Eleven Employees Fired From Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Ferry
The NC Ferry Division unexpected fired 11 employees from the Silver Lake Ferry terminal operations. Of the eleven employees seven were career employees and four were temporary employees. The reason for the four temporary employees being fired was reported to be “unacceptable personal conduct”. No reason was made public for the firing of the four career NC Ferry employees. All the employees let go were workers at the Silver Lake Ferry terminal operations. The firings do not affect the Hatteras ferry runs. The empty positions are being filling in from other shifts and other routes. The NC Ferry Division has been looking at passenger ferries with a decrease in the number of vehicle ferries in the future. Ocracoke business owners are complaining about the loss of visitors to the island. The waiting line at the Hatteras Terminal is too long and the longer trip time between Hatteras and Ocracoke is also affecting tourism. Local residents voiced concern about the problems they are having that they fell are being ignored by the state due to the NCDOT currently building the Bonner Bridge replacement as well as the replacement for the Pea Island temporary bridge. Ocracoke Island is a remote island just south of Hatteras Island and is only accessible by ferry. It is a popular destination for visitors to the Outer Banks.
