Volume 63/ Number 7
Southport, N.C.
October 6,1993/ 50 cents
Fire spreads through the Swansquarter condominium complex on Bald Head Island
Photo by Bonny Banas
Blaze destroys 38 Bald Head condos
By Jim Harper
Staff Writer
A raging fire swept the Swansquarter condominium
complex on Bald Head Island’s south beachfront last
Thursday night, destroying Jen three-story frame struc
tures and routing some 25 occupants but injuring no
one.
The fire was the worst in island history and the
damage estimate of S5.7 million with 38 apartment
units destroyed made it one of the most destructive
Brunswick County blazes of all time.
An island resident who watched from Horsemint
Trail, 1,500 feet upwind from the fire scene, said, "I
Similar clusters exist along the coast, p. 3
could feel the heat. It was hot. That’s why I know no
body could have put that fire out."
Bald Head Island fire chief Gregg Turner said that
the fire commenced around 10 p.m. in apartment 9-A —
in the second building in the complex off South Bald
Head Wynd - when an in-wall heating-cooling unit
burst into flames.
The occupants of that apartment fled, and other
Swansquarter visitors were either alarmed by the grow
ing flames or alerted by workers and guests from the tl
nearby Bald Head Island Club, or by public safety of- ti
fleers who were quickly on the scene. v
Mrs. June Dedmon of Fresno, Calif., newly arrived
on the island for her son’s Saturday wedding, had been s
inside her Swansquarter apartment for only a few fc
minutes. t
"I heard what sounded like rain on the roof, and I
looked out and the whole thing was engulfed," she later
)ld friends.
She and her husband fled down stairs, though other
ccupants said they had to shinny down porch-posts on
te back side of some burning buildings.
Within minutes the strong northerly wind whipped
te building nine fire out of control and adjacent struc
tres began to smolder. Soon three more buildings
'ere in flames.
Island firefighters alerted by the county 911 system
;arted pumping water on apartment buildings not yet
lazing, but were forced by advancing fire to abandon
teir position and relinquish the remaining two struc
See Overwhelming, page 3
Long Beach
primary sets
election field -
By Holly Edwards
Municipal Editor
Nearly half of the registered voters in Long
Beach turned out Tuesday to narrow the field of
mayoral candidates to two and council member
candidates to six.
A total of 1,346 voters went to the polls; 2,830
are registered to vote. The results of the primary
election will remain unofficial until the board of
elections approves them Thursday morning.
Incumbent mayor Joan Altman and Rupert
Riley will proceed to the November 2 general
election, as former mayor John Vereen III was
eliminated from the race with 257 votes. Altman
received the most votes, 558, while Riley was
named on 506 ballots. |
Altman said she believed residents supported
her because they liked her style of leadership.
"I think they appreciated my openness as a can
didate," she said. "And I think people support my
positive view for the future of the town."
Asked why he felt the people of Long Beach
supported him, Riley responded: "I guess they
liked what I said, and that’s about all I can say."
He pointed to the logo on his card - "Repre
sentative government and fiscal responsibility" -
to describe his platform.
The six candidates for town council who will
head into the general election are Frances Allen
(566), Kevin Bell (451), Helen Cash well (529),
David Drummond (543), Jeff Ensminger (444)
and Danny Leonard (462).
Candidates who were eliminated include
Carlton Frazier (282), Doris Hertel (238),
Timothy Jones (203) and Dan Windsor (84).
Allen, Cashwell and Drummond all said they
felt voters were behind them because the people
of Long Beach want a change.
"I think the message is loud and clear that we
need a change," said Allen. "We’re trying to
reflect the issues of the people, and we care
about people as opposed to vested interests."
Cashwell also said she believed she had the
people’s support because the majority of voters
did not feel represented by the town council.
■a mm
ENSMINGER
mmm
ALLEN
CASHWELL
DRUMMOND
$5-10 million project
Unit 1 shroud to be repaired
By Holly Edwards
Municipal Editor
The primary cause of a crack in
Carolina Power & Light Co.’s Unit
1 reactor shroud may have been the
type of material General Electric
used to make it, said Nuclear
Regulatory Commission regional
director Stewart Ebneter.
However, CP&L vice-president
Roy Anderson indicated that his
company does not intend to wrangle
with G.E. over the cost of the repair,
which is now estimated to be be
tween $5 million and S10 million.
"We’ll decide later where the re
sponsibility lies,” Anderson said.
"What we’re looking for right now
is to get the basic repair design com
plete."
The crack is described as being
The crack is described as being jagged
and about as thick as a business card; it
surrounds the entire 14-foot circum
ference of the shroud, where large pieces
of stainless steel are welded together,
and in some places is halfway through
the metal
jagged and about as thick as a busi
ness card. It surrounds the entire 14
foot circumference of the shroud,
where large pieces of stainless steel
are welded together, and in some
places is halfway through the metal.
Ebneter said the crack does not pos
a problem during normal operatio
of the plant, but could prevent plar
operators from using the contrc
rods to shut down the reactor in th
event of an earthquake.
The shroud is located within the
reactor and houses the uranium
filled control rods. It also serves to
direct the flow of radioactive water
and provides lateral support for the
fuel core. If the crack worsened and
an earthquake occurred, Ebneter ex
plained that the shroud could shift at
the crack line and prevent reactor
operators from inserting the control
rods to shut down the reactor.
If that were to happen, he said, the
reactor could still be shut down by
injecting a large amount of boron
into the core. Boron acts to absorb
the neutrons which keep the radioac
i tive process going.
1 Asked to rank the severity of the
t shroud crack and the faulty bolts
1 found in the generator building,
; which led to the plant shutdown, Eb
See Shroud, page 5
Record king is
worth $42,820
The largest fish in U. S. Open King Mackerel Tournament history earned
542,820 for Terry Turner and his Goodtime crew from Wilmington here
Saturday.
The whopping 52.4-pound king taken east of Frying Pan Shoals late Fri
day - opening day of the two-day event — was the third over-50 fish in
the tournament’s 15-year history and earned far more than its 50.40-pound
and 50.25 forebears, caught in 1986 and 1985 when first prize was
520,000.
Fishing with Turner were Fred Graham, Roy Bain and Doky Saffo.
With a 525,000 first prize in this year’s Open, the additional 517,820
from the "tournament within a tournament" made Turner’s catch the third
largest money-winner in Open history.
Last year, Jack Wood won 543,855 with a 40.15-pounder, and in 1991
David Stallings won 543,207 with a 42.05-pound king.
Second-place finisher Saturday was Clint Hines of Wilmington aboard
See U. S. Open, page IS
Forecast
The extended forecast
calls for a ‘good
chance’ of showers on
Thursday with a high
near 70. Friday and
Saturday, expect partly
cloudy skies with highs
in the 80s and lows in
the 50s. Cooler weather
returns Sunday, with
highs in the 70s.
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7
12:10a.m. 6:35 a.m.
12:50 p.m. 7:19 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8
1:08 a.m. 7:31a.m.
1:49 p.m. 8:19 pm.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9
2:17 a.m. 8:36 a.m.
2:52 pm. 9:24 pm.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10
3:27 am. 9:44 am.
3:57 p.m. 10:27 pm.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 11
4:32 am. 10:50 am.
4:58 pm. 11:24 pm.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12
5:35 am. 11:51am.
5:56 pm. pm.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13
6:33 am. 12:18 am.
6:52 p.m. 12:47 p.m.
The following 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 Inlet, high -22, low -8.