Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Debate Over New Fishing Pier in Oriental Gets Ugly

Proposed location of new pier; link to map

In contrast to our usual updates on the loss of another North Carolina fishing pier, Oriental has been exploring the possibility of building a new one in Lou Mac Park. Town officials have received a ton of feedback on the proposed fishing pier and the vast majority of it is positive. A sampling of Oriental residents showed as many as 70% support building the pier, but the opposition is vocal and has strong opinions. As the debate has picked up steam, town officials have expressed concern that racial fears are driving some of the opposition. Many of the opposition have complained about "undesirable elements" being attracted to the pier, or "noisy people" being there, both of which a resident describes as thinly-veiled euphemisms for African-Americans and Hispanics. The creation of additional water access for anglers is rare and the Town of Oriental should be commended. Take a few seconds and contact a town commissioner to let them know a lot of good people think they are on the right track. More on the debate is available from the Pamlico News, pier details are available from TownDock.net.

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