County, islands Prspors For Sto
UIV^I III O
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BY RAHN ADAMS
Even though storm trackers' best guess Tuesday
was that Hurricane Hugo would hit the East Coast
somewhere between the Outer Banks and Florida late
this week, local emergency officials and residents of
the South Brunswick Islands braced for the worst.
"The only thing we can hope for is for (the storm)
to die down," Brunswick County Emergency Manage
ment Director Cecil Logan said Tuesday afternoon.
He added that a staff member at the National Hurri
cane Center near Miami, Fla., told him earlier in the
day that Brunswick County had "as good a chance as
anybody" to be hit by the storm.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the center of Hugo was
I ?
located approximately 170 miles east of Grand Turk
Island at the southeast end of the Bahamas, according
to the National Weather Service. With maximum sus
tained winds of 105 mph, the storm was expected to
continue a northwesterly course at least through Wed
nesday afternoon.
"It's definitely a threat to the United States main
land," Shallotte Point meteorologist Jackson Canady
said Tuesday morning. "The question is where it will
be a threat late this week... We just have to be cautious
that there's a hurricane moving in our direction."
Canady noted that .forecasters probably wouldn't
be able to accurately predict the hurricane's course
(See COUNTY, Page 2-A)
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JONS BOOK BINDERY
1 2/3 1/99
BOX 162
GF'ORT MI 43284
BEACON
Twenty-seventh Year, Number 46 ?"??? the bruwswtck beacon Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, September 21, 1989 25C Per Copy 34 Pages, 3 Sections, Plus Insert
3 Die In Separate Wrecks
Near Bolivia. Shallotte
A pedestrian, a motorist and a bi
cycle rider died from injuries suffer
ed in three separate traffic accidcnts
since Saturday in the Bolivia and
Shallotte areas.
Highway Patrol spokesperson
Ruby Oakley identified the victims
as Charlie C. Bernard, 57, of Route
1 , Bolivia; Terry Wayne Rogers, 3 1 ,
of Shallotte; and Kevin Dale Furr,
12, of Concord.
Ms. Oakley said the three fatali
ties raised this year's highway death
toll in Brunswick County to 12.
Thirteen traffic deaths were record
ed through the end of September
1988.
The most recent of the three acci
dents happened Monday at 7:45
p.m., 5.1 miles southeast of Bolivia
on Midway Road.
Bernard was walking in the road
way with his back to traffic when he
stepped in front of a 1979 Chevrolet
pickup truck driven by Zack R.
Smith, 64, of Route 1, Bolivia,
according to Trooper C.E. Ward.
Witnesses stated that Smith "did
everything he could" to aucmpi to
avoid hitting Bernard, Ward said.
He added that Bernard apparently
had been drinking prior to the acci
dent. Also, the victim was wearing
dark-colored clothing.
Brunswick County Coroner Greg
White said Bernard died Monday at
10:13 p.m., at The Brunswick Hos
pital, Supply.
Ward said no charges were filed
in connection with the accident.
Sunday at 1:30 a.m., Rogers was
killed and an Ash man was serious
ly injured in a one-vehicle crash 2.2
miles south of Shallotte on Ocean
Isle Beach Road.
Ms. Oakley noted that Rogers'
1984 Chevrolet truck was headed
west at an estimated 110 mph, when
it ran ofT the left shoulder, veered
back across the road, then ran ofT
the right shoulder and overturned.
Rogers, who was dead on the
sccne, was thrown 59 feet from
where the vehicle came to rest. A
passenger ? Ronald Babson, 41, of
Ash ? suffered incapacitating injur
ies and was taken to The Brunswick
Hospital for treatment.
Trooper W.H. Thompson investi
gated the accident and estimated
damage to the truck at S3,500. His
report indicated that the wreck was
alcohol-related.
The other fatal accident happened
Saturday at 4:50 p.m., 5.7 miles cast
of Shallotte on Kirby Road.
According to a report filed by
Thompson, Furr was struck and
kiiied when he rode his bicycie
from a private driveway into the
path of a 1988 Nissan pickup truck
driven by Michael Norman McKin
ncy, 19, of Shallotte. The truck was
headed east on Kirby Road.
The child was thrown 106 feet
from the point of impact, Ms. Oak
ley said. McKinney was not injured.
Damage to his vehicle was estimat
ed at S 1 ,800. Charges were pending
Tuesday in the case.
Three Brunswick Men Plead
Guilty To Cocaine Charges
Three local men who were
among 13 defendants indicted in
June by a Brunswick County inves
tigative grand jury pleaded guilty
last week to cocaine trafficking
charges.
According to the Brunswick
County Clerk of Court's office, the
trio included Christopher Verlie
Par ham, 28, of Seaside; Allison
Leland Reaves, 31, of Shallotte; and
Kenneth Leon Thome, 29, of Cala
bash.
In court appearances on Sept. 1 1
and 12, all three pleaded guilty as
charged. Judge Giles R. Clark con
tinued their sentencings until the
current Sept. 18 term of Brunswick
County Superior Criminal Court
Parham will be sentenced on
charges of conspiracy to traffic in
more than 28 grams of cocaine, six
counts of trafficking in more than
28 grams of cocaine, conspiracy to
traffic in more than 400 grams of
(See 3 PLEAD, Page 2-A)
PHOTO COURTESY F?l
THIS SHOT of the United Carolina Bank robber was taken by a
security camera.
Calabash UCB Robber May
Have Struck Security Branch
The man who robbed the United Carolina Bank branch in Calabash
last Monday may be the same man who robbed the Security Savings &
Loan branch there in July.
FBI Special Agent Paul Cox said the robbers in both cases wore a
white fishing hat with a round rim and dark sunglasses. Also, tellers'
descriptions of the robbers matched closely and the same method of
operation was used in both casds.
The armed robbery at United Carolina Bank occurred last Monday
at about 5 p.m. when a white man carrying an automatic handgun enter
ed the branch on N.C. 179 and stole an undisclosed sum of money. The
armed robbery at Security Savings & Loan occurred July 18 in much
the same manner.
The UCB robber was described as a 40- to 45-year-old man about 5
feet, six inches tall. He was wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt that may
have been gray and carrying a beige camera bag with dark brown trim.
Authorities said the man who robbed the Security S&L branch in
Calabash about two months ago was about 40 years old and between 5
feet 6 inches and 5 feet 9 inches in height. He used what appeared to be
a .45-calibcr handgun and carried a black bag.
Cox said several people in Calabash told authorities they saw the
UCB robber outside the bank last Monday before he committed the
crime. He added that at least two people in the community have said
they could identify the man if they saw him again.
The man was last seen after the robbery heading toward the Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway on foot, said Cox.
The N.C. Bankers Association is offering a reward of up to $2,000
for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the UCB robber.
The N.C. League of Savings Institutions is offering a similar cash
reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the man
who committed the July 18 robbery.
Anyone with information on either of the robberies can contact the
FBI office in Wilmington, 762-9389, or the Brunswick County Sheriff's
Department, 253-4321.
BEMC Crew
Opts For Union
On 45-1 6 Vote
BY SUSAN USHER
Eligible employees of Brunswick
Electric Membership Corp. voted 2
1 Tuesday for union representation
in quiet balloting at the coopera
tive's three offices in Brunswick
and Columbus counties.
All but one of the 62 employees
eligible to vote cast ballots, 45 for
affiliation with the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
(IBEW) and 16 against, far exceed
ing the 51 percent vote required for
approval.
With the election, affected em
ployees gain the authority to negoti
ate wages and employment benefits.
Also, BEMC becomes the second
unionized electric co-operative ot
the 28 in North Carolina. The other
is Tri-County EMC in Goldsboro.
In an interview prior to a tallying
of the vote Tuesday evening,
BEMC General Manager David
Batten said he "saw no reason what
soever" for a union, and said he was
optimistic that BEMC employees
would choose not to unionize. Dir
ectors of the co-op also opposed the
unionization effort.
Whatever the outcome of the
vote. Batten said he expected smo
oth relations. "We've got real good
employees. Just because wc have a
difference of opinion on something
we shouldn't be divided. Wc have a
job to do, a good organization and
sound service."
While wages and other benefits
will now be subject to negotiation,
Batten said BEMC has been adjust
ing its wage scales in all job classi
fications over the past three years in
an effort to bring them up to the
statewide co-op average. "We
should reach that this year, regard
less," said Batten.
He pointed out that all four
counties in BEMC's service area are
identified by the N.C. Department
of Labor as "economically depress
ed" ? Brunswick, Bladen, Colum
bus and Robeson.
RufT said BEMC employees
sought out the union because they
wanted the right of collective bar
gaining. "The employees at that co
op really did not feel they were a
part of it," he said.
Barring an appeal of the elec
tion's outcome? which is not expect
ed-once the union is formally certi
fied, an employee committee will
be named. This committee will use
data provided by management to
develop a proposal to take to the
bargaining table.
Tuesday's election was conducted
by representatives of the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
trom 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at BEMC's
Oak Island office, 12 noon to 12:30
p.m. at the Shallotte headquarters,
and 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the
Whitcville office.
Efforts to unionize the co-op be
gan earlier when IBEW Local 495
in Wilmington filed a petition with
the NLRB in Winston-Salem after
receiving authorization cards from
30 percent of the employees it
thought eligible for the union.
Following a subpoena hearing in
Southport that was not locally ad
vertised, the NLRB approved plans
for the election and determined
which employees would be eligible
to vote and to hold union member
ship. Where the IBEW had identi
fied 46 individuals, the NLRB ex
panded the list to include 62 people.
Second largest co-op in the state,
BEMC employs 151 people and has
approximately 37,000 member
users.
Those allowed to vote and hold
membership include: right-of-way
operators, groundmcn, apprentice
linemen, first class and second class
linemen, heavy equipment opera
tors, electronic technicians, ware
housemen, assistant warehousemen,
servicemen, lighting technicians,
(See BEMC, Page 2-A)
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I I C^llw
LULIVWUUU ? Uliy IVVUI
BY DOUG RUTTER
State officials and local commercial fishing commu
nity leaders agree that a water quality management plan
adopted last week and effective next Jan. 1 should help
correct pollution problems in Lockwood Folly River.
But they're not sure how long it will take to reverse
the trend toward degradation or whether polluted shell
fish waters will be reopened to harvesting in the future.
The lower section of Lockwood Folly River, north of
the inland waterway to a line from Genoes Point to
Mullet Creek, was one of eight coastal waters in the
state nominated as an Outstanding Resource Water
(ORW).
The N.C. Environmental Management Commission
(EMC) last Thursday denied ORW status for Lockwood
Folly, but adopted a management plan carrying many of
the same limits on development. Each of the other
seven bodies of water nominated were approved as
ORWs.
To qualify as an ORW, a body of water had to have
excellent water quality and an exceptional ecological or
recreational resource value.
While recognizing the lower section of the river as
one of the best shcllfishing areas in North Carolina, the
state did not recommended Lockwood Folly River for
the status because of a continuing problem in the river
with pollution over the past decade.
From 198S to 1987, the stale estimates that more
than 40 percent of Brunswick County's shellfish came
from Lockwood Folly River. But at different times over
the past year, all or most of the river has been closed to
oyster and clam harvesting due to high bacteria levels.
In adopting the management plan last week, the
EMC made a commitment to do all it can to protect the
river from pollution. If water quality improves, the
lower portion of Lockwood Folly may be reclassified as
an ORW at a later date.
Annie Smigiel of Vamamtown, president of Save
Our Shellfish, said she believes any limits imposed on
development will help reduce pollution in the river. She
and others in the group have not given up on the ORW
status they have pushed for since forming last fall.
"At this stage, we'll take anything we can get. Every
little bit helps," she said. "Anything that they can do to
help that river is an improvement."
Lockwood Folly's management plan was adopted
with the hope of improving water quality and reopening
shellfish beds now shut down due to pollution.
"Hopefully, we can get it cleaned up and get it desig
nated as an ORW," added Mrs. Smigiel.
Alan Klimek, assistant chief of water quality plan
ning for the state Division of Environmental Man
agement, said, "I think that if the recommendations in
this plan are implemented there will be improvements
in water quality."
Other state officials agreed. But they refused to offer
any guess as to how long it may be before water quality
in the river improves to the point that oyster and clam
beds can reopen. "No one can say for sure how long it
will take," said Klimek. "We'll just have to wait and
see."
Under the management plan, new development with
in 575 feet of the shoreline that requires a sedimenta
tion erosion control plan or a major CAMA permit will
be limited. The "low density" option prohibits builders
from covering more than 25 percent of a lot with imper
vious surfaces such as rooftops or driveways.
Also, all new or expanded marinas in the area will
have to be located in upland basin areas. A marina pro
posed at the Lockwood Folly golf community on the
western shore of the river will have to meet the special
requirements, according to Jim Herstine, regional man
ager of the state Division of Coastal Management
However, he said developers have always planned to
put the marina in an upland basin area and meet the low
density requirement "1 don't think there's anything
they will have to change bccausc of the vote yesterday,"
Herstine said Friday.
The management plan, which applies to about 420
acres of the river, also prohibits dredge and fill activi
(See MANAGEMENT, Page 2-A)
LOCKWOODS
FOLl Y INLET
LONG
BP ACM
H.C. DIVISION OF ENVIKONMEHTAL MANAGEMENT MAP
APPROXIMATELY 420 ACRES in lov Lock wood Folly River, outlined in black, will receive special
protection under a water quality management plan approved last week by the state Environmental
Management Commission.
LOCKWOODS FOLLY RIVER AREA
Nominated area
Closed area
N I
BRUNSWICK CO.
GENOES POINT