New Signs Erected asr Schools Closer To Balance /* ^ Brown Wins The Amateur DOT officials hope evacuation signs will &?*IfflgSSHP Auditors have balanced the srunswlck County > >n Bi" Brown edged Paul Slmson by three expedite evacuation from the coast Schools' bank statements through March, says strokes to take The Amateur at Brick when the next hurricane approaches the school system s finance director, Rudl Landing through Sunday. See the story on The story Is on Page 12-A. Fallon. See the story on Page 11-A. ^*2;' Pagel3-B. THE BP lUW"" .rvAr ?-.( perty owners a 5 per cent reduction in insurance premi ums beginning next October and even greater discounts down the road, said an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FF.MA). The new community rating sys tem could lower fkxxi insurance premiums 5 percent in the first year and up to 45 percent in future years, said Brad Loar, community planner with the FEMA regional ollice in Atlanta. "It'll directly affect the flinxl in surance premiums," Loar said. "It can do nothing but lower them." Loar said the amount of the flood insurance discounts in each commu nity will be based on a rating sys tem similar to the one used to rate communities for fire protection. Communities will be rated in IX different areas and get "bonus points" for anything they do that goes beyond the federal govern ment's minimum flood protection rules. For instance, premiums could be lowered in communiiies thai require buildings to be elevated higher than the minimum level. Communities can also get points for preserving sand dunes, setting up a flood warn ing system and establishing a flood reference section in the local public library. In communities approved for the discount, property owners would start paying less when their individ ual policies come up for renewal af ter Oct. 1, 1991. The highest possi ble discount for the first year of the program is 5 percent. Alter the first year, communities can apply for greater discounts on insurance premiums. Loar said FE "It'll directly affect the flood insurance premiums. It can do nothing but lower them." ?Brad Loar, community planner Federal Hmergency Management Agency MA officials will visit communities ance program, as well as three other that apply for bigger reductions to municipalities situated along rivers, see whether they qualify. He said Residents of flood-pi one areas in the chance of a community being the unincorporated areas of the rated high enough for a 45 percent county are also eligible for federal discount in fiiKju insuiainc piciVii- flood iusuiaflCC. ums is "very slim." More than 6,000 Brunswick Each of Brunswick County's sev- County property owners have Hood en towns with beachfront property insurance. More than half of the takes part in ihe federal Hood insur- policies are for property at Long Shallotte Man Killed In Wreck The N.C. Highway Patrol was continuing its inves tigation Tuesday ol a one-vehicle accident early .Sunday morning that resulted in the death of a Shallotte man. Ricky Alvin Wilson, 25, of Route 4, Shallotte, was killed insiandy in the accident that occurred Sunday at 1:20 a.m. in the Hickman's Crossroads area, said Tro oper W.H. Thompson of the Highway Patrol. The accident happened on the Ash-Little River Road near its intersection with No. 5 School Road about 12.8 miles south of Shallotte, Thompson said. The vehicle in which Wilson was riding was travel ing west on Ash-Little River Road at a high rale of speed when the driver lost control and the vehicle ran into a ditch on the right side of the road and overturned, Thompson. The tnxiper said the vehicle was traveling in excess of 80 mph when it ran oi l the road. As of Tuesday, Wil son was listed as the driver of the vehicle. Three oiher people in the vchiclc at the linic of the wreck were injured. Thompson said Jeffrey Cirecn, 25, of Shallotte, and Michael Gore, 19, of Shallolte, both suffered multiple lacerations and broken bones, and Ricky Green, 21, of Bolton, had bruised ribs. Thompson said there was evidence that all four peo ple in the vehicle had been drinking alcohol. He said an investigation was continuing and no charges would be filed until the investigation is complete. Bcach, Holdcn Beach and Ocean Isle Bcach. Loar said communities have until l>ec. 15 to apply for the program and be included in the first year. Property owners in each community should know by next March or April whether their flood insurance premiums w ill be lower. Holden Bcach Building Inspector Dwight Carroll said he has applied for the program. If the town re ceives the 5 percent discount in the first year, he said, property owners will cumulatively save more than S20,(XX) in insurance premiums. There are 1,145 federal flood in surance policies on Holden Beach, Carroll said, and the property own ers pay S404.110 per year in premi ums. With a 5 percent discount, he said, policyholders would save S20.206, or an average of $17.65 per policy. Carroll said the idea behind the new program is to reward commu nities that do as much as they can to lower the risk of Hood damage. "If communities do more work, ihey should have less loss," he said. There are about 1,5(X) federal flood insurance policies at Ocean Isle Beach. Building Inspector Druied Roberson said he's heard of the new program but has not ap plied. In the past, Roberson said, the town has required homeowners to meet minimum federal Hood rules, hut has not done much beyond the minimum requirements. Roberson said he's not sure the town would qualify for premium discounts. "The discussions 1 at tended were so broad-based 1 couldn't really say one way or the other," he said. Even if the town can't get dis counts, homeowners can ensure lower premiums by elevating their homes above the minimum level, Roberson said. Loar refused to speculate on whether any of the local communi ties may be eligible for premium discounts. But he said some com munities are enforcing rules that are stricter than the federal rules. FEMA had received about 10 in quiries concerning the program as of last weeK, but no applications, Loar said. Representatives from about 100 communities in North Carolina attended recent work shops, he said. The new program has been dis cu.-seu for abuui 10 years and was initialed by a group of flood plain coordinators in several midwestern suites, Loar said. Officials in those states pushed for the premium dis counts because their state flood pro tection laws were stricter than the federal rules, but property owners weren't getting discounts, he said. Retriever "Jeremiah" races after a stick thrown into the Intracoastal Waterway by his owner, Jim Henley, who recently moved to the IIolden Beach area from Susanville, Calif. "'He loves the water," Henley said. "I have to come out here and do this ">'ery day. When I Kome out the door, he's stand ing there with that slick in his mouth, ready to go." STAFF photo BY BOS HOftNE