Vet Accused Of Beating Pets Denies Animal Cruelty Charges BY RAHN ADAMS Calabash veterinarian Dr. Ken neth Ncal will appear in Brunswick County District Criminal Court Feb. 13 to answer misdemeanor animal cruelty charges that could jeopar dize his veterinary 'icense if he is convicted. Ncal, 30, of Calabash Animal Hospital, was arrested last Wednes day afternoon by the Brunswick Cgumij* Sheriff's Dvp2r,mnn* four counts of rniclty tn animals according to county Animal Control Supervisor Zclroa Babson, wiwsc office investigated the case. Ncal was released from custody last Wednesday on a S5.000 bond. "Basically, the charges arc com pletely false and ridiculous," Neal told the Beacon last Thursday. "We want to go to court and prove we can be exonerated. We feel confi dent we can do that." The investigation was prompted by a Jan. 4 incident involving a 3 1/2-year-old orange tabby cat own ed by Grissettown resident Debbie Somersctt, who said she had been taking her male cat, "Boccphus," to Neal for the past three years. Ms. Somersetl said she had no previous complaints about Neal's care. Ms. Babson said the other three charges involve a stray kitten and two chow dogs owned separately by Shil'.OtlC n*ciHonlc A I onH Mr* 11 Harrrlsnn pnH T^r^ca Inrrtcun. The veterinarian is accused of beating the four animals at the animal hos pital on separate occasions between Nov. 7, 1988, and Jan. 4 ? the date he administered a feline leukemia test to Ms. Somersctt's cat. None of the pet owners was aware of the alleged abuse until Jan. 5, when former animal hospital em ployee Jane Burroughs contacted Ms. Somerset! at home and told her that Neal had beaten the cat and thrown it against a wall the previous day, Ms. Babson said. She added that Ncal and Ms. Burroughs ? who quit her job after the Jan. 4 inci dent ? "were having a problem ad ministering the test." "It bit and scratched me, and we tried to restrain it the best we could." Ncal explained, adding that he "dropped" the cat when it bit him. "I've devoted my whole life to the care and treatment of animals, and to say 1 did anything abusive to ? hot onimol ic i??c* ** Ncal, a former Alabama resident, began practicing veterinary medi cine here in 1986, after working at animal clinics in Columbia, Tcnn., and Paris, Texas. He is a 1985 grad uate of the Auburn University vet erinary school. When Ms. Somerset! filed her complaint Jan. S with the animal control office, Ms. Babson had the cat examined by two other local veterinarians. Both vets found that the pet had suffered a broken tooih, mild concussion, paralysis to one side of ils body, bruises and bleed ing from ils lips and gums, Ms. Babson said. The three animals in volved in the other charges suffered no obvious injuries. "I assumed I had a healthy cat when I left (the animal hospital)," Ms. Somcrsctt said. She noted that after she picked up her cat Jan. 4 around 5 p.m., the pet "was just kind of out of it the rest of the ? u ? ? ? ?vstvv/vv't UiM>l Ms. Burroughs the next day, * looked into the cat's mouth, and the evidence was there," Ms. Somersett said. While Ncal labeled the charges as accusations of a "disgruntled em ployee," Ms. Babson indicated that former employees other than Ms. Burroughs, who worked at the ani mal hospital only three weeks, were interviewed during the month-long investigation. "It was the former employees who supplied the infor mation," she said, adding that ap proximately four other alleged abuse -related incidents over the past three years surfaced during the in quiry about Neal's veterinary prac tice. The maximum possible penalty for cruelty to animals is imprison ment of up to a year and/or a fine of up to S 1 ,000. Also, the license of a veterinarian wiio is convicted of an imal cruelty can be revoked or sus pended, according to Dr. Tom Zwci Veterinary Medical Board in Raleigh. Zweigart. who has served in his present post since 1973, said last Thursday that he did not know of any previous animal cruelty com plaints involving Brunswick County veterinarians. "It's uncommon (any where in the state)," he said. "To my knowledge, since I've been here we haven't had a veterinarian's li cense revoked for cruelty to ani mals." Ncal said last Thursday that the charges against him would not af feci the operation of his animal hospital while he awaits trial. "We're staying open, and we were quite busy today," he commented. However, he also indicated that many of his clicnts had called to ask about broadcast news reports of his arrest. The Beacon also received several inquiries last Thursday from con cerned pet owners, including Pat Jodie? of M!V Jwn fol;. ing my dog there for the past year since moving here, and I've never experienced anything like that," Jodicc said, "but this docs have me worried." With an appointment to take his golden retriever to Ncal's office lat er that morning, Jodice said he would have to go home and discuss the situation further with his wife before keeping the appointment. "I really feci bad about it, to tell you the truth," he said. "I treat my dog like I do one of my sons, and I just don't know what to do now." Political Survey Keys In On County Clerk Of Court Race BY RAHN ADAMS Although only two candidates ? a Democratic incumbent and a Re publican challenger ? arc running for the Brunswick County Clerk of Court's office, the county was awash with rumors last week that former Clerk of Court Greg Bellamy was "testing the waters" with a telephone survey. Sue Bullock, owner of Independent Opinion Rcscaich and Com munications in Wilmington, confirmed last Thursday that her company was conducting a phone poll of registered Brunswick County voters. She said the survey involved "issues and personalities" in local politics. Calling the survey a "piggy-back poll," Ms. Bullock indicated that the work was being done on behalf of several candidates, but that all of the candidates involved "arc not necessarily paying for it directly." She added that not all of the candidates would receive survey results, which were to be available early this week. The political filing period closed Monday at noon. While survey questions dealt with candidates in various county and district races, the poll was obviously slanted to gather information on the local clcrk of court's racc. Among other questions, voters were asked to comment on .Clerk of Court Diana Morgan's performance and on Bellamy's chances of defeating Ms. Morgan in an election. Ms. Morgan, a Democrat who tiled lor re-election on the first day ot filing Jan. 2, was the lone candidate for clcrk of court until Republican Donald Willetts entered the race Monday on the last day of the filing period. According to local election records since 1950, only one local clcrk of court candidate ? long-time Clcrk of Court Jack E. Brown ? has been elected without either primary or general election opposition; Brown ran unopposed in 1966. Appointed to the clerk's post in the fall of 1987, Ms. Morgan won re-election to a special two-year term in the fall of 1988. The term was set at two years in order to complete the unexpired term of Bellamy, who resigned in August 1 987. Another survey cjiscstion dcsling spcciHcslIy with Bciiumy iiked voters if they knew Bellamy's current occupation. Bellamy, owner of Bellamy Realty at Boone's Neck, resigned during his third term as clcrk of court, after he pleaded guilty to a cocaine possession charge and was sentenced to two years of probation. His probation was terminated in early 1989 on a recommendation from N.C. Attorney General Lacy Thomburg. In a series of questions dealing with preferred qualities for a public office-holder, the pollster also asked, in general, if a minor drug viola tion would affect the respondent's support of a candidate. When contacted last Thursday by the Beacon, Bellamy said he was aware of the poll; however, he would neither confirm nor deny that he had personally authorized the survey. Ms. Bullock also would not iden tify the candidate or candidates who hired her firm. "If there's any chance that the press would treat it differently than they've treated past events, it might be something worth looking at," Bellamy said last Thursday of any future run for public office. "My in clination now is not to get involved one way or the other." Bellamy also suggested that "a number of people" had possibly au thorized the poll. County Democratic Party Chairman Glen Peterson and county GOP Chairman Malcolm Grissett both told the Beacon that their parties were not responsible for the survey. Peterson said he first heard about the poll last Thursday morning. Grissett said Monday that he wasn't aware of the survey but added he had heard that some candidates ? including Bellamy ? were "testing the waters on their own." The Republican chairman noted he also had heard that John Ram sey ? an unsuccessful GOP clcrk of court candidate in 1988 ? was con sidering another run for the post Ramsey ? who did not file ? said Monday that he was not involved in the poll. His name was not men tioned in the survey. Willetts, a political newcomer who filed for this year's clcrk of court race as a Republican, also said that he did not have a part in authorizing the political poll made by the Wilmington firm. Clothes For Every Sweetheart In The Family lJS) CUPID MARKED AN ADDITIONAL ' 20%-50% OFF SALE PRICE 1/ \ Feb. 8- 1 7th Extra Bargain Racks!! ? FRED & LEA'S * and CHRISTY'S FOR LITTLE FOLKS GRAYSTONE PLAZA ? LITTLE RIVER ? (803)249-8449 CORPS REJECTS DREDGING PLAN State To Examine Opening Eastern Channel HY DOUG RUTTER Slate environmentalists will study the practicality of dredging Eastern Channel behind Long Beach and look further into possible sources of pollution in Lockwood Folly River. The N.C. Division of Environ mental Management decided on the study on the heels of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' icvcni uccision against dredging of the channel, which originally linked the Lock wood Folly River and Atlantic Ocean. In October, the N.C. Environ mental Management Commission adopted a resolution endorsing a plan to dredge the channel in order to flush pollution out of Lockwood Folly River and asked the Corps of Engineers to evaluate the plan. However, Ll Col. Thomas C. Suermann, chief of the Corps of En gineers' Wilmington office, said dredging Eastern Channel would not be an "effective solution" to the river's water quality problems, in a Jan. 10 letter to the state Division of Environmental Management. The main reason for the Corps' position is that the two major fac tors that control water flow from the river to the ocean ? distance from the ocean to the mouth of the river and the difference in water depth between high and low tides ? would hardly be altered by dredging. Suermann says in the letter there's really nothing that can be done to make a significant increase in the flow in and out of the river. "it appears to us that the pattern of pollution in the river is consistent with the land development pattern in ilic aica anu liiai iiie giauuai clo sure of the Eastern Channel is not the reason for the increase in bacte ria in the Lockwood Folly River," Suermann writes. "Deepening the Eastern Channel is not expected to result in anything more than mini mal navigation benefits, although maintenance costs would probably rise tremendously." The letter further states that the district office does not have funds to study water quality in the Lock wood Folly River and docs not an ticipate receiving funds for such a project in the near future. Alse, Suermann says special au thorization from Congress would be required to use federal dredging funds for any purpose other than navigational. Tnc Corps caimoi dredge for water quality reasons with authorization. While the Corps is convinced the benefits of dredging Eastern Chan nel would not justify the expense, the state will continue to evaluate the proposal. John Dorncy, spccial projects su pervisor with the Division of Envir onmental Management, said he will project costs and find out which of the various state and federal permits would be needed to dredge the channel. Also, he will study aerial photo graphs of iiic Easicm Channel dat ing back to 1938 and determine when the channel started to fill up with sand. Domey said work relating direct ly to Eastern Channel should be completed in early April, while the ongoing search for river pollution sources could last into the summer. An earlier state study concluded that septic tanks and stormwater runoff are the two most likely sour ces of pollution. Following the work, Domey said the state may recommend a hydro logical model of the channel be built to help determine what would happen if it wa3 dredged. Wallace Smith, a spokesman for the Save Our Shellfish (SOS) orga nization, said the Corps of Engine ers was "grasping at straws" in its list of reasons for rejecting the dredging plan. SOS officials have been strong supporters of dredging the Eastern Channel since Holden Beach resi dent John Holden introduced the idea at an SOS meeting last March. Referring to Sucrmann's letter. Smith said the pattern of pollution in the river is not only consistent with land development patterns, but also with the siitaiiuti in Eastern Channel. He said reopening the channel would also create a more direct route between the nver aiiu ocean. 'The Corps just can't admit that they made an error in dredging the present inlet," said Smith. "The most depressing thing to me is see ing the historical importance and great economic benefits of ihc re sources being ignored." There were two dredge boats working at the existing inlet early this week doing maintenance dredg ing of the inlet and inlet crossing. In the last two years. Smith said the Corps of Engineers has spent more than SI million to dredge the inlet. However, lie said it's often filled in with sand within three weeks of the dredging. Based on Corps of Engineers' ligures lur uicugmg sand, SiTuth said the group has estimated that the Eastern Channel can be dredged for $600,000. That amount of money would allow the mile-long channel to be cut 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep at mean low tide, he said. Elections Set For May 8 Primary (Continued From Page i-A) wine on the Democratic ticket. King retired last summer as assis tant superintendent of the Colum bus County Public Schools. The May Democratic primary will decide the office, since there arc no Republican candidates for the post. The 14th House District covers Brunswick County and parts of Pender and New Hanover coun ties. State Senator Two candidates filed for the 18th District State Senate race. Demo cratic incumbent R.C. Soles Jr. of Tabor City will face Republican challengcr Leroy Stocks of White ville in the November general elec tion. The 1 8th Senate District cov ers Brunswick, Columbus and Bla den counties, and part of Cum berland County. District Attorney Three Democrats and one Re publican arc running for the 13th District Attorney's post being va cated by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Easley of South port The 13th Judicial District cov ers Brunswick, Columbus and Bla den counties. Democratic DA candidates arc Rex Gore of Shallotle, Tom Ald ridge Jr. of Route 2, Whiteville, and Michael T. Mills of Bolton. The only Republican candidate is C. Franklin Stanley of Tabor City. District Court Judge A Brunswick County attorney ? Wayne Long of Shalloue ? filed in the past week to oppose incumbent David G. Wall of Elizabetntown for a district court judgeship. Both are Democrats; no Republicans filed. Superior Court Judge Current Chief District Court Judge William C. Gore Jr. of White ville is assured of moving up to the superior court bench. The Democrat more crowded than the Brunswick County sheriff's contest. Five Democrats besides Southport's Mike Easley have filed, including Robert L. Han nan of Greensboro, R.P. "Bo" Thomas of Henderson ville, Harvey Gantt of Charlotte, Lloyd Garner of Thomasville and John Ingram of Cary. Incumbcnt Jesse Helms is op posed on the Republican ticket by George Wimbish of Charlotte. has no opposition. Gore's dislict court post will be filled by appoint ment after he assumes the new su perior court judgeship. U.S. Congressman Republican candidates for the 7th Congressional District seat this year are Fries Shaffncr of Wilmington and Robert Anderson of Fayettevil le. Incumbent Democrat Charles G. Rose III is unopposed. U.S. Senator This year's U.S. Senate race is VFW Plans Dance Calabash VFW Post 7288 will sponsor a dance Friday, Feb. 16, from 8 p.m. until 1 1 p.m. at the post at Trader's Village in Calabash. Steve Pethel of Myrtle Beach, S.C., will provide the music. Members and guests arc wel come. Tickets cost $4 per person and will be sold at the door. Q. => *5?? OFF COUPON WHOLESALE PRICES TO THE PUBLIC Original Designed by Alentino 8 REG. $55.00-$85.00 now no00 & up Also Q ?Coordinating Belts "Jewelry 2 ?T oHW A nnr? r*?\ ?n^clrTn^r FratfnnrPS with JO ' ' savings up to 70% off *?axy ^Cea, At the North Myrtle Beach Flea Market Main Building Sat. & Sun. 9-5 P.M. (Rain or Shine) (803)249-4701 2 Also introducing... ? O * Elephant and * Ostrich Skin Bags 8 c> wo TMt anuNMnCK kacon Distributor prices available on handbags & belts (one dozen or more) 'Not valid on kids' bags or with other coupons or discounts. Trade name. ?*5?? OFF COUPON -I AMERICAN & IMPORT BARTS& ?PAINT ?SUPPLIES ?EQUIPMENT ?CUSTOM-MADE HYDRAULIC HOSE FITTINGS & REPAIRS ?BRAKE DRUMS & ROTORS TURNED MAIN ST ? SHALLOTTE ? 754-6619 CLASSIFIEDS Good News People Can Use i*'s "The Best Kept Secret In Little River!" 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