Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / July 23, 1987, edition 1 / Page 1
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Clerk Of Court Bellamy Indicted On Felonious Cocaine Possession HY SUSAN USUKH Brunswick County Clerk of Superior (KennethG.) Bellamy turned himself in at the Brunswick County Jail Monday nij»ht after liis indictment earlier in the day on a charge of felonious possession of co caine. Court Gres “Anything over one gram is felonious/* said SBI Agent I* red McKinney, who was in volved with the investigation. He said a charge of posses sion does not have to go into the detail of a charge of traf ficking, which must specify a range. Revealing further in formation relating to details of the charge or investiga tion. he continued, “would not be proper to .say at this time.” Bellamy. .18, of Holden Beach, has l>ecn a consistent top vote-getter in countywide elections. First elected in IH78, he is currently scr\'ing his third four-vear term of office. He was not in office Monday or Tuesday and refused to comment to reporters Monday night. He was released Monday night on $5,000 unsecured bond, which means on his signature alone. The bond had been set earlier in the day by Superior Court Judge Henry H. Might Jr. of Henderson, who is hearing court in Brunswick County this week for the first time. At the jail, Bellamy remained in the holding cell out of contact with the media. He has retained as legal counsel Roy Trest of Shallotte and Joseph B. Cheshire V of Raleigh. Trest met reporters in the hall leading to the jail with a brief typewritten sUitemcnt that indicated a fornuil state- mciit was to be made Wednesday morning in Bolivia. District Attorney Michael Easley said Bellamy was not indicted as a result of a special grand jury in vestigation of cocaine trafficking, the first of iUs kind in the state. Rather, as soon as he received information regarding the clerk. Easley .said he referred the matter to the special prosecution division of the Attorney General's office. That referral led to investigation bv the SBI. As clerk of court, Bellamy is responsible for pro bate of wills, administration of estates, and has jurisdiction to hear and decide special proceedings such as adoptions and foreclosures in addition to perfonning record-keeping and administrative functions for district and superior courts of the county. According to Judge Giles R. Clark of Elizabethtown, resident superior court judge for the j.ith District, .several things could r»ccur regarding Bellamy s position. He could continue In office pending outcome of the charge against him. he could be suspended, resign or a petition could Ik* presented to ( lark by county citizens seeking Bellamy's removal. "I have iippropriate concern for the situation," (lark .said I'ue.sday morning, ■but I need a whole lot more information. Right now I have no action directly in mind.” Clark said he was notified of the indictment late Monday and did not have any hackgroumi on the basis for the charge. I do know. ( lark added, ‘that for the past ten years he has been a mighty good clerk of court." If Bellamy s pasition were to become vacant, it would l)e ('lark's duty to name a succes.sor. In the event of Bellamy's death or resignation. Clark also has the right to name an acting iderk for up to ;i0 days while a decision on a successor is made. TL II Twenty-fifth Year. Number 37 nvvil 1*ar THf BRUNSWICK BIACON Shallotte. North Carolina, Thursday, July 23, 1987 Storm Was 'Scary'For Charlotte Tri rir> HY SUSAN USHER SiLsan Donnelly and her family were scared last Thursday after noon. Tlie Charlotte woman, her husband Bill and rlaiighter Erin were in the family car en route to Sheffield’s Grocery when rain l>egan to fall in sheets, high winds began to rock their car and soft drink crates and other debris flew by their windows. Simultaneously the town’s fire siren went off. "We didn’t know if it was the town's way of warning of dangerous weather or not,’’ said Mrs. Donnelly. The Donnellys pulled up beside the grocery, which shielded them from winds that were docked by National Weather Service monitors at hur ricane strength, up to 85 mph. “Cars were going across the bridge-but slowly." she said. "The sky was like black, very dark blue, but there was no funnel cloud. "It was .scary.’’ .she said. The Ocean Isle Beach area took the brunt of the severe thunderstorm system that swept across the area with torrential rainfall, lightning and heavy winds. Ughlning had struck the island’s fire siren, shorting out a breaker and causing it to sound continuously. "It's fixed now," Fire Chief Terry Barbee said Tuesday. I.ightning also struck the radio antennae used by the police and fire departments, putting them tem porarily out of scr\’ice. As of Mon day, Police Chief Bill Ozment said the departments are operating with radios loiined to them by Henr>’ Carter of Shallotte. At the Ocean Isle Beach Airport, located at the intersection of N.C. 179/904 and Ocean Isle Beach (Four Mile) Road, two airplanes were thrown against each other, with a third damaged as the two piled up, said Ocean Isle Beach Policeman Jimmy Todd. He was patrolling the area after the storm passed in mid afternoon. The most severely damag ed included one used for aerial tours of the beach area and one owTied jointly by DeCarol Williamson and Ronnie Holden. The drive-in window station at United Carolina Bank’s branch office sustained damage and trees were uprooted or broken in at least one yard along the causeway and another adjoining the airport. Offshore, Coast Guard helicopters and rescue boats searched the waters for a boat that observers said had capsized. They found several rafts, such as those used by swimmers. that apparently had been blown off shore during the storm, but evidence of a boating accident. a off. Chief Ozment said Monday that small boat had been stranded shore during the storm, but made it in safely after the cloud passed. Most of the damage occurred near the causeway intersection on the mainland. •'Something came through in a path," said Ocean Isle Beach Pier Operator Curtis Williamson, who lives behind the bank. "You could see where it came through.” The storm also brought large hail, he added, that beat against the windows of his home. The Brunswick County Agricultural Extension Service reported no significant crop damage as a result of the storm. Indicted Driver To Face Trial As Adul A 15-year-old boy who drove a uck through a !.4i!and apartme.nt building in March, killing one per.son and injuring two others, was indicted on three misdemeanor driving viola tions by a Bnmswick County Grand Jury Monday. Christopher Brj'an Ennis was in dicted for unauthorized use of a con veyance, reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle without a license. The jury did not return in dictments relating to the death. "He will be tried as an adult,” said District Attorney Michael Easley. A trial date has tentatively been set for Aug. 10 in Brunswick County Superior Court. That date is con tingent on the hearing of several mo tions before the trial. On March 24. William Guy Bon- diirant II. 21, of Wilmington, was kill ed when a truck Ennis was driving crashed into a Shasta Park Apart ments duplex on Mt. Misery Road in Uciand. The driver was not injured in the incident. He was placed in the Lower Cape Fear Juvenile Detention Center in Wilmington while awaiting a hear ing in juvenile court. Other indictments returned Mon day that did not stem from the work of special investigative grand jury in cluded the follnwinv' (SeeINDICTMENTS. Page2-A) Students Told: 'Pay Debts Or Miss Class' BY hUIUORIE MEGIVERN Some West Brunswick High School students may not .sUirt school as early as they expected this fall. Parents of about 200 of the rising 10th-12th graders have just received letters from Prin cipal David Corley telling them money their youngsters owe the school must be paid by the first day of school or they will not be admitted to class. If payment lias not Ixien made when school resumes Aug. 31. t’orlcy is prepared to send delinquent students to a separate room where they will be supervised by an administrator, an available teacher, or the in-school susi>ension teacher. According to Corley, deiils ranging from 50 cents to over $100 are owed as lilirary fines, course fees, or for fund-raising projects, in wliicli products were taken and never returned or paid for. Corley calls the letters, which were mai.'ed Ju ly 18. a "legitimate request to pay this obliga tion," and to let parents know of the debts before they are overwhelming. "I think it's taking a positive .step toward teaching them to take responsibility for their ac tions, he said. "It's the kind of values not usual ly Uiught at school.” He explained students had Ix'en advised at the end of the last school year of money they owed. “Students already know about this. It’s only parents who don’t,” he said. In the past no concerted effort was made to col lect student debts until the debtor was alwut to graduate. Then payment was required before a student could receive a diploma. "But sometimes kids drop out of school and we lo.se the money," Corley said. Corley is encouraging parents to come to the school any weekday between 6 a.in. and 4 p.m. to discuss the debt or make payment on it. He said that if a mistake has Ix-'en iiuide, and the student has already paid what he owed, he/she can bring proof of payment to his office. Preparing the letters required three weeks of intensive work by his office staff. Corley said. He wanted parents to have them in plenty of time to make piiyment before the first day of school. Corley said, "Teachers are so frustrated with this problem, and they need their administrator to give them support.” Brunswick County board of education members knew nothing of the policy, though Cor ley said he has discussed the general problem with Superintendent Gene Yarbrough. Board C’hairman James Forstner said the idea of preventing sludenLs from receiving an educa tion was a "troubling thought." but he withheld judgment till he knew more about it. Hoiird Member Dorothy Worth said, ■Surely some other punishment could be applied, such as lasing their librarj- privileges.” At the State lX*parlment of Public Instruction, attorney Harry Wilson .said, "Every school is allowed to set iUs own policy on collecting fines." He .said Corley's policy is not necessarily a viola tion of public school law. 25c Per Copy 32 Pages Plus Insert Six !n(dicted On Charaes Of Cocaine Trafficking Additional true bills of indictment on cocaine trafficking charges were returned against six men Monday, the work of a special investigative grand jurv. no That .same grand jurv- returned true bills against 32 .subjects last month following approximately four months of investigation. An in vestigative grand jun' can compel te.stimony. a power not given to law cnlorcement officers. Additional charges were levied Monday against two of the defen dants, Lloyd Strickland and Johnny Dale Wood, both of Winnabow. “They had the cases last month,’ said District Attorney Michael Easley, "but they delayed returning the indictments Ijccause they wanted some corroborative evidence.” The grartd jury’s special in vestigative powers were dissolved in June. However, in returning the bills of indictment this month and last, it has acted in the capacity of a regular grand jury, he said. Those indicted Monday and the trafficking charges against them arc as follows; •Ricky Dale Bellamy, Shallotte. possession of more than 28 grams co caine. •William Ir\'in Peal. 24, Whiteville. conspiracy to possess more than 4(K) grams, possession ot more than 4uu grams. 'I.loyd Neill .Strickland. 36. Win nabow. conspiracy to possess more than 400 grams cocaine, possession of more than 400 grams. •Joseph Sullivan. 26. Shallotte. con- .spiracy to possess more than 28 grams cocaine, possession of more than 28 grams c(.H.*aine. •Johimy I >ale Wood, 19. Wiimabov\, conspiracy to possess more than 401> grams cocaine. •Richard Woods. 37. Calabash, con spiracy to possess more than 400 grams cocaine. County Awards Cable TV Contract BY SUSAN USHER Brunswick County Commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to award a 15-year, nonexclusive cable television service franchise to Custom Private Cable Inc., whicli has opened an office in the Boone’s Neck area. Non-exclusive means the company can ser\’e any area of the county and isn't required to ser\’e specific areas. The only member absent was Com missioner Jim Poole, who is to undergo leg surgery later this month. Some equipment is already in place, spokesman Ralph Pittman told commissioners. He said the Col orado Springs, Colo., based company would begin offering sendee initially in areas in the Holden Beach/Boone’s Neck area currently unsened by either Vision Cable or AtlaiUic Telephone Membership Corp.’s cable division. It would expand from there, he said, “to where we can serve people and also serve our stockholders and make a profit—anywhere there’s a demand.” The terms of the franchi.se differ from any granted previously by com missioners, but are similar to that awarded Vision Cable of Wilmington. ■We’re eating from the .same table, if not the .same spoon." siiid Rex Gore, attorney for Custom Private Cable. He said the firm was .sati.sficd with the concessions requested in rewriting the propased franchise into a form that County Attorney David Clegg .said ho could recommeiul for adoption. "I suspect." he added, •m retrospect if you rewrote the other two you wnulii make .some changes." The company can apply to renew its fram hise. but mii.st go through a s(K-cific procedure. If the franchise agreeinenl ends, the company’s underground cable would revert to county ownership Custom isn’t the only company in terested in the local cable TV market. Before the vote, Dennis Turner of Calabash asked commis sioners to set a policy that would app ly to all applicants. He said his com pany. organizing as CTVS. will pre sent a proposal soon. "As the county grows, there will be more companies compeung to serve developing areas. He added, "the franchise here has been lax in getting serx'ice to them." Aid Sought Commissioners also heard from .Mar>‘ Strickland, chairman of the county domiciliary/nursing home ad visory committee, which monitors patients’/rcsidents’ bill of rights. Its work includes visits to local facilities. Mrs. Strickland requested reap pointment of two current members, herself and Jean R. Caldwell, both of Southport, and appointment of a seventh member, preferably from the field of mental health. Also, she requested commissioners set aside up to $90 per member to offset travel and other related expenses incurred l)v the committee, as is the practice in Bladen and Pender counties. The matter will be Uiken up at the board’s 10 a.m. meeting on Aug. 3. when the committee is to have nominations for a seventh member. .AppiiintmenLs Debated In a continuation of their July 8 meeting. commissiontTS met for three hours on July 16 to discuss their board appointment .system, with no action taken. However, at its Aug. 3 meeting, the board intends to discuss a motion made la.st Thursday by Commissioner Chris Chappell. Chappell proposed that the board altempt to wpialize, by electoral district, only Its public sector ap- [lointmcnls to various boards without consideration of appointments made l)V other parties. Further, he proposed that the boanl vole in open .se.ssion on all ap- IKiintmenls following a motion from the floor. Before the vote, he sug gested. commissioners wouUl be ad vised of the district residence of any See COMMISSIONERS. Page 2-A) Ljn •.>.
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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July 23, 1987, edition 1
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