Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / May 30, 1991, edition 1 / Page 1
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Three Men Drown, One Lives After Boat Sinks Near Inlet BY DOUG RUTTER Clinging to a torn life jacket, a Greensboro fisherman floated at sea for about three hours Tuesday before drifting ashore at Holden Beach after a boating ac cident claimed the lives of three compan ions. Gary Richardson, 38, was treated at The Brunswick Hospital in Supply and released Tuesday night. The identity of only one of the three drowning victims. Jack Lamont Owens Sr., 61, had been released at press lime. Brunswick County Coroner Greg White was withholding the names of the two oth er victims until their next of kin could be notified. All four men were from Greensboro. Owens' 24-foot motorboat boat sank in choppy seas around 2 p.m. Tuesday about a mile south of Shallotte Inlet, said Brunswick County Emergency Manage mcnt Coordinator Cecil Logan. Details of the how the boat sank were unavailable Tuesday evening. White said Richardson grabbed a life jacket just before he bailed out of the boat. Coastline Volunteer Rescue Squad picked up the man around 4:30 p.m. after he drift ed ashore at the 900 block of Ocean Boulevard West. Rcscuc squad member Herbert "Midget" Vamum said the survivor couldn't swim and was in the ocean for about three hours holding on to a life jacket that ripped in half when he grabbed it. "He's up walking around," White said Tuesday night from the hospital. "He's OK other than being a little shook up, of course." About 4 1/2 hours after the accident, rcs cuc workers using the county's surf boat recovered the three bodies just west of Holdcn Beach Fishing Pier. Five rescue workers launched the rescue boat, which has a fiberglass hull and rubber pontoons, into strong southwesterly winds shortly after 6 p.m. The Brunswick County Sheriff's Department airplane arrived about 15 minutes later. Using binoculars and standing on a deck at Mace's Trailer Park, area residents and visitors spotted two of the drowning vic tims several hundred yards offshore. (See MEN DROWN, Page 13-A) THE B.ES : JC?RACON Twenty-ninth Year, Number 30 0)9*1 THE BRUNSWCK BEACON Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, May 30, 1991 25<t Per Copy 40 Pages, 3 Sections, 4 Inserts NO COUNTY TAX INCREASE PRQPOSFD $35 Million Budget Goes To Hearing Tuesday BY TERRY POPE Holding the line on the county tax rate has its price. Fifty currently-funded positions have been cut or reduced in work time as the county's general fund will be about SI million less than last year. The S35.3 million proposed bud get will go before a public hearing Tuesday, June 4, at 7 p.m., in the public assembly building at the gov ernment complex in Bolivia. Com missioners can legally adopt a budget 10 days following a public hearing. Personal property taxes will re main at 68.5 cents per SI 00 in valu ation under the proposed budget tentatively approved by Brunswick County Commissioners Monday. In preparing the budget. County Manager David Clegg assumed the county would receive SI million less from the state for the 1991-92 fiscal year. Both he and commis sioners chose not to delay the bud get process by waiting for a possi ble allocation from the state. "/ hope that we can stay as conservative as possible with the budget." ? Kelly Holden, Commission Chairman The budget is based on a real property valuation of $4.05 billion and a tax collection rate of 95.3 per cent for projected tax revenues of S26.4 million, said Lilhia Hahn, fi nance director. Last year's budget was S36.5 mil lion and was based on the same 68.5-cent tax rate. Clegg cut S7.5 million in requests from county de partments to keep the tax rate the same for the coming year. Persons either losing their jobs or facing cutbacks arc in the depart ments of older adults, clean county, water system, health and social ser vices. BCC Concerned At a budget workshop Monday, District 3 Commissioner Gene Pink erton said he received a letter from Brunswick Community College, which is concerned about an appar ent 2.9 percent cut in funding. The college will receive S5 1 1 ,244, which is actually a 3 percent increase from last year's budgeted 5506,555, said Clegg. However, last month commis sioners approved a S20.000 budget amendment for the college. Clegg said the extra money existed for BCC but was in another fund. 'To them, it would only appear to be a decrease," said Ms. Hahn. Noting a 5 percent increase in funding to the Brunswick County Schools, Pinkerton said the county WATER EMPLOYEES TO LOSF IORS needed to be fair to both systems. BCC teaches students that the coun ty schools often fail to educate, he said. "I think 'fair' should enter into these cuts," Pinkerton said. Commission Chairman Kelly Holdcn pointed out that the county is paying about S505,000 in debt service this fiscal year for bonds used to build the college. The total debt service in the proposed budget is $7.7 million. "That's one of those hidden things in a budget," said Holden. "I think that's something that people should keep in mind also." Pinkerton also said the N.C. Ma rine Crescent should receive more than a $3,000 allocation because of its work with BCC, the Southport Maritime Museum and its help in the "overall economic development of the county." Holden told fellow board mem bers, "I hope that we can stay as (See BUDGET, Page 2-A) Webb Told To Make Personnel Changes BY TERRY POPE Five water system employees will lose their jobs under the 1991 92 Brunswick County budget. Brunswick County Commission ers told Public Utilities Director Jerry Webb Monday to make the personnel cuts as recommended by an outside consulting firm hired to investigate the water department. "I hate to lose people, but they called it like they saw it," said Webb. "We need to get more efficient. That's what they're telling us." David M. Griffith and As sociates of Ra leigh was hired in January to conduct an op erations review of the public utilities department and presented its findings to com missioners last week. The study recommends that the county fire five of its water system employees and hire three temporary summertime workers to help with grass mowing. Another mainten ance mechanic's position will be re classified. Commissioners accepted the re "We need to get more efficient. That's what they're telling us." ? Jerry Webb Utilities Director port as presented Monday. The posi tions have been eliminated from the proposed 1991-92 budget. Positions held by David "Leo" Fulford, assistant to the public utili ties director, and Kenneth Hewett, water system director, have been cut. Also, a water treatment plant op erator for the Northwest plant in Malmo and two maintenance me chanic assistants assigned to Ful ford's office will lose their jobs. Fulford was hired by the county in May 1987 and Hewett has work ed for the water system since Sep tember 1981. John House, of Griffith and Asso ciates, said with an organization of less than 50 employees there is no need for an assistant director. More individuals should answer directly to Webb, he said. In December, Webb had asked commissioners for more employees so he could begin a preventive maintenance program. However, he told commissioners Monday that he agrees with the consulting firm's findings. "They did what they were hired to do," Webb said. "I think it's a comprehensive report, I really do." Brunswick County Manager David Clegg said the county got its money's worth with the report. The department has already start ed weekly safety awareness meet ings and has been developing new job descriptions, Webb told com missioners. "We've been making some very definite moves," said Webb. "It's a long, drawn-out process; it doesn't happen overnight." Board of Commissioners Chair man Kelly Holden instructed Webb to work with Clegg in making the personnel cuts. "If there arc any stumbling blocks, consult with him (Clegg) first," said Holden. The firm conducted on-site inter views with every employee of the water system. It also noted that morale among water department em ployees is poor for several reasons. Mistakes are quickly pointed out, but employees are rarely told by their supervisors when they have done a job well, the report states. Management techniques and practices at the water treatment plants also point to several prob lems, it notes. An emphasis was placed on the perception of reverse discrimination by the Caucasian staff, who allege that some of the black employees are permitted to conduct themselves in a manner for which white em ployees would receive disciplinary action, it stales. "On the other hand, some black employees indicated they had been the victims of racial slurs and preju dice," the report indicated. Several employees told the firm that they had been the victim of, or witness to, criticism delivered by Webb in a public forum that caused the person embarrassment or humil i la lion. The report stated that employees should receive counseling or disci plining in the privacy of the super visor's office. No significant personnel manage ment problems were noted in the administrative section. Family At Play ST?#F PHOTO BY DOUG RUTTER Sharon Messier of Bristol, Conn., plays in the sand with her two year-old son, Corey, Sunday at Ocean Isle Beach. Rain showers late last week gave way to mostly sunny skies for the balance of the Memorial Day weekend. 125 Birds Stolen During Animal Shelter Break-In BY TERRY POPE Someone broke into the Bruns wick County Animal Control Shel ter near Supply late Saturday and stole an estimated 125 birds. The birds were among the 288 confiscated last month during a raid on a Belville motel that resulted in charges of cruelty to animals against the owner. Albeit Sidney Boney. A number of cockatiels, canaries, finches and their cages were taken during a break-in at the shelter, said Zelma Babson, animal control su pervisor. "I don't have a definite number as to how many were taken yet," Ms. Babson said Tuesday. "I'm just not sure right now." Animal control workers must count the birds and determine how many of each breed were taken be fore an estimate on the loss can be given, she said. Some breeds were more valuable than others, she said. The thieves took the most expen sive birds of the 280 or more, in cluding a pair of rare finches, said Ms. Babson. According to Brunswick County Sheriff's Deputy William Hewett's report, someone broke into the shel ter between noon Saturday and 7:50 (See BIRDS, Page 2-A) Shallotte Bypass Opens On Schedule For Memorial Day aa at j^kitEBa&i: Weekend Travelers BY TERRY POPE AND DOUG RUTTER The U.S. 17 Shallotte bypass opened without a hitch last week, just in time for the Memorial Day holiday and the arrival of hundreds of families looking forward to fun at the beach. The long-awaited route opened last Wednesday moming with a ceremonial "first ride" by Brunswick County Board of Commissioners Chairman Kelly Holden and Shallotte Mayor Sarah Tripp. With the four-lane road open, the long line of cars that usually forms on U.S. 17 north of Shallotte at the start of holiday weekends was nowhere to be seen last Friday afternoon. Mike Blandino of TJ's Auto Electric saw cars and trucks backed up several miles north of town Easter weekend. He didn't see any of that last week when va cationers arrived for Memorial Day in the South Brunswick Islands and points farther south. "We haven't seen any traffic out here since they got the bypass open. They've been running by here at 55 miles an hour," Blandino said Tuesday. "I think it's a success that was needed a long time ago." There were no ribbons to cut and no limousines when the bypass opened last week. Road crews started re moving orange and white barricades around 8:40 a.m. last Wednesday. Doug Bowers, division engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, drove the lead car that took local officials on the first official ride down the bypass. Other passengers were David Batten, manager of STAFF PHOTO BY OOOO RUTTEfl THE FIRST PACK OF CARS AND TRUCKS motors south on the U.S. 17 Shallow bypass last Wednesday morning, with Brunswick County Board of Commissioners Chairman Kelly Holden and Shallotte Mayor Sarah Tripp passengers in the lead car. Brunswick Electric Membership Corp., and Marilyn Williams of Wilmington, district representative on N.C. Beard of Transportation. The DOT car lead a pack of about 20 vehicles that included a tractor-trailer rig and logging truck south on the 4.8-mile stretch of asphalt The motorcade then led a trail of northbound mo torists around Shallotte at 9 a.m. as DOT engineers be gan making adjustments on stoplights. Sharon Messier and her family took the bypass on their way from Bristol, Conn., to Ocean Isle Beach. "It was fine," she said while relaxing on the beach Sunday. "There was no traffic either." While motorists zipped around town, area residents and visitors with shopping lists to fill coasted down Main Street in Shallotte without having to deal with the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic. Jo Ann Simmons of Bellamy Hardware said Main Street traffic Friday and Saturday was much lighter than it was last Memorial Day weekend. Local customers found it easier to get through town and get on and off Main Street "Business was a lot bet ter compared to last year," she said. "I think it's great" However, Mrs. Simmons said the DOT needs to put more signs on the bypass pointing the way to the down town business district. "People could drive right by and not even know Shallotte's here." Mrs. Williams, who represents Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties on the state transportation board, was appointed to replace Estelle Lee about three weeks ago. She joins the board at a lime when some major pro jects are underway for southeastern North Carolina, in cluding the four-laning of U.S. 17 through all of Brunswick County. "I have a lot to leam, but I know this is a big day for the town of Shallotte," she said at the bypass opening. A welcome center on the Shallotte bypass near its in tersection with N.C. 130 West is scheduled for com pletion in January 1992. ( See OPEN, Page 2-A)
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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May 30, 1991, edition 1
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