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BY TERRY POPE
An attempt to cut Brunswick Technical College
President Joseph Carter’s salary was defeated last
Wednesday by a 6-2 vote of the school’s board of tntstees
Board member W.A. “Bill" Stanley claims tlmt
previous increases in Carter’s local supplement have
been unknowingly approved by the trustees.
Stanley ^lieges that a 40 percent increase in Carter's
1984-85 supplement was approved without dlscus.sioii an^'
without kno.wledge of the board.
According to Carter, his current salary is estimated
at $60,984, of which $9,350 is paid through local supple
ment When Carter was hired by BTC trustees In 1982 hl.s
supplement was $6,000.
At last Wednesday’s meeUng, Stanley said h» “did
not recall any discussion being made’’ as to the 40 per
cent increase. Stanley also alleged that five percent hi-
creases in 1985 and 1986 were also approvetl, but tliat the
board was not aware of the increases at the time.
Stanley, who was board chairman during the period
in !5uestion, asked Carter w.st Wniriesuay, “By what
authority did you put that 40 percent increase in the
budget?"
Stanley’s motion to "cut his county supplement out
completely" was seconded by trustee Cora Green.
However, following a 10-minute recess the motion failed
6-2.
Before the vote. Carter told the trustees, "There are
33 pi esIdcnU in the commarJty college system that make
more money than I do.
"Plus, I’ve got 24 years experience in the community
college system."
Carter told the board that la 1982 he was irffered a
salary, a county supplement and the use of a car to
become head of BTC. He said he has never requested an
increase in salary.
Vernon Ward, BTC finance director, said he met with
Finance Committee Chairman Leo Johnson and conunil-
tee members in 1082 and that he "specifically recalls be
ing in tliat room when it (increase) was initiated without
any support or suggestion on Dr. Carter’s behalf."
A'ard said the increase *-as pointed cut to the finance
committee members who were reviewing the budget, but
added he could not recall if the increase was discussed at
the board meeting before the budget was approved.
The 40 percent Increase raised Carter’s local supple
ment from $8,000 to $8,400, Stanley said.
"I was not aware of what was going on,” he added.
Stanley also said be was not aware of the five percent
increase In 1885.
“It was stuck In the budget and board members
voted on it," Stanley said.
Following the recess. Ward reported to the board
tliat of the 58 state community colleges, 47 pay theb-
president a local supplement while 11 do not Of those 47
that do pay supplements. Ward said, the average is
$11,082 per year, compared to Carter’s $9,350 supple
ment.
Board Vice-Chairman Uwis Stanley stated, "We’re
projecting an image with the way we treat our leader."
In reference to the salary cut, he added, "We’d do
ourselves an Injustice to do something like that.”
ChHlrman David Kelly added Uwt to abolbth the sup
plement "would put us In a very bad light in the future.”
The discussion of Carter’s salary came following
unanimous approval of the school’s 1987-88 tentative
budget which shows no increase in Carter's local pay for
the fiscal year.
A 1987-88 tentative budget from the Department of
Community Colleges is $2,712,374, or $104,206 less than
the school was originally funded last year.
Overall, the school is requesting a $449,706 increase
in state funds over last year’s budget, although the
state’s tentative allocation does not reflect such an In-
crease.
The school is projecting a $121,132 Increase in funding
for its continuing education program and a $131,294 in
crease in its curriculum budget for technical and voca
tional trade programs.
Other tentative increases are as follows: Ubrary and
learning lab, $44,869; student services, $73,898; general
institution, $51,364; and general administration, $27,149.
The final budget will be approved by the board in Ju
ly.
Sunset Beach Taxpayers Assn.
upposes Public Access Proposal
JAMES JONES examines the damage to his mother’s
house caused by last Wednesday’s high winds which
SIATf PHOTO ir IITA SMITH
ripped off the roof. He, his mother Clara Jones, sister
and nephew were bi the house at the time.
High Winds Rip Roof Off House
BY ETTA SMITH
Helen Browning was standbig at the kitchen sink
when she glanced up and saw furniture flying around on
the carport.
The next thbig she saw was the roof being ripped off
her home.
Browning, her son Dexter and brother James Jones
were visiting Brownbig’s mother, Clara Jones, at her
hwiss on Mill Srasich ®'***'* **
ssvtsM wsa svaau Isstsg; uXUlls TTlIcil
high winds from last Wednesday’s severe thunderstorm
took about two-Udrds of the roof off and scattered It
aenns the field behind the house.
About the same time Browning saw the furniture
flying on the carport, her brother James opened the
front door. High winds overpowered him and blew rugs,
lamps and other pieces of furniture against the wall op^
posite the door.
"We didn’thear a thing,” said Browning. “The roof
was sheared off so fast it was gwie before we knew what
happened.”
She added that her mother, who had lieen lying on
the living room sofa, jumped to the floor and covered
her face when the roof went flying.
Shortly before the 2:20 p.m. incident, an uniden
tified Waccamaw Fire and Rescue squad worker caUed
the Brunswick County Emergency Management Office
and reported seeing two funnel clouds moving over the
area. At the time the Jones’ roof was blown off,
neighboring counties, but not Brunswick, were under a
tornado, watch issued by the National Weather Service.
At 3 p.m.. Browning, her son and brother stood in
about six biches of water In the llvbig room. Rabi was
pouring steadily through the openbig where the roof had
been. They had sent Clara Jones to a neighbors house
to get her out of the rabi.
It was at this time Brunswick County was placed
under the tornado watch.
The watch remained bi effect from 3 p.m. until 8
p.m. Wednesday. Throughout the day the emergency
management office received calls from persons repor
ting marble-sized hail.
In Longwood high wbids also sheared the roof of a
iTiubiie home halfway off. The home, unoccupied at the
time, is owned by Maxine Thomas.
Dianne Richardson, dispatcher for the emergency
management office, said she also received calls repor
ting six inches of water across the road in one area of
Ash.
No injuries were reported as a result of the storm.
BY SUSAN USHER
Saybig they wanted to protect the
nature of the beach through long-
range planning, members of the
Suniet Beach Taxpayers Association
took a stand ^turday mombig
against the town’s proposal to seek
state funds to develop four public
beach access areas.
With only one vote In opposition,
the group of about 70 property
owners at the meeting supported a
motion by Robert H. Jones, owner of
two west end lots the town proposes
to seek easements across. The mo
tion, developed as a petition to the
town council, takes a stand favoring
public beach access and develop-
•'me&tiQf-n-loag-range-acooss.plan to
protect and preserve tlK nature of
the beach, as well as public access.
However, the SBTPA opposes any ef
forts to obtain funds for public access
until an overall plan is adopted.
A public hearing will be scheduled
in the near future on the town’s beach
access proposals.
President Mason Barber urged
SBTA members to attend the hearing
and to write letters voicing their opi
nions of the plan. He noted that less
than 5 percent of the membership
had written regarding plans for the
high-rise bridge, though many more
had pledged to do so.
Members also asked Jones to con
tact a Duke University colleague,
marine geologist Orrin Pilkey, regar
ding the possible impact on the beach
in locating the proposed regional ac
cess among the west end dunes. If the
group had not asked liim to do so,
said Jones, he had planned to seek
Pllkey’s (gimion on 1^ own behalf.
In a follow-up motion, they urged
the council to accept Lot 1-A should it
become available, and use it for
public purposes.
A suit by the association against
Beach Enterprises, the owner of the
lot, at one time the extension of
Sunset Boulevard to the oceanfront,
is to be heard in Brunswick County
Superior Court on April 27.
Mistrial Is Declared In Gurganus Negligence Suit
In a new item of interest, the group
agreed to a request from the board of
directors to contribute $1,000 toward
landscaping of the median at the
town’s main intersection and made
plans for a Labor Day weekend pic
nic—on Lot lA if their suit is suc
cessful, otherwise on the beach.
Earlier this month, the Sunset
Beach Town Council submitted
preapplication or "intent to apply"
documents to the N.C. Division of
OcuSts! outlinir*® prty
posals for a regional beach access on
the west end, plus three other
smaller, neighborhood access areas.
If funded, the state would provide 90
percent of the cost of the projects,
with the town providing a 10 percent
match in cash or in kind.
The $690,000 regional access pro
ject would initially include parking
for 100 vehicles, plus public
restrooms and other amenities such
as litter receptacles. The town
estimates it would have to spend
about $284,000 acquiring a house and
lot owned by Donald Hiscott and
another $50,000 for easements across
two lots owned by Jones, and $376,000
on site ingirovements.
“I don’t like the Idea of it at all,”
said Hiscott after the meeting. “I
think it will damage the beach.”
Neighborhood accesses, with about
10 to 15 parking spaces each, are pro
posed on the dead end of Main Street
at Madd Inlet, at a cost of $25,205; on
the 30-foot right of way of 12th Street
(which has never been opened to the
public), at a cost of $123,130; and on a
second-row lot at 27th and Main
Streets, half-way between Tubbs and
Madd inlets, at a cost of $71,278 for
acquisition and improvements. I'he
lot is currently owned by Clarance
Willoughby of Tabor City.
None of the proposed sites are on
the east end of the beach.
However, in a March 27 letter to
Town Administrator Linda Fluegel, a
copy of Tvhich was included in the
preapplication grant padcage, Coun-
cilmm Ed Gore affirmed an offer of
east end property apparently made
to the town during a March 23 ex
ecutive session of the board.
"As I discussed with the governing
body on Monday, March 23,” he
wrote, “the Gore family will give
land on the east end of the beach for
public parking once the regional park
is a reality on the west end. We feel
that the 3^acre project should be the
priority effort of the town.”
‘Protect Treasure’
In offering his motion, Jones told
the group, "I think it will change the
social and environmental cliaracter
of the besch. Unfcrtuimtcly, v?ith the
growth of this entire area and the
natural beauty of our beach, there
will always be a deficit of parking.
“We ought to protect this treasure
if we can.”
Jones noted his view mlgtst bias
ed because of his property’s location
in regard to the prtgxised regional ac
cess.
A Charlotte property owner,
Everett Wolhbruck, told the group,
"I feel the town needs to provide
some public parking, but I think with
accesses scattered along the beach
the situation will become very
hostile.”
He predicted It would lead to
serious problems in enforcing local
laws and protecting private proper
ty. He cited instances of abuse such
as use of outside showers as toilets,
excessive littering and other ex
cesses.
He and neighbor John Youngblood
asked the group to support a state
ment calling for use of only Lot 1-A
for public parking; instead the com
promise motion was adc^ted.
The access issue drew extended
discussion, with one man asking,
"How many lots do we owe tte
public?”
Replied Sunset Beach Town Coun
cil, member Minnie Hunt, “None is
not enough and that is what we have
now—no guaranteed free public
parking.”
She added that, in her opinion, the
town is reacting to economic
pressures from mainland develop
ment.
To that, one speaker replied that it
is the developers, not the town, who
(See SUNSET, Page 2-A)
BY ETTA SMITH
An 11-member jury in U.S. District
(}ourt in Wilmington declared a
mistrial Tuesday in a four-day
negligence trial involving a lawsuit
against Ocean Isle Beach Police
Chief Jerry Gurganus.
The lawsuit stems from a 1984 high-
^sesd chase in which Gurganus was
Involved, in which Donna Martin of
Ckmway, S.C., was seriously injured.
Martin sued Gurganus, the town of
Ocean Isle and two others
jointly for $4 million, claiming
Gurganus was negligent when be
chased Martin and the driver of the
motorcycle, Michael Bullock, for
failure to wear .safety helmets.
The lawsuit was filed in 1986, and
claims Martin received painful and
disfiguring injuries as a result of an
accident that occurred during the
chase. One of her legs was later am
putated as a result of that accident.
Gurganus testified during the trial
that he had signaled the driver of the
motorcycle to pull over after noticing
that Martin and Bullock weren’t
wearing helmets.
He said that Bullock was also
speeding and that the motorcycle he
was driving was weaving. The chase
began after Bullock faded to pull
over on N.C. 179.
The suit contends that the chase
lasted several miles and reached
speeds up to 90 miles per hour. The
chase finally ended when Bullock
failed to negotiate a turn in the road
and crashed.
According to the suit, Gurganus
was also operating his vehicle
carelessly and without due regard
and concern for human life.
The town of Ocean Isle Beach, ac
cording to Martin’s lawsuit, is also
responsible for the Gurganis’s
neglig^ice.
Bullock and the owner of the
motorcycle, Kermeth Evans Wilson,
are also named In the suit
State Intervenes In Holden Beach Access Suit
BY ETTA SMITH
The N.C. Attorney General’s Office
has Intervaied on behalf of the public
in a lawsuit over puUk access to the
western end of Holden Beach.
Special Deputy Daniel F.
McLawhom filed the motion April 10.
The lawsuit was filed in 1986 and ia
scheduled to be heard In Brunswick
County Superior Court April 27.
In the motion, McI.awhorn asks the
court to declare Ocean Boulevard
West a public right-of-way, and that a
prescriptive easement (a legal term
meaning land used continuously for
at least 15 years) exists over the
road.
*rhc lawsuit was filed by Cenesmed
Citizens of Brunswiric (bounty Tax
payers Assodation, Raymond Cope
and Royal Williams, against Holden
Beach Bcslty Corp., Holden Besch
Enterprises Inc., Jim Griffin and the
town ol Holden Beach.
According to Cope, the suit was fil
ed after a guardhouse was erected
uarring ti'ie public fruTi iho '
of the beach In 1885. About 25 people
were laterarrested for trespassing at
the site.
Cjgse and the other plaintiffe in the
lawsuit claim the property should be
public by virtue of presciptlve ease
ment
The state said In the motion that
(See STATE, Page 8-A)
FOR COMMISSIONERS
Holden Beach Forum Will
Debate 2, 4-Yedr Terms
BY ETTA SMITH
Holden Beadi residents win debate the pros and cons of town com-
m^oners serving two-year terms a public forum at town hafl
Friday, April 27.
a ^ *** Property Owners
Assodatioo (HBPOA), la scheduled for 7.-S0 p.m.
CommlssiooenvotedBlarchatosetaBJaySrefereoduintodecfcle
the Issue, after the HBPOA’s Political Action Conanlttee pnseded a
petition calling for a vote to amend the town charter,
pdrteen percent of Oia town’s 3S6 registered voters had signed the
^Ution. Stete law requiros only 10 pen^ of r^lst^ vetefs to pett
tion for such an election to be held.
Members of the commlsshm presently serve staggered terms, s
elections being hdd every two yean. The mayor ia dectod even!
^
Commlssiooers Lyn Holden, Hal end QnHiain RiM^srlQ
their four-year terms this year. CommiaBloners Gay Atkins
and William WUliamson were elected in 1969 for four years.
The riiarter was smandad is 1981 to afisw atasgereu tenos.