DATE: Tuesday, March 25, 1997               TAG: 9703250304

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

                                            LENGTH:   90 lines

ALBEMARLE

ELIZABETH CITY

ECSU SUMMER TUITION HALVED: Summer school tuition costs for non-resident, out-of-state students at Elizabeth City State University have been cut in half, university officials announced Monday. This year the tuition cost will be $430, plus fees, compared with $859 plus fees last year.

Registration begins May 27. For more information call the school at 335-3359.

EDENTON

AUTHOR TO RECEIVE LITERARY PRIZE: Jill McCorkle came out of a Virginia graduate program and published her first two novels, ``July 7th'' and ``The Cheer Leader,'' by age 26. Her next two novels, ``Tending to Virginia'' and ``Ferris Beach,'' along with her Crash Diet collection, led to her reputation as a premier novelist of the New South.

Her sixth and latest book is ``Carolina Moon.''

A native of Lumberton, McCorkle will receive the Hobson Prize and Medal April 14 at Chowan College. The literary prize is awarded annually to recognize the distinguished achievement of a person in the field of arts and letters.

HERTFORD

GOLF SUPERINTENDENT NAMED: Mark C. Thompson has been named golf course superintendent at The Sound Golf Links, an 18-hole golf course at Albemarle Plantation near Hertford.

Thompson served as assistant superintendent at The Sound Golf Links from 1992 to 1993. He returns to Albemarle Plantation after three years as superintendent at Birchwood County Club in Nashville, N.C.

KILL DEVIL HILLS

DVAC ACCEPTS NOMINATIONS: The Dare Voluntary Action Center is accepting nominations for the Third Annual DVAC Outstanding Volunteer Award. The award is designed to recognize individuals, groups and agencies who make a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service, and is open to all residents of Dare County.

Nomination forms are available at the Dare Voluntary Action Center's office in the Chamber of Commerce building, or by calling 480-0500. The deadline for submission of completed nominations forms is April 1.

MANTEO

WEB SITE FOR BUREAU: The Dare County Tourist Bureau has announced that it now has a new web site for the Outer Banks. The bureau has launched this site to help provide potential visitors with immediate information. It can be reached at (http://www.outer-banks.com/visitor-info).

``Our new presence on the information highway brings North Carolina's Outer Banks directly into the homes and offices of potential visitors throughout the world,'' said Alvah H. Ward Jr., executive director of the Dare County Tourist Bureau.

Included in the site is information about Outer Banks attractions, highlighting the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Jockey's Ridge State Park, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, the Elizabethan Gardens, and America's oldest outdoor drama, The Lost Colony.

Also included is information highlighting Outer Banks activities, such as an annual calendar of events, rules and regulations about beach bonfires, pets on the beach and off-road vehicles, lifeguard locations and beach access, ferry schedules, National Park Service campgrounds, and water, wind, and temperature averages.

For more details, call 473-2138.

TOURISM GRANTS AVAILABLE: Applications for Dare County Tourist Bureau's Tourism Assistance Grants will be made available beginning April 1. Qualifying organizations will have until April 30 to complete the applications.

Interested organizations must participate in a pre-application conference at the bureau when picking up the application. Conferences will be held on an appointment-only basis.

The Tourism Assistance Grants program's primary purpose is to assist Dare County organizations and agencies in promoting and marketing tourism and culturally related events and activities that otherwise would not take place.

Specifically, the program is to provide funds for advertising and promoting events, festivals and other special programs to bring visitors to the Outer Banks during the ``shoulder season,'' or Labor Day through Memorial Day.

For more details or to pick up applications, call Debbie Nepper at 473-2138.

OUTER BANKS

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR BEACH CLEANUP: The North Carolina Beach Buggy Association and the National Park Service will sponsor the first ``Operation Beach Respect'' beach clean-up for 1997 on April 19.

Volunteers are needed. Workers will meet at the beach access ramps from Oregon Inlet to the access ramps on Ocracoke Island. Trash bags will be handed out and collected from 7:30 until 11:30 a.m.

For more details, call 441-6065 or 441-1447.

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