Official
BY DOUG RUTTER
Brunswick County shcllfishcr
harvesting clams as soon as Saturday.
Bob Benton, supervisor of the sh
program of the N.C. Division of Heal
there is a good chance the results of t
ducted this week will show that local cl
themselves of all "red tide" toxins.
"We are very hopeful," he sai
guarantee anything."
Jim Tyler, spokesman for the s
Marine Fisheries, said nothing will be <
status of shellfish beds before toxicity
available this Friday.
"If the results do iook good, i imagii
same procedure as last week," he said
Following the return of toxicity tes
day, the state reopened northern cla
harvest the next day. The 60-mile st
J
\2l *
c.pRlN6p0RT W* A'-Z'"A
Review Of
Ai i^I+ CInrl<
= ' - " ~ | Bl ILJt
Criminal W
BY RAHN ADAMS
A preliminary SBI investigation into
the Brunswick County school
system's finances has determined
that a $553,000 deficit was not the
result of any criminal wrongdoing.
Assistant District Attorney
Napoleon Barefoot Jr. said he received
a letter last Wednesday from
Claude Green of the SBI's Audit Division
in Raleigh concerning the
review.
"He (Green) said that based on
what he saw, there was nothing
specifically criminal in the audit
aione," Barefoot said last Thursday.
"He found that it's not a criminal
problem, and that's what the investigation
was for."
School Superintendent John
Kaufhold, who received word from
Barefoot on the SBI's findings last
Wednesday, toia Tne Brunswick
Beacon, "It's pretty much as I expected
and hoped it would be. They
found out that there was no criminal
wrongdoing. Beyond that, they don't
plan any further investigation."
Brunswick County Commissioners
last month requested that the school
system seek an SBI investigation into
a $553,242 shortfall that was
discovered following the local school
board's 1986-87 budget audit.
At a Jan. 19 meeting in Bolivia,
commissioners helped cut that
Au.. .r??nnn AAA r....
uctiv.il uy uaiuictiiug wav,wu Hum
ine iiau-C-eru SaicS lua fund for school
construction to the schools' operating
budget. However, Commissioner
Benny Ludlum asked for the investigation,
saying it would "show
we're all clear."
On Feb. 3, Kaufhold turned over
I
GOP S
Voter Nur
BY SUSAN USHER
Voter registration in Brunswicl
creased 22 percent from March 19?
Eligible to vote in the March 8 '
presidential primary are 25,823 peo
21,249 registered voters as of March
to figures from the Brunswick Coun
tions.
While both the Democratic and R
show gains over the past four years,
increased by 57 percent, from 5,08'
registered as Democrats moved froi
Going into the primary there are
One of the most noticeable chang
gap in the relative numbers of black
a figure that generally reflects the n
newcomers into the county. Total t
over the four years increased by le
4,574 to 4,634. On the other hand, the
registered to vote increased from 16,
While most individual precincts s
parties, Bolivia and Southport II shov
total Democratic Party registration,
Southport II by 59.
Countywide, 13,621 women and
registered to vote. Within each part)
of registered males and females i
women slightly outnumbering the m
GOP has 4,083 women and 3,901
Democrats have 9,138 women and 7,
[I
s Hope'
reopened, from 5
men could be thernmost area i
Benton addei
ellfish .sanitation samples taken fi
th Services, said low levels" of t<
oxicity tests con- enough to prevei
ams have purged Marine Fisheries
Environmen
d, "but I can't this week that
brevis had disap
itate Division of The toxic al
iecided about the nearly four mon
' test results are mercial fishermi
loss is estimated
le we'll follow the Despite the <
Division of Mari
t results last Fri- oyster relocat
m beds to hand shellfishermen $
retch which was move oysters fri
IE RD|
? THE BRUNSWICK BEACON
. n*"'
Schools
3 No
rongdoing
the school system's 31-page audi
report to Barefoot and Wilmingtoi
SBI Agent Fred McKinney. At th<
time, the district attorney said th(
audit appeared to be "in order" bu
sent it to the Raleigh SBI office t<
check for irregularities.
Barefoot said last week that th<
SBI found no misappropriations oi
nmhiV77lomont uKocn/l ?n
?...wv??.?vn?viv uqocu uii nuai mi
audit showed."
"As far as my office is concerned
we can't go any further if there's ni
criminal activity," Barefoot said
"That terminates it."
Barefoot noted that he would writ
Kaufhold a letter concerning thi
SBI's findings. The letter from thi
SBI, which will remaii
"confidential," will be on file at thi
district attorney's office, he said.
Kaufhold said Friday that he woulc
forward Barefoot's letter to the coun
ty commissioners to show that schoo
officials complied with the commis
sion's wishes and that the investiga
tion is finished.
"I think the matter will be laid tc
rest then," Kaufnold commented.
Ludlum told The Brunswick
Beacon this week that he was
satisfied with the investigation.
satisfies me as far as there being
no wrongdoing," Luuiuin said
Monday, "but I feel they (school officials)
should just watch theii
money closer ... so thai ii uoesn'i
nanin ?
nap)a.ii up,uni.
Kaufhold said the deficit apparently
occurred due to "poor planning"
and "under-budgeting of items based
on revenue that wasn't there."
"You've got to learn from the past,
(See AUDIT, Page 2-A)
HOWS GREATEST 1IN
nbers Up 1
' Of the counl
k County has in- as Dem0crat<
M to March 1988. Republicans.
'Super Tuesday"
pie, compared to
1,1984, according . /ATCD
ty Board of Elec- VVjIfcK
PRECINCT
republican parties ~?. _
GOP registration ?eek
1 to 7,989. Voters ^la"J
n 15,605 to 17,006. Wood burn
828 unaffiliated ?elvlUe
Towncreek
es is the widening ,
and white voters,
migration trend of Soujhportll
.lack registration ^ s an '
ss than 100, from Is fnd 11
number of whites Mosquito
657 to 21 151 Supply
how gains by both Secession I
t slight declines in Section n
Bolivia by 38 and Shallotte
Frying Pan
1 12,202 men are Grissettown
\ the percentages Shingletree
ire similar, with ^ongwood
ten. By party, the Freeland
5 men, and the B. Sp. Lakes
868 men. TOTALS
Shallotte, North Carolina, T!
j
k. \ WW ^ ii
"tzAL#j* BftS
I |w pj
DR. BOB RUBIN, an extension servici
ty, lifts a spadeful of soil for inspect!
1 amining a canal lot at 187 High Point S
afternoon. The iot has been classified <
5
Brunswid
in Waste>
BY SUSAN USHER
I Brunswick County is "plowing new
ground" among coastal counties in
its efforts to identify wastewater
management alternatives, according
ICREASE
22 Percent
ty's black voters, 4,401 are registered
i, while 204 are registered as
REGISTRATION '88
TOTAL DEM REP WHITE BLACK
689 461 224 384 303
1,748 1,220 498 1,357 388
936 698 220 648 287
1,069 777 270 783 284
1,298 831 446 985 302
962 598 341 721 241
1,585 990 525 1,399 181
1,030 734 252 627 402
1,261 776 430 1,260 1
1,617 35o 562 1,616 1
473 334 123 335 136
i ,024 798 214 501 523
1,007 718 241 1,003 4
1,301 l.iwa 234 1,096 264
1,213 915 279 1,019 192
1,561 1,149 360 1,284 274
1,982 1,239 647 1,804 177
2,226 1,113 1,014 1,938 287
402 312 88 151 251
591 381 202 464 127
1,034 470 508 1,027 4
25,823 17,006 7,989 21,151 4,634
Rri nc\
n i ui u i i u i
tion to waters temporarily closed beci
testation.
Shellfishermen were not able t<
Brunswick County for part of last wei
not occur during daylight hours.
Fritz Rohde, biological coordinaU
of Marine Fisheries in Wilmington, sai
expected to start again this Thursc
Shallotte River.
Benton said meat samples tal
throughout the state continue to sho\
toxicity. He would not predict when
reopen.
"Everything has been going dov
"Oysters just seem to be a lot slower
Tyler said the state Division of M:
still not decided whether it will extern
year because of the "red tide."
Brunswick County's oyster sez
II. ,grn
hursday, February 25, 1988
l
Be ^r^
HkV *""'- "'bJBB^
e consultant from N.C. State Universion
by tour participants who were exitreet
in Holden Beach Harbor Friday
ss unsuitable for a conventional septic
: Couritv 'P
#
/voter AAori(
to Dr. Bob Rubin, a N.C. State
University extension consultant in
agricultural engineering.
Rubin, who is recognized for his extpncilTD
Irnn?ulnrl'?n A( ??!'? 1 *' ; ?
itiiuuui suua anil meir
capacity for carrying and treating
wastewater, visited several sites Friday
that had previously been denied
permits for conventional wastewater
sewer systems and met with local officials
to discuss the available alternatives.
At the extension office at the
Brunswick County Government
Center in Bolivia, participants joined
Rubin in discussing alternatives that
ranged from continued reliance on
Sunset I
BY DOUG RUTTER
The Town of Sunset Beach last
week filed a lawsuit against a dozen
individuals who withdrew from town
dedication last year property
targeted for a public access area.
The property in question is a 30-foot
wide strip of land from Main Street to
Canal Drive platted as 12th Street.
In October, the owners of the four
properties which abut on this street
withdrew the land from town dedication.
According to the lawsuit filed last
Wednesday by Town Attorney Mike
Isenberg, the town has asked that the
withrlrau/at lvr? i1;-J ~ ?1 *l?*
Miuiunul UV niVillHUHt'U (Kill inai
the defendants pay the cost of the
legal action.
The defendants, none of whom are
permanent residents of Sunset
Beach, are Everett I.. Wohlbruck,
Nancy A. Wohlbruck, John F.
rvick C!a!
luse of the algae in- March 1, but the st
season to help oys
) move oysters in Meanwhile, Sc
ek, as low tides did no traces of "red ti
meat samples froi
>r with the Division Charles Newe
id the program was state Department
lay and Friday in (DHEC), said she
River Inlet, Hogg
ken from oysters Inlet,
v various levels of
oyster beds could DHEC spoke:
should be availabl
vn," he explained, laboratory mice,
shellfish, "nave be
arine Fisheries has hadn't arrived as
1 oyster season this Newell said,
guarded optimisnr
ison usually ends water, it's encoun
&? *
25c Per Copy
IjUHjur ^ j
tank. Reluctant to hire an engineer to
approve any alternative system, Mc
trace experiment
lowing New
nriomoriT A !
uivtwi i iv^i ii r~\i
septic tanks?which have proved to
be one of the most reliable systems
there is when properly installed on a
suitable site and properly maintained?to
communitywide central
sewage collection, treatment and
disposal. County Manager John
Smith and Commissioners Chris
Chappell and Benny Ludlum participated
in the field trip, but did not
stay for the discussion afterward to
the expressed disappointment of a
number of other participants.
The visit was arranged in response
to local concerns about a recent new
interpretation of state septic tank
laws. Under the change, a large
Beach Files
Youngblood III, Nita W. Youngblood,
Richard L. layton, Karen S. Iayton,
Samuel S. Conly III, Vivian S. Conly,
Richard C. Hogg, JoAnne S. Hogg,
larry W. Calhoun and Patricia B.
Calhoun.
trior to me withdrawal, the town
had planned to use '12th Street" as a
neighborhood beach access site
which would have included seven
parking spaces and a dune crossover.
Sunset Beach Town Council first
learned that the property had been
withdrawn in November. At that
time. Councilman Ed Gore informed
his fellow board members that the
town no longer owned the street and
would have to refuse state monies
which would have funded the beach
access facility.
In January, town council voted 3-1
to authorize Isenberg to file the
lawsuit. Gore, who developed the
t
7i Beds
ate has been considering extending the
termen recover from the infestation.
>uth Carolina health officials also found
ide" algae last week and took their first
ti waters off Horry County Sunday,
ill, shellfish program director for the
of Health and Environmental Control
illfish samples were taken from Little
Inlet near Cherry Grove and Murrells
>man Thorn Berry said test results
e later this week. He said a shipment of
which are used to test the toxicity of
?en on order for two weeks but still
of Tuesday.
"Right now, we're viewing it with
l. When you don't find anything in the
aging."
ON
32 Pages Plus Insert
s
jk ** &
Bu9 W: *wmBi
aasflMH M ,s
STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
do tests required before the state will
ilse recently conducted his own dyef
Ground'
iternatives
number of lots?such as island canal
lots created from dredge soil?do not
nnoliftf fr\w *'" *
vjuciuij iui (;cuiuu> iur Lunvenuonai
systems.
Small-size lets platted before recent
revisions in the laws complicate
the issue, because some are so small
they cannot accommodate an alternative
systems, or the system doesn't
leave enough space for an
economically feasible structure to be
built.
Alternatives included low pressure
pipe, mound or elevated, cluster,
sand filtration with disinfection,
other types of pre-treatment and
(See BRUNSWICK, Page 2-A)
Lawsuit
four properties along that street, opposed
that action.
According to the lawsuit, Gore
deeded the actual street over to the
property owners in August. This deed
was recorded Oct. 14, when the property
owners had the street
withdrawn from dedication.
The lawsuit contends that the
street was dedicated in 1976 when
land at the eastern end of Sunset
Beach was platted. However, the
street was originally platted and
dedicated in 1958.
Isenberg said the town has 15 years
from the time of dedication to open
and use the street. If it is not opened
within that time limit, the developer
has the option of withdrawing the
property from dedication.
The lawsuit concludes that the
town is still legally entitled to accept
the offer of dedication and open and
improve the street.
To Reope
Jealevel to Buxton, represented the norvhich
had been closed to shellfishing.
d that tests conducted last week on meat
rom Brunswick County revealed "very
jxicity. He said those traces were just
nt a recommendation to the Division of
3 to reopen local clam beds,
tal officials in both Carolinas reported
all remaining traces of ptychodiscus
peared.
gae lifted after plaguing the coast for
iths and costing North Carolina's com:n
about $5.5 million. The total economic
at more than $25 million,
jpening of northern clam beds, the state
ine Fisheries has continued to offer its
ion program. The program pays
1 per bushel and up to $100 per day to
>m waters permanently closed to pollu1WSW