A news story is a good reminder of why government needs to be limited, as some of our supporters have pointed out.
According to the AP , “A ferry designed to take school children from Corolla across Currituck Sound is about to become scrap metal without ever carrying anyone to class.”
Money for the project was slipped into the state budget. The state bought the boat in 2004 for $277,000, but some obvious problems kept it from ever being used. It turned out that the sound was both too shallow and the waters too turbulent for the ferry.
Moreover, the News & Observer said, the channel to Corolla needed to be dredged. The federal government denied the permit. The state dredged the channel anyway.
Bad move. According to the N&O, one official pleaded guilty to ordering the dredging, which violated federal law, and another was convicted of making false statements trying to cover things up. The state had to spend another $600,000 filling up the illegal channel.
By now, only one child would be riding the ferry anyway. The ferry’s motors have been used on another boat, and the state is thinking of selling the ferry for scrap, just to get something out of the deal.
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