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,
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"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."
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Back On Top At Holden
The David Blalock home at 563 Ocean Blvd. West , Holden Beach, is looking more like its former self
these days. Ixist week, the house was set on new pilings. In October, the house had been lowered from
its old pilings, some of which cracked during Hurricane Hugo. In this photo taken Saturday, workers
with Milligan House Movers remove temporary supports from underneath the building. Prior to the
hurricane, the home was located as far oceanward as the Lonnie Small cottage pictured at left
School Board
Calls Off
Island Retreat
Brunswick County's Board of
Education is retreating from its
original plan to retreat to Bald Head
Island.
After questions were raised hy
the press regarding public accessi
bility to the island meeting, the
board has changed its plans for Jan.
20. Come 9 a.m. Saturday, instead
of boarding the Bald Head Ferry
members will hold a half-day work
session at the school system's
administrative offices at Southport.
Plans for the original retreat were
finalized at the board's Jan. meet
ing, where board member Donna
Baxter said its purpose was to dis
cuss goals and priorities for the
school system and for members to
get to know one another better.
At that meeting members learned
that since they would be discussing
school system business, the retreat
would be open to the media and to
the general public. The proposed
ij^c'udcd uiSCuSoiGn Ci wtii"
riculum, maintenance and trans
I ortation, food services and person
nel.
"I think because of the sort of
negative reaction it got, she (Mrs.
Baxter) asked me te change the
location to the school board office,"
said Superintendent John Kaufhold.
He added, "I don't know what they
had in mind. I could have told them
it had to be an open meeting."
One alternative considered was
seeking special ferry rates to the
island for those planning to observe
the meeting. However, discounts for
the $20 round-trip weren't avail
able.
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[7">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.
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