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Twenty-sixth Year, Number 1
.pFv iNfiPor'iT 1
:>nailotte, North Carolina. Thursday. November 12. 1987
^CON
25c Per Copy
36 Pages Plus Insai i
Robinson Gsts 28 Yoors As Throe Sentenced In Cocoine Coses
BY RAHN ADAMS
Three Supply area men who wore
indicted in June by a special In
vestigative grand jury on cocaine
charges were sentenced Nov. A in
Brunswick County Superior Court.
According to the clerk of court’s of
fice. Rocky Ivee Robinson and Kdgar
Lee Caison Jr. received active prison
terms, while Jerry Gale Clemmons
got a suspended sentence.
All three were awaiting sentencing
after having entered guilty pleas
Aug. 13 in Superior Court.
Robinson, 26, of Route 3, Supply,
received the stiffest sentence of the
three.
Judge Samuel T. Cuirin gave
Robinson a 28-year prison term and
$200,000 fine, on two counts of con
spiracy to possess more than 28
grams of cocaine and two counts of
trafficking by possession of more
than 28 grams of cocaine. He had
pleaded guilty as charged in his in
dictment.
Robinson’s attorney. Michael
Ramos of Shallottc, gave notice that
the sentence will be appealed, accor
ding to the clerk of court’s office.
District Attorney Michael Easley
said this week that Robinson receiv
ed the minimum mandaton' sentence
in his case, which included a $50,000
fine for each of the four counts.
Court documents showed that
Robinson could have gotten a max
imum of 60 years in prison.
“It Robinson’s sentence) is con
sistent with those who have not fur
nished .substantial assistance to the
state." Easley said this week. "He
fRobinson) didn’t render much
assistance.”
Robinson’s sentence was not the
most severe judgment handed down
in recent years in a Brunswick Coun
ty drug case. Easley said, citing a
35-year prison term and S200.000 fine
given Christopher Glenn Ford of
Tuscon, Ariz., in 1983.
Ford was arrested in May 1983, in
connection with the seizure of H.OOO
pounds of marijuana from a trailer at
I.akewood Estates near Ocean I.sle
Beach.
According to the clerk of court’s of
fice. Caison, 41. of Route 2. Supply,
received a 10-year active sentence.
Caison had pleaded guilty in
August to six counts of possession of
cocaine and six counts of conspiracy
to traffick in cocaine, involving bet
ween one and 28 grams of Uie con
trolled substance. Ho had been in
dicted on six counts of conspiracy to
traffic and trafficking by possession
of more than 28 grams of cocaine.
During the .same Augu.st term,
Clemmons, 27, of Supply, entered a
guilty plea to possession of more tlian
one gram of cocaine, and an addi
tional charge of conspiracy to traffic
in cocaine against him was dismiss
ed.
I^st week. Clemmons was handed
a two-year sentence, suspended for
three years, with three years of
supervised probation.
Also, he was ordered to pay a $500
fine and court costs, and must submit
to counseling, warrantless searches
and lie detector tesls.
Some 21 drug defendants fi'ui) in
dictments in June and Jul> have
entered guilty pleas and are awailirm
sentencing in Brunswick (’ouiiIn
Superior Court.
According to Easley .unl ,\.>.si.sta. :
District Alt(nney William WoJak.
who has handUvl me.st t*f the d-ug
cases in court, many ef
defendants will be .senleuLed dunug
the Nov. 16 lenn of Superior (. ouri.
In all. 38 persons were indieled.
here on cocaine charges in June and
July, with eiglit of tied number std!
awaiting trial.
Citizens Support Reactivotbn
g| Of Cawcaw Drainaae District
COMMISSIONER CHRIS CHACPElJ. (second from
left) answers questions from clUzens atlciidhig Friday
night’s public hearing n( the Calnha.sh Fire Station con
cerning the r(^cstabll.shment of the Cawcaw Drainage
SIAM fttolOKr AOa'AS
Dist4‘icl. Also pictured (from Icftj are Cumuiissiuner
Jim Poole. County Attorney David Clegg ami
Brunswick County Soil and Water Conservation
District Chairman James Bellamy.
TERMS ARE RUNNING OUT
Calabash Board Hastens Wafer Project
BY DOUG RUTTER
In an effort to make its last month
in office productive, Calabash Town
Council Monday took several .steps
which may provide county water ser
vice to the town's waterfront.
Following a brief executive sc.s-
sion, council adopted a preliminary
assessment resolution for water line
installation along Ivey High Road
and Oak Street.
Although no specific tenns of the
resolution were decided. Mayor Doug
Simmons said the resolution will
mo«st likely call for property owners
receiving the ser\'ice to pay 100 per
cent of the installation casts after the
work has been completed.
He said the town will probably fund
the project upfront, assess the pro
perty owners, and use the collected
assessments to proceed with the next
phase.
Council set a public hearing on the
resolution for Nov. 30, which will like
ly be the last meeting of the current
tx)ard. All but three members. Mayor
Doug Simmons and Councilmcn
Sonia Stevens and Pati Lewellyn, will
be replaced come December.
Stevens was the only member al>
sent at Monday's meeting.
Council also asked Alan Lewis of
Ix*wis & Associates to draft a con
tract for the installation of water
lines and to complete the $9,000 water
engineering study as soon as possi
ble.
I^wis was hired last month to con
duct the study and design, which in
cludes a loop off N.C. 179 consisting
of Ivey High Road, Oak Street and
RivcR'iew Drive.
Council called a special meeting
for 4:30 p.m., Nov. 16, at which time
it expects to approve the engineering
design.
lycwis said he could have the plans
completed by Nov. 13, and if council
approves the plans Monday they will
be sent to Raleigh for state aproval.
I^wis said it would take at least 30
days for the state to approve the
plans and that council could not sign
with any contractor until that time.
Council also decided Monday to use
one contract for the project, with the
contractor supplying the materials
himself instead of contracting out
both materials and labor.
I.«wis said that in terms of price,
"I don’t think you’re going to realize
a ver>' significant difference either
way."
He also warned that if the town
decides to build the water system one
phase at a time, the pressure to the
watertront in phase one will be
"borderline" in terms of fire safety
and serving a hydrant. He recom
mended that the entire loop be com-
(Sce CAl4/\BASH. Page 2-A)
BY R.\HN ADAM.S
"It s one of those situations where
you’re never going to please
everyone in the di.strict. Rut tonight
you’ve seen 175 people here, and they
spoke favorably for reorganization."
That was Commissioner Chris
Chappell’s response following a
H'j-hour public hearing Friday night
at Calabash F'ire Station concerning
reactivation of the Cawcaw Drainage
District.
As a result of the hearing. comini.s-
sioners are expected to meet in joint
session with the Brunswick County
Soil and Water Conservation Board,
to decide whether or not Clerk of
Superior Court Diana Morgan should
be asked to reactivate the dlslrirl.
Chappell said commissioners will
probably set a date for the joint ses
sion at the coinnussioners* Nov. tr>
mceLmg.
Chappell and ('ommission CJuiir-
mnn Grace Beasley told the gather
ing Friday night that action on the
matter by tlie two boards Is expected
by Jan. 1.
"I think that’s wiiat’s going to have
to be done (reactivating the
district)," Ms. Beasley said after the
hearing, "(but) do we do it by going
in and requesting that it be re
established, or do we do it with a
referendum—a vote of the people?
"And then your problem after
that—or your consideration—is how
do you fund it," Ms. Beasley added.
Chappell slated during the hearing
that the total area affected by the
Cawcaw drainage system has an
estimated tax value of almost $119
million.
At least 175 residents of the area af
fected by the drainage district, which
is located in southwestern Brunswick
County, packed the fire station to
question county officials and to pro
vide input on how to restore the more
than 16 miles of overgrown,
neglected canals in the Cawcaw
drainage system.
On hand at the public hearing were
the full Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners. Brunswick County
Soil and Water Conscrv’alion District
• hairman James Bellamy. Dirk
t'lallo of the U.S. Soil Conser%'aUon
Sen.’ice. N.C. Uep. David Uedwine
and three fom^or (*aweaw UrainuKC
District Commissioners Kendall
Bellamy, Wendell Bennett and Jenn
ings Edge.
A majority of the ciiizcn.s in atten
dance are residents of Carolina
Shores, a .subdivision near Calaba.sh
with ditches that drain into the
Cawcaw system. According to James
Bellamy, the subdivision joined the
drainage district prior to dissolution
of the district in 1976 by the
Brunswick County clerk of court.
Near the close of the public hear
ing, Chappell asked for a show of
hands of those who supported re
establishment of the district. The
vote was unanimous.
However, earlier in llie hearing, at
least two of the approximately ’()
people who addressed commis
sioners expressed concerns about re
establishment of the draj!jag‘*
district.
Mendel Norris of Hi kman s
Crassroads said he was opposed tn
any type of assessment because ln’
fell the people who were in llie
original district shmiUln l have to pay
again.
Also. Wanis Bennett, also of
Hickman’s Cro.s.sroads. siiid lie (jp-
posed re-activation of the dislrirt
because he fell some p«-oper*v
owners weren’t treatofl fairly "
when the district was
esbiblished
BeuneU ask'd «
call (or a udov«Mu)um amnun *>1 • »
ty owners in the dislvu-i
7’he drama,'•'e
esU'ibii.sbed in uji/j lo* » mi/o.s .*(
canaLs or ditches begun »rt .-irhi
completerf in 1967,
.According to James Ht-M.-mn di.
sy.stein wa.s dc.signed to drain :d l'*a a
40,0(X) acres of potential fai rnland
But extensive devehgunent above
the original drainage district ha.": in
creased the need for maintaining the
canal system- work that has been
done only by a few private [iroiiei 1.’.
owners on their own land m recent
years.
(See CITIZENS. Page 2-A)
Bloodmobile
Here Friday
The Brunswick County Health
Department is again sponsoring
a blood drive with the American
Red Cross, on Friday, Nov. 13,
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the
Public Assembly Building at the
county complex in Bolivia.
Appointments can be made
through Hazel Trott at the health
department.
For answers to other que.stions,
contact Edie Fuliwood.
The department's numbers are
253-4381 on the Atlantic
Telelphone exchange, 457-5381
from Southport and 763-1312 from
Ix)land.
Health Officials, Holden Residents
To Meet Tuesday About Septic Tanks
Slate environmental health of
ficials are to meet with Holden Beach
officials ana residents next Tuesday
regarding their concerns about sep
tic tanks in the island community.
John Crowder, environmental ser
vices supervisor for the Bnmswiek
County Board of Health, said the
meeting is being held at the request
of Holden Beach Mayor John Tandy.
"It’s to inform the public about
what’s going on," he added.
Steve Steinbeck of the N.C. Divi
sion of Health Services sanitation
branch and Dr. Bob Uebler, regional
soil specialist, will spend the morn
ing conducting four or five site in
spections of lots that have been
previously classified as unsuitable by
local sanitarians.
The fieldwork will be followed by a
c p.rn. public meeting at the towii
hall.
Crowder said he didn’t know what
the outcome would be of the inspec
tions or the meeting.
However, he added. "If Uebler has
recommendations about these lots
we would go with them.
"If he agrees with our previous
evaluations, the property owners
have the right to an appeal."
That appeal would be conducted
through a hearing under the state’s
Administrative Procedures Act, with
the further right to appeal to
Superior Court.
Since the preliminary results were
released of a engineering firm s
sewage study done at the town's
behest, the health departTnent has
begun taking a closer look at its
classification of lots on the island,
particularly those on finger canals
"In the study we've seen
remarkable increases—especially
after a holiday—in the level of fecal
bacteria of human origin." said
Crowder, especially following the
Memorial Day holiday.
"Questions were raised in our mind
about the success of those septu-
.sy.stcms and we have started looking
daser at the .soils."
As a result, a greater number
lots than in the pa.sl have not Im en af>
proved for septic lank in.stallatu t*.''-.
Candidate Says He Will Take Concerns To State Elections Board
BY SUSAN USHER
An unsuccessful write-in candidate
at Ocean Isle Beach said Monday ho
intends to take his concerns about the
conduct of the town elections to the
N.C. Board of Elections.
Harold Wooten, who lost to
mayoral incumbent Betty S. William
son 92-57, told area reporters last
week he was seriously considering
challenging the election. However,
he missed both deadlines for filing
complaints with the Ocean Isle
Beach Board of Elections, .said
Chairman Martlia Benton.
Complaints regarding the manner
in which votes were counted or the
results Uibulatcd were to have l>ccn
filed before the board canvassed the
election returns at 11 a.m. Nov. 5,
while complaints regarding other
aspects of the election could be filed
as late as 6 p.m. Nov. 7.
Saying he had been "misquoted"
by another paper and by area televi
sion stations, Wooten had little to say
Monday.
"I never complained about losing
the election,” he said. "I was only
concerned about the w'ay the election
was conducted. I plan to go to the
Slate Board of Elections, only then
will I make a -statement locally."
However, according to Johnnie
McLean, secrctar>- of the N.C. Board
of Elections, Wooten’s options arc
now limited.
■•'rhe proper procedure would have
been for him to file with the local
l)oard, ’ she said. "The only thing
open to him now would be to petition
for removal of one of the local of
ficials there. That’s the only thing the
state board would hear at this time."
Mclx)an .said it isn’t unusual to
hear complaints after an election
that aren’t followed through.
•‘After an election people arc very
emotional,” she said. "But when they
find out the procedure they must go
through they often change their
minds.
"In essence what he would have to
do is prove the (basis of the com
plaint) was serious enough to cminge
the outcome of the election."
The sUitc l>oard take.s no allega
tions lightly, .she said, con.sidering
each individually.
"We’ll just have to wait and .see,"
she added.
Wooten allegedly tohl various
reporters that people who live
elsewhere voted in the election, that
officials left the polling place im
properly manned and that candidate
Betty Willian\son returned to the
polls a second lime during the day,
none of which Wooten would confirm
Monday.
Benton, chairman of the elections
board, said the polls wore properly
staffed throughout the day by judges
Tom Woodson and Mary Samierford
and registrar Gail Seagle. "They
can’t leave," .she said. However,
their assistants—Benton. Margaret
A. Byrd and Betty Watt—could and
did leave on occasion, but never all at
the same.
As for the question raised about
Williantson’s returning to the polls.
Benton .siiid Williamson entered the
polls once.
Answers to Wooten’s apparent
question about non-residents voting
aren’t as "black and white," .she
noted.
• rhere are certain que.stiorLS we
ask them; if they answer to suit, they
can vote."
These include 30-dny residency and
mailing address.
"It’s not a black and white situa
tion where people have two homes
and stay here as much as in Charlotte
and they choasc this as their domicile
and don’t vote there," she said.
Also, she added, town books must
coincide with the county books,
which won’t be purged again until
after the pre.sidential eledion in 1988.
As for the accuracy of information
sworn before the (own’s election
board, she .said that giving false in
formation is a felony, punishable l»y
as much as a $5.(H)« fine If they
have told us a lie. that is their pio
blem," she added.
Wooten could have challenged tln'
legitimacy of individiiaLs on the town
books before die actual election, slic
noted, if he didn't think they shoulil
be allowed to vote.
Furthermore, she added. It I'oiis
down to legal domicile ami Die hoard
of elections can't nilc on that. ITial
hiis to go before Brunswick ('('unly
Superior Court and (he hunlcn f
of would b* on liiin i U - • tc'! •
iheydonllivelicj.'
And in any ca.-e.-Jr. ■*.»-.• !;.
ele*lion would he unihanuid. >l,c
sugge.stetl