This, we've just received from Cheryl Roberts, President of Outer Banks Lighthouse Society...

OKAY...IT'S TIME TO BLAST THE AIR WAVES WITH ALL WE'VE GOT!! E-MAILS AND PHONE CALLS NEEDED!!!

I also suggest that everyone contact your own Representative. You might want to remind them that Walter Jones initially tried to take the lighthouse by going under the table in the dark of the night. And if he eventually gets his way...he may make a few 100 people happy in one of the smallest counties in North Carolina...but he will piss off 1000's of other voters all over the United States. (Meaning...all the folks in the lighthouse community!)

Judy
OBLHS

The Outer Banks Conservationists Need Our Help!!

Judy - Let's not forget Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton: gale_norton@ios.doi.gov

Also the White House:

Comments: 202 456-1111
Switchboard: 202 456-1414

President George W. Bush:
president@whitehouse.gov

Vice President Dick Cheney:
vice.president@whitehouse.gov

All members of the Lighthouse Community in this country need to let President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Interior Secretary Norton, Assistant Interior Secretary Manson and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, James L. Connaughton know their feelings about the transfer of ownership of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse! We need to make ourselves known to the people who will be making the decision on this urgent matter!

The Outer Banks Conservationists are the one and only group who deserve to be awarded ownership of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse which they worked for years to restore and preserve!

There is no place for politics in this decision. All Americans who care about Preserving Our Historic Lighthouses for Future Generations Need to Stand Up Now and let our voices be heard! We need to act now before it is too late!

All my best,
Paul Conlin
Acting Secretary,
American Lighthouse Foundation

Dear Representative Jones:

If you don't get the decision you want, perhaps you wield enough power to get advance notice of the decision you don't want and can get someone else you know to delay and disemble for you even more.

This isn't a Republican vs. Democrat issue, Mr. Jones. Your party was in power when the legislation was passed. Your person was in charge of the Department of the Interior when the rules were written on how lighthouses would be disposed of.

Your party was in power when you tried to circumvent the law -- and you apparently didn't have enough power on your side then.

Your buddies lost. The people who have put years of work and management into preserving and managing Currituck Lighthouse won. The good guys won.

If they weren't Republicans then, they sure aren't now after you've tried every political trick to make things go the way you wanted.

You should be ashamed, Mr. Jones. Very ashamed.

Gale Norton will be on the Diane Rehm Show sometime between 10am and 12pm tomorrow.


10:00 - Secretary of the Interior

Gale Norton, Secretary, Department of the Interior and others discuss the Bush administration's strategies for protecting and preserving this countries natural resources.
Gale Norton, Secretary, Department of the Interior
later in the hour: Congressman Mark Udall, D, Colorado
Congressman Jay Inslee, D, Washington
David Alberswerth, Wilderness Society

Here is the website for using email and phone for sending in comments or asking live questions. Lets put her on the spot and ask about the flawed NHLHP act and also ask what Mr. Manson is doing.

www.wamu.org/dr/contact.html

Get your recorders ready! You are able to listen to WAMU 88.5 FM online.

Judy
OBLHS

I sent the following to the show, suggesting that a lot of people would like to hear the answer:

Secretary Norton, can you shed some light on why you and your senior staff have chosen to ignore the recommendation of your professional staff and the procedures established by the Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act concerning the disposition of the Currituck Beach Light?"

Probably has about as much chance of being used as I do at winning a drawing, but had to give it a try.

Dave

Dave...it's the perfect question. It speaks for many of us.

We know that lots of people are sending in questions and comments.

Maybe she'll respond...maybe she will choose to ignore...but if she says nothing, it will be a classic case of "actions speaking louder than words".

I'm going to be listening!

Judy
OBLHS

Secretary Norton has no power. She's on her way out -- and probably not by her own choosing.

But it would be interesting to hear her defending the mess they've gotten into.

This From Tim Harrison Today:

From the American Lighthouse Foundation (with support from the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society):


Hello All - Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton will be on the Diane Rehm show tomorrow, July 3, between 10 AM and 12 Noon. Here is the website for emailing comments or you can call in live at 1-800-433-8850. I believe Secretary Norton is scheduled for 10:00 AM. http://www.wamu.org/dr/ You may want to email your comments to her or call in and tell her that : The facts are clear. The Congress of the United States passed the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 to allow for a fair process for non-profits to have equal footing with other government agencies when applying for ownership of a lighthouse. The Outer Banks Conservationists won that process fair and square!

We must not allow the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act to be circumvented!

---------------------------
Judy

This Also From Tim Today:

Lighthouse Scandal!

Your help needed again to save the Curritick Lighthouse

The scandalous activity surrounding the ownership of North Carolina’s Currituck Lighthouse continues to get more and more bizarre with the passing of each day.

The Outer Banks Conservationists (OBC) who have managed the lighthouse for years and spent millions of dollars in restoration applied for ownership of the lighthouse under the National Lighthouse Preservation Act. So did the local county government.

The OBC was awarded ownership under that decision.

The County appealed.

The matter was turned over to Assistant Secretary of the Interior Craig Manson who has on several occasions promised a decision in the required time allowed by law. At first he wanted OBC and the county to try to work out a compromise. The county government refused.

In the meantime Congressman Walter Jones tried to stop the due process of law by introducing (buried deep in other legislation) a bill to transfer ownership of the lighthouse to the county government who he supports. With your help, we were able to stop that.

Then Mr. Manson wanted the county and OBC to reapply for joint ownership. OBC refused, saying as long as they won the process under law they should be given ownership. Plus, if they were going to apply for joint ownership, they would have done so with the state government, which supports them, and not the county government, which does not support them.

Finally, Mr. Manson said he had reached his decision and would announce it, but only after he had a private meeting with Congressman Walter Jones.

Now, the Council on Environmental Quality, a White House Agency, has entered the picture. Just who asked them to enter the picture is unknown. Supposedly they want to negotiate a compromise.

The 45-day time limit for the appeal by the county government expired in mid June.

While all this is going on Mr. Manson says he may decide to put the lighthouse up for sale to the highest bidder.

The facts are clear. The Congress of the United States passed the National Historic Preservation Act to allow for a fair process for non-profits to have equal footing with other government agencies when applying for ownership of a lighthouse. OBC won that process fair and square.

Yet one Congressman and a few county government officials soliciting the support of non-elected federal employees are attempting to circumvent the law passed by the Congress of the United States of America. Apparently they figure that non-profit preservation groups and the lighthouse community will not have the willpower or enough money and will eventually give up the fight.

If one Congressman and the Department of the Interior do not follow the law, how can they expect citizens to follow the law?

Up until now, the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act has worked. In fact, Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton attended some of the Transfer of Ownership ceremonies and did a whirl wind TV tour touting how well the program works. Where is she now? Why isn’t she on TV now demanding that the law that worked so well for other lighthouses is now being jeopardized because of politics? The answer was just given --- politics. And politics should not play a role in circumventing the law.

Quite frankly, we believe it’s time that the Federal Office of Ethics investigates this whole matter. Congress should also open up hearings on this scandal. The Attorney General of the United States should also find out why some government officials are attempting to circumvent a Federal Law for their own political gain.

WE MUST STOP THE ATTEMPTED THEFT OF CURRITUCK LIGHTHOUSE!
We must not allow the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act to be circumvented.
We must not allow the Currituck Beach Lighthouse to be sold to the highest bidder.

If the law is not followed, every lighthouse in the nation that is in the process of being excessed will be in jeopardy and the law passed by Congress will be worthless.

We must bombard the following two people with phone calls and emails today – before the holiday weekend and tell them as concerned citizens and lighthouse preservationists
Currituck Lighthouse must be awarded to the Outer Banks Conservationists. And that you believe any other decision at this point would not be in the best interest of the historic Currituck Lighthouse and would jeopardize the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, which could cause other lighthouses to fall into the wrong hands.

Assistant Secretary Craig Manson
Ph # 202-208-5347
Fax # 202-208-4684
E-Mail – Craig_Manson@ios.doi.gov


Jim Connaughton
Chair Person
Council for Environmental Quality
Ph # 202-456-6224
Fax # 202-456-6546
No published E-mail
_________________
HELP SAVE OUR LIGHTHOUSES
JOIN TODAY!

AMERICAN LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION
P.O. Box 889
Wells, Maine 04090

207-646-0245
www.lighthousefoundation.org
-------------------------------
Judy

Gale Norton will also be on a live chat on washingtonpost.com at 11 am this morning.

http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/03/r_politics_norton070303.htm

ON NOW!! LISTEN ON-LINE & CALL IN AVAILABLE

Secretary Norton is scheduled for 10:00 AM. http://www.wamu.org/dr/

Judy

Sec Norton was on the first 30 minutes of the show. The Currituck Beach situation dominated her time on air.

The two lead-in questions on Diane's show were about Currituck Lighthouse. Including Dave's question word-for-word!

"...As far as I know we are following the procedures..." she says (not sure I transcribed her comments exactly.

After the show, you will be able to hear it on line at the WMAQ website.

One of the two call-in questions she took concerned Currituck Beach -- see next post.

"John", Board member of OBCG managed to get through on a call. And asked about the 77th day of the 45 appeal process.

"Part of that is because we were trying to get the two groups to work together," says Sec. Norton.

"I'm very impressed with work done by your group..." Sec. Norton says.

"We've tried to do some mediating [between two competing groups]. It has not been successful..." she says.

No answers to John's questions on when we can expect an answer and why the White House is involved.

Better buy a lottery ticket today, Dave. PowerBall was at $160 million but no winner last night.

If you win, Dave -- YOU could buy Currituck -- the real lighthouse, not the Harbour Lights replica.

For anyone who doesn't know him, that was John Wilson, President of the OBC Inc. that got through.

His call & Dave's e-mail spoke for all of us...and big thanks to both.

Judy

After listening to Sec. Norton ramble on and on and not give a straight answer, I think I need to clean all the #$%^ out of my computer's speakers. This woman and her senior staff need to be gone yesterday! Sounds as if she has done very little positive for the country in a department that controls so much land and so many special areas around the country. I'm available right now, so maybe we should do a write in to the President "Dave for Secretary of the Interior". I couldn't do any worse of a job than Norton and her fools have.

I thought John was right on in trying to pin her down on why the stall, and he very effectively answered Diane's question to him. It just comes across as if Norton has no intention of following the law. I have to agree with an investigation of this woman, her senior staff and Congressidiot Jones. Be nice to find some criminal charges that could be brought as they are commiting a criminal act.

By the way,m John, I did have a PB ticket for last night, but maybe I better get another one for Saturday.

Dave

Dave...you are so right on!

The woman sure skirted the whole issue, didn't she!

But I was pleased at how Diane very effectively hit her with the questions (probably realizing it as good press :rolleyes: )

Your e-mail was read...and it said what many of us wanted said, so I personally thank you.

John Wilson got on, and he was able to get said what was necessary ( considering the time allotted)

It was stated that Diane's show received "dozens of e-mails regarding Currituck".

So we all did our best...and we were lucky to have these two voices heard. A BIG THANKS!

Judy

Actually, this should be a no brainer for anyone other than that idiot Manson and incompetent Norton. The professional staff at Interior (the people who have a foggy idea of what they are supposed to do) reviewed both applications. The scores assigned were so far apart that they should have spoken for themselves. It is obvious that the professional staff believes the county is neither capable of taking care of the lighthouse nor can they be trusted to be stewards of the light. Any person with a one digit IQ and the ability to read and comprehend should have been able to figure this out from the scores assigned. I guess we found two political flunkees who can't meet these high minimum requirements . . .

IMHO,

Dave

Dave -- you and I have to be more assertive and be willing to tell people how we really feel about things.

:rolleyes: :p

Well if Dave could get in there and knock some sense into Craig Manson, he'd earn a metal in my book!

Judy