FriJTSih-' fV* Cirhormon
? ciiiiny ui i ijitviMiuii
Ruby McDowell and her family
collected 11 awards Saturday In the
Brunswick County Fishing Club's
fishing contest. Story on Page 10-C.
TOO rhr>'rQ ll I ^ C*v*lir P\/ The Coal
' V/V? ? vs ? v* w ? j . 1 > vy? ? v t?r y ?iiv JvC? ?
Assistant D.A. Napoleon Barefoot Jr. is the bars I Play a little or a lot?the choice Is
top choice for the 13th District Judgeship now I yours. A supplement with details
held by Superior Judge-elect William c. Core Jr. I on all festival events Is Included
See Page 13-A for the story. I ft VMM? 8(j/i\ Inside this Issue.
the BRUNr * Beacon
[ Twenty-eighth Year, Number 49 ?eeothebrunswckbeacon Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, October 25,1990 25C Per Copy 60 Pages, 4 Sections, 1 Insert
STAFF PHOTO BY EDDIE S WE ATT
CAT11Y CARLISLE broke the stale record she set in 19HH Saturday, winning the 1990 North Caro
lina Oyster Shucking Championship with a time of 2:07. Above, she accepts a check for $100 and a
plaque Saturday from Dean Wallers, contest chairman.
RECORD BROKEN
Cathy Carlisle Reclaims State
Oyster Shucking Championship
BY SUSAN USHKR
It's been two years sincc Cathy Carlisle's earned
her living "picking" oysters, but that wasn't evident
Saturday when the former national grand champion
shucked her way to a new stale record.
Shucking against the clock and eight competitors,
Ms Carlisle shattered the N.C. Oyster Shucking
Championship record of 2:21.40 she had set in 1988,
the year she claimed her third consecutive state cham
pionship.
"I'm shockcd," she said afterward while accepting
congratulations from well-wishers. "1 had no idea I
could do it this year. I thought maybe next year..."
One onlooker, Boyd Rack of Stanley County,
touched her arm. "I wanted to shake your hand," he
said. "You must be good."
She was. The 27-year-old Shallotte Point resident
opened 24 raw oysters in 2 minutes, 11 seconds, a
lime that improved to 2:07 with bonus deductions
awarded by judges for an outstanding tray. The feat
earned her SI00 and the opportunity to represent
North Carolina at the National Oyster Shucking
Championship Contest in St. Mary's County, Md.,
next Oct. 19 and 20. She's looking forward 10 the trip.
"Of course," she said when asked. "That's my mini
vacation."
For the second straight year Shirley Simmons fin
ished as first runner-up, earning S75 with an adjusted
time of 2:58. Dorothy Hill placed third with an adjust
ed time of 3:23, for $50.
The 1989 champion, Karen McNeil of Shalloite,
did not defend her title Saturday. Instead she repre
sented North Carolina in national competition. (See
related story in this issue.)
All hut two of the contestants were from Bruns
wick County. Competing from outside the area, both
in the first heat, were Bob Thompson of Denton, who
has competed several times in previous years, and Ted
Hammerman of Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Judging was based on appcarance of the final
trays as well as on speed. Seconds were added to the
contestants' times for oysters that were cut, improper
ly placed on the shell, presented with grit or blood,
not severed completely from the shell, presented on a
broken shell or missing. In turn judges could deduct
(See CATHY, Page 2-A)
More Oyster Festival Coverage, 8A, 9A, 13-B
McNeil Finishes Second
In Women's Competition
liY SUSAN USI1KR
A Shallotlc woman finished sec
ond in the national women's oyster
shucking contcst Saturday at the St.
Mary's County Oyster Festival in
iXOruifuiOwTi, Md.
Karen McNeil opened 24 raw
oysters in an adjusted time of 3
minutes, 28 seconds, or just nine
seconds behind the lop woman
shucker, Clementine Macon of
Urbanna, Va.
On Sunday Ms. Macon lost a
showdown for the national shucking
championship to defending champi
on Duke Landry of Baton Rouge,
La. Landry posted an adjusted lime
of 2:59.52 to Ms. Macon's 3:31.80
to earn the right to represent the
United States in international com
petition in Galway, Ireland, next
September.
A pleased Ms. McNeil returned
to Brunswick County Monday night
witli a plaque and $2(X), which she
will use "to pay a bill," she said.
Shi- said the national competition
was similar to the North Carolina
state contcst, held annually in con
junction with the N.C. Oyster
Festival at Seaside, in all but one re
spect: "The judging was tougher up
there. They had some good compe
tition."
Her adjusted time reflected 74
seconds in added penalties. But at
qualifying earlier Saturday, Ms.
McNeil said she posted an adjusted
time of 4 minutes. "I got 94 penal
ties added on to my time," she said.
4tl tKinl' 1 ?!????? prtinf #r> nuoli
a wtun L mum ? nu.? ivy Vjuuu
fy for anything."
The 1989 North Carolina oyster
shucking champion was competing
for the first umc at the national lev
el, having forfeited defense of her
slate title Saturday for the opportu
nity. She had acquired a new knife
for the event, but chose instead to
use her old one when there wasn't
time to have the handle honed down
to size, the Lloyd's Oyster Co. em
ployee said.
Even after a shaky start, she said
competing in Maryland was excit
ing. Saturday morning she had car
trouble?a broken hose?and ar
rived at the festival site with only a
few minutes to spare.
"I thought 1 was going to miss
it," Ms. McNeill said Tuesday. "I
got there just in time to pick up my
oysters. I got to practice for about
five minutes."
Ms. Macon also defeated the de
fending women's champion, her sis
ter, Deborah Pratt of IJrbanna, to
claim the national women's tide.
Ms. Pratt finished in fourth place
among five women competitors.
Nearly 28,000 County Voters
Could Cast Ballots On Nov. 8
Close to 28,(XK) people will be el
igible lo vote in the Nov. 6 general
election in Brunswick County, a
thousand more than could vote in
the May primary.
By die lime the Ixioks closcd on
Oct. X, according to the Brunswiek
County Board of Elections, 27,743
voters were registered. That is 1,052
or 4 percent ? more than were
registered prior to the May primary.
Lynda Britt, elections supervisor,
said the increase is normal, reflect
ing a mixture of newcomers to the
county, 18-year-olds registering for
the first time and local residents
who have not registered in a long
lime.
The books now show 16,820
Democrats, an increase of 548 or
3.4 percent; <',802 Republicans, an
increase of 450 or 4.8 percent; and
FBI Arrests
BY l)()li(; RUTTER
A North Myrtle Beach, S.C., man
remained in the custody of the U.S.
Marshal's Service Tuesday follow
ing his arrest last week in connec
tion with a recent bank robbery in
Calabash and another armed rob
bery in South Carolina.
The FBI last week arrested Char
les Elwood Pennington, 47, and
charged him with the Sept. 28 arm
ed robbery of the Calabash NCNB
branch office and the Sept. 12 arm
ed robbery of the National Bank of
South Carolina in Surfsidc Beach.
Paul V. Daly, special agent in
charge of the FBI for North Caro
lina, said federal agents from both
Carolinas and officers with the
Bmnswick County Sheriff's Depart
ment and North Myrtle Beach Po
lice Department were involved in
die Oct. 16 arrest.
Paul Cox, an agent in the FBI's
Wilmington office, said the suspect
was arrested while driving on U.S.
17. He said the arrest came as a re
sult of a surveillance operation.
Daly said that prior to the arrest,
FBI agents had recovered money
stolen during both bank robberies.
Agents also recovered a significant
amount of the money stolen from
the NCNB branch at the time of the
arrest.
Cox said FBI policy prevents
agents from disclosing the amount
of money that is stolen during a
bank robbery or recovered later. "A
good amount of the money was re
covered," he said of the Calabash
robbery. "They didn't get much to
1,121 unaffiliated voters, up by 84. seats.
The totals reflect 22,278 white Local voters will also cast ballots
voters, up 871 or 3.9 perccnt; and for a state senator, chief justice and
4,541 black voters, up 4.8 percent. associate justice of the N.C. Su
Largest of the county's 22 pre- prcme Court, seven judges for the
cincts are Shingletrec, in the Cala- N.C. Court of Appeals, 27 Superior
bash area, with 2,565 voters, and Court judges (including William C.
Oak Island No. 2 with 1,890 voters. Gore Jr., unopposed in the 13lh dis
Thc smallest precinct is Long wood, trict), a U.S. congressman and a
with 396 voters. U.S. senator.
On Nov. 6 Brunswick County Incumbents David Wall and Da
votcrs will clcct a sheriff, clerk of vid Redwinc are unopposed for 13th
court, two county commissioners, district judge and the State House of
two county board of education Representatives respectively,
members and, in a non-partisan Also on the ballot is a state pro
race, two soil and water conscrva- posal to issue S200 million in bonds
tion district supervisors. to build new prison and youth ser
County commissioners and scho- vices facilities.
ol board members run from individ- Profiles of candidates for local,
ual districts but arc elected by vol- regional and state officcs will be in
ers countywidc. Up for election this eluded in the Nov. 1 edition of The
year arc the District 5 and District 2 Brunswick Beacon.
Suspected Bank Robber
begin with."
Authorities also located the vehi
cles used to flee the banks after the
robberies and the weapon believed
to have been used in both robberies.
Cox said the weapon was a ,38-cal
iber Colt police positive spccial.
The Calabash NCNB branch was
robbed about four weeks ago when a
man armed with a handgun walked
into the bank, demanded money and
lied with an undisclosed amount of
cash. Authorities said there were no
customers inside the bank at the
time of the robbery, and nobody was
injured.
It was the first bank robbery this
year in Brunswick County, but the
fifth robbery of a financial institution
in Calabash in the last 15 months.
Calabash receives its only law
enforcement from the Brunswick
County Sheriff's Department, and
town officials have no immediate
plans to add police protection.
Cox said the suspcct was held in
Myrtle Beach, S.C., Jail the night of
his arrest. Pennington was taken to
Florence, S.C., the following day
where he was placed in the custody
of the Marshal's Service.
FBI agents don't think the sus
pcct had an accomplice. "Right now
it looks like he acted on his own,"
Cox said. "There is no information
to lead us to believe there was a co
conspirator."
If he is convicted of each of the
armed robberies, Pennington would
face a maximum sentence of 25
years in prison and a 510,000 fine
for each offense.
Set Clocks Back An Hour Saturday
Saturday's the night to "fall back" to standard time for the next six
months. That means local residents should set their clocks back an hour,
at least if they intend to make it to church on time Sunday.
Daylight Saving Time is achieved by advancing the clock one hour
the first Sunday in April, "adding" an hour of sunlight at the end of the
day.
Daylight Savings Time has had a checkered history since 1784,
when Benjamin Franklin, then minister to France, calculatcd that an ex
tra hour of sunlight could save Parisian shopkeepers one million francs
on the 96 million candles they wouldn't have to bum each year.
In the U.S. it was first introduced in 1918 as a means of saving fuel
in World War I, reinstated year-round during World War II, then became
a local option until 1967, when the Uniform Time Act took effect. The
act established a daylight season from late April to late October.
Since the last amendment to the act took effect in 1987, DST has be
gun at 2 a.m. the first Sunday in April and continued until 2 a.m. the last
Sunday of Octobcr.
STAFF PHOTO SY SUSAN USHEIt
TWO PEOPLE were injured in this S a.m. accident Tuesday near West Brunswick High School on N.C. 130 West.
Winnabow Woman Charged In Accident
A Winnabow resident was charged wilh fail
ing to yield the right of way and to carry insur
ance following a Tuesday morning collision at
the intersection of N.C. 130 and Bridgers Road
in Shallotte in rush-hour traffic.
Shallotte Police Chief Rodney Gause charged
Elizabeth Wright Saunders, 47, of Route I,
Winnalxnv, in the 8 a.m. accident lhat involved
three vehicles.
Ms. Saunders was traveling east on N.C. 130
toward Shallotte in a 1981 Pontiac when she
made a left turn onto Bridgers Road in Ironl of a
west-bound truck driven by Jim Furr of Shalloue.
A teacher with the Brunswick County Schools,
Furr was on his way to West Brunswick High
School, said Gause.
The police chief said the Saunders car sus
tained extensive damage to the nght front quarter
panel and was a loud loss. He estimated that the
Furr truck, which also sustained heavy front-end
damage, was "probably totaled" also.
Upon impact, the left rear of Furr's truck
swung around, said Gause, and was struck by an
caslbound 1987 Nissan operated by James
Anthony Bryant. Bryant had been traveling be
hind the Saunders car. Damage to his car was ap
proximately S1,500.
Both Shallotte and CoasUine volunteer rescue
squads responded to the scene.
Furr was treated at The Brunswick Hospital
in Supply for incapacitating injuries and was kept
overnight for observation, Gause said.
Ms. Saunders, who sustained non-incapaci
taung injuries, was Ueated and released.
Bryant, 57, of Route 3, Shallotte, complained
of injuries but hail no visible signs of injury.