LAWS TO GET TOUGHER
Taking More Than 7,000
Flytraps Nets $50 Fines
BY TKRRY POPE
Three men caught taking more
than 1,000 rare Vcnus's flytraps
from the Green Swamp in April
were sentenced in Brunswick Coun
ty District Court last week.
Had the men been sentenced next
week, their S50 fines could have
been as high as 52,000 under stiffer
penalties that go into effect June 1.
Three men pleading guilty last
week to taking protective plants
from game lands and trespassing on
game lands for purposes other than
fishing or trapping were: Clevie
Shelton Hcwctt Jr., 44, of Route 3,
Shallottc; Carl Henry Hcwett, 32, of
Route 3, Shallotte; and Steven D.
Juan Woods, 37, of Brooks Drive,
Seaside.
Judge Jerry A. Jolly sentenced
the men to 30 days in jail, suspend
ed for two years, and ordered that
they each pay the maximum fine al
lowed by current state law, $50, and
court costs of S51 each. They were
also ordered not to violate any laws
for two years.
According to warrants filed at the
Brunswick County Clerk of Court's
office, the men were arrested by
N.C. Wildlife Officers Milton Mc
Lean and Raymond May on April 4
after the men were spotted leaving
the Green Swamp off N.C. 21 1 with
a number of flytraps.
Officers conducted a two-hour
stakeout of land belonging to the
Nature Conservancy and stopped
the men as they rode their bicycles
out of the swamp. The rare plants
had been packed into plastic bags
and tucked into the men's shirts,
McLean reported.
Clevie Heweu was accused of
taking 488 plants, Carl Hewett with
277 plants and Woods with 297
plants. The men were released after
posting S350 bond each.
The flytraps were confiscated and
replanted on Nature Conservancy
property in the Green Swamp by
conservancy workers and volunteers.
The insect-eating Venus's flytrap
grows naturally in the Green Swamp
and other wetland areas within a 75
mile radius of Wilmington. In the
spring, the plants produce a rising
stem of blossoms that make them
easier for poachers to spot.
The flytraps retail at garden shops
for up to S6 each. Illegal poaching
has threatened the species and has
also led the state to impose stricter
penalties for stealing them from pri
vate property or protected areas.
Current state law makes it a mis
demeanor to remove the plants from
STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
SPRING BLOSSOMS on the
rare Venus's flytrap make the
plant more visible for poachers
in Brunswick County's Green
Swamp.
someone else's property, with pen
allies ranging from $10 to $50 in
fines.
Starting June 1, a minimum fine
of $100 will be imposed for a first
offense and $500 fine for a second
offense. The maximum fine will in
crease to SI ,000 in either case.
In addition, the N.C. Plant Con
servation Board can also request a
hearing and assess a civil penalty of
up to 52,000 against each offender.
Men Drown In Boat Mishap
(Continued From Page 1-A)
From his vehicle on the beach,
Logan radioed directions to the res
cue boat in the water. Sgt. Carl
Pearson of the sheriff's department
spotted the third victim from the
airplane.
The rescue boat returned to shore
with the three bodies around 6:35
p.m. and the rescue squad transport
ed them to the hospital.
All three victims were picked up
within a few hundred yards of each
other, and none of them were wear
ing life jackets. Logan said the two
men whose names were not released
Tuesday were approximately 28 and
32 years old.
A U.S. Coast Guard marine res
cue helicopter from Morehead City
arrived at 6:25 p.m.
The sunken boat had not been lo
cated by the time the victims were
taken to the hospital.
Vamum said Richardson was "in
a mild state of shock" when he was
transported to the hospital. "He said
the boat sank right out from under
them and they couldn't bail it out."
Owens had been camping with
his wife at Waterway Campground
at Brick Landing, where he was a
frequent visitor, according to camp
ground manager Dallas Hoover.
Hoover said the three other men
were not staying at the campground.
They arrived Monday night looking
for Owens and returned Tuesday to
go fishing in his boat.
Coastline VRS Chief Kathleen
Jacobs and Logan commcndcd the
rescue boat team and all of the peo
ple who helped from the beach.
Keith Logan, Kevin Mulholland,
Larry Abel, Scott Varnum and
Darren McDaniel manned the res
cue boat. "We couldn't have found
everybody without their help,"
Logan said.
The drowning was the first to oc
cur this year in the South
Brunswick Islands. A Yaupon
Beach man working on a commer
cial fishing boat drowned May 16
after he was lost overboard near
Bald Head Island.
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Calabash Council Handles Routine Business
Calabash Commissioners spent two hours
Tuesday night dealing with routine business be
fore going behind closed doors for an update
from their attorney on several ongoing legal
matters.
Mayor Pro tem George Anderson presided in
the absence of Mayor Douglas Simmons.
Commissioner Phyllis Manning is out of town.
In open session the board identified July 17
as the target date for a public hearing on a batch
of proposed ordinances.
Included would be proposed regulations on
off-street parking, landscaping and subdivisions
that were pulled before a public hearing earlier
this year.
Also due to go to public hearing are zoning
related proposals on topics such as peddling and
hawking, sidewalk sales, streets and ditches and
procedures relating to issuance of minor CAMA
permits.
The town board referred to the planning
board development of guidelines for paving
streets on a property owner participation plan,
as is common in adjacent towns. This policy or
ordinance would outline how residents could
petition to have their street paved and set out
the rules for assessing property owners at a rate
that cannot exceed 50 percent of the project
cost. The town would pay the other half.
In the past the town has only used Powell Bill
funds from the state for paving, said Town
Clerk Janet Thomas.
Commissioner Stuart Thorn said the town al
so needs to take to hearing an ordinance govern
ing enforcement and penalties as part of its gen
eral ordinances, those rules governing matters
other than planning and zoning.
Other Business
In other action the board also:
?Heard from Tom Brendgord, chairman of the
planning and zoning board, that he and other
volunteers could have a revised map of the ex
traterritorial map ready for filing within two
weeks, which would clear the way for appoint
ment of representatives of the extraterritorial
area to town boards.
?Accepted a low bid of 52,996 from Major
While Construction Co. of Ash to install pipe
and two catch basins and slope the ditch in front
of town hall to state specifications. The high bid
was for S4.800.
?Authorized Mrs. Thomas to take steps to hire
a secretary to handle minutes at meetings of the
planning and zoning board and board of adjust
ments, advertising if necessary.
?Refused Paul Martin's request for the town to
mow both sides of the ditch in front of his house
at 12 Bayberry Circle. Citing a survey, Martin
said it was the town's property, adding, " And
I'm not going to take care of something that's
not mine." Standard mowing area for the town
is from the shoulder of the street to the center of
the ditch. Martin said he doesn't want to cut
grass on the steep bank of the ditch, which he
isn't allowed to pipe and fill in under Carolina
Shores deed restrictions. The ditches arc intend
cd to both move and store water. Commissioner
Jon Sanborn noted.
?Heard routine committee reports.
?Accepted the resignation of Phil Nardoci from
the planning and zoning board and appointed
Bruce Bunt to fill the District 2 vacancy.
?Referred to the planning and zoning board a
proposed ditching project in the extraterritorial
zone that would require an extensive permitting
process that Commissioner Jon Sanbom indicat
ed the county does not plan to pursue.
?Saw plans for an "Experience the Real
Calabash" billboard that will be crcctcd by the
40-member Calabash Merchants Association
near Coquina Harbor in Horry County, S.C.
?Discussed the need for a drainage pipe be
neath a cul-de-sac in Carolina Shores. In peri
ods of heavy rainfall, water flows onto adjacent
property, said Commissioner Thorn. "It's just
something we inherited," he said. In most cases,
piping was installed during construction of the
dead-end stteets in the subdivision.
?Concurred with Sanborn that the planning
board can spend up to S500 from the current
budget on supplies such as file cabinct, a video
tape on planning, literature and a marker board.
?Heard from Sanborn that the county mosquito
control crew is to spray with Malathion next
week.
?Reminded members of the public hearing on
the proposed 1991-92 budget set Wednesday,
June 5, at 7 p.m. at the fire station.
Recession Just One Reason For State's Problem
How did North Carolina end up
with such a serious budget deficit
this year?
Rep. David Redwine says the re
cession is just one of a number of
factors for the current budget defi
cit, which exceeds SI billion.
The decline in state revenues be
gan three years ago, he said, citing
Figures provided by David Crotls, the
legislature's chief revenue analyst.
Other contributing factors include
the legislature's commitment to sev
eral long-range programs such as
the 10- year, S800-million Basic Ed
ucation Program (BEP) without in
creasing taxes or cutting other pro
grams.
Revenue growth and a healthy
budget surplus in the past covered
such commitments, but now the sur
plus is gone and revenues are lag
ging, says Redwine.
Income and sales tax make up the
bulk of state revenues; in a reces
sion collections drop sharply.
Aggravating the situation is the
stale's adoption of the federal struc
ture for its income tax. Redwine
said this removed 700,000 low-in
come citizens from the tax rolls and
also caused an unanticipated dip of
up to S85 million in revenues be
cause it changed the way certain
corporations are taxed.
The state embarked on a "pay-as
you-go" capital construction pro
gram in the mid-80s that required
tax increases, said Redwine, but did
little to increase the General Fund
balance.
Also, he said, much of the growth
in state budget expenditures has
come in areas that the state has little
discretionary control over, such as
health care and corrections. As the
federal share of the state budget
continues a decade-long decline,
federal mandates for state spending
have increased.
Medicaid is one example: The
state's share has been rising at a rate
of 17 percent a year since 1985-86
and is expected to reach $627 mil
lion in 1992-93 ? a threefold in
crease in just seven years.
Court decisions have also forced
r
increased spending in other areas,
such as care for "Willie M" adoles
cents. The threat of a court mandat
ed federal takeover of operation of
the prison system has been "a driv
ing force" in increased spending in
that area, said Rcdwine.
In recent years. Red wine said the
stale has also used windfalls and
other "one-time gimmicks" to meet
recurring expenses. One example: A
delaying of the last payroll of the
fiscal year so that it falls in the next
fiscal year, as requested by the gov
ernor.
"The bottom line is that the state
now faces the river of red ink that
has been rising behind a dam of ac
counting maneuvers," said Rcdwine.
Hard Times Prompt Review
On the plus side, Redwine said
hard times are prompting legislators
and state officials to take a new look
at how the state budget is adopted
and to consider some changes.
A few of the suggestions inluce
adopting more conservative revenue
forecasting methods; establishing a
permanent rainy day fund; and pro
hibiting the use of one-time rev
enues to fund the operating budget.
Revised deficit figures presented
to the legislature last week indicate
the need to cut another S276.4 mil
lion to maintain a continuation bud
get of more than S8 billion, said
Rcdwine. That would be in addition
to the $375. 1 million in cuts already
identified by the Apprcpritions
Committees.
The governor is proposing sever
al options to satisfy the deficit:
1) Reduce to state contributions
to the employee retirement system;
2) Introduce an early retirement
program, making 28 years of ser
vice equal to 30.
3) Reduce the hiring level for po
sitions vacated by retirees by 30 per
cent, excluding public school teach
ers;
4) Eliminate 1,827 non-teaching
positions;
5) Increase court cost fees in the
judicial system;
6) Increase tuition for students in
the state university and community
college systems;
7) Eliminate sales tax paid by
state government.
In a related measure. Rep. Frank
E. Rhodes has introduced H.B. 921,
which would eliminate state budget
subsidies for out-of-state students
enrolled in the state university sys
tem, for an estimated savings of S58
million dollars based on enrollment
figures for the current year.
Redwine said legislators will be
considering the governor's propos
als and other options as they try to
adopt a 1991-93 budget. They have
three choices, he said: Cut expens
es; raise taxes or cut expenses and
raise taxes.
Anyone with comments or ques
tions about the budget can contact
Redwine at 919-733-5787, or by
writing him at Room 632, Legisla
tive Office Building, Raleigh, N.C.
27603-5925.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
McCoy Returns From Operation
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class
Robert V. McCoy, son of Bruce and
Connie Taylor of Route 5, Shallotte,
recently returned from deployment
to the Middle East in support of
Operation Desert Storm.
McCoy served aboard the frigate
USS Thomas C. Hart, which is
homeported in Norfolk, Va. He
joined the Navy in February 1988.
Caster Honored
Rhonda Caster is Bolivia Ele
mentary School's Teacher of the
r ? sm Year for 1991 .
, She has four
years of experi
ence teaching
' first grade and
has gained the
release indicated.
She is an active member of the
National Association of Educators.
Sugg Represented Library
Trustee Matilda R. Sugg of Oak
Island represented the Brunswick
County Public Library system at the
24th annual North Carolina Public
Library Trustee Conference in
Winston-Salem recently.
CASTER
respect of her
coworkers by
conscious atten
tion to her job
and her pleasant
attitude, a news
Speakers addressed the theme
Getting the Message Across. Mrs.
Sugg the "message" is thai, in order
to meet the demands on public li
braries from increasing populations
and troubled schools, increased ap
propriations at the state, county and
municipal level are necessary.
"Therefore," she said, "people
who care about education and li
braries must urge their elected offi
cials to support such efforts this
year and in coming years."
Speakers included Howard Mc
Ginn, state librarian; and John
Tyson, Virginia state librarian; and
David G. Brown, provost of Wake
Forest University.
Reports For Duty
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class
Samuel V. Boyd, son of Dorothy D.
and Samuel V. Boyd Sr. of
Shallotte, recently reported for duty
at Naval Submarine Training Center
Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
He joined the Navy in June 1985.
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