Trojans On Top!
A key win Friday over East Bladen claimed
at least a piece of the conference title for
West Brunswick. The Trojans travel to
South Brunswick Friday before the start
of the Waccamaw 2-A Conference tourney
Monday. For complete game coverage,
check out Page 9-B.
Spring Has Sprung
It looks like spring, with early blossom
ing of fruits, flowers and shrubs. But
chances are there's more cold ? and the
possibility of cold damage ? ahead before
spring truly arrives. Local farmers say
I that's Just one of the risks they face,
| Page 4-B.
Recycling On A Roll
Holden Beach Is the latest Brunswick
County community to eye a
voluntary recycling program. The
town !s considering use of a trailer
similar to the one In Shallotte to collect
recyclables such as paper, aluminum
and glass. The story's on Pagt- 3-A
THE Bir'^'^fBEACON
Twenty-eighth Year, Number 15 ?moimkmui?wickw~~. /, February 22, 1990 25* Per Copy 34 Pagee, 3 Sections
Auto Crash
Claims Local
Woman's Life
A local woman was killed and a
Bladen County man was seriously
injured Friday afternoon in a head
on collision near Supply, according
in Highway Patrol spokcsocrson
Ruby Oakley.
Nila Canficld Gates, 22, of Ash,
died at the scene of the crash. Her
death was the first traffic fatality
this year in Brunswick County. Ms.
Oakley said three highway deaths
had occurred here by this same time
i?Sl year,
The collision happened Friday at
4:30 p.m., about two miles north of
Supply on N.C. 211, when Mrs.
Gates pulled out to pass another
southbound vehicle. Her 1989 Su
zuki automobile collided with a
northbound 1.986 Nissan pickup
truck driven by Edward B. Singlc
tary Jr., 35, of Bladcnboro.
Singlctary suffered incapacitating
injuries and was taken by ambu
lance to The Brunswick Hospital,
Supply. Both vehicles were total
losses.
No charges were filed in connec
tion with the fatal wreck, which was
investigated by Trooper B.D. Bam
hardL
Drug Dealer
Sentenced To
35-Year Term
A Leland area man was sen
tenced this week to a 35-year prison
term and a $250,000 fine for co
caine trafficking, according to the
Brunswick County Clerk of Court's
office.
Randall Lyle Buck, 24, of Route
1, Leland, was found guilty Feb. 1
in Brunswick County Superior
Court of trafficking by possession
of more than 400 grams of cocaine
and maintaining a house to dis
tribute cocaine. Judge Giles R.
Clark handed down the mandatory
minimum sentence Monday.
Buck was one of four Leland area
residents who were arrested last
June following a six-week under
cover drug investigation in the Le
land and Maco sections of Bruns
wick County. Local narcotics agents
then said the probe involved drug
dealers with tics in New Hanover
and Columbus counties.
During previous terms of Super
ior Court, the other three defendants
?Byron A. Reynolds, 42, Sonia E.
Smith, 42, and Harold Ray Duck
worth, 24, all of Route 1, Leland?
pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking
charges and also received active
prison terms and fines.
Reynolds was sentenced to 30
years in prison and a $10,000 fine;
Ms. Smith, a 25-year prison term
and a $10,000 fine; and Duckworth,
a 20-year prison term and a $50,000
fine.
STAff PHOTO ?Y RAHN AOAMS
Gates in the wreckage of her
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL WORK to reach accident victim Nila
car Friday afternoon on N.C. 211.
TAKES JOHNSTON COUNTY JOB
RDL Director
Resigns Ho sf
Brunswick County Resources
Development Director Michael de
Shcrbinin resigned Monday to ac
ccpi a Miniiai position as economic
development director of Johnston
County.
Dc Shcrbinin, who has been em
ployed here
since Novem
ber 1979, an
nounced his re
signation Mon
day night in
Bolivia, at a
special meeting
of the ccjnty
Resources
Development
Commission, DE SHERBININ
said RDC Chairman Baxter Stirling.
De Sherbinin requested the meeting
last week after being notified that
he had been selected for the
Johnston County post. "It's a fantas
tic opportunity and one for the sake
of my career that is essential," de
Sherbinin said of the new job he be
gins April 16.
Both the Johnston County Board
of Commissioners and Johnston
County economic development
board last week voted unanimously
to hire him, de Sherbinin said. His
new salary will be $45,000 a year.
His salary here is $39,252.
"I'm excited," de Sherbinin add
ed. "Johnston County is very simi
lar to Brunswick in that it borders a
major metropolitan area (Raleigh).
They have similar problems and op
portunities." Johnston County, lo
cated southeast of Wake County,
has five industrial parks compared
to two here in Brunswick.
Stirling noted that Johnston
County chose de Sherbinin from a
Field of 130 applicants. As a result,
the chairman said the RDC un
doubtedly will have a "pretty wide
field" from which to pick de Sher
binin's successor.
The vacancy will be advertised in
various publications, with applica
tions received by the county person
? i - rr ? .jj.j .l? ?
iici unite, jui niig auuui uuu a
three-member RDC committee was
formed Monday to review applica
tions. Committee members are Den
nis Crocker, Bob Radcliffe and V.A.
Crecch.
Stirling said the RDC has been
pleased with de Sherbinin's perfor
mance and that the board was sur
prised by his resignation. "He didn't
go looking for this job," Stirling
said. "I think he (applied) just for
the heck of it."
Dc Shcrbinin said his application
was solicited last November by
Johnston county oiticials including
County Manager Ruiian! Self, who
formerly managed neighboring Col
umbus County arid met de Shcrbin
in then.
"Naturally when you see an area
develop over a 10-year period, you
have an awful lot of ties," de Sher
binin said of leaving Brunswick
County. "It's very rewarding to see
the efforts of many people. That
gives me a better feeling than leav
ing and knowing the program's go
ing to stop, bccause it won't"
Former Sunset Firefighter
Sentenced On Arson Counts
A former Sunset Beach volunteer
firefighter received a split prison
sentence Monday after he admitted
setting 25 woods and dumpster fires
in southwestern Brunswick County.
John Devon Caison, 22, of Sea
Trail, entered guilty pleas in Bruns
wick County Superior Court to 16
counts of burning woodlands and
nine counts of burning personal pro
perty, according to the Brunswick
County Clerk of Court's office.
Judge Giles R. Clark sentenced
Caison to suspended prison terms
totaling 13 years, a four-month ac
tive term and five years of proba
tion. The defendant also was or
dered to pay a $500 fine, $600 at
torney fees and $10,652.29 in resti
tution to the state, Brunswick Coun
ty and the Sunset Beach and Cala
bash volunteer fire departments.
Caison, brother of county Forest
Ranger Miller caison, was arrested
iast October, following a year-long
investigation by the Brunswick
County Fire Marshal's office, the
N.C. Forest Service and the SBI.
Fire Marshal Cecil Logan said Mil
ler Caison was not involved in the
incidents or the investigation.
John Caison was a member of
Sunset Beach VFD when the arson
fires occurred between Feb. 23,
1986, and Aug. 13, 1989, according
to arrest warrants. Prior to his ar
rest, Caison was dropped from the
fire department's membership for
missing meetings and training, a de
partment official said.
Warrants indicate that 14 of the
woods fires were set on property off
Old Georgetown Road, while the
other two fires were set off the Sun
set Beach Causeway and off Ash
Little River Road between U.S. 17
and Hickman's Crossroads.
Seven of the dumpstcr fires were
set at the Sea Trail solid waste col
lection site on N.C. 179, according
to the warrants. The other two fires
were set at the Cawcaw Swamp
dumpster site near Hickman's
Crossroads.
Board Bows
To Public Outcry;
Rescinds Hiring
BY RAHN ADAMS
In a move that apparently was
timed to relieve mounting public
pressure, Brunswick County Com
missioners Gene Pinkcrton, Frankie
Rahon and Grace Reaslev hart
U- I r- J-.. ?I ?l ?
vnangvo ut nvaii ruuu^ auvjui uiui
earlier decision to hire William
Kopp as county manager.
At an "emergency" meeting early
Friday evening in Bolivia, the coun
ty board voted 4-0 to rescind its
controversial 11 -day -old action to
hire Kopp, a former Republican
board of commissioners chairman
here. Commissioner Benny Ludlum,
on vacation in Florida, was absent.
Ludlum and Commissioner Kelly
Holden had opposed from the start
the manner in which Kopp was se
lected. The N.C. Department of
Crime Control and Public Safety
controller purportedly was picked
for the then unadvertised job on the
basis of several private talks with
Rabon and a brief executive session
*-?_*_ r
ruu. j.
"! was pleasantly surprised," Ho!
den said Friday of the rescission.
"Gene called me today at 4 p.m. and
said we were going to have a meet
ing to rlivncc personnel, snd asked
me if I could come. That's all 1
knew ... I think Gene did the right
thing."
Kopp, a Southport native, would
have gone to work here March 1 at
a salary of $56,000 per year ? ap
proximately $11,000 more than the
salary of former County Manager
John T. Smith, who was fired last
December. Invitations to a March 5
reception to welcome the new man
ager were mailed last week.
Friday's session lasted less than
five minutes and included no public
discussion by board members. Visi
bly shaken, Chairman Pinkcrton
read the following statement, which
served as his motion:
"On Feb. 5 this board voted to
make William Kopp Brunswick
County manager. This decision has
resulted in a great outpouring of
public sentiment from many citi
zens which has centered on the
swiftness of this action, but not its
substance.
"This public sentiment is based
upon the belief of a cross-section of
the community, as communicated to
me, that a broad-based selection
process for this office should be un
dertaken.
"Mr. Kopp has concurred with
this sentiment during conversations
with me and has agreed to release
Brunswick County from the terms
of any oral contract with which he
may have been a party to with the
county.
'TiimiCi6, I muvt uial uiC aC
tion of Feb. 5 employing Mr. Kopp
as county manager be rescinded and
that the board procecd to advertise
for the position of Brunswick Coun
ty manager for a period of six
weeks."
Contacted Monday in Raleigh,
Kopp had little to say about the
hoard's latest decision. "! agreed
with the acuon that was taken," he
said. "I agreed that my name should
be withdrawn."
When asked if he intended to for
mally apply for the county manager
post, he commented, "I don't have
any plans to at the present time."
Although department officials ap
parently were aware that Kopp had
accepted the job here, he also said
Monday that he had not resigned his
state position.
According to county Personnel
Officer Deborah Bowling, a vacan
cy notice on the county manager
position will run beginning Sunday
in Charlotte, Raleigh and Wilming
ton newspapers, and will also ap
pear over the next six weeks in local
newspapers and a statewide local
govcrr.rr.cr.t newsletter.
The advertisement states, in pan,
that "the successful applicant shall
have demonstrated organi7ational
and budgetary experience as well as
cxpcncnce if! dcsling with issues of
(See BOARD BOWS, Page 2-A)
Poor Season Ends
For Lockwood Folly
A portion of Lockwood Folly
River was opened to shellfisher
men last Thursday, but not in
time to salvage one of the worst
oyster seasons the river has ever
seen.
Counting the three days last
week that the lower section of
the river was open to harvesting,
fishermen were permitted to
work in Lockwood Folly 19 of
the 126 days in the 1989-90 oys
ter season. The river was har
ves table about IS percent of the
season, which ended at sunset
Saturday.
The rest of the time. Lock
wood Folly was closed to shell
fishing because of high levels of
fecal coliform, an indicator of
pollution.
The lower section of the river
was opened to shellfishing last
Thursday morning, but it was
closed down Monday due to
weekend rainfall and stormwater
runoff. Runoff often carries pol
lutants into the river making
shellfish unsafe for harvesting.
Lockwood Folly isn't the only
local river where oystermen
have struKRled this season. Har
vests are down across the county
and along the North Carolina
coast
School Board's Mum
Regarding
Superintendent's Evaluation
BY SUSAN USHER
Brunswick County Board of Education members met
behind closed doors for nearly four hours last Thursday
evening as a large crowd of people
waited outside to hear the outcome
of the superintendent's evaluation.
When the board returned to open
session at 10:30 p.m.. Chairman
Dorothy (Dot) Worth said she
could not disclose the results of the
evaluation under terms of a modi
fied contract between the board
and Superintendent John Kaufhold.
Following a recent confrontation
over meeting procedures between
Kaufhold and board member Robert Slockett, rumors
had flown countywide that the superintendent's evalua
tion might be negative and his job possibly at risk.
Kaufhold's contract ends June 30, 1992. Hired initially
as an assistant superintendent in mid-1987, he was soon
named interim superintendent following the resignation
KAUFHOLD
ot Superintendent Eugene Yarbrough. Kaufhold was
hired as superintendent effective March 1988.
More than 70 people turned out for Thursday's meet
ing in the adminstrative offices at Southport, including
school system employees, parents and others who de
scribed themselves as "concerned citizens." Most
stayed throughout the iour-hour wait, nibbling on food,
and wandering back and forth between the board offices
and the outside porch.
Before the board went behind closed doors, the Rev.
Moses Herring of Ml Zion Missionary Baptist Church,
saying he represented a group of concerned citizens,
praised Kaufhold's performance as superintendent. In a
prepared statement he observed that the school board
serves the public, rather than their own "personal view."
While in executive session, Mrs. Worth said the
board handled several other personnel and/or attorney
cliem matters. No action was taken.
She referred questions about Kaufhold's evaluation
to the board attorney. Glen Peterson.
The board provides the superintendent with opportu
nities to discuss "board-superintendent relationships"
periodically, and at least twice each year informs him in
writing of any inadequacies in his performance. Before
Jan. 31 of each year, he is supposed to recieve a written
performance evaluation. This year's evaluation ran
slightly behind schedule.
In evaluating the superintendent last Thursday, board
members individually filled out forms (the same used in
their last evaluation) that critiqued Kaufhold's perfor
mance in various areas of responsibility. Then the com
ments were compiled for a "consensus" evaluation as
required by the superintendent's contract. Each board
member discussed items of concern to him or her with
the superintendent and Kaufhold was allowed to re
spond to each.
"I can't really say whether the evaluation was nega
tive, positive or neutral," said Peterson, but he added
that members and the superintendent had a "frank and
open" discussion. No action was taken, said Peterson,
and the board did not discuss the possibility of
Kaufhold's resignation.
Peterson said any release of information regarding
the evaluation was up to Kaufhold.
The silence clause regarding Kaufhold's evaluation
was added earlier to his original contract at the superin
tendent's request, Peterson said.
Areas addressed in the evaluation include the
superintendent's leadership role in planning and policy
development; managing to achieve goals and develop
ing and implementing procedures to carry out policy;
developing and maintaining the system's educational
program in areas such as curriculum standards, budget
management, keeping the board informed, and main
taining working relationships with the board, staff and
community; and in the system's infrastructure, or areas
such as support, personnel, and information manage
ment
In other business, the board heard from Franklin
Randolph, a former board member. Randolph asked that
the old Piney Grove School, more recently known as
the Alternative School, be returned to that community
for use as a community center (See related story in this
issue.).
Neither board members nor Kaufhold were available
for comment following Thursday's meeting.