INSIDE Sports, page 12 Classifieds, p. 1C Tv Volume 62/ Number 25 Southport, N.C February 10,1993/ 50 cents Fraud puts stamp on program Abuse hurts those who need assistance By Terry Pope County Editor Shirley Weston steers an imagi nary car across her office, gripping the wheel with both hands to demon strate how someone who lives in Penn sylvania drives for hours to pick up food stamps issued in Brunswick County. "To them it's worth it," said Ms. Weston. "Food stamps can buy a lot of crack (cocaine). It's a big business. It goes on all over the country." Last year, her office collected more than $29,000 from persons caught defrauding the Brunswick County Department of Social Services of food stamps they didn’t need. As one of two fraud investigators, her job is to track down the suspects and haul them to court. Persons out to abuse the system often file for food stamps in several states, wherever they may have rela tives or can open post office boxes. She has found ones with homes in Florida, Tennessee, New York and South Carolina who defraud the county of up to $580 a month in food stamps. Often the stamps are sold illegally at below value to retailers who turn a profit by cashing them in, or to drug dealers who turn the federally funded paper slips into green cash. If caught, retailers also face prosecution. "It's worth it,” said Ms. Weston. "It's worth driving from the other end A day’s work ends with tamping a piling freshly installed at the end of the Yaupon Beach fishing pier. Reconstruction of the structure has passed the Photo by Jim Harper 450-foot mark -- roughly the half-way point -- and work continues with an eye toward opening for business in March. of South Carolina for $500. That does go on, especially with us being near the South Carolina border. It's very easy and convenient." Dual participation cases are those where the clients receive food stamps in more than one state, and she worked six such cases in Brunswick County last year. Others may file false re ports, make errors on their applica tions or mistakenly receive stamps due to administrative errors. Some defendants are given active jail terms, and all are ordered to repay DSS for what they have stolen. However, many Brunswick County residents who receive food stamps do need them to buy food for their fami lies. Eligibility is based on income and the number of persons in a house hold. Approximately 2,418 county households received stamps valued at $398,927 in December. Figures indi cate that number is growing, up from 2,361 families in November. "Without them, they would have problems," she said. "The majority of clients are truly in need. Those are not the kind of people I'm talking about when I'm talking about fraud." DSS hired two investigators, who have both earned national certifica tion,in 1988 and collected $19,376 in repayments that year. Thedepartment also received $18,814 in 1989, See Fraud, page 16 MSS® Maybe in March 'Aggressive' schedule aims at CP&L restart By Terry Pope County Editor Officials at Carolina Power and Light Co.'s Brunswick nuclear plant near Southport say they are working an "aggressive" schedule to restart one reactor unit next month and a second one in June. But a problem with a large cooling system valve may push that plan a few weeks behind schedule. Roy Anderson, vice-president of CP&L's Brunswick plant, said the company will know more this week when workers take the valve apart to determine what repairs are needed. If there are no delays, the company will restart Unit 2 around March 21 and Unit 1 by June 7. "They have a lot of work to do, and there's only about seven weeks to do it in," said Stewart Ebneter, Region II administrator for the Nuclear Regula tory Commission. ‘You heard me as king, "Who is responsible?" There seems to be a little mix-up on who’s in charge, but I think it’s getting better ’ Stewart Ebneter NRC administrator CP&L officials met with the NRC last Thursday to review progress on plans to restart the Brunswick steam electric plant. Both generating units have been shut down since April 21 of last year when inspectors found faulty construction in the diesfel generator building walls. Engineers have used a low-density silicone filler to slope and to line the concrete walls where the problem area was discovered, a move that should provide permanent protection there, said CP&L's Morris Brown. "We're in the process of learning what it's like to go through a rigorous startup," said Brown. ”We are getting our operators ready." Those operators are also visiting other plants and undergoing simula tor training, he said. The NRC will meet with CP&L officials again in early March to re view plans to restart Unit 2. NRC staff will also observe how plant operators train prior to restarting. "We're not here to requalify them," said Peter Koltay of NRC's opera tional readiness assessment team, "but See Restart, page 16 OUTSIDE Forecast Showers and thunder storms are likely Thurs day and Friday, with high temperatures in the 60s and lows in the 40s. The extended forecast calls for breezy weather and partly cloudy skies Satur day and Sunday, with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s. Tide table HIGH LOW THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 11:23 ajn. 5:14 a.m. -p.m. 5:32 p.m. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12 12:03 ajn. 6:09 a.m. 12:17 pjn. 6:27 p.m. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 1:02 a.m. 7:09 a.m. 1:17 p.m. 7:26 p.m. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 2:05 a.m. 8:14 a.m. 2:18 p.m. 8:28p.m. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15 3:07 a.m. 9:17 a.m. 3:23 p.m. 9:31p.m. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16 4:08 ajn. 10:16 a.m. 4:22 p.m. 10:28 p.m. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 5:04 ajn. 11:09 a.m. 5:15p.m. 11:20p.m. The Mowing adjustments should be made: Bald Head Island, high -10, low -7; Caswell Beach, high -5, low -1; Southport, high +7, low +15, Yaupon Beach, high -32, low -45; Lockwood Folly, high -22, low -8. Fight rumors disrupt schools By Marybeth Bianchi Feature Editor Last week was not an easy one at the two South Brunswick schools on Cougar Drive. Rumors of knives, guns, racial unrest at the high school and a possible riot in the middle school circulated throughout the Southport-Oak Island area for days, culminating on Friday when many parents either kept their children at home or picked them up early in the day. Even so, it turned out to be a fairly quiet day with no major distur bances, according to school officials. Leslie Collier of Long Beach and about 30 other parents joined a sheriffs department deputy and central office administrator^ in patrolling the middle school. She said they were there to send the message that they See Rumors, page 16 Lewis new principal Mose Lewis was named Mon day night lo serve as principal of South Brunswick Middle School the remainder of this school year. The Brunswick County Board «P* :•'! at Waccamaw Elementary <| School the move comes after a week of unrest at the school in ' [pthich rumors of a riot on Fri* to the school and emptied class \ towns. m Lewis will be taking over fofif Les Tubb, who was granted a - 1v v ■ ^ % v , <■ KKy 'if

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