I
Down By The Sea
! Fall fun at the beach continues
| this weekend at Holden Beach!
! Your pull-out guide's inside.
Lois Of Spofs!
i Pier anglers get the action
i they've been waiting for. See the J
| Fishing Report, Page 6-D.
On The Tube
i Check the comprehensive
* listings in the TV guide. It's on
j Pages 6-B, 7-B.
Holden Beach
Hires Interim
Administrator
BY DOUG RUTTER
Faced with several major ongoing
projects, Holden Beach Commissioners
last week hired an interim
town administrator who they hope
can help stabilize town hall during a
busy time. ,
After interviewing four applicants
last week, commissioners decided
last Thursday to hire Lester D.
Roark, 63, of Shelby.
Roark, who has a long history of
public service, will start work next
Tuesday, Nov. 1, and will serve at
least until the end of the calendar
year. Mayor John Tandy said the adr-*-\
i wirf ??of/%? trri 11 itmrlr Qfl r\f A n
uiuiuuuiui vrin vYUirv uu ui uic iv
regular working days in November
and December and will be paid $125
per day or $3,750 for the two months.
Tandy said the decision to hire an
interim town administrator was
unanimous and was based in part on
the immediate needs of the town.
Relocation relocation of utility
(See HOLDEN BEACH, Page 2-A)
Man Drown
BY SUSAN USHER
A Lumberton-Fairmont area man
drowned Monday afternoon but his
two companions survived after their
small boat capsized in heavy surf off
Shallotte Inlet.
Airlifted by U.S. Marine
helicopter, Walter Chappell, 54, was
declared dead on arrival at New
Hanover Memorial Hospital in Wilmington
at approximately 4:30 p.m.,
Dr. Leon Andrews, New Hanover
r'mmfrv pvaminpr qiiiri Tupc
day. He listed drowning as the cause
of death.
Chappell's two companions, whose
names the hospital would not make
available, were treated and released
from the emergency room, a
spokesman said.
While rescuers tried to reach them,
the three men remained in the surf
approximately two hours Monday
Judge Dei
Trial In Si
BY RAHN ADAMS
The dispute over ownership of a
$500,000 oceanfront lot at Sunset
Beach may go to the N.C. Court of
Appeals after a motion was denied
this week for a new Superior Court
trial.
The legal fight involves "Lot 1-A,"
which is located near the intersection
of Main Street and Sunset Boulevard.
The lawsuit was filed in 1985 by the
Sunset Beach Taxpayers' Association
against the development firm,
Sunset Beach and Twin Lakes Inc.
John Narron, the company's
DnUi/tU r.ni/1 T.inn/ln.. iUnt
rVcllUlgll d LLUl HCjr , ACI1U 1 UCaUfljr Ullet L
the case probably would be filed with
the Court of Appeals in six to eight
days. The 10-day period for appeal
began Monday when the motion for a
new trial was denied.
In August, Superior Court Judge
Bruce Briggs of Mars Hill ruled ir
favor of the taxpayers' associatior
that the lot is a public right-of-waj
for beach access and not private pro
perty owned by the company
Testimony in the .ion-Jury trial wa:
A
( 1
J HO AG & SONS B<
F'O
SPRIN6P0RT
1930 THE BRUNSWtCK BEACON
Twenty-sixth Year. Number
Convicte
RAYFORD CLAYTON PIVER (left
Rex Gore last Thursday as jurors ai
diet that Piver was guilty of first-de
Septic Ta
BY DOUG RUTTER
A state legislative committee
reviewing septic tank laws will in
troduce legislation next year whicl
would allow for easier approval o
septic tank permits in some area;
built up with "historic" fill dirt.
State Rep. David Redwine o
Ocean Isle Beach, co-chairman of the
septic tank study committee, said the
ornnii will niisti fnr iviKsnm? of a bil
o" r k i? o- ? ?
which would allow septic tanks to to
permitted in areas which have fil
dirt over a sandy bottom.
is, Two Com
after their 15-foot McKee Craft bos
capsized, indicated Dale Hewett, a
enforcement officer with the N.C
Division of Marine Fisheries. He wa
first on the scene.
Hewett said the men "held on a
long as they could" before breakei
separated them from the boat.
Before that, a lone, unidentifie
swimmer reached the net-entangle
boat and tried to sway the men I
float or swim back with him to tl
beach, Hewett said.
But one of the three had a faul
lifejacket. "The other two refused
leave him," added the officer.
Hewett said the three had a
parently ventured out into the ocei
about 250 to 300 yards to retrie
fishing nets set offshore for spots.
Two men on shore told Hewett t
net belonged to them; that the thr
men in the boat were friends from t
nies Motio
jnset Beac
heard by Briggs last November
Brunswick County Superior Court
Shortly after the initial decis
was reached, the company's local
torney, Roy Trest of Shallotte, file
motion asking for a new trial, all
ing that Briggs and SBTA attori
James Maxwell of Durham 1
privately discussed the "merits"
the case before the ruling was ma
Trest also contended in his mot
that Briggs' judgment was "voic
that it was entered out of term j
out of session ..
Maxwell immediately filed an
fidavit denying that he and Bri
i discussed the merits of the case.'
attorney also stated that he noti:
1 Trest of all contact between him
i and the judge either before or
mediately after any communicati
! between the two men, and that T
i raised no objections,
i After hearing arguments Mon
' afternoon in Brunswick Coi
Superior Court, Judge E. L
Johnson denied Trest's motion f
> new trial and ruled that the c
XjK bindery a ^
12/31/99 |
BOX 162
NI 49284. I ^
^ mvai tiU
>1 " Shallotte, North Co
d Murderer
J.V. '
, ^^BpSE^' .7
STAFF PHOTO BY RAHN ADAMS
;) calmly listens with defense attorney
e polled to verify their unanimous vergree
murder.
nk Commiffet
He said this would clear the way
5 for septic tank permit approval in
- some areas at Holden Beach and
1 Sunset Beach, two islands that were
f affected by last year's local reinter3
pretation of state septic tank laws
which require at least one foot of
f "naturally-occurring" soil above the
2 water table.
; Redwine added, however, that the
1 legislation will not provide for penni'
2 approval in areas where fill dirt was
1 added to cover "mud" or "muck."
The proposed legislation was one ol
ipanions Reset
tt Fairmont area who had volunteered
n to bring in the net.
j. Going out Monday afternoon "wa:
is a bad mistake," Hewett added
noting that stiff southwest winds hac
is made the surf "very, very rough."
s The boat's engine apparently
became tangled in the nets and stall
id ed, leaving the threesome stranded
>d "They were sitting there in the edgi
in of the breakers and couldn't 2et bad
ie in, couldn't go anywhere," he said
The boat turned sideways, with th
stern in the waves, and the breaker
ty flipped the boat over,
to "I saw the boat capsize and th
three people go in the water," sai
p- Hewett. "It's a weird feeling to be o
an the hill and see what's happening an
ve not be able to do anything excef
what I did do."
he Hewett, watching from the beac
ee with a Coast Guard emergenc
he medical technician and Logan, sai
n For New
h Lawsuit
in munications between Briggs ar
Maxwell were not improper,
ion The judge also denied a reque
at- from Maxwell that Sunset Beach ar
d a Twin Lakes Inc. should be requiri
eg- to pay attorney fees incurred by tl
rey SBTA as a result of the motion,
jad In asking for the "sanctions," Ma
1 of well cited coverage of the Lot 1
de. case in the Beacon's Aug. 25 editio
ion which reported that Trest said "i
1 in (Trest) intended to file legal it
and tions ... asking for a new trial due
procedural questions about Brigj
af- handling of the case." Maxwell al
ggs cited a Sept. 1 Beacon article tl
rhe reported on the company's moti
fied being filed.
self "The entire system of justice 1
im- been held up to potential ridicule
ions Maxwell told the judge.
rest Narron responded in court to Mi
well's statements by calling I
iday newspaper accounts "the rank
inty form of hearsay." Trest did not co
,ynn ment on the matter during the he
or a ing.
:om- (See .RIDGE, Page 2-A)
?| 119/*!/
irolina, Thursday, October 27, 1*
Dies In Bn
BY RAHN ADAMS
Hours before jurors were to decide
the fate of convicted murderer
Rayford Clayton Piver, the 43-yearold
Ash resident was found dead
Tuesday morning in the Brunswick
County Jail.
Piver was found hanged with a bed
sneei in nis ]au ceil luesaay at y:iu
a.m., according to Brunswick County
Sheriff John C. Davis. The sheriff
said that when Piver's cell was
checked around 4 a.m., the inmate
appeared to be asleep in his bunk.
An SBI investigation requested by
Davis was under way Tuesday. Also,
Piver's body was to be sent Tuesday
to the regional medical examiner's
office in Jacksonville for autopsy,
Davis said. No results were available
at presstime.
Brunswick County Coroner Greg
White estimated the time of death at
approximately 5 a.m. He said the
sheet had been fastened behind the
upper edge of a square steel plate on
the cell wall above a small metal
table.
When asked if the death was a
suicide, Sheriff Davis said, "I don't
see how it could be anything else."
He noted that no one except the jailer
on duty early Tuesday morning had
*<%wwyvs'/vv^Arvwwl'ViV?vs*?Mv^^v?.'v
3 Aims To Eo:
several key items which came out of
a work session last week in Raleigh.
Redwine said the committee decided
10 maKe recommendations to tne
General Assembly on some matters
and introduce legislation on other
matters relating to the state septic
tank laws. He said the committee will
meet again in Raleigh on Nov. 29 to
review the final draft of its report,
, which must be completed no later
i than Dec. 6.
Also last week, the committee
decided to pursue an appropriations
I
jed After Boc
I he tried to maintain visual contact
with the capsized boat and its oc5
cupants while providing radio direc,
tions to the rescuers.
1 Patrolling the east end of Ocean
Isle looking for nets Monday afterf
noon, he noticed the boat offshore
- and three people in it "waving their
. arms." The small boat was half-full
e of water and was setting low in the
? surf.
L
p Hewett said he radioed the U.S.
s Coast Guard at 2:18 p.m. to launch a
rescue.
e Coast Guardsmen in a 21-fool
d motor surf boat arrived on the scene
n quickly, then spent much of the nexl
d two hours trying to cross rough sea:
>t to reach the stranded victims, to n<
avail. "They did everything in theii
h power to get out, but when they did i
y was too rough. They had to tun
id back," said Hewett.
WB
lo- H
iso
Z M<
est Doris Hubbard of Oakland, N.J.
m- than she bargained for when sh
ar_ oyster Saturday at the N.C. Oyst
bit into this pearl which she anc
looked genuine. Her husband, Fr
rn 25c Per Copy
jnswick Co
access to Piver's cell.
Davis said the body was discovered
by Jailer Charles Crocker. He added
that Jailer Thomas Gore was on duty
alone from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Tuesday,
after a second jailer who was
scheduled to work called in sick.
The death was the second to occur
in the Brunswick County Jail in just
over a year. On Oct. 22,1987,17-yearold
Riley Bradford Ridgeway of
Shallotte was found hanged to death
in his cell.
Davis said Tuesday that he probablv
would not chanee anv current
procedures in the jail unless he is instructed
to do so by the 13th District
Attorney's office following the SBI investigation.
Piver was convicted last Thursday
in Brunswick County Superior Court
of first-degree murder in the Oct. 6,
1987, shooting death of 31-year-old
Wilmington resident Michael Baker,
whose body was found near U.S. 17 at
Grissettown.
After five days of jury selection
and two days of testimony, the eightwoman,
four-man jury deliberated
for just over an hour before returning
its guilty verdict.
In March, Piver was convicted of
first-degree murder and was
se Limits On
bill which would set aside state
monies for the continuing education
of sanitarians, research and development
grants and assistance to lowincome
people trying to repair failing
septic systems.
Redwine said the committee is hoping
to get $1.8 million the first year
and $1.9 million the second year.
Each year, he said, $1.5 million of the
total would be available in county
grants for demonstration projects oi
alternative sewage treatment
systems.
it Capsizes In
Meanwhile the Coast Guard
radioed the U.S. Marine Corps, which
dispatched "Launch Pedro," a
search and rescue helicopter based
at Cherry Point.
When the chopper arrived shortly
after 4 p.m., Hewett said its crew
quickly located the first two men,
then searched again for the third.
Chappell was found floating, facedown,
approximately 400 yards from
the capsized boat, drifting into the inlet.
The helicopter pilot told Hewett
' the crew immediately began
resuscitation efforts for the man,
t who was described as unconscious.
! More delays in the rescue occurred
t when the helicopter crew could nol
5 locate The Brunswick Hospital ir
' Supply by coordinates.
* The hospital's landing pad was on
1 ly minutes away, with firefighter!
i and deputies standing by, Logar
said, but unable to pinpoint the loca
HPIr' ~
B|J< /v w?
Dre lhan bhe bargain<
(center) got more said of the fine!
e bit into a steamed were visiting
er Festival. She also Shallotte. Mor
I several others said inside this lssi
ank, pictured at left,
<
I
itON
Sections;.
unty Jail
sentenced to die in connection with
the Oct. 6, 1987 shooting death of
32-year-old Wilmington resident Nick
Patelos outside a Wilmington bar.
The prosecution in the Brunswick
County case maintained that Piver
killed Baker at Grissettown because
Baker witnessed the Patelos murder.
Both Davis and defense attorney
Rex Gore said Tuesday that they
were euiieenieu auuui i'ivei :> emutional
state after the defendant broke
down Monday afternoon during the
sentencing phase of his trial.
"He did show some emotion yesterday
in court, and we were concerned
about it," Davis said. He added that
Gore talked to Piver in jail Monday
afternoon and told jail officials that
he felt Piver would be okay.
Referring to Piver's emotional
state after court recessed Monday,
Gore said Tuesday, "We felt things
were pretty much under control with
him."
But according to the attorney,
Piver apparently "didn't want to
spend any more time in prison on
death row." Piver had even mentioned
considering withdrawing the appeal
of his death sentence in the New
Hanover County murder conviction,
(See CONVICTED, Page 2-A)
Fill Areas
Statewide fees would be imposed to
raise the money needed for this
research. Redwine said the committee
has proposed a septic tank permit
fee of $25, a tank repair fee of $10 and
a fee of $50 for any permit for an unconventional
system. These state
fees would be collected in addition to
any local fees.
TUn ...ill nlr^
i. ui; luuuiuiicc ii IU amu luvuur
mend to the General Assembly that
' septic tank permits be good for five
; years instead of three years as they
(See COMMITTEE, Page 2-A)
Rough Seas
tion, the helicopter continued on to
Wilmington.
Both Hewett and Logan said they
wish the Coast Guard had radioed for
the rescue helicopter "first thing,"
given the conditions of the seas and
that the rescue call came from a law
enforcement officer. "I want to see if
there is any way we can speed up the
process, cut through the red tape,"
said Logan. He's also checking to see
what the problem was with the coordinates.
i
"It's frustrating to see somebody
out there and not be able to help," he
OOJU.
I Logan added that he plans to ini
vestigate the possible purchase of the
type surf boat used by Dare County
. rescuers, with a fiberglass hull and
5 rubber pontoons that are especially
i suited for maneuvering in rough
seas.
9a For
I, "What a shocking revelation." The two
Bill and Merle Goldsberry (right) of
e coverage of the N.C. Oyster Festival is
lie.