the Community Conservationist at 252.475.5853 or barton.grover@darenc.com for more information.

Mountains to the Sea Trail Birthday Challenge Hikes

Celebrate the Mountains-to-Sea Trail With a Hike

North Carolina's amazing Mountains-to-Sea Trail stretches from the Great Smoky Mountains to Nags Head's very own Jockey's Ridge State Park. We're incredibly proud to host a section of this beautiful trail, which is turning 43 years old in September. Celebrate this scenic trail with one of these three challenges:

Challenge 1 - Any day in September, walk one or many of the 40 hikes in the new Great Day Hikes on North Carolina's Mountains-to-Sea Trail guide book.
Challenge 2 - To step up more, tackle the 43-Kilometer Challenge (approximately 26.7 miles to us non-metric types). Hike one of three 43-kilometer stretches of the MST in 24 hours to complete the 43K-Challenge.
Challenge 3 - If Challenge #2 still isn't steep enough for you, complete all three 43K hikes during the month of September to complete the 43K Triple Crown.

Learn more from the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail web site.

Please don't leave bulk items or brush by the side of the road this time of year.

Reminder - Please Don't Leave Large Trash Items By the Roadside

As a reminder, please do not leave large trash items such as water heaters, furniture, or tent frames by the side of the road from April 1 through September 30. We will not remove these items. Please drop them off at the bulk item/brush collection yard across from Nags Head's Public Works facility at 2200 Lark Avenue (turn west onto Eighth Street by the ABC store and then left onto Lark Avenue).

The yard is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 9 am until 3:30 pm and then on Saturdays from 9 am until 3 pm.

Use of the yard requires a Town-issued sticker, which can be obtained at the Public Works office.

HOWEVER, the curbside bulk item/brush collection service will resume on October 1 and run through March 31. The Town conducts neighborhood sweeps during these months, but we ask that you call Public Works at 252-441-1122 to be placed on a list used to track the date you placed your items on the right of way.

The Town collects brush and limbs, large/bulky items such as stoves, refrigerators, water heaters, sofas, etc. that cannot normally be loaded into the back of a standard garbage truck. Items must be placed in the right of way, but off the pavement, front of your property prior to collection. Bulk, brush and metal must be placed in separate piles. Items are not collected from unimproved lots.

Application Process Open for Grants to Support the Work of Artists in Dare, Tyrrell, Washington, Martin, Beaufort, and Hyde Counties

From the Dare County Arts Council - Application Process Open for Grants to Support the Work of Artists in Dare, Tyrrell, Washington, Martin, Beaufort, and Hyde Counties

Artists in all disciplines are eligible to apply for grants to support their professional and artistic development through a partnership of the North Carolina Arts Council and Pocosin Arts, Arts of the Pamlico, Dare County Arts Council, and Martin County Arts Council.

Artist Support Grants will be distributed to eligible applicants by their local Arts Council in the following counties: Tyrrell, Dare, Washington, Martin, Beaufort, and Hyde.

Applications for the grants are available at www.darearts.org/asg. The deadline is Friday, October 30, 2020. Grants will range in awards from $500 to $1,000.

Emerging or established artists are encouraged to apply to support a range of professional and artistic development including the creation of work, improvement of business operations, or expanding capacity to bring work to new audiences. Artist fees are also allowable expenses. Artists in all disciplines are eligible to apply.

“The Artist Support Grants program responds to the impact of the pandemic by ensuring that artists and the state’s arts infrastructure have the resources needed to help our state make a strong social and economic recovery,” said Wayne Martin, Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Council.

For more information or questions please contact Chris Sawin at dareartsinfo@gmail.com or (252) 473-5558.

View of Nags Head's beach from Jennette's Pier

Caribbean-colored water returned to our area again this week, but the pelican at Jennette's Pier didn't seem to care one way or the other.