Build Table:
Approximately 100 local Ch
Baptist Church Sunday to le
Buddhist neighbors, includir
Page 5B.
TU
ttOAG
? PC
SPRK
Twenty-sixth Year, SBI
Ao
BY RAHN ADAMS
Four State Bureau of Investigation
agents, a Greenville police detective
and a Florida agent testified as
defense witnesses Monday in
Brunswick County Superior Court, as
the sentencing hearing began for a
Supply man who faces up to 790 years
in prison for cocaine trafficking.
Dale Varnam, 37, pleaded guilty
April 21 to 18
ticking in cocaine
caine. Ten of the };|^ .
charges involve
more than 400 ifejgy'.
grams of the con- fBSKf
trolled varnam
Surfers enjoyed good waves most ol
thanks to Tropical Storm Chris. In t
State Dir
BY SUSAN USHER
Holden Beach Commissioners
haven't decided whether to appeal e
declaratory ruling from the stats
health director which upholds loca
intepretation of the state's septic
tank laws.
The declaratory ruling, issued bj
State Health Director Dr. Ronak
Levine on August 1, is in response t<
a petition received from the Town o:
Holden Beach on June 22.
Tuesday, Mayor John Tandy tol<
the Beacon the commission hasn'
reached any decision because
| Coastal R
IN.C. Coastal Federation Presi
Stump Sound shellfisherman wt
led a three-year successful batt!
against development of Permud
Island, will meet Friday night wil
citizens concerned about the futui
of Lockwood Folly River.
The meeting begins at 8 p.m. i
the Brunswick County Fishing Cli
at Sunset Harbor, at the end i
Sunset Harbor Road off N.C. 2
south of Supply.
"They're asking anyone who i
I river to attend," said spokesmai
Varnamtown. "The commercia
sports fishermen are working on
One purpose of the meeting
5 Or Walls?
ristians met at Antioch
am about their new
ig how to witness to them,
V, SOW-' 60W- 12/31 i'
BOX
. _ T Ml
ftGr'OnJ
4V3 1968 1MI BRUNSWICK BEACON
ents Say Van
substance, while the remaining 26
counts involve more than 28 grams.
After hearing about 1V4 hours of
defense testimony from out-of-town
witnesses Monday, Judge E. Lynn
Johnson recessed the hearing until
later in the week because Superior
Court jurors were scheduled to
report for duty early that afternoon.
Johnson said he understood that the
non-jury sentencing hearing would
be "somewhat protracted."
Defense attorney John Collins
must establish that Varnam has provided
"substantial assistance" to
drug investigators in order for the
defendant to receive a lighter
sentence than is prescribed by state
drug trafficking laws.
Without the judge's finding of
substantial assistance, Varnam's
*rNj
Surfers
Enjc
f last week and through the weekend,
his photo, taken last Friday at Holden
l f i
ecfor uphold
members have not yet discussed th
! ruling.
i The town has 30 days from the da
! it received the ruling in which to fil
I an appeal with N.C. Superior Court
: Holden Beach commissioners wer
concerned that a recent reinterpri
r tion of the state's 1982 septic tan
1 rules is adversely affecting a
) estimated 288 platted lots on tl
f island.
Levine's ruling is based on the fin;
1 decision he issued in May in a coi
t tested case hearing from Carter
i County, A.B. Cooper Sr. vs. tl
J x!
saeranori s
dent Lena Ritter, the which local n
10 on behalf of tl
Mrs. Van
la concerned cit
:h river. Local
e jB,y- may be a fig!
11 5- Mra! weeks ago, tl
Ritter to pay for pi
possibly legi
is concerned about the several shell
i Marlene Varnam of behind the at
1 fishermen and the Oyster ai
this together." sent about or
is to explore ways in been open in
Supplement included
Shallotte, North Carolina, Thui
rtnm \A/ric Wq\/
i iui ii v v i wy
mandatory minimum prison
sentence would be 532 years. In addi- G
tion, each 400-gram count carries a y
$250,000 fine, and each 28-gram count ti
carries a $50,000 fine. r
Under questioning by Collins, five t
of the six lawmen testified Monday
that Varnam has assisted them in in- r
vestigating cocaine trafficking cases a
in Brunswick County, Pitt County 1
and Florida over the past two years. '
"It (Varnam's assistance) was 1
very important," said SBI Special
Agent Steve Surratt of Greenville. \
"He was very cooperative." Surratt (
was involved in the special in- ?
vestigative grand jury probe here i
that resulted in the indictment in j
June 1987 of 32 individuals?including :
Varnam?on cocaine trafficking 1
charges. ?
- - .
^BK/*- v*jr
fajcfflnOrr/;'v*' jBWyy^ *~yfc^^Ew]yy^B^^Sv' ,cc,' -I'll:1
9fi^9RKfaE v^r^Jifejw8^j80BS
>y Side Effects
Beach Fishing Pier, Wes Cross of Buc(
the pleasure of several onlookers.
's Local Interpi
e state's Department of Human
Resources. The hearing addressed
y the issue of whether historical fill
e material should be considered as
"naturally occurring soil" under
e state septic tank regulations.
moc r*
- Ill VJLIUUC1 1UOO, V^uupci WdO UC1UCU
ik an improvement permit for installing
n a low-pressure pipe system on a lot
ie on a finger canal in Atlantic Beach
Isles. The lot was deemed unsuitable
al for a septic tank system because of
n- the seasonally high water table and
et lack of suitable naturally occurring
ie soil beneath the 40 inches of
Lena Ritter 1
esidents can organize and work together
tie river.
nam said calls have been coming in from
;izens all across the state regarding the
fishermen are pulling together for what
it, she indicated. "They're ready."
i late August of an additional 153 acres of
'aters in the river prompted the fishermen
stily called meeting approximately two
ley began collecting donations with which
ivate testing of the shellfish waters, and
il fees. In interviews with the Beacon,
fishermen said they suspect politics are
Iditional closure.
id clam beds lost in Lockwood Folly reprele-third
of the shellfishing areas which had
the river, which accounts for 40 percent of
\
Lii/mg
in this issue./
rsday, September 1, 1988 2
Witness In L<
SBI Special Agent John C. Rey of I
ireenville, who assisted in last t
ear's Brunswick County investigaion,
said Varnam was "probably the <
nost important witness" to appear i
iefore the special grand jury. i
Both agents also stated that Var- ;
1am contacted other drug suspects
ind convinced them to meet with
awmen during the investigation.
'Anything that was requested of
lim, he did," Rey said.
Malcolm McCloud, assistant supervisor
of the Greenville SBI office, and
Jreenville Police Det. Steve Pass
said Varnam helped lawmen arrest
ind convict two of Pitt County's maor
cocaine dealers, Fotios Kamtsiklis
and Petros Tholiotis, also
mown as "the Greeks." Both men
ilso were indicted last year in
:aneer Hills demonstrates his skills to
retation Of S
historical fill (dredge material of fine
sands and shell fragments placed on
the lot more than 20 years ago).
Levine upheld that denial in his
decision, overruling a recommended
decision which he said was erroneous.
In the declaratory ruling he confirms
his own decision that historical
fill material is not "naturally occuring
soil" and that a septic tank
system cannot be installed in
historical fill unless there is one foot
of naturally occurring soil beneath
that historical fill, that soil suitable
lb Meet Wi
the county's shelltisti harvest.
In addition to clam beds and
areas, the waters that were closed als
where Channel Side Corp. has propo;
a 50-slip marina as part of its 500-aci
community.
The application for that marina p
under review by the N.C. Division o
ment, with no answer due until after
a sewage treatment plan for review
the Division of Environmental Mana
Local shellfishermen are opposii
ject and claim it will cause the closi
and clam beds in the river.
However, the N.C. Division of h
the only one of 14 state and federal ag
in opposition to the project.
Fishing Is Lc
With the King Classic on tap
local centers say fishing cone
the holiday weekend, Page 1!
!5c Per Copy 92 Pages Incluc
peal Cocaine
Jrunswick County and pleaded guilty t
o cocaine charges.
"He (Varnam) was completely i
:ooperative," McCloud said. "He 1
didn't hold back anything, and we 1
never caught him holding back i
anything." He added that Varnam i
risked his own safety by wearing a 1
hidden electronic transmitter or
recorder when he met with the
Greeks to set up cocaine buys.
Florida Agent David Waller
testified that Varnam assisted
Florida authorities in a drug investigation
there last year. Also, SBI
Special Agent Jerry Webster of
Wilmington said Varnam gave him
information in April 1987 concerning
an on-going arson investigation in
Webster's district, which includes
Brunswick and New Hanover counChris
Give
Passing Ol
Tropical Storm Chris didn't make
much of an impression on Brunswick
County as it hugged the coast of
South Carolina and then raced inland,
dumping a half-inch and up of
extra rainfall.
The brunt of the storm was felt
elsewhere, with power outages, tornadoes
and other damage reported in
the Piedmont. Local damage was
minimal and appeared to concentrate
in the Ocean Isle area.
As Chris plowed up the coast
toward Charleston, some local
residents bought batteries and
secured small boats better than
usual, surfers took advantage of the
higher waves and Brunswick County
Emergency Management Coordinator
Cecil Logan and other local
officials monitored the storm's progress.
Fire departments and rescue
squads asked to have vehicles ready
in the event the storm built in
strength or changed directions.
Local conditions were at their
worst Sunday afternoon when driving
rain fell across southwestern
Brunswick County, causing shallow
flooding of island roadways, and high
winds uprooted trees at the Ocean
Isle Golf Course and flipped over a
single-engine airplane at the Ocean
eptic Tank
or provisionally suitable as to its texture,
structure and drainage.
It also confirms the conclusion in
the Cooper case that lots classified as
unsuitable (in that case because of
the unsuitability of the first foot of
naturally occurring soil beneath
historical fill) may be reclassified as
provisionally suitable if engineering,
hydrogeologic or soil studies indicate
that an on-site sanitary sewage
system can reasonably be expected
to function properly.
In the Cooper case, Levine had ruled
that the opinion of an expert hired
ith Locals
The lower L<
oyster relocation nominated by b
io included an area Fisheries and by
>ed construction of outstanding resc
re Lockwood Folly vironmental Man
pleted the rule-n
those applications
iroject is currently The N.C. Cos
f Coastal Manage- nonprofit, tax-exi
developers submit volve citizens in e
' and comment by should be manage
igement. resources in an a
ig the manna pro- economic, social;
are of more oyster North Carolina.
Jim Bahen of
larine Fisheries is at Kure Beach
;encies to comment Fisheries Adviso
tend Friday's me
i
?oking Up! !
and Chris now history,
Jitions look promising for
2-C.
ling Supplement, Plus Insert
Probe
ies.
However, under questioning by
special Assistant District Attorney
3ill Wolak, all six lawmen testified
:hey were aware that Varnam apparently
was helping them in order to
increase his chances of receiving a
lighter sentence.
Surratt and Rey also classified
Varnam as a major drug trafficker in
Brunswick County. Wolak pointed
out in liis questioning that many of
the individuals implicated by Varnam
were either working for the
defendant or buying cocaine from
him. "There were more that he had
sold to than he had bought from,"
Surratt said.
Although McCloud described Varnam
as a "riid-level" dealer, he also
(See VARNAM, Page 2-A)
s county
ance Only
Isle Beach Airport.
The winds also overturned several
heavy picnic tables said, Druid
Roberson, building inspector for
Ocean Isle Beach, with the damage
falling along a distinct path.
"Line them (the tables) up with the
airport and the trees and it's almost a
straight line," he said.
On the island, Roberson posted
"unsafe" signs at three oceanfront
residences on the east end, all of
which have been "chronic problems"
during erosion events.
"The signs will remain until some
sand is pushed up," said Roberson.
While some east-end erosion did occur,
town officials said the storm was
a "good test" of sand-bagging projects
on the end of East 1st Street.
Chris added one to three feet to
tides already abnormally high
because of astronomical conditions,
increasing the likelihood of shallow
flooding and erosion alreadv forecast
for the weekend.
At Holden Beach, commissioners
said the storm did very little damage
and could have been a lot worse,
especially at the east end which has
suffered erosion problems in the
past.
See CHRIS, Page2-A)
$gulations
by Cooper that the system would
serve adequately was not confirmed
by such studies.
The state's position was based on
its experience with systems placed in
fill material and on an Environmental
Protection Agency study that
shows that septic tank systems on the
finger fill canal lots of Atlantic Beach
Isles have contributed to the
degradation of water quality in the
canals, the decision noted.
The ruling does not address the
contention of Holden Beach that the
(See INTERPRETATION, Page 2-A)
taout River
>ckwood Folly River has also been
oth the N.C. Division of Marine
citizens' petition for designation as
jurce waters. However, the Enlagement
Commission has not comtiaking
process for consideration of
i and lias yet to consider them,
istal Federation is a Newport-based
impt organization which seeks to iniecisions
about how coastal resources
k1. It shares technical information and
ittempt to better represent long-term
and environmental interests of coastal
! the UNC Sea Grant College Program
and area members of the Marine
ry Board have also been asked to at:eting.
J