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.