THE BF K?BEACON Twenty-ninth Year, Number 46 ??V9? THI WOMSW1CK ttACON Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, September 19, 1991 50c Per Copy 38 Ppges, 3 Sections, 1 Insert New Redistricting Plan Places Varnamtown Back In District 2 BY T FIRRY I'OI'K Ai least one community is pleased with a new redisricting plan chosen by Brunswick County Commissioners Monday night. Varnamtown Aldermen were not happy at being grouped with Southern and Oak Island as part of District 3 in a plan chosen earlier. Because of a mapping error, com missioners had to choose another plan to place before voters Nov. 5. The one they chose, 3-1, will put Varnamtown back in District 2. In opposing the plan. District 5 Commissioner Donald Shaw said he felt the new phut created a District 4 that covcred too much territory. The county's five residency dis tricts must be redrawn to reflect the county's growth since the 1980 U.S. Census, from 35,777 to 50,985 resi dents, or about 43 percent. The districts are for residency purposes only. While candidates run from and represent the district in which they reside, they are elected by voters countywide. The districts are the same for both commissioners and the Brunswick County Board of Education. Both boards have five members, one from each district. A plan chosen by the board in August was a "faulty document," said Planning Director John Harvey. "This was a mapping error, not a statistical error," said Harvey in a memo to commissioners. "It was entirely my fault." The error would have placed 12,194 residents in District 3 and H.225 residents in DisKki 1. ii Ictt unaddresscd. Harvey said it would have created disproportionate repre sentation. Each district in the proposed plan would contain about 10,197 resi dents. When commissioners drew district lines in August 1983, each contained approximately 7,2(X) resi dents. Commissioners chose not to ac cept the amended version of the plan adopted in August, for as Chairman Kelly Holden of District 1 said, "When you correct the map ping error, you change the whole map." Varnamtown officials had ex pressed concern to commissioners that in the previous plan District 3 had crossed the Lockwood Folly River to include their community. The amended map would have shifted the Varnamtown area to District 4. "It would have been left alone, hail it not been for a mapping er ror," said District 2 Commissioner Jerry Jones of the Varnamtown situ ation. District 3 Commissioner Gene Pinkerton was out of town on busi ness Monday, said Holden. There have been differences of opinion over whether the county must redraw its district lines by a binding vote of residents. Suite Rep. E. David Redwine said since the county maintains residen cy districts msiead of electoral dis tricts, where residents cannot vote countywidc, lite county could choose not to rcdistrict. It does not compel them to r, - . district anything," said Kcdwine. i>t the state law. A local bill (H.B. 630) is expect ed to pass the General Assembly next year giving the county authori ty to rcdistrict in the future without a binding referendum. If the county chose not to rcdis trict this year, said County Manager David Clegg, it could possibly face a class action lawsuit over the one man. one-vote principle. The dis tricts would contain disproportion ate numbers of residents, he said. "I'm not so sure the (U.S.) Justice Department would not step in," said Clegg. "I think that what we are doing is the appropriate ac tion. It is a unique opportunity lor the citizens of Brunswick County to involve themselves in a crucial is sue." Of North Carolina's 1(H) counties. 25 elect boards of commissioners like Brunswick County, with resi dency districts, saiil Clegg. The oth er 75 counties have electoral dis tricts. Between I('S1 and 19X4, the county redrew its district lines twice, once to change the makeup on tite board from six members to five. "We call these things electoral districts, but technically that's not what they are," said Clegg. The only electoral districts in Brunswick County are lor electing members to the Dosher Hospital Board of Trustees, the Lcland Sanitary District Board anil the Southeast Brunswick Sanitary District Boaid. Parents Remove Nine Middle School Students From Quest BY SUSAN USIIKR Shalloltc Middle Schtx>l has transferred nine oui of approximate ly 675 students from its advisor/ad visee program at the request of par ents who object to the use of Quest materials. Last week, alter a request from two parents to remove Quest from the schools, the Brunswick County Board of Education chose to contin ue using the program as the curricu lum for the middle school advisor/ advisee program, with one change. Principal Mark Owens of Shal lotte Middle School said his office sent letters last Thursday to the par ents of all 675 or so students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade who participate in A/A. Parents were advised their child was participating in the program and asked to make an appointment with Owens' office if they had con cerns about it. Monday morning nine parents, acting as a group, notified the Beacon that they planned to with draw their students from A/A. hut chose not to discuss their reasons for doing so. Owens said the parents did re move their children from A/A as well as from intramurals, since that is offered on an alternating schedule with A/A. He said several of the adults asked if students could lie readmitted if their parents so chose after reviewing Quest materials lor themselves. That is possible, he said. Owens said he shared Quest ma terials with the parents for their re view. "They left feeling good, it seemed to me," he said. Meanwhile, Owens said the nine students have been assigned to a study period, and must bring mate rials on which to work each day. " That has created no problem for us," he said Tuesday. Mose Lewis, the assistant super intendent of schools in charge of in struction, said the school board's goal is to create a "winning" situa lion in which no one loses ? one thai satisfies parents who don't want their children in the program and places students in an acceptable program substitute while not taking Quest out of the classroom. "We hope we can use this in an acceptable way lor all involved," he said. Quest, which includes lessons in self-esteem, decision making and goal setting is used as part of lite schiH)l system's drug education pre vention program lor the middle schix)ls. Program Coordinator Jell Cumbie said Quest leaches students lhal it is illegal and wrong 10 use il legal drugs or to use legal drugs il legally. However, opponents argue that Quest is inadequate as a drug and alcohol abuse prevention program and that the curriculum "indoctri nates students into the occult. New Age Thinking and the religion of secular humanism" instead of its staled goals. Search Begins For Missing Woman BY TERRY POPE Brunswick County sheriff's dctcctivcs suspect foul play is involved in the disappearance of an Ash woman missing from her home since Aug. 17. Rhonda Diane Keeler, 29, of Route 1, has not been seen by her family in about a month, said Detective Nancy Simpson. "This is one case that we arc concerned about," said Ms. Simpson. "It's beginning to look like something has happened to her." Detectives spent two days searching a wooded area and KEELER dragging a creek bottom near her home last week. A helicopter was also used to search by air, said Lt. Donncll Marlowe. "We've put a lot of hours in on this case," said Marlowe. Detectives returned to the woods near her home to search again Monday morning, aided by a group of concerned Ash residents. Officers also want to question her husband. Timothy James Keeler, 31, who has not been seen since last Wednesday, said Ms. Simpson. "We have no idea where he is," she said. Keeler reportedly told Mrs. Keeler 's mother, who lives in Ash, that the couple was hitchhiking last month to Ashcville to see iheir two children, who have been placed in lostcr care. While at a bar in Charlotte, Mrs. Keclcr went to a restroom but never returned, he said, so he thumbed a ride back to Brunswick County, Ms. Simpson reported. Mrs. Keclcr was last seen wearing a light blue T shirt and jeans. She is 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 105 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. She has been treated at detoxification centers in Wilmington and Greenville previously, said Ms. Simpson, but she has not been located at any centers sincc Aug. 17. Her mother, Genevieve Rathburn, of Route 1, Ash, told detectives Monday that friends are willing to help detectives search the Ash area, "to see if they could find anything," said Marlowe. One of their two children had a birthday last week, and Mrs. Kceler did not contact the child, said Ms. Simpson. "1 feel that if something hail not happened she would have called the child," said Ms. Simpson. "It's beginning to look like something has happened." Detectives believe Keclcr left the area to go to South Carolina. The couple had been having marital problems pri oi to the incident, said Ms. Simpson. Anyone with information that may help locate Mrs. Keclcr should call the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department, 253-4321. STAFF PhQ'O P* T E PHY POPE COUNTY OFFICIALS compare plans Jur dividing the county into residency districts. Pictured are {from left ) Doug l.edgett, assistant to the county manager; District I Commissioner Kelly 1 1 olden and District 2 Commissioner. Three More Issues Added To Ballot It V TKRKY I'OI'K Brunswick County Commission ers want to know what residents think about county zoning, non-par tisan school board elections anil lire and rescue tax districts. In a non-binding vote, the hoard will use the Nov. 5 ballot to gather input on those topics. . Commissioners voted 4-0 Mon day to add tiic three ucms to uic ballot, which already contains two binding relerendunis ? one asking it commissioners' terms should be shortened from lour years to two and another asking voters to ap prove a redisricting plan chosen Monday. District 1 Commissioner Frankic Ralx>n made the motion to put the three items on the ballot. He has stood opposed to county zoning since it became a hot issue several years ago. One question w ill ask if commis sioners should enact a "comprehen sive zoning ordinance to regulate all unincorporated areas of Brunswick County." effective on or before Jan. 1. 1993. The county held regional meet ings on county zoning when it be came a debated topic several years ago, said Chairman Kelly Holden "We did everything we could to educate the public on these topics." said llolden. "1 think we did our homework there." Holdcn thinks residents will ap prove of county zoning, saying the concept has gained sup(H>ri 111 the coastal areas. But Raton said he's not so sure it will pass. The issue resurfaced again this summer when residents i V inna tow asked commissioners to help oppose an air quality permit appli cation from someone who want* to build a pel crematory in a residen tial neighborhood there. Southeastern Pet Cremation Inc. plans to build the crematory off of Old Town Creek Road. Without county zoning, the county cannot regulate what is built on the lot. said County Manager David Clegg. As ol Tuesday, that permit appli cation was still pending with the N.C. Division of Environmental Management air quality section, said DEM spokesman Jim Shep pard. Raton also wants voters to de cide if members ol the Brunswick County Board of Education should be chosen in non-partisan elections, as they were at one time. Removing party affiliation from the school board clcction would remove poli tics from the public schools, he said. A third question will ask if com missioners should establish five county service districts to lund fire protection, ambulance service, res cue service and emergency medical services cffcctivc July 1. 1992. Volunteer tire ai?l rcscuc depart i:u ..us are no* fbtdrf by the cfir ty's general fund. Districts are fa vored b> the Brunswick County Fire and Rescue Association. If districts arc established, it would allow the county to levy tax es on property value within a dis trict. The money collected would go to volunteer units within that dis trict. In other business Monday, com missioners: ? Heard from Emergency Medical Services Director Doug Ledgctt that Shalloue and Coastline Volunteer Rescue personnel will meet Thursday (today) to decide which squad will service the Royal Oak community when 911 services be gin in March. Residents there gave commissioners a petition asking that Coastline be selected. ?Fielded questions Irom Bob (See ISSUES, Page 2-A) Agents Seek Man Accused In 1986 Murder liV I KKKY I'OI'K Law officers say tliov have enough evidence to charge a suspect wiih the 19X6 murder of a Yaupon Beach rcsklent, hut they have noi Ixvn able to locate hint. District Attorney Kex Gore is sued a warrant last week for the ar rest of Donald Ray Salisbury, 35, for the Dec. 29. 19X6, murder oi Thomas Ciilbart Summer. 32. In a move calculated to enlist assistance of the media ^ ^ / ? and general public in locat ing the suspect, SAI.ISItl KV ,h* hrcak J,1, ,hc case was announced at a news con ference at the county government center last Thursday morning. Summer was the son-in-law of Brunswick County Sheriff John Carr Davis. "The weight will be there until he (Salisbury) is apprehended anil tried," said Davis. "The DA's office feels confident, the MUST team feels confident, that we have the ev idence to convict him." The special suite MUST team, or Murders Unsolved Task Force, en tered the case 12 months ago to as sist the SBI in its investigation. MUST agents are assigned to work only unsolved murders across the state. "We still have a lot of work to do," said MUST Agent Tony Cuminings. who refused to discuss a motive in the slaying. Salisbury's last known address was in New Hanover County, about live years ago. said Davis. "This is one time that we need the assistance of the news media 10 help get this man." he added. "We don't know where he is." Summer died from multiple stab wounds in the chest and abdomen and was found inside a company owned 14KS5 Ford van parked off of N'.C. 133 on a cuioll leading to Orion Plantation and Brunswick Town Stale Historic Sue. approxi mately 13 miles south of Belville. Sheriff's Detective Douglas "Sonny" Padgett found the victim inside the van. along with two pounds of marijuana and a ledger containing the names of several per sons. Padgett had retraced Summer's route to Wilmington alter the family reported him missing. Summer had been married to the sheriff's stepdaughter. Jane Brittain Summer. The van belonged to Soil and Materials Engineers of Wilmington, where Summer was employed as a senior technician. He had never been in trouble with the law before. "This is just one step we have made." Padgett said. "There are many more steps to take. The.e are always missing pieces that must be found." The photograph released by SHI agents last week shows a bearded Salisbury, as he looked about six years ago. SBI agents were called 111 on the case immediately by Brunswick County sheriff's detectives, said A1 Stevens. SBI special ageni in charge ol the coastal division. "We cannot go into any particular evidence," said Stevens. "He (Salisbury) has been one of the sus pects under investigation." Cummings said his special task force is Mill investigating another case in Brunswick County, the February 19X7 murder of a Leland woman, Beverly Potter Minty. "It's ongoing," jaid Cummings. "Once again, we are attempting to eliminate outstanding leads in that case." If the MUST team can help solve one murder, then it can be called an effective unit, said Cummings. "The concept anil the forming of the team has really paid off." he said. "It was very easy for the MUST team to come into this situation. We were able to come in and add a new approach to it. We were lucky the case was worked so well." Cummings refused to say what evidence pointed to Salisbury. "There are just certain things we can't release at tins lime." said Cummings. Davis said officers are only tak ing care to assure a conviction when Salisbury is captured. "When we get him, we want a conviction," said Davis. "After we get him, then any information the district attorney is willing to re lease, we'll release it 1 think with the FBI's assistance, we stand a good chance of locating him." FBI agents are hoping to lixate and arrest Salisbury on a fugitive warrant. Anyone with information regard ing Salisbury is asked to contact ihe Brunswick County Sheriff's De partment. 2>3-4321, or the SB I 779- 1400.

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