I
COG Tour Brings Area Leaders To Brunswick
BY SUSAN USHER
A group of 2S local government of*
flcials from across the Cape Fear
region took a combinallor. visual^
verbal tour of Brunswick County iTst
week, with an emphasis on the im
pact of water and tourism.
Michael deSherblnln, executive
director of the county’s Resources
Development Commission told the
group that tvUi1ali> afiu reUreincnl
are key factors In the county’s rapid
growth, while compleUon of a coun
tywide water system will help the
county keep pace with that growth
and related economic developments.
The stop-over was part of a bus
tour of Brunswick, Columbus,
Pender and New Hanover coun
ties—the four served by the Region 0
Council of Governments. It began
early, at the COG office In Wilm
ington, and ended late, with an ex
ecutive committee meeting and
social hour with other local officials
at the Ocean Isle Beach home of COG
Chairman LaOane Biillinffton-
r\ . I
Brunswick County is the second
fastest-growing county In the state
i>ehind Dare, with an average annual
growth of 7.S percent, deSherhlnln
said.
"A lot of things came together for
the county In the mid-TOs,” he said,
including location of several major
industries here. The county water
system was Initially developed to
Inc., and has
since been expanded with $37 million
in general obligation bonds approved
in what dcShcrbinln termed the
largest such bond referendum in the
state’s history. Now undergoing
testing end due to go into operation
sometime Uils month is a new 24 mgd
surface water treatment plant.
“Water is critical to our develop
ment," de Sherbinin noted, including
development of the county’s in
dustrial park in Northwest Township,
where over $2 million in im
provements are underway with the
help of a federal grant.
Because of the tourist seosim, lie
noted, water and other utility ssr*
vices must be built to service a
clientele much larger than the coun
ty’s permanent population. During
the season; lh« orwinty population
doubles beyond its usual l>b,000-plus.
and on the peak day of the year cun
triple.
He was speaking to the group in the
county commissioners’ chambers at
the Brunswick County Government
Csr.Ur. While Sees! tzr. deiisrs
financed water system im
provements, deShcrbiniii noted tliat
no local funds have been used to date
to develop the 163-acre complex. A
master plan calls for expansion of of
fice and storage space in the near
future, another indicator of county
growth.
Tourism has also spurred another
type of development. deShcrbinln
said the county has 10 golf courses in
play now and at least six more that
should be completed within the next
two years, information tliat promp
ted gasps from several in the group.
Major, self-contained companies
spurred the county’s iniUai iridusiria!
development, he said, with CP&L,
Pfizer Cltemlcals, Dupont and soon
Cogentrix the “four backbones of the
county /’ They naid 70 percent of all
county taxes last year.
Yet, according to deSherbinin, pro
jects of that size come along about
once cvcr>' 10 years. The Resources
Development is instead expecting the
county’s future development to rely
rnf^ hfisvHy sn .cmaner hu.dne.sses
that would locate in an industrial
park with an existing infrastructure.
The county also sees an increasing
number of and demand for service
jobs as agriculture and commercial
fishing dwindle in economic impor
tance in the county and manufactur
ing and tourism steadily increase, he
noted. Last year tourism was a $100
million business for the county.
But water will help the county
develop a competitive edge in seek
ing added industry, he said, noting,
“We have to base our future on
developing manufacturing and pro
moting tourism."
i\eiQy Areas L7ive v>OOd
as the areas opened the first day.
BY SUSAN USHER
Hand-relaying of thousands of
oysters began paying off a second
time on Jan. 27, when local
shellflshermen began harvesting
oysters planted last spring.
“There are right many of them out
there," said Larry Holden, owner of
Holden’s Seafood at Shallolte Point,
However, there woud have been
more oystermcn out last Tuesday
had it not been for the weather, said
Marlene Vamam. She and her hus
band Carson nin an oyster house at
Vamamtown.
A sprinkling uf snow was un the
Holden Beach Can't Stop
Gun Shop From Opening
SY ETTA SMITH
When the Holden Beach Planning
and Zoning Board recommended
some changes In the town’s zoning or
dinances last June, its members
never thought to include prohibiting
gun shops.
And now the town can’t prevent
two Holden Beach police officers
from opening one in about three
weeks, according to a member of the
planning and zoning board.
Board Member Sid Swarts said
commissioners never took action on
the board's recommendations. But if
they had, it wouldn’t have prevented
the proposed shop from opening
because the ust of businesses
restricted didn’t include gun shops.
Opposition to the shop's opening
surfaced after George Adkins and
Jeff Williams were Issued a town per
mit two weeks ago. The two said they
plan to open the shop in about three
weeks, regardless of the opposition.
Swarts said, “We never even con
sidered restricting that type of
business on the beach. It never occur
red to us that anyone would consider
opening one."
Word of the store’s opening promp
ted resident Connie Boyte to cir
culate a petition that she hopes will
show how many residents are oppos
ed to the permit being issued.
She said the petition reads, “We
are opposed to issuance of the permit
because it’s not in the best interest of
Holden Beach. We feel it’s In viola
tion of the spirit and intent of the zon
ing ordinances and was probably an
oversight when the ordinance was
ad(^ted."
Boyde said she passed out a couple
of the petitions last week, and she
isn’t sure how many signatures have
been collected.
“I just don't think Holden Beach is
the place for this type of business,"
she said. She added that the petition
is not an attempt to discourage free
enterprise.
Swarts said the changes recom
mended to commissioners last June
would have prohibited gasoline sta
tions, theaters, bowling alleys, pool
halls, cab stands, dry cleaning and
laundry, and printing establishments
on the island had they been approv
ed.
He said that if the town wants to
prevent certain types of businesses
from opening it needs to pass an or
dinance that says that
He added that he wouldn’t make
any kind of decision regarding
whether a certain type of business
should be restricted without hearing
the arguments evei^one involved.
Planning Board Chairman Alan
Holden said, “It’s ironic that town
odinances won’t allow you to have
guns on Holden Beach, but you can
sell them."
Adkins said he and Williams plan
to open the store in the old Holden
Beach Realty office located on Jor
dan Boulevard. The area is zoned for
commercial establishments.
He added that he was unaware
anyone was opposed to it until he
read an article In The Brunswick
Beacon last week. He and Williams
decided to open the estal^ishment
because there are a lot of sportsmen
in the area and no place to buy hun
ting and shooting supplies, he said.
He said (he store will sell han
dguns, rifles and shotguns, ammuni
tion and shooting supplies. They will
also repair guns. Adkins said all guns
ill stock will be stored nightly in a
vault.
“We have all the federal, state and
local licenses needed to open," he
continued. “And as far as we have
been able to determine it’s a
legitimate business."
vv«sr\ a VVtJIlN
ground and temperatures were in Uie
low 30s when the boatmen~and
women—left the dock-t,
“It was too cold," she said. “A few
went out, but not like there would be
in good weather.”
The added supply of local oysters
wasn’t expected to affect prices.
Holden and other wholesalers were
paying $10 per bushel, Uie basic price
for the season. On the retail market,
the oysters resold for $13 to $14 a
bushel.
“They’re just good average
oy.sters,“ said Holden.
On the average, he said oyster
har\'esters were gathering about 10
bushels to 12 bushels per day, some
as many as IS bushels to 20 bushels.
“It looks good," he added.
Back in March and April, local
fishermen were paid $l per bushel to
move 12,770 bushels of oysters from
polluted to unpolluted waters in the
Lockwood’s Folly River, Shallottc
River and Eastern Channel areas.
Since then the areas have been closed
to harvest The opening last week of
all the areas at once in effect created
a short but plentiful “second season"
for oystering.
Most of the oysters, 9,180 bushels,
were planted in two sections of
Lockwood’s Folly River, while 2,140
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bushels were planted in the Shallottc
River and another 1,4S0 bushels in a
new relay area in the Ocean Isle-
Sunset Beach area: Old Channel,
Still Creek and the Eastern Channel.
For local fishermen, 1986 was the
third year of the hand-relay pro
gram.
Holden said he was pleased all the
areas were opened at once by the
N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.
“If they had only opened one,
everybody would have crowded In
there at once," he said. “This way
everybody kind of ;tAy.: in Iheir own
backyard and it gives cvcr>body a
good week's work.”
But then, he predicted, local
oysters will once again become a
scarce commodity.
McNeil To Speak
Dr. John McNeil of the Columbus
Count)' Historical Society will speak
at the Feb. 9 meeting of the
Brunswick County Historical Socie
ty.
The meeting will be held at 7:30
p.m. in the fellowship hall of
Shallotte Presbyterian Church,
Sellers Drive.
The public is invited, a news
release indicated.
Our South Brunswick Islands team
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THE BRUNSWICK BEACON, Hmraday, Febrtuuy 5, 19S7—Page 13-A
Sunset ABC Board Wants
To Build Self-Service Store
BY ETTA SMITH
The manager of Sunset Beach’s
ABC store thinks he can make more
money to donate to the community if
the store can stop giving it money for
aw'hUe.
Manager James R. Brosius said
the Sunset Beach Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board f**—
store, has requested that the
Brunswick County Board of Educa
tion, the Sunset Beach Town Council
and the Shallotte Volunteer Re.scue
Squad allow the board to discontinue
state-mandated quarterly distribu
tions long enough to save money to
build a bigger, seli-scrvicc store.
He estimates it would take two
years to save the $25,000 needed for
the project. Last year the store earn
ed profits of $12. 483. but paid out
$9,000 in contributions.
'The Brunswick County Board of
Elducation has already refused his re
quest, while the Sunset Beach Coun
cil voted Monday to meet with the
town’s Alcoholic Beverage Control
board on the matter.
payments.
Brosius said the Sunset Beach ABC
Board wants to buiid a cinder biwk
self-service store on the property
where the existing store stands, set
ting it farther back on the lot to pro
vide more parking area.
Brosius contends a self-service
Rtnre would make more orofit. and
he’d subsequently be able to con
tribute more to those recipients.
"We are Just asking that we be
alloNved to discontinue the quarterly
payments long enough to raise the
money," said Brosius. “A sclf-
str.'ice store could net 15 percent
more profits Uian the conventional
type," he said.
When the Shallotte ABC store
changed to self-service, its profits in
creased, he said, because people buy
more If they can browse. In his store
all of the merchandise is kept behind
the counter and a cashier takes the
order from customers.
He added that five cents of every
bottle he sells goes to the contribu
tions. So he figures that being able to
urOotuS said SimuOttc KcaCiie 2C!l ITiOrS WOUld aliow hlisi t5 ^-S-
Squad Chief Janice Hargis told him
the squad is willing to waive its con
tributions, a commitment he must
get in writing before stopping
boards back the money they missed
in contributions.
The store is located on the Sunset
Beach causeway.
Five People Injured
In Two-Car Accident
A Southport woman has been
charged with driving left of the
center line and failing to wear a seat
belt fuaowiiig an acciiietil in wliivii
she and four others were injured.
Louise Mitchum, 26, was charged
Jan. 28 after a vehicle she was driv
ing collided with a car driven 'ny
Mark O’Brian Inman, 13, of
Southport. The accident occurred at
5:20 p.m. about a mile north of
Southport on N.C. 87.
According to the N.C. Highway
Patrol report, Mitchum’s 1975 Jeep
crossed the center line, ran off the
left shoulder of the road, and then
came back on the roadway and col
lided with Inman’s 1987 GMC truck.
Mitchum; Karen Sellers, 16, of
Boiling Spring I^kes; Jason Bennett,
nine, of North Myrtle Beach, S.C.;
and Melissa Hines, 7, of Southport,
were taken tc Dxher Mcmcria*
Hospital in Southport following the
accident. Mitchum, Seilers and Ben
nett were all listed In serious condi
tion at the hxpital. according to the
report.
The report said Inman was aLio in
jured and taken to the hospital.
Correction
Keith D. Inman of Shallotte was in
correctly identified as Dnlno Inman
on page 9-B in the Jan. 29 issue of The
Brunswick Beacon.
Do You Know This Person?
6 years old
12 yeors old
On February 8th he will be
59 Years SSd!
He was known in Shallotte, when these pic
tures were taken, as
ALTON MILLIKEN
If you know him or see him,
Wish him a Happy Birthday!
©mMHS MUHSVWtCK MACON |
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t JU' A** Mthk BCMh. SC »STT
WhMl?
Make plans to attend:
Tuesdays, Feb. 10,
Feb. 17 and Feb. 24
7:00-9:00 P.M.
Where? Tavern On The Tee
Sea Trail Golf Links
Sunset Drach. NO
Seminar conducted by
iamCk R. ScfcMs
CoU A. G. EdtrordA today or
:i.‘Lrs rrtrmr wtur MaAnf.
AGEdmtrds
tMTsmen- siMx Mr
1131 48ih Avc.N., Myrtle Beach, SC. 29577
Collect (8031449-8686
ANrrvioB'Mc