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A NF.W DOUBLE FIRE WALL sin]
ShallolU' Kh'clrip Supply, which reopi
almost as usual Tuesday with some s
ATMC To /
Expand Se
BY SUSAN USIIER
Atlantic Telenhnno Mpmiwrshin
Corp. plans to expand and improve
its cable television service in 1987,
General Manager Kussell Price told
county commissioners Monday
night.
In his progress report, Price said
he expects the coop to add 10 channels
while waiting the way to clear
for extension of service to a projected
2,000 to 2,500 potential new
customers.
United Carolina Hank has agreed
to finance the added channels, eight
basic and two premium or extracharge.
ATMC has filed for approval
from the Federal Communications
Commission and expects to be able to
construct the new facility during the
first quarter of 1987.
The new channels will include, as
part of the basic service, the Weather
Channel, Arts & Entertainment, the
Nashville Network, USA, MTV, the
Black Entertainment Network and
OSpan, or Cable News Network
24-hour news service, while
EM
IJY MAIUOKII'. MKGI\
One of the most controversial,
ever to face the Environmental Man
sion was resolved Sept. 11 when
adopted to control stormwater ni
many to lx? a serious pollut.'int of she
the coast.
The EMC put to rest, at least tcr
between developers and cnvironmc
terests tliat has raged for over a yc?
not want the stringent regulations ovi
of one-half inile from the shorciint
recommended by their opponents.
Regulations approved last we
promise. After two votes rejected
1,000-foot distance as the area of ei
cern, a mid-afternoon proposal o
F
IC'H firemen ilireet a large-st
r nni
1N3 BOOK BINDERY
12/31/39
;^T Ml
luLh a
HIIlMMi
ppcd tlie fir-r at damage. The si
mod for business eluding four oct
moke and water
\dd Cable1
rvice Area
eliminating two duplicate channels
The Movie Channel and the Disnej
Cliannel will lie added as preniiun
services.
Price expects to propose at thi
next ATMC board meeting a bnsi<
service rate of $11.75 at the time thi
new channels come on line. The cur
rent base rale is $8.50.
The initial basic package would in
elude a desktop converter as an in
centive for customers. The convertei
would be "addressable" by compute]
from ATMCs office, he said, whict
mcaiLs service could be directed to;
new customer rapidly.
When ATMC was first issued tlu
cable franchise in 1080. it anticipatcc
federal aid in financing three con
linuous phases of construction, hul
the program was ended before the
first phase of construction was evci
completed.
Efforts to obtain private sectoi
financing have been hindered
because the co-op's mortgage agree
rnent with the Hural Electrificatior
Authority gives it first liens on cur
C Adopts C
rKKN regulated area
emotional issues The new n
ageinent C'ommis- jccLs within 57
regulations were more Hum on<
noff, believed by director of em
llfish waters along authority to <
shellfish water
nporarily, a battle Developnu
ntalist/fishing in- regulated mo
lr. Developers did distance. They
er a proposed area fall from the w
? that wore heine mirvimic -r..
account for iik
ok wore a cornI
a 75-foot and a Dcvelopmc
nvironmcntal con- the 575-foot zo
f 575-foot as the surfaces excee
/
ream monitor on the hln7.e, whir
1NSW
.lino, Thursday Septemk
vcn remaining stores were razed, inupicd
liv businesses.
Channels;
s In '87
rent and future properties.
> "The result of this predicament."
i be said, "is we have many
subscribers without CATV service
i living close to others who do liavu
: service," a serious concern for co-op
j officials.
But Price said he expects the
federal government to soon release
co-ops from these liens so they can
- seek outside financing.
"It's looking much better than it
p has for quite a while now." lie said,
i With the new services and attraction
i of new customers, he added. "We
should be coming out of red here in
something like the second quarter of
I 1987."
I Targeting of areas for sendee ex,
tension will be based on economics,
or projected rate of return, he said.
The co-op also plans to design Phase
II so that there will he no more
I niciiiiKTS wunoui cable service living
within 300 feet of members with
x service, and with a minimum
(See OIANNKI-S. Page 2-A)
Compromise
was okayed by weary KMC members,
ilcs will apply to major construction pro's
feet of a marsh shoreline, that cover
acre, excluding most residences. The
k'ironmental management will have the
exempt projects that do not threaten
s.
juts within 75 feet of the shore will he
re strictly than those Injyond that
will tiave to build lagoons to collect raiuorst
storm likely within two years, if inices
(rooftops, driveways, parking lots)
ire than 15 percent of the total acreage.
MILS outsail* the 75-fcct area, but within
ne, must cohort rainfall if impervious
<130 (torrent of the total area.
.. 1 -.tff".
h by 5:30 a.m. Tuesday had engu
>er 18. 1986 2
Blaze Gi
Wall Sav
BY SUSAN USIIER
Shallotte Electric Supply was back
in business Tuesday morning almo.-t
as usual, the only one of eight connecting
stores left intact after a predawn
fire swept through l-owis Shopping
Center on the south side of Shallotte's
downtown business strip.
Emergency Management Coordinator
Cecil Logan's fervent,
j "Thank God for the fire wall."
echoed a sentiment expressed again
and again throughout the morning as
Shallotte Electric owner Alton
Milliken. his family, employees and
friends surveyed the supply store.
Shallotte Eire Chief Mike Arnold,
soaked to the skin, tired anil sooty.
had few words. "It shows the need for
fire walls," he said as he looked for
rope to secure the site. "And we appreciate
all the help we not-"
Before daylight, fans were already
venting smoke from the supply
store's interior; inside some water
had run down the fire wall and puddled
on the floor. But the merchandise
was intact.
The wall had been in place approximately
a week, according to
Milliken, and was almost completed.
Vinyl sheeting still separated the
work area from the rest of the store.
Vehicles slowed lo a crawl as
Shallotte Police closed the south enil
intersection to all hut fire-related
traffic. Thev rerouted morning traffic
off U.S. 17 onto N.C. 179 and
Bridgers Itoad.
By mid-morning Atlantic
Telephone had temporarily rerouted
and restored service to a half-dozen
businesses which losl connections
along with the hunied-out stores, ac
cording to Jackson Canady of the
operations office.
At the shopping center, fire adjusters,
SHI and local investigators
began sifting through the rubble for
clues as to how and where the fire
had started. Firefighters stood by
throughout the day to put out
hotspots as they pop{>ed up.
The fire destroyed seven stores,
four of which were occupied:
Stmllottc Furniture Store, where the
? Stormwate
The regulations will expire Dec. 3
while, the 1987 (ieneral Assembly will pr
a reclassification study of the suite's co
Jerry l.ewis, KMC member from
voted for the 75-foot AE(\ said everyone
"voted their conscience," on a mutter tl
ed Brunswick County and the state. "Aft
votes, I didn't think we'd yet any actio,
avoided everyl>ody, because I didn't war
either group, I was so confused. Then,
mconc showed inc this new proposal am
could support it."
While I/Cwis said he did not particip;
vote on 575 feet, he is satisfied with the i
"What bothered me all along was the
the August workshop that there is iu
Ik
lfed much of the Lewis Shopping
5c Per Copy 30 F
its Sever
es One E
fire apparently started; Poole's i
Towel Outlet; Tripp's Jewelry Shop;
and Country Curl Beauty Salon.
Begun in the early 1960s, the center
was huilt befost fire walls became a
requirement of the state building I
cod' !
Milliken had recently bought his
business's portion of the shopping
center?tlie store and a detached
warehouse from its new owners, C
& S Investments, Inc.. Principals ui
the firm are Connor and Hae Cox and
Tripp Sluane of Ocean Isle Beach.
Milliken liad built one side of the double
firewall; they, the other. ,
A passing deputy sheriff. Carl
Pearson, reported the fire to the I
nruiLsuu'K rnuniy MieriH's Depart- i
mcnt at 3:50 a.m. Tuesday.
Once Shallotte firefighters were i
dispatched, there was hardly a pause ;
before the county dispatcher began a I
litany that summoned mutual aid *
from the Ocean Isle Beach, Shallotte I
Point, Supply, Tri-Beach, Sunset 1
Beach, Calabash and Waccamaw t
departments. 1
Within the hour there were 60 I
volunteer firefighters and 14 pieces
of equipment on the scene i
Streams directing thousands of
gallons of water over and into the j
structure slowed, but didn't stop the
fire as it sped along the new, tarred
roof, engulfing one store and then i
another.
"I don't think any of them could
have done anything differently." said
Logan at 7 a.m., as firefighters began
rolling up and washing a maze of 1
hoses that vaguely resembled dirty i
spaghetti. "They all fell in and work- j
ed together."
Thick, acrid smoke was rising i
from the debris as the dirty part of j
the firemen's work began-clean-up.
Only an hour or two before flames t
and cinders were shooting, by I
several bystanders' estimates, up to ?
150 feet in the air. They cast an eerie l
golden sheen on the Shallotte River, (
which flows behind Uie shopping
center. i
"You could see the fire from the i
bridge at Ocean Isle Beach. It was a 1
r Regulatioi
I, 1987. Mean- regulating beyond 75
ovide funds for said decisions would
astal waters. think they should be I
Me said the positb
Shallotte, who meeting was the auth
at the meeting unbiased people of
Lit has polariz- reclassified. "For ins
er the first two Beach and Little Kivt
ri," he said. "I are still classified sh
it to get in with think we'll see soim
about 8:00. so- documented reasons
i asked me if 1
Lewis said he bel
ite in the voice evidence is needed la
outcome. incut. If we'd done t
staff saying at day (Sept. 10), we'd
i evidence for telligent decisions.
\
M?imwiiiiiii iiMBBaaa?i
Siwr >ho:cmi>
Center complex.
'ages Plus Supplement
i Stores;
business
IllnU' in tho eld' " cm) AI CVnu f" "!
in Ocean Isle Beach fireman en ihe
scene.
The blaze apparently began near
the center of the shopping plaza, at
Shallotto Furniture.
Logan said Deputy Pearson saw
smoke across the highway and pulled
into the shopping center to investigate.
He said he saw the fire in Uie store
and drove around back. About that
time the rear door blew out. He drove
on around to the front and the plateglass
windows were shattering.
it had been smoldering a while."
tie continued, it may have been burning
for 45 minutes or longer."
iimy minutes later. as iirefigntcrs
liegan puliing up with sirens blaring
ind lights flashing, flames burst
through the roof, with the entire store
ingulfed. The fire spread quickly to
Poole's Towel Center on the right and
then ran into the fire wall at the electric
supply. From the furniture store
the flames also spread to the south,
toward the jewelry store.
Owner Bill Tripp and his family
.vatched helplessly as the store burn?d;
they had been called too late to
salvage any mercltandise.
(See B1 ME, Page 2-A)
BTC Graduation
And Pinning Set
The sixth annual Brunswick
Technical College graduation exer
rises will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday
it Sliallottc Middle School.
Bobbie Varnam, who helped
.'stablish the college in 1979. will be
iucsl speaker.
Graduates of the college's pracical
nurse education program were
0 culminate their year of study with
1 pinning ceremony at 7 p.m.
tVednesday at Supply Baptist
.'hurch.
The pin. designed by the first BTC
nirsing graduates, symbolizes the
lursing profession, the college and
Brunswick County.
IS
feet," he said. "Beyond that, they
be based on policies or politics. I
based on facta."
cc action coming out of last week's
orization of a study by expert and
what waters might need to bo
lance, the waters between Sunset
;r luive been closed since 1964, but
icllfish waters." he explained. "I
c re-classification, and we need
for the change."
ieves more authoritative, reliable
ihind coastal controls on develop
\vi? years ??k? wnai we did yesierbe
in a position now to make in
i