Brur
BY DOUG BUT!
Brunswick County shellfisher
rivers last weekend as local clam
being closed for more than five \
"red tide."
The N.C. Division of Marine 1
proximately 100 miles of coasl
harvesting Saturday after tests co
shellfish meats revealed no traces
This area, which stretches fro;
state line north to New River and f
Sealevel, includes Brunswick Com
Two weeks ago, the state onen
miles of coastline after shellfish
banned for four months because
ptychodiscus brevis. This area, fi
ton, represented the northermos
been closed.
Coastal waters between Nc
shallberg remain closed to all she
According to Jim Tyler, spol
Division of marine Fisheries, this
cides with the area which was firs
TSJ
I 11
Twenty-sixth Year, Number
...
wnz~r:\.'
I'Ufrrv . .
Cletus Waldmiller of Sunset Beach t
noon to look for shells on the east en
Uve ones near wreckage exposed by i
Ash Man fBY
RAHN ADAMS
A Brunswick County man was being
held in the New Hanover County
Jail Monday following his arrest last
month on an assortment of sex and
drug charges.
Donnie Ray Long, 35, of Route 2,
Ash. was arrested Feb. 20 after
lawmen searched his Carolina Beach
condominium and seized pornographic
movies, sexually-explicit
r-?~i :J -i?* - *
ruiuiuiu pnuiugrapns ana less tfian
an ounce of marijuana, accoraing to
New Hanover County Sheriff's Detective
Blake Boaz.
The Brunswick County Sheriff's
Department also is looking into the
case, although no charges had been
filed in Brunswick County as of MonInvestigatk
Shallotte Police Monday were inI
vestigating a break-in and theft that
occurred last week at a local bank.
Police Chief Don Stovall said the
break-in was discovered by bank
nmnlAifnno loo# THurcHov at a m
w? shut * --* ?- v
at United Carolina Bank's branch office
on South Main Street. The breakAuthority
BY RAHN ADAMS
Brunswick County won't be the
Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer
Authority's sole customer after a $4.1
million water line extension is com
pleted to an area industry next summer.
According to Executive Director
Kurt Taube, the authority this week
approved several measures to proceed
with the sale of untreated water
to Cape Industries, a chemical
manufacturer located on U.S. 421 in
New Hanover County.
At its meeting Monday morning in
Wilmington, the board "signed off"
on an amendment to its water supply
agreement with Brunswick County,
Taube said, a step that was approved
by Brunswick County Commissioners
last month.
I
iswick Clc
-ER tide" last fall. 1
men returned to the highest concentre
beds reopened after its peak,
veeks because of the George Gilbei
sanitation progra
Fisheries opened ap- vices, said shellfu
tline to hand clam ped recently but
nducted last week on weeks before clai
i of toxicity. Since these !
m the South Carolina tide" for the longi
rom Mnrshallberg to taKW them a long
nty. ins. Giibert said t
ea ciam oeas along 60 Although all c
harvesting had been open within the
of the infestation of oysters in areas i
rom Sealevel to Bux- "red tide" may b
it section which had Tyler said the
cerning the closui
tw River and Mar- those shellfish be
Ufishing. season usually en
tesman for the state Rich Carpent
50-mile stretch coin- the Stav6 Division
t infested by the "red the oyster season
u mm IT I - ?? I
[HOAG & SONS BOOK BIN
:-;PRINGPORT MI 4928
i
. 17 ?
9 Mtoo im onuNsvyivn
i
Searching Th
Dok advantage of a recent sunny afterd
of Ocean Isle Beach, finding several
the winds and tides. Waldmiller shares
Arrested On C
day.
"There are no charges pending in
Brunswick County at this time,"
Brunswick County Sheriff's Capt.
Phil Perry said. "There is an ongoing
investigation. At this time, I
will not say what the investigation involves."
Boaz said Long was charged in
New Hanover County with taking indecent
liberties with a minor, crime
against nature, five counts of promoting
prostitution of a minor, two
counts of disseminating obscene
material to a minor, simple possession
of marijuana and possession of
drug paraphernalia.
Authorities obtained a warrant to
search the residence after a juvenile
?n Underway I
in occurred sometime after the bank
closed Wednesday afternoon.
According to Stovall, someone
forced open the front door of the
building "in some manner" to gain
entry The dnnr look was broken.
while the door itself was not damaged.
i
Will Get Its S.
As the only water customer, i
Brunswick County is repaying the I
authority's revenue bonds through
payment of water fees. As a result, (
the county must consent to any addi- j
tions to the system, since cost of the I
project would be added to the bonds i
and increase the length of time it |
would take to pay off the total debt. (
Authority Chairman David Clegg, (
who also serves as Brunswick County's
attorney, initially presented the i
proposal to commissioners last i
November. He told them that the (
CaDG Gxtoncifin waiiM
, wat VTVSU1U UCIIC1 II
Brunswick County by allowing the c
county to resell raw water to other \
customers and by reducing the |
authority's water rates.
Under its contract with the authori- l
ty, the county could tap the new (
immers
le said these waters contained the
itions of algae when the tide reached
rt, assistant supervisor of the shellfish
m of the N.C. Division of Health Sersh
toxicity in the closed area has dropthat
it may be another two or three
ns are suitable for harvest,
shellfish were affected by the "red
sst period of time, he explained, it has
;er time to purge themselves of its toxesting
will continue on a weekly basis.
:1am bed3 in North Carolina should be
RAUf 1? i A? ?
iicai icw weens, ine narvesung 01
affected by the state's first recorded
e over for the season,
i state will not make any decision conre
or extension of oyster season until
gin to test clear of all toxins. Oyster
ds March 1 in Brunswick County,
er, Wilmington regional manager for
of Marine Fisheries, said he doubted
wou'd continue in this area.
dery Hi
i2/3,/w ml
_ _ W
Ck^iUtiA KI?.lU rnrniini
"*W| HI s,uivinn
HSSiiMMP- r"
e Tide Line
some shells with a neighbor who can
near his home.
harges In N?
male from New Hanover County
reported the alleged offenses to the
sheriff's department there on Feb.
17, Boaz said. The offenses allegedly
occurred in February at the condominium
located at 101 Sandfiddler
Lane, Carolina Beach.
44I can't discuss it (ths nftenses)
in any further detail than
that," Boaz said Monday.
Long initially was placed in the
New Hanover County Jail without
bond. At his first court appearance
Feb. 21 in Wilmington, his bond was
set at $100,000 and his next court date
was scheduled for March 8.
Last week, authorities obtained
warrants to search the snsnpct'c
home and business in Ash, Boaz said.
Into UCB Bar
An undetermined amount of money
was taken, he said. The intruder
removed rolls of coins from the
teller's area, but did not attempt to
enter the bank's main vault.
The police chief said the break-in
was not detected until Thursday morning
because the front door of the
econd Water
water line to serve customers in
Brunswick County.
The 8.6-mile water line, consisting
Df 24-inch pipe, will run from the
authority's reservoir at Brunswick
bounty's Northwest Treatment Plant
tear Malmo to the industry, crossing
:he Cape Fear River near Takeda
"hemical Products in New Hanover
bounty, Taube explained.
Besides Takeda, the line will also
-1 in nn'ir Hit Dnnt'e far*** C1""" O'"-*
u?a iivhi u a v-iiv o v^opt rcai ridiii
n Brunswick and Union Carbide
?orp. in New Hanover.
With the addition of Cape Iniustries,
the authority's water rate
vill drop approximately two cents
)er 1,000 gallons, Taube said.
Clegg told commissioners in
November that projected rates would
Irop from the current 84 cents (per
Return T<
"In talking with most of the fisher
the majority don't feel there's a ne(
again," he said,
i Tyler added that the local oyste
began slowly last October, tends to tx
final few weeks anyway and that reope
beds probably wouldn't be too producl
Gilbert said the shelfish sanitatior
I centrated its oyster-testing efforts in tl
i the state where the "red tide" nearl
five-month season.
He said some harvest can be salvs
that region cleanse themselves with
weeks. Oyster season in that area u;
April 1.
Since the reopening of clam beds, I
nun yiugicjiii eaiaDusnea uy me s
Marine Fisheries has been limited to
to shellfishing.
This program, which pays shellf
bushel to move oysters from waters p
ed to pollution to areas closed because
ended last week in Shallotte River.
Lori Stretch, a fisheries develo]
ituM
swim, pq
Thi irrrlnw K A /or^-U O 1 UUU
" I I tlW? WMJT | W, I / W
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f^r^- ;;*#? T ; v!.:. STAFF
PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
't get out; others are recycled in an inlet
2w Hanover
According to Brunswick County
Sheriff's Detective Nancy Simpson,
officers searched the man's local
residence and Long's Grocery and
Video last Thursday but did not find
"anything really incriminating."
Ms. Simpson said her department
???oo alortoH tn thp nacp of tor T i\na
*"** " * " ?? o
told New Hanover investigators that
the sexually-explicit photographs
were taken in Brunswick County.
The pictures show sex acts involving
at least five boys between the
ages of 14 and 18 who are believed to
be Ash area residents, she said.
Ms. Simpson said no determination
had been made concerning possible
charges in Brunswick County since
the investigation was still underway.
ik Break-In
bank was not connected to an alarm
system.
Saying only that the matter was
still under investigation, Stovall
Monday declined to comment on
whether or not lawmen had suspects
in the case. No charges or arrests
had been made by Monday.
* Customer
1,000 gallons) to 59 cents in 1989.
Without Cape, the 1989 rate would be
61 cents.
Cape has proposed initially to buytwo
millions gallons of water per day.
The industry may ultimately use up
to five million gallons per day, Taube
said.
Also at Monday's meeting, the
authority approved a $150,000 contract
with Willis Engineers of
Charlotte to provide preliminaryengineering
work for the water line
extension, Taube said.
He added that the board also signed
an agreement with Cape for the industry
to pay the engineering firm's
fee.
According to Taube, the authority
expects engineering work to take
(See AUTHORITY, Page 2-A>
d Local F
men down there, with the Division
jd to start it up continued this
Swansboro, but tl
ir season, which beds were openec
; poor during the be stopped entire
ning the shellfish Although re<
tive. Brunswick Coi
i section has con- shellfishermen
be central part of bushels of oyster,
y eliminated the Through Feb
moved about 30,0
aged if oysters in Carpenter ad
un the next two will probably not
sually lasts until for the past three
"We're in got
Lhe oyster reloca- he explained. "V
tate Division of year."
areas still closed
South Carolii
ishermen $1 per Murrells Inlet no
ermanently clos- Thom Berry,
of the "red tide," Health and Envir
tested last week c
oment employee testing will contii
uwAr
i/hi IV
25c Per Copy
g _ _j _
= B IT H
v-i^i rv \^i \
Order To I
Drainage
BY RAHN ADAMS
Brunswick County Clerk of Cour
Diana Morgan fSR?~'
this week took Jwrf* ^
the next step v x
problems in the MR^bL*.
southwestern
aside an 11-yearold
court order Msr?s=
that dissolved the Cawcaw Drainagt
District.
Ms. Morgan's action Monday after
noon in Bolivia came at the request ol
Brunswick County Commissioners
and the Brunswick County Soil and
Water Conservation District Board.
After more than two months oi
renewed discussion on the matter,
the two boards last December petitioned
the clerk of court to reactivate
the abandoned drainage district.
Soil and Water Board Chairman
James Bellamy, who was a driving
force behind the reactivation effort,
said Monday night that he was pleased
with Ms. Morgan's decision. "I
feel good about it," Bellamy said.
Ms. Morgan, however, did not appoint
three commissioners on Mon
day to oversee reactivation of the
drainage district, as also was requested
by the two boards. She did
not specify when those appointments
would be made.
"I would want to do some research
into who the best possible candidates
were and talk to those people," Ms.
Morgan said Monday, "and that
would be a time-consuming job."
Bellamy told The Brunswick
Beacon Monday tliat he felt the three
drainage commissioners should
represent a cross section of the
district. He suggested that individual
commissioners be chosen to repre
I
a\>ilk **?v? w| tlWUltUTT IlCi 3 ?!!!*_!
developers.
He added that he would also like to
see a former drainage commissioner
returned to the board. He said the
drainage board was composed of
O.K. Bellamy, Wendell Bennett and
the late James Earl Hardee at the
time of its dissolution in 1976.
After the appointments are made,
the next step will be for the drainage
commissioners to redefine the
district's boundaries, since the area
affected by the drainage system has
grown considerably since 1976 when
it was dissolved, Bellamy said.
Before makine the decision tn reap.
tivate the district, Ms. Morgan
reviewed a legal memorandum filed
Feb. 23 by Brunswick County Attorney
David Clegg. At a hearing
held Jan. 20 in Bolivia, the clerk of
court gave Clegg until Feb. 25 to
answer three legal questions she had
involving the two boards' request for
reactivation of the district.
She had questioned whether or not
the boards' motion was filed within a
"reasonable time," as required by
_ ? ?n
fivers
of Marine Fisheries, said the program
week in White Oak River near
lat interest has diminished since clam
i elsewhere. She said the program will
ly after next week.
:ent figures were not available for
jnty, statewide more than 400
had moved approximately 350,000
s under the program as of Monday.
. 22, a total of 76 shellfishermen had
00 bushels in Brunswick County,
ded that the local relocation program
be operated again this spring, as it has
! years.
id shape as far as having areas filled,"
Ve should have a good harvest next
la shellfish beds remain closed from
rth to the state line,
spokesman for the S.C. Department of
onmental Control, said shellfish meats
onuunea low levels ol toxicity. He said
iue next week.
fwi i
?M
OO Pi..N/*
? Vt^V " W J tl
louri Signs
i
Renew
District
the N.C. Rules of Civil Procedure;
t what standing the boards had before
^ the court, since neither was party to
ithe original action which dissolved
the district; and if any case law existed
that would answer whether or
, not drainage easements in the
! district still exist.
"It (Clegg's brief) addressed the
; ?* : > JJ *"
v iiiijjui uim issues una aaaressea mem
51 satisfactorily," Ms. Morgan said
Monday.
However, she noted that "there arc
; some unanswerable things about it,
because there isn't a lot of case law
about drainage."
F The Cawcaw Drainage
! District?formally called Brunswick
I County Drainage District 1?was
established in 1959. Construction of
approximately 16.5 miles of canals
began in 1963 and was completed in
1967. The district was originally
designed to drain about 40,000 acres
of farmland.
1 But much of the affected area now
includes valuable residential and
commercial property. Flooding is j
common due to poor drainage in the
overgrown, neglected canal system.
In December 1976, the Brunswick
County Clerk of Court's office
dissolved the drainage district, j
although opinions issued by the N.C.
Attorney General's office in 1977 and
1987 stated that the dissolution was
improper.
The county has maintained that the
district was never dissolved. Since
uie drainage district was originally
created by a local act of the state
legislature, it could be dissolved only
in the same manner, Clegg has said.
Renewed discussion of the district
(See CLERK, Page 2-A)
n :J i:_(
r i mucMiiui
Primary Set
Polls will open at 6:30 a.m. and
remain open until 7:30 p.m. next
Tuesday ss Brunswick County
voters join other Southerners In
helping select Republican and
Democratic presidential candidates?candidates
they hope
will he more ntfnnoH
mvvwiwv* vv? ibglUlldl I j
needs. I
On the Democratic ticket are I
Rruce RabhHt, Michael S. '
Dukakis, Richard A. Gephardt,
A1 Gore, Gary Hart, Jesse
Jackson and Paul Simon.
Republicans on the ballot are |
George Bush, Bob Dole, Pete Du- j
Pont, Alexander Haig Jr., Jack I
Kemp and Pat Robertson. j
Babbitt, DuPont and Haig have
withdrawn from the race, but not
in time for their names to be
reuioved from ballots.
According to the Brunswick
County Board of Elections, there
are 25,823 registered voters in the
county.
i