Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Aug. 13, 1987, edition 1 / Page 1
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i I $ r i'- r I Three of 32 dcfemliitiLs iiufictecl Jiuic 11 on 300 counts of cocaine- trafficking have pleaded guilty. Assistant District Attorney Tom my Hicks sjiid Tuesday that Jack Truesdale, 32, of Ft. Myers. Fla., and CInrenci? Virgil Hoberts, 50, of Holden Beach, entered guilty pleas Monday in Brunswick County Superior Court. Fruesdale's wife, Donna Three Indicted By Jury Plead Guilty To Trafficking Cocaine Truesdale, entered a guilty plea Tue.sday. DeUiiLs were not available. She had been indicted on 31 counts of trafficking and conspiracy to traffic. Her husband, charged with 33 counts, pleaded guilty to 22: IG counts of conspiracy to traffic and six counts of trafficking by pos.session. Hicks said the minimum sentence would be “500 and some years.” .•\lsn Monday. Roberts pleaded guilty to all cfuirges against him: six counts each of trafficking and con spiracy to traffic. While Rolxirts and the True.sdales are the only defendants to plead guil ty so far, Hicks said he expects more pleas. "They are driving me crazy," he said at mid-day Tuestkiy. He and two of the SBI officers involved in the trafficking investigation met throughout the day Monday and Tuesday with attorneys for the defen dants. “We’re negotiating pleas in .some other cases, but we haven't entered them. Judge (Heno' W. i Hight has to leave Thursday, so we're running out of court time." Additional pleas could be taken during the next session of superior criminal court, which begins Aug. 31 and will be followed by a special week-long .session. Hicks .Sciid he expects all defen dants to be sentenced at the same time, after all cases have been com pleted either by trial or plea negotia tions. rtie Brunswick County in- vesUgative grand jury was the first of its kind in the state. It was created after tlie (leneral Assembly p.i.ssed .i law permitting such a jury to be formed to invesUg;ite tm ongoing criminal activity or specific criminal occurrence. It lias the (lower to com pel testimony. After four montlis of .vork the juiy was discharged of its investigative powers, but htis continued to sit .is ,i regular grand jury ci(.b-l‘,i 'ic frl':. Ic, ioLc.iJi-. a' r eiviP' I .. ■ :■ j ■ -I -7 ‘f : i I Twenty-fifth Year, Number 40 swicicinAcoN THE anuNswirx aEAcoo Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, August 13, 1987 25c Per Copy 30 Pages Plus Inserts flK PHOfOBY SUSAN USHIR THIS SIGN AT the Dixon Chapel Oyster Roast in Varnamtoini last October hinted that changes were in the making. A NV un_i_r-v I WON'T HURT FESTIVAL Oyster Season To Open Oct. 15 BY Sl.'SAN eSHKR .'\t the request of area fi.shermen. oy.ster season will open bx-ally on oel 15 two weeks l.-.ter liiaii in past years. Local oysters, however, will still be serx’cd at the N.C. Oyster Festival Oct. 10 and 11 at Seaside. The new statewide opening date also isn't expected to adversely affect the annual Dixon Chapel Oyster Roa.st, scheduled Oct. 2-t at the church in Varnamtown. The oy.ster festival has obtained a special dispensa tion from the N.t'. Division of Marine Fisheries to ob tain local oysters before opening day, according to Anne Marie Schettini, director of the South Bninswick Islands Chamber of C’oinmerce. which sponsors the pro motional event. “If anybody wants to eat oy.sters, they’ll have to come to our festival.” she added in a lighter vein. In an agreement reached with Division Director Bill Hogarth and two local oyster houses, Milliken’s at Shallotte Point and Carson Varniun’s at Varnamtown, pickers will be “tagged" so that they can hareest early without getting ticketed by enforcement officers. This yegr the festival will also have a guaranteed supply. “I.ast year we ran through them .so fast it was unbelievable,” .said Schettini. "This year we have a commitment for 250 bushels of oy.sters.” The change in schedule should help the Dixon Chapel Oyster Roast, said spoke.sman Marlene Var- num. "It will give us ample time to get some oy.sters." In past years, community members have sometimes been pushed for time in which to harvest sufficient oysters. To accommodate the new opening date, the church has changed the date for its roast from the second Saturday in October to the fourth Saturday in October. The church is located in the Varnamtown fishing community and many of its membei's were among the fishermen who urged the state to change the opening date. When the season opened la.st year, ihev said Uie water temperature was too warm, affecting both the quality and quantity of oy.sters. It was requests and petitions such as theirs, said Ed Mc-Coy, deputy director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, that led to the change in regulations. “This is what they wanted," he said. In pa.st years, the season has opened around Oct. 1 in North Carolina waters to the south of the Surf City Bridge, and on Oct. 15 to its north. This year all waters will open at the same time. The earlier date for the southern coast, said McCoy, had first been set in response to a competitive market situation in South Carolina. Previously the opening date was set by proclama tion; the Oct. 15 date is under new regulations that went into effect Sept. 1. The state reserves the right, however, to set by pro clamation a closing date as late as March 31 and to delay the opening of specified areas, such as manage ment areas where shellfish have been relaved or stock ed. "Where we’ve spent a lot of time and money to pro vide a product, we’ll hold the opening until a later date when they’re of better quality,” he said. “The manage ment areas are handled differently from public bot- tonus.” While the new regulations don’t become official un til Sept. 1, Dbcon Chapel church members were op timistic a year ago that the state could be swayed to cliange the 1987 season opening. They po.sted a sign at the oy.ster roa.st: “Watch for a new date change for our oyster rofist next year.” State Fines Developer $20,200 For Erosion Control Violations RY SUSAN USHER A Brunswick (,'ounty developer has been fined $20,200 by the N.C. Depart ment of Natural Resources and Com munity Development for violations of the state’s erosion control law. Jinuny Gore of Shallotte has been cited by the N.C. Division of l.;md Resources for violations at his 23-acre Sherrow River Development south of Shallotte on Gray Bridge Road off N.C. LtO. He was fined the maximum (lenal- ty of $100 per day for the '202 days from March 17,1987, through July G. Gore has 30 days in which to pay the fine or request an administrative hearing. Steve Conrad, division direitor, said Ciuie iittii a a./tamed ;; state approved erosion control (ilan for the project in April 19HG. but uas not following it. He was first sent a notice of viola tion by the de|>artmei'.t's Wilmington office in Deceml>er 198G following a site in.'ipcction. The inspection .showed that in grading for a boat ramp to a creek on the property Gore had not provided any erosion control measures, said Conrad. ALso, no ground cover was provided on graded, expased slopes and along ditches to prevent swlimentation from washing onto ad jacent properly and into a nearby creek. The property drains into the Shallotte River. Conrad said some progre.ss was made on the property in January, then it stopped. On Feb. '25, Gore was sent a second notice of violation. "There was .still basically the same problem," said ('Tinrad. "He was still not in com- Fiiies are based on a weighted [)oint .system that Uikes into account such factors as the nature of the violation, the acreage disturbed, the extent of off-site damage and .si'dimentation. While the |>uints may CANDIDATES: 3 Towns Just Couldn't Get Enough Of Them While candidates for public office are plentiful in some Briuiswick County towns, there aren't enough of them in others. The filing deadline lias been ex tended a week in Sunset Beach, Calabash and Nava.s.sa. According to the Brunswick County Board of Elec tions, residents of those towns hjive until noon Friday, Aug. 14, to file for office with the Brunswick CounW Board of Elections. The fee is $5. “This is the first time this has ever happened at Sunset Beach." said Town Administrator Linda Fluegel. By noon Friday only two can didates had filed for the three posts available, but by the end of the day Monday, there was a full slate. Councilwoman Mary Katherine Griffith filed for re-election and M Mason Barber Jr. filed for mayor. They were jouied Monday by Edward M. (Eddie) Gore Jr., whose lather. Ed Gore, is mayor pro-tem. Incumbents Mayor Jim Gordon and Councilman Donald Safrit have not filed. A county election official had sug gested to Fluegel that the low turnout of candidates might indicate residents like the way the town’s be ing run. If not that, added Fluegel, "the on ly thing I could think of is that they’re just not interested." It’s also the first year Brunswick County Board of Elections Super visor Lynda Britt can remember three boards coming up short of can didates. Navassa In Navassa, Mayor Bobby Brown and Commissioners Eulis A. Willis and rhomas V. Merrick filed for re- election. No one has filed for a third available .seat. Calabash Mayor Doug Simmons was the only candidate to file for office in Calabash, where efforts by the board to obtain funding for a water system ran into stiff opposition this year. .All five seats on the town council are available. They are currently held by Robert Weber, Sonia Stevens, Suzy Moore, Linda Roberts and Pati Lewellyn, none of whom plan to seek re-election. All terms are for two veal's. If at least one candidate hasn’t fil ed for every available seat in the tbree towns by nc«.m Kritlay, said Brunswick County Board of Elec tions Supervisor Lynda Britt, “filing will be clased and we will conduct the election.” Residents would still have an op portunity to run as write-in can didates. Several towns had no problem at tracting candidates. Holden Beach .At Holden Beach, while incumbent Jolm Tandy was the only po'wOn file for mayor, nine residents will vie for three seats on the town board of commissioner. One is an incumbent, flraham King. Commissioners Lym Holden and Hal Stanley did not seek re-election. Other candidates are Guilford Bass, Robert W. Buck, Donald I-' Carey Jr., Kemiit Coble, Ro.se Cole, Martin Feldt. Georgia l.angley and Margaret Vasco. Members will each ser\’e a two- year term. Gay Atkins and William William son will continue on the board, com pleting four-year teims. Shallotte Three candidates have filed for the three seats open on the Sliallotte Board of Aldermen. They are Aldermen David L. Gause and Wilton D. Harrelson, and Jody i Jay G.) Sim mons. Incumbent Bobby Ray Russ did not file for re-election. Contiiuiing on the board are Mayor Jrri-y .loncs and Aldermen Paul Wayne Reeves and Sarah Tripp. Oci-iUi ls\r Ucm ii Betty Williamson, ret'.•m'.., ,t|>- pointed to the office, is the only can didate for mayor of Ocean i.'-ic Beach. Five people are running for throe commissioners’ seats, including in cumbents Virginia Qibson and Deb bie S. Fox. Other candidates are DeCarol Williamson, who was ap pointed to the board earlier this month, John Brockington and Ed Stssl6. The mayor serves a two-year term and commissioners serve four-year terms. (See 3 TOWNS, Page 2-A) Calabash Is Without Council Candidates BY AURJORIE MEGIVERN Calabash may provide a knotty problem never before presented to the state board of elections, should their town coiuicil ballot remain empty through Friday. As of press time, no one had filed for any of the five seats open in a town where all council members run for election in the same year. Doug Simmons, incumbent mayor, has fil ed for re-election and is unopposed. add up to more than $100 a day, that’s the maximum fine allowed. A release from the department in dicated additional enforcement ac tion may be forthcoming. Gore has not Iwen a.s.sessed penalities for the days elapsed since July 6. Some previous erosion violations in the county have been handled with con.sent agreements, .said Conrad. "We’ve had a rash of the.se in Brunswick County in the past year,” he continued. "There’s so much development activity in the coastal areas.” The North Carolina Sedimentation Pollution Control Act requires developers to have a state approved erasion control plan on construction jiitcjs ono :*^’**? or in s*?o p^’lor ?o iiegiiiiiiiig construction. It also re quires erosion control measures suf ficient to retain sediment generated by construction within the boun daries of the project and out of streams. Jim Wallace, attorney for the state board of elections, said Tuesday, ’Tve never heard of this situation happening. If there are no write-in votes, and no one files. I’m not sure what we’d do, but we’d find some way of appointing members, or hav ing the governor help out. or ask the present board to continue serving un til the next election” The town had already -asked for and received a five-day extension for filing that expires P'riday. At Monday’s town council meeting. Council Member Pati Lewellyn ask ed Town Attorney Mike Ramos, "What happens if no one files?" and he replied, "You all have to stay in office, if there are no write-ins." Wallace e.xplained that even one candidate or one write-in would con stitute, with the mayor, a governing body that could fill the other vacan cies by appointment. Most of the incumbent council members said the job was too demanding for them to continue, con sidering the constraints of their jobs. Lewellyn, a realtor, said, "If you do it the way it should be done, it’s so time-consuming, and I have to work for a living.” She added that the attitude of townspeople was also a factor in her decision to step down. "We’ve gotten so much criticism, I don’t know why no one has filed to replace us,” she said. That was the feeling of Robert Lewellyn, is completing his first term of public office. “It’s been in teresting,” he said, "but you don’t get any backing from the town.” The council's recent decision to build a water system, beginniiig with one road whose properly owners would be assessed amounts up to $400, was hotly protested by some residents. Council Member Suzi .Moore, who owns a grocery store and photography studio, also completing her first full term, said. "If I was written in. I’d serx-e, but I don t need any volunteer work.” linda Roberts is -anoth.er inci:::: bent who had not serx ed in public of fice before her two-year teni; in Calabash. "I think I’ve done son'" thing.; while in office,” she said, “but 1 didn't want to take a seat from so meone who could do better. .Also, you run into so much criticism from [leo- ple who want things, but don’t want to pay for them.” The only incumbent council iiieiii’uei wiiii pieviuus .--ei mcc i.s Sonia Stevens, who was on the coun cil for one previous term, after whicfi she served a tenii as ni.iyor Stevens could not lx* reached for comment. Two Killed In Fiery Wreck Near Supply Two Shallotte residents were killed in a ficiT automobile wi'ock Saturday afternoon on N.C. 211 north of Supply. A third victim was still listed in serious condition Tue.sday at the N.C. Memorial Hospital Burn Center in Chapel Hill. Southern National Bank citv ex ecutive James Leo Johnson Jr , 38. »f Village Point Estates, and Kimberly Neal Pierce, 15, also of Shallotte, were killed in the two-car collision '20.4 miles north of Shallotte. Sherri Jane Hawes Outlaw, of Civietowii, a passenger in the car dnx'cn by Ms. Pierce, 'was taken to the Brunswick Hospital in Supply and later transported to Chapel Hill. Ms. Pierce was student driving for Ms. Outlaw, an instructor with Brunswick Driving School. .According to State Trooper R.L. .’mui ray’s report, Johp;ion’s 1386 Dat- suii was traveling at a "very high rate of speed when it ran off the road on the right just before meeting” a 1986 Chevrolet operated by Ms. Pierce, who was driving north on N.C. 211. JohiLson s car camt* liack ontu tlie roadway, skidded sidew.iys and crossed over into the left lane. I'lie front of Ms. Pierce's car struck the Johnson vehicle in the right door, the report .stated. Roth cars traveled off the nxidway and (iown an eiiiiiankmem wriere they caught fire and burned. rrooiuT Murray reported. .lohnson was thrown from Ins vehi cle. .Murray’s re|X)it iiulicated there (See 'l’WO KILLED. I’age '2- A i
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 13, 1987, edition 1
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