I Trojans Take on R
II Occupancy Tax con
yur H
I SPRINGP0R1
VARNAMTOWN MAYOR TRACIE VARNUM takes the
last Thursday from Brunswick County Clerk of Court Dii
i BOARD TAKES OATH
Varnamtown Boc
Storting From Scr
, i
BY DOUG RUTTER
"As.yon know, we begin our work at ground zero lev
> money, no land and no building in which to do our work
"But we have you, the good citizens of the comn
believe we can depend on you to help us with our work.'
With those reassuring words from Mayor Trade Var
story of the Town of Varnamtown?a municipality begui
notliing but the closeness of its people.
After gathering last Thursday in Dixon Chapel Un
Church fellowship hall and taking the oath of office fr
County Clerk of Court Diana Morgan, the mayor and boa
traveled the short distance down Varnamtown Road to
Folly River. There about a dozen residents captured on
munity's first moments as an incorporated town.
The historic community situated on the west bank of
Folly River near Holden Beach became a town following
the results of a Sept. 20 referendum. When the ballots w
total of 102 voters favored incorporation while 75 oppose
In addition to Mayor Varnum, Aldermen Marion
Robinson, John David Dawson, Ennis Swain and Ada IV
inelollorl 10 of Timnlr on ?ff!?:?l?
^ ummiuvu mot, ao IUVC11 UlUUIdib,
Meeting back at the church, the board set its first ol
for Monday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Gospel Center B
Board members also agreed they will probably have tc
month for the first few months and possibly switch to or
month once things are running smoothly.
While no action was taken last week, aldermen gav<
tion they plan to take an active role in helping to :
shellfishing industry which has recently taken a turn foi
In August, the state closed 153 acres of the Lockwood
shellfishing because of high counts of fecal coliform t
water. A proposed marina to be situated near one of the I
(See VARNAMTOWN, Page 2-A)
REGISTRATION ENDS OCT. 10
County Anficif
27,000-Plus Qi
I
BY SUSAN USHER
Voter registration is expected to top 27,000 for the
>? Nov. 0 general election by the time the books close on
p M< ' ay, Oct. 10.
is of Sept. 20, there were 26,709 people registered to
vote, according to Brunswick County Board of Elections
Supervisor Lynda Britt, up approximately 500
since the Presidential Primary last spring.
"Even with the cancelations I'm quite sure we're
going to have over 27,000 by the deadline," she said.
I^st week employees pulled approximately 100
names from the rolls because of deaths or commissions
of a felony. During the same time period, 400 registrations
were added. "There's been a lot of them," said
Britt.
In these latest registrations, she said no trends
u/prn nntioonK1 r? "Ti'n o ?#* ?!?? ~ ''
nviw nw?iw??wie. iv o a 1UXI iy CVCI1 1111X11116.
Of the 25,322 registered as of April with one major
party or another, 17,182 were registered as Democrats
and 8,140 as Republicans.
The books are open now for more than registrations.
Persons who have moved and not transferred
^ their registration to the new precinct will have to go to
the Board of Elections office in Bolivia to vote.
Changes of address within the same precinct,
changes of names or changes in party affiliation can
wl:Y
lirmont Here Friday
ling At Holden? Pag
inii im
Shallotte, North Carolina,
Ell District A
| % i
P iflri InMurde
<"8b T ^ BY RAHN ADAMS
| The final chapter in what
authorities believe was a double
murder case linking Wilmington and
Grissettown will be written beginning
next week in Bolivia, as an Ash
^ man?already sentenced to die for
the first murder?goes on trial for the
second slaying.
Jury selection in the first-degree
murder trial of Rayford Clayton
Piver, 43, of Route 1, Ash, is scheduled
to begin Monday during a special
session of Brunswick County
Superior Court Judge Henry V.
'ma \ Barnette Jr. will preside.
Piver is accused of the Oct. 6,1987,
affljshooting death of 31-year-old Wilmington
resident Michael Baker,
"'""'iter whose bodywas found near u s-17 at
oath of office Grissettown within hours after Piver
ana Morgan shot and kiUed 32-year"old Ni<*
Patelos outside a Wilmington bar.
Both victims were Wilmington
residents.
In March, Piver was convicted of
J first-degree murder in the Wilmf
I CS ington case. At the close of the twoweek
trial in New Hanover County
Superior Court, jurors deliberated
"Off?r nearly 5M- hours before they
decided that Piver should die foi
Patelos' murder.
, . Judge Bradford Tillery set Piver'!
e ' e ave no execution date for May 20. However
" .. . as with any death sentence, the cas<
?,un an we was automatically appealed to th<
. _ .. N.C. Supreme Court. Local defense
... ,fan . ? attorney Michael Ramos said Mon
a literally with day that the appeal is stm pending
ited Methodist Piver is represented in the
om Brunswick Brunswick County trial by Ramos
rd of aldermen ant* Rex Gore. Assistant District Atthe
Lockwood torneys Napoleon Barefoot Jr. and
film the com- Tommy Hicks will prosecute the
case, according to District Attorney
the Lockwood Michael Easley.
certification of "The state will be seeking the
ere counted, a death penalty in this case," Easley
d the idea. ' said Monday. He added that the trial
Davis, Roger should last approximately two
IcDonald were weeks, with jury selection expected
to take about half of that time
fficial meeting because questioning is more extenaptist
Church. sive in a capital case.
) meet twice a The prosecution's use of evidence
le meeting per from New Hanover County trial
will depend on how Barnette rules or
i every indica- "evidentiary questions" raised by
save the local the defense, Easley said.
- the worse. "It's not 6oinfi to make it (Piver's
Folly River to defense) any easier," Ramos said ol
lacteria in the the defendant's conviction in the firsl
)est oyster and murder. "That gives the state one
more aeeravatine factor under thf
I statute."
)ates
jalified Voters
also be filed with the Brunswick County Board of Elections.
Would-be voters can register or make other
changes at the Board of Elections office or driver's
license examiner's office at the Government Center in
Bolivia, or at any branch of the Brunswick County
Library until closing time Monday, or with with
precinct officials or any of approximately 30 special
registration commissioners who live throughout the
county "any time you can find them" through midnight
Monday.
The forms have to either be in the Board of Elec
tions ottice by Tuesday or postmarked that day.
To register to vote in Brunswick County and to
cancel registration elsewhere, a voter needs to have
available information on the state, county and precinct
where they most recently voted, aas well as the county
and state of their birth.
"Very few people know what precinct they voted
in," pointed out Marcus Mintz, who handles voter
registration at the West Brunswick Branch Library.
However, they can still register without that specific information.
Youths who are age 17 but will be 18 by the date of
the election are eligible to register.
(See 27,000-PLUS, Page 2-A)
i
1^*
e 9-a
ThlJrsHfiv Ortfihor A TORP
ttorney Will,
r Trial Set To
Testimony concerning the Baker
murder was used against Piver in the B
Wilmington case, as prosecutors at- d'
tempted to show that the two killings n
were related. Brunswick County lc
i lawmen including Det. Sgt. David 0
Crocker, who arrested Piver follow- s|
ing the murders, testified in the New a1
Hanover County trial in March. ci
hi
Both Easley and Ramos said they g
do not feel selection of an impartial
jury will be difficult despite publicity it
of the murders and the New Hanover tr
County trial. A defense motion for lc
change of venue in the Brunswick ai
County trial was withdrawn several S
months ago. s<
"Logistically, that (moving the
trial) would put a big burden on us," c<
Ramno coirJ "Va?* * ? it?*:
*?utuuo daiu. 1UU nave IU >VCigU Uldl U
against the benefits you might get." ti
Vacationer
i Will Pay R<
BY SUSAN USHER
3 Vacationers at Sunset Beach wiU pa
> cent on their room bills starting Jan. 1,
1 an extra $15 for a cottage that rents for
Following a public hearing Monda;
: council agreed unanimously to levy a 3
' modations tax effective Jan. 1. The onlj
ing the hearing was among council men
! It was on A1 Odom's motion that the t
: third in Brunswick County to levy the ta:
Isle Beach and Yaupon Beach,
i Details of how the occupancy ta:
ministered will be worked out during tl
months and the town attorney will dra
resolution reflecting the board's position
i Under local legislation adopted by tl
Assembly last summer, the room tax w
1 gross receipts derived from renting any
? now subject to the state sales tax and rent
I cottages, even if they are rented for les
! Operators of the businesses will be requir
tax for the town, remitting it monthly.
However, most of the discussion
s members Monday night centered on h(
I l i t ii? i- i ? '
i gentudieu uy me rax snouia De used, not 1
i A brief, but sharp, exchange betwee
' began when Councilman Ed Gore said
town should specify how the money woult
i adopting the tax.
f "It needs to go entirely toward pro
t and for the people who will use those unit
i gesting that too little of the funds collect
! ing Ocean Isle Beach are used for tourisi
"That's not right," he added after C
VIC SARTELLE (left) of Brierwood Es
formerly of Horry County, S.C., reglste
Nov. 8 election, his first in Brunswick (
with the paperwork at the West Bru
* Kids Have
Cameron Kinlaw, one of 31
Day sponsored Saturday by
shows member Dennis Neal
the prize for the smallest fis
story on are Page 9-C.
25c Per Copy 34 P<
Ask Death
Begin AAoi
Ramos said he feels prospective
irors probably don't remember
2tails of the case, even though they
light have read or heard about the
cal murder after it occurred last
ctober. Easley also noted that projective
jurors who were exposed to
ccounts of the local murder still
ould be chosen as long as they
aven't formed an opinion on Piver's
uilt or innocence.
The district attorney's office inially
planned to hold the murder
ial during the summer. However,
ical prosecutors decided to wait for
n interpretation of a recent U.S.
UDreme Hnnrt Hprisinn hofnro
:heduling the trial.
Easley explained that the high
Durt ruling involved judges' instrucons
to jurors in capital cases. About
tree weeks ago, the N.C. Supreme
s At Sunse
x>m Tax I*
commodations b
iy an extra 3 per- what they do, bv
the equivalent of Councilwom
$500 a week. that tourism is
y night the town protection and
percent accom- rupted twice, sa
' discussion dur- to let her finish
ibers. you're going to s
own became the She replied s
*, juumig wucan 11 suiue you aire.
Mr. Gore."
t is to be ad- Members gei
he next several support tourism i
iw up a formal with Kathy H. Pi
Beach "may be s
le N.C. General Sunset Bead
'ill apply to the $70,000 in room t
type of lodging Mayor Mason Be
al of houses and identified in the I
s than 15 days. As town atto
ed to collect the local bill providir
ed, that is, onlj
among council These include thi
)w the revenue tion, public facili
low to collect it. waste and sewag
n two members of waterfront ero
he thought the The funds ca
1 be used before vided by the tow
services promot
moting tourism benefits by enha
s," he said, sug- and provide for t
ed by neighborm.
A fourth Bi
)cean Isle's ac- Beach, is conside
tates, Shallotte, Library is Marci
:rs to vote in the nephew, Trey D
County. Helping time,
inswiek Branch
Flshin' Day!
youngsters who fished in a Kids
the Brunswick Bassmasters Club,
y the half-ounce brim that shared
h caught. More pictures and the
t#sn
ages, 3 Sections, Plus Inserts
i Penalty
nday
Court determined that no changes
are necessary in the state's current
handling of murder cases for it to
comply with the federal ruling,
Easley said.
Piver's death sentence in the New
Hanover County trial came only
eight months after his release on July
7,1987, from the N.C. Department of
Corrections on a 1973 murder conviction.
According to court records in
Brunswick and New Hanover coun
lies, river was given a au-year prison
sentence after he was convicted of
armed robbery and second-degree
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.
?t Beach
\/ ?
IUJI
ix budget was reviewed. "That may be
it it could be challenged."
lan Minnie Hunt attempted to point out
boosted by provision of adequate police
other services. However, Gore interying
"That's just coloring it." Refusing
, he continued, "I already know what
ay."
hortly, "Then I guess I don't need to say
ady know everything I'm going to say,
lerally agreed the tax should be used to
and the town's ability to serve tourists,
2ed agreeing with Gore that Ocean Isle
itretching the use of it."
ti anticipates receiving approximately
axes during the coming calendar year,
irber said, and use of the funds will be
nidgets.
rney Michael Isenberg pointed out, the
ig for the tax spells out how it can be usr
for "tourism-related expenditures."
i "criminal justice system, fire protecties
and utilities, health facilities, solid
e treatment and the control and repair
sion."
nnot be used for services normally pron
on behalf of its citizens "unless these
e tourism and enlarge its economic
ncing the ability of the town to attract
ourists."
-unswick County community, Holden
:ring levying the tax starting March 1.
[ vWPpi'
f
f
STAFF
js Mintz. Sartelle's wife, Susanne, and
usenbury, also signed up at the same
*1'