Happy independence Day! | sounds Of Freedom The 'Volunteers in Blue' perform in open-air concert Sunday at Sunset Beach. 4-B 12/31/99 **P0 HOAG & SONS BOOK BINDERY F'O BOX 162 SPRINGPORT MI 49284 Thuiy Second Ycqi N'unibei -3 SKcfllotte, North CcnoJinq, Thursday June 30. 1994 50- Ppi Copy. TOO Page*. Includitfja Suppiemeril b Sections, Ply, inserts, A Motley Crew SWf PHOTO 91 DOUG BUTTBt This pirate ship was on* of four outstanding entries in the Lippincott Family Reunion sand-sculpture contest last week at Ocean Isle Beach. Paul Lippincott headed up the young band of buccaneers. Crew members (from left) are Sean Williams, Kenneth Williams, Andrew Williams, Brennan Brooker, Erin Brooker and Joshua Williams. The Lippincottx get together every three years at Ocean Isle, and 60 people attended bat week's reunion. Family members came in from Fayetteville, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Oklahoma. Police Say Little, Seek Help In Murder Of Shallotte Teenager BY ERIC CARLSON \l/lw* A m?i /""* qavxltna Crtnlr MUVUI(lt*r ? Suf Don't Light ' Em Here BY SUSAN USHER Fireworks are legal this Fourth of July in North Carolina ? but not all fireworks and not everywhere. Local stores are selling hand-held sparklers and other so-called "safe and sane" fireworks, but in the three South Brunswick Island beach com munities it's still against the law to discharge them. "It's not because we're not patri otic, it's because of the danger," says Ocean Isle Police Chief Curt Pritchard. Ditto at Sunset Beach. Ditto at Holden Beach. "I hope it will stay this way," said Robert Cook, chief of police at Koioen Beach, where the town's or dinance prohibits discharge of any pyrotechnics except the caps used in cap pistols. "Fireworks can definite ly cause some fires. " What may be a boon for local merchants may become the bane of fire and law enforcement officials. With beach homes packed so tightly together and a constant breeze, officials of all three resort communities are concerned about the danger of fire and how difficult it would be to contain a house foe and keep it from spreading to other homes. "It only takes a couple of sparks from even a sparkler," said PritchanL "We've already had a couple of small fires, possibly from fireworks. With winds at IS mph to 25 mph, we're not going to allow anyone to shoot fireworks. We just can't allow that here, Cor everyone's safety." Since the new state law went into effect last Dec. 1, allowing sale, use and possession of some Class C py rotechnics, "nothing has changed at Sunset Beach," said Town Administrator Linda Fluegel. It's against the law to discharge any type of fireworks, and police and the town's new code enforce ment officers are serious about it At Ocean Isle Pritchard is also keeping at an eye out on local mer chants' fireworks displays to make sure they understand what can be legally sold. A vendor set up a dis play for one local merchant that fea tured some heavy-duty pyrotechnics that remain illegal in North Carolina. "I told him they had to go," said Pritchard. Each year Cook said officers at Hoi den Beach confiscate a barrel full of pyrotechnics, mainly around the Fourth of July holiday. The only time we do it is when we get a call that someone's shoot ing off fireworks." Until this year, the goods confis cated have mainly been "big fire works," the kind that are still illegal to sell in North Carolina ? cherry bombs, Roman candles, M-80s. So far this year, that hasn't changed, even with the "safe and sane" fire works available locally. "People go to South Carolina and buy them and go out on the beach and shoot them," said Cook. Over the past several years fire works have been responsible for several grass fires that required calls to Tri-Beach Volunteer Fire Department Holden Beach commissioners share the chief's concern regarding fire. At a meeting last week Commissioner Jim Fournier ques tioned the introduction of the origi nal bill by Rep. E. David Redwine (D- Brunswick). "You'd think a state representa tive introducing a bill like that would check with the people affect ed most, but I don't remember any body asking us," he said. Redwine said he introduced the bill because he thought it was time (See BEACHES, Pace 2- A ) County Adopts 58.5-Cent Tax Rate Said Equivalent To Pre-Revaluation cents per $100 valuation and a 10 cent hike in water rates. According to Interim County Manager Charles McGinnis, the tax levy was set at rale equivalent to what it was before the recent coun ty-wide property revaluation. Despite numerous public pleas for an increase in the recommended school budget, the final amount allo cated remained more than $4 J mil lion lower than the spending figure rcqutted by the bond of education. The schools funding request was not overlooked, however. At a bud get workshop Wednesday, the com missioners agreed to double the $15,000 allocation recommended by the manager for material needs at each of the county's 12 schools. Then on Thursday, with a $190,000 surplus remaining, the board gave $110,000 to Brunswick County Community College to fund operations at the new Odell Williamson Auditorium. Another $20,000 was given to the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department for new radios. Finally, the remaining $60,000 was added to the school budget to BY ERIC CARLSON After two nights of trimming fat from its proposed county budget, the Brunswick Board of Commissioners nude a flew concessions to local schools last week before adopting a $42.7 million spending package calling for a property tax rate of 58J Inside. . . sit ...in \ I ll< ~l> m