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local law enforcement agencies find ways
to benefit from the national military down
sizing. Page 11-A
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Aaron Butler and Emily Gore are named
senior athletes of the year at the WBHS
sports awards reception. Page 10-B
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Local anglers are bringing in decent catches
of spot and flounder as the water warms
and the crowds gather. Page 8-C.
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Thirty-First Year, Number 29 ? THI MoNSWiCt MACON Shallotte, North Corolino, Thursday, June 10, 1993 50? Per Copy 36 Pages, 3 Sections, 1 Insert
rot met Lincoln
Manager Set
To Interview
For Post Today
BY KRIC CARLSON
Albert Sharp Jr., a former manag
er of two North Carolina counties
and past teacher at UNC-Wilming
ton, will be the fourth candidate to
be interviewed for the job of Bruns
wick County manager at a recessed
commissioners' meeting today
(Thursday).
In a telephone interview from his
home in Lincoln County, Sharp said
Tuesday that he is "very familiar"
with the coastal area. He said that
while teaching at UNCW, he and his
wile lived in Wilmington and
Wrightsvillc Beach for more than
three years. Sharp's parents live in
New Bcm.
"We would love to come back to
the coast," he
Last December, Sharp gave notice
of his intention to resign after eight
years as Lincoln County Manager.
Calling the decision a "lifestyle
change," Sharp said his departure
was "an amicable parting" during
which he continued working until
late April while the county commis
sioners selected a new manager.
Sharp described Lincoln Coun
ty?population 52,000?as a diverse
area extending from the Charlotte
suburbs of Lake Norman to the ap
ple orchards of the western foothills.
He said the county is similar to
Brunswick in that both arc experi
encing rapid growth with an expand
ing retiree population.
Asked to describe his accomplish
ments as Lincoln County manager.
Sharp said he has overseen only one
tax increase in six years while the
collection rate increased by 5 per
cent. During his tenure, he said
Lincuiu established a county-wide
water system, adopted a merit-based
personnel policy and passed suc
cessful sewer and school bond rcfcr
endums.
Before taking his most rcccnt po
sition, Sharp said he was hired as the
first manager of Granville County,
where he worked from 1974 to
(See FINAL, Page 2-A)
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Obituaries
Opinion .4-5A
People In The News 5B
Plant Doctor 3B
Sports 9-12B
Television 10-11C
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STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CARLSON
Science Class
iMmar Jones (left) and Roy Stephens, both of Ash, examine the contents of a cast net tossed into the
Intracoastal Waterway at Ocean Isle Beach. They were members of an eighth-grade class from
Waccamaw School that spent a morning studying coastal ecosystems with science teacher Ellen
Milligan.
High Court Decision Paves Way
For Student Prayer At Graduation
BY SUSAN USHER
A studcni-led prayer was to be allowed Wednesday
night, June 9, at South Brunswick High School, as
Brunswick County's three high schools held simultane
ous commencement exercises at 7 p.m.
Senior Jason Lanier of Bolivia's Mill Creek commu
nity, an honor student who is considering a career in the
ministry, was chosen by South Brunswick High School's
student graduation committee to lead the prayer.
It was Lanier who had originally proposed a prayer or
blessing as pan of the ceremony. He had a petition
showing support from almost the entire senior class for
the request, which was denied by the school's principal
and had not been heard yet by the county school board
when the latest federal court decision relating to prayer
at graduation was handed down Monday.
He was initially told the school system couldn't offi
cially sanction such a prayer because it would be in vio
lation of a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That deci
sion, in a Rhode Island case, indicated that public school
graduation prayers violated the principle of separation of
church and state.
However, a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court
Monday settled the confusion over the issue of students'
right to prayer at graduation.
The court upheld, without further comment, a lower
court decision in Texas that allowed student prayer at
graduation under certain conditions. That court decision
indicated that graduation prayer was permissible so long
as it was led by students, was non-sectarian, did not at
tempt to convert listeners, and was wanted by a majority
of the students concerned.
The Texas suit contrasted with the Rhode Island case
in that it did not involve a prayer by clergy or prayer at
the direction of the school district.
If school officials had not changed their opinion,
Lanier had intended, during the moment of silence that
was to be allowed in lieu of oral prayer, to lead seniors
in the voluntary recitation of the Lord's Prayer. He had
signatures on petitions from most of the senior class
supporting the request.
Last Wednesday, the board had planned to include the
prayer issue on the agenda of a special meeting it set
Monday, June 7, to begin cutting its budget and review
ing personnel reorganization plans.
However Chairman Donna Baxter canceled that meet
ing when the school system was invited to explain its
technology program funding request to county commis
sioners, and failed to notify reporters present at last
week's meeting of the change in plans.
At its meeting last Wednesday night, the school board
also:
?approved a one-year only contract extension for
Assistant Superintendent of Auxiliary Services William
Turner, who is in charge of facilities, maintenance,
transportation, child nutrition, warehouse and distribu
tion services.
?delayed until iLs June 14 meeting reconsideration of
the school calendar, and two alternatives. One would
have tcachcrs reporting three days earlier but not change
the start of school for students, the other would move
the start of school up to Aug. 24, with students' last day
of classes June 7,1994.
?approved on first reading a revised school personnel
policy after a three-hour work session with consulting
school law attorney Richard Schwartz of Raleigh. A sec
ond reading is required before adoption; several more
sections will be added later through separate action.
Schools' Computer
Program Proposal
Gets $1 Million
County Approval
BY ERIC CARLSON
AND SUSAN USHER
The Brunswick County Commis
sioners voted Monday to scrap a
previous board's plan for a new SI
million county warehouse and
agreed instead to spend the money
on school technology programs.
In a split vote, the commissioners
agreed to reallocate the warehouse
construction funds set aside in last
year's budget to provide for expan
sion of a fledgling program to offer
computer training in classrooms
throughout the school system.
"It's certainly not that I'm against
the schools," said Jones, explaining
his no vote. "1 am totally in support
of the schools. They just haven't
convinced me that we need comput
ers in every classroom in every
school."
Gene Zuck, the school system's
director of technology, told the com
missioners Monday night that the
computer program has "made some
good progress in past months." He
expects to have 15 to 30 work sta
tions in operation at each of the
county's 12 schools by Aug. 1.
Teachers and other school personnel
arc also being trained to use comput
ers and to teach students their use.
He said the technology funds re
quested in this year's school budget
would be used to create more stu
dent work stations, to expand the
computer network into classrooms,
libraries and administrative offices
and to hire additional computer sup
port personnel. The work is part of a
3- to 5-year plan for increasing the
school system's use of computers
and other technology for instruction,
management and communication.
This fiscal year the school board
transferred funds set aside in its
1992-93 budget for design of a new
central office to the technology pro
ject.
The N.C. Department of Public
Instruction has adopted a state cur
riculum that directs schools to offer
computer literacy education for all
grades and that will eventually re
quire students to pass a standardized
computer skills exam to receive a
high school diploma.
The SI million had been ear
marked in the current budget for
construction of a 15,000-square-foot
building at the county complex in
Bolivia. It was to have housed of
fices for the public utilities and
parks departments with storage
space for all county departments.
Architectural work has been com
pleted and the project is ready to go
to bid, said County Engineer Robert
Tucker.
"It's not a lost effort, because
those plans can be used to construct
the building in the future," he said.
"It's just a shift in priorities."
Commission Chairman Don
Warren and members Donald Shaw
and Tom Rabon voted for the pro
posed rc-allocation. Commissioner
Jerry Jones voted against it.
Clerk to the Board Kelly Barefoot
recorded the vote as 4-to-l, as did
Shaw and several members of the
audience. But according to Jones,
Commissioner Wayland Vcrcen also
voted against it
Verccn left immediately after the
meeting and was unavailable to clar
ify his vote Tuesday.
In other business the board:
?Voted unanimously to award
four construction contracts for new
branch libraries on Oak Island and
in Leland. An all-inclusive contract
for S384.000 was awarded to Luther
T. Rogers Inc. to build the library at
Yaupon Beach. Harnett Construction
Co. received a S343.208 contract for
general construction of the Leland
branch, with a S31,869 clectrical
contract to Watson Electric Co., a
S26.625 ventilation contract to
Cannon Heating and Air
Conditioning Co. and a S15.700
plumbing contract going to Kelly
Plumbing Co. All the contracted
firms are from Wilmington except
Cannon, which is based in Wilson.
? Heard a report from Operations
Services Director Derry Somcrsett
that the county landfill can be ade
quately maintained without hiring a
solid waste director. The county has
advertised to fill the S24.818 posi
tion left vacant when former director
Leo Hewett was fired last March
and later rehired in the created posi
tion of "solid waste control officer."
Interim County Manager John
Harvey said he was told to fill the
position by Commissioners
Chairman Don Warren, who report
edly polled his fellow Democrat
commissioners by telephone to es
tablish a voting majority to autho
rize the move.
?Took no action on a request for
approval of an ambulancc service
franchise for Northwest Volunteer
Emergency Medical Services Inc.
Corporation member Artis Bryant
told the board that the new volunteer
squad was needed to improve emer
gency service in an area at the north
end of the county currently served
through a cooperative arrangement
with the Acme-Delco-Riegelwood
Fire and Rescue squad from
Columbus County. Brunswick EMS
Director Doug Ledgett recommend
ed that the request be turned down,
saying that the proposed squad does
not have enough trained staff or
equipment to provide adequate ser
vice.
?Heard a progress report on the
(See COUNTY, Page 2-A)
Trial Set July 12 For First Of 2 Defendants In Evans Death
BY ERIC CARLSON "We have yet to make a decision as to who we will tainted by this publicity and speculation," the motion met Evans in the Revco parking lot and got into the car
One of the two Shallotte men accused in the abduc- try first," Bollinger said in an interview the day after he states. with him shortly after 8 p.m.; that at some point in the
lion and murder of a young Ash man last fall is sched- filed the motions to proceed with trial. District attorney Rex Gore has said that he will op- evening, one of the two defendants pulled out a pistol
ulcd to go on trial next month. But prosecutors aren't R ?. . ? . . . ?,iih r?iihor P0550 ^ moti?n to movc cither trial, noting that "there and forced Evans into the trunk; and that Evans was let
saying which case will be heard first. case and will not decide which on! lo call unUI pre-trial was not a lot of pre-mal publicity in this ca.sc " Ramos cut on the dirt,oad portly before he was shot.
Assistant District Attorney Lee Bollinger has filed ^,th h-.v,- iv? final also has saul he was prepared to proceed with Kings Brunswick County sheriff s detectives claim State
notices to proceed with the trials of both William Earl * Mjchac, Rafnos am, Slcphcn Yount have been an- Uial in Bolivia- Burcau of Investigation laboratory tests have deter
Hill. 18, of Blueberry Farm Road and Bradley Tyrone ? ' , K ? Williim Furl? inrf hmM Police say both Hill and King have given statements mined that bullets removed Irom Evans' body and shell
King, 17, of Route 1, in Brunswick County Superior j>. nc m jcj-cn(j jjjh indicating that on the night of Oct. 12, they rode to- casings found at the scene were fired from a 9mm se
Court on July 12. 1 gcther in a Honda automobile down a dirt rode and mi-automatic pistol owned by Hill.
Both men arc charged with first-degree murder, kid- As in most cases that could result in a death-penalty stopped. Both defendants said Evans was ordered out The SBI is also analyzing fingerprints found on the
napping and armed robbery in the shooting death of 20- verdict, the defense has filed numerous motions on of the trunk at gunpoint, led to the front of the car and weapon and on items recovered from Evans' car.
year-old Ronald Everett Evans, who was reported miss- their clients' behalf. Lawyers have asked the court to shot twice from behind, according to police. But each Investigators have requested that highly detailed "ma
ing after he left home to pick up dinner for himself and declare the death penalty unconstitutional, to allow the man has said that the other one pulled the trigger. jor case inked impressions" be taken from the hands of
his girlfriend at a Shallotte fast-food restaurant on the defendants freed on bond and to prohibit the district at- Evans was driving his champagnc-colored 1986 both Hill and King.
night of Oct. 12. He never returned. tomey from dismissing potential jurors on the basis of Honda Accord when he left Ash at about 7:30 that Both King and Hill could face the death penalty even
Six days later, a horseback rider found Evans' dc- race, sex, religion or because they arc uncertain about Monday night, according to police. He bought dinner at if it is never proven who did the shooting, Bollinger
composed body on a ditch bank beside a dirt road lead- imposing the death penalty. the Shallotte Burger King and took it to the Revco store said. A person convicted of committing a felony that
ing into the Green Swamp. He had been shot twice Hill's lawyers have asked that his trial be moved to on Main Street, where his girlfriend worked. results in a person's death can also be guilty of murder
from behind with a 9mm pistol. another county, claiming that Hill could not get a fair His car was found the next day in the marsh behind no matter who did the killing.
Hill and King have been held without bond in the hearing here due to local news coverage of the murder Brick Landing Golf Course. Inside was a Burger King Bollinger has overseen the local investigation into
Brunswick County Jail since they were arrested less investigation. bag with a receipt recording a purchase lime of 8 p.m., the Evans killing and is expected to be the lead prosc
than a week after Evans' body was found. Both defen- "It would be exceedingly difficult to find someone in Oct. 12. cutor at next month's trial. He said he expects lhat
dants have undergone psychological testing and expert the area who had not heard of this case, who had not Investigators say they believe King and Hill were District Attorney Rex Gore or another of his assistants
medical testimony is expected at both trials. heard opinions concerning it and who had not been planning to steal a car that night; that they allegedly will help present the state's case.