Shell Point Clammers
Angered By State Action
To Close Waters
BY l>OUG RUTTER
Brunswick County waters reopened to clam harvest
ing last Thursday ? not a moment too soon for a group
of Shell Point fishermen who say state officials kept
them out of business too long.
Waters from Southport to the South Carolina state
line were closed to shellfishermen Aug. 15 following
several days of steady rain. Local clammers were out of
work until the state re-opened the area Aug. 26.
Simon Payne, a fisherman for seven years, is one of
about 50 clammers who regularly sell shellfish at
Chadwick Seafood at Shell Point. Payne and other
clammers couldn't earn a living during the 10-day clo
sure.
Payne said last week having fishermen unemployed
is bad for the economy. "There's thousands of people in
this area that depend on that river. When these people
are hurting for money, everybody else is hurting for
money."
George Gilbert, assistant director of the N.C.
Division of Shellfish Sanitation, said the state didn't
keep local shellfish beds closed any longer than neces
sary.
"I know people don't understand, but things can't al
ways open up as fast as you'd like them to," Gilbert
said last week. "It's best to err on the side of safety."
The state often closes local waters to oyster and clam
harvesting when it rains. Stormwater carries bacterial
pollution into rivers and streams, and that makes shell
fish unsafe to cat.
However, Payne and other clammers who work the
Shallotte River think the shellfish beds were closed too
long this time around.
They said last week there was no significant rainfall
between the time the waters were closed until they re
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CARLSON
Tax Bills Go Out
Ronnie Young, assistant Brunswick County tax supervisor, displays
some of the 94,000 tax bills being mailed to property owners this
week along with a brochure explaining the 1994 tax revaluation,
which is currently underway. The brochure attempts to reassure
taxpayers " that everyone (will) be assessed fairly and everyone
(will) be given an opportunity to review and discuss their assess
ment with the appraisers and Board of Equalizjation and Review. "
Revaluations are performed in all North Carolina counties at least
every eight years by law. The last Brunswick County realuation
took place in 1986.
Agency To Operate With New Name
Cape Fear Substance Abuse Cen
ter postponed a Monday press con
ference to announce its name change
to Coastal Horizons Center, Inc.
A spokesman for the agency said
the threat of Hurricane Emily off
shore prompted the postponement.
According to a news release, the
agency ? which serves Brunswick,
Pender and New Hanover coun
ties ? is changing its name to better
reflect its variety of services.
Programs offered by the United
Way agency include:
?outpatient substance abuse ser
vices for adults and adolescents;
?crisis intervention including crisis
telephone, walk-in services and an
adolescent emergency shelter
through Crisis Line/Open House:
?Rape crisis services through the
Rape Crisis Center;
?bridging the treatment and crimi
nal justice systems through
Treatment Alternatives to Street
Crime;
?HIV/AIDS education and risk re
duction through community out
reach;
?alcohol and drug education and
prevention services through preven
tion and education and New Hori
zons Ropes Court.
The center employs about 50 peo
ple and operates on a $1.5 million
budget. It is funded through United
Way, the City of Wilmington, the
counties, community-based alterna
tives, the Council on the Status of
Women and state and federal grants.
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<?'901 THE BRUNSWICK BE AGON
STAff PHOTO BY DOUG KUTTH
CLAM HARVESTING was recently stopped for 10 days in Brunswick County, which was too long
according to these Shell Point fishermen. Pictured (from left) are Elmo Covil, Joe Comuzie, John
Henry Ward , R.H. Lennard , Simon Payne, Luree Chadwick and Toni Chadwick.
opened last Thursday.
John Henry Ward, who has harvested clams and oys
ters in Shallotte River for 20 years, said he had never
seen waters stay closed so long without rain.
"It's really dry now becausc some of the stuff in our
garden's trying to die," Ward said last Wednesday.
But Gilbert said state officials received reports of
rain, heavy in some places, after the Aug. 15 closure.
"Maybe not everybody got it, but some people re
ported heavy showers down there after it closed,"
Gilbert said. "It's very hard to pinpoint where those ar
eas were at and who was getting the rain."
Clammers say the state doesn't take local showers
into consideration. At Shell Point Landing, residents
measured just three inches of rain in August.
"Anybody that's worked here can tell by looking at it
if the water's clean or dirty," Payne said. "That water
right now's as clear as I ever saw it. It isn't justified as
dry as it's been."
Gilbert said several areas outside Brunswick County
were closed following the mid-August showers and the
state didn't have the resources to sample everywhere at
the same time.
"We try to get areas open as quickly as we can be
cause we know that people make their living this way,"
he said. "We don't want them to hurt any more than
they have to."
Toni Chadwick of Chadwick Seafood said she has
averaged buying between 30 and 40 bags of clams per
day this summer. Clammers earn about $22.50 for each
bag of 250 clams.
Ishmael Chadwick, who ran the seafood house for 30
years before his daughter took over, said the state offi
cials who control shellfishing aren't looking out for the
people who pay their salaries.
"They get paid and paid good and these people that's
digging these clams is paying their salaries," he said.
Gilbert said shellfish sanitation officials don't want
the clammers out of business. "If it wasn't for the clam
mers there wouldn't be any need for our division," he
said.
Ishmael Chadwick said the state should tell fisher
men why it needs to close the waters. "They don't tell
us what's caused the closure or nothing. If they told us
we might could help them clean it up."
Chadwick said he thinks golf courses near Shallottc
River are contributing to the pollution problem.
"Them golf courses use a lot of fertilizers and a lot of
insecticides. They should be made to control it some
how," he said. "I think they should be made to clean up
their act."
DRIVE SET FOR WHOLE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER
Focus To Be On Type O In Upcoming Blood Drives
\
The American Red Cross, Cape
Fear Chapter, will be making a spe
cial plea for Type O blood donors
during four drives scheduled in
Brunswick County during Sept
ember.
Blood drives are scheduled for:
?Sept. 9, Brunswick County
Government Complex, Bolivia, 1 1
a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
?Sept. 29. ADM. Southport, 9:30
a.m. until noon.
?Sept. 29, Dosher Hospital,
Southport, 2-4 p.m.; and
?Sept. 30, Brunswick Community
College, Supply, 9 a.m. until 1:30
p.m.
Overall blood donations have
continued to improve. Red Cross of
ficials said in a Monday media alert.
Red Cross must register 1,350
donors each weekday to meet the
projected transfusion needs of pa
tients.
Two days of last week, the num
ber of donors who registered was
below the 1,350 goal ? last Monday,
only 865 people registered and on
Wednesday, 1,212 registered.
When donations are down, sup
plies of Type O blood can become
dangerously low. About 42 percent
of the population has Type O, so it is
the blooid type that is transfused
most often. It is also the universal
blood type, meaning that it is used
when a patient needs to be trans
fused immediately, and there isn't
time to type the patient's blood.
"It's critical that we make sure
enough blood is available to meet all
emergencies that might take place,"
said Dr. Jerry Squires, principal offi
cer for Carolinas Blood Services
Region.
"Just this past week, an automo
bile accident victim needed more
than 30 units of O-negative blood.
Wc also provided O -positive blood
for two liver transplant patients."
County Health Department
Offers Sickle Cell Services
The Brunswick County Health
Department is calling attention this
month to services available it offers
through the North Carolina Sickle
Cell Syndrome Program.
The department offers education,
testing, screening and counseling,
and financial reimbursement, said
Jan RciCiiciibaCii, public health cdu
cator.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited
blood disorder that causes pain, in
fection, disability and economic
strain among affected African
American families. Where the dis
ease exists, blood cells assume a
sickle shape, causing chronic ane
mia and progressive debilitation.
Three out of every 1,000 non
white children born in North Car
olina have sickle sell disease. One
out of every 10 carries the sickle cell
trait. No cure for this disease exists,
though treatment is available to help
those with sickle cell lead more pro
ductive and rewarding lives.
According to Reichenbach, sup
port for research on the treatment,
management and cure for this disor
der are vital to improving the health
and quality of life of persons with
sickle cell disease.
September is Sickle Cell Aware
ness Month.
Prostate Cancer Screening Slated
At Grand Strand General Hospital
Grand Strand General Hospital of
Myrtle Beach, S.C., will begin tak
ing appointments Tuesday, Sept. 7,
for its fifth annual prostate cancer
screening to be held Sept. 20 and 21.
Staff urologists will perform free
digital rectal exams (DRE) in which
pressure is placed on the prostate
gland to feel for hard lumps or
growths which are the initial indica
tions of prostate cancer.
Certificates for a reduced-fee
blood test will also be available for
men whose DRE results are abnor
mal and for those who simply
choose to have the extra test.
Appointments must be made by
calling the hospital's marketing de
partment, 803-497-2128.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK
MEDICAL GROUP
Gary D. Ross, M.D. (Internal Medicine)
Samuel W. Kirtley, M.D. (Family Practice)
For Complete Outpatient Medical Care
Routine Health Maintenance
Adult Medical Concerns /Pediatrics
Women's Concerns
(Pap Smears/Contraception)
Laboratory & X-Ray Facilities
For Complete Minor Emergency Care
Located off Hwy. 1 7 at Union School Road
Open Mon.-Pri.. 9 A.M. to 6 P.M.. Sat. 10 A.M. to 2 P.M.
579-9955 or 579-0800
Liver transplants can use up to 30 or
40 units of blood. Each blood dona
tion is a unit.
Blood donors must be at least 17
years old, weigh more than 110
pounds and be in good general
health. Blood donations can be
made every 56 days.
Carolinas Blood Services Region
serves 119 hospitals in 80 counties
in North and South Carolina,
Tennessee and Georgia.
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754-2786
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