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TVfenty-elghth Year, Number 26
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Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday^May 17, 1990
250 Per Copy
50 Pages, 4 Sections
OUSTED SUPERINTENDENT SEEKS INJUNCTION
Brunswick School Board Hires Attorney, Recesses Meeting
BY SUSAN USHER
The Brunswick County Board of Education Monday
hired a second attorney to help in
its defense of a complaint filed in
Brunswick County Superior Court
by the superintendent of schools
and launched the search for his suc
cessor.
Claiming that three school board
members violated the state open
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meeting. Superintendent John A.
Kaufhold is seeking a court order
that would declare null and void the kaufhold
board's decision to terminate his contract effective June
30, and allow him to remain as superintendent of the
county schools at his stated salary pending resolution of
the controversy.
In charging the board with defamation, breach of
contract, denial of procedural due process, civil con
spiracy and "estoppel," Kaufhold also is seeking con
tractual damages of 5152,000, compensatory damages
of 5250,000 and punitive damages in excess of
S10.000. He is asking for a jury trial on all matters that
can be taken before a jury.
After meeting two hours and 40 minutes behind
closed doors Monday night, school board members vot
ed 3-2 to continue the session until 6:30 p.m. Thursday,
May 24. At that time they are to meet with N.C. School
Board Association attorney George T. Rogister Jr. of
Raleigh and board attorney Glen Peterson of Leland.
According fo the motion to recess made by member
Robert Slockett, the board will discuss legal issues re
lating to the superintendent's contract and the proce
dures for obtaining a new superintendent.
Rogistcr will be working with Peterson on the case,
helping represent the board as a whole and the three
members sued individually by Kaufhold, as well as rep
resenting the school board's insurance company in the
matter.
As NCSBA attorney, Rogister provided one of the le
gal opinions cited by the board in its action on
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extension and renewal provisions of the original con
tract were contrary to law and void, and so therefore,
would be any extension of the original contract.
Representing Kaufhold arc James R. Van Camp and
W. Carole Holloway of the law firm Van Camp, West,
Webb & Hayes of PinehursL
Also Monday, the board agreed to use the services of
Gene Causby, executive director of the N.C. School
Boards Association, in its search for Kaufhold's succes
sor. The board authorized Personnel Director Ralph
Ward to immcidately begin advertising the position va
cancy, with notices to go out statewide to all school dis- .
tricts, the media, various education-related publications
and institutions granting doctorates in education admin
iotrolion
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School board attorney Glen Peterson is to accept ap
plications for the post through June 30.
Chairman Dot Worth said the board would like to
hire someone before the start of the next year, but isn't
(See OUSTED, Page 1 2- A)
Budget Would
Hike Taxes
By 1 2 Cents
BY BOB HORNE
Brunswick County Interim Coun
ty Manager David Clcgg presented
the Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners with a "working"
1990-91 budget Tuesday night
which would require a 12-ccnt in
crease in county property taxes.
The Board of County Commis
sioners scheduled a budget work
shop for Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Clegg emphasized that the budget
is not a recommended budget, but
rather "a scheme by which the
county could operate for the ensu
ing fiscal year." He said that after
the county corn in i ssioners have had
a chance to go through the budget
and discuss it, he will present a
"recommended" budget.
Clegg said the budget he present
ed Tuesday would basically operate
county departments at their current
levels, except for a 5 percent across
the-board salary increase he figured
in for county employees and fund
ing for new positions and employee
reclassifications.
As a result, Clcgg says, he pared
down department heads' collective
budget requests trom $37,169,590,
added in $2.7 minion in debt fi
nancing of capital projects and
some other additions, and came to a
total dollar figure of $35,667,194.
That amount is $2,617,844 more
than the $33,049350 budgeted for
the current fiscal year and
$3,901,964 more than Clegg esti
mates the county will collect in total
revenue this fiscal year.
One way Clegg .computed that
the budget could be funded at the
level he presented the commission
ers Tuesday would be to increase
the tax rate from the current level of
59.5 cents per $100 tax valuation to
71.5 cents, increase building and
clcctrical permit fees by 25 percent
and increase the water rate 5 per
cent across the board, except for the
first 3,000 gallons, which he pro
poses to remain at $8.50. And he es
timates the county will receive
52.89 million for the one-half cent
sales tax.
Clcgg estimates that the county
will experience a net reduction of 5
percent in its tax base, which
equates to about three cents on the
tax rate, because the state valued the
county's public utilities at 74 per
cent of their value of the current
year. As a result, he says, the new
budget started at a Si, 137, 640
shortfall from its level of this year.
"This has been a tremendously
important year because of the real
location of the state mandate,"
Clegg told the commissioners.
"But what you see is what you
get," Clegg said. This is a different
budget than any you've ever gotten
before. Everything is in black and
white. There are no surprises here."
Clcgg said later that one thing he
did in the budget was to eliminate a
previous 1 non-departmental depart
ment," where he said numerous
items have been budgeted in past
years. "I believe this will result in a
better budget," he said.
One of the employee reclassifica
tions Clcgg presented would reclas
sify Finance Director Lithia B.
Hahn as director of fiscal opera
tions, which he said would be a po
sition that would serve directly un
der the county manager. He com
puted slighdy more than a 10 per
cent salary increase for her, from
$40,240 a year to $44,400. He. held
the salary level for the open county
manager's position at the current
$42 500
(See BUDGET, Page 2- A)
MAf COURTESY N.C. DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
CONGRESSMAN CHARLIE ROSE will seek funds for a one-time demonstration dredging project
in Eastern Channel, shaded black in the above map.
?
VARNAMTOWN
LOCKWOODS FOLLY INLET
LONG BEACH
Congressman To Seek Funds For
Eastern Channel Dredging Plan
BY DOUG RUTTER
Congressman Charlie Rose (D-N.C.) will seek funds
needed for a demonstration dredging project in Eastern
Channel near Lockwood Folly River and a separate im
pact study that would determine if construction of the
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway has had any effect on
water circulation in the river.
Although it will be at least October before any mon
ey becomes available. Rose will go after funds needed
for both proposals recently presented by the Army
Corps of Engineers district office in Wilmington, says
Rose's legislative aide, Keith Pitts.
The Corps proposals, outlined in a May 3 letter to
Rose, call for a one-time dredging of Eastern Channel
and a detailed examination of what impact construction
and maintenance of the inland waterway has had on the
water flow between Lockwood Folly River and adja
cent waters. The total cost of both projects is estimated
at $1.5 million.
The proposals were generated following an April 20
meeting in Wilmington during which Rose, state Rep.
David Redwine and others talked with Corps of
Engineers officials about dredging Eastern Channel.
Local fishermen say the channel, situated between
the west end of Long Beach and Sheep Island at the
mouth of Lockwood Folly River, has filled in with sand
in recent years. Fishermen say the clogged channel has
restricted water flow and prevented bacterial pollution
from escaping the river, which frequently has been
closed to shellfishing over the past two years.
Dredging Eastern Channel to improve water quality
(See CONGRESSMAN, Page 2-A)
_ . SWF PHOTO BY JOHNNY CHAJG
Yer Out!
? v>i ;
Indians Catcher Corey Laughan tags the White Sox' Brian Earp out at home plate during a Major League baseball game in the Shallotte
Babe Ruth League at Shallotte Township Park Monday. Earp had led off the game with a single and advanced on two errors before being
thrown out. The White Sox won the game, however, 77-7. Other sports news can be found on pages 8-B thru 10-B.
Fishermen Object 7b Net-Fishing Limits
BY SUSAN USHER
Twenty rules changes are being
considered by the state Marine Fish
eries Commission for the coming
year, but only one captured the full
attention of the nearly 400 people
who crammed into the Public As
sembly Building at Bolivia Tuesday
night.
One speaker after another recom
mended rejecting a proposal to ban
gill net fishing within one-half mile
of the beach. Speakers were limited
to three minutes each, or 10 minutes
if representing a group.
Tuesday's session was part of a
statewide series of eight hearings
held this month. At its June 14-15
business meeting in Greenville, the
" Sportfishing is not something
you depend on for a living , but
commercial fishing is. What are
you going to do ? take their
bread and butter away?"
? Norman Bellamy
Retired commercial fisherman
commission will give final consid- May 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the New
eration to the items discussed at the Hanover County Courthouse in
hearings. Any changes adopted Wilmington.
would go into effect during the Only a handful of speakers ad
1990 regulatory cycle. A sister dressed other proposals, v hile oth
hearing was scheduled Wednesday, ers built on comments mj*de by pri
r?
1 Pi
or speakers.
It adopted, the net-fishing pro
posal would "prevent some people
from making a living or supple
menting a living or putting food on
the table" and would have "an ex
tremely negative impact on our
area," Rep. E. David Redwine, of
Seaside, said to the first of several
rounds of applause.
Agreeing with Redwine,
Brunswick County Commissioner
Kelly Holden said the proposal
would "in essence," outlaw net fish
ing in Brunswick County. "It seems
our traditions and way of life in
Brunswick County are being threat
ened and changed by pollution and
(See FISHERMEN, Page 2-A)
Holden Beach Commissioners
Endorse Local Dispatching Plan
BY DOUG RUTTER
A proposal to set up a dispatch
ing service in Shallotte that would
handle police, fire and rescue calls
for four towns in the South
Brunswick Islands has drawn the
support of the Holden Beach Board
of Commissioners.
At a special meeting Tuesday
night, the town board voted to "ap
prove in principle" the supplemen
tary dispatching plan after hearing a
presentation by Shallotte Police
Chief Rodney Gause.
The plan calls for a ccntral dis
patching unit to be set up in
Shallotte that would serve Holden
Beach, Shallotte, Ocean Isle Beach
and Sunset Beach ? the four towns
in southwestern Brunswick County
with police forces.
Many calls made during normal
working hours and all calls made at
night to the police departments in
most of these towns are presenUy
handled through the county Sher
iff's Department
Gause said the Sheriff's Depart
ment dispatchers "have their hands
full" and officers sometimes don't
hear about the calls until an hour
later or the next day.
An around-the-clock dispatching
"It would really be
a big help to law
enforcement in this
end of the county."
?Shallotte Police
Chief Rodney Gause
On local 24-hour dis
patching service
scrvice in Shallotte would speed re
sponse time and take pressure off
the Sheriff's Department, Gause
said. "It would really be a big help
to law enforcement in this end of
the county," he said.
The Shallotte chief said Ocean
Isle Beach is the only other town
that has committed to the program
at this point. He said Shallotte Al
dermen are waiting for responses
from the other towns before agree
ing to go along with the plan.
He estimated it would cost be
tween $14,000 and 515,000 per year
for each town if all four participate.
Most of the money would be used
to pay the four dispatchers that
would be needed to provide scrvice
24 hours a day.
Gause said the local dispatching
service could become unnecessary
once the county implements a 911
emergency telephone system. But
he said that isn't expected for at
least one or two years.
Ordinance Needs Work
Commissioners agreed Tuesday
that a proposed ordinance regulat
ing the use of Jet Skis and similar
watcrcraft in the waters around
Holden Beach needs work before it
can be adopted.
The proposal presented this week
prohibited use of the devices in the
Finger canals and in the Atlantic
Ocean within 500 feet of the beach
and Holden Beach Fishing Pier. The
rules would have applied April 1
through Sept. 30 of each year be
tween the hours of 7 a.m. and 6
p.m.
An earlier proposal also applied
to the Atlantic Intracoastal Water
way. But Town Attorney Doug Led
gctt said Tuesday the town cannot
regulate activity in the waterway,
bccausc that is the jurisdiction of
the Army Corps of Engineers.
Commissioners have said regula
tions are needed to keep people
(See HOLDEN, Page 3-A)