Armec
BY DOUG RUTTER
An armed robber was still at lat
after taking an undiselosed sum of
Calabash branch of Security Savings &
afternoon.
Brunswick County Sheriff John C.
was injured during the robbery, which
3:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Davis said the suspect, a white m;
stitution on N.C. 179 east of Calabasl
dgun and demanded money from a tel
After receiving an unknown sum o
suspect ran away from the building i
nearby Marsh Harbor Golf Links.
From descriptions offered by St
Loan employees working at the time.
_____
i
H J8
^Twenty-seventh Year, Numl
BRUNSWICK COUNTY COMMISSI)
information (luring one of the count;
I Woman Di<
7 Others H
An elderly Shallotte area woman
died Saturday morning in a head-on
collision on U.S. 17 near Shallotte, according
to Highway Patrol
spokesperson Ruby Oakley.
The victim was retired
schoolteacher Edna Jacobs Bennett,
82, of Route 1, Shallotte. Ms. Oakley
said the death was the seventh traffic
fatality this year on Brunswick County
highways?two more than occurred
by the same time last year.
The accident happened Saturday at
10:45 a.m., one-tenth of a mile south
of Shallotte on U.S. 17, when Mrs.
Clamme
A local woman clamming in
Shallotte River Monday afternoon
was saved from drowning by a
neighbor who apparently was at the
right place at the right time.
Elsie Cumbee of Supply, who was
clamming with her husband, mother
and sister in the river Monday
around 2:30 p.m., said she was suddenly
swept into a deep hole where
the water was over her head.
The group was clamming in
Shallotte River near the Cumbee's
vacation home at Little Shallotte
River Estates near Shell Point.
Legislator
BY RAHN ADAMS
The N.C. Senate Finance Committee
was expected to take up discussion
again this week of a proposed
bill to tax illegal drugs, after the
legislation?inspired in part by drug
cases in Brunswick County?was put
on hold by the senator representing
this area.
I^ast Wednesday in Raleigh, Sen.
R.C. Soles of Columbus County had
consideration of the bill postponed
until this week. Soles said his purpose
was to draw attention to inappropriate
criticism of the local
judicial system by one of the bill's
sponsors. Sen. Robert G. Shaw of
Guilford County.
"I'm very much in favor of the
bill," Soles told the Beacon last
Thursday, "but Sen. Shaw stood up
before the committee and took the
/ >'
' ' _ _
i Man R?
l of robber could be ;
ge Tuesday night said the suspect wa:
money from the a blue baseball cap
: 1 ,oan earlier that The sheriff said
taken and noted tha
Davis said nobody ly reveal that type i
occurred at about
The case will bi
ile, entered the in- ing a financial insti
l, revealed a han- Davis said Tui
ler. have a better descr
if cash, he said the film from cpenriK
? ""w>" '"J
in the direction of operating at the tin
Immediately fo
icurity Savings & officers with the
Davis said the age municipalities resj
SFR iNuPvR' ?"> i
aer 33
ONERS Frankie Rabun (foreground) and
y board's three work sessions last week ii
es In U.S. 17 >
urt In Weekei
Bennett's southbound 1968 Chevrolet
crossed the center line and collided
head-on with a northbound 1986
Dodge driven by Charles D. Watterson
III, 20, of Havelock, Ms. Oakley
said.
Watterson and his
passenger?Audra Watterson, 19,
also of Havelock?both suffered nonincapacitating
injuries and were
taken by ambulance to The
Brunswick Hospital at Supply.
The investigating officer, Trooper
B.L. Wilkes, did not indicate a possible
reason why the Bennett car cross?r
Saved From Dr
When the other members of her
party were unable to assist her, she
said neighbor Tom Gore came to the
rescue and pulled her to the river
bank.
"I can't swim and I had just tried
to stay alive, and he just got there in
time," she said. "I had fought for my
life until I was about wore out."
While struggling to stay afloat,
Mrs. Cumbee said she recalled the
advice given to all swimmers in trouble
and tried not to panic. "I think my
husband and my family was more
scared than I was."
She said her sister and mother
s Tangle Ovei
court system (in the 13th District) to
task for not doing anything to drug
dealers."
Soles said he felt it was improper
for Shaw to criticize the local court
system, when the Greensboro
legislator did not have firsthand
knowledge of the drug cases that
have been prosecuted in Brunswick
County.
Since June 1987, local investigative
grand jury probes have resulted in
drug trafficking indictments against
more than 100 individuals in
Brunswick County, according to 13th
District Attorney Michael Easley.
Most of the defendants were charged
on cocaine trafficking counts.
Shaw, a Holden Beach property
owner, told the Beacon in April that
he introduced the bill because "in
many cases, the judges are not giv
bs Calafc
anywhere from the late 30s to 50. He
5 wearing a blue jumper or blazer and
at the time of the crime,
he had no idea how much money was
t financial institutions do not typicalof
information.
e investigated by the FBI since robbtution
is a federal offense,
ssday that federal authorities may
iption of the suspect after reviewing
r cameras which apparently were
le of the robberv.
(lowing the crime, law enforcement
sheriff's department and local
jonded to the scene and set up
olina,
aiI
SI Al I HHOIO BY HAHN ADAMS
Grace Beasley try to absorb budget
1 Bolivia.
Occident;
id Wrecks
ed the center line, although his report
noted rainy weather conditions at the
time of the wreck, Ms. Oakley said.
Both vehicles were traveling at
estimated speeds of 45 mph when
they collided.
Assistant County Coroner Cleo McCranie
said Tuesday it did not appear
that Mrs. Bennett died of injuries suffered
in the crash. Although no autopsy
was done, McCranie speculated
that the woman possibly died of a
heart attack. She was pronounced
dead at the scene of the wreck.
(See WOMAN, Page2-A)
owning
were both bogged down in the river
bottom and her husband was unable
to reach her with a clamming rake.
Mrs. Cumbee added that she was
very fortunate Gore was home at the
time because he is usually at work at
that hour of the day.
"I don't have no desire to go back
into the water for a long time," she
said. "The Lord was just looking out
for me this time."
Mrs. Cumbee said she hopes to get
a sign erected in that section of the
river warning fishermen and swimmers
of the potential danger.
r Criticism Ol
ing (dnig traffickers) the mandatory
minimum fine." He said he became
aware of that situation from reading
the Beacon's accounts the drug trafficking
prosecutions here over the
past couple of years.
He also introduced a companion
bill dealing with mandatory
minimum prison terms. The bill,
which is being held in committee until
a future legislative session, would
require that convicted drug traffickers
serve some active prison
time, whether they give "substantial
assistance" to investigators or not.
Under current laws, a judge may
impose a lighter prison term or suspend
the sentence and place the
defendant on probation if the defendant
is found to have provided
substantial assistance. Also, the fine
can be waived or reduced.
cash Sect
roadblocks at four major traffic f
Calabash.
Officers stopped and searched vcl
tions of U.S. 17 and Thomasboro Ri
Calabash Road, N.C. 179 and Old Geor
at the South Carolina state line on N.C
Phil Wells of the N.C. league of Se
ooiTj tn.~~.rj *1? *
oaiu i uu.^uaj me urbanization is ottei
reward for information leading to the
ment of the person who commited the
Anyone with information can conti
in Charlotte at f704 >525-8497. Telephon
reversed.
Through the end of May, Wells said
robberies of financial institutions thi
Thursday, June 22, 1989
'Surpris
Tax Ra
BY RAHN ADAMS
When the dust settled Tuesday
night, Brunswick County CommissinnPPR
hnH raHnntnH tho nnnntu'c
1989-90 budget, but at least one board
member who opposed the measure
was still wondering how revenue
from a five-cent tax hike will be
spent.
On a motion by Commissioner
Grace Beasley, the board voted 3-2 to
adopt the budget with a 59'2-cent tax
rate, with 551-2 cents to be used for
general operations and the remaining
four cents allocated to "operating
reserve."
The motion was made within
minutes after the meeting began.
Commissioners Beasley, Benny
Ludlum and Kelly Holden voted for
the motion. Commissioners Frankie
Rabon and Gene Pinkerton opposed
it.
Although county officials indicated
that a total budget amount was not
figured Tuesday using the new tax
rate, the board's action appears to
translate to a $31 million budget,
compared to the current year's $27.3
million budget. The 1988-89 tax rate is
54 V2 cents per $100 of property valuation.
Over a month ago, County
Manager John T. Smith proposed a
$33 million budget that included a
10-cent tax rate hike, with the increase
to be used for a proposed fiveyear
capital improvements program.
The capital program was to mainly
include a new elementary school
near Supply, a 911 communications
facility, a new Social Services
building, a jail addition and improvements
to the county water
system.
After the meeting, both Ms.
Beasley and Holden explained that
the four cents in the tax rate which
were allocated for "operating
reserve" are to go for capital projects.
Ms. Beasley indicated that the difficulty
faced by the board was that it
"could not tie X number of dollars"
toward individual projects, since few
definite cost estimates were
available.
"I really believe it (the rate hike)
: Brunswick G
Otherwise, an individual who is
convicted of trafficking in more than
400 grams of cocaine faces a mandatory
minimum sentence of 35 years
in prison and a $250,000 fine; trafficking
in more than 200 grams of cocaine,
at least 14 years and a $100,000
' fine; and trafficking in more than 28
grams, at least seven years and a
$50,000 fine.
Of the 85 defendants who were indicted
here on drug trafficking
charges in June and July of 1987 and
in April 1988, some 77 have been fully
prosecuted, according to court
records and information from the
district attorney's office. Only two
defendants received both mandatory
minimum prison terms and fines,
after they failed to get findings of
substantial assistance.
In all, 46 defendants were fined,
joints outside of Carolina. That figi
year.
licles at intcrsec- This week's cri
aad, U.S. 17 a"d financial institutior
getown Road and On Dec. 15, 191
. 179. and what turned o
United Carolina R
ivings Institutions Calabash.
ing a $2,000 cash A suspect was
arrest and indict- nection with the lo
robbery. other locations in t
act the FBI office Sheriff Davis s
e charges may be of Calabash to the
vulnerable to crir
there had been 72 haven't had a rash
is year in North blem because it is :
25c Per Copy
e 5-Cen1
te Increa
was necessary," she said. "I think
this is a step toward providing the
services that we're mandated to provide."
Smith told the Beacon, "I think we
can live with it (the new budget), and
we can get started with these capital
projects." He added, however, that
the county probably will not be able
to complete the projects in the coming
year and that alternate funding
methods?such as lease-purchase arrangements?will
be explored.
Pinkerton commented that he was
"surprised" by the board's action,
because "there wasn't anything
specific as to why we're increasing
the taxes."
Pinkerton, whose motion last
month to fund Smith's proposed
capital improvements plan was
defeated by the board, added that the
new budget decides nothing specific
Holden Official
To Proceed Wi
Holden Beach officials are expei
the town's first mainland territory di
June 26, at 7 p.m. in town hall.
On June 5, commissioners vote
imately 67 acres of commercial and
mainland causeway.
Since a four-fifths majority is r<
cond vote is required. A simple maj<
the second reading will be enough t(
Mayor John Tandy said last weel
the board meets on Monday. At the
Bass, William Williamson and Gay /
while members Bob Buck and Geori
Although most of the property ov
in April said they opposed the annexe
ill feelings between the two areas if
If the town board adopts the anni
be at least a year before the main!
limits. The proposal is for the annex
Town Manager Gus Ulrich saic
assessments tor me underground ut
pected to make final adjustments in t
the budget for next fiscal year.
Also Monday, commissioners ar
to the planning and zoning board, 1
elections. Persons interested in servi
contact town hall.
ounty Drug S<
with their fines ranging from $250 to
$250,000. Some 55 of the defendants
received active sentences, ranging
from four weekends in jail to 35 years
in prison; 22 defendants were placed
on probation.
Noting that his figures include
spin-off" cases, Easley said Monday
that 109 cases stemming from
the Brunswick County investigative
grand jury probes have been fully
prosecuted. He said 81 of the defendants
received active sentences, and
28 defendants were placed on probation.
Qlv.ni' tnl/l f 1m Unn/?nn Ppi/lmi
iiiiuii vv'iv? mv UK- C1V.wii i' I iviciv LII<11
he was not singling out the court
system in the nth District for
criticism, as he said Soles had indicated.
Shaw pointed out that all but
one of the more than 10 judges who
have sentenced local investigative
V
>
Branch
ire. he noted, is "way up" from last
ime is the second armed robbery of a
i in Calabash in the past 18 months.
17, a white male carrying a handgun
ut to be a fake bomb robbed the old
ank branch on Ivnv Hiuh xtmi.i in
arrested several months later in concal
robbery and robberies in several
he southeastern United States,
uggested Tuesday that the proximity
i South Carolina state line makes it
nes such as armed robbery. "We
of robberies, but there can be a pro50
close to the state line."
? ? ??"?~V
36 Pages, 3 Sections^,
asses
\
se
about the capital projects. "If they
had gone with the capital improvements
program, I could have
gone with an increase," he said.
According to Smith, the additional
cent that Ms. Beasley's motion allotted
for general operations will cover
amendments the commissioners
made last week and Monday to the
county manager's original proposed
operating budget, which was based
on a 54'2-cent tax rate.
Those amendments to Smith's
recommended budget included a $500
across-the-board salary supplement
for county employees, instead of
cost-of-living and merit raises; a
15-percent or $275,890 increase in the
county's group insurance costs, with
none of that increase passed along to
employees; a $23,640 increase for the
commissioners' per diem payments,
(See COUNTY, Page2-A)
fs Expected
fh Annexation
:ted to proceed with plans to annex
jring a special meeting on Monday,
d 3-2 in favor of annexing approxresidential
property bordering the
squired on the first balloting, a sejrity
vote in favor of annexation on
) make it official.
< he expects the same 3-2 vote when
! last meeting, Commissioners Gil
dkins voted in favor of annexation,
jia I>angley opposed it.
mers who spoke at a public hearing
ition, Tandv said he does not exneet
1
the annexation is approved,
jxation ordinance next week, it will
and territory is added to the town
:ation to take effect July 1, 1990.
1 the town board will also discuss
ilities project next week and is exhe
current year's budget and adopt
e scheduled to make appointments
joard of adjustment and board of
ng on any of these town boards can
enterices
grand jry defendants have come
from outside this district.
Despite the controversy, the
Greensboro senator said he felt the
controlled substance tax bill would
be "all right" when taken up again
by the committee this week. With a
favorable report, the bill would go on
to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
then the Senate floor, before
being sent to the State House.
The proposed legislation calls for
levies of approximately $100 per
ounce of marijuana and $200 per
gram of cocaine and other controlled
substances. Illegal drug dealers who
do not pay the tax within 48 hours of
obtaining the controlled substances
would be subject to the tax, an additional
penalty equal to the tax, imprisonment
of up to five years and a
fine.
1