Keeping Bird Island Natural
Would Be Best, Study Claims
(Continued From Page 1-A)
Price's filing of permit applica
tions last year spurred a countcr-cf
fort to save the island. Last Sep
tember, Redwine said he was eager
to pursue state acquisition of the is
land, but would need grassroots sup
port. In response to his challenge,
the Bird Island Preservation Society
was organized under the auspices of
the N.C. Coastal Federation, and
now has a membership "pushing
1,500" from across North Carolina
and the United States, according to
Sue Wcddlc. a society officer who
lives at Sunset Beach year-round.
Among the society's first official
acts was to ask the N.C. Wildlife
Commission to study the feasibility
of it managing Bird Island as part of
its Colonial Waterbird Nesting Pro
gram.
Meanwhile, Redwine asked for
the feasibility study to gather infor
mation that would be needed to edu
cate the General Assembly and build
support among its members should
the state have the opportunity to buy
the island.
"It's an opportunity to see what
the experts say about its value," said
Redwine. "It should make an im
pression on General Assembly
members who have never heard of
Bird Island and don't liavc any idea
where it is."
For now, supporters of the is
land's public acquisition mast wait.
"I can't ask for money or begin
tapping funding sources until we
know the value of the island.
Usually the owner establishes some
sort of price, then decides if an offer
is acceptable. If she (Mrs. Price) is
interested in somebody making a
concrete offer, the only indication
we have of its value is that on the
tax books. We could go from there,
but 1 hesitate to give them a ridicu
lous figure. We really don't have
anything to discuss now in terms of
price."
The permit-seeking process is
seen as an effort by the Prices in part
to establish the island's market val
ue, which would be greatly en
hanced were development permits
available.
Family members have indicated
they would like to see the island pre
served and arc not interested in sell
ing it for development. They are
willing to consider selling the prop
erty to the state, but arc not in a po
sition to donate it for public owner
ship.
However, the study indicates, "if
they keep the property, they feel that
better supervision of its use is need
ed to prevent some of the damaging
overuse which is now taking place."
The island is currently used by
nearby residents and visitors for ac
tivities such as bird watching, fish
ing and beachcombing. The study
says heavier weekend usage may re
sult in littering and damage to sensi
tive areas that make the island un
suitable for "high-intensity rccre
ational activities".
Bird Island, the study noted, "will
become increasingly valuable to
wildlife as human activities increase
on other beaches. Residential con
struction, vehicular traffic, bcach
stabilization efforts and other activi
ties can have significant effects on
wildlife species which require beach
habitats," the study states. "The re
maining natural islands in North
Carolina will become more and
more essential for the survival of
bcach wildlife such as sea turtles,
piping plovers and colonial nesting
watcrbirds."
Bird Island is home to a number
of rare and/or vulnerable species, in
cluding scabcach amaranth, a plant;
the marked goby, a fish; and the
knobbed whelk, found in waters
around the island.
It is a potential nesting area for
sea turtles, colonial nesting water
birds and the piping plover, a feder
ally-listed threatened species which
has been known to winter over and
feed there. Endangered wood storks
also feed and rest on the island, as
do brown pelicans, glossy ibis, lildc
blue heron, snowy egret and tricol
ored heron.
The slate study also indicates that
Bird Island provides "significant op
portunities" for formal and informal
studies of coastal geological
processes, natural vegetation, wet
lands, coastal wildlife and other top
ics.
Paving Hearing Set Monday
The N.C. Department of Transportation proposes to owners.
pave just over 10 miles of Brunswick County's 121 On the residential/subdivision list, the state propos
miles of unpaved roads and streets during the fiscal es to pave Carter Street (SR), Bo Tuc Road (SR 1809),
year that begins July 1. Charlotte Avenue (SR 1821) from SR 1165 to N.C.
A public hearing on the proposed secondary road 179, Gamer Street (SR 1187) from SR 1145 to SR
construction program for the county will be held by 1188, Burgc Drive (SR 1802) from SR 1163 to SR
the DOT at the June 21 meeting of the Brunswick 1804, Dale Street (SR 1466), Shoreline Drive (SR
County Board of Commissioners, starting at 6:30 p.m. 1288) from SR 1137 to SR 1139) and Evans Circle
Projects are ranked in priority on two lists: one for (SR 1800), from N.C. 130 to the end of the state road
rural roads and one for roads in subdivisions and other way.
residential areas, according to a release from Division If right of way is not available, DOT would proceed
Engineer Doug Bowers and State Board of down the priority list to the next project for which
Transportation member Odell Williamson of Ocean right of way is available.
Isle Beach. With property owner participation, the state also
The DOT expects secondary road allocations for plans to pave Shcpard Road (SR 1534).
Brunswick County to total approximately SI.19 mil- The balance of the secondary road budget, approxi
lion. matcly S30.500, will be allocated for road additions.
On the rural list, it proposes to pave Cumbee Road contingencies and paving accessways or aprons for
(SR 1131), Albright Road (SR 1508), McKay Road volunteer fire and rescue stations.
(SR 1511) and Ellis Benton Road (SR 1502). Grand A copy of the DOT priority listings and proposed
River and Rock Creek Roads have high priority rat- expenditures is posted at the Brunswick County
ings, but right of way is not available from property Courthouse in Bolivia.
Smoking Reg
(Continued From Page 1-A)
ly to control smoking in public
places," said health board member
Dr. Bradd Kerr. "The bill proposes
that smoking be allowed in at least
50 percent of all public areas. That
means no one could have a smoke
free business."
Kerr asked the board to reconsid
er the proposed county-wide smok
ing policy that was drafted by anoth
er committee in April. The regula
tions were approved by the health
board and passed on to the county
commissioners along with another
proposal to ban smoking in county
buildings.
The commissioners adopted a
modified version of the latter set of
rules. But they took no action on the
proposal to regulate smoking
throughout the county. The board
felt that only the health department
would have the authority to enforce
such an ordinance in Brunswick
County towns, where most restau
rants and retail businesses are locat
ed.
Kerr suggested that a committee
be formed consisting of two health
board members and 10 citizens.
Board member Jeff Mintz, a dentist,
agreed to join Kerr on the commit
tee. The group will use the previous
ly adopted "Smoking Pollution
Control Ordinance" as a starting
point in their discussions, Kerr said.
Declaring that its purpose is "to
protect and promote the public
health and safety of the citizens of
Brunswick County," that ordinance
sets down what it calls "minimum
s Could Includ
standards" for regulating smoking in
public places. It would not prevent a
business owner "from prohibiting
smoking within their establishment
altogether."
Under that proposal, smoking
would be prohibited throughout the
county in all public restrooms, ele
vators. service lines, polling places
and public areas of retail stores.
Restaurant owners would be , re
quired to designate a non-smoking
area "consisting of at least 25 per
cent of the indoor seating capacity
of the restaurant."
All bars would be required to post
one of three signs, notifying cus
tomers that the establishment is ei
ther smoke-free, provides a non
smoking area or allows smoking
throughout
The original proposal also would
make employers responsible for pro
viding smoke-free areas for non
smoking employees within their
buildings and to separate employees
who smoke from those who don't
"to the maximum extent possible"
without making structural or physi
cal modifications to their businesses.
Dr. Harry Johnson questioned the
health board's ability to enforce
such an ordinance and wondered if
business owners should be made re
sponsible for policing the actions of
their customers.
The board agreed that one of the
committee's first jobs will be to con
sider enforcement methods and pro
posed penalties for violating the
smoking regulations.
Kerr plans to seek citizen volun
e Businesses
leers for the committee this week in
hopes that the group can have a
smoking ordinance prepared for
adoption at the health board's next
regular meeting July 12.
In other business. Environmental
Health Supervisor Andrew
Robinson announced that he will
meet Thursday (June 17) with mem
bers of the South Brunswick Islands
Board of Realtors to discuss the
widespread practice of renting vaca
tion cottages to thorc tenants than
the number for which tho septic tank
was designed.
The meeting will be held in the
health department conference room
at the county government complex
in Bolivia beginning at 6:30 p.m. At
least two members of the health
board are scheduled to attend.
A second meeting will be sched
uled with the Southport/Oak Island
Board of Realtors to discuss the
problem, Robinson said.
Correction
The source of six scholarships
with a combined value of $4,000
presented to West Brunswick High
School seniors last week was incor
rectly identified in a June 10 Beacon
article on the school senior awards
program.
The Dr. Kendall H. Suh Civitan
Scholarships arc given annually by
the South Brunswick Isles Civitan
Club.
The Beacon apologizes for the er
ror.
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Friday, June 18
Twin Creek Plaza
Shallotte
>1993 TMf BftUNSW)CK Bf AC.OU
DETECTIVE David Crocker of the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department examines the wreckage of
a 1993 CMC Suburban that was reported stolen in Wilmington Monday morning and was later in
volved in a chase with local deputies.
Chase Of Stolen Car Ends
In Injury For Mani, Minor
(Continued From Page 1-A)
the car missing at about 11:45 and
reported the theft to police.
Brunswick authorities were noti
fied and the 911 communications
center alerted all patrol units to be
on the lookout for the stolen vchiclc.
At about 1 p.m., the sheriff's de
partment was informed that a cellu
lar telephone call had been made
from the stolen car. The phone com
pany had traccd its location to the
area between Bolivia and Supply.
Hewett was in an unmarked patrol
car near the intersection of U.S. 17
and N.C. 211 at Supply when he
spotted the white Suburban heading
south. He followed the vehicle for
about four miles "at speeds of 55 to
60 miles per hour," Davis said in a
prepared press release Tuesday.
After ignoring Hewctt's blue light
for some distance, the Suburban
pulled over near the Comprehensive
Health Care building about two
miles south of Supply.
"The vehicle stopped and when
officer Hewett approached, the vehi
cle started off. Officer Hewett fired
four shots from his service revolver
at the left rear tire. At least three of
the bullets hit the tire," the release
said.
Davis said the Suburban headed
north, "reaching a speed estimated at
70 miles per hour and passing vehi
cles by taking to the right hand
shoulder." Deputy Randy Robinson
trailed the vehicle, but did not at
tempt to overtake it, Davis said.
"He (Washington) came around
two tractor-trailers on the right side,
got back onto the pavement and
flipped over," Trooper Wilkes of the
N.C. Highway Patrol said at the ac
cident scene Monday. 'The driver
and a passenger were thrown out of
the vehicle."
After rolling over several limes,
the Suburban came to rest on three
wheels in the southbound lane with
the contents of its radiator pouring
onto the asphalt. The left rear wheel
had been torn off as the vehicle tum
bled and lay in the grass by the side
of the road.
The roof over the passenger area
was partially crushed. The wind
shield was shattered. All the glass
along the left side of the vehiele was
gone. The cellular telephone, a red
cowboy boot and other items lay
strewn about in the broken glass. An
Atlanta Braves baseball cap?
thought to be Washington's?re
mained wedged in the driver-side
door.
Witnesses said Washington was
found at the bottom of a grassy em
bankment on the right side of the
highway. He was quickly stabilized
and transported to New Hanover
Regional Medical Center in Wil
mington. The juvenile was treated as
he lay in the center of the road be
fore being taken to The Brunswick
Hospital.
Visibly shaken by the incident,
Hewctt was patted on the back and
comforted by a number of officers
as the second ambulance drove off.
He took a seat in an unmarked patrol
car while investigators scaled off the
area with yellow tape and combed
the accident scene for evidence.
For several hours, traffic was di
verted onto the unfinished north
bound lanes of U.S. 17 as detectives,
stale troopers and SBI crime scene
analysis collected items from the
Suburban, examined the lost tire,
measured skid marks and pho
tographed the area.
Davis said that so far ihe findings
of ihe preliminary investigation have
given him no reason to lake discipli
nary action against Hcwett or any
other officers involved in the inci
dent. Hewett look ihe day off Tues
day and was scheduled to return to
work Wednesday.
"I don'i see any violations of ihe
department's, chase policy," Davis
said. "It was not a high-speed chasc.
He did not try to force them off the
road. Randy (Robinson) was behind
them when they passed the two
tankers and he did not attempt to
follow them."
The policy titled "Emergency
Operation of Sheriff's Department
Vehicles" defines such operation as
being any time the vehicle is driven
"in excess ol the normal speed limit
or in disregard of other traffic laws."
It allows such operation in "any situ
ation requiring immediate attention
due to a present danger to public
safety, a need for the immediate ap
prehension of a violator or a serious
crime in progress."
While the preferred method of
stopping a violator is to remain be
hind him until he stops of his own
accord, other tactics may be used to
stop a pursued vehicle when neces
sary, the policy states.
If it is "reasonably believed" that
a delay in apprehending the suspcct
"represents an impending threat of
grave injury or death to any person,"
officers are authorized to attempt
slopping the vehicle in a roadblock
or by use of a firearm.
Davis said he would not release
any further details about the incident
until the SB1 investigation has been
completed. Agent Stephens said the
bureau's findings will be submitted
to District Attorney Rex Gore "as
soon as possible" after all the inter
views and other information have
been analyzed.
Little Rain, Warm Temps
Still In Islands Forecast
Daytime highs across the South
Brunswick Islands are cxpected to
continue reaching the upper 80s
over the next week, with less than
one-half inch of rainfall, Shallottc
Point meteorologist Jackson Canady
said Tuesday.
"I don't see anything that will
bring us significant rainfall; there
may be some scattered showers,"
said Canady.
Night-time temperatures also will
continue near normal, averaging in
the upper 60s.
"It looks like the overall trend
we've had recently is continuing,
particularly the below average pre
cipitation. It should be warming up
and getting dry as we approach the
weekend."
< For the period June 8 through 14,
Canady recorded a maximum high
of 91 degrees on three consecutive
days, June 10-12.
The minimum low of 69 degrees
Shallotte Health Foods
now open
?Natural Vitamins & Herbs
?Naturopathic Programs
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?Health Foods.
TUESDAYS-FREE SAMPLE DAY
10% Senior Citizens Discount m-f 9:30-5:30
754-2113 Sat. 10-1
4753 Main St., Shallotte
occurred June 12.
A daily average high of 88 de
grees combined with a nightly aver
age low of 72 degrees for a daily av
erage temperature of 80 degrees,
which Canady said is about 3 de
grees above average.
For the same period he recorded
three-quarters of an inch of rainfall.
THE BRUNSWICK feWACON
Established Nov. 1, 1962
Telephone 754-6890
Published Every Thursday
At 4709 Main Street
Shallottc, N.C. 28459
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY
One Year S10.36
Six Months S5.55
ELSEWHERE IN
NORTH CAROLINA
One Year S14.86
Six Months S7.90
ELSEWHERE IN U.S.A.
One Year S15.95
Six Months $8.35
Second class postage paid at
Shallottc. N.C. 28459. USPS 777
780. Postmaster, send address
changes to:
P.O. Box 2558,
Shallottc, N.C. 28459-2558
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO
THE BRUNSWICK$BtACON
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SHALLOTTE. NORTH CAROLINA 28459
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ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: Sr. Citizen
In Brunswick County U6.30 J5.30
N.C. Sales Tax .38 .32
Postage Charge 3.68 3.68
TOTAL 10.36 9.30
Elsewhere in North Carolina U6.30 U5.30
N.C. Sales Tax .38 .32
Postage Charge 8.18 8.18
TOTAL 14.86 13.80
Outside North Carolina U6.30
Postage Charge 9.65 9.65
TOTAL 15.95 14.95
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