STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
It 's Library Week
With the signing of a proclamation by Mayor Sarah Tripp, it's offi
cially National library Week April 14-20 in Shallotte. looking on
are two members of the West Brunswick High School Library
Club, Amy Caison (center) and luiDetra Hankins. The club is
sponsoring several public awareness activities in recognition of the
week, including a trivia contest and a student speaker from UNC
Wilmington.
South port Men Charged
With Larceny Of Goods
Two Southport teens were charg
ed last week with breaking and en
tering a motor vehicle and felonious
larceny.
David Randy Pickard and Timo
thy Scott Blackmon were each char
ged by Brunswick County sheriff's
detectives following an investiga
tion last Thursday.
The charges stem from an inves
tigation that tracked down around
S930 in property allegedly stolen
from a victim's pickup truck.
Seme of the items taken included
gauges and automotive equipment
that was allegedly installed into a
car driven by one of the suspects,
according to Detective Gene Cai
son's report
One of the suspects also voluntar
ily retrieved a number of the items
from their home, the report states.
In other reports on file at the
sheriff's department:
?A truck belonging to Wilmington
Grading and Paving Co. stolen from
a Route 2, Leland, residence Satur
day was recovered by the State
Highway Patrol about five hours
later. The truck was reported stolen
around 9 p.m. Saturday, Deputy
Robert Allen reported.
State Trooper W.H. Thompson
stopped the 1986 Ford Ranger on
N.C. 133 near Southport around
1:58 a.m., but the driver jumped and
ran, the report states.
?Someone threw a rock through a
window at an Ocean Isle area home
to gain entry Friday, Deputy Phil
Bryant reported. Taken was a $400
microwave, $250 television set and
a S20 smoke alarm.
?A window to a home at Conners
Mobile Home Park in Leland was
broken Sunday, reported Deputy
Brian Sanders. The suspect entered
through a window and had to exit
through a window because the doors
were padlocked. Damage was es
timated at $50. No items were taken.
?Two piggy banks containing
around $125 were reported missing
from a home at Smith's Mobile
Home Park last Thursday, reported
Deputy Richard Long. The banks,
glass jars with corks, were on the
head board of a bed.
?Someone broke the glass to a
vending machine at the Silver Hill
Grill on N.C. 130 south of Shallotte
last Thursday and took about S75
worth of items inside the machine,
Meat Stolen From
Local Steakhouse
Two Brunswick County men were
arrested last week following a break
in at JR's Steakhouse in Shallotte.
Police Chief Rodney Gause said
the restaurant was broken into last
Friday morning around 5:30 a.m. A
television, radio, cash register, alco
hol and about $600 worth of steaks
were stolen.
Shallotte Deu Tom Hunter charg
ed James Edward Pugh, 25, of Sup
ply, and James Elwood Miller, 20,
of Calabash, with one count each of
breaking and entering and larceny.
Gause said all of the stolen prop
erty, valued at $2,275, was recov
ered. The cash register was dam
aged. He said Monday that police
were still looking for a third suspccu
CRIME REPORT
reported Sgt Carl Pearson. Damage
was estimated at S25.
?Investigators determined a man
found dead inside his home near
Long Beach last Thursday died of
natural causes. Perry Castle of Villa
Nova Mobile Home Park had not
been seen by neighbors for several
days, reported Deputy Ken Messer.
The owner of the mobile home
allowed others inside to check for
the man, who was found lying on a
bedroom floor face down. Messer
stated nothing appeared to be out of
the ordinary inside the home.
County Task Force Wants To Keep Abused
Kids From 'Falling Through The Cracks'
BY TERRY POPE
A Brunswick County task force
will study programs for abused and
battered children in hopes that
county agencics can work more
closely to coordinate those services.
"Its goal is to put the 'protective'
back into child protective services,"
said District Attorney Rex Gore,
whose office is coordinating the
study.
The heads of several agencies
met last week to talk about ways to
prevent neglected children from be
coming lost within the system.
Representatives from the social
services department, sheriff's depart
ment, school system, mental health
center, Hope Harbor Home domestic
violence shelter. The Brunswick
Hospital and clerk of court's officc
will meet again May 7.
Four members will draft the
group's purpose statement before
then. Gore said. One of the goals is
to overcome problems the agencies
have in sharing information that
could help or save the lives of
abused children.
"There are a lot of battered chil
dren in Brunswick County," said
Gore. "It's a program that's needed.
Once we get it going it can really
work and work well."
"It's a program that's needed . Once we get
it going it can really work and work well."
? Rex Gore,
District Attorney
Brunswick Counly agcncies aren't
the only ones concerned about how
the needs of these children could be
better met.
Gore said he got the idea for the
task force after reading a series of
articles published in The Charlotte
Observer last month which reported
on the problems the system has in
protecting children from abuse or
neglect.
The articles focused on cases
where children had been battered or
even died after agencies had step
ped in to investigate reported cases
of abuse.
"These were kids who had been
referred to protective services and
sort of got lost in the paperwork,"
Gore said.
As research for its news series.
The Charlotte Observer obtained
copies of all N.C. Department of
Human Resources Division of
Social Services reviews of its child
protective services programs be
twccn 1987 and 1990.
Brunswick County Social Serv
ices Director Jamie Orrock shared
copies of a report with DSS board
members at their March 25 meeting
that discusscd data given by the
state to the newspaper.
The N.C. Division of Social Ser
vices has conducted record reviews
of cases where children receiving
protective services have died. It is
now completing a new routine for
reviewing such cases "to offer a
consistent and uniform manner in
which the Division responds to
child fatalities," the report states.
Also, a number of child advocacy
groups are trying to establish an
N.C. Child Fatality Review Com
mittee, an organization the state
Division supports.
In Brunswick County both public
and private agencies offer services
to abused and battered children.
Hope Harbor Home, a non-profit
shelter for abused and battered
women ami children, and the coun
ty's juvenile services handle a num
ber of eases. Gore said. Many times,
the agencies could be working to
gether, but don't, he added.
"There's a lot of duplication of
valuable programs," said Gore.
"There seems to be no central clear
inghouse."
Another goal of the county task
force is to overcome the problems
different agencies have in sharing
important information that might
help a child. Some departments
must adhere to confidentiality rules
that prohibit them from discussing a
minor's case with anyone outside of
the agency.
A similar task force formed about
six years ago in Brunswick County,
but it later disbanded. No important
information ever materialized from
that study.
Gore said he hopes this task force
can help the child protective services
programs do what they are designed
to do, "just try to keep the kids from
falling through the cracks."
"It's just an effort to try to get the
best for our children," he said.
April is Child Abuse Awareness
Month in North Carolina, making it
good timing for the task forcc to or
ganize, Gore added.
Speeding Tickets
To Cost More When
Plea Bargaining
BY TERRY POPE
Drivers who pica bargain rouline
speeding charges in district court af
ter May 15 will pay a larger fine.
It's a change District Attorney
Rex Gore said he hopes will gener
ate more money for the local
schools and make drivers think
twice before speeding on the coun
ty's highways.
Under the
plan, fines for
speeding viola
lions reduced un
der plea agree
ments with the
state will in
crease from
around S10 to
$49 in the 13th
Judicial District,
which includes
Brunswick, Columbus and Bladen
counties.
Such criminal fines and forfei
tures arc given to local school sys
tems in the county where they arc
Deputies Answer 1 ,1 80 Calls
Brunswick County sheriff's depu
ties answered 1,180 calls in March,
131 of which involved domestic dis
putes, according to a monthly report
from the sheriff's office.
Deputies logged 89,191 miles,
used 6,377 gallons of fuel and took
30 trips out of the county. A trans
port van logged 1 ,206 miles.
Officers also made three arrests
on drunk and disruptive charges, 14
arrests as prosecuting witness and
summoned 199 witnesses. They
served 285 civil papers, 331 local
warrants, 57 foreign warrants and
six mental and inebriate papers.
The department made 150 inves
tigations, discovered six fires and
found 28 doors or windows opened.
Officers also recovered $4,049.67 in
property, served 59 hours in court
on duty and held 41 crime preven
tion meetings, the sheriff reported.
collected. Defendants also pay court
costs in traffic cases, which are S5 1 .
Gore said he is instructing assis
tant district attorneys to negotiate
the increased fines as part of the
conditions for reducing speeding
charges. District court judges will
still have the final authority to set
fines for each case.
"We're not going to reduce every
speeding charge," Gore said. "We
don't do that now. If a person has a
previous driving record, it's not a
guarantee."
Sometimes speeding charges are
reduced for defendants if they have
good driving records, Gore said. In
return, the drivers get a break on
their insurance bills.
"I want to make clear that this in
crease to $49 does not interfere with
a judge's right to impose additional
fines or less fines in cases which are
not reduced," he added.
Gore said he studied a similar
program in Buncombe County re
cently and liked the idea.
"I thought it was a good way to
divert some money from the insur
ance companies to the local school
boards," he added. "It will also be a
little more costly for those who do
get tickets. Maybe they'll start to
think that it's best for me to slow
down."
Gore announced the idea in a
newsletter to lawyers of the 13th Ju
dicial District and also told the Bruns
wick County Board of Education of
his plans at its meeting last week.
A lot of drivers who receive
speeding tickets in Brunswick
County are not even local residents.
AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE
FREE SPINAL EXAMINATION
Dr. Labod is offering affordable chiropractic treatment to the
public. This service will Include consultation, examination, an
x-ray and a report of findings.
(2) EXAMINATION
We utilize modern
diagnostic procedures
in addition to special
ized Chiropractic diag
nostic procedures.
(3) REPORT OF
FINDINGS
After the doctor has
correlated her flndlng
based upon your exa
mination, you will re
ceive a complete report.
(1) CONSULTATION
Our consultation Is
designated to deter
mine whether your
condition falls within
the realm of our care.
Based upon the results
of the consultation, the
doctor will make ap
propriate recommenda
tions regarding X-rays,
examination, treatment
or referral to another WARNING SIGNS
doctor OF SPINAL MISALIGNMENT
?Recurring Headaches ?Paln Between Shoulders
?Neck. Shoulder & Arm Pain 'Numbness In Hands & Arms
?Low Back & Leg Pain 'Loss of Sleep
?Numbness In Legs & Feet!
If you suffer from any of these warning signs call immediately to
prevent possible advancing complications. This Free Spinal
Check-Up and scoliosis screening program is available as a
public service through April 24. 1991. by appointment only.
Hwy. 17
For an appointment call
LABOD
CHIROPRACTIC
DR. ROBIN S. LABOD
Chiropractor
Harbor Square
1670-F. Hwy. 17
Little River. SC 29566
Food Lion
Hardees
Harbor Square
?
(803)249-9787
Dr. Labod
C1W1 THE BRUNSWICK BEACON I
but arc motorists passing through
the county. Gore said.
"Most of the time, a tickct and a
court appearance increase their at
tentiveness to their driving," he
added. "While we could refuse to
reduce speeds, I feel we've done
our job if we've, gotten the driver's
attention and slowed them down."
Assistant district attorneys, Gore
said, arc prohibited from practicing
law. Since giving advice about pos
sible consequences of a plea agree
ment could be perceived as the job
of an attorney, the assistants will not
advise people in such cases, he
added.
"If folks have questions about
possible insurance points, they
should talk to an attorney or their
agent," he added.
The policy will go into effect in
court May 15, regardless of when
the traffic tickets were issued.
"I just think it's a good way to get
more money for the schools," said
Gore. "It could buy some awards for
kids who do good things."
Gore took office as district attor
ney in December.
Residential ? Commercial ? Burglar Alarms
Fire Alarms ? Medical Alert ? "Panic" Alarm!
$
VS I h I\/l S "From closed circuit TV
I v I L.l?ls? to door chimes."
Call for consoitation/no charge estimates.
P.O. Box 3002 919-754-2033 "Max" Lauzon
Shallotte, NC 28459 24 Hr. Service Bruce Lauzon
OUTHERN
ECURITY
YSTEMS
? '91
RUST
70a6
Lasting beauty and protection inside or out for
metal, wood and masonry surfaces. A rust fighting
gloss enamel that can provide Msr $27.50
one coat protection. Easy
application with roller, brush or
spray. Convenient aerosol | | q^[_
cans available.
Robinson's Variety Store
ON THE CAUSEWAY
Route 1, Box 512
HOLDEN BEACH, NC 28462
(919)842-4142