Controversial Pet Crematory
Gets State Air Permit
BY TKRRY I'OPK
Southeastern Pel Cremation has received an air
quality e?nuv>l permit to build anil to operate a crema
tory in a residential area near Town Creek, hut with
several restrictions.
N.C. Division of Environmental Management
Director George Everett awarded the permit Oct. 3, but
he noted three changes in the application submitted by
Ron Currie.
Currie will be allowed to burn only dog and cat
carcasses, must have refrigeration for on-site carcass
storage and will be required to perform air tests within
90 days of operation to check for "particulate and visi
ble emissions," said DEM spokesperson Debbie Crane.
Results of the tests will he sent to for review.
The permit is effective immediately and will expire
Aug. 1 , 1996.
Town Creek residents have fought the controversial
crematory, saying they did not want it built in a resi
dential neighborhood. They voiced their concerns be
fore Brunswick County Commissioners and at a DF.M
public hearing in April.
Residents told commissioners in August that they
would appeal DKM's decision to a Wake County
Superior Court judge if a permit is awarded. They said
they are concerned about possible damage to air and
water quality should an incinerator be built there.
Curric, New Hanover County's animal control su
pervisor, has purchased land on Town Creek Road
about two miles west of U.S. 17 to build the incinera
tor. Brunswick County does not have a zoning ordi
nance for ils unincorporated areas that would restrict
crcmatt nums from residential areas.
He j)ld DHM officials at the public hearing that he
plann ed to operate the incinerator to burn animals that
veterinarians and pet owners would like to have cre
mated.
Ibe application indicated Southeastern Pet
Cremation would be allowed to cremate cats and dogs
and also burn carcasses from research laboratories,
slaughterhouses, animal pounds and similar sources.
However, the permit has been trimmed to the burning <
of dog and cat carcasses only, said Ms. Crane.
Limits on the permit, allowing a maximum of 75
pounds of waste per hour or 7K tons yearly to be j
burned, were not altered, she said.
Concerns raised at the public hearing brought about J
the requirement for refrigeration and initial air control ;
tests, said Ms. Crane.
Persons must reapply lor air permits every five
years, she said. Sometimes public hearings are also
held for renewals.
"It depends on what comes up," said Ms. Crane.
"We have had public hearings on renewals. It depends
on the situation."
THE Bf
; ' iv I, ?. ? ? : ;jEF '?
Twenty-ninth Year, Number 49
emi the mumvmcx kacon
Shollotte, North Carolina, Thursday, October 10, 1991
50c Per Copy
38 Pages, 3 Sections, 2 Insert
STAFF PHOTO BV SUSAN USHER
Station On Schedule
Work on the new South Brunswick postal station on N.C. 904 is progressing on schedule , with completion due in early February, accord
ing to a spokesman for Robert G. Snyder, general contractor. The facility, which will sene southwestern Brunswick County, is the first
post office in the area to he owned by the federal government rather than leased.
? ^ ? ? ? BW MB? ?llinaill 'I ill I I II l'? U U iTBBaaUMflHUHMU
OYSTER SEASON OPENS TUESDAY
Fishermen Expecting Fair Harvest
by doik; ruttkr
Brunswick Couniy shellfisher
mcn don't have much hope for a
great oyster season, but they're still
anxiously awaiting opening day
next Tuesday.
Local fishermen and state offi
cials think the 1991-92 season will
be pretty much like the last one ?
which was nothing to write home
about.
The county's commercial fisher
men harvested 37,633 pounds of
oysters last year, which was poor
compared to the 81,917 pounds col
lected in 1989.
The N.C. Division of Marine
Fisheries estimated the value of last
year's harvest at SI 3 1,902, which
means local fishermen brought in
only half as much money as they
did the previous year.
Even with the small take last year
and steadily declining harvests
along the North Carolina coast,
Vamamtown oyster dealer Ernie
Galloway can hardly wait for the
first day of oyster season.
"We're looking forward to it
cause 1 love to eat 'em," Galloway
said. "I love to sell 'em, but I love
to eat 'em too."
Marine Fisheries officers will en
force the same harvest limits as last
season when waters open Oct. 15.
Commercial fishermen can gather
up to seven bushels per day or 14
bushels per boat during the week.
Weekend limits for commercial
fishermen arc one bushel per person
and two bushels per boat. Those
limits apply seven days a week for
anyone without a commercial li
ccnsc.
Rich Carpenter, district manager
with the N.C. Division of Marine
Fisheries, said the size of this year's
oyster harvest will depend in pan
on the effects of an oyster-killing
parasite known as Dcrmo.
"If the Dermo holds off, things
look pretty fair right now," Carpenter
said last week. "We've got some ar
eas that look decent and some areas
that don't look too good."
State officials detected the para
site in 1988, when the suite's first
documented case of "red tide"
brought an abrupt halt to shellfish
ing in most of North Carolina, in
cluding Brunswick County.
Dermo and another parasite,
MSX, were blamed for killing lots of
oysters in 1989. The parasites were
not as much of a problem last year
along the Brunswick County coast.
But Carpenter said Dermo ?
which thrives in warm, dry weath
er ? could cause more oyster mor
tality this season.
"We've got pretty high incidence
of Dcrmo throughout the state right
now," he said. "We arc finding it ev
erywhere that we've sampled."
Galloway, who has spent most of
his -life gathering oysters in Lock
wood Folly River, expects this sea
son to be about the same as last
year.
He said he's noticcd a lot of oys
ters under the three-inch minimum
size limit while clamming.
"What I've seen this year is just a
small percentage that's large and the
rest of it won't take long to grow
out," Galloway said.
>
TENT1S DIXON gathers oys
ters in Ijjckwood Folly River
last season. The 1991-92 sea
son opens Oct. 15.
Opening day's success will de
pend to some cxlcnt on how much
of the Lockwood Folly River is
open to harvesting.
"Right now it's open about like it
should be," Galloway said last
week. "That's about the standard
line for the river."
However, state officials closcd
lower sections of the Lockwood
Folly and Shallollc rivers Sunday
following heavy rainfall and runoff
on Saturday.
Brunswick County fishermen are
allowed to harvest oysters from sun
rise to sunset. They can unload oys
ters from their boats up to two hours
alter sunset.
Carpenter said slate officials
haven't decided when oyster season
will close, but it usually ends in
mid-March. "A lot will depend on
how the season goes," he said.
Area Sewer
System Study
To Be Discuss
Officials from three South Bruns
wick Islands towns and the county,
major landholders and developers
were to gather Wednesday, Oct. 9, to
consider a study to assess the poten
tial of a regional sewer system for
southwestern Brunswick County.
Fryda Bluestcin of the N.C.
Institute of Government at Chapel
Hill and Institute retiree Warren
"Jake" Wicker were scheduled to
speak to the group. The Dutch-tree
luncheon and discussion session
was to begin at 11:30 a.m. at the
Joncs-Byrd Clubhouse at Sea Trail
Plantation, Sunset Beach.
Powell & Associates, a North
Myrtle Beach, S.C., engineering
firm, is hosting the meeting. The
company has been hired as a con
sultant by the towns of Calabash
and Sunset Beach to study sewer
system alternatives and funding av
enues.
Officers Continue
Search For Body
BY TERRY POPE
An extensive search of the Ash
community has come up short as in
vestigators try to find the body of a
woman they believe is buried in the
area.
Rhonda Diane Kccler, 29, miss
ing from her home since Aug. 17, is
believed to have been murdered by
her husband, Timothy James Keclcr,
31, who is still at large.
The Brunswick County Sheriff's
Department brought in special dogs
last week to help search a wooded
area near the home and to sniff the
Waccamaw River and area creeks
for possible clues.
Officers from the Fayctteville Po
lice Department used two K-9 dogs
trained to search for dead bodies, but
during two days of searching the
area they came up empty-handed.
"These dogs have located bodies
before," said Brunswick County
Sheriff's Lt. Donncll Marlowe. "If
they're in an area where the body's
at, they'll find it."
Investigators have recovered a
linger from behind the Kccler resi
dence they believe belongs to the
missing woman. Upon the discov
ery, District Attorney Rex Gore is
sued warrants for arrest charging
Kccler with first-degree murder and
flight.
SB1 agents spent two days
searching the woods near the Keelcr
home, hoping to find the body.
Kceler was last seen Sept. 1ft, the
day detcctives contacted him to ask
if he would take a polygraph test re
lating to his wife's disap[>earancc.
When officers drove to Ash to pick
him up he was gone. He has not
been seen since.
Dctectives thought they had a
break in the case Monday morning
when two hunters stumbled upon
some bones scattered from a shal
low grave just off of N.C. 130 west
of Shalloite.
"It was a dog," said Sherifl John
Carr Davis. "Somebody had evi
dently buried a dog there. But I'm
glad they called us."
SBI agents were notified of the
discovery but were radioed not to
respond alter dctectives determined
that an animal had found and dug
the carcass from the grave.
Waccamaw Fire and Rescue units
have also aided in the search, help
ing investigators drag the Wacca
maw River last Wednesday anr1
Thursday.
The cadaver dogs boarded small
boats with their trainers. Chuck
Campbell and Darryl Smith of the
Fayette ville Police Department, who
instructed them to sniff the water.
Sheriff's Department divers
searched areas where the dogs indi
cated they smelted something. The
(See OFFICERS, Page 2-A)
Sunset Bridge Will Open
For More King Fishermen
Once again, the Sunset Bcach Bridge schedule is changing 10 accom
modate participants in an area fishing tournament.
The bridge over the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway will open period
ically today (Thursday) and Friday, Oct. 10 and 11, for boat traffic relat
ed to the Arthur Smith King Mackerel Tournament at North Myrtle
Bcach, S.C.
In the Smith event, boats may check out of Lockwood Folly Inlet in
North Carolina or Little River, MurreH's Inlet or Georgetown in South
Carolina.
According to a notice from the N.C. Department of Transportation,
the Sunset Beach Bridge will open both days at 6:30 a.m? 7 a.m., 7:30
a.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. if any boats are
wailing passage.
The bridge is to remain open no more than 15 minutes at a time to
allow the boats to proceed through.
If there are no boats waiting, the bridge will not open, the notice
states.
Confusion regarding the bridge opening schedule resulted in angry
motorists last month during the South Brunswick Islands King Mackerei
Tournament. During some bridge openings not a single boat passed
through, while motorists wailed on the island and mainland to cross.
Bridgctendcrs said they were notified in writing and orally to open
the bridge for 15 minutes at a time, with no exceptions specified.
The written notice to the tenders did not instruct them to leave the
bridge closed if no boats were waiting, or lo close il sooner if all wailing
boats had passed before the 15 minutes were up.
Festival By The Sea Will Salute Desert Storm Veterans
BY DOR1 COSCJ ROVE GURGANUS
Don't be surprised to sec yellow ribbons and lots of
red, white and blue flying at Holdcn Beach the week
end of Oct. 25-27.
The 1991 N.C. Festival By The Sea will honor vet
erans of the Persian Gulf War, adding a military flair to
an event that more typically reflects its coastal setting
and the proximity of Halloween. Saturday's parade
will set the tone, with Linda Jones, an American Red
Cross worker who served in the Persian Gulf War, as
its grand marshal.
A tradition in varying forms since 1980, the festival
should offer something to please everyone who partici
pates.
A festival tradition continues with the Halloween
carnival kick-off at 6:30 p.m. at Tri-Beach Volunteer
Fire Department on Sabbath Home Road. It will fea
ture costume contests for all age groups, as well as car
nival activities for the kids that include a haunted
house, snacks and plenty of games.
Saturday will dawn early for those planning to run in
the festival's one mile, 5K and 10K races. The one mile
race begins at 8 a.m., and will have four overall winners
for men and women. The 5K (3.1 miles) and 10K (6.2
miles) races will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will offer tro
phies to the top finishers for men and women in specific
age categories.
For the runner to receive a race T-shirt, entry must
be received, in the mail or in person, no later than
Friday, Oct. 25, to Johnny Craig, 842-2777. The fee is
S8 with T-shirt and S5 without T-shirt. Late entries will
be accepted the morning of the race for S6, but no T
shirts will be available. The races will start at the Tri
Bcach VFD Sub Station on Ocean Boulevard West.
Arts and crafts booths will open at 9 a.m. and close
at 4 p.m. Satuiuo/ and Sunday, offering original works
such as paintings, blown glass, jewelry and decorative
household goods. Booths can be reserved until Friday,
Oct. 18, by delivering an application and S25 fee (S5
extra if electric hook-up is needed) to Jim Lowell, 842
7380.
Lowell, organizer of the show, said more than 100
entries have been reserved, with 20 set aside for foods
ranging from authentic Thai cuisine to ice cream. Food
stands will remain open during the street dance
Saturday
At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the festival parade will wind
its way along a three-quarter mile route from Sea Trace
subdivision to the foot of the Holden Beach bridge.. The
more than 100 entries will also include Miss Brunswick
County Lisa Dale Young, the Sudan Temple Thunder
bolts minicars and an array of floats. The deadline to en
ter is Saturday, Oct. 12, and entry is free of charge.
Entrants should call Sabrina Stephens, 842-4701, or
Connie Boyd, 842-6940, before the deadline.
Saturday afternoon will warm up with some serious,
but fun, sporting competition on and off the island.
Horseshoe pitching will begin with doubles competi
tion at 1 p.m. at the water lower on Brunswick Avenue,
followed by singles, said Ben Tonking, coordinator.
Both the 1990 men's ami women's singles champions
expected to defend their titles. The entry fee is Si.
(Se? FESTIVAL, Page 2-A)
FESTIVAL BY THE SEA
OCTOBER 2 26 27 1991
HOLDEN BEACH, N.C