Good morning, New Bern Now readers. Here is your Tuesday In the Now.
The Weather
Via the National Weather Service
Today, patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 84. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Tonight, mostly clear, with a low around 60. Southwest wind 8 to 10 mph.
Wednesday, mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Southwest wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 16 mph.
Wednesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 61. Southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
***
The Calendar
Via the National Weather Service
April
27th: Behind the Scenes: Gardens, 2 – 3 p.m. at the Waystation. Presented by Tryon Palace. Call 252-639-3524.
29th: Havelock Lunch & Learn: Selling, 12:00 p.m. – 2 p.m. Presented by CCC Small Business Center and Havelock Chamber of Commerce.
Check out the New Bern Music Calendar – It’s a great resource help you follow and support local bands
Visit the New Bern Farmer’s Market every Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. 421 S. Front St. Call 252-633-0043.
May
1st: Stuff The Truck, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. River Bend – at the Basketball Court on Wildwood Dr. Presented by Habitat for Humanity of Craven County. Call 252-633-5512.
2nd: New Bern Drum Circle, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at Union Point Park near the gazebo.
***
The News
Via New Bern Now
The American Public Power Association (APPA) has recognized the City of New Bern Department of Public Utilities for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2020. In a comparison of local and national data collected by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the City’s electric utility is in the top quartile of utilities for System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI).
Across the state, fourteen public power utilities earned the 2020 Certificate of Excellence in Reliability from the APPA. “Public power utilities have proven their commitment to serving their community by continuing to lead the nation in reliability,” said Alex Hofmann, APPA Vice President of Technical and Operations Services. “These utilities are the best of the best when it comes to keeping the lights on in their communities.”
New Bern uses the eReliability Tracker to compile data on power outages. The web-based service is an effective way to gather outage information, categorize and summarize it on spreadsheets, and use it to analyze utility health. Users can run system reports to view monthly data and statistics of their utility’s performance.
***
The History
Via the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
On April 27, 1584, Captains Arthur Barlowe and Philip Amadas sailed from the west coast of England in two ships “well furnished with men and victuals” to begin a four-month exploration of the New World.
The expedition was the first English exploration of Roanoke Island and was commissioned by Sir Walter Raleigh. The report which Barlowe produced on the expedition was written for Raleigh’s benefit.
After sailing through the Caribbean via the Canary Islands, the group arrived in present-day North Carolina in July 1584. First landing somewhere between Ocracoke Island and the Oregon Inlet, the party made their way to Roanoke Island in smaller boats.
The expedition developed friendly relationships with Native Americans through trade, gift exchanges and a mutual hospitality. The goodwill fostered between the groups led the Algonquian Indians Manteo and Wanchese to return to England with the group when they departed toward the end of the year.
The wealth of information provided by Amadas and Barlowe and the fascination with Manteo and Wanchese in England helped encourage Raleigh in his plans to colonize North America.
Barlowe’s report of the expedition describes the region and people in vivid, admiring detail. John White, a member of the mission who would be the governor of the ill-fated “Lost Colony,” added pictures of the Native Americans as well. A phrase describing North Carolina’s soil captures the spirit of the document well:
the most plentifull, sweete, fruitfull and wholesome of all the worlde.
The text was ultimately published in The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, by Richard Hakluyt, who used Barlowe’s admiring words to help encourage colonization.