THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260636
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
The Coast Guard will continue a full-time operation in Ocracoke, even if the small boat station is downsized.
The Coast Guard's decision to keep running the Ocracoke station year-round was announced Thursday by U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., who represents the 3rd District, which includes Ocracoke Island.
Coast Guard officials earlier had considered operating the station only during special events and on weekends if the facility is downgraded to a subunit.
``I just think that's great,'' said Sharon Ballance, whose parents own and operate The Ocracoke Variety Store.
Like many island residents, Ballance had worried about what might happen if the Coast Guard left the area during the week.
``When I learned more about it, one of my main concerns was that there would be a drug problem down here if it closed up,'' she said.
Most of the 19 people now working there will be reassigned to Dare County's Station Hatteras Inlet or Station Hobucken in nearby Pamlico County. Other billets will be eliminated through attrition.
At least four Coast Guard employees will travel daily from Hatteras Inlet to make sure Ocracoke is continually staffed, Coast Guard officials said.
It is still possible that the actual Coast Guard facility will be closed. If so, assigned personnel may stay in an apartment during duty shifts and dock the three Coast Guard boats at a village marina, said Capt. R.B. Hurwitt, chief of search and rescue at the Coast Guard's 5th District in Portsmouth, Va.
But the service will still operate here 24 hours daily throughout the year.
``We're not downgrading our readiness posture there,'' Hurwitt said. ``The fact that the people will be living elsewhere is not really that relevant.''
The downgrading in Ocracoke and two other North Carolina stations is part of a Small Boat Streamline Initiative aimed at saving the Coast Guard money.
The proposal, if approved by Congress, would save about $6 million by eliminating 100 jobs and shifting 450 more positions to ``high-tempo stations.''
Congressman Jones, a Republican from Farmville, had been negotiating with the Coast Guard to keep the station open year-round.
``When I first heard of the planned downgrade, I had serious questions about the Coast Guard's ability to continue providing quick, essential search and rescue service to the busy waters in the Ocracoke area,'' Jones said in a statement.
``After hearing from Ocracoke residents, I became convinced that these concerns were legitimate.''
Ocracoke residents contacted Thursday afternoon were elated by the news.
``Knowing that they're here is a great comfort to us,'' said William O'Neal of O'Neal's Tackle Shop.
The Coast Guard operates three boats in Ocracoke - a 44-foot motor lifeboat, a 41-foot utility boat and a rigid-hull inflatable boat. by CNB