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Still smiling after four hours of picking
Beach were among the more than 300 vc
Lockwood
Could Hcs\
BY SUSAN USHER
Area residents who depend on
shellfishing for all or part of their
livelihood were waiting this week for
the results of two sets of samples
taken from the Lockwood Folly
River.
The results were to be available at
midweek from the state's Shellfish
Sanitation program.
The first are shellfish samples, col- i
lected Monday, which will indicate
whether any of the river can be 1
reopened to shellfishing soon. ]
Testing of these samples takes 48
hours. i
The second set are water samples ]
collected Tuesday in a cooperative 1
effort with a local water quality pro- (
tection citizens group, Save Our i
Roberts Gets
BY RAHN ADAMS
A Holden Beach businessman and
former town official can thank the
state's overcrowded prison system
for making his parole possible at
least two weeks early.
Clarence Virgil Roberts, 51, was
paroled on Sept. 20?one day before a
ojiJVGui-wiuc uvercruwuing "Crisis"
ended, according to N.C. Department
of Corrections Public Information Officer
David Guth.
Roberts, who was serving on the
Holden Beach Board of Adjustments
in June 1987 when he was indicted by
a Brunswick County investigative
grand jury, was sentenced in April to
Judgmen
BY RAHN ADAMS
Some 10 months after announcing
in open court that he intended to rule
that a road leading to the western end
of Holden Beach should remain
private, Superior Court Judge Bruce
Briggs earlier this month signed a
written judgment, finally allowing a
local citizens group and the state to
appeal his decision.
The judgment, which was signed
Sept. 13 by the Madison County
judge, was filed Sept. 22 in
Brunswick County Superior Court.
Assistant Attorney General Allen
[ Jernigan said Monday that the case
would be docketed this week in the
N.C. Court of Appeals. After both
sides are given time to comment on
the appeal, it will be scheduled for
the appellate court's review, he said.
Jernigan said the appeal will take i
f]K "probably a few me^'hs" to be decid- i
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nswick Islands HP jJH
inette Odom. More F
F. RR! I
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It's A C/ea
up litter, these youngsters at Holden
)lunteers who made a clean sweep of
Folly River
fe More Im
Shellfish (SOS). Analysis of those
samples takes 24 hours. SOS will use
the information to help map its
strategy to gain long-term protection
of the river, the county's major
shellfishing resource.
"We're going to use everything we
can get our hands on to use," said Annie
Smigiel, president of SOS.
Bob Benton, chief of shellfish
sanitation, agreed at a meeting in
August for his agency to collect and
test the samples at no charge if a
local guide were provided.
Smigiel, SOS Vice-President Carson
Varnam and Alex Kuigre accompanied
technician Lori Brooks from
the Shellfish Sanitation Wilmington
iffjpp in tho TjiAorlc*** T7?
"wiv i?v*u iUtouaj, V ai 11 dill
said. They collected samples of
Early Release B
a 3%-year prison term. He was given
credit for 57 days that he spent
undergoing pre-sentencing evaluation
at the corrections facility in
Troy.
Court records show that Roberts
pleaded guilty in August 1987 to trafficking
in more than 400 grams of cocaine,
two counts of conspiracy to
traffic in more than 400 grams of cocaine,
four counts of trafficking in
more than 28 grams of cocaine, and
five counts of conspiracy to traffic in
more than 28 grams of cocaine.
Until Judge Giles Clark ruled that
Roberts had provided "substantial
assistance" to the state?a finding
t Signed; V\
ed.
The lawsuit, which was heard last
November in Brunswick County
Superior Court, was filed in 1986 by a
group called Concerned Citizens of
Brunswick - County Taxpayers
Association against Holden Beach
Enterprises Inc., the developer of the
Holden Beach West subdivision.
The N.C. Department of Natural
Resources and Community Development's
Office of Coastal Management
also intervened as a plaintiff in
the case, in the agency's role as administrator
of the state's coastal access
program.
During the two-day trial in Bolivia,
the plaintiffs contended that Ocean
View Boulevard West through the
subdivision was a public right-ofway,
even though the developer had
used different means to block the
road to public traffic over the years
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g-.$ I
n Sweep/
South Brunswick Islands beaches Saturc
story and more photos are on Page 6-A.
Sampling R
pact Than I
water from "five or six locations" f
considered as "possible" con- s
tributors to pollution of the river.
Those sites included several point si
discharge pipes, the old Cedar Grove p
landfill, and places on the east side of 01
the river, near Sunset Harbor, where
recent development has occurred. h<
If any of those sites has been w
specifically sampled before, SOS is si
unaware of it, Varnam said. He noted
that within the past several years si
waters along the eastern shore were w
-? ?? -
vwv.v,ntu, uui liicil no specuic areas ai
were targeted then as was done Tues- oj
day.
Said Smigiel, "The state keeps tell- ri
ing us the pollution is coming from Ai
the east side of the river. We want to cc
find out if that's where it's coming
ecause Prison Ov
which allowed the defendant to b;
receive a lighter sentence than is re- cj
quired by drug trafficking laws?he
faced a mandatory minimum prison E
sentence of 168 years. St
Roberts was admitted to the prison Ai
system on April 19 and was assigned pc
to Wayne Correctional Center, Guth th
said. He added that Roberts' final qi
release date was listed as Nov. 20, pi
1989, on an August report. bf
Even without the overcrowding ec
situation, Roberts' case would have
been referred to the N.C. Parole gi
Commission on Sept. 30, Guth said, m
However, he indicated that con- eli
sideration of the case was "advanced
/ay Cleared
and had finally constructed a gate pi
ana guarunouse at the subdivision's si
entrance in 1985. tr
Briggs stated at the close of the w
proceedings that he planned to rule in si
favor of Holden Beach Enterprises, hi
and he instructed the company's attorney
to write a proposed judgment th
for him to sign. " " cc
Although the written judgment had w
not been signed before a June 10 ap- ju
peal deadline, a "proposed record on ni
appeal" was filed by the plaintiffs'
attorneys?Jernigan and Durham th
lawyer James Maxwell. The at- Hi
torneys used the trial transcript to of
formulate their exceptions to the in- qi
tended ruling that Briggs announced ar
in open court.
But the defendant's attorney, Nan- nc
cy Guyton of Shallotte, filed objec- Bt
tions July 13 to the proposed record w<
on appeal, saying the appeal was pr
Sees Bright*
ians Travel T<
IP?#
I ;
STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG RUTTER
lay morning. The Beach Sweep '88
Jesuits
Jsuai
rom or track down wherever the
ource is."
SOS still plans to take water
amples of its own, Varnam said,
ossibly within the week, depending
a conditions in the river.
"We're waiting 'til the right time,"
i said. "There's no point doing it
hen the whole river is closed up to
lellfishing."
He and Smigiel said local
lellfishermen are hoping the state
ill reopen some local waters soon,
id at least by Oct. 15, when the fall
rster season begins.
The state closed 153 acres of the
ver above Genoes Point in midiigust,
citing concentrations of fecal
iliform bacteria?the indicator us(See
RIVER, Page 2-A)
'er-Crowded
r the (prison) population emergenr."
Guth explained that the state's
mergency Prison Population
abilization Act was triggered on
ug. 10, when the prison system's
ipulation exceeded 17,460 for more
an a 15-day period. The act retired
the department to reduce the
ison population to 17,280 on or
?fore Oct. 9. That figure was reachI
on Aug. 21.
As a result of the overcrowding, a
eater number of inates?including
Roberts?became
igible for parole. "The pool is ex(See
ROBERTS, Page 2-A)
For App?
remature due to the absence of a
gned judgment. "Submission of the
ial judge's statements as to what he
ill fin/1 nnJ ' ? *
?i4 4.4HV4 aim uiuui 15 HOI
ifficient...Ms. Guyton wrote in
>r objections.
The plaintiffs, in turn, requested
at Briggs rule on the objections
incerning the appeal. That matter
as resolved when Briggs signed the
dgment in the original case, Jergan
said Monday.
Briggs' written judgment orders
at Ocean View Boulevard within
olden Beach West is a private right-way
"over which the public has aclired
no prescriptive easement, nor
ly other rights."
The judge concludes that there was
> dedication of Ocean View
mlevard to public use. Also, as
)uld be required to establish a
escriptive easement, the plaintiff's
;r Days Ahead
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25c Per Copy
Robbery
Suspect*
Man's N
BY RAHN ADAMS
No arrests were reported as of
Tuesday afternoon in connection with
the weekend murder of a Shallotte
area businessman who was shot in
what authorities believe was a robbery
and arson.
According to Brunswick County
QHoriffc Ponf OV-i I1 Dn?M> *!-? ?
uu^iul _> uap. Jt~ mi L CHJ', U1C uuuy
of Darwin Kingsley "King"
Freeman, 74, of Route 7, Shallotte,
was found by Grissettown-Longwood
firefighters early Sunday morning at
Anchor Lumber Company on U.S. 17
south of Shallotte.
"We're investigating all angles at
this time," Perry said Monday. "The
way we're looking at it, it's possibly a
robbery motive."
anerin s uei. unasay waiton, wno
is handling the investigation with
assistance from the SBI, said late
Tuesday morning that authorities
have "nothing at this point," in terms
of having definite suspects in the
case.
The sheriff's department has
notified law enforcement agencies in
North Carolina and South Carolina of
the murder, to find out if similar incidents
have happened elsewhere,
Walton added.
Freeman, who was owner and
manager of Anchor Lumber, lived in
an efficiency apartment located at
the rear of the office building. The
fire was reported by a newspaper
carrier who spotted flames from the
highway Sunday around 3:30 a.m.,
Perry said.
Walton said minor fire damage
was confined to the living area,
although the entire building sustained
heat and smoke damage.
T-l! f. -tl -? ?
r lrengniers discovered freeman's
body as they checked the building.
The body was not burned.
Shallotte Firefk
%
. Show Equipme
Aea residents shouldn't be alar
members of the Shallotte Volunteer 1
trucks gathered at Hill's parking lol
Chances are good that they won
Instead, the volunteers will be si
this Saturday during a membership
from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Fire Chief Tim Carter said the
recruit more firefighters and make tl
ment's role.
Firefighters will be around all d?
is used in fighting fires, he said.
Carter also said the departmenl
prizes" with a drawing every half
local merchants, he said.
Refreshments will also be avail;
The rain date is Saturday, Oct.)
I In West E
use of the property was not continuous
for 20 years and was not confined
to a "definite and specific line
of travel," the decision states.
In his findings of fact, Briggs notes
that all construction and
maintenance costs for the street
were paid by Holden Beach Enterprises
or the previous owner, Holden
Beach Realty Corporation.
Also, "neither the Town of Holden
Beach nor any other public authority
has ever provided anv
money?including Powell Bill
funds?or equipment to construct or
maintain" the street, and the town
"has never authorized or enforced
any traffic regulations in the subdivision
nor erected any traffic signs" on
the street.
Briggs points out that town commissioners
never received an "express
offer of dedication" for the subi
, Page 6-A
Iday, 9-B
36 Pages, 3 Sections
Arson
ed In
lurder
The victim, whose hands and feet
had been tied behind him, was found
on the floor in a doorway between the
office and living area, said
Brunswick County Coroner Greg
White.
The coroner said an autopsy, which
was performed Monday morning at
the regional pathologist's office in
Jacksonville, determined that
Freeman died of a single .22-caliber
gunshot wound to the left side of his
head.
"There were no other obvious injuries,
other than the gunshot
wound," White said.
He added that the autopsy also indicated
that Freeman died prior to
the fire, because there were no signs
of carbon monoxide in the body. He
estimated that the time of death was
around 3 a.m. Sunday?about 30
minutes before the fire was reported.
SBI Assistant District Supervisor
Fred McKinney said Tuesday that an
on-the-scene inspection by one of his
agents indicated that the fire was intentionally
set with a "petroleumbased
accelerant." He noted that
samples from the crime scene were
being sent to the SBI laboratory in
Raleigh for testing.
As of late Tuesday morning,
authorities had not determined what,
if anything, had been stolen from the
business due to damage from the
fire. However, Walton said investigators
are "going on the
assumption that something was
taken."
According to the detective,
Freeman was last seen alive by his
employees Saturday around 5 p.m.
when Anchor Lumber closed for the
weekend. Walton said the employees
noticed nothing out of the ordinary
when they left work.
rjhters
nt To Public
med this weekend when they see
5"ire Department and its fleet of red
: in Shallotte.
't be fighting any fires there,
lowing off the department's trucks
drive equipment display scheduled
s main purpose of the event is to
he public more aware of the departly
to show the equipment and how it
t will be giving away a "boohoo of
hour. The prizes were donated by
able.
J, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
End Case
division street. The judgment also
outlines the various means?a log,
cable, farm gate, sign and finally the
guardhouse?that Holden Beach
Realty and Holden Beach Enterprises
had used since 1963 to restrict
public traffic on the private street. I
In addition, the decision states that
"any paths within the subdivision existing
prior to the road construction
in 1978 were temporary in nature;
curved around the shifting sand
dunes, and were frequently
obliterated by the processes of
nature."
Jernigan, however, told the Beacon
Monday that he feels the plaintiffs
"made an excellent showing that
there had been continual use of that
area by the public," to justify the
street's identification as a public
right-of-way.
H 11 r i I i l