AT HOLDEN BEACH Policeman Pulls Deer From Ocean BY DOUG RUTTER A quiet day at home turned into a not-so-typical day at the beach for an off-duty Holdcn Beach police officer who waded into chilly ocean waters Sunday to come to the aid of a deer. Policeman Bill Jordan was sound asleep at his Hillside Drive residence when islanders Armand and Margaret Vasco knocked on his door shortly after noon Sunday to inform him that there was a deer on the strand. The Vascocs had just started an afternoon walk on the beach Sunday when 'hey spotted the white-tailed deer emerging from the ocean near Surf side Pavilion. "I was so startled. I just couldn't believe it," Mrs. Vasco said Monday. "All of a sudden to look up and see a deer staring at you." The couple's story didn't shock Jordan, who had seen another deer on the beach just a few weeks earli er. During the pre -Christmas snowstorm, Jordan said he saw a deer on the strand near Holdcn Beach risiling riei iiiai ioTi iiiiO uiC OCCuTi and never returned. "1 wasn't going to let that happen again." he said. After notifying fellow police officer Gary Dancy, who was on duty Sunday afternoon, Jordan and the Vascoes went to the beach to do what they could to help the deer. They decided to guide the animal toward the cast end of the island where it would have easier access to the undeveloped wooded area. Jordan said the deer slowly moved cast, coming out of the water occasion ally but running back in whenever startled. After four of five runs in and out of the ocean. Jordan said die ucci grew tired and he was able to wade in about knee deep and pick it up. "It was just exhausted," said Jordan. "It stumbied and fell and I grabbed iL" Once the deer was captured, the officer said he carried it across Ocean Boulevaid East in the vicinity of Avenue D. Blankets and a sleeping bag were used to raise the deer's body temperature. "It had the shakes really bad," said Jordan, adding that the animal had no apparent injuries. Mrs. Vasco added, "For a while, the deer didn't move at all. You almost wondered if it was going to make it" Meanwhile, a crowd of between 25 and 35 people had gathered to witness the rescue, which lasted about two hours. Most were day visitors searching for shells at the cast end of Holdcn Beach. While it recovered, Jordan said children who had gathered around were permitted to pet the animal, ...WUU AlA ?k* yy i iivi I UlU IIUV iiu*V uiv juvugui vu ivout. "It was so cute how all of the children thought it was Santa's reindeer," said Mrs. Vasco. "They all went over to pet iL" Thirty minutes in warm blankets and the sunshine apparently rejuvenated the deer, which, after a few shaky moments, darted into the brush near the east end of the island. "It was quite a scene," said Mrs. Vasco. Jordan estimated that the deer wcighr/i between 60 and 80 pounds. He said he believed it was a female and that it was relatively young based on the way it looked and behaved. Holden Campground Manager Granted Postponement Of Variance Hearing BY DOUG RIJTTER The Holdcn Beach Zoning Board of Adjustment Monday postponed a variance hearing two weeks at the request of the appellant, who said he doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize the town's flood insur ance program. Gil Bass, manager of Holden Beach Family Campground, earlier requested a variance from town code so he could rebuild the camp ground bathhouse destroyed in Hur ricane Hugo without meeting flood elevation requirements. The code would require that the bathhouse be elevated about nine feet off the ground, but Bass wants to build the structure two or three feet above the ground to provide easier access for campers. On Monday, the campground manager requested that the public hearing be delayed two weeks due lo the confusion over whether grant ing a variance wouid affect the availability of flood insurance on Holden Beach. Also, Bass said he's studying several alternatives for re building the bathhouse above the flood plain and that a variance may not be necessary. Board of adjustment members Martin Feldt, Allan Dameron, Gra ham King, Alfred Bell and Georgia Langley approved the delay after only seven minutes of discussion Monday. The board is scheduled to hold the public hearing Monday, Jan. 29, at 5 p.m. In the meantime, officials hope to get confirmation one way or the other as to whether granting the var iance would affect flood insurance on the island. The Federal Flood In surance Program allows homeown ers to purchase flood insurance if the town enforces flood elevation rules. The state coordinator of the fed eral program said in a recent inter view that granting the variance could jeopardize the town's partici pation in the flood insurance pro gram. But the town's building in spector and a regional flood insur ance official say one variance will not affect the program. Berry Williams, who coordinates the national flood insurance pro gram for the N.C. Division of Em ergency Management, said the vari ance could affect flood insurance on the island if the town has other flood elevation code yiniatinnc Williams said repeated violations " They will not do anything to jeopardize the (flood) insurance program on H olden Beach." Gil Bass, manager Holden Beach Family Campground of flood insurance guidelines in a town can lead to probation or sus pension of the program. After the program has been suspended, home owners in that community can no longer obtain federal flood insur ance and arc not eligible for federal disaster assistance. However, a federal flood insur ance otticiai has supported uie con tention of Holder. Bcach Building Inspector Dwight Carroll that grant ing the variance will not cause flood insurance problems on the island. Brad Loar, natural hazards spe cialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) re gional office in Atlanta, said grant ing one variance will not affect flood insurance if a community has a good history of following the pro gram's,objectives. "It would go on their record, and it's something we would monitor," said Loar. "Patterns of issuing vari ances could very well be detrimen tal." Loar, who works exclusively in North Carolina, said he's not aware of any existing enforcement prob lems at Holden Beach. Last year, at least three towns or counties in the state were warned about lax en forcement of the code, but none were in Brunswick County. Bass said Monday that stockhold ers of Holden Beach Fishing Pier ? which is adjacent to the camp ground ? do not want the variance if there's a chance it will harm the town's standing in the Federal Flood Insurance Program. "They will not do anything to jeopardize the insurance program on Holden Beach." Mrs. Langley, who was appointed to the board of adjustment earlier this month, proposed that the board approve the variance on the condi tion that it would not affect flood insurance on the island. She said the island needs flood incni-anr* hut that th<*. ridwlv anrl handicapped also need access to the campground bathhouse. The old re stroom that was demolished in last September's hurricane rested on a concrete slab on the ground and was built before flood elevation rules took effect. Bass has proposed building a 725-squaie-foot bathhouse with two commodes, three sinks and two siiuwa& ? imiuuuig those equipped for lite handicapped ? on cach side. He says it would serve the public better if it wasn't elevated so far off the ground. However, Williams has ques tioned whether the variance should be granted. Although it would be more expensive to build an elevated bathhouse, he said ramps can be constructed to provide adequate ac cess. The town's zoning code spells out the following four conditions that must be met for the board of adjustment to grant a variance: 1) Special conditions and circum stances exist which are peculiar to the land, structure or building in volved and which are not applicable to other land, structures or buildings in the same district 2) The special conditions and cir cumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant. 3) Literal interpretations of the provisions of the zoning code would deprive the applicant of rights com monly enjoyed by other parties in the same district. 4) Granting a variance will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied to other land, structures or buildings in the same district. Loar said he wasn't familiar enough with the facts of the case to comment on the specific variance request He said it's up to cach com munity's board of adjustment to make the decision. Referring to the general conditions for granting vari ances, Loar said, "As long as those itrmc arp met. we would not have a problem with it." Lifesaver XLM? whitewall 155/80R13 fl*g. St .10 $41.40 1I5/B0R13 jfeg. 70 JO $43.70 17SA0R13 Jtofl. 73.20 $44.90 19SOOR13 ,R*g. 75.00 $46.80 1S5/75RH fi-g.7?40 $47.70 195/75R14 (tog. 14.90 $50.90 20S/7SR14 R?g.M.50 $54.95 21S/7SR14 Itog. 90.00 $56.95 22V75R14 R?9. 95.80 $59.00 205.75 R1S Jto0.tt.9O $56.90 215/75R1S J)?g. 95.10 $58.90 225/75R15 JUg. 98.50 $60.80 235/75 R1S Jtofl. 10540 $64.70 AAimirrrn n?i ?rS) 1 01 Aviators Lane Burg aw, NC 28425 Catherine Moore, Owner Beach Hardening Issue Tops Next CRC Agenda The use of hard erosion-control structures such as seawalls, jetties and groins will be the major topic of discussion when the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) meets next week, in Atlantic Beach. The CRC converts Thursday and Friday, Jan. 25 and 26, at the Atlantic Beach Sheraton. Meetings will start at 9 a.m. both days and are open to the public. Consideration of a petition from the Town of Topsail Beach, which is seeking an amendment to the state rule that prohibits hardened erosion-control structures, will be the key item addressed by the CRC, said N.C. Division of Coastal Management spokesman Bill Keese. He said a full agenda would not be available until the middle of this week. Although it would violate a state ban on hard erosion-control struc tures, Topsail Beach is considering building a 1,010-foot terminal groin to slow erosion at the south end of I ho. hfmrh nMf Naut Tnncail Inlet. The CRC outlawed hard beach front structures in 1985, reasoning thai while seawalls, groins and jet ties reduce erosion where they are built, they tend to cause more ero sion nearby. Since Topsail Beach is working with the Army Corps of Engineers on its project, it doesn't need a state permit. However, since no permit is required, the town has no way to appeal the position of the state Division of Coastal Management, which has ruled that the project would be a violation of existing code. The rule change proposed by Topsail Beach would establish an avenue of appeal for federally-spon sored projects that include hardened erosion-control structures. The petition and proposed rule change last week gained the support of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach, which has a series of groins in place at its east end where there have been erosion problems for years. But CRC Chairman Dan Besse has already spoken out against the proposal. At a rccent meeting of the Cape Fear Sierra Club, Besse said granting Topsail Beach's request would harm the state's efforts to manage coastal erosion problems. He said this is the first major chal lenge to the state ban since it was imposed five years ago. Specifically, Topsail Beach offi cials have proposed adding a new section to the existing rule that would allow construction of hard structures if: ? The proposed erosion-control nrAi/vt ic in wcnnncA In a request from a public body and is necessary to protect or preserve a valuable public resource. ? The project is publicly-funded and will provide a significant eco nomic benefit to either the state or local governments or the region. ? The public body responsible for the project can demonstrate that the proposed erosion-control mea sures will have minimal or no ad verse impact on the environment or adjacent properties. ? All public trust rights and the free and unimpeded rights of public access shall be preserved. ORTHOPEDIC SALE Firm II Innerspring Sets Twin Full Queen *47??m. pc. ,55S0.?.Pc. s6950 ?a. pc. NO 8AQ INNERSPRINQ 1 5 YEAR WARRANTY EXTRA FIRM J1 2 COILS [Twin ? $129.95 vet Full $149.95 Mt ! 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