Unexpected Booty The State of North Carolina may have a pleasant surprise for you. as It tries to match unclaimed property such as forgotten bank balances and uncashed checks with their rightful owners, is your name on the list? See Page 9-A. How Sweet It Is! Winning's Just as sweet the second time around, says Wendy Williams of Leland. who was crowned Miss Brunswick County Saturday night for the second time In three years. The story and photographs are on Page 2-B. Twenty-eighth Year, Number 3 w?-wt?nuH?wcKB6*cow Shallotte, North Carolina, Wednesday, November 22, 1989 25C Per Copy 42 Pages, 3 Sections, Plus Insert ' Shopper * On The Job Billy Ingram. Brunswick County's first purchasing officer, assumed his new duties last week. His first Job? Taking stock of supplies, as the county moves toward centralized purchasing. The story's on Page 7-A. HOAG & SONS PC springport Varnamtown Race Results Different? BY DOUG RUTTER Correction of an election day mixup has apparently resulted in a change on the incoming Varn amtown Board of Aldermen. Luellen Norris ? who prior to this week thought she had come seven votes short of election Nov. 7 to the town board? said she found out Monday that she had won a seat on the board. Her election apparently eliminates Joseph Herring as an al derman -elect. Brunswick County election offi cials could not confirm Monday night whether the mixup resulted in a change in the outcome of the elec tion The complex matter came to light at Monday night's town mect ? mg m Varnamtown. ?*~?nt?cted at her home Monday night, Brunswick County Elections Supervisor Lynda Britt said she was on vacation and refused to comment on the election. She told The Hrunswick Beacon to contact mem i?Li0??!hC. Brunswi<* County Board of Elections for information. Elections board member One Gore said he hadn't heard anything about a problem with the Varnam town election. He noted that the Varnamtown election results were certified in the Nov. 9 canvass along with the results of most of the coun ty s other municipal races. "I t.hCa?? any^'ng about it, and nobody s called me," he said. Board Chairperson Glcnda Walk er of Leland and the election board s only other member, Patricia Ramsey of Oak Island, could not be night comment Monday Mrs. Norris said she received a certificate from the Brunswick County Board of Elections last week stating that she had been elected to the board of aldermen. Thinking it was a mistake, she went to the elections office in Bo livia Monday to check it out. She said an employee in the elections office informed her that she had in fact been elected. The original elec tion results had been changed due to an error in ballot counting. Discussion at Monday's meeting in Varnamtown indicated that the error occurred when judges for the municipal election counted votes on some of the ballots twice. More than a dozen town voters wrote in Alderman Marion Davis for mayor of Varnamtown. Due to a misunderstanding in the instructions provided by county elections offi cials, judges for the town election counted votes on all of the ballots containing write-ins twice. The votes marked on the ballots were apparently counted on the voting machine once and then again bv (See VARNAMTOWN, Page 2-A) STAFF PHOTO *Y SUSAN USHEt Something To Gobble About? The 27 youngsters in Melanic Avolls* kindergarten class at (Joion Primary School got a taste of Thanks giving early Friday. Using modern shortcuts and packaged foods, the students mixed and cooked their own menu of sliced ham, pumpkin pie with whipped topping, cut corn, candied sweet potatoes, dressing and cranberry sauce, with combread from the school cafeteria. Most students dug in enthusiastically, like (counterclockwise above) Jeff Wolford, Brandi Joplin, Lamont Hill, Blaire Ansley and Rhonette Phillips. The youngsters also made their own Indian and Pilgrim costumes and place mats. Judge Rules In Town's Favor; 1 2th Street Can Be Improved BY RAHN ADAMS An attempt by a group of non resident property owners to block construction of a neighborhood bea ch accessway at Sunset Beach fell short last week, as a Superior Court judge ruled that the property be longs to the public. Last Wednesday in Brunswick County Superior Civil Court, Judge Dexter Brooks decided the "12th Street" lawsuit in the Town of Sun set Beach's favor by issuing a pre trial judgment in the case. A hearing was held Nov. 14 in Bolivia. Sunset Beach, which filed the suit in February 1988, was repre sented by Town Attorney Michael Isenberg. Charlotte lawyer Timothy Sellers was counsel for the defen dants, six couples who own proper ty along the now undeveloped 12th Street Defendants are Mr. and Mrs. Ev erett L. Wohlbruck, and Mr. and Mrs. John F. Youngblood III, all of Mecklenburg County; Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Layton of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; Mr. and Mrs. Sam uel S. Conly III of Lewisburg, W. Va.; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hogg of Wake County; and Mr. and Mrs. Larry W. Calhoun of Horry County, S.C. The lawsuit, however, may go to the N.C. Court of Appeals. Defend ants have 10 days from the date of the Superior Court judge's ruling to appeal the decision, according to Isenberg. Twelfth Street is a 30-foot-wide right-of-way connecting Canal Dr ive and Main Street on the eastern section of Sunset Beach. Although the "street" ? now basically a grassy gully ? has never been developed as a thoroughfare, it originally was platted as a public roadway in 1958 and again as late as. 1976. In October 1987, Sunset Beach was awarded a $43,502 grant from the N.C. Office of Coastal Manage ment to develop neighborhood bea ch accessways at 12th Street and one other site. The 12th Street ac cessway was to include seven park ing spaces north of Main Street Town Council did not accept the grant after the board learned that property owners had purportedly withdrawn 12th Street's public dedication in October 1987, two months after the development firm. Sunset Beach & Twin Lakes Inc., deeded them the right-of-way. (See JUDGE RULES, Page 2-A) Beer And Wine To Flow Sooner Than Expected BY RAHN ADAMS Brunswick County business own ers learned Monday that they may be selling beer and wine sooner than they previously thought, while state Alcoholic Beverage Control officials were simply surprised at the turnout for the information ses sion in Bolivia. "We expected a great number, but I don't think we expected this many people to come out today," said ABC Commission Chairman Paul Powell of the more than 100 indi viduals on hand. He added that this is the first time in recent history that a county has passed all four ABC issues in one referendum, as Bruns wick County did on Nov. 7. The referendum cleared the way for on- and off-premises beer and wine sales, the operation of ABC stores and mixed beverage sales in hotels, restaurants, private clubs, community theaters and convention centers throughout Brunswick County. At the outset of Monday's meet ing, Powell announced vthat tempo rary on- and off-premises beer and wine permits will be issued Dec. 1 to local retail businesses whose ap plications arc turned in to Alcohol Law Enforcement officers on Mon day, Nov. 27, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m? at the Public Assembly Build ing. Powell explained that the tempo rary permits will be issued after the applications are reviewed by the Wilmington ALE office and the state ABC office in Raleigh. Regu lar permits will be issued to eligible businesses after ALE conducts thor ough background investigations, which take three to four weeks to complete. "We're doing this to help the business folks of this county get started," Powell said. He also em phasized that a temporary permit can be revoked immediately if an investigation turns up any false in formation on the respective firm's application. Only businesses that turn in ap plications to ALE Monday morning will be eligible for the temporary permits, Powell said. Businesses that apply at any other time must wait through the investigation pro cess before they are issued permits. Powell also explained that restau rants and private clubs in three mu nicipalities ? Shallotte, Belville and Boiling Spring Lakes ? will be able to obtain temporary liquor-by-the drink permits immediately, since those towns already have ABC stores. Establishments elsewhere in the county cannot receive mixed bever age permits until county commis sioners set up a Brunswick County ABC Board and open a county ABC store, he said. As of the Mon day morning information session, county commissioners had not met since the referendum passed Nov. 7. In response to several questions, Powell noted that there is no regula tion on the distance between ABC stores and that the county could conceivably locate its store relative ly close to one of the four existing ABC stores in the South Brunswick Islands area. However. Powell said he didn't think the ABC Commis sion would allow the county to build a store in a town that has its own ABC system. "It's a complicated situation here, because you've got so many sys tems," he said. )n addition to the new couniy sysfcjn being formed, ' eigfit mWicipati^s have AfeC sys tems of their own. Those town sys tems can continue to operate. Officials pointed out Monday that no more municipal ABC systems can be formed in Brunswick Coun ty, now that a countywide referen dum on the issue has passed. Also, ABC Commission Legal Specialist Ann Fulton told the gath ering that the only way for any spe cific areas to become dry again would be for alcohol sales to be vot ed out of the entire county in some future referendum. Another county vote cannot be called for three years. Basic requirements for all ABC permits are as follows: All appli cants must be at least 21 years old; a North Carolina resident (unless the applicant is a corporation); not convicted of a felony within three years; not convicted of an ABC of fense or misdemeanor drug offense within two years; and not have had an ABC permit revoked within three years. Additional requirements for cer tain types of alcohol sales include: ?On-premises beer ? The estab lishment must have two restrooms. ?On-premises unfortified wine ? The location must be an eating es tablishment where food is regularly and customarily sold. No food per centage is required for the permit (See BEER & WINE, Page 2-A) OWNERS TO MEET SATURDAY Congressman Requests Closer Look At Sunset Beach Bridge Proposal BY DOUG RUTTER Congressman Charles G. Rose has joined a group of concerned residents in asking that state transportation officials recon sider proposed construction of a high-rise bridge to Sunset Beach. In a Nov. 2 letter to N.C. Trans portation Secretary James Harring ton, Rose requests that the state re consider the economic feasibility of the bridge, which would replace the existing pontoon bridge. The new bridge is currently in the de sign stage, and the state plans to rose accept bids for construction of the high-rise in Septem ber 1990. "I realize you are probably under pressure from boaters along the waterway to build a bridge they would not have to wait for," writes Rose. "However, I ask you to take at least one more look at this particular project to reevaluate its feasibility and prudence." In his two-page letter. Rose indicates that his interest in the project was spurred in part by local opposition to the high-rise bridge. The Sunset Beach Taxpayers Association (SBTA), a non-profit group made up of Sunset Beach property owners, has spearheaded the opposition. The organiza tion recently started a "Save Our Bridge" campaign aimed at keeping the pontoon bridge and doing away with plans for the 65-foot-high span, which would be similar to fixed-span bridges to Ocean Isle and Holden beaches. "Several residents have contacted me expressing their concerns over not only the bridge, but the long term effects it would have on the community," Rose state* in his letter. "Largely, the concerns center around the fear of a possible push toward commercialization." Repeating the concerns of local residents. Rose said they feel the $6.9 million estimated price tag for bridge construction is too high considering it will only serve an island with 200 permanent residents. He said the debt service on $6.9 million would be higher than the $100,000 the state now spends each year to maintain the pontoon bridge. Also, he said opponents of the planned high-rise bridge fear it will result in damage to the environment "They contend that with the existing structure leading to the causeway, automobile emissions are dissipated into the marsh and the sound along the way stretching in total over approximately a mile and a half," antes Rose. "The proposed bridge would collect these emis sions on its concrete structure and allow them to be washed down hill to collect at a central point." Quoting Durham attorney Jim Maxwell, who repre sents the SBTA in its "Lot 1-A" lawsuit. Rose further states thai the high-rise bridge would affect the public boat ramp on the approach to the island. Also, Rose quotes Maxwell as saying that the bot tom of the bridge on the island side would be at a "dangerously low sea level" which could affect evacu ation in the event of a hurricane. The latest update on the high-rise bridge and the election of directors will highlight this Saturday's meeting of the SBTA. Members will gather at the fire station for fellowship at 10 am., and the meeting is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m? said President Harold Wells. Property owner groups at Ocean Isle Beach and Hoi den Beach will also meet Saturday morning for their Thanksgiving holiday sessions. Wells said this week that the SBTA has taken no le gal action regarding the high-rise bridge as it was au thorized to do at the group's annual meeting Labor Day weekend. He also said there has been no official polling of members concerning their feelings on the bridge. Most who attended the annual meeting, however, indicated that they oppose a new bridge. Wells is one of four persons on the SBTA's board of directors whose term expires Saturday. Others are Warren "Bud" Knapp, Alan Russ and Minnie Hunt. All four have been nominated for re-election to the board. Nominations will also be accepted from the floor at Saturday's meeting. All terms are for two years. Ocean Isle POA The Ocean Isle Beach Property Owners Association will hold its annual meeting Saturday at 10 a.m. in town hall. President Stuart Ingram said the membership will elect Ave persons to two-year terms on the board of di rectors. Various committees will also report at the meeting. "We're not expecting any bomb shells," said Ingram. Holden Beach POA It should also be business as usual when the Holden Beach Property Owners Association (HBPOA) meets Saturday at town hall. The board of directors will meet at 9 a.m. and the general meeting starts at 10 a.m. Directors and members will have an opportunity- to meet the three new town commissioners who will take office next month. They are Gloria Barrett, Judy Bryan and Kenner Amos, who is president of the HBPOA. The only item of discussion on the preliminary agenda is overcrowding of rental homes, a problem town commissioners and county health officials have discussed for several months. The general meeting should also feature a report from the town manager on town projects and reports on finance and membership from the HBPOA's execu tive secretary.

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