J
IW TMi MlUfiWKK MACON
HOP?G & SPR
INGPC
^ Volume 'zj, Numbe
SEEN HERE from a distance, a dc
day afternoon burned 558 acres bel
Comm
f I
VUUI Ul
BY SUSAN USHER
Brunswick County Commissionei
will ask Rep. David Rcdwine f<
legislation that would allow the coin
ty to guarantee a party that Instal
water iines In existing developmer.l
to collect JfW percent of his costs.
When a number of questions aros.
the board tabled consideration of
related proposal which would pn
vide for a $100 rebate per tap-on I
developers of new subdivisions wt
install water lines later dedicated I
tho rnnnlv
Chappell, chairman of the waU
extension policy committee and th
only board member on the commi
tee at this time, made the motioi
saying the board could call ah Info
mational hearing to discuss the pr<
posal.
He defended both propose
policies.
"If we don't find a mechanism I
provide water to these areas," 1
warned, future commissioners "wi
have to float general obligatic
bonds" to pay off the county's i]
debtedness on its water system. "Vi
need all the users we can get."
iown ir
BY SUSAN USHER
The Town of Shady Forest ms
soon he no more.
A local bill filed by Rep Davi
Redwine last Friday in the N.<
House of Representatives woul
revoke the long inactive town
charter and dissolve its incorpon
r\ ucrnupmcm locaifO ne?
Bonaparte's landing between SunsBeach
and Calabash. Shady Fore
came into being as a town in Stan
1974 after Sunset Beach included tl
development in an extratemtori
zoning pian enacted thai Feb. 4 ov<
the written protests of 35 Shac
Forest residents Spokesmen for tl
residents said they thought the ia
uig plan would restrict their ability I
use their property as they saw fi
The zone essentially surrounds tl
inactive town.
"The reason we got this in here,
recalled charter cocncihnan Pert
McLamfc. "was 4e keep Sunset Bea<
out We didn't hare any trouble ge
tin* it "
Sen Arthur Williamson of Cotur
bus County willingly introduced SJ
1 JSk. which was ratified on March 2
i
,QMS BOOK B1N1?/31/"
L ?i <.3?BA 1
r 19 Shallotte
-mmamm a
.u.- ^-'
bris fire started near Grissettown Tburs!ore
firefighters brought it under control
issioners
ntee Thirc
Commissioners said Ihey thought
"s the cost of installing water lines was
>r an expense developers typically
v passed along to buyers of property in
Is a development, as with other imts
provements.
"It sounds like developers may get
e, paid for it twice," suggested Coma
missioner Jim Poole.
?- Commissioner Herman Ix)ve add:o
ed, "Why should we be the collecting
10 agent for a developer?"
to And all agreed with Commissioner
Grace Beasley's "I think I need
ir somebody to sit down and explain
te this to me in detail."
t- In conjunction with the "new subi,
division" policy. Commissioner
r- Chris Chappeli explained, the county
0 would increase its water service tapon
fee from $260 to MOO. The difd
fere nee in the county's cost and the
$100 could be applied to extending
to county water lines, Chappell said.
ie According to the proposed policy,
11 the county would hold the $100 por?n
tions of the connection fees for three
a- years after payment. The first reim
e bursemenis to a developer would
come three years after installation
iat Never
1974.
iy It set the town's boundaries as:
"Located in Colkins Neck, Shallotte
Township, Brunswick County, beginid
ning at a point in the western proper2.
ty line of the International Paper
Id Company, approximately 2,000 feet
's from the Calabasis River, and runna
ing thence with said property line
south 20 degrees, 30 minutes east 350
ir feet to a point; thence south 75
R degrees. 43 minutes west 4.885 feet to
st the property line of the W M
h Stanaland Estate; thence north 23
se degrees. 45 minutes west 560 feet:
si thence north 78 degrees east 4,938
s feet to the fv-ni of beginning."
if /*i*j u appouuea Mrs. Jorei L.
w Foster as mayor and Perry
rv Mclamfc, Harnp Leonard and Arthur
to W Hundley as members of the town
I council until the 197* elections could
* beheld.
Residents had no trouble getting
their town, but keeping it going was
y another story It never was much ti a
4> town except on paper, one former
<- councilman recalled
We started it off." said McLwmb
o- We wanted everybody to work
3 together to hold taxes as low as pa&si9.
Me."
|
1NSWI
. North Carolina, Thursda
I
Ithat evening. It was the largest fire J
aisinci iasi weex ana possiniy the larj
Ask For
4 D^>ar4t # T
a"i ui iy i'
and continue for no more than eight
years and for no sum greater than
the actual cost of installation.
While commissioners had their
doubts about that policy, they clearly
supported helping residents of "sold
out" subdivisions?where the
developer no longer has u responsibility?obtain
water service.
Chappell said he didn't think it was
fair for lines to be run into such subdivisions
"and the county be the only
one to benefit" In order for a subdivision
to obtain county water, the
distribution lines must be dedicated
to the county water system or else
the community must operate its own
distribution system.
The policy, with the help of local
legislation, would allow whoever in
sums sucn unes 10 obtain lull rebates
from collections made by the county.
It would apply not only to existing
subdivisions, but to existing shopping
centers, multi-family developments
and mobile home parks that want to
connect to the county water line.
Current laws would allow the county
to advance the residents money to
install the lines, and then assess
Really V\
But '"everybody started
changing," he recalled. "Soon we
nan mnr? 1**3 man u* City of WilroV
j
VV^!
CAiAAASM V A V""' \
ro? ix> ' 1
? ???**> r\
\ A ft) /'
W4r
/7<
A SHADED vertical tcfnvat tad acta
tnxmg the lew rezeJaden at Shady Ft
to esUbUatawsit in IT4.
iCK#
y, March 21, 1985
fSjr! ;
reported in the five-county forestry
est in the state.
n?ll np
Dlll IO
v0iDGt0
them to collect Its money.
But, said County Attorney David
Clegg, it doesn't allow the county to
enter a contractual agreement to
guarantee 100 percent reimbursement
to a third party.
How It Works
UIIUCI urc auuiuviii x*j UK Traici extension
policy, the party that has installed
the Jine and 75 percent of the
property owners in the area could
petition the county for total cost
reclamation payments or "rebates."
The line must iiave been built to
county standards and dedicated to
the county water system.
The county would assess all property
owners in the development
their pro-rated share of the installation
costs plus a 10 percent administrative
fee. Payment would be
due in 60 days, monthly interest
levied on the balance. Assessment
liens can be placed against the property
and can be foreclosed.
Rebates from the collections would
be disbursed at six-month intervals
until the installer is repaid his costs.
(See HURRICANE, Page t-A)
fas May 5
He and several other municipal
supporters dropped out, quit
\ 60
0
aw \
elio ^ ? """
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K?y \
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,?!? t?7?
\
Boo OB dm county-prodacrd map are
are*t. toactJTt as a tawa atmort ttoce
raci
25c Per Copy
Wildfire
Ban On1
Burning
BY SUSAN USHER
Wildfires scurcned hundreds uT
acres of Brunswick County
woodlands last week, with one Thursday
afternoon blaze destroying ooa
acres, four cars and two tobacco
barns in the Grissettown area before
it was brought under control.
As the spring fire season began in
earnest, a general ban on burning
was still in effect statewide Tuesday
and was expected to remain in effect
as long as conditions remained unchanged.
That means open burning of any
kind Is prohibited, whether or not a
permit would normally be required.
The ban was imposed Friday in
response to fires that swept the
region and state on Thursday.
Numerous brush and forest fires
reported across the region last week
have forest resources officials comparing
this fire season with the "hottest"
in recent history?1981.
At one point Thursday, three major
fires were burning across the district
at one time, two in Columbus County
and one in Brunswick County.
"The way this one's shaping ud.
unless we get some rain, it looks like
it could be like that," said Wiliard
Lane of Whiicviiie, District Ranger.
"i? Muij n:t exciting."
In 1981, said Ranger Miller Calson,
Forest Service personnel in
Brunswick County responded to 199
fires. Records weren't readily
available of the acreage involved. In
1982, they handled 102 calls. Since
January 1 Calaon's crews have
already handled 68 firp*. comnared
to 111 total fires throughout 1984.
Five calls were reported both Thursday
and Friday, compared to two or
Uinrc a ilay eariier in ihe week.
Calson said the wildfires were caused
by primarily out-of-control debris
fires and woods arson, or incendiary
fires.
"It's a whole lot hotter and busier
than last year," he said.
Lane said 1984 and 1983 were
relatively mild seasons, with higher
than average rainfall and fewer than
normal fires in the district.
A combination of rising
temperatures, low humidity and
rainfall, and gusting winds contributed
to the fires, Lane said, along
with a heavier than usual layer of
fuel on the forest floor.
"The cold has killed a lot," said
Caison, "and Hurricane Diana put a
lot of debris on the ground."
Forest rangers and personnel from
five volunteer fire departments battled
the Grissettown fire, one of three
blazes in the county last Thursday
Soon Bel"
And in 1975, in Shady Forest's first
and only municipal election, Councilman
Hundley and Mayor Foster
were the only members of the
original governing board to file for
election. William Adams Jr. and
Gerald Barney sought the other two
council seats. All were unopposed.
When the count was in. 29 votes had
wwi ou??seven ror eacn council
member and eight for the mayor.
"The town never did nothing," said
McLamb. "I think I'm the only one
who ever paid any taxes. I know of
ooe more man who sent in his check,
but they sent it back."
Any money remaining in the town s
name would revert to the University
- North Carotins rystexn under the
bill introduced by Rsdeise.
As far as street maintenance, a
man worked with a wheelbarrow filiing
in holes in the road, he said.
And one road was paved in the
development, but net by the loss's
doing The owner ei several hundred
acres at the end of road on Mc Lamb's
side of the development paved their
road to provide access to his property.
The state later took over its
maintenance
' I
DN
26 Pages
c
O 1 VI
Open
Here
that had the potential of becoming
"project11 fires, Caison said. The
other two occurred at Maco.
A fourth fire that broke cut about
mid-morning Thursday at Longwood
was small, but threatened three
residences and a field of LP gas
tanks owned by Collier-Gwynn. Waccamaw
and Shallotte firefighters
contained the runaway trash fire
with the aid of a forest resources
plow crew.
Thro** of tho four firoo moro riphris
or trash fires that "got away," while
the fourth, one of the Maco fires, was
apparently started by a smoker.
A "project" fire, explained I*ane,
"is one that would be beyond our
capability to control if it escaped. It
would require help from outside the
district."
IiOcation, the type of fuel, the
potential loss in terms of houses,
timber plantations and other property
and how many acres the fire could
consume all figure into the designation.
The district's largest fire of the
year to date started Thursday about
ufic utile suuiii of GrisacwOWTi OH thcnorth
side of U.S. 17 when someone
let a trash fire get out of their control.
State personnel were cn the scene
nearly nine hours, puiiing out ahoul
10 p.m.
It burned parallel to the highway.
Caison said, then Jumped across,
running south and then north again
as the winds finally .shifted about 8
p.m. with the arrival of a cold front.
Tlie blaze was fueled by dense
UiiucfDfuaii oTiu SCTuu pines in U
thicket called Dog's Head Bey.
Flames "treetopped"as high as 100
feet into the air when the blaze reached
a stand of mature longleaf pines,
Brunswick County Emergency
Management Coordinator Cecil
Ix>gan said.
An air tanker leased for the spring
fire season arrived at the Bear Ben
airfield operated by the N.C. Division
of Forest Resources In the Green
Swamp late Thursday, in time for
two runs to the Grissettown fire. On
each trip it dropped 2,000 gallons of
fire retardant.
"We used the tanker to protect the
houses," said Caison. Two or three
were threatened, others would have
been ii the fire hod crossed back to
f n/irtK oM'- aI If C IT
Five tractors or plows were
brought In, two owned by the state,
the others coming from International,
Georgia Pacific and and
Federal paper companies.
ISee VOIJJNTEER8, Page J-A |
^Jo More
As for the development road on the
other side of N.C. 179. near Oyster
Bay Golf links, Mclamb said he
doesn't think it will ever be paved.
The town's only mayor, Mrs.
Foster, had contacted Red wine less
than a year ago about unincorporating
the town, but it was too late
to do anything about it, he said. The
legislature cleaned municipal house
last summer, revoking the charters
of approximately 40 inactive towns.
When he tried to contact her again
this spring to reaffirm her request,
Mrs. Fcater had returned to her
former home in the mountains.
He then caned Mcl -amb, who said
he advised Redwlne "to use his own
judgment"
In 1?7( the town had 14 or 15
regls^red vcrter* and approximately
40 residents. Today the number of
residents has doubled or better,
HcLamb estimates Most know
ss&flg abo?t the tswn's hiitcry
While one man lias suggested unincorporattcn
might not be a good idea,
Mclarnb doesn't know what sentiment
will prevail
"1 don't know what they'U think
about it here," he said.