Kayak fishing clinic and watercraft demo
For all of you kayak fishermen out there this Saturday (May 16) will be a day you want to mark on your calendar. Renowned kayak fisherman Jimbo Meador will be giving on and off water clinics on kayak fishing, paddleboard fishing, and cast netting from a kayak. There will also be fishing kayaks and paddleboards on hand for test drives. Jimbo is a master fisherman with a ton of experience and practical knowledge to inpart. Kayak fishing is seeing a major upswing in popularity as fishermen realize how fun this sport can be. Come out on Saturday and learn how to catch more fish! Admission is $10 and proceeds go towards charity. Call Hook, Line, and Paddle for more info: 910-792-6945
Giant Cement Plants, the General Assembly and Other Threats to Our Environment
Our representatives in Raleigh have been very busy the last few months and lots of issues are coming to a head (among them: a possibility to stop the fast track to disaster that comes in the form of an enormous Cement Plant and open pit limestone quarry plopped down in pristine wetlands, atop a regional aquifer and upwind from beaches and schools.) Your representatives and your neighbors representatives need to hear from YOU. They’re locked up there in an echo chamber with the platoons of professional lobbyists and they desperately need a reality check in the form of a call or visit from you. What’s coming up next week that’s so important? 
Senate Bill 699 is expected to come up for a hearing and a committee vote next week. S699, sponsored by Sen. Julia Boseman, would simply enact an 18 month moratorium on new cement plants in the state, allowing time to research the true and full impact of the industry and slowing down the current unwarranted fast track permitting. S699 seems like an obvious fix – how could it face opposition? Yet it does – significant opposition – and it may be in trouble. You, who cares about the river and the watershed and the environment and the future, need to make yourself heard. At the very least click your mouse a few times and send some e-mails to your representatives. Click here to visit the NC Conservation Network site and send an e-mail encouraging your representatives to support this moratorium. Or click here to visit the NC Coastal Federation’s advocacy e-mail widget for help generating a well thought out and composed e-mail on S699.
Even better: get in your car and drive up to Raleigh and stop in and visit a few Senators and Representatives in person. Most representatives’ offices in Raleigh have an open door and even if the representative isn’t available personally a relevant staffer usually is. There’s no need to bring flowers or a casserole when you visit, just stop by and ask if you can shortly and succinctly offer your views. You can bet that Titan Cement’s paid lobbyists have been visiting, now is the time for you to visit as well. Gas is cheap, Raleigh really isn’t that far away (2 hours away – a straight shot up I-40 if you’re coming from Wilmington) and they have lots of places to get a nice lunch or dinner before heading home. If you’d like some advice on how to get there, what to say or who to see, Doug Springer, the Cape Fear Riverkeeper will be happy to help you. Give him a call (910-602-3862) or an e-mail (doug@cfrw.us) and get on your way. Doug might even be able to coordinate cars with empty seats and riders with no cars.
No more excuses. Go. Now. Drive safely.
And while you’re there . . . you might mention a few other concerns to any legislators you happen to meet. For example, the Haw River Assembly and the Haw Riverkeeper is concerned about efforts to significantly weaken (or even eliminate) the Environmental Management Commission rules protecting Jordan Lake from pollution. (For those of you without a map at hand, the Haw River and the Deep River form the Cape Fear River just a few miles downstream from the Jordan Lake Dam) Click here for more details about HRA’s efforts to protect Jordan Lake.
At the same time the White Oak – New Riverkeeper (up near Jacksonville and Onslow County if you still haven’t pulled out your map) is leading the fight against House Bill 643, which would allow operators of sewer systems to inject their effluent into drinking water aquifers. Click here for more information on this outrageous proposal.
What? You’re still here? Go put gas in the car.
