THEB ni it mi ? fi4* HO AG ?< SONS BOOK 8IND?RY 2/3 i /93 PO 80 X 1.6:. v'F'Fx INGPuRT M } TVfenty-elghth Year, Number 26 mm eii ; 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)