"is & Hcisi TSmBS Locals win King CSasslc ?nr^'SL ;? way to celebrate
Holiday ornaments like these cork L. A local fishing team captained by Chip Maree of Saturday was Founder's Day at varnamtown. The
reindeer are Just a sampling of the ? ,?> ^ windy Point won the 1990 South Brunswick waterfront community marked the second
goodies by Calabash Elks and auxlliarists p islands King Classic fishing tourney over the anniversary of Its Incorporation with a parade,
for their first His & Hers Fall Festival Sept. ? W weekend with a 35-pound king mackerel. For plenty of music and friendly, but serious tugs-o'
29. Check out the details on Page 4-B. a the details, see Page 11-B. war. stories and photos are on Pages 6-A and 7-A.
THE BR
P IA 14*1 ?!?/*?#
Twenty-eighth Year, Number 42 ciwotwe Brunswickbeacon Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, September 6,1990 25c Per Copy 34 Pages, 3 Sections, 1 Insert
SUPERINTENDENT DECISION POSTPONED
School Board Will Interview Final Four Again Monday
BY SUSAN USIIKR
Though a majority of Brunswick County Board of
Education members first said they were prepared
Tuesday night to name a new superintendent of schools,
ihey changed their minds after meeting behind closed
doors for four hours.
After approving a routine personnel list, the board
voted unanimously to recess until 5:30 p.m. Monday,
Sept. 10. at which time the four finalists for the post
will be interviewed a second time. The meeting will be
held at the school board ofTicc at Soulhport.
"They had some questions about background,"
school board attorney Glen Peterson said after the meet
ing. "They wanted to get a better feel for the type of
person they would be hiring. They decided it would be
a good and prudent measure to take."
At the start of Tuesday's six-hour meeting at
Shallottc Middle School, member Doug Baxley intro
duced a series of motions aimed at postponing selection
of the next superintendent. "I don't feel like the board
had come together as to what it is looking in a superin
tendent before interviewing," he said, prompting
Chairman Dorothy Worth to question why that concern
hadn't been raised earlier in the selection process.
In an exchange typical of the first 20 minutes of the
meeting, Baxley replied, "Because our words would
have fallen on deaf ears. Madam Chairman. Member
Donna Baxter interjected, "As ours would have four or
five months ago."
All three motions failed on the same 2-3 split, with
members Baxley and James Clemmons voting together
in the minority and Chairman Dorothy Worth and mem
bers Robert Slockctt and Donna Baxter voting together.
Baxley moved first to delay selection of a superinten
dent until January, following the seating of one and pos
sibly two new board members in December; then to
limit any contract offered to two years; and Finally, to
continue the selection process at a special meeting
called for that purpose only.
(See SUPERINTENDENT, Page 2-A)
Sunset Taxpayers Will Ask
Trv\A/n T/\ 'I 1 __ A/
IVYYI I IV IUIXU LUI I / \
BY SUSAN USHKR
Sunset Beach Taxpayers Associa
tion members celebrated the end of
a five-year legal fight Saturday by
renewing an earlier request to the
town of Sunset Beach to take over
the "Lot 1-A" extension of Sunset
Boulevard to the ocean.
With a chorus of " Yeahs," the ap
proximately 80 members present
voted unanimously for the resolu
tion introduced by immediate past
president Albert Wells. The motion
asks the town to accept the so
called "Lot 1-A" as a dedicated
public right-of-way and "to main
tain it for the benefit of the public."
Although first platted as an ex
tension of Sunset Boulevard, the
l(X)-foot-widc occanfront tract has
never been acceplcd as a street by
either the town or the state. SBTPA
hopes that will change soon.
"I recommend we put the desig
nation "Lot 1-A' to rest, becausc it
never existed as a legal entity," at
torney James B. Maxwell of Dur
ham suggested as he announced to a
cheering audience the N.C. Su
preme Court's refusal last week to
review a June decision by the N.C.
Appeals Court regarding the lot.
"That is your right-of-way access to
the ocean in perpetuity as far as we
can determine. This means there
will never be a commercial building
built on Lot 1-A."
In a suit that cost SBTPA mem
bers S9,(XX), the appellate court had
unanimously upheld a 1988 trial
Defendant feeis He Was
'Vindicated' By Action
BY SUSAN USHKR
Frank Ncsmilh was a contcntcd
man Saturday.
With his wife, Amanda, the Sun
set Beach resident lifted a rotting
fence post, broke off a rusted strand
of barbed wire and walked to the
strand?across a stretch of sand and
sandspurs known as "Lot 1-A."
"A dozen years ago 1 was con
victed of trespass," he said. 'Thanks
to the good work of the Sunset
Beach Taxpayers Association and
Jim Maxwell, I have now been vin
dicated."
Ncsmith saved hits of the barbed
wire as keepsakes for himself and
co-defendants in a suit that was set
tled last week after five years in the
courts.
Last Wednesday, the N.C. Su
preme Court denied a request to re
view a unanimous decision by the
N.C. Court of Appeals that upheld a
1988 trial court ruling that the lot is
a public right-of-way. Justice Willis
P. Whichard signed die order.
In 1985, Ncsmilh and fellow de
fendants filed suit in Brunswick
County Superior Court to have "Lot
1-A" declared an extension of
C ? ? /? ? T> p/I /t m -4 mm
k/UlhlVt UUUiV'UlU UliU V/pVIIV\J U.1 U
public right-of-way. Other defen
dants included the Sunset Beach
Taxpayers Association (SBTPA),
Albert N. Wells, Charles L. Smith
and Whale y P. Hunt. They were
represented by James B. Maxwell
of Durham, a member of the SBT
PA.
Nesmith had traditionally used
the strip, which is just east of the
Sunset Beach Fishing Pier, to walk
and to drive to the beach strand.
In the summer of 1978, about a
year after "Lot 1-A" had been
fenced and blocked off to the pub
lic, Nesmith parked his car and then
sat on its hood, openly defying the
lot's purported owner, Ed Gore.
Nesmith, who considered the
tract public property, was protesting
Gore's efforts to prevent use of the
land for public access to the beach.
Before the incident was over, the
UrCS of hiS Car iiuu lx.cn mu.n'iicu diiu
Nesmith struck. Later, Nesmith was
convicted of trespass and Gore was
convicted of assault.
Now, while he would like to see
the town provide public parking on
at least part of the property,
Nesmith said he is satisfied just for
he and others to be able to walk
ii 10 the beach.
court ruling lhat the 100-foot-wide
occanfront tract at Sunset Beach is a
public right-of-way for beach ac
cess. ll cited the rights of property
owners who had purchased their
land by reference to plats that show
ed the lot as a public acccssway and
had later used the lot for that pur
pose.
The N.C. Supreme Court is not
obligated to review unanimous de
cisions of the appeals court deci
sions; such reviews arc made at its
discretion.
The review had been requested
by the purported owner of the prop
erty, Sunset Beach & Twin Lakes, a
business owned by Ed Gore and his
family. Defense attorney John W.
Narron of Raleigh had said he ex
pcctcd the review lo be granted and
the decision overturned. He had ar
gued that the purpose for which the
street was originally offered?ve
hicular access to the beach?no
longer existed.
Gore could not be reached for
comment on the court's action earli
er this week at his home, office or
by telephone pager. Earlier he had
told the Beacon his plans were to
build a resort hotel on or adjacent to
the lot.
Should he lose the suit Gore had
added, he would fight any attempt
to turn the area into a public parking
lot rather than a street.
The decision by the N.C. Su
preme Court ends legal action that
began five years ago and a public
debate lhat began still earlier.
The SBTPA and co-dcfcndants
Albert N. Wells, Charles S. Smith,
Whalcy P. Hunt and Frank M.
Nesmith filed suit in 1985 seeking
to have "Lot 1-A" declared an ex
tension of Sunset Boulevard and de
clared open to the public "for in
gress and egress to the AUantic
Ocean, for parking, walking and
other public uses*
Lots had been sold based on early
plats, filed in 1955 and 1958, which
showed Sunset Boulevard extending
to the Atlantic Ocean. A new plat
recorded in March 1963 designated
the area as "Lot 1 - A." However, no
formal withdrawal of dedication
was filed and public use of the
(See SUNSET, Page 2-A)
?%? ?w? Si >'> a.'"7
STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHH
FRANK M. NESMITH, one of the defendants, celebrates the end of a five-year legal fight over the
future of "lj)t I-A" Saturday with a walk to the ocean, after first removing a section offencing and
barbed wire blocking access to the strip, land he was convicted of trespassing on 12 years ago.
CP&L Fined $62,500 By State
Carolina Power & Light will pay
without protest a 562,500 fine pro
posed by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) for alleged vio
lation of NRC requirements at the
Brunswick plant near Southport.
The penalty is the first fine pro
posed against the utility relating to
the Brunswick plant since January.
That was when CP&L paid a
S75.000 fine after the NRC found
the utility was slow to recognize
and respond io equipment problems
at the plant.
The NRC proposed the latest civ
il fine because of a July 5 event at
the plant during which two workers
received unplanned radiation expo
sures while performing some equip
ment modifications. The work was
related to installation of new core
reactivity detectors and cables in
Unit 1 of the two-unit facility.
Tiic event posed die potential for
overexposure of personnel, accord
ing to Ken Clark, NRC spokesman,
"as a result of failure to establish
work procedures with necessary in
structions and controls..." The NRC
also said a technician assigned to
the task was not provided adequate
training.
(See CP&L, Page 2-A)
Visitors Pack Brunswick Beaches For Summer's
Last Fling
BY DOUG RUTTER
The South Brunswick Islands overflowed with thou
sands of properly owners and tourists over the holiday
weekend who traveled to the coast for summer's last
fling.
The Labor Day weekend?the traditional end of the
summer season?was one of the best ever in terms of
business and ended what tourism officials called an ex
cellent season.
High gas prices brought on by last month's invasion
of Kuwait apparently didn't keep people from driving
to the beaches, where they were greeted with beautiful
beach weather.
"A lot of people are talking about the gas prices, but
they're not doing anything different so far," said Su
sannc Sartelle, executive vice president of the South
Brunswick Islands Chamber of Commerce. "They're
still traveling, they're just paying a little more for it."
lhe Labor Day weekend brought an end to what she
and others said was a belter tourist season than last
year. "The end of summer's kind of sad for us. It's been
dynamite," Mrs. Sartelle said Tuesday. "I don't think
you'll find anyone who will complain about this tourist
season."
Local real estate agencies that usually report full oc
cupancy for six or seven weeks during the summer
were booked solid for nine or 10 weeks this year, Mrs.
Sartelle said.
'7 don't think you 11 find
anyone who will complain
about this tourist season"
?Susanne Sartelle, executive vice president
South Brunswick Islands
Chamber of Commerce
Chauncey Cooke of Cooke Realtors at Ocean Isle
Beach said this year's Labor Day weekend was much
better than last year, and so was the rest of the summer
season.
"Everything we had was rented," Cooke said. "It's
been just like this for the whole summer, beuer than we
could have asked for."
Craig Realty at Holden Beach also rented every
thing it had to offer over the holiday weekend, accord
ing to Johnny Craig. He said severed other real estate
offices called him looking for vacancies.
"It was fantastic for a labor Day," Craig said. "We
haven't done thai in past years." He said a good weather
forecast and sunny skies probably helped, because it
had rained on Labor Day weekend each of the previous
two years.
The talk of real estate agents about improved sum
mer rentals can be backed up with numbers. Income
generated by occupancy tax, which tourists pay when
ever they rent beach houses in the South Brunswick
Islands, went up this summer at all three towns.
The towns won't receive occupancy tax revenue for
August rentals until mid-September, but figures from
July and June show increases over last year.
Occupancy tax revenues for June and July at Hol
den Beach were $100,507, up almost 10 percent over
the occupancy tax revenues collected last June and July,
according to town tax collector Sylvia Bissell.
Ocean Isle Beach hasn't experienced as much of an
increase as Holden Beach. Interim Town Clerk Doris
Stanley said the town collected $152,487 in room lax
revenue in June and July, and $147,907 during the same
two months last year.
Sunset Beach Town Administrator Linda Fluegel
said room tax revenues were $34,371 this July, com
pared to $30,183 tor July 1989. Thai's an increase ol al
most 14 percent.
With more people renting at the beaches, retailers
have benefited, Mrs. Sartelle said. Visitors have
prompted commercial growth in Shalloiie, she said,
pointing out recent expansion of Hill's grocery store
and Jones variety store and new businesses opening
elsewhere. "I think everybody has gotten a liltle piece
of the pic this summer."
Lyn Holden, owner of Beach Mart at Holdcn Beach,
said the Labor Day weekend was one of the best ever,
and the summer season was better than last year.
"We had perfect weather, and Labor Day is usually
stormy," Hoiden said. "1 think that heiped us out a lot."
On the heels of the strong holiday weekend, locaJ
tourism officials are expecting a good fall season. Fish
ermen, golfers and people interested in the area's fall
festivals are expected to keep pumping dollars into the
local economy.
Hurricane Hugo cut the fall season somewhat short
last year, but Craig and others said they expect a better
fall this year if there aren't any more storms.
"After last year, maybe we're due a good one,"
Craig said. "Hopefully, we'll have a good one all the
way through Thanksgiving."
Cooke said he expects people to keep visiting the
South Brunswick Islands for another two months. Fall
fishing and two festivals at the end of October will at
tract crowds to the area until the weather gets too cold,
he said.
Looking forward to next year's summer tourist sea
son, Mrs. Sartcllc said the chamber is working with the
N.C. Department of Transportation to get the U.S. 17
Shallotte bypass opened ahead of schedule.
The bypass is scheduled to be completed by August
1991, but Mrs. Sartcllc said it may be finished to the
point where it can handle traffic by next May.