Cause To Celebrate
jack wood, shown with his son.
Christopher, wdb itdif uf Liie i.wo
man Ashing team that won the U.S.
Open King Mackerel Tournament.
For the details, see Page 11-c.
THE
Cot The Spirit | f Animals N Art I
it s Spirit Week at west Brunswick High School | * Animals figure prominently In the work of
as Trojan supporters get psyched fur Friday s | / ?? ^ ^ BrunswiCK community Coiieges new Visiting ?
Homecoming game against rival west Colum- I / i L \r - Artist, partly because she likes them and also
bus. A round up of activities and pictures of I - because they help bring people and art together,
the Homecoming court are on Page 9-B. I Meet Emily welnsteln and her work on Page 6-A.
.i.'N'
'*? RINOI
N 0, t
I
TWenty-elghth Year, Number 47 01990the brunswckbeacon Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, October 11,1990 25c Per Copy 38 Pages, 3 Sections
MmmmmmmmaammmmmmmmmmmmMAiJiJMm f3??r- -
STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG tUTTIR
Slipping Away
The sun slips over the horizon at II olden II each Saturday as people surf fish and walk along the
sirand. Some of iht best suustis in tin South Brunswick Islands can be seen during the fall and
* inter, when the sun sets over the ocean.
Clerk Says Annual Banquet
Not Intended As Political
BY TKRRY POPK
An appreciation banquet tor
Brunswick County boards, commis
sions and commillce members will
become a biannual event, with the
first scheduled for Saturday night at
the county government complex in
Bolivia.
Clerk to the Board of Commis
sioners Rcgina Alexander planned
the dinner last month, she said, after
hearing of similar events held in
Orange and Forsyth counties. It is
being held in October, a month prior
to elections, bccause the biannual
employee appreciation dinner is usu
ally held this month.
"Wc don't do the employee ap
preciation dinner this year, so we de
cided to work this in during October
on an off year," Ms. Alexander said.
Of the more than 20 boards and
committees invited to the banquet,
only about five receive stipends or
travel expenses for their meetings,
she said.
"I think the volunteers who give
their time should get a pal on the
hack," she said. "It's something new
to Brunswick County, but oilier
counties arc doing this sort of tiling."
Interim County Manager David
Clegg said Tuesday thai although a
quorum of Ihc county commission
ers is expected to attend, it is not a
business meeting. The Brunswick
Beacon questioned if the meeting
*7 think the volunteers
wht> give their time
should get a pat on the
hack."
?Regina Alexander
Clerk, County Commission
was subjcct lo the N.C. Open Meet
ings Law anil why the press had not
been notified in advance. The Bea
con received a faxed notification of
die banquet Tuesday.
"It's an unique event in that a
quorum of the board will be pre
sent," CIcgg said, "but it's not a
meeting because no business will
take place."
Money to fund the banquet will
come from the contingency fund and
from vending machine collections at
the complex. Less than $1,000 will
be used to pay for the banquet,
CIcgg said.
Those funds are also used every
other year to pay for an employee
appreciation banquet at the complex,
Ms. Alexander said. She estimates
the banquet and invitations will cost
close to $500. County employees
will cook the food, which will con
sist of chicken or roast beef and
green beans.
Commission Chairman Gene
Finkerton also called the banquet a
social occasion ;in<i stated ihni no
business would be conducted by the
board.
"This event is an appreciation
type banquet for board members and
their wives," Pinkerton said. "If
someone has a problem with that,
then I suggest they contact our coun
ty attorney."
The N.C. Open Meetings Law
docs permit social gatherings for
public bodies without it being con
sidered an official meeting of the
board unless called or held to evade
the spirit of the Open Meetings Law.
About 150 people arc expccled to
attend. Invitations were printed and
mailed last month. Persons were
asked to telephone if they planned to
attend.
Two scats for die county commis
sion are up for election next month,
one held by Grace Beasley and one
being vacated by Benny Ludlum,
who chose not to run for re-election.
"I just think it's a positive thing,"
Ms. Alexander said. "I hadn't
thought about it as being a political
tfting. Of everybody who has called
here, only one person has raised that
issue."
Guest speaker will be W.K.
Hobbs of Wilmington, who will give
a 15-minute speech on the spirit of
volunteering at the 7 p.m. banquet,
she said. Entertainment will be pro
vided by MiSS Brunswick County
Wendy Williams.
Sunset Bridge Contract Award
k Hinges On Hearing Outcome
BY SUSAN USIIKR
Slate Transportation Sccrctary
Tommy Harrclson will award or not
award a contract for construction of
a new Sunset Bcach bridge, depend
ing on the outcome of a court hear
ing.
Meeting Friday in Cherokee, the
state transportation board delayed
award of the contract, DOT spokes
man Bill Jones said Tuesday. To
avoid further delays in the project
the board gave Harrelson the au
thority to award or rcject the bid,
depending on the outcome of the
hearing.
A group of property owners and
the Sunset Bcach Taxpayers Associ
ation filed suit last month in district
federal court seeking to block con
struction of the bridge. The pro
posed fixed span bridge would have
a 65-foot clearance and would re
place a one-lane swinging pontoon
bridge across the Atlantic Intra
coastal Waterway. Plaintiffs in the
suit assert the bridge will harm en
dangered species in the community
and disrupt the nature of the com
munity by increasing development
pressures, tourism and traffic.
If Brill rules in favor of the state,
work on the bridge could begin in
late October, with a target finish
date of June 1993.
Judge Earl Brill heard six hours
of testimony on Oct. 1 in Fayette
villc. The hearing was to continue
Wednesday, Oct 10, at 1 p.m. in
Raleigh, according to SBTA mem
ber Warren "Bud" Knapp. If neces
sary, the hearing will resume again
at 11 a.m. Thursday.
In announcing the suit Labor Day
weekend, S3TA attorney Jim Max
well of Durham said the succcss of
the suit depended on the hearing. If
construction of the bridge is al
lowed to begin, he said, even if the
plaintiffs were lo eventually win,
their causc would be lost.
Last month the state Board of
Transportation received bids for the
projcct ranging from a low of $8.4
million lo a high of SI2.2 million.
Overall cost of the bridge, including
engineering and right-of-way acqui
sition, is expccted to exceed $10 mil
lion, according lo DOT estimates.
Bid Opening Set
In other DOT action relating lo
Brunswick County, the slate Depart
ment of Transportation will open bids
Tuesday, Oct. 16, for construction of
a regional welcome center along the
U.S. 17 bypass of Shallotic.
The letting begins at 10 a.m. in
the Highway Building in Raleigh,
said Jones. Once tabulated and re
viewed, the bids will be presented
to the suite board at its November
meeting for action.
State Oyster Shucking Champ
Bound For U.S. Competition
BY SUSAN USHF.R
Karen McNcil, the 1989 N.C.
Oyster Shucking Champion, won't
be around to defend her title Oct. 20
at the N.C. Oyster Festival, leaving
the field wide open for the naming
of a new state champion.
Wielding a new knife, Ms. Mc
Ncil will be competing for a loftier
title at the National Oyster Shuck
ing Championship Contest, held in
conjunction with the St. Mary's
County Seafood Festival in Lcon
ardtown, Md.
The state and national shucking
contests arc held the same time eacli
year, the third weekend of October,
rain or shine.
Describing herself as both "hap
py and nervous," Ms McNcil said
she's looking forward to the nation
al competition. Her trip is sponsor
ed by the South Brunswick Islands
Chamber of Commerce, sponsor of
the N.C. Oyster Festival and state
shucking contest. A friend will ac
company Ms. McNcil to Leonard
town, while her mother keeps Ms.
McNeil's five-year-old son, Tristan.
A year ago Ms. McNcil won the
state championship by shucking 24
raw oysters in an adjusted time of
2:43.24. It was her third try for the
title. The previous year she finished
first runner-up to Cathy Carlisle of
Supply, three-time state champi
onship and former national grand
champion. Ms. Carlisle still holds
the state record time of 2:21.40.
Entrants shuck 24 raw oysters
against each other and the clock,
with judging based on speed and at
tractiveness of presentation. Penalty
seconds arc added for partial sever
ance, broken shells, grit, blood or
other foreign matter or a missing
oyster. Judges have the option of
deducting a 10-second bonus for an
exceptional tray.
Last week Ms. McNcil started
practicing for the nationals, opening
raw oysters from the Potomac Ri
ver. But she didn't check her time,
not yet, she said.
!n Maryland she will be compet
ing to qualify first for the women's
championship. The winner of thai
event advances to the national
championship showdown and the
chance to represent the United
States in international competition
in Galway, Ireland.
A 1981 graduate of West Bruns
wick High School, she's been
shucking oysters for Lloyd's Oyster
House at Shallotlc Point since Sep
tember of that year, alongside her
mother, Clara McNeil.
"She's very good ? when she
wants to be be," house owner Lloyd
Milliken said, as Ms. McNeil admit
ted to having "a lazy streak, some
times".
But she says she's a steady work
er. "I mostly stay at the table. I might
break now anil then," she said.
In her stead, she's been encourag
ing co-workers to enter the state
championship, including Shirley
Simmons, second runner-up last year
with an adjusted time of 2:59.99; and
(See OYSTER, Page 2-A)
KACON Hit mOTO
KAREN MCNEIL shucks against the clock to win the 1909 N.C.
Oyster Shucking Championship. The next champion will be de
cided Oct. 20, during the N.C. Oyster Festival.
Seafood Ordinance Would Make Vendors
Undergo Inspections
BY TERRY PORK
Seafood vendors in Brunswick Counly arc being
asked if they want an ordinance requiring lhat their
catch be inspected by the health department.
The Brunswick County Board of Health is consider
ing a seafood ordinance lhat would require fishermen
and seafood retailers, both roadside stands and estab
lished markets, to undergo inspections.
"Some of them will not want to be regulated, I'm
sure," said John Crowder, county environmental health
supervisor. "Some may feel that it's something that we
need to look at. That's what I'm hoping for anyway."
Crowder said the idea evolved from an increased
health risk to the consumer regarding safe seafood and
safe seafood handling practices. Forsyth, Cumberland
and New Hanover counties have seafood ordinances
lhat are enforced, he said, which can serve as a model
for one in Brunswick County.
Brunswick Counly Commissioner Frankie Rabun, a
member of the county health board, said he appreciates
what ihe health department is trying to do to protect
consumers. However, he is against imposing regu
lations on persons who sell seafood.
"I'm opposed to all of it," Rabon said. "We put so
many restrictions on people out there. We're going to
shut the little man down. All of them don't have the
oyster houses that the bigger guys have."
A letter and questionnaire will be mailed to county
seafood markets and distributed to roadside vendors.
The health board Monday gave its approval to distribute
the questionnaire, which is to be returned by Oct 31.
Rabon voted against the move.
"This is just our attempt to gel feedback," said
Health Director Michael Rhodes, "to see what type of
response we will get."
The quesuonnaire asks, "Do you think a unified
seaf(Kxl market regulation for all seafood retailers
would be beneficial?" and "Would you be willing to
give input ui be involved in a working committee to de
velop rules and regulations on a local basis?"
ll asks retailers if they operate from a permanent
building, roadside stand or truck and to list the type of
seafood they sell. Crowder has addresses for about 26
seafood vendors operating in the, county and will hand
deliver questionnaires to other roadside vendors.
Board of Health Chairman Ricky Parker said his
main concern regards seafood that is sold in Brunswick
County but isn't caught here.
"I'm concerned about the stuff that's being brought
in from out-of-state," Parker said.
Shellfish, such as oysters and clams, arc regulated
by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. Persons sell
ing oysters must own a commercial license and must
tag their oysters stating where the shellfish was harvest
ed. Roadside vendors must operate from a covered
stand or vehicle. Shellfish processing plants are also in
spected.
In other action Monday, the health board:
?Agreed to close kennel visiting hours at (he animal
control shelter to the public from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and
from 4 to 4:30 p.m. effective Dec. 1. Shelter attendants
need the time to clean kennels and to prepare animals
for viewing, Crowder said. Wet floors are a hazard to
the public, he added. The shelter will remain open dur
ing those hours to persons picking up animals impound
ed or bringing animals in.
?Mel in executive session for 30 minutes, at the re
quest of board member Bill Rabon, to discuss person
nel, but no action was taken.
?Agreed to send a letter to commissioners endorsing
their plan to add flouride to the county's drinking water
supply as a way of reducing dental cavities in children.
Last week, commissioners voted to begin seeking feder
al grants to help fund the flouridation program.
?Heard from Rhodes regarding plans to form a
Brunswick County Public Health Foundation with the
cooperation of the health department. The foundation
could possibly receive state grant money to help gel
started, it would operate under a board of trustees to de
cide which programs to fund at the health department.