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.
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Twenty-eighth Year, Number 34 *?twebrunswc*beacon Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, July 12, 1990 25C Per Copy 30 Pages, 2 Sections
Developers: New Fees Would Restrict Growth Of Shallotte
BY DOl'i; RUTTKR
Local developers said Monday
that proposed increases in impact
fees and new acreage fees in Shal
lotte would restrict future growth of
the town.
Shallottc officials arc considering
increasing capital reserve fees,
which arc paid when tapping on to
the town sewer system, and charg
ing new acreage fees that would be
paid prior to issuance of a building
permit or the provision of town ser
vices such as water and sewer.
Several area land developers, in
cluding l arrv Shrevc w ho is devel
oping Brierwood Estates in
Shallotte. said at a public hearing
Monday night thai the proposed
fees would discourage growth.
Shallotte Aldermen have pro
posed increasing minimum capital
reserve fees from S5CX) to S600 for
residences and from SMX) to SI,125
for businesses. The acrcage fees
have been proposed at SI,(XX) per
acre for land zoned conservation or
residential, S2,(XX) per acre for com
mercial land and S2,5(X) for land
zoned industrial. All fees would be
doubled for property outside the
town limits.
Shreve objected to the town n.ak
ing developers pay for what he
called the "past, present and future"
of the sewer system.
The full cost of future sewer ex
pansion should nol be placed on
people involved in today's develop
ment, he said, because everyone
benefits when the town grows.
Shrcve said growth helps businesses
and increases land values.
"If the city wants to grow, the
city ought to be willing to invest in
their own future," he said. "What I
think you have is a no-growth pro
gram."
A couple of months ago, Shrevc
requested water scrvicc outside the
town limits to serve a 38-acrc tract
toward Shallottc Point he plans to
develop lor residential purposes.
Under the proposed fee structure,
Shrevc would have to pay the town
more than SI 60,000 in acrcagc fees
and capital reserve fees, plus the
cost of water line construction.
Shreve said developers cannot af
ford to pay that much money up
front and hope to make it back
when they start to sell land.
However, town officials said
Monday they don't plan to charge
capital reserve fees when people get
(See DEVELOPERS, Page 2-A)
Minor Is Able To Buy Alcohol
At Only 2 Of 18 County Stores
BY BOB UORNK
WILMINGTON ?A one-day investigation of busi
nesses in Brunswick County last month resulted with
two of 18 businesses checked selling alcohol to an un
der-age person, suite Alcohol law Enforcement Superv i
sor Tom Parker said in a press confcrcncc here Monday.
The 11 percent rate "is one of die lowest we've ever
had in the five or :;is years since the inception of this
kind of operation," Parker said. "The businesses in
Brunswick County are to be commended for their vigi
lance in not selling to minors."
By comparison, Parker said die last time such an in
vestigation was conducted in New Hanover County, the
minor was able to purchase alcohol at approximately 30
percent of die businesses.
A 16-year-old blonde female went to IK Brunswick
County grocery stores and convenience stores on June
27 and tried to purchase beer, Parker said.
Of those, she succeeded in making a purchase at on
iy two. Randy's Cooler in Boiling Spring Lakes and
Quick And Easy No. 5 at Supply, Parker said.
At both places, die clerk requested identification,
die girl produced a valid driver's license and the clerk
sold her the alcoholic beverage alter examining the
driver's license, Parker said. The agent surmised Unit
llie clerks didn't rudly check the birthdate, "which isn't
all that unusual."
Parker said the two clerks, Carla Randolph at
Randy's Cooler and Cathy Tolley at Quick and Easy,
have been charged with selling alcoholic beverages to a
minor and will be tried in Brunswick County District
Court. The offense is a misdemeanor, he said, punish
able by up to two years in jail and/or a S2,(MX) fine.
The store owners will be reported to the state ABC
Commission, Parker said. State ABC Commission ac
lion can range from nothing to jvmumeni revocation of
license he said. However, he added, "The usual penally
the commission hands down on the sale to a minor is a
four-day active suspension of (alcohol) license and a
S400 fine."
Hie girl's ID also was checked at the oilier 16 loca
tions and all refused to sell her alcoholic beverages.
Parker said Those were: Mill's. Lcland; Wilson's
Supermarket, Lcland; Belvillc Mini Mart. Lcland:
McGccs Mini Mart, Lcland; D and J Mini Mart,
Lcland; Young's Gas and Grocery, Winnabow; Kopp
Kwik Slop, Bolivia; Southbound Service Station,
Bolivia; Kirby's Food Center, Supply; Molden Beach
Seafood; Sky Mart, Molden Beach; Beach Mart, Molden
Beach; Jeff's Grocery, Molden Beach; Molden Beach
General Store; Campground By The Sea, Holden
Beach; Midway Trading Post, Bolivia.
Parker said such investigations consist of a combi
nation of going to businesses where the ALE officc has
had a complaint that the store is suspected of selling to
minors and a random sampling.
The purchases are taped on video and audio, from
"a specially equipped vchiclc" Parker said. And when
clcrks arc brought into the ALE office and charged,
they arc first shown the tape, he said.
Parker said none of ihc clcrks in the 16 stores thai
refused to sell to the girl attempted to prosecute her. It
is illegal for minors to purchase alcoholic beverages, he
said. For minors 18 and under, it is a misdemeanor with
a maximum punishment of a S2,(XX) fine and or two
years in jail. For 19- and 20-year-olds, he said, il is an
infraction, punishable by a S25 fine. Me said no store
has ever tried to prosecute one of his agents.
"Wiih just an 11 percent sales rale, we probably
will direct our efforts in Brunswick County in other ar
eas over the next year," Parker said.
STAFF PHOTO BY BOB MOtNE
Just A Bit Skeptical
Tate Patterson, 14 months old. Has just a little skeptical when this huge dog stopped to shake his
hand during the 1990 Fourth of July Festival parade in Southport last Wednesday. The dog is one
of the Sudan Animated Animals who participated in the parade. A story ana more photos are on
I'age n-n.
Coastal Property Owners
May See Dip In Flood Insurance Premiums
BY DOUG RUTTER
Coastal propcny owners could be
paying less for flood insurance
slarung next fall, thanks to a new
program in which insurance premi
ums are discounted in communities
that go beyond minimum federal
flood protection requirements.
A new deal offered through the
National Flood Insurance Program
could give pa>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