uiui f? munocnj cnecu int moorings oj the MV Mars us at the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny
Point docks in late September after it and a sister ship, the MV Maria, were allowed to unload their
controversial cargo ? 109 spent nuclear fuel rods from European research reactors destined for a US.
Department of Energy facility at Aiken, S.C.
'94 YEAR IN REVIEW
Nuclear Rod Shipment Sparks Resistance
A shipment of I S3 spent nuclear fuel elements from
research reactors in four European countries arrived at
the Military Ocean Terminal al Sunny Point near South
port in late September, and on Sept. 29 were shipped
333 miles by secured rail to the U.S. Department of
Energy's Savannah River Site near Aiken. S.C.
As two ships waited at the mouth of the Cape Fear
River to deliver their controversial cargo. South Caro
lina took its efforts to block delivery of the rods all the
way to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying a more thorough
environmental impact study was needed.
The United States government successfully pushed for
"urgent relief acceptance of the rods to honor its com
mitment to take weapons-grade nuclear material off the
world market. State officials were hoping South
Carolina's civil suit pending in federal district court in
Columbia would be resolved before shipment in early
1995 of up to 326 more rods.
Board Members Focused On Preparinq For Future Growth
BY DOlIt; RUTTE R
If Shallotte officials see signifi
cant growth in their business district
and residential population ov?r the
next decade, they will able to look
back on 1994 as the year in which
many of the seeds were planted
Town aldermen focused much of
their attention this year on preparing
for growth they arc anticipating over
the next 10 to 20 years
The town board's top priority in
1994 was planning to more than
triple the sewer system's treatment
capacity to 750,000 gallons per day.
a project they hope to begin next
year.
Shallonc Aldermen heard nothing
but favorable comments for their
plan at a public hearing in Septem
ber. even though the SI. 9 million
project is expected to increase mini
mum monthly sewer charges more
than $4 per household.
Officials plan to expand the sys
tem in two phases, with the first
phase adding about 200,000 gallons
per day (gpd) of capacity to the sys
tem at a cost of Sl.l million.
The existing system, which was
expanded once since it began oper
ating in 19H4. has a permitted capac
ity of 206,000 gpd It presently
serves about 612 customers and
treats about 140,000 gpd.
McKim &. Creed of
Wilmington, one of four en
gineering firms considered
rr
7T7!
for designing the expansion,
projects the additional
550.000 gpd of capacity will
be enough to serve Shall ode
for (he next 20 years.
Town officials have ap- ^
piicd for a low-interest loan through
the State Revolving Fund to help
pay for the project.
Besides planning for sewer sys
tem expansion in 1994, Shallottc al
dermen took other steps to CTeate an
atmosphere for growth
The board did away with a
S2,500-pcr-?crc fee for industry re
questing town water or sewer ser
vice.
Aldermen also stopped doubling
acreage fees for landowners outside
the town who requested water or
sewer service if they also requested
annexation as part of the deal.
In efforts to beautify the commu
nity, aldermen passed an ordinance
prohibiting "junked, nuisance and
1 abandoned" vehicles inside
I the town limits as well as
the one-mile extraterritorial
area.
Aldermen also estab
lished a Committee for the
Improvement of Shallottc
to address beautification.
" and the planning board is
working on new regulations to elim
inate most street vendors.
In June, the mayor and aldermen
visited state officials in Raleigh in
an effort to improve the town's
chances of receiving the loan for
sewer expansion and to light a fire
under the N.C. Department of Trans
portation.
Town officials accused the DOT
of dragging its feet on plans to build
Lockwood Folly Access Top Issue In Varnamtown
BY DOUG R UTTER
Improving access to the
Lock wood Folly River for local
boaters and fishermen was the major
issue of 1994 in Vamamtown.
Using S25.000 supplied by the
N.C Wildlife Resources Commis
sion plus town funds, aldermen
hired contractors to build a new pub
lic ramp at the end of Fisherman
Road and a parking lot.
The plan had drawn some criti
cism in 1993 from residents who
live near the ramp. They said build
ing a new ramp would attract more
boaters and only add to existing
problems caused by people parking
on the side of the road.
Town officials promised to solve
the pricing dilemma, and work on
the 11 30- square- foot concrete boat
ramp began in January when alder
men agreed to pay $19,500 to
Vamam's Docks and Bulkheads.
In March, the town board ditched
its original plan to lease property for
boat ramp parking near the
waterfront. K
Aldermen decided instead
to pay S 30,01 X) to Larry and
Mary Knowles for approxi
mately 1.5 acres of land on
Fisherman Road about 800
feet from the ramp for a per
manent public parkine lot.
IN REVIEW
Contractor Major White of Ash
was hired in August to prepare the
land for parking at a cost of about
$11,200.
With the new ramp and parking
lot both completed in early fall, al
dermen kept their promise to resi
dents and voted to prohibit parking
on both sides of Fisherman Road
from the parking lot to the riverfront.
Varnamtown officials also spent
much of the year developing the
town's first land use plan, a 50-page
document containing information
? ? . ? | and policies that will help
?Ir MM guide development for the
next 10 years.
The town board accepted
a preliminary draft of the
plan in September. Final
approval is expected early
next year, following an ex
tensive review by state and
federal agencies.
Major issues in the plan include
Is
Our Going Out Of Business
Sale Continues...
Extra Reductions
on great styles fls " ~
and quality 1 J
name brands, i til
V; 1 rw
Hurry in/or '
best selection! \ Mk \
mi
}?* >
V4 1
G C2
ClOrHINO 1
FOR MtN
MON -THURS 9 6. FRI & SAT 9 7
the need for stormwater runoff con
trols and protection of the Lock
wood Folly River. The plan also ad
dresses town provision of water and
sewer service, an issue over which
residents are evenly divided.
Town officials started drafting the
plan in January, following a survey
of town residents.
Consultant Howard Capps of
Wilmington wrote the plan. The
work is being funded almost entirely
by a $4,480 state grant, plus a town
share of $560.
CAROLINA EYE
ASSOCIATES, P. A.
Medical & Surgical Treatment of Eye Diseases
Board Certified Physicians ? Medicare Assignment ? Champus ? Medicaid
Alan Brown, MD ? Shawn Riley, MD ? Igor Westra, MD
Michael Bartiss, MD ? Frank Christ ensen, MD
No-Stitch Cataract Surgery
RK/AK/ALK To Eliminate or
Reduce Need For Eyeglasses
& Contacts
Diabetic Eye Diseases
Macular Degeneration
Glaucoma Surgery
Pediatric & Crossed Eye Surgery
Reconstructive Surgery
754-5434
Local Brunswick County Center
Brunswick Hospital ? Supply (800) 422-1564
Myrtle Beach Center (600) 756-6478 ? Wilmington Center (600) 995-4440
The Eye Surgery Specialists
ALLIQDAY FOR FREE RK INFO & RK VISION SCREENING
Health Board Faces Political
Pressure, Septic System Issues
BY ERIC CARLSON
The Brunswick County Board of Health continued
to feel political pressure and grew more polarized be
tween health care providers and development interests
as three-term member Maliston "Moe" Stanley was re
placed as chairman in January by the board's newest ap
pointee, engineer Patrick Newton.
Among those voting to unseat Stanley were county
commissioners Chairman Don Warren and the three new
members whose appointment to the health board he en
dorsed. The vote was divided between health care inter
ests and at-large members. The board's nurse, dentist,
pharmacist and veterinarian representatives all voted to
re-appoint Stanley, who is an active advocate for minori
ty health issues. _____
In a closed session at their Fcbruarv meet- F
ing, health board members heard a former
health department employee accuse a county
nurse of allowing a patient who tested positive
for tuberculosis to leave a clinic without sched
uling a more detailed examination. Her charges
were later found to be largely true, but an inves
tigation of the incident determined that there
was no danger posed to public health, according to
health Director Michael Rhodes. The patient was located
and called in for further testing.
The following month the health board gave Rhodes
the authority to declare a dog "dangerous" and to require
its owner to keep the animal indoors or in a fenced en
closure. The move was intended to protect the county
from legal liability by officially warning a pet owner
about a vicious dog before it attacks anyone. "This al
lows us to take away the animal's chance for one free
bite," Rhodes said.
Dr. Harry L Johnson, the board of health's physician
representative, resigned in March due to "increasing re
sponsibilities and seemingly less time to carry out those
responsibilities." Although Dr. Johnson recommended
another physician willing to serve on the board, the
county commissioners avoided making the appointment
for nine months. At the first meeting after the November
election, the new board of commissioners appointed Dr.
Samuel Kirtley of Shallotte to the health board.
In April, the board of health agreed to allow animal
control officers to use tranquilizer guns for subduing vi
cious animals. Under a 1985 policy the department was
prohibited from using chemical immobilization, giving
officers no option but to shoot an animal that could not
be safely captured. Animal control Supervisor Greg
Thompson asked for the change, noting that tranquilizer
equipment has become far more sophisticated and safer
to use.
The health department in July stopped issuing per
mits for one of the most common types of household
septic systems in response to a state rule that apparently
prohibits their use on land that has been covered with fill
material. Rhodes immediately began an in-house study
of the "bed-in-fill" septic systems in an effort to con
vince state regulators that the process is no more likely
to fail than a drain field build in undisturbed land.
Rhodes estimated that a permanent prohibition on bed
j in-fill systems would prevent construction on
nundreds, if not thousands, of undeveloped lots.
After hearing the results of the study in
September, the board voted to resume issuing
permits. But the ban was put back in place the
following month when state environmental of
ficials said they weren't convinced that the sys
tems are safe.
Brunswick Countv Schools officials were
warned by the health board in August that Supply Ele
mentary School might not be allowed to open unless ef
forts were made to repair a septic tank system that was
found to be in a "complete state of failure" five months
earlier. The school was eventually allowed to open un
der a strict timetable for repairs.
The head of the health board's environmental health
committee in October recommended that another state
licensed specialist be hired to help the department catch
up on a backlog of inspections on low pressure septic
systems. The N.C. Division of Environmental
Management, which used to do the inspections, turned
over responsibility for their upkeep to county health de
partments in 1992. The board of commissioners later ap
proved the hiring of another environmental health spe
cialist.
The following month, another health board commit
tee began work on a plan to require all dogs and cats to
be spayed or neutered and inoculated against common
animal diseases before adoption from the county animal
shelter. The program would allow those who adopt a pet
to get the veterinary services at a reduced rate. The
board is expected to consider enacting the rules early
next year.
an overpass at the intersection of
U.S. 17 Bypass and N.C. 130.
State transportation officials orig
inally announced that the overpass
would be finished by mid-1995, but
the latest plan calls for the 18-month
construction process to begin late
next year.
The overpass was only one trans
portation issue town officials faced
in 1994. After much debate, alder
men approved a thoroughfare plan
in November featuring about a
dozen potential road projects for the
future.
Identified as the top priorities
were a short connector between Hol
den Beach Road and Smith Avenue
through the Wal-Mart parking lot
and an extension of N.C. 179 from
its intersection with Hale Swamp
Road across U.S. 17 Business to
N.C. 130 West near Bridger Road.
Objections from area residents
forced the town board to delete two
proposals from the original thor
oughfare plan ? two additional en
trances into Brierwood Estates and a
Bluf' Orive extension across Shal
lotte River.
In February, aldermen voted to
dip into bank accounts, garnish
wages and foreclose if necessary to
collect unpaid taxes and overdue
water and sewer bills. By December,
the town had collected about
$19,000 of the $27,000 in taxes that
had gone unpaid over the last 10
years.
Nothing was decided, but Shal
lotte officials met twice in 1994 with
Brunswick County leaders concern
ing the possible merger of their
ABC systems.
The merger discussion started
when the county ABC board pro
posed opening a new store in Ash.
Shallotte officials opposed the plan,
fearing it would cut revenues at the
town store.
Ix>Aa4^CC
E. Second Street ? Ocean Isle Beach ? 579-0535 &
(Beside Jungle Golf)
Don t Forget Our Complete
S050
Breakfast & Lunch Specials only O
;1 5?o off Breakfast or Lunch w/ Church Bulletin
New Year's
Eve Party
Choose From...
?Prime Rib ?Shrimp
(Turf) Or
Surf & Turf
includes salad, vegetable, potato
Then Party To
"Carolina Gold"
?Party Favors
'Champagne Toast
Also
Complete Packages Available
Including Overnight
Accommodations
Only *89 per couple
Call Now For Reservations
And Other Package Information
Open 5:30 AM-Until... Everyday!
RAW BAR NIGHTLY 5-7 PM
Steamed Crab Leg Steamed Peel "n Eat Buffalo
Oysters Cluster Clams Shrimp Wings
25' *2 35* 15'
Join Us Nightly For
Great Entertainment!.
Golfers Welcome!