LET ME TELL YOU THE ONE ABOUT. . . Gore First County Resident To Win Bullshooter's Trophy Six storytellers regaled listeners with tales almost, but not quite be lievable Saturday at "North Caro lina's Greatest Bullshooling Con test" at the N.C. Oyster Festival. Ash resident Ellis Gore became the first Brunswick County resident ever to win the contest in its six years as part of the festival. An ob vious crowd favorite. Gore said af terward that he would be back to defend his title next October. Emcccd by Cecelia "CcCc" Gore of Ash, this year's event drew six contestants from across the Caro linas, with dogs and other animals an obviously favored topic. Winner Ellis Gore is a former "mayor" of Lower Ash, a title won in a fundraiser held annually by the Waccamaw Volunteer Fire and Rescuc Association. At Saturday's contest he recount ed his experience in traveling to the moon with astronaut Neil Arm strong. Thirty thousand miles from Earth, he said, the two encountered two Brunswick County men who were asking the way to the nearest welfare office. They said they need ed gas money u> gel home. "I fell kind of sorry lor them," said Gore. Baek on Earth, Gore had a dog story of his own, of a coon hound that was so good he could tell by sniffing tracks if a deer was a doc or a buck and act accordingly. Defending 1990 Champion June C. Porter of Charlotte and Seaside told of a hunter with a perfect shot. He so talented that with one shot he returned from the field with two bass, a mud turtle, a row of ducks and a buck. The tale won Porter second place. Bob Johnson of Ocean Isle Beach, a last-minute entrant, re galed listeners with vivid details of "The Battleship Wreck," claiming third place. Other contestants were David Grimes of Sunset Beach, Carroll Sexton of Greenwood, S.C., and James H. Bix>nc of Rock Hill, S.C. Grimes claimed a snore that reg isters 8.6 on the Richtcr scale, and he also claimed to be the world's fastest talker. Sexton related what he said were personal experiences, telling of a dog so smart that it saved the fami ly's fire insurance policy. Boone's tale was entitled "The Family Reunion". In addition to Porter, past winners of the contest include Lewis Williams, Concord, 19X6; Warren Sing, Belmont, 19X7; and Boh Johnston, Matthews. 19XX and 19X9. The contcsl is sponsored an nually by TJ.'s Electric. Judges for this year's event were Beth Simmons, Annette Odom, Susannc Sartelle, Ann Laughinghouse and Rosic Scarborough, with David Clegg as chief judge, ballot counter and timer. Judging was based on factors such as content, originality, use of exaggeration to create a story that is almost believable, and use of body language, vocal expression and ap propriate language. Mrs. Gore, a former contestant and former judge of the event, suc ceeded longtime master of cere monies and contest founder Jess Parker, who has retired as county Veterans' Service officer and moved to Washington State. ELLIS GORE "BUM-SHOOTING CHA MP" Hunter Spends Hours Lost In County's Green Swamp BY TKRRY POPK A losi hunter spent about seven hours in Brunswick County's Green Swamp last Thursday night before searchers found him. It marked the fifth hunter in the past three years who has gotten lost in the heavily-wooded area near the N.C. Nature Conservancy property on N.C. 211 near Supply, said Cecil Logan, Brunswick County Emer gency Management coordinator. Each time, the hunters have been rescued with just minor injuries or mild hypothermia, a drop in the body's temperature due to cold weather. Albert Shelton, 65, of Weavcr ville, was hunting with four other men from western North Carolina when he couldn't find his way out of the woods last Thursday evening, said Logan. "People get in there and every thing looks the same," said Logan. 'This man had gotten worn out walking and finally just sat down." Shelton told Logan that he had dropped a cigarette lighter in the dark and couldn't find it when he wanted to build a fire. He was feeling the effects of hy pothermia when a tractor from the N.C. Forestry Service reached him, said Logan. Shelton was taken from the woods around 1:15 a.m. and into a wailing Coastline Volunteer Rescue Squad vehicle, where he was wrapped in blankets and warmed but wasn't transported to the hospital. Panic set in when the four other hunters realized that their partner was lost. The men returned to the woods around 6:30 p.m. to search for Shelton, reported Brunswick County Sheriff's Dctcciivc Gene Caison. They were Larry Oxcndine and Bobby Sanders of High Point, Mike Shelton of Asheville and Bill Trcadway of Shelby. They, too, be came lost after re-entering the woods to look for Shelton, Caison reported. Treadway managed to find his way back to N.C. 211 and drove to Kirby's Food Center on U.S. 17 in Supply, where someone called the sheriff's department for help. The other three men emerged from the woods around 10:53 p.m., Caison reported. "1 drove down into the woods as far as 1 could go and got on my PA system," said Logan. "I could hear just a faint yell." Sheriff's Sgt. Carl Pearson pilot ed an airplane to help direct the tractor to the lost man. Volunteers from Tri-Bcach, Supply and Civietown fire depart ments also helped in the search. Federal Aviation Administration To Study Plane Parts Federal Aviation Administration officials have been called to Bruns wick County to investigate pieces of an airplane that washed ashore re cently on Bald Head Island. A green and white piece of metal found on the south end of the Bald Head beach strand has been identi fied as the engine cover to a Cessna airplane, said Cecil Logan, Bruns wick County Emergency Manage ment coordinator. "It had Cessna written on the in side of it," said Logan. "Thai's all that I know about it." The matter will be turned over to FA A officials for investigation, said Logan, who did not know when au Suspect Takes Seafood, Cash A man who ordered a carryout dinner ai the Eastside Restaurant in Calabash Saturday night left with more than just seafood. Brunswick County Sheriff's de tectives say the man reached into the cash register and robbed the restaurant on N.C. 179 of an unde termined amount of money. The white male is described as approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighing from 120 to 130 pounds, and wearing dark sunglasses, a black baseball cap with gold letter ing, dark shirt and blue jeans, said Detcctivc Billy Hughes. Fire Destroys Fire destroyed a commercial fish ing boat that was working in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway near Little River Inlet last week, but the captain wasn't injured. The Bon-Jon , a 55-foot wooden shrimp boat, was consumed by a fire that started in the engine room last Wednesday afternoon, said Petty Officer Brent Phelps of the U.S. Coast Guard at Oak Island. Phelps said the boat was a total loss, but he couldn't provide an esti mated value. The fire was reported to the Coast Guard around 2 p.m. "By the time we got down there the vessel had burned down to the water line," Phelps said. Another boat in the area rescued the captain, who jumped overboard after opening the engine compart ment and noticing the fire. "It was IV0TEI WflLLY flUSLEY YOUR MAYOR HOLDEN BEACH The suspect had called in his or der ahead of time, said Hughes. "He gave the cashier S20," said Hughes. "When she opened the cash register, he grabbed the money and his food and fled on foot." He took an undetermined amount of S20 bills and was last seen run ning toward Jimmy's Pantry. No weapon was used in the strong-arm robbery, said Hughes. The incident occurred around 9 p.m. and is still under investigation, said Hughes. "We're still looking for the sus pcct," he added. Shrimp Boat all up in smoke, and he couldn't see anything," said Phelps. Phelps could not provide the name of the captain, but said he wasn't injured. "He was able to come off with no harm done to him." Democrats To Feast The Democratic Party of Bruns wick County will hold a "home coming" feast of barbecue and fish Sunday, Nov. 3, at the party head quarters building on U.S. 17 be tween Bolivia and Supply, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Food for the event has been donated. The Brunswick Democratic Wo- < men have been asked to bring des serts. The women's group welcomes new members. For more informa tion about future meetings, call 754 8880. Yarns of Wilmington Get Ready For Christmas! Christmas Stocking, knitting & needlepoint kits. Christmas pillows for needlepoint Also new kits for Latch Hook Rugs, Needlepoint & Cross-stitch. New Fall Yams ; 3-101 >4 Wrightsville Ave., Wilmington, 919-791-2157 10nm-4 pm Mon.-Sat. or by appointment thoritics would arrive. Officials have speculated that the parts may belong to a single-engine Cessna 172 that is believed to have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Frying Pan Shoals at the mouth of the Cape Fear River on Jan. 7. Two men were aboard the plane that took off from the Brunswick County Airport at Oak Island and was lost off of radar about an hour later. At last reports, the plane was located about 10 miles northeast of the Cape Fear at Frying Pan Shoals. Pilot Jessie H. Vernon, of Wil mington Beach, and John R. Fitz gerald, of Carolina Beach, were on the plane. Officials at New Hanover County Airport lost all contact with the On Blinds! Call Seaside! 579-7592 ? Hwy. 1 79, Seaside ROBIN'S SWEET SHOPPE EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE Sample before you buy! BAKED FRESH DAILY Tues.-Sat. 8 AM-6 PM 579-0578 HWY. 179 -OCEAN ISLE plane al ter weather conditions in the area grew worse. No distress signals were issued by the pilot before the plane disappeared oil radar. The U.S. Coast Guard searched the waters for several days. When no sign of a downed plane was dis covered, the Civil Air Patiol began a scarch over land, scanning a 715 mile area. Someone walking on the Bald Head beach found the debris and notified the police department there, said Logan. "They (police) had checked the beach quite often after it happened," said Logan, "but they could never find anything." Some debris found just after the scarch was from a sailboat, he said. COMPLETE INTERIOR DECORATING SERVICE ? Carpet ? Vinyl ? Ceramic Tile ? Window Treatments ? Wallcoverings Ruby Floyd Oce -C I ? x i? D c "u u aS .*? * * * * * sj? * * * * * * * ait a?t * # * * * Save Like Never Before! * ************ ****************** WW** ?Check Us Out! ? 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