Car Break-Ins At School 'Baffle' Local Officials BY RAHN ADAMS Officials at West Brunswick High School and lawmen said last week they are baffled by a series of vehicle break-ins occurring over the past six weeks in the school's student parking lot. all in daylight during school hours. But authorities last week were tak ing steps to solve the break-ins and hopefully put an end to the problem. Principal David Corley said Friday that the break-ins. which began last month, started as •petty thievery" but had became more serious over the previous two weeks. "We provide a place for students to park, but we’re having a difficult time maintiiining it.” Corlcv said. "and it’s taking a lot of time away from why we're here tto educate studentsi.” According to Assistant Principiil Koy Deal, the vehicle break-ins oc curred in the middle to back sections of the student parking lot. which is composed of eight rows of 110 parking spaces. The West Brunswick campus Is located on N.C. KIO near Shallottc. witli the student [Kicking lot situated near the highway. Deal said the first incident occur red about six weeks ago, when a win dow glass was knocked out of a pickup truck in the student lot. On Nov. 9, thieves entered five students’ cars and removed niainlv expensive stereo equipment, taking about $1,000 in goods from one vehi cle alone. Deal said. Two attempted vehicle break-ins occurred Nov. 17, he said. Then last Thursday, custom "mag" wheels were removed from two cars, both of which were jacked up and left on cindcrblocks in the parking lot, he said. According to Bnmswick County Sheriff’s Dct. I.iirry Joyner, the vehi cle break-ins occurred during the morning hours—probably between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. "I find it kind of .strange that they (thieves) can come in and do something like that and not be (Sec BREAK-INS. Page 2-A) VANDALISM AND THEFT have plagued West Brunswick High Schonl's student parking lot recently. Above, Donna Athan of ('alabash uas one of two students who had all Thursday morning. Athan’s car stereo u four tires s .lust two as stolen. ■,*AM .-MOI. 'KJ\JC, #lj t -I tolen friiin her ear last weeks earlier. Miss iir nniiRi binoep, Iwenty-sixth Year, 1 North Carolina, Wednesday, November 25 Shallotte Fire Department Begins Rebuilding Process SHALLOTTE MAYOR JERRY JONhZS (right) eheeks in the equipment of former firefighters Joey Hill (left) and Herman Berr>- .Ir.. two of 13 volunteers who SIAM ♦‘MOIORT OOUOBUlmi resigned after grievances between the town and fire department could not be settled last Wednesday night. Four More Sentenced In Drug Cases BY RAHN ADAMS Four more defendants indicted in June on drug charges were sentenced last week in Brunswick County Superior Court. Three of the four received active prison sentences, while the fourtli is already serving time on a separate conviction. Judge Henry W. Hight Jr. handed down the sentences last week in Bolivia, according to the Brunswick County Clerk of Court's office The defendants included I’errv Alfred Brown, Eddie Roderic Jones. Grady Ford Long and Arnold Douglas Smith—four of 32 persons in dicted on cocaine trafficking charges in June by a special investigative grand jury in Brunswick County. Brown, 25, of Supply, last Thursday w'as .sentenced to two years in prison, with inunediate work release recom mended by Hight. Brown pleaded guilty Aiig. 13 to felonious pos.session of more than one gram of cocaine. He faced a po.ssible maximiim sentence of five years in prison. The mandatory minimum was two years. On Nov. 17, Jones, 2^1, of Shallotte. was given 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine on charges of conspiracy to pos.sess and trafficking by posses sion, involving more than -100 grams of cocaine. He also received a 35-year suspend ed sentence and five years of super vised probation on one additional count of each charge. Jones entered guilty pleas .Aug. 31 to tlic charges, as indicted. He faced a mandators- minimum sentence of 35 years in prison on each charge and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years on each count. Long, 29, of Shallotte, pleaded guil ty Sept. 8 and Sept. 10 to indictments including two counts each of con spiracy to possess and trafficking by possession, involving quantities of lx>th more than 28 grams and more than 400 grams of cocaine. list Thursday, I.ong was sentenc ed to a 4*'.{-year prison lerm on the 28-gram charges. He received a 12-year suspended sentence with five years of supervised probation on the 400-grarn counts. rhe mandatory minimum sentence on each of the 2&-gram counts was seven years. Smith, .’10, of ,Supp)y, last Thursday entered guilty pleas to three counts each of conspiracy to po.ssess and possession of more than 28 grams of cocaine. He was given two-year .sentences on each count for a total of 12 years, which Hight ordered to run concur rently with the remainder of a 15-year sentence that Smith present ly is serving for first-degree burglary, armed robbery and drug offenses at Eastern Correctional Center in Mau.'*y. One other defendant from the .Iiine drug indictments pleaded guilty last week, according to the clerk of court's office. I.ast Thursday, Ronald I.ewis l.,ee, 38, of Dunn, entered guilty pleas to three counts of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, involving amounts rang ing from more than 28 grams to more than 400 grams. Also, I.ee pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of cocaine, with one charge involving more than 23 grams and and the other involving more than 200 grams. Ix?e will be sentenced during an up coming term of Superior Court. Some 18 defendants have entered guilty pleas and arc awaiting senten cing. Sentencings for a majority of that number were continued until the Jan. 11 and Feb. 6 terms of Bnmswick County Superior Court. According to the clerk of court’s of fice. the sentencings of Alvin Bryan Willis III and William I. Peal IV were continued until Dec. 7 in Columbus County Superior Court. BY DOtIG RU ITER Acting Shallottc Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tim Carter said Monday the department is well on its way to recoven.'. "It’s going to take a combined ef fort between the people and the town." -said Carter, "and I think we have the qualified people to help us get back on our feet." Following a meeting of the town board last Wecbiesday, 13 of 18 members of the fire dcfKirtmenl walked off the job. At that mecling, town aldermen re- jeelcd eoncern.s exprc.s.scti ma h*Uer. a list ol grievances and li^i of po.^sJ- ble solutions which had been prepfired by ibc firefighiei-s. Town Clerk Cynthia lAing said that since the walkout, several area fire departments including tho.se at Supp ly, avietown. Shallotte Point and Ocaen Isle Beach have said they would help out if needed. "Everyone has been ver>- good about helping us out," she .said. "We really do appreciate it." Carter added that in addition to the five members who stayed in the department at the time of the meeting, 10 more have since joined and a few more have shown interest. "I believe we’re starting off real good considering how many left," he said. Carter, who is now in his third year with the fire department, expects it to take about two years for the department to fully recover. He said that in the meantime, other departments will be called in as backup in the event of a major fire. Carter said that the department has the necessar>- equipment to fight fires and that the neighlM)ring fire departments are "more than willing to afford the manpower. " Grievances put forth by the fire department me.mbership at last week’s town board meeting included the fact that agreements and actions taken by the grievance coimiiittee set up between the department ami the town board had been overlooked by the town board and that very little has been done to correct inadequate water flow to the areas of Brierwood Golf Club and West Brunswick High School. Another grievance .stated that pa.sl and present town boards "have con stantly created problems each year when it has come lime to .select a chief. This action has constantly pul the members in a bad light and has continually hurt membership rccruilmenl." The solution .suggested by the fire department requested the establish ment of a fire commission consisting of the fire chief, two firemen and two aldermen. Accorditjg to the proposal, any town board action concerning the fire dapartmenl. except in the case of an mergency. would have to first be ap- .»rovod by the fire commission. .At the time. .Mayor Jerr>- Jones .-^aid. 1 think if there was us much work pill inlo Dm- fin? ilt-purlmenl as there was this letter, the depaiCt* ent would he ,i lot heller off." Michael Arnold, the former fire chief, said the members fell "betrayed by the board.” A lengthy and sometimes heated debate began following the town IxKinl'.s request for three recommen dations for fire chief. Arnold, speaking on behalf of tin department’s new association, presented only one name. Herman Berry Sr. When askeil why the fire depart ment did not have three recommen- datiotis, Arnold replied that the board had never technically in structed Hie members to provide three names. Mayor Fro lein Faui Wayiio Reeves pointed mil that fire depart ment member Kicky Dam'ord was at the meeting when Die l evisums were maile uuD Dial D«- maiuniy of D»»- members had to have found mil alxuii It D;ruugh him or the newspaper. I don’t Diiiik the tact that you wen- nut aware of it is the real issue. ” Arnohl said. • \Ve are more qualified to decide who shoulii be cliief than \ou all." He added that the (See FIRE DEFT., Page 2-A) County Election Board Dismisses Complaints BY DOL’G RL’ITER The Brunswick County Board of Elections last Thursday dismissed complaints about the Nov. 3 Long Beach election, .saving its outcome was not affected. Tile board’s decision came de.spite 76 complaints which had been fil ed by town residents concerning a period of time when Diere were no ballots and the fact that the polls were not open the requin ii 13 hour.- lioard of Elections Secretary Harold Willetts explained that the board "didn’t find evidence where anybody failed to vote who tried. He .said that although rumors that the ballots had run out discourag ed some people from voting, the botird did not find one in.suince in wliicli a person was "unable" to vote. "Kvidentally," he added. "ever>body voted who wanted to vote.’ Willetts estimated that the polls were only shut down for about 10 or 15 minutes. He said that according to the testimony of the five election officials at Long Beach and about a half dozen registered voters, iho.se who came to vote waited until the ballots arrived and voted. Willetts added that the doors never closed and Ifuil election officials were on hand at all times to tell people that more ballots were on the way. -According to Elections Supervisor lAnda Britt, a tran.script of the hearing is expected to l>e available for public ln.spection at the county election office before Thanksgiving. She .sciid that in addition to this, the board will draft a fltK-iimeiu stating the facts of the case and explaining its conclusions. Although both of these documents will be reviewed by the Stale Board of Elections. Ms. Britt .said, "It’s got to be appcaletl for the state hoard to nilc." ( oncerning the passibility of an appeal. Willetts said, ■They’re welcome to appeal, but I don’t think they can get anywhere on il." Committee A committee named by Holden Beach to .study po.ssiblc annexation of the causeway area on the mainland, agreed last Wednesday night tostudv a broiider area than previously iden tified. Larger Causeway Area Earlier the town had eyed possible annexation of the business strip along the Holden Beach Cau.seway A map presiuiled Wednesda> night ).v I’arvin Uobinsou, a eausvwav merinant and .secretary of the coin- mittei miihnes an larger area that also me hides reside nlia 1 neighborhoods bordering the cau.seway. Robinson explained. "One of the complaint.s we beard before was that the town was just interested in an area that wouldn't cost il anything. We didn’t want that kind of criticism." But the houndanes under con- sideiation are subject to additional clianges. depending upon what the coininillee learns as il proceeds. "This may look entirely different by the tune we gel tliiough." .said ( ommi-s.sioner Ciay Atkins. Committee members agiccd to spend the two weeks before their next mecling informtilly sounding out residents of the area regarding an nexation. "Let’s do this casually." said Chairman 'Thonuis Gray. Residents of the study area who want to exjiress their views or look at the map slumid contact any commit tee member, suggested Commls- sioiKT William William.soii. On the ea.sl side of the cau.seway. the study area l uns along the tine bet ween the J.E. Fiiiiord deveiupiiient and an undeveloped tract owned by Goodman Fulford, cutting around Tu.scarora Village near N.C. 1.30. "No problem with it,” Williamson I’m This tract is wide, .siiid Rol>inson. l>ecau.se no there appeared to bt “reasonable" cut-off point other than the Fulford line. On the we.st side Ixiundary follows that runs behind through the .Newman Fulford development and out to Old Ferrv Road. tlie tentative an unpaved road the Beach Marl said of the newly-mapped area, for il." But he and others questioned the town’s ability to run water ser\dce to the area within the year allowed after any annexation. Along with the sentiment of Hu an*a’s lesuleiiLs. the feasibility providing .services will l>e among Hu; que.stions (he committee lakes up as It .study continues Commi.s.sioner .Atkins .said she thoiight It important for re.sident.s of the .sliid> area to know that the town of does not pay for the «-unn* nis street paving. (’urrently. propert\ owners n petition the town, with 51 pen eii the read fi.olage uid pr.ipcrt repre.'ofitct., to be a.s.'-e ».st-d j mg. 'The owners pay (ill pena-m of cost and the ivwn jiays It) ju-n t Four streets on the island ar. . rently in hoe to !:e paved. Also present -.i the lu'ding o. ;.- members bu.elt Eilmit and D;c. d lioiintret. Alxsent were Lyn Moldto. Alan Ihilden and .1 U ILilnnso-i

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