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A STATE- AND COUNTY-FUNDED s
Ash Swamp, South Prong and Mill Bri
mosquito problems in the drainage ar
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nagging and clearing project on Wet
inch is expected to ease flooding and
ea. The area is marked with a heavy
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Wet A
BY SUSAN USHER
Selective clearing and snagging
this year of an 8.5-mile segment of
Wet Ash Swamp and its two main
tributaries are expected to ease
flooding of farm and timber lands in
the swamp's 22.8-acre drainage area.
Following three years' effort,
Brunswick County learned this week
it will receive a two-thirds matching
grant of $32,560 from the state to help
finance the $48,840 project. A hearing
on the proposal was held more than a
year ago at the Waccamaw Community
Building.
Darry Somersett, director of
operations management for the county,
said Monday that as soon as his office
receives formal notification of
the grant, staff will begin obtaining
easements fmm nmnprtv Aiunorc cn
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that the work can begin.
The goal of the project, which will
be performed by a private contractor
hired by the county, is to restore normal
stream flow in order to reduce
flooding and to control mosquitos.
The work will be similar to that done
on Juniper Creek in 1985 with federal
funds. It will begin at the upstream
ends of Mil! Branch and South Prong
and extend downstream to the Waccamaw
River.
Wet Ash Swamp is a small
blackwater stream that flows east to
west from its origin in the Green
Swamp through a wooded swamp
corridor to the Waccamaw River,
with South Prong and Mill Branch its
main tributaries.
Long-time residents say flooding
has always been a problem, but that
in recent years it has been more fre
quent, of longer duration and with
higher floodwater levels.
Run-Off Increased
An assessment made by the N.C.
Division of Water Resources attributes
this to more rapid stormwater
run-off from the gridwork of
ditching on timber plantations in the
Green Swamp, a dramatic increase
in beaver activity and an increasing
load of stream snags?mainly windblown
trees from Hurricane Diana in
1984. In fact, a major outlet ditch
from the swamp timber plantations
empties in the head of Mill Branch
Swamp.
Somersett said the county had been
trying ever since Hurricane Diana to
obtain funding for a snagging project
on Wet Ash Swamp.
But there have been even earlier
attempts to improve its carrying
capacity.
Back in the late 1960s, the Soil Con
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SOUTHERI
Mcllllh r I Hit SubtktntU,
Offer,hue mil,if
sh Snagging f
servation Service studied ihe swamp
for a possible channelization project,
but it never came about because
easements from property owners
could not be obtained.
However, most, if not all, of the
property owners along the swamp
and its two tributaries have signed
petititons supporting the current project.
The swamp's natural carrying
capacity has declined over the past
30 years because of the grid-ditching
of the Green Swamp into timber plantations,
according to the N.C. Division
of Water Resources. "In its
natural condition, the (Green)
swamp, underlain by a thick layer of
nnnt ??lJ -t
i/eov, vuuiu aosorD a vast amount of
rainfall like a sponge and slowly
release it to Wet Ash Swamp as well
as several other outflowing
streams."
This reduced downstream flood
levels and helped maintain the level
of flow during the dry summer
season.
As a consequence of the gridditching,
it continues, "water flows
out of the swamp much more rapidly
after a storm event than prior to the
ditching, creating the potential for
higher downstream flood peaks."
Where the channel could not handle
high-velocity stormwater,
parallel channels have formed,
which in sununer are too shallow to
support fish, but are "prime mosquito
breeding grounds." In such instances,
the main channel is scheduled
for snagging.
Wet Ash project is expected to have
no significant environmental impact.
Most of the work will be performed
from a barge-mounted winch; the
rest by hand labor, by a private contractor
hired by the county.
"People need to realize we won't be
able to work on it dead-ahead,"
Somersett stressed. The Wildlife
Resources Commission has asked
that work not be allowed during
periods of "peak biological activity."
And, in order to preserve wildlife
habitat, the Commission will
designate which trees may be cut
from along stream banks, limiting it
to only those in danger of falling into
the stream, and will help in managing
the area's beaver population.
While most farmers in the area see
the beavers as nuisances that
damaged crop and timber lands with
their impoundments, according to
the Commission, the beavers have
improved the habitat of the swamp,
helped restore some of its former
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IIVtull\ fnr t,srl\ u itlhlrauul
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THE BRUNSWICK BEACO
3roject Gets I
tiooti retention capacity ami collected
sediment washed from crop
and timberlands.
Some beaver dams may be removPiver
Trial V
I ? K I 1 I
IK I INfcfW nui I
BY RAHN ADAMS
Defense testimony began Tuesday
in the New Hanover County trial of
nn Ach rrm n nn/?.io?rl 1 :
?>wii man autuocu Ul 1UU1 UCIing
two Wilmington men last October?one
in Wilmington, the other
in Brunswick County.
Rayford Clayton Piver, 42, was being
tried in New Hanover County
Superior Court on a first-degree
murder charge stemming from the
October 6, 1987, shooting death of
Nick Patelos outside a Wilmington
bar.
The defendant will be tried later
this year in Brunswick County
Superior Court for the October 6.
1987, murder of Michael Edward
Baker, whose body was found near
U.S. 17 at Grissettown.
In Brunswick County, Piver's trial
will probably not be held before the
June session of Superior Court, said
13th District Attorney Mike Easley
last week.
He added that the outcome of the
New Hanover County murder trial
will not change his handling of the
Brunswick County case.
"Whether they win, lose or draw
(in New Hanover County), we'll be
seeking the death penalty (in
Rrnncurinlr \ " ITqcIov Inoi
... uujiv./ ouivi iaoi i 11 lil
day. "To do any less would minimize
the rights of the victim here."
According to the New Hanover
County Clerk of Court's office, the
state rested its case Tuesday morning.
Piver, who had pleaded not guilty,
took the witness stand on his own
behalf later in the day. Defense
testimony was expected to continue
at least through Wednesday (March
16).
Testimony in the New Hanover
County trial began last Wednesday,
with Judge Bradford Tillery
presiding. Piver was represented by
Wilmington attorneys Richard Miller
and Susan Sutton. Assistant 5th
District Attorney John Carriker prosecuted
the case.
The defendant's court-appointed
attorneys in Brunswick County are
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N, Thursday, March 17, 1988?Page 3-A
-unding
Oui In those that arc allowed to re*
main, corrugated pipes may be inserted
so that the level of water in the
impoundments can be controlled.
trapping Up
ovor County
Rex Gore and Michael Ramos.
Piver was arrested by the
Brunswick County Sheriff's Department
on Oct. 6, 1987, within hours of
the two shootings.
According to a spokesman for the
N.C. Department of Corrections,
Piver's arrest came only three months
after his release from prison on a
murder conviction.
Court records in Brunswick and
New Hanover counties show that
Piver was given a 39-year prison
sentence in 1973 after he was convicted
of armed robbery and murder
charges in connection with the May
1972 shooting death of Bobby
Hamilton, a Wilmington service station
attendant whose body was found
in Brunswick County.
Piver was released from the
Department of Corrections on July 7,
1987.
Armed Robbery
(Continued From Page 1)
County Jail, Gause said.
Columbus County Sheriff Bill
Rhodes said last Thursday that Godwin
is a suspect in "five or six (armed
robberies) within the past 90
days" in Columbus County.
| " V DVflGHT HiNAGAN 1
I// \ 754 9923
V HEALTH
i. insurance ! He 21462
l\ lo help pay / v?,?_ ........
|V,prtr,'y
JUNIOR & TEEN MISS
CONTEST
Open to Brunswick County girls
9-17 years. To be held April 16
at Shallotte Middle School.
Sponsored by Miss Brunswick
Islands Pageant, to benefit
Hope Harbor Home. Contact
Sarah or Robin Farmer.
J 754-7428 after 6 PM
RDER
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