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Volume 62/ Number 22
Southport, N.C.
January 20,1993/ 50 cents
Job freeze
is allowed
by county
By Terry Pope
County Editor
A personnel policy Brunswick
County commissioners adopted
Tuesday gives county manager
David Clegg, if he chooses, power
to impose a hiring freeze effective
immediately.
The action comes just one month
after the newly elected board voted
4-1 to keep Clegg as manager and
county attorney despite rumors that
he would be fired.
The board also voted 4-1 to add
$26,000 to the Resources Develop
ment Commission budget for con
sultation, advertising and travel. The
money had been sliced from the
RDC budget in June.
District 4 commissioner Tom
Rabon’s motion to change the
county’s hiring policy passed 4-1
with District 2 commissioner Jerry
Jones voting no.
The policy states that Clegg will
review all vacant positions and
"refrain from filling any non
essential position" effective January
19. If he chooses to advertise a
vacant job, that position will be
identified and reported to com
missioners at the next regular meet
ing.
"I think if Mr. Clegg thought a
position was non-essential he would
bring that to our attention," said
Jones.
Department heads are not current
ly evaluating existing vacant posi
tions to determine if they are really
essential, said Clegg.
"I may impose a 30-day (hiring)
freeze in the morning,” said Clegg.
"I am very seriously considering it.
I’m going to sleep on it."
The county has a number of
vacant positions advertised, but it
has been unable to recruit qualified
applicants for some.
"If he (Clegg) thinks the county
can get along without that position,"
explained Rabon, "then that position
is gone.”
Facing budget shortfalls and feel
ing the squeeze of state cuts, Clegg
See Job freeze, page 9

South Brunswick’s Dan Arnold was headed for
the mat in competition with North Brunswick last
week, but be rebounded to pinhis North Bruns
wick
44-24 win. v
>"u'
Kioto by Jim Harper
X ':::
mr*
Long Beach
Limit on bond
submission has
no legal power
By Holly Edwards
County Editor
The state Constitution does not allow the Town of Long Beach to limit
bond referendums, town attorney James R. Prevatte Jr. told the town coun
cil Tuesday night. Therefore, Prevatte said, the town charter amendment
preventing a defeated bond referendum from being resubmitted to a vote
for five years is not valid and should be deleted.
Council members subsequently voted unanimously to eliminate the
amendment from the town’s charter.
"(The amendment) didn’t restrict anything anyway, so I can’t see where
it’s going to impact on anything, other than maybe some people getting
See Bond vote, page 9
CP&L plant
receives same
grades as ’91
By Jim Harper
Staff Writer
Carolina Power and Light Co.
drew praise but not high marks from
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
January 14 for its past year’s ac
complishments at the Brunswick
nuclear plant
In a SALP (systematic assessment
of licensee performance) conference
at the plant Stewart D. Ebneter, j
NRC regional administrator, said,
"Qualitatively there was not much
change (shown by the SALP
scores), but quantitatively there have
been a lot of changes.”
In fact the Brunswick scores -
five middle-rank and two low-grade
- were identical to SALP scores last
See CP&L plant, page 6
EBNETER
Oak Island, Leland
libraries come first
By Terry Pope
County Editor
New libraries will be built on Oak
Island and at Leland first before ex
isting branches are closed for
renovations at Southport and Shal
lotte.
The Brunswick County Library
Board of Trustees agreed Monday
with the staggered plan proposed by
John Sawyer Architects of Wilniing
At an earlier meeting, the board
had considered scheduling all con
struction work at one time. Mem
bers now say they want the new
See Libraries, page 5
ton.
OUTSIDE
Forecast
The extended forecast
calls for cloudy skies
Thursday with a chance
of rain. Mostly cloudy
skies will prevail Friday,
followed by mostly sunny
overhead on Saturday.
Highs will be in the 50s, .
lows in the 30s and 40s,
during this period.
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21
7:03 a.m. 12;29am.
7:12 p.m. 1:08 p.m.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22
7:45 a.m. 1:12 a.m.
7:54 pm. 1:47 pm.
Saturday, January 23
8:22 a.m. 1:54a.m.
8:31pm. 2:26 pm.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24
8:58 am. 2:34 am.
9.06 pm. 3:03 pm.
MONDAY, JANUARY 25
9:33 am. 3:12 a.m.
9:41 pm. 3:38 p.m.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 26
1005 am. 3:49 a.m.
10:17 pm. 4:15 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27
10:36 am. 4:27 am.
10£5 pm. 4:51 p.m.
The following adjustment! should be made:
Bald Head 111 and, high -10, low -7; Caswell
Beach, high -5, low -1; Southport, high -t-7,
low +15, Yaupcn Beach, high -32, low -45;
Lockwood Folly, high -22, low -8.
Defending high cost of crime
Lawyers paid $211,109 to help the indigent
By 1 erry Pope
Cqunty Editor
Figures show Brunswick County is following the trend of rising costs
needed to provide poor defendants with court-appointed lawyers.
Brunswick County attorneys were paid $211,109 during the 1991-92 fis
cal year to defend persons too poor to hire their own lawyer.
That’s an increase from $162,294 for 1990-91 and $178,281 for 1989-90,
but costs are also soaring in other counties and across the state.
The state spent $24 million last year and will spend an estimated $30
million in 1992-93 on its indigent defendant program, said Ginger Cooper
of the N. C. Administrative Office of the Courts.
To be eligible for a court-appointed attorney, a defendant must file an af
fidavit of indigency that lists monthly income and expenses. The person
must describe his or her assets and liabilities, such as cash on hand or
money deposited in bank accounts, all motor vehicles and real estate
owned and money held for the applicant
The goal is to provide those who might sit in jail without a lawyer the
same representation as those who can afford to hire their own. However,
the decision rests with each judge, and some have different standards.
"There is no real definition for ‘indigent’," said Ms. Cooper. "Each case
is looked at individually."
v Defendants are brought to court on first appearance within 96 hours of
their arrest. At that time they can ask the judge for a court-appointed law
yer.
An estimated IS to 20 defendants do so in Brunswick County District
Court each week, said Marie Jordan, court reporter. An average of 12 are
granted attorneys.
"There are not too many denied," said Mrs. Jordan.
Some counties have indigent screeners who interview jailed defendants
to find out more about a person’s ability to pay, said Ms. Cooper. Bruns
wick County does not.
If a defendant is found guilty the judge can issue a civil judgment requir
See Crime pays, page 8
Soaring Cost of
Figures represent legal fees for
Brunswick County's indigent.
1989-90 $178,281