It's oyster season in the South Brunswick Islands, a time to make
merry while paying homage to a favorite shellfish at the N.C. Oyster
Festival, Oct 21-22. Inside this week's Issue you'll find a take-along,
comprehensive guide to all festival activities, starting with a semi
formal dance Friday night, romping through the N.C. Oyster Shuck
ing Championship on Saturday and into Sunday afternoon's gospel
and bluegrass sing.
Cathy Carlisle To Defend
National Shucking Title
BY RAHN ADAMS
Cathy Carlisle's lightning-fast
hands will be at the National Oyster
Shucking Championship in Mary
land Saturday, but her heart will be
back home in Brunswick County,
where her successor as state shuck
ing champ will be chosen.
"I'm going to miss it," Ms.
Carlisle said of the scheduling con
flict that will keep her from making
her fourth straight state tide defense
Saturday at the
N.C. Oyster
Festival. "Even
if I couldn't
compete in it,
I'd like to be
there just to
watch." In
stead, she will
be in Leonard
town, Md., this
weekend, to de- CARLISLE
fend her national women's crown
and shuck for her second overall
national championship at the St.
Mary's County (Md.) Seafood
Festival.
The Booncs Neck resident won
the overall national title in 1986,
then represented the United States
the following year at the World
Oyster Opening Championship in
Galway, Ireland, and finished
eighth.
Last year, after winning her sec
ond national women's crown, she
was narrowly defeated in a "show
down" with the men's champion,
Archie Miller of Venice, Fla.
Miller's adjusted time for shucking
and arranging 24 oysters was 2:58,
compared to Ms. Carlisle's 3:09
mark.
She said last week that she is
anxious to find out how well Miller
performed in last month's world
championship in Ireland.
According to officials, about
25,000 people attended the Mary
land seafood festival last year. The
grandstands overflowed with spec
tators during the popular shucking
contest.
Ms. Carlisle won $300 in cash
for winning the women's competi
tion and received an automatic bye
into this year's women's final.
When interviewed Friday, Ms.
Carlisle expressed uncertainty a
bout her chances of repeating as
women's champion, saying she has
(See CARLISLE, Page 2-A)
Sign-Up Ends At
4 p.m. Saturday
The deadline to sign up for
the N.C. Oyster Shucking Cha
mpionship is 4 p.m. Saturday
? one hour before the competi
tion begins. Prior to the champi
onship, judges will meet with
contestants to review rules.
Entry fee is S10. Contestants
will compete for a first-place
prize of $100 and a trophy, and
cash prizes of $75, $50 and $25
for second through fourth pla
ces, respectively.
Former Sunset Firefighter
Arrested On Arson Charges
BY RAHN ADAMS
A former Sunset Beach volunteer
firefighter has been accused of set
ting more than two dozen woods
and dumpstcr fires in southwestern
Brunswick Cuuiuy over the past 3
1/2 years.
John Devon Caison, 22, of Sea
Trail, was arrested Saturday on 25
felony warrants including 16 counts
of woods arson and nine counts of
setting fire to ccuaty-owncd solid
waste collection boxes, said
Brunswick County Fire Marshal
Cecil Logan.
Caison is the brother of Bruns
wick County Forest Ranger Miller
Caison and Brunswick County
Sheriff's Deputy Shelton Caison.
Logan said the arrest was "no re
flection whatsoever on the family,"
because the suspcct's brothers were
not involved in the incidents or the
investigation.
The fire marshal would not re
veal how John Caison was identi
fied as the suspect in the arsons.
Logan said an investigation by his
office, the N.C. Forest Service and
the SBI has been underway for the
past year. He also would not com
ment Caison's possible motive.
"Even though he's been arrest
ed," Logan said, "the investigation
is continuing."
Caison was released Monday
from the Brunswick County Jail on
a 525,000 bond.
caison was a member of uie Sun
set Beach Volunteer Fire Depart
ment when the arson fires occurred,
said Logan. Arrest warrants state
that the 25 blazes occurred between
Feb. 23, 1986, and Aug. 13, 1989.
However, Sunset Beach VFD
Assistant Chief Eileen Potter indi
cated Monday that Caison was not a
member of the department at the
time of his arrest Caison was
placed on suspension about two
months ago for missing meetings
and training, and was later dropped
from the department, she said.
According to arrest warrants, 14
of the woods fires were set on prop
erty off Old Georgetown Road,
while the other two fires were set
off the Sunset Beach Causeway and
off Ash-Little River Road between
U.S. 17 and Hickman's Crossroads.
Warrants state that seven dump
sicr fires were set at the Sea Trail
solid waste collection site on N.C.
179. The other two fires were set at
the Cawcaw Swamp dumpstcr site
near Hickman's Crossroads.
/ .
?
STAFF PHOTO SY DOUG HUTTW
A liULLDOZER CREATES a dune out of piles of sand at the east end of Ocean Isle Beach Saturday in the area where federal officials autho
rized construction of an emergency berm.
State Pledges Dollars For Dunes
BY DOUG RUTTER
The State of North Carolina will
pick up the tab for at least part of
the work involved in rebuilding
dunes at local beach towns affected
by Hurricane Hugo.
In an emergency move last week,
the state pledged more than
$250,000 to fund berm construction
at Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach,
Long Beach and Yaupon Beach.
State emergency management of
ficials were still working Tuesday
to determine how much money
would be set aside for Caswell
Beach and Bald Head Island, said
Renee Hoffman, deputy director of
public affairs with the state
Department of Crime Control and
Public Safety.
The emergency money will cover
the cost of berm construction along
28,660 feet of beach at the four lo
cal communities. The estimated
cost of the work is $258,120. Towns
will pay for the berm construction
upfront and be reimbursed later by
the state.
Ocean Isle Beach will receive
$96,000 in state funds that will al
low for berm construction along
4,080 feet of developed oceanfront.
The totals for the other area beaches
are as follows: Holden Beach,
$63,270, 11,400 feet; Long Beach,
$86,100, 11,480 feet; and Yaupon
Bcach, $12,750, 1,700 feet.
Ms. Hoffman said the amount of
money pledged for each town de
pended on the size of the eligible
area and the estimated cost to each
town based on contractors the
towns are using.
At Hoi den Beach, for instance,
workers have been bulldozing sand
already on the beach to build berms.
On Ocean Isle, however, a more ex
pensive approach has been taken
with contractors dumping truck
loads of sand on the beach and us
ing bulldozers to shape the dunes.
The emergency funds came from
several state divisions, said Ms.
Hoffman. Whenever a disaster dec
laration is issued, she said state
agencies transfer emergency funds
to the Department of Crime Control
and Public Safety to administer as
needed.
News of the state assistance came
about one week after local officials
learned that less than one mile of
the county's oceanfront qualified
for emergency beim construction
funded primarily by the federal
government.
After surveying the beaches two
weeks ago, emergency management
officials found only 4,100 feet in
the county eligible for the three
foot-high berm. That total included
2,400 feet at Long Beach, 1,200
feet at Ocean Isle and 500 feet at
Holden Beach.
Federal officials said those areas
qualified since they would be
threatened by a five-year storm.
which has a 20 percent chance of
occurring in any given year. To be
eligible for the berm, officials had
to find five houses in a row that
would be endangered by such a
storm.
As construction of those berms
n eared completion last week, offi
cials in the three towns received
word of the state funds that will en
able construction of another 26,960
feet of berm along the oceanfronL
To be eligible for the state-fund
ed berm, a home had to be within
20 feet of the vegetation line.
Holden Beach Town Manager Gus
Ulrich said the state will reimburse
the towns for building five-foot
high berms on the beach to protect
those erosion-threatened structures.
In announcing the additional as
sistance last week, Holden Beach
Mayor John Tandy praised elected
officials from State Rep. David
Redwine to U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms
for the roles they played in securing
the funds.
"The system works. Your elected
officials went to work," the mayor
said at a town meeting last Friday.
"If the system didn't work, we
wouldn't have any state money. I'll
tell you that right quick."
Conversely, Tandy criticized fed
eral emergency management offi
cials for the "inexperienced" and
"judgmental" approach they had
taken just one week earlier in find
ing that only 500 feet of the island
qualified for an emergency berm.
"There wasn't a seriousness of pur
pose, but there is now."
Of the 76 lots that qualified for
the state berm on Holden Beach, 13
arc situated along Ocean Boulevard
East, seven on Hillside Drive and
the remaining 56 are on Ocean
Boulevard West The total includes
six lots at Mace's Trailer Park.
Ulrich said workers with L.M.
McLamb & Son Construction of
Hickman's Crossroads would prob
ably start work on the project
Wednesday. The local firm was
hired earlier to build the 500-foot
berm authorized by the federal gov
ernment and to fill holes in the
frontal dune.
Though Ocean Isle and Long
Beach had received more federal
assistance than Holden Beach, offi
cials at those towns were also grate
ful for the state's commitment of
additional funds.
Ocean Isle Mayor Betty William
son said there are an estimated 80
developed lots scattered along the
oceanfront that qualify for state
berm assistance. "I think everyone
was disappointed with the amount
that FEMA approved," she said.
"So we were very pleased to get
this extra help from the state."
She said town officials plan to
meet with a representative of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next
Tuesday at 9 a.m. to discuss options
for building a dune on the island.
Local Oyster Season Gets Off To Late Start
BY DOUG RUTTER
The local oyster season got off to
a dismal start Sunday with almost
all of the county's shellfishing wa
ters closed to harvesting due to pol
lution.
But things were looking brighter
for oystermen Tuesday when state
officials announced that things
would be getting back to normal
Wednesday at sunrise.
"Everything in Brunswick Coun
ty is going hark to its normal clo
sure lines in effect before Hurricane
Hugo," Bob Benton, chief of the
state's Shellfish Sanitation branch,
said Tuesday.
The only exception, he noted, is
that the lower section of Lockwood
Folly River, which was closed to
harvesting before the storm, will be
open. Waters south of a line extend
ing from Genocs Point on the west
bank of the river to the vicinity of
Gore's Landing on the east side
were opened to oyster harvesting
Wednesday morning with the rest of
the local waters.
"I think that kind of brightened
everybody up," said Marlene Var
nam, whose husband runs an oyster
house near the Lockwood Folly's
banks in Vamamtown. "At least
they'll be able to get a few oysters."
She said she wasn't expecting
much of an oyster harvest in Lock
wood Folly River. "They didn't
plant any oysters and when you
don' l plant oysters there's not that
many to harvest."
All of the county's shellfishing
waters were closed to harvesting
Sept. 22 due to the rainfall and
stormwater runoff associated with
Hugo. During periods of heavy rain,
fecal coliform bacteria is transport
ed to the river and commonly raises
pollution levels making it unsafe to
harvest shellfish.
Waters in the Cape Fear River
and Elizabeth River near Southport
were reopened to harvesting about
two weeks ago. But due to high
bacteria counts, officials were un
able to reopen local waters for the
start of oyster season Sunday.
Speaking of the water quality in
local shellfish waters Tuesday,
Benton said, "It's not real good, but
it meets the standards where we can
open it It's not pristine by any
means."
With weather forecasters calling
for rain this week, Benton said he
wasn't sure how long the shellfish
ing waters would remain open. "I'm
just hoping we don't get a bunch of
rain with this cool front headed our
way," he said.
Mrs. Vamam said business had
been slow at the oyster house since
the season opened Sunday. A few
local tisnermen traveled to ihe Cape
Fear River area to harvest oysters,
she said, but they didn't get many.
"It's been pretty slow," she said.
'There's been nothing coming in
and nothing going out."
SOS REQUESTS COUNTY HELP
EMC Bocks Eastern Channel Dredging
BY DOUG RUTTER
A proposal to dredge the clogged
Eastern Channel to fight pollution
in Lockwood Folly River has gain
ed the support of the N.C. Environ
mental Management Commission.
Meeting last Thursday in Ral
eigh, the commission voted unani
mously to back a local plan to dred
ge the channel behind Long Beach
as a means of improving flushing
action in the river.
Though he was absent from last
week's meeting, Commissioner Jer
ry Lewis of Shallotte was the driv
ing force behind the resolution, ac
cording to Deborah Crane, spokes
person for the state Division of
Environmental Management.
Lewis could not be reached for
comment last week or early this
week. But in a recent interview re
garding a water quality manage
ment plan adopted for lower Lock
wood Folly River, Lewis said he be
lieves dredging Eastern Channel
could be a pan of helping the river
overcome pollution problems.
Eastern Channel, located south of
Sheep Island near the mouth of
Lockwood Folly River, once served
as the inlet between the river and
ocean. When the Atlantic Intracoa
stal Waterway was dredged, a new
inlet was cut to the west of the
channel.
Over the past decade, area resi
dents have said the channel has be
come clogged with sand, and pollu
tion in the river has gradually wors
ened. Due to the condition in the
channel, they have argued that wa
ter flow in and out of the river has
been restricted and that pollutants
that get in the river are trapped
there.
Since the idea was first proposed
in March, a plan to dredge Eastern
Channel has gained the support of a
variety of county and slate officials
who think it may help flush pollu
(See EMC, Page 2-A)