Dining and entertainment
supplement included in this issue.
Reeling In
Landing Brunswick County's first electronics
based industry? and up to 500 new jobs? took
eight months of effort. For an inside look at
how Exide and Brunswick got together, see the
Business Page. 14-B.
Supplement included in this issue
THE ICKf|BEACON
Twenty-seventh Year, Number 43 ci?e? the brunswick beacon Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, August 31, 1989 25c Pc Copy 108 Pages, 3 Sections, 2 Supplements, 1 Insert
SIMMONS TO RUN FOR MAYOR g
Four From Carolina Shores |
File For Calabash Council J
BY DOUG RUTTER
Four Carolina Shores residents
had filed for commission scats in
the enlarged Town of Calabash as
of Tuesday afternoon, and the cur
rent mayor said he will seek re
election this fall.
An emergency filing period for
Calabash opened last Friday follow
ing a referendum last Tuesday in
which voters from Calabash proper
and Carolina Shores both approved
a plan to consolidate the two com
munities.
By virtue of last week's vote, the
Calabash town limits were expand
ed to include all of Carolina Shores
effective today (Thursday). A new
seven-member board of commis
sioners will replace the existing
five-member town council after this
year's general municipal election.
On Nov. 7, five residents from
Carolina Shores (District II) and
two from Calabash (District I) will
be elected to the commission. The
mayor can run from cither district
Residents from both areas will be
able to vote for candidates in both
districts.
Those filing from Carolina
Shores as of Tuesday were Jon B.
Sanborn, Stuart B. Thorn, James A.
Nay and George L. Taubcl, accord
ing to the Brunswick County Board
of Elections office.
Calabash Mayor Doug Simmons
said Tuesday a number of Carolina
Shores residents have asked him to
run for mayor and that he plans to
file this week. He had indicated ear
lier that he had not planned to run
for the post.
"I didn't want the people to think
that I was leaving them flat," he
said. "I want to help out with the
changeover as much as 1 can."
Simmons said he didn't know if
any of the current town council
members planned to run for office.
The present mayor and council will
run the town through the end of
November. The new board will take
over in December.
At the other end of Brunswick
County, two men have filed for
town council at Navassa sincc a
special filing period opened there
last Friday.
Roosevelt Toomcr and Leon
Bowman have filed for seats on the
town board. They join council can
didate Jimmy Lewis, who declared
his candidacy during the regular fil
ing period which ended Aug. 4.
There arc two council seats up for
election this year.
The filing period was reopened
last week in Navassa after William
White withdrew as a candidate.
That move left the town without a
full slate of officers.
Navassa Mayor Louis "Bobby"
Brown is unopposed in his bid for
re-election this fall.
The filing period for both towns
continues through Friday, Sept. 8.
The filing fee is 55, payable at the
county elections office in Bolivia.
SAYS ENGINEFR
Shallotte Needs Plan For Future
BY HpUG Rt'TTER
Shallottc needs to develop a mas
ter plan and generate more revenue
to ensure the town has enough
sewage capacity to handle future
growth.
That was the advice the town's
consuiting engineer gave officials
last Thursday during a special
meeting called to discuss the annex
ation of about 800 acres into
Shallolte.
Present for the 90-minute infor
fiial 5CSMU1I wcic TvIayOi JciTy
Jones, town aldermen Paul Wayne
Reeves, Jody Simmons and David
Gause and planning board member
Art Clawson.
Landowners have requested an
nexation of about 400 acres off the
U.S. 17 bypass at the south end of
town and 400 acres off Forest Drive
north of town. Before acting on the
requests, officials wanted input
from the town's sewer plant engi
neer, J. Finley Boney of Raleigh.
After discussing the town's pre
sent sewer capacity and future
needs at length, Boney recommend
ed the town not annex all of the
land until it has a master plan guid
ing expansion of the town limits. "I
don't see how you can take the
whole thing," he said.
In the master plan, he said offi
cials could map out how they want
the town to grow over the next 20
years. Also, he suggested the town
"They need you more
than you need them."
? J. Finley Boney
Consulting Engineer
increase its impact fees and create
another fee to generate funds for a
new sewer plant
Boney also endorsed extraterrito
rial jurisdiction as a means of keep
ing tabs on growth. The planning
board recently recommended the
iuwii establish a juiisuicuonai area
within one mile of the corporate
limits where the town could enforce
its zoning and subdivisions ordi
nances. Aldermen are studying the
proposal.
From an engineering standpoint,
Boney said annexation of the north
end property is more feasible than
taking in the 400 acres south of
town. "Your easiest bet is the north
end because your sitting on top of
the sewer plant," he said.
The three north-end tracts includ
ed in the annexation proposal are
close to the sewer plant The area
includes the partially-developed
Green Bay Village subdivision.
Boney said a force main leading
back to the sewer plant would be
needed to annex the land south of
Shallotte. But officials agreed last
week that the acreage south of town
will be more valuable in terms of
tax base than the land north of
town. There are alieady 26 residen
tial units in the area, including 24 in
the Parkview Apartments complex.
Shallotte officials also talked
about annexing the developed land
of both areas and leaving out the
undeveloped property for now.
Landowners requested annexation
of the two areas in order to get
sewer service.
Whatever areas are annexed,
Boney stressed that the town make
sure the property owners fund all
utility connections. "They need you
more than you need them." he said.
'They got a tiger by the tail."
Shallotte is now treating about
90,000 gallons of wastewater per
day. After completing ar ongoing
expansion of its system, the town
will have the capacity for 206,100
gallons per day.
With that capacity, Boney said
the town will be able to handle all
building within the present town
limits, where a lot of land is still
undeveloped. "We can just about
double our size in town," he said.
Once all of that capacity is used
up, however, Boney said the town
won't be able to expand its system
again. Shallotte will have to build
another sewer plant at a cost of at
least SI million, he said.
The existing plant was funded
with a federal grant. But Boney said
there is very little federal money
(See SHALLOTTE, Page 2-A)
SWT rHOTO BY DOUG WJTTER
DEAD FISH scooped from Eastern Lake at Sunset Beach morning were piled into this front-end loader.
Scientists were expected to take water samples from the lake Wednesday to help determine the cause of
the fish kill.
Scientists To Sample Twin Lake
To Determine Cause Of Fish Kill
BY DOUG RUTTER
Scientists were expected to sam
ple waters in Eastern Lake at Sunset
Beach Wednesday with the hope of
finding out what csuscd the sudden
death of dozens of fish over the
weekend.
Eastern Lake, a bird sanctuary
also known as a home to fresh
water bass and alligators, is located
north of N.C. 179 near the Oyster
Bay Golf Links property. Prior to
the fish kill, the concerns of local
residents had grown to the point
thai they recently incorporated a
conservation group to protect the
natural habitat.
LarTy Young, owner of Oyster
Bay, said most of the fish that died
over the weekend were a special
breed of grass-eating carp that were
put into the lake to control weed
and algae growth. There were also a
few dead mullet.
Golf course maintenance workers
used small nets to pull the dead fish
out of the lake Monday morning.
As golfers putted on a nearby green,
workers piled between 75 and 100
fish into the bucket of a front-end
loader. A few more dead fish were
pulled out of the lake Tuesday
morning.
Young said the first dead fish ?
some as much as three feet long ?
were noticed Saturday. "We could
n't figure out what in the world
could have caused it."
He said a fungicide had been
applied to the golf course greens
last week. But he said the treatment
should not have caused any harm to
the fish. He added that maintenance
crews haven't sprayed insecticide in
weeks.
An engineer who treats the weeds
and algae that grow along the lake
shoreline for the golf course be
lieves a quick change in environ
mental conditions is the most likely
reason for the fish kill.
Randy Mills, an engineer with
National AcjUaUcs of Columbia,
S.C., said, "That right there is sim
ply an environmental fish kill due
to a quick change in the water tem
perature. It'? all part of nature."
Because the shallow Eastern
Lake is particularly warm at the end
of the summer, he said the shock of
a cold rain can kill the fish by
depleting oxygen in the water. The
lake is between two feet and three
feet deep in most areas and is thick
with plant life.
"It's not something that happens
every day," said Mills. "But it hap
pens often enough that it's not
something that should cause a
panic."
To control weeds, Mills said he
treats sections of the bsnk of t!is
lake every 30 days with a hcrbicide
approved for aquatic use. Also, he
uses copper sulfate to reduce algal
growth along the edge of the lake.
Mills said he doubts the fish kill
was caused by the use of any chem
ical. He said the dead fish would
have been confined to a small area
if chemicals were to blame.
He and another scientist, who is
working on behalf of a local citi
zens conservation group, planned to
test waters of Eastern Lake for oxy
gen levels on Wednesday.
Gordon Wills, president of the
recently-formed Twin Lakes Resi
dents Conservation Association,
said a biology professor from the
University of North Carolina at
Wilmington was expected to sample
the water Wednesday morning.
The conservation group, which
began organizing a year ago, re
ceived its charter in February. Since
then. Wills said members have been
negotiating with golf coursc man
agement to cut down on the use of
lake water for golf coarse irrigation
and to reduce weed and algal
growth in the lakes.
"They have promised verbally to
do a great deal about solving this
problem." said Wills, who lives on
Western Lake which adjoins East
em Lake.
He said he suspects that low oxy
gen levels in the water caused the
fish to die. A number of live fish
appeared to be gasping for oxygen
at the surface of the water Monday
morning.
Wills said association members
arc concerned about low water lev
els in the lakes and the growth of
weeds and algae. The use of herbi
cides and fertilizers on the golf
ol rr> PAn^arnc mnmKnro
VWUIOV UlvA/ wv/a?wwaast> ?atvMii/VIO Wt
the group, he said
This week's fish kill is not the
first to occur at Eastern Lake. Wills
said a fish kill several years ago
was blamed on using too much
water from the lake to irrigate the
golf course. Low water levels pro
mote the growth of weeds and
algae, he said, which deplete the
oxygen level in the water.
Both Eastern and Western Lakes,
known as the "Twin Lakes," arc
owned by Sunset Beach developer
Edward Gore Sr. He could not be
reached for comment Monday or
Tuesday. Oyster Bay's owner said
the golf course leases some sections
of the lakes from Gore.
Residents and people who have
fished in the lakes said the water
has some salt content There is at
least one culvert that allows the
lake water to mix with water from
the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Pigott Convicted
Of Murder; Sentenced
To Life In Prison
BY RAHN ADAMS
Two days after he was convictcd of killing his for
mer employer over $120 in cash, Henry Levi PigoU Jr.
of Shaliotte was sentenced Friday
afternoon to be imprisoned "for the
remainder of his natural life," in the
words of Judge Donald Stephens.
While an individual who re
ceives a life sentence for first-de
gree murder alone may be eligible
for parole in 20 years, the 34-year
old Pigott could very well spend
the rest of his life behind bars for
the September 1988 kidnapping,
robbery and murder of Anchor Lumber Company
owner Darwin Kingsley "King" Freeman.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Hicks, who ser
ved as prosecutor in the two-week Brunswick County
Superior Court trial, noted afterwards that Pigott proba
bly will not be eligible for parole for about 60 years,
based on the life plus 130-year sentence he received on
charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery, first
degree kidnapping and first-degree arson.
The nine-woman, three-man jury returned its vcr
dict on the murder sentence Friday at 3 p.m., after four
hours of deliberations. Although jurors found that
Pigott shot Freeman after tying up the 74-year-old man
PIGOTT
and robbing him, they also dccidcd that those aggravat
ing factors did not call for imposition of the death
penalty.
The jury found two mitigating circumstances from a
list of ai least 10 lhal were offered by court-appointed
defense attorneys Steve Yount and Rex Gmc. The two
factors were that Pigott was addicted to drugs at the
time of the slaying and that he had a good work history
prior to his involvement with drugs.
"The court cannot help but be impressed by the wis
dom of the jury in some of the findings here," Stephens
said before handing down sentences on the kidnapping,
armed robbery and arson convictions.
Then, after asking Pigott if he wished to speak and
seeing the defendant shake his head "no," the judge
commented, "You can thank 12 members of your com
munity for sparing your life. As far as mercy and
leniency are concerned in this case, you've already
received it"
Stephens sentenced Pigott to consecutive, maxi
mum prison terms on the three charges: 40 years for
robbery, 40 years for kidnapping and 50 years for
arson. The maximum term for arson is either 50 years
or life.
According to testimony in the trial, Pigott ? who
was an Anchor Lumber employee at the lime of the
murder ? went to Freeman's efficiency apartment at the
lumber yard south of Shallottc late on Sept. 24, 1988,
and asked Freeman for a small loan. When his employ
er refused, Pigou went back to his Airport Road home,
got a .22-calibcr rifle and returned to Anchor Lumber,
where he tied Freeman up and robbed him of about
S120 before shooting him once in the temple.
riguii aiicnipicu iu bum uic comuiuauuu aparliTicni
and office building, using kerosene he got from a stor
age shed. When he was unsuccessful, he went back to
his home and picked up his girlfriend ? Carol Jeanctte
Moore, 10, of Bolton ? and returned to Anchor Lumber
with gasoline to set fire to the building again. The early
morning fire was spotted from U.S. 17 by a newspaper
carrier. Freeman's body was found by firefighters.
After a five-month investigation, the SBI and
Bninswick County Sheriff's Department arrested Pigou
id Ms. Moore. The day after their Feb. 21 arrests,
Pigott signed a 13-page confession, admitting that he
had kiiied Freeman. He also led lawmen to a creek in
Columbus County where they recovered the murder
weapon.
The jury found Pigott guilty of murder, kidnapping,
armed robbery and arson after three hours of delibera
tions last Wednesday. He was acquitted of a second
degree burglary charge.
On Aug. 14, Ms. Moore pleaded guilty to being ari
accessory after the fact to murder, robbery, kidnapping
and two counts of arson. Judge Stephens consolidated
the charges and sentenced her Friday to a 10-year
prison term.
During Pigott's two-week trial ? which included
four days of jury selection ? defense attorneys main
tained that Pigott's actions resulted from his addiction
to ciack tucaiuc and uuier drugs which he had been
using heavily since 1986.
The defense also noted that for several years prior
to the murder, Pigott worked as a drug informant for the
Brunswick County Narcotics Division. Yount ques
tioned inconsistencies in the "system," in that Pigott
was, in effect, paid to be involved in drug activity.
"I want you to consider whether that person (Pigott)
was bom that way or whether we made him that way,"
Yount told jurors.
In his closing argument during the sentencing phase
of the trial. Gore added, "Levi will live or die with your
decision. Lives should not be taken without great
thought and great consideration.. .There's got to be
some room in your minds that death is not the answer."
The prosecution, however, pressed for the death
penalty. "He wrote out his death warrant when he went
to Anchor Lumber Company and killed King Freeman
for $120," Hicks argued.
The assistant district attorney closed his remarks to
jurors by saying, "King Freeman's gone, and the Lord's
taken care of him. It's up to you to take care of Levi
Pigott."