under the sun M? - B
GOODBYE . OLD PAINT!
Logan Set To Retire His Trusty Bronco
BY RAHN ADAMS
ccil Logan claims he doesn't know how fast
his Bronco ? perhaps the most recognizable
vehicle in Brunswick County ? will travel. "I
have no idea," the county emergency management
coordinator says, then adds with a mischievous grin,
"Fifty-five ? that's the speed limit, isn't it?"
But anyone who has seen the beige four-wheel
drive vehicle blazing down the highway in a cloud of
dust toward a distant fire or traffic accident knows
that the 1985 Ford, adorned with flashing red lights
and 10 ? count them ? 10 radio antennas, has enough
horses under its hood to get Logan anywhere he
needs to go in a hurry.
That will change, though, within the next couple
of weeks when Logan puts his trusty Bronco out to
pasture. He probably won't be driving any slower to
emergencies, but he'll be riding a horse of a different
color ? a white, 1990 Ford Bronco.
"It's basically just like this one ? cxcept that it'll
have auto-locking hubs," Logan said of his new vehi
cle. "I just hope the new one lasts half as long as this
one."
If that is the case, then Logan's new "truck" ? as
he calls it ? will last around 105,000 miles ? half the
distance the old Bronco has traveled since it was put
into service for the emergency management office in
December 1984. Surprisingly enough, the difference
in cost between the two trucks is only about SI, 100;
the old one's price tag was S 14,900, while the new
one will come in at around SI 6,000, Logan said.
At the risk of beating a dead metaphor, the coor
dinator's old vehicle has been a real workhorse ? not
just where high mileage is concerned, but also in
'erms of performance and usability. While that state
ment isn't necessarily intended to be an endorsement
for Broncos in general, it is a tribute of sorts to
Logan's driving ability and his skill in jamming a lit
eral truckload of equipment into the vehicle.
"That Bronco has seen places that most four
wheel-drives would never think about going," Logan
said. He has driven ihe truck over the worst roads in
the Green Swamp to rescue lost and injured hunters
and other individuals; and it once was taken off-road
to reach a remote section of the Cape Fear River near
Bladen County and pick up the body of a drowning
victim.
Logan also has used the truck and its winch to do
everything from pull trees out of roadways to tow
other emergency vehicles out of ditches. The latter
part of 1989 was particularly trying for the aging
Bronco, as it was called into duty during Hurricane
Hugo in September and during the Christinas week
end blizzard.
The snowstorm almost was the sturdy vehicle's
undoing, as its he?ter went on the fritz, the driver
side window fell out and the exhaust system w?\s
damaged from the truck being driven through three
foot-high snow drifts in some places. Then, shortly
after the storm, the Bronco tried to bite the dust as
Logan, who also is a sworn sheriff's deputy, was
responding to a bank robbery call in Calabash.
Driving south from Bolivia on U.S. 17, the
truck's engine began spewing smoke near The
Brunswick Hospital at Supply. Logan pressed on
BRUNSWICK COUNTY
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR
P.O. BOX 9
RPM i\ma
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR Cecil Iutgan will soon have a new vehicle to haul him and his plethora of communications eauipment
and emergency gear around Brunswick County.
until the vehicle finally gave out five miles down the
road in Shallotte. "1 uiougni thai was iiie end uf ii,"
he said. But after whipping into a local store parking
lot, Logan discovered that the Bronco had merely
blown its heater hose. "1 cut the bad part of the hose
off. stuck it back on and kept going."
Other than minor repairs from that incident and a
f/Minlo r\f Kumn.unc iho nn!v coruirA %i/r*rlr ?h<*
WUpiV V?? ?i>V V/l ti J ?/V ? ? ? W ?? V*t 1* M?V
Bronco has needed over the past five years has
included oil changes every 5,000 miles (translating
to roughly 42 oil changes in the truck's life); installa
tion of new tires, brakes and shock absorbers; and
replacement of a transmission part.
It is small wonder that the truck has needed new
shock absorbers, considering the load it has carried.
When asked to list the emergency management
equipment packed in the vehicle's passenger com
partment, Logan needed at least IS minutes to run
down the inventory: a portable generator system with
two 300-watt quartz lights, a first-aid trauma kit.
small oxygen tanks, a set of hydraulic cutters used to
ficc uapjpeu wicCk ViCiiitiS, 12 ilii/.iuuuuM inaici idl.s
reference ma-vials, the county resources book, a
complete firefighting uniform, a regular jumpsuit,
two blankets, assorted ropes, a large flashlight, spare
flashlight batteries of all sizes, a video camera, a
35mm camera, life jackets, a tool box, axes, shovels,
pry bars, an electronic Lor an location finder, a police
scanner, a walkie-taikie and eight mobile two-way
radios.
Mounted on the front seat easily within the driv
er'? 'each, the bank of communications equipment
includes an 84-channel fire/rescue radio, an 84-chan
nel sheriff's department radio, emergency manage
ment radio, marine radio, forest service u'Jio, ama
teur (ham) radio, citizen's band radio and a cellular
telephone. "Plus, there's a standard AM-FM radio in
there," Logan noted, adding that he only listens to it
at "news time."
Why all of the communications equipment?
Becausc with the radios alone, Logan can rcach any
public saicty agency in southeastern North Carolina.
And on the cellular phone, the busy coordinator can
be reached by news reporters and other individuals
who don't have access to public safety communica
tions. Logan said the phone came in handy during
Hurricane Hugo, in particular, when he was on the
road and needed to contact local evacuation shelters.
If it already appears that Logan wouldn't have
enough spare room inside the vehicle to carry a bag
lunch to work, then consider the fact that he also
transports a 12-foot boat and 15-horsepower motor
during boating season ? not on a trailer behind the
tmck, but inside the Bronco. Of course, the boat is
inflatable.
Is Logan sentimentally attached to his old
Bronco? Yes, he said, but not enough to stop ship
ment on its replacement. He added that he hopes to
keep the old vehicle as a backup unit. After all, it is a
Bronco that he has never quite been able to break.
T.T? AUTO
XcJ S ELECTRIC
ALTERNATORS STARTERS
VOLTAGE REGULATORS GENERATORS
REPAIR-REBUILT-EXCHANGED
AUTOMOTIVE WIRING
BUSINESS:
754-7656
HOME:
754-9963
Royal Oak Road & Hwy. 17 N., Shaliotte
Feb. 9-14
OCO L ACC
Mm kJ /U VI I
All Snow Skis, Clothing
and Accessories
The Sailing fif Ski Connection
515 Hwy. 501, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
1 -800-868-7245 ? 803-626-7245
Hmnszisic!^ IsCancCs o
cWomen s Center > CP.J^L. ^
Complete Gynecological
and
Obstetrical Services
new patients welcome
Robert E. Hassler, m.d.
F.A.C.O.G.
Board Certified and Recertified
#16 Medical Center Dr., Supply, 754-9166
NOW OPEN
Hwy. 17 ? Little River Shopping Center*'
FRESH BAKED BREADS
?Italian
?Rye "White 'Wheat
?Pumpernickel 'Croissants "Kaiser Rolls
PASTRIES
?Danish 'Turnovers 'And More
COOKIES ? PIES ? DONUTS
r ~ " " ~1 Now Taking
I A pastry & cup Of ' Valentine's Day Orders
1 t 1 SPECIAL ORDERS WELCOME
coffee for 500
with this ad J HOURS:
Mon-Sat 7 a.m. -6 p.m.
(803)249-0042 Sun8"'m4pm'
SEATING AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO ENJOY OUR PASTRIES and COFFEE
Cl9?OTHl BRUNSWICK BtACON
Timothy P. Gibble, M.D.
Adult Medicine
Board Certified Internist
Susan Gibble, PA-C
Physician Assistant
Complete Adult Medicine Care
New Patients Welcome
754-8921
Convenient to
The Brunswick Hospital
2 for i Special
Buy any frozen yogurt
product and get one FREE
with coupon.
Cannot be used in conjunction with
any other special.
One coupon per item purchased.
Offer also good at our other stores.
EXPRESS STOP LOCATIONS
Corner Old llwy. 9 and New Mwy. 9 ? N. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Corner Mwy. 133 and Yaupon Drive ? Yaupon Beach. North Carolina
BMMt I- I ? ?*?W| SS
(TIE
Market Express
^(tyen 24 Hrs. 7 Days Intersection of Hwy. 17 and Hwy. 130 (Holden Beach Ro^^l