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Diploma in hand, West Brunswick Higl
to accept delivery of a bouquet of longday's
commencement program. She v
'88. The story and more photos are la
Sanitarians To Issu
Septic Tank Permil
In the future, property owners
whose lots; are deemed provisionally
suitable for installation of septic
tanks will be issued 36-month conditional
permits, Brunswick County
Board ?f Health members decided
Monday night.
The unanimous vote to tie the site
evaluation forms used by the county
to the 3(i-month period of validity was
taken on the recommendation of the
board's environmental health committee,
of which Pearly Vereen, a
county employee and former county
commissioner, is chairman.
Members are Ricky Parker, Jerry
Lewis, George Clemmons and
Frankie Habon.
In past several years "blanket"
Redwi
BY RAHN ADAMS
Brunswick County residents who
live on narrow, unmaintained,
private roads may soon have the
chance to improve those streets with
a helping hand from the county.
At the request of Brunswick County
Commissioners, State Hep. David
Kedwine last week introduced local
legislation in the General Assembly
that would let the county act as an
agent to assist in bringing private
roads up to state standards.
"Generally, rical bills don't have
any problems if it only affects
Brunswick County," Kedwine said
Friday. "This is something new and
different. Here again, Brunswick
County is breaking new ground."
The proposed process for road improvements
would be similar to the
one currently used by the county to
extend water service to specific
areas through special assessment
districts. The water bill was ratified
J
3rd Breaker
by biuiuyist Brent Winner
)ared to the 9.23-pounder
i Shallotte Point VFD
lrnament. Story and
! 12-C.
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BBbb -1\ > j*3k/ V^BK3S71
!
I STArr PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
If Moment
li School graduate Paula Miller pauses
stemmed red roses during lastThurs.as
among 174 member of the Class of
side this issue.
ie 'Conditional'
is For Some Lots
coverage of all site evaluations was
for 36 months. However, sanitarians
generally issued a site evaluation only
for a lot that was provisionally
suitable for a peptic tank, that is,
where a septic tank could be installed
if certain modifications were made,
while an actual permit was issued on
a lot that was suitable without
modifications.
However, explained Health Director
Michael Rhodes, "a permit is the
key for having something legally binding.
Technically, a site evaluation is
not legally binding."
Under the new system, permits
will be issued in both instances.
Then, when it is time for final inspec(See
SANITARIANS, Page2-A)
ne Foresees
by the General Assembly in 1985.
Under the current proposal, property
owners would pay the local
share of the road improvement project,
which is generally about 40 percent
of the total cost, according to
County Attorney David Clegg.
Redwine said Friday that the bill
was referred to the House Finance
Committee for consideration this
week. But as of Tuesday, it had not
been discussed by the panei, due to a
(lliestion about which nrivnln rno.lc
the bill should address, Redwine
said.
An original draft of the proposal
stated that it dealt only with roads
created prior to October 1, 1975.
However, according to discussions
last fall by commissioners and the
Brunswick County Planning Board,
the roads that need county help are
those builCbefore that date.
In order to be included in the state
road system for improvement and
a
1*1 :
Brunswicl
IT ffilFltf'H" r*1?? rrr * fl
Commisj
Back To [
BY RAHN ADAMS
In tlie words of Commissioner Benny
Ludlum, County Manager John T.
Smith "has his work cut out for him,"
to come up with a 1988-89 budget that
reflects no increase in Brunswick
County's current 50^-cent property
tax rate.
But that was the task presented to I
Smith last Thursday in Bolivia, I
following the commissioners' third I
work session in two weeks to address <
Smith's* proposed $31.8 million |
budget with its 16Vj-cent tax rate
hike. The meeting also followed a I
June 7 budget hearing, during which !
citizens spoke out against the propos- i
ed tax increase.
All five commissioners were on !
hand for last Thursday's three-hour i
work session, which was a continua- i
tion of the board's regular June 6 i
meeting. During the work session, |
the board took no action after going I
behind closed doors for an hour to
discuss a personnel matter. The ex
ecutivc session was requested by t
Smith. I
Holding The Line I
After struggling for at least l1? |
hours with different ways of cutting 1
the budget, Ludlum suggested that |
commissioners instruct Smith and
Finance Director l.ithio to simply
"fix us a 50'i-cent (tax ia.e?
budget."
Commissioners Grace Beasley,
Jim Poole and Chris Chappell concurred
with Ludlum's proposal. Commissioner
Frankie Rabon, who left
the meeting early, was not present
when that decision was made.
Earlier in the meeting. Smith ask
v?u iiiv. uuaiu ivi uiiuciiuauic uu cu* i
tion" on how to cut the budget and I
Sentencing
A sentencing hearing is scheduled
Aug. 22 in fedeAl district court in 1
Wilmington for Dr. Karen N. Paine, a !
former Shallotte physician convicted i
last week of 78 counts charging her
with defrauding Medicare, Medicaid ]
and private insurance programs, and i
mail fraud. 1
Pending sentencing, Paine is free :
on a $25,000 appearance bond she had i
earlier posted. :
U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt I
handed down the verdict on each
count last Thursday. Each count has i
a maximum sentence of five years in I
prison. Fines could total almost $2 i
million. <
n-t
rmne, si, was originally indicted I
on 89 counts of fraud last Oct. 13 by a
federal grand jury in Fayetteville. i
Eleven of those counts were dismiss- <
ed before the case went to the jury ;
last week. (
No Roadblock
"This is something n
Once again, Brunsw
breaking hew groun
maintenance, private roads built
since 1975 must be brought up to state
specifications. By law, roads built
before 1975 do not have to meet the
same strict standards to be added to
the state system.
Last May, commissioners sent
Hedwine a similar private roads bill
which was not introduced because it
was received late in the General
Assembly session, Redwine said.
But the issue remained a concern
)f county officials?so much so that
commissioners held a public hearing
last October to gather input on ways
Hello, world!
Dther graduates last week
tared the eiation or Nortn
runswick's Travis Williams,
verage of West and South
k high school graduations
is on pages 8-Aand8-B.
- - - - WH
iioners Sen
Drawing Bo
"We'll bite the bullei
that everyone is goi
of the bullet."
?Coun
keep the tax rate in check. He said
the county could "bite the
bullet... if you (commissioners)
agree that everyone is going to share
part of the bullet."
"Almost all departments are going
to feel at least some of the cuts."
Smith added. "If that's your feelings.
tit i?t ?
.ve u noia me line/'
Smith told commissioners he would
start with a model budget that
-eflects the "bare minimum," then
idd to it where he can without causae
a tax increase. The revised proposed
budget will be presented to the
poard at its June 20 meeting.
Biting The Bullet
After the work session, Smith told
he Beacon that he didn't know how
he budget cuts would effect a proposed
anti-litter department and implementation
of a 911 emergency
telephone system. His original proposed
budget included almost $3/ ,000
for a new Clean County Department
anil $259,.. * for 911.
He aiiaed that all ot the 40 new positions
requested by county department
heads may not be granted.
However, the new positions and services
may be added in October when
additional funds are available, after
the county's annual audit is completed,
he noted.
The county manager said he
definitely plans to use $3.1 million
From the county's capital reserve
As tn OO
WW. , ^
After hearing 21* weeks of
testimony, a majority of it for the
state, the jury reached its decision in
a little more than five hours.
The case was prosecuted by J.
Michael Carpenter, special deputy
attorney general for the N.C.
Medicaid Investigations Unit. He
said he was granted special crosslesignation
as a federal prosecutor
{II i M>1I StM noca in V-ir?
ederal, rather than state courts.
The charges against Dr. Paine
stemmed from a joint investigation
oegun in July 1986 by Carpenter's
init and the Office of Investigations
)f the U.S. Department of Health and
duman Services in Greensboro.
During the trial, Carpenter called
as witnesses approximately two
iozen former patients of Dr. Paine,
is well as several former employees.
3ne former employee, Sharon
s In Private R
ew and different,
ick County is
d."
?Rep. E. David Redwine
on private roads bill
df handling the private road dilemma.
Speakers at the hearing said they
favored being assessed by the county
for road improvements, because they
could not afford to bring their roads
up to state specifications without full
cooperation from other property
owners in their subdivisions.
The planning board also supported
that proposal last year, with
iicuiucrs agreeing mai special
assessments were the most viable
way to upgrade private roads in subdivisions
that were built before 1975
where no property owners' assoeia
Beck's Last Gs
soutn Brunswick senior cater
..eck signs a pro contract aft
Cougars win 2-A state champ
Saturday, page 11-B.
RFATC
d County AA
ord On Bud
f ... if you agree
ng to share part
ty Manager John Smith
contingency fund for operational services.
The county's insurance package,
which is being reviewed by
Brunswick Insurance Services, is one
likely source for budget cuts. According
to Ms. Hahn, the county could
save 20 percent of next year's group
insurance premium by raising the
deductible from $100 to $200 and re
quiring pre-admission certifications.
Also, Commissioner Poole
estimated that a $608,000 savings
would result from the county contributing
to only individual
employees' insurance premiums, instead
of parent-child and family
premiums for county employees.
Commissioners also discussed
eliminating disability insurance,
which would cut another $60,000.
In revising his proposed budget.
Smith also is looking at five-percent
cuts made by department heads, as
requested two weeks ago by Chairman
Beasley. But with those reductions
and the $3.1 million transit.;
from the capital reserve fund, the
county would still face a 4la-cent tax
rate increase, Smith said.
Commissioners have until the end
of the month to adopt the 1988-89
budget. Ms. Beasley said last Thursday
that commissioners may not be
able to approve the budget at their
June 20 meeting as she indicated at
last week's budget hearing.
For Convictec
Hewett, had pleaded guilty to mail
fraud in February 1987, in a plea
bargain agreement in which she
agreed to testify against Dr. Paine.
She has not been sentenced and faces
up to five years in prison.
He said testimony was intended to
show a pattern of fraudulent action
over a period from 1982 to January
1986. Paine was accused of
fraudulently billing for services
never provided, or double billing,
various insurance programs for
more than $24,000 in reimbursements.
According to the indictment,
she received about $10,000.
Those insurance programs included
Medicare, Medicaid, an employee
group insurance policy of the International
longshoremen's Union and
the N.C. Crippled Children's Fund.
Fame's attorney, David I>ong of
Raleigh, waived an opening stateloads
Bill Adc
tion exists.
A subcommittee composed of Commissioners
Benny Ludlum and Jim
Poole, and the entire planning board
is currently reviewing the county's
subdivision ordinance. One change
that lias been discussed is to require
developers to build new roads to state
standards.
Redwine said Tuesday that last
year's proposed bill referred to mads
built 'subsequent to" Oct. 1, 1975. "I
don't know where we lost it in the
translation," he commented.
Re added that he was waiting to
hear from the county as to whether or
not he should amend the bill to delete
the date reference. Clegg said Tuesday
he expected that the bill would be
amended to include all private roads.
If the act is ratified without further
change, owners who represent at
least 65 percent of the road frontage
of the project and at least 65 percent
of the property owners along the road
I
,me
ier Wynn
ionships B
ariager
Iget
Two taxpayers who attended last
Thursday's work session?W. A. Boyd
of Caswell Beach and Eileen
Kellagher of Long Beach?requested
that the board hold another public
hearing before the budget is adopted.
However, commissioners made no
commitment to schedule the hearing.
Request Heard
The board took no action on a request
for a $2,500 budget allocation
for the Southeastern Sickle Cell
Association of Wilmington, an
organization which serves
Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender
and Columbus counties.
Association Director Harvey Jennings
told commissioners that his
agency provides support services for
sickle cell anemia patients, as well as
screening and educational programs
involving the disease.
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited
blood disorder which mainly affects
blacks. While there are eight confirmed
sickle cell cases in Brunswick
County, estimates indicate that there
are 11 other potential cases here and
1,665 individuals who carry traits of
the disease, Jennings said.
The director noted that the association
has requested $2,500 allocations
irom each ol the {our counties it
serves. New Hanover, the only county
to grant the request so far, has
allotted $5,000.
On Smith's reconimendation. the
board asked Jennings to provide a
breakdown on how the $2,500 would
be used. Smith said he felt the contribution
would not be legal unless
the agency can show how the money
(See BUDGET. Page 2-A)
I Physician
ment. Later, he mounted as his
defense the argument that Dr. Paine
had no knowledge of the billing
mistakes, that they occurred without
anv intent hv her to defraud
He indicated that the billing errors
resulted from carelessness and
mismanagement among Dr. Paine's
three-person office staff.
Dr. Paine was the key defense
witness, testifying that only she was
authorized to sign applications tor
reimbursement. However, a former
employee, Rosa Bland, who had signed
many of the forms submitted as
evidence, testified that she also had
been authorized to sign the forms.
Still under investigation for arson
is a fire of suspicious origin that
destroyed Dr. Faine's office on
Forest Drive in Shallotte last
September. Her case was before the
grand jury at that time.
>ption
would have to petition the county for
the improvements. The project also
would have to be approved by the
N.C. Department of Transportation.
After DOT provides a cost analysis
of the project, commissioners would
hold a public hearing before certifying
that the project is eligible for
local share reimbursement. With the
board's approval, the propertyowners
would pay the local share to
the county, who would in turn forward
the funds to DOT.
The project would then be undertaken
"according to the timetable
established by the Department of
Transportation." according to the
proposed bill.
In the meantime, property owners
who did not pay their proportionate
share of the project would be assessed
for that amount, plus 10 percent to
cover the county's administrative ex
penses. Payment would he due within
60 days of assessment.
'J