Oysters Make Comeback
(Continued From Page 1-A)
of "red tide" hurt Uxal shcllfishing
in 1988. Parasites known as Dermo
and MSX have infested and killed
many oysters along the North Caro
lina coast the last two years.
Those environmental problems
coupled with overharvesting have
resulted in poor oysters harvests the
last three seasons. Fishermen gath
ered only 52,000 bushels last year,
which was less than half the aver
age harvest.
But oyster dealers and state offi
cials say they're hopeful that condi
tions may be turning around for lo
cal oystermen.
"TTiis year started out poorly, but
things have improved since Christ
mas," said Rich Carpenter, district
manager with the N.C. Division of
Marine Fisheries.
Toni Chadwick, owner of Chad
wick Seafood at Shell Point, agreed
with Carpenter, saying this season
was "a whole lot better" than last
season.
"The start of the season was slow.
The oysters were scarce, but the last
part of the season it picked up," she
said. "They've grown a right good
bit this year."
Carpenter attributes the growth to
unusually warm weather since the
start of the year. Some oysters that
were under the three-inch minimum
size at the beginning of the season
grew to legal size during the winter.
Varnam, who has been involved
in oystering more than 30 years,
said this season was much better
than the last two seasons, when par
asites killed as many as half of the
oysters in Lockwood Folly.
Carpenter said biological samples
taken in the fall showed that the
Dermo infestations weren't as con
centrated as they were last season.
"Down this way it didn't appear
to be as prevalent as it was last
year," he said. 'The mortalities that
we saw last year, fortunately, we
didn't see this year to that degree."
Varnam said he didn't hear any
thing about dead oysters this sea
son. In fact, he said the Lockwood
Folly oysters have grown a lot this
season, and things are looking
bright for next season.
This was the first year the state
limited fishermen to seven bushels
per day and 14 bushels per boat. The
old limit was 50 bushels per boat.
Carpenter said the limit allowed
the state to keep the season open
through the end of March. Due in
part to overharvesting. the slate
closed oyster season in mid-Febru
ary last year.
"It allowed the harvest to go on
longer," Carpenter said. "1 feel like
that was a pretty reasonable limit."
Ms. Chadwick, who runs the sea
food house on the Shallotte River,
said she thinks the seven-bushel
limit worked out well. "It'll leave
more in there for the following
years," she said.
Vamam also favors the new limit
because he thinks it will help ensure
a good oyster supply in the future
and won't really hurt the fishermen.
With dealers paying S17 to S19
per bushel, Varnam said an oyster
man can make a good day's wages
if he harvests seven bushels.
Varnam said the limit didn't hold
anyone back this season. One fish
erman harvested seven bushels
opening day. and the rest got three
to five bushels.
Without a limit, Vamam said
fishermen tend to overharvest an
area, which leaves nothing to har
vest the following week and gluts
the market. Varnam said an oyster
man will harvest the best quality
oysters if there is a limit.
Despite the improvements seen
this season, seafood dealers say
there still are problems with the lo
cal oyster industry.
Varnam said shellfish dealers
can't market as many oysters as
they used to. With oysters retailing
for S22 to S25 per bushel, the num
ber of people who can afford the
shellfish is shrinking.
Ms. Chadwick said the Shallotte
River was off limits to shcllfisher
men about one-third of the season
due to pollution. 'The river's been
closed more this year than it's ever
been," she said.
Church Services Celebrate
(Continued From Page 1-A)
The Easier vigil begins Saturday
at 7:30 p.m.
Easter Sunday Masses are sched
uled at 8 a.m., 10.15 a.m. and at
noon, said Flo O'Shea, liturgy chair
man.
St. Brendan's is located approxi
mately 1 1/2 miles south of Shallot
te on U.S. 17.
St. Luke's
Sl Luke's Lutheran Church will
conduct a worship service Maundy
Thursday (today) at 7 p.m. at the
parsonage. It will include Holy
Communion.
The church holds its regular ser
vices at Shallotte Middle School.
For more information, call 754
7816.
Calabash Presbyterian
Members and friends of Calabash
Presbyterian Church will share
Communion Maundy Thursday (to
day) in the home of Horst and Edith
Burkert, 44 Ridgewood Drive,
Ocean Forest, Calabash, at 7 p.m.
"Meeting in a home is not only
appropriate as we remember the set
ting of the first Lord's supper, but
also necessary," said the Rev. Fran
cis M. Womack Jr., pastor.
The newly organized church
holds Sunday worship at 9:30 a.m.
in the Calabash VFW Hall, with
plans to build a permanent facility
on Georgetown Road.
Shell Point Baptist
Shell Point Baptist Church will
hold its Easter sunrise service at 6
p.m., followed by a continental
breakfast.
Sunday school begins at 10 a.m.
During the 11 a.m. worship service
the choir will present Tb : Lamb of
Promise, said spokesman Frances
Sweatt.
Oceanview Pentecostal
Oceanview Pentecostal Free Will
Baptist Church will celebrate the
resurrection with a 6:30 p.m. ser
vice that includes a film and youth
participation.
On Good Friday, the focus of a
spccial 7:30 p.m. service will be on
Jesus' crucifixion and death.
Dixon Chapel
Dixon Chapel United Methodist
Church at Varnamtown will present
an Easter musical drama Friday,
March 29, at 7:30 p.m.
A sunrise scrvicc is planned Eas
ter at 6 a.m., with a week of revival
services to begin Sunday at 7:30
p.m.
Sabbath Home
Weather permitting, Sabbath
Home Baptist Church will hold its
Easter sunrise service outside at 6
a.m.
The church is located on Sabbath
Home Church Road near the Hold
en Beach Causeway.
Little River UMC
Little River United Methodist
Church will hold three celebrations
of the resurrection at 8 a.m., 9:30
a.m. and 11 a.m. Easter.
All services will be held in the
social hall, since construction is tak
ing place on the new, expanded
sanctuary, said Mary Cobb, spokes
man.
The Maundy Thursday
communion service begins at 7 p.m.
and will be conducted by the pastor,
the Rev. Franklin Hartsell.
New Britton
New Britton Baptist Church of
Ash will present the Easter play Is It
I? Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the church,
said spokesman Dcbra Young.
New Britton is located on King
town Road.
Zion UMC
Zion United Methodist Church ai
Town Creek will celebrate with a
sunrise service at 6:30 a.m., fol
lowed by Sunday school at 9:45
a.m. and worship service at 1 1 a.m.
A Maundy Thursday communion
service will be held today at 7 p.m.
An egg hunt for the children of the
church is planned Saturday at 10
a.m.
The church is located on Zion
Church Road off U.S. 17 north of
Winnabow.
Pistols Stolen
From Pawn Shop
Shallotte Police are investigating
the theft of approximately 13 pistols
from a pawn shop that was broken
into Saturday night
Chief Rodney Gause said Tues
day afternoon that the department
had suspccts but had not made any
arrests.
Ken's Pawn Shop, located on
U.S. 17 at the north end of town,
was broken into Saturday around
8:30 p.m. Gause said a cinder block
was thrown through glass in the
front of the building.
The break-in occurred while sev
eral police officers were playing in
a benefit basketball game at West
Brunswick High School.
Gause said the highway north of
Holdcn Beach Road had been clos
ed due to a detour at the time of the
break-in, so traffic in front of the
pawn shop was light.
Closings Noted
Most area businesses and govern
ment offices will be closed Easter
Monday or Good Friday, but U.S.
post offices will be open both days.
Specific closings are as follows:
Holdcn Beach Town Hall ...Monday
Shallotte Town Hall Monday
Ocean Isle Town Hall Open
Calabash Monday
Sunset Beach Monday
County Complex Friday
County Schools April 1-5
Banks Friday
m ? ' %m fWimmWpmW 8$?
STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG RUTTER
5(?ff PHOTO BY DOUG RUTTEF
A BRUSH FIRE threatened at least two homes last Thursday evening in the High Hill subdivision
near Shallotte. Pictured fighting the blaze are Civietown volunteer firemen Glenn l^eonard (left) and
Timmy Hewett. The woods fire, one of a number in the county during the past week, started when a
resident of the neighborhood lost control of a fire in a barrel.
NO BAN YET ON AREA BURNING
Dry Weather Sparks Area Fires
BY TERRY POPK
Weather forecasts call for showers by the weekend, a
ray of hope that weary firefighters were clinging to
Tuesday.
Rain should help reduce the threat of forest fires, sev
en of which have been fought in Brunswick County
since last Friday. Investigators say two of those fires
were set near Boiling Spring Lakes by an arsonist.
As of Tuesday morning no fires were in progress, but
Brunswick County was placed on Stage 5 in fire readi
ness by the N.C. Forest Service, said County Fire
Ranger Miller Caison. Stage 7 is the highest level of
forest fire alert.
"We haven't reached a maximum yet, but it's as high
as we've been this year," Caison said.
The largest forest fire burned approximately 423 acres
near the Maco community in northern Brunswick County
Friday afternoon, Caison said. Other fires have burned 20
acres or less.
Brunswick County Emergency Management
Coordinator Cecil Logan said two fires between Boiling
Spring Lakes and Bolivia, each burning about 16 acres
along the old C.C.C. Road, were intentionally set.
Logan said investigators have a suspect in that case and
he expects to make an arrest by Friday.
Brisk winds, low humidity and warm temperatures
during the past week have produced ideal conditions for
woods fires in Brunswick County, Logan said.
A ban has been placed on burning in South Carolina,
but so far no ban is in effect in North Carolina.
Approximately 184 fires burned across the state over
the weekend.
"They're talking about scattered showers on Friday,"
said Caison. "If we don't get some rain soon it's going
to get pretty bad. If it doesn't rain, it won't be too long
before we see a ban."
Shallottc Point Meterologist Jackson Canady said the
weather outlook offers "a bad scenario for possible
fires." The area forecast calls for average temperatures
with less than half an inch of rain expected this week.
No rain was recorded for all of last week, he said.
Topsoil has bccomc dry and debris has had an oppor
tunity to dry out in what was an overall warm winter,
Canady said.
"If this trend continues," he added, "it could be a very
bad fire season, at least for the next four to six weeks. I
would love to be surprised."
Caison said a cause has not been determined for the
fire that burned 423 acres in the Hooper Hill area near
Maco Friday.
That fire took seven hours to bring under control and
came within 100 feet of homes along Hooper Hill Road
and Dogwood Road in northern Brunswick County.
Firefighters from Lcland, Navassa, Acmc-Delco
Ricgclwood and Boiling Spring Lakes fire departments
joined the Forest Scrvicc in bringing the fire under con
trol. A Forest Service helicopter with a water bucket was
brought in from Bear Pen landing strip in Brunswick
County to help drop water on the flames.
Other free-burning fires have spread from trash fires
or debris burnings that have gotten away from resi
dents.
"People need to be really careful because the woods
have gotten very dry," Caison said.
Calabash and Sunset Beach volunteer firemen re
sponded to a brush fire on N.C. 179 and Georgetown
Road near Calabash over the weekend, l-ogan said.
That fire was started when someone burning trash al
lowed flames to spread to the nearby woods.
"We haven't had any rain and the winds arc up,"
Logan warned. "If people would just stay with their
fires and have a water hose nearby the fires would not
get away from them."
Another woods fire Monday burned about eight acres
near Shallotte, Logan said.
Tuesday morning firefighters were resting from a long
weekend, Logan said.
"So far, so good," he added. "I just hope it stays that
way."
Warm, Dry Weather Expected
Over Long Holiday Weekend
A week of springtime weather peaked Palm Sunday
when temperatures climbed to a high of 87 degrees.
More warm weather is in store for the South
Brunswick Islands as the Easter holiday weekend ap
proaches, with the forecast calling for above-average
temperatures.
Shallotte Point meteorologist Jackson Canady said
he expects temperatures to range from around 50 de
grees at night to around 70 degrees during the day, with
only about a half inch of rainfall, less than average.
The combination of warmer temperatures and lower
rainfall, he said, poses "a bad scenario for possible
fires" if the trend continues as expected over the next
few weeks.
For the period March 19-25, Canady recorded a
minimum low of 34 degrees, which occurred on the
20th.
A daily average high of 74 degrees and a nightly av
erage low of 50 degrees combined for an average daily
temperature of 62 degrees, which Canady said is about
6 degrees above average.
He recorded no rainfall for the week.
EIGHTH ANNUAL
EASTER BUFFET
NOON-8 PM, SUNDAY, MARCH 31
Leg of Lamb, Baked Ham, Broiled Chicken
Shrimp and Scallops Newburg, Sweet and Sour Pork
a Host of Salads, Vegetables and Desserts
ADULTS: $11.95 CHILDREN: $5.95
10 arid under
SEAFOOD AND STEAK HOUSE
Mesquite Grill - Gourmet Salad Bar - Lounge
Your Hosts: Tom and Marlene Haley
FOR RESERVATIONS CALL: 579-6032
HWY. 179 CALABASH
Former County
Employee Placed
On House Arrest
(Continued From Page 1-A)
strapped to the ankle at all times.
The transmitter sends a signal to a
receiver, which is attached to a tele
phone line in the defendant's home.
The receiver is monitored 24 hours
a day by staff members in Raleigh.
Probationers must consent volun
tarily to be placed on the system. A
person is allowed to leave home dur
ing work hours only and must re
main at home all other times or be
charged with violating their proba
tion.
In February, Lewis was also
charged with two counts of breaking
and entering and larceny by Bruns
wick County sheriff's detectives.
He is accused of breaking into
the Leland True Value Hardware
Store where three vacuum cleaners
valued at S305 were taken.
Lewis was also charged with a
break-in at Lee's Little World Day
Care Center in Leland where a tele
vision set, record player and casset
te player, all valued at $230, were
taken on Feb. 9.
A trial date has not been set on
those charges.
Accidents
(Continued From Page 1-A)
Regional Mcdical Center.
Passengers injured were Zulma
Chcvas, 19, of Faycttcville. Jennifer
Maris, 18, of Greensboro, and Brian
Schrum, 19, of Greensboro.
The van came to rest with its left
rear tire smashed through the rear
windshield of the Miller car. Leland
volunteer firefighters used mechani
cal jaws to free two passengers
from the Ford.
Damage was listed at $5,000 to
the Alexander van and $3,000 to the
Miller car.
In another accident early Satur
day, a Shallotte man was chargcd
with driving while impaired, driving
left of center and carrying a con
cealed weapon after his car ran into
a ditch on N.C. 904 a half mile from
Sunset Beach.
Eric Lamar Schilz, 23, was char
ged by Trooper Barnhardt after the
1:30 a.m. accident.
According to Barnhardt, Schilz's
1976 station wagon was traveling
west on N.C. 904 when it crossed
the center line, traveled across the
castbound lane and dame tdf rest ih
the ditch.
Schilz was taken to The Bruns
wick Hospital in Supply with seri
ous injuries. Damage was estimated
at S6(X).
THE BRUNSWICK&BEACON
Established Nov. 1, 1962
Telephone 754-6890
Published Every Thursday
At 4709 Main Street
Shallotte, N.C. 28459
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY
One Year $10.30
Six Months $5.50
ELSEWHERE IN NORTH CAROLINA
One Year $14.80
Six Months $7.85
ELSEWHERE IN U.S.A.
One Year $15.95
Six Months $8.35
Second class postage paid at the
Post Office in Shallotte, N.C.
28459. USPS 777-780.
YOUR FAMILY
MAY NOT BE
AS SAFE AS
YOU THINK.
Inflation is out of control. Sothelife
insurance you bought back then
may be inadequate now. Check
and see. Maybe you should add
more.
Phillip Cheers
4920-A Main St.,
Shallotte
754-4366
II
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