Comn
BY KAHN ADAMS
At the request of about 30 local
fishermen and State Rep. David Redwine,
Brunswick County Commissioners
Monday adopted a resolution
to "strongly oppose" a Wildlife
Resources Commission proposal that
would ban gill-netting in inland
waters.
The action came at the outset of the
commissioners' 4V4-hour meeting
Monday night which included the
Twenty-sixth Year, Number
s
F/i*
Kf \ i*t o I-,
THE DEMOLISHED CAB of one vehl
mud while wrecking crews work to rt
tractor trailer from a ditch (far right
Fertilizer Spii
M
A Myrtle Beach, S.C., man was
listed in fair condition at Grand
Strand General Hospital Tuesday
following a traffic accident last week
which left another man dead.
The early morning wreck along
U.S. 17 at Bolivia involved two tractor
trailer rigs and was apparently
caused by a spill of organic matter
being transported by truck from
Pfizer Inc. at Southport.
Daniel Lee Holder, 49, of Myrtle
Beach, survived the accident and
was admitted to Grand Strand in
critical condition last Wednesday.
1 ne extent ui his injuries was net
available.
Earl Preston Black, 51, of North
Myrtle Beach, S.C., was killed in the
accident. It took more then three
hours to pull his body from the vehicle.
Holder was trapped in the cab for
about two hours before rescue crews
were able to get him out using the
"Jaws of Life."
A Volkswagen driven by James
Washington Hargrove, 35, of Supply,
also slid off the road after the trucks
had wrecked. He was uninjured and
Two Sentei
Guilty In D
BY RAHN ADAMS
A Holden Beach building contractor
and a Tabor City man were given
active prison terms last week for cocaine
trafficking, while a Calabash
man pleaded guilty to cocaine
charges but was not sentenced.
The three were among 37 defendants
indicted on cocaine trafficking
charges in Brunswick County last
June and July by the state's first
special investigative grand jury.
All three cases were heard last
Thursday in Brunswick County
Superior Court in Bolivia by Resident
Superior Court Judge Giles R. Clark.
Elliott Wade Coleman, 39, of
Holden Beach, received a seven-year
prison sentence after pleading guilty
last September to one count of conspiracy
to traffic in more than 28
grams of cocaine. He earned credit
for two days served while awaiting
iriai.
In addition, Coleman's probation
from a previous drug conviction was
revoked, and he was ordered to serve
a 10-year prison term to run concurrently
with I hi' seven-year sentence.
I
lissioners 'Str
board's first executive session of the
year.
Red wine, who addressed commissioners
on behalf of the fishermen,
said he opposed any changes in state
laws involving gill-netting.
"I've gone on record being opposed
to any ban on gill-netting," Redwine
said, adding that local fishermen
have experienced enough problems
lately from the recent closing of
shelifishing beds due to the "red
SPRINGPORT S
1 5 |9R8 THE BRUNSWICK BEACON
i?& I
? f 715 1 ?. ..
f.*r
?ffP j
Iclc sits coated in was the one in whi(
rraove the second tie Beach, S.C., we
;). The cab at left
I! Causes Higi
there was no damage to the vehicle.
Robert Nubel, plant manager at
Pfizer, said the fertilizer spill appeared
to have resulted from the
failure of a double-locking
mechanism on the truck's tailgate.
He said the system probably failed
when the truck hit a bump on a Midway
Road bridge about a mile south
of the U.S. 17 intersection.
Nubel said it appeared that when
the truck hit the bump, the primary
tailgate system failed, the load
shifted to one side of the truck bed
and a chain holding the tailgate snappcu.
He said the tailgate was probably
secure up until that time because
there were no traces of fertilizer on
tlie ruuu before the bridge.
The load of fertilizer was being
delivered to a farm near Bolivia, said
Nubel. He added that the spill consisted
of several thousand pounds of
a 35,000-pound load.
According to State Highway Patrol
spokesman Ruby Oakley, the accident
occurred around 4:50 a.m. No
charges were filed by the state.
i iv.uu( r~\i iu11 ic
rug Traffickin
Charles Ronald Strickland, 34, of
Tabor City?who had pleaded guilty
last August to six cocaine trafficking
counts involving more than 400
grams of the controlled
substance?also was sentenced to 10
years in prison, but was recommended
for immediate work release.
In both cases, Clark found that the
defendants had provided "substantial
assistance" to the state in its
drug investigations?findings which
enabled the judge to hand down
lighter sentences than state drug
trafficking laws prescribe.
Also last Thursday, Willard R.
"Richard" Woods, 38, of Calabash,
pleaded guilty to drug charges stemming
from the special grand jury investigation
and other undercover
operations.
Coleman Case
According to court records, Coleman
was inrlictofl .limn 11 10B7 ?n
charges of conspiracy to traffic in
more than 2ft grains of cocaine and
trafficking by possession of more
than 2ft grains of cocaine. He faced a
maximum of 20 years in prison ?:n
)
ongly Oppose
tide." U
On a motion by Chris Chappell, fi
commissioners unanimously voted to
instruct County Attorney David fi
Clegg to draft a resolution opposing tl
any proposed bans on gill-netting and C
haul-seining in Brunswick County. d
Jimmy Davis, coastal area super- f<
visor of fisheries for the N.C. Wildlife y
Resources Commission, said Tuesday
that the gill-netting ban was pro- s
posed to protect game fishing in in- p
A I4fe? | f|
bindery if!
?2a2/3i/" y|
Shallotte, North Carolina. Thi
' ' '''' SIAFF PHOTO BT OOUGHUIlEn U
;h Earl Preston Black of North Myr- a
is killed.
hway Death
ii
Brunswick County Emergency u
Management Director Cecil Logan s
said the two trucks were traveling a
north on U.S. 17 when they came
across the spill and ran off the
highway. 1
Both vehicles ended up in roadside
ditches along a curve between Midway
and Galloway roads, just north a
of the Brunswick County Govern- 111
ment Complex.
The trucks were the property of ^
Big Concrete Inc. of Myrtle Beach. w
Bobby Steele, company manager, ^.(
said the trucks were traveling to sl
Wilmington to pick up a load of dry B
cement wher; the accident occurred.
He said the company's insurance
agent would decide if any legal action
would be taken.
ilWIr\ inet U ? C 4 a ? <
itv jnou view it eta an uiuununaie 1
accident," said Steele. "Nobody did
anything intentionally."
Ixigan said rescue squads from
Southport and Town Creek responded '
to the accident. The roadway was
later cleared of organic matter by
fire departments from Bolivia and c
Supply. C
r Pleads j
ia Cases "
cl
Ui
those original charges. i?
On Sept. 9, 1987, he pleaded guilty gj
to the conspiracy count, and the e<
possession charge was dismissed as r
part of a plea agreement, cutting his in
possible maximum sentence in half.
During Coleman's sentencing hear- M
ing last Thursday, an SB1 agent said
the charge stemmed from an incident
on Dec. 15,1984, when the defen- h(
dant obtained an ounce (28 grams) of m
cocaine for $2,000. Coleman later fii
testified that he bought the cocaine a.'
for his own use. y<
The agent outlined the defendant's pi
assistance to local, state and federal st
investigators?help which Coleman b<
said he provided for about three fo
years after he was convicted of marijuana
trafficking in 1963. vt
In June 1983, Coleman was fined m
$10,000 and was placed on five years Ui
of supervised probation after he f>r
pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traf- in
fic by possession of more than 10,000 pr
pounds of marijuana, according to pj
testimony. He was placed on unsupervised
probation less than a year 11
(See TWO SENTENCED, Page 2-A) iu
Proposed E
ind waters and would not affect
ishing in the Intracoastal Waterway.
He emphasized that commercial
shermen would not be affected by
le proposed ban. In Brunswick
ounty's inland waters, gill-netting is
one mainly in the Waccamaw River
>r catfish, suckers, blackfish and
ellow perch, he said.
The Wildlife Resources Commision
is currently holding a series of
ublic hearings across the state on
mmr m
jrsday, February 18, 1988
r ~a?i
CuUbiUi
Of Toxic
BY Dour, RUTTE1
Coastal waters tested free of all
red tide" algae last week, as North
o monitor shellfish meats with the h
og oyster and clam beds.
Bob Benton, supervisor of the !
irogram of the N.C. Division of He
londay, "Everything is clearing u
nain problem now is just waiting ur
lams are clear of all toxins."
He said shellfish meats taken fro
!ape Fear River, Lockwood Folly Inl
:t will be tested for toxicity later thi
The state has continued to condu
ysters and clams in the northern seel
tretch closed to shellfishing.
Although waters near Cape Hattei
f the algae for more than three weel
reek's tests continued to show toxicity
dded that clams have been purging
lan oysters.
Jim Tyler, spokesman for the
larine Fisheries, wliich will be resp
hellfish beds, said, "We won't know
est results are available this Friday.
He said most state environmenta
nnrri;*! fi<hprrru>n n-hn oHon/l^wi
IIHU UUVilUCU * V-V.I
pstatc agreed that areas should n
hellfishing until oysters and clams ir
ble to cleanse all toxins from their b
Opening a small area to harvest, 1
e detrimental to long-term shellfish
rea.
Meanwhile, water samples taken I
ined no toxic levels of the "red tid<
larked the first time since October th
ere clear of toxic amounts of algae.
Algae contents as high as 2,000 ci
ttected at Topsail Inlet off Pender
ere no traces of ptychodiscus brevis I
rint. Algae counts greater than 5,0
dered toxic.
Loekwood Folly Inlet was the
runswick County where traces ol
Gift Establisi
Professorshi|
A new endowed professorship in
hemistry at the University of North
arolina at Greensboro will honor
le memory of "a servant of good
auses and of her community," the
ite Marie Foscue Rnnrk r>f shaiinttn
Dr. Malcolm Henderson Kourk of
hallottc gave the university $333,000
) establish the professorship in
onor of his late wife.
When joined with $167,000 in mathing
funds provided by the state
nder a program approved by the
185 General Assembly, the $333,000
ift makes possible a $500,000 endowJ
professorship, the Marie Foscue
ourk Distinguished Professorship
i Chemistry.
UNC-G Chancellor William E.
loran commented that the gift is
generous and meaningful."
"In honoring his wife, Marie, he
mors and strengthens her alma
later as well," said Moran. "The
eld chosen is one that Marie chose
: her major area of study many
ears ago. The satisfaction and
easure in learning that marked her
ay here, by means of this gift, will
: oiiercd to others in a renewed
rm.
"Marie Fescue Rourk was a serint
of good causes and of her comunity.
The goal of service which the
Diversity ever seeks to impart to its
actuates was a familiar one for her.
memorializing her life, the new
ofessorship reminds as of the imirtanee
of service."
Marie Foscue ltourk died on Oct.
, 1087, at age 82. The Maysville
Hive was graduated from North
ian On Gill-I"
the proposed ban. A hearing fo
Brunswick County's wildlife distric
was held last Thursday night L
Elizabeth town.
Davis said the public basically ha
opposed the proposed ban, althoug
"there wasn't really a lot of con
troversy" at last Thursday's hear
ing.
"I really doubt that this proposa
will pass," he commented.
Reef Funds Given
25c Per Copy
I A ?
\*\i r*c I
: 'Red Tici
R organism were i
toxic levels of the was also 2,000 o
Carolina continued Benton sai<
ope of soon reopen- waters Mondaj
algae."
shellfish sanitation "It's cleare
alth Services, said cerned," he sail
p pretty well. Our tents and purpc
itil the oysters and In South Ca
Health and Em
m the mouth of the and detected nc
et and Shallotte In- Ron Tata, c
s week. tal Quality Con
ct toxicity tests on traces of it fron
ions of the 200-mile and no traces f;
Tata said t
ras have been clear samples and wil
is, Benton said last once algae cour
' in those meats. He He added t
themselves faster are optimistic tl
The N.C. Di
N.C. Division of its local oyster
ansible for nnpnino i = !
?I --O LiVllg WCUV.I1 M
ariything until the cooperative lid;
" Shellfisherr
1 officials and com- manenlly close
snt public hearings because of the
ot be reopened to shellfishermen
i a large region are replant these oy
odies. Fritz Rohde
le explained, could ington branch of
populations in that to be moved to
days of hand rel
During the
last Thursday con- Lockwood Folly
j" organism. This more than 15,00
at all state waters were not availat
According tc
ells per liter were secretary with J
County, but there shellfishermen \
Found north of that gram as of last 1
00 parts are con- bushels of oystei
The progran
only location in and Pender co
: the "red tide" Brunswick Coun
ies Marie Fo
p In Chemisti
p
Marie Foscue Rourk
Carolina College for Women (now
UNC-Gi in 1927, with an A B degree
in chemistry. After studying
laboratory technology in Charlotte
for one year, she was director of the
laboratory at James Walker
Memorial Hospital in Wilmington
from 1928 through 1930. She also
taught chemistry in the hospital's
school of nursing.
She was married to Dr. Rourk in
19.10. After several moves they settled
in Shallotte in 1947. Her survivors
in addition to her husband include
two children, Dr. Malcolm H. Rourk
Jr. of Durham and Mrs. Marie R.
Harrison of Shallotte; eight grandchildren
and seven great
Jetting
r In another fishing-related matter
:t Monday, commissioners unanimousn
ly granted a request from the
Brunswick County Artificial Reef
s Association for $12,000 to retire its
h debt on a reef project involving the
i- old Holden Beach Bridge.
Association Chairman Dale
McDowell said his group has
1 reorganized its board and hoped to
get off to a fresh start by retiring the
(Sec PROPOSED, Prgc2-A)
~
36 Pages Plus Insert
ri^
'-u'W-ll
le' Levels
detected last week. The count in that area
rganisms per liter.
:i additional samples taken from local
r showed "absolutely no traces of the
d up real good as far as the water is con1.
"I think this is basically gone for all inises."
rolina last week, the state Department of
ironmental Control also sampled waters
i toxic levels of "red tide" algae,
listrict director for the S.C. Environmentrol
Division, said, "We have found only
1 the North Carolina line to Murrells Inlet
irther south."
he state will continue to analyze water
1 begin testing shellfish meats for toxicity
its have disappeared,
hat state environmental health officials
hat the "red tide" will soon be gone,
vision of Marine Fisheries also continued
relocation program in Davis Creek near
jst Wednesday after a week of utv
!S.
nen moved oysters from areas perd
to pollution to areas currently closed
icu uue iniesiauon. ine state pays
SI per bushel and up to $100 per day to
stei-s by hand.
!, biological coordinator with the WilmMarine
Fisheries, said the program was
Shallotte River Wednesday, after five
aying in Davis Creek,
three earlier days of relocation in
River, 76 shellfishermen had replanted
0 bushels of oysters. Accurate figures
lie for Davis Creek.
1 Diana Heatwole, fisheries development
darine Fisheries in Wilmington, the 400
,vho had participated in the state pro'uesday
had relocated more than 200,000
s.
a first started Dec. 15 in New Hanover
unties and was expanded to include
ty Feb. 1.
iscue Rourk
y At UNC-G
| grandchildren.
Mrs. Rourk was active in community
and county civic affairs for
| many years. She served as chairman
of the Brunswick County March of
j Dimes during and succeeding the
polio era. She was a charter member
_r on?n ?? - - * ?
ui anauouc rresDyienan unurch.
She was appointed by Gov. Terry
j Sanford to the original board of
trustees of Southeastern Community
College, where she served several
terms.
She served several terms as president
of the Brunswick County
Historical Society, worked extensively
on behalf of Brunswick Town State
Historic Site and was active in efforts
to save from destruction the original
building of Sunnyside School in
Shallotte. She held membership in
several national historical organizations.
She served as a trustee of the
Southport/Brunswick County
Library from 1962 to June 1979, including
three terms as vicechairman,
and was instrumental in
establishing the West Brunswick
Branch Library, dedicated in May
1979 in Shallotte.
She was instrumental in bringing
the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra
to Brunswick County for a
concert each year, beginning in 1949.
Dr. Rourk practiced internal
medical for 42 years before retiring
and was also a cardiologist. The
UNC-Chapel Hill graduate completed
two years of studies at the
(See I'ltOKKSSOItSIUI', I'age 2-A?