County Health Board Puts Some Teeth
BY ERIC CARLSON activities and requested several changes in "Thiv n11n\A)v t L
In a move aimed at preventing attacks by current department policies. He asked for ? fllS d I LOWS US lO IClKC
vicious dogs, the Brunswick County Health and received authorization to allow animal nwn\) nrtimn 1 'c
Board on Monday gave Health Director control officers to respond to reports of UWUy IrlC Urllfrltll S
Michael Rhodes the authority to have a pet wounded animals while on call at night and rhnnrt* frtr nrto frao
declared "dangerous" if it is deemed a on weekends. CflMflCC JUf Uflt. Jr cc
threat to the public. Legislation passed by the N.C. General t)itC "
The board also discussed its policy of Assembly in 1990 allows county health de- *
selling euthanized cat carcasses for $3 each partments to declare a dog "potentially dan- Health Director
to mcdical laboratories for research. An- gerous" and require the owner to take steps Michael Rhodes
imal Control Supervisor Greg Thompson to prevent the animal from attacking peo
asked the members to consider returning pie. But the county has been operating un- keeps it in a fenced pen that has a roof and
the proceeds of the sales to his department, der previous laws that allow a dog to be de- a concrete pad and a padlock on the door,"
rather than depositing the money into the clared "vicious" only after it attacks some- Thompson said. "But a 200-pound Saint
county's general fund. one. Bernard that runs loose and knocks people
Speaking at the health board's regular "A 90-pound pit bull that is trained to at- down and chases young children into a
meeting, Thompson gave an update of his tack is not dangerous as long as the owner busy street could be considered dangerous."
In Dangerous Dog Rules
Thompson cautioned thai the county for one free bite."
could be held liable if such a dog injured Board member Don Warren questioned
someone after the health department re- whether the new rule would prevent a busi
ceived complaints and did not declare the ness owner from keeping guard dogs in a
animal dangerous. fenced equipment yard. Thompson said
Rhodes said the change would allow the such animals would not be considered dan
health department to declare a dog poten- gerous as long as they were kept in a "se
tially dangerous and give the owner written cure" place.
instructions of what needed to be done to Member Benny Ludlum opposed the rule
alleviate the threat to the public. That way, change saying, "Just as soon as you pass
if the animal bit someone, the county would this, you'll need to put two more people on
be on record as having warned the owner staff to declare dogs dangerous."
about the potential danger, he said. The health department declares only
"As it is now, a dog almost needs to at- about "one or two" dogs a year as "vi
tack someone before we can intercede and cious." Rhodes said he doubts the change in
declare it vicious," Rhodes said. "This al- policy would result in a significant number
lows us to take away the animal's chance (See NEW RULES, Page 2-A)
HV31/99 A::m)
Tl ^ 800K" 'I 1114*1/
11 Jh iViv
Thirty-Second Year, Number 20 emi THE BRUNSWICK MACON Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, March 1 7, 1994 50<t Per Copy 36 Pages, 4 Sections, Plus Inserts
Breaking Ground At St. Brendan's
As a proud congregation watches, church leaders bless the site of a new worship facility to he built for St. Brendan the Navigator Catholic
Parish in Shallotte. The groundbreaking and blessing ceremonies took place Sunday afternoon at the church site south of Shallotte on
US. 17. Pictured (in foreground, from left) are altar boys Jeremy and Joshua Horn; the Rev. John Richardson, former pastor; the Very
Rev. Thomas l'. Hadden, dean; the Rev. Francis G. Maloney, current pastor; Ralph kuhnel, chairman of the parish finance council; and
Thomas J. Lewis, planning committee chairman.
Holden Beach Finishes Manager's Evaluation
BY DOUG RUTTER the construction of an oceanfront dune along
llolden Beach Commissioners completed an Hillside Drive.
evaluation of Town Manager Gus Ulrich in exec- There was no executive session on the meeting
utive session last Thursday and took no related agenda, hut commissioners voted 4-1 to add it to
action in open session. the agenda after the meeting was called to order.
Mayor Wally Ausley announced following a Commissioner David Sandifer voted against
45-minute closed meeting that the town board had adding the executive session, and when the time
finished its evaluation of Ulrich's job performance came, he voted against the motion to go behind
that it had started on March 7. closed doors to discuss "personnel matters."
. , ,. . , Sandifer said he wanted to discuss in open ses
Ausley said town policy requires all employees .. , . , . . , _ ^ .
, ... r. .1 ? r . .. ? .u -nT. . s'on an article in last week s Beacon concerning a
be evaluated alter their hrst six months. The town .. . _ .. . . ?. ?
, . , i .t ? j March 7 executive session. Ausley said other
manager evaluates the employees, and the board . . . ,.
1 J mmmtccinnprc vi/'jntnn mic/micc tn*> iccii?? in
of commissioners evaluates the manager.
The executive session was held at the <
special meeting last Thursday called to discuss members told a reporter what happened in the ex
commissioners wanted to discuss the issue in
closcd session.
The executive session was held at the close of a Sandifer said he didn't like that certain board
ccuiive session. He said it wasn't fair to the com
missioners who declined to comment on the
closed session because their opinions were not
expressed in the article.
Responding to several requests from audience
members who said they wanted to discuss the ar
ticle with the board, Sandifcr made a motion to
add "public comments" to the agenda.
However, there was no second to his motion.
Commissioners allow public comments at all of
their regular meetings.
Ausley said discussion of personnel matters is
one of the reasons a town board can go into exec
utive session, "'["he reason for an executive ses
sion is not to hide anything from the public," he
said.
Inside...
Birthdays JIB
Business News 6D
Calendar 8B
Church News 8A
Classified I-8C
Club Briefs 2B
Crime Report 10A
Crossword 9A
Court Docket 9-10C
Fishing 5D
Golf 4D
Obituaries 8A
Opinion 4-5 A
People In The News 8D
Plant Doctor 6B
Sports 1-5D
Television 4-5B
EDC Opposes Wilmington Plan
To Control Brunswick Development
BY ERIC CARLSON control our own destiny." He suggested that the commis
The Brunswick County Economic Development sion adopt a resolution to be sent to the county hoard of
Commission went on record Monday in opposition to commissioners and planning board.
the t ity of Wilmington s plan to study extending its The commission voted unanimously in favor of draft
zoning controls across the Cape Fear R.ver to prevent . ^ resolution. The lx,ard also:
unattractive development along the Brunswick County &
shoreline. BBegan consideration of Monks' preliminary budget
According to recent newspaper accounts, the Wil- for 1994-95. The draft proposal calls for a 19 percent in
mington City Council has discussed extending its extra- crease in EDC spending, from the current figure of
territorial jurisdiction into Brunswick County to protect $168,520 to $208,495. The commission plans to discuss
the waterfront view from the city's historic district and the proposed budget at its next meeting.
riverfront park. HAgrccd to give Monks the authority, with the chair
Margaret Rudd, A Southport real estate broker who man's approval, to handle the paperwork for state infra
attended the meeting, called the move "a classic case of structure grants for local industries. The appropriations
trying to control something that's not yours." are used to build roads and install water and sewer lines
Brunswick EDC Director Tom Monks told commis- for new and expanding businesses.
sion members that the county needs to send "a clear ^Appropriated $310 to the Brunswick Community
message to the other side of the river that we intend to College Small Business Awards Program.
Team Gearing
BY ERIC CARLSON
As if planning for a military invasion, an army
of agriculture experts, entomologists and govern
ment officials is preparing to launch a massive air
assault next month on a foreign invader that came
ashore in Brunswick County last summer.
After holding several meetings in other areas of
the stale, the Asian Gypsy Moth Management
Team will come to Wilmington next week for
their first discussions in the area of operations
where airplanes and helicopters will spray insecti
cide over I3(),(KK) acres of Brunswick and New
Hanover counties in hopes of stopping the pest
before it spreads.
A local public information meeting on the gyp
sy moth eradication program will be held at 7:30
p m. Tuesday, March 22, at the county govern
ment complex in Bolivia.
I.asl July, a (ierman ship docked at the Military
Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU) was
found to be infested with Asian gypsy moths.
Up For Aerial Pesticide Assault
Gypsy Moth Hotline:
1-800-449-9007
Although the ship was immediately sent hack to
sea and fumigated, insect traps set shortly after
the discovery indicated that the moths had made
their way to shore on both sides of the Cape Fear
River.
Experts consider the Asian gypsy moth to be
one of the most damaging plant pests ever
brought to our shores. Its close relative, the
European gypsy moth already affects more than
4.2 million acres of forests each year.
The Asian variety poses an even greater threat
Female European gypsy moths are flightless and
lay their eggs near where they emerge from their
cocoon. But a female Asian gypsy moth can fly
up to .;() miles before depositing her eggs.
Today the enemy lies dormant in its egg stage
on trees throughout the infested area. But some
time around April It), those eggs are expected to
release thousands of larvae that will begin making
their way into the young leaves to forage for food.
That's when the planes will strike, when the
moths are at their most vulnerable, Brunswick
County Cooperative Extension Agent Milton
Coleman said Tuesday. The management team
plans to blanket all wooded areas within a 30
mile radius of Sunny Point with two applications
of two different pesticides.
"Right now our biggest concern is the weath
er," Coleman said. "For the spray to work proper
ly, it needs to be applied during a time when there
is no rain or high winds. We need to make two
sprays within 10 days of each other, so a week of
rainy weather could create some real problems."
(See PUBLIC. I'ajje 2-A)
School Board
Says Proposed
Audit Should
Be Welcomed
BY SUSAN USHER
A school system performance au
dit by a state agency independent of
the Department of Public Instruction
would be welcomed here, Bruns
wick County Board of Education
members decided Monday night.
At a Feb. 21 meeting of the
Brunswick County Commissioners,
District 3 Commissioner Wayland
Vereen called for such an audit by
State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr.'s
officc, saying an independent analy
sis was "long overdue."
A study of central office organiza
tion conducted by the N.C. Depart
ment of Public Instruction several
years ago recommended a restruc
turing of the Brunswick County
Schools administrative staff and hir
ing of additional staff.
School board members voted
Monday in support of a performance
audit, their only question whether
the undetermined cost would come
out of the schools' 1994-95 budget
or the county commissioners' bud
get.
"It's county money cither way
you look at it," said Superintendent
Ralph johnston.
Vereen said last month he hoped a
performance audit would determine
if there arc overlapping jobs and
programs or unnecessary duplication
of services.
He could not be reached for com
ment Tuesday to find out if he in
tends to pursue the idea. As of mid
day Tuesday he had not asked for
the audit request to be placed on the
agenda of the commissioners'
March 21 meeting. County Manager
Wyman Yelton said.
Superintendent Johnston told
school board members Monday he
thought a performance audit could
benetit the school system. "It could
finally put the county school system
on an even keel with other depart
ments," he said.
If a performance audit is forth
coming, results wouldn't be ready
before the 1994-95 budget is adopt
ed.
Jimmy Benson, a deputy state au
ditor, said the office of the auditor is
completing a performance audit for
Ixe County Schools, the 12th such
study done for school systems over a
number of yeuis. Other systems ?r
which audits have been completed
include Pasquotank, Camden, Nor
thampton and more recently. Wake,
the largest to date.
Mow quickly an audit sought by
Brunswick County would be com
pleted isn't certain, given the depart
ment's existing workload. "Ob
viously we can't take on every sys
tem in the state and we have other
performances audits we have to per
form," said Benson. "We would
have to consider priorities in our
work plan and try to work in any re
quest within a reasonable length of
time. If we do a hurry-up job it
won't be a good job."
Typically a performance audit is
restricted to the central office, exam
ining its structure, lines of authority
and delivery of services and pro
grams to its users. Responses to a
questionnaire sent to all "users" of
central office services, "everybody
in the school system who interacts
with the central office, from bus me
chanics to principals," are a key fac
tor in looking at effectiveness of the
central office staff's performance.
Benson said the surveys typically
have a high response rate of 45 per
(See PERFORMANCE, Page 2-A)
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CARLSON
Very Special Talent
Students and staff of the Brunswick Community College Inter
agency Program enjoy developing their creative talents at last
week 's "A Very Special Arts Festival," sponsored by the Brunswick
C ounty I'arLs and Recreation Department. Here, Beverly C riswcll
(sitting) makes a dry flower terrarium with the help of Barbara
Randolph. More festival pictures are on Page 7A.