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Date: June 19, 2007
Contact: Outer Banks Group, (252) 473-2111

Outer Banks Group Superintendent Mike Murray is pleased to announce the opening of the first fully accessible beach access boardwalk (ramp) in the national seashore at the Frisco Bathhouse in Frisco, North Carolina. On Wednesday, June 6, 2007, under sunny skies and breezy southwest wind conditions, a ribbon cutting ceremony took place to officially open the ramp to the public. Participating in the ribbon cutting were the Mims family of East Bend, North Carolina, who, three years ago, suggested the National Park Service (NPS) create a fully accessible ramp to the beach for their daughter Delia.

Delia’s parents, David and Angie Mims, raised funds from many donors to cover the cost of the materials needed to build the special access ramp, which was constructed by NPS Maintenance personnel. Delia has Spina Bifida, the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States, which makes mobility very difficult and the use of a wheelchair necessary. Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that happens in the first month of pregnancy when the spinal column doesn’t close completely. For more information about this condition, see the Spina Bifida Association website at www.sbaa.org.

National Park Service carpenter Randy Loupe constructed the ramp, and was on-site to welcome Delia and her family to be the first to use it. Superintendent Mike Murray presented Delia with a Junior Ranger badge for her innovative suggestion and thanked Delia’s parents for their assistance to the National Park Service in bringing to fruition a service that will be used by many park visitors.

For more information, contact the Hatteras Island Visitor Center at 252-995-4474 or 252-473-2111 ext. 148.