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The Truth and Hope Tour of Poverty in North Carolina concluded its first leg on Friday, after a state-wide tour of northeastern rural counties and inner city neighborhoods where North Carolinians have struggled to find work, decent housing, transportation, and sufficient food for their families.

The bus made stops in Washington, Roper, Elizabeth City, Winton, Scotland Neck, and Rocky Mount. Along the way, the bus full of activists, foundation leaders, scholars and reporters met with community leaders and hundreds of individuals whose lives have been directly affected by poverty. There was clear evidence of chronic underinvestment and long legacies of neglect, as the tour visited towns that have engaged in decade-long fights to get adequate sewer and clean water infrastructure for their communities.

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The Dare County Department of Public Health (DCDPH) was recently awarded a grant that will build upon the DCDPH's work in tobacco prevention for the residents of Dare County. This grant was awarded by the Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch of North Carolina Division of Public Health and is part of the Tobacco Reality Unfiltered (TRU) Sustainability project. With this funding, the DCDPH will provide tobacco users with cessation opportunities in their community, worksites or on school campus. There will be a public education awareness campaign to educate the community on the health benefits of quitting, the dangers of secondhand smoke and the benefits of a tobacco free Dare County.

The TRU Initiative has already proven its success by advocating for over 100 restaurants to go smoke free. The Merchant Education component of the prog

Share this Whack a Pack Game with your Kids

ram has assisted in bringing our non-compliance rate of tobacco sales from 42% in 2004 to 21% in 2011. The TRU program is active in Dare County high schools, with tobacco prevention and education activities being taught by peers in the middle schools.  

 For more information on the TRU Initiative, please contact the Dare County Department of Public Health's Health Education Specialist, Lisa Phillips at (252) 475-5077.

The League of Women Voters sponsored an  informative program on gang activity. The Dare Community Crimeline is a network of investigative agencies working to combat drugs, gangs, violence and other crimes.  The Drug Enforcement Task Force, a relatively new program has been pro-active in its endeavors. By definition, according to Sgt. Henderson of the KDH police department, a criminal street gang may be defined as a group of three or more individuals with intent to create a felony or violent misdemeanor, and who has a common name and common identity.  Members wear assigned colors and utilize symbols in identifying their gang.  The hard core gang member does not accept any authority other than the gang.  One of the reasons for gang activity here on the Outer Banks is the profit being made from selling drugs. The very make up of our communities with hotels, motels, rental properties make it easier to hide the traffic in drugs.  

Kevin Brinkley, Chief of Police, Nags Head,  posted January 21, on OBX Connection:

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February 7. The League of Women Voters Dare County is presenting a film series featuring women's history.  After each film,  Dr. Lin Logan facilitates an open discussion of the film's accuracy, relevance, and entertainment value.  The February focuses on Margaret Sanger, the mother of the birth control movement in the US.  All films are free and open to the public and will be shown at 2:30 PM.

Spring Arbor Community Room, 803 Bermuda Bay Blvd., Kill Devil Hills, NC. For Further information - 252-480-2866

Films subject to change.

 On Thursday, February 16, the team will present its report for Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras at the Fessenden Center (2-4 pm) and at the Hatteras Village Civic Center (5-7 pm).

Read more of the 50 page Saltwater Connection Report.on the Hatteras Island Communities

On Friday, February 17, team members will hold follow-up workshops for the Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo and Avon report at the Avon Fire Station (11 - 12:15) and at the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Community Building (4 - 5:30pm).  The workshops will be informal, and folks are welcome to drop in at any time at either location to talk with team members about implementation of recommendations in the report, and to discuss ideas for community projects using SaltwaterConnections funds.

 Saltwater Connections, as part of the overall program of work funded by the NC Rural Center, has funding for small community projects that build on community assets and help create and support jobs. 

Kevin Brinkley, Chief of Police, Nags Head,  posted January 21, on OBX Connection:

I have received numerous calls of concern regarding a presentation on gang awareness, given on January 16th, by the Kill Devil Hills Police Department. The information presented at this meeting is correct in that law enforcement has encountered gang members in Dare County over the last 12 months and most of these individuals were from the Elizabeth City area. There seems to be an impression gang members are the primary perpetrators of crime within our community. To date, the Nags Head Police Department can show no statistically relevant correlation between residential burglaries and gangs. 

Elizabeth City has experienced gang related criminal activity in the past and it's understood some of these individuals frequent Dare County. All local law enforcement agencies are striving to educate our officers on recognizing gang methodology, in order to deter gangs from our area. The Nags Head Police Department believes the best way for citizens and visitors to protect themselves against property crimes is by using the following basic crime prevention techniques: 

• Lock their vehicles when unattended 
• Store valuables out of sight 
• All exterior doors and windows need to remain locked 
• Security lighting should be installed on exterior of residence, etc. 

Citizens should not panic or be overly concerned with the information that was shared during the meeting on Monday night. The message was only intended to provide information on this issue, to remind everyone to be observant/vigilant in their daily routine and to ask for the community's assistance by reporting all suspicious activity.  If you should have additional questions or concerns regarding this issue please feel free to contact me personally.   (252)441-6386  

Several weeks ago, CommonGood published a link to

about North Carolina Gangs

the Governor's Crime Commission North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety report on Gangs in North Carolina, March 2011.  This well written document explains the complexities of counting numbers of games as well as the various demographics of gang make-up. Check it out.

Washington County has seen dozens of teachers lose their jobs, and the lines at the food bank grow longer and longer, often with people waiting outside all night just for the chance to eat in the morning. Elizabeth City has more than 1,000 homeless men, and yet there are fewer than 30 shelter beds across the city. The tour came across other rural communities that were still facing destruction brought on by Hurricane Irene.

"The folk we met are hardworking, resilient, hopeful people," said Rev. Dr. William Barber II, chair of the NC State NAACP, which co-hosted the tour with the NC Justice Center, the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, and the Institute For Civic Engagement and Social Change at North Carolina Central University. "It's no sin to be poor. But it is sin to ignore our brothers and sisters who are in poverty, and to make economic decisions that continue to keep them poor."

The multiracial tour group called on state leaders, including both lawmakers and business owners, to act against poverty, defend voting rights and place a strong emphasis on economic justice. A video trailer of the tour, which contains footage from listening sessions, is available online here. Follow @truthandhopenc on Twitter for updates on the tour, and "Like" the tour's Facebook page for access to photos, video, and articles about the tour. 

Call for Artists

Artwork for new CD
The Sound and Dare County Arts Council have partnered to produce the very first compilation CD of local musicians creating original music. In May the first edition of Outer Banks Sounds will be released to the public. DCAC and 99.1 The Sound is looking for original artwork to accompany the CD. The submission deadline is 3/31/2012. All artwork must be created/submitted in one of the 5 following programs: Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design, Quark Express or Corel Draw and emailed to info@darearts.org  The winning artist will receive recognition on 1000 CD's, posters and all other marketing materials associated with the project and 20 copies of the CD. For more information call DCAC at 252-473-5558. Dare County Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the arts in Dare County through advocacy, enrichment and opportunity.

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