Blogging the Beach

Even as the economy has driven down membership, the Currituck Chamber of Commerce had plenty to celebrate during Thursday’s annual meeting and awards luncheon.

Almost 40 people attended the meeting as Chamber President Shannon Kinser gave the “State of the Chamber” annual report and handed out awards during the event held at The Bank of Currituck in Grandy.

During the luncheon several businesses and individuals were recognized for their work during the past year. The honorees included:

• Gena Martin, who was named Ambassador of the Year. Martin’s insurance agency also was named the Chamber’s “small” Small Business of the Year.
• Powell’s Roadside Market, which was named the “large” Small Business of the Year.
• The Pointe Golf Club/Keefer’s Bar & Grille, which was named Most Attractive Business.
• Wild Goose Rotary Club, which was named the Best nonprofit.
• The Bank of Currituck, which received an award for Community Service.
• David Blackman, a local pastor, who won the Exemplary Service Award.

Read the entire article at the Daily Advance.

Great news for cyclists, and joggers and nature walkers! Pretty soon you’re going to have a terrific new bike trail in the Currituck Outer Banks to enjoy!

Thanks to a $500,000 state grant, Corolla residents will soon have a trail for walking, jogging and biking.

Currituck County officials announced Friday that the county has been awarded the grant by the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. The $500,000, combined with $500,000 in county funds, will help pay the $1 million cost of constructing a 10-foot wide, 1.2-mile paved trail in Corolla.

“We’re really excited about it,” said Holly White, senior planner in the Currituck Planning Department. “Right now there’s nothing there, so people are riding bikes and moms are pushing strollers along the side of the road.”

Once constructed, the path will stretch from Currituck Heritage Park to the Currituck Banks Coastal Reserve, White, who wrote the grant for the county, said. In addition, a small park will be built along the trail, she said.

More on this exciting story from the Daily Advance.

The Corolla trail will run parallel to NC 12, so if you bring your bike to the Outer Banks you can enjoy a leisurely ride along the most serenely beautiful areas of the OBX. You might spot a wild horse or two or other “natives” of Currituck. More news on this development as we get updates.

A two-year study could resolve a debate over the effect of Corolla’s wild horses on prime waterfowl habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to team with North Carolina State University to conduct exclosure studies within the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge to determine effects of large grazing mammals on three habitat types found there - maritime forests, marshland and wet meadows.

Read the entire article from HamptonRoads.com.