on A Roll
Marcus Smith and Uie South
Brunswick boys' basketball
team trounce Hoggard 73-58
last Friday to improve to 8-1 .
> For this and other sports news,
see Pages 6B-9B.
Navigating Roads
Trapping Beaver lUfflKj m
Trapper Charles Eddins of HIT
Leland battles a growing
beaver population in
Brunswick County. Check j 53?
out the story on Page 12-A
h'ji'l
Hedvy rail is drenched water
front streets, but there's
tL little evidence of beach
erosion following last week
end's northeaster. The
story's on Page 8-A. |
THE
Thirtieth Year, Number 10
5**
,, V 1
v-urolina, Thursday, January 9, 1992
50c Per Copy
32 Pages, 3 Sections, 3 Inserts
STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG HITTER
FOUR PEOPLE WERE KILLED Tuesday when a dump truck (center) and a Dodge Diplomat sedan
collided at Grissettown. Part of the Dodge is shown in the foreground; the rest was pinned under the
front of the truck.
Four Killed In Grissettown Wreck
BY DOUG RUTTER
Four Albemarle residents were killed Tuesday after
noon when the car ihey were riding in entered a
Grissctlown intersection in the path of a dump truck.
The 3:30 p.m. accident occurred when a 1985 Dodge
Diplomat traveling cast on N.C. 904 attempted to cross
U.S. 17, said Trccpcr C.E. Ward of the N.C. Highway
Patrol.
A 1988 Ford dump truck northbound on U.S. 17 col
lided with the car, pushing it several hundred feet north
of the intersection, killing the driver and all tnree pas
sengers.
Authorities had not released the names of the two
male and two female vict-ms as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday,
pending notification of next of kin.
Brunswick County Emergency Management
Coordinator Cecil Logan said he didn't know the ages of
the victims, but "ihey appeared rather elderly".
Truck driver John Curtis Fuller, 59. of Council, re
ceived neck and back injuries in the wreck. He was
treated at The Brunswick Hospital in Supply and re
leased, said Ward.
Logan said it looked like the Dodge "pulled right out
in front of the truck."
Ward said the dump truck driver "didn't even have
lime to hit his brakes before he hit the car."
The collision left part of the car near '.he intersection,
but most of it was pinned under the front end of the
truck.
Fire and rescuc workers from four area departments,
using the "jaws of life" extrication tool, worked more
than t",o hours to free the victims from the crumped re
mains of the vchiclc.
Logan said the truck driver. Fuller, didn't look like he
was seriously injured. "He was up walking around when
wc got there."
BMCO Construction Inc. of Lumberton owns the tri
able dump truck that was involved in the accident.
The company was hired in November 1990 to build
the welcome center/rest area on the U.S. 17 Shallotte
bypass and had earlier done grading and drainage work
on a section of the bypass.
Logan said Brunswick County E.M.S. workers and
volunteers with Calabash and Shallotte rescuc squads
and Sunset Bcach and Grisscttown-Longwood fire de
partments responded to the scene.
The traffic-related fatalities were the first of 1992 on
slate roads in Brunswick County.
Ward said Tuesday nighi he didn't expect to file any
charges relating to the accident
TOWNS ASKED TO FUND PARTY
DOT Board Will Meet At Sunset Beach
BY DORI COSGROVE GURGANUS
AND DOUG RUTTER
The N.C. Board of Transportation
plans to hold its May meeting in the
South Brunswick Islands, and the
South Brunswick Islands Chamber
of Commerce is asking local towns
to help foot part of the tab.
The towns are being asked to help
pay for a cocktail party.
The meeting, which will bring 24
board members and about 51 staff
members to Sunset Beach, will be
held at Sea Trail Plantation as a pub
lic relations effort by the chamber.
"Hosting the DOT is a real privi
lege," said Annette Odom, immedi
ate past president of the chamber.
She said the state panel has been
invited to meet here many times, but
declined previous offers due to bud
get limitations.
In August, the chamber received
an RSVP of sorts from the trans
portation board accepting the invita
tion for a spring meeting.
The one catch for area officials is
that the board requires about $5,000
in local funds to help cover meeting
related expenses.
Ms. Odom said local towns have
been asked to donate S750 each to
help augment the chamber funds
that will pay for a cocktail party dur
ing the visit.
Sunset Beach Town Council ap
proved the donation at its meeting
Monday night on a 3-2 vote, ana
Ms. Odom said she has received
verbal commitments from Occan
Isle Beach and Holden Bcach offi
cials.
Governing boards in those two
communities have not approved the
expenditure. Shallotte Aldermen
have postponed a decision on the
donation until their Jan. 21 meeting,
saying they need to review their
budget and discuss the request.
Ms. Odom also said she has re
ceived commitments of S500 each
from the South Brunswick Islands
Committee of I0() and the
Committee for Economic Develop
ment.
The chamber official said she's
not sure the chamber will need all of
the S5.000, as the state is reconsider
ing its share of the funding.
(See DOT, Page 2-A)
AT FIRST LAND USE WORKSHOP
Speakers Say Zoning's Top Concern
BY TEKKY POPK
About a dozen people attended the first of a five-part
series of public workshops on the 1992 Brunswick
County Land Use Plan Update Tuesday night at Sunset
Beach.
Residents there listed the need for county zoning, im
proved water distribution, recycling programs and waste
management as top concerns relating to Brunswick
County growth in the next five to 10 years.
Glenn Harbeck, a consultant hired to develop the land
use plan, said he. was pleased with the comments made
Tuesday.
Ideas from the workshops will help draft the plan with
an aim at making an impact on the county's future eco
nomic growth, development proposals, transponauon
planning and public improvements.
"If we get this kind of result from our other four
meetings," said Harbeck, "we'll be delighted."
Other workshops will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30
p.m. at ihc following locations: Southport-Oak Island
Chamber of Commerce building, Thursday, Jan. 9; at the
Town Creek Community Building, Tuesday, Jan. 14; at
the Lcland Community Building, old Leland School
park, Wednesday, Jan. 15; and at the Lock wood Folly
Community Building on Suinbury Road, Thursday, Jan.
16.
County residents who met at Sea Trail Plantation
Tuesday night were asked to vote for their top 10 con
cerns listed by the entire group. Votes were also cast for
improved public education, industrial recruitment, im
proved fire and rescue service, cultural development,
wildlife protection, unemployment reduction and con
trols on business growth through zoning.
District 1 Commissioner Kelly Holden represented
the county at the meeting, along with Brunswick County
Planning Board member Troy Price of Calabash.
Holden said the top concern, zoning, would be a topic
commissioners will deal with in 1992. The Brunswick
County Planning Department has been ordered to pre
pare a zoning ordinance for adoption
Commissioners appear in favor of an ordinance by a
(See ZONING, Page 2-A)
Former Drug Defendant
Charged In Theft Rina
BY TKRRY POPE
Con vie led drug trafficker Dale Olaf Varnam of
Supply was back in jail Monday, accused of leading a
Holdcn Beach area ihcft ring that allegedly involves
thousands of dollars in stolen goods.
Varnam, 40, of Supply was charged Monday with six
counts of sccond-dcgrce burglary and six counts of
larceny after breaking and entering, said Brunswick
County Sheriff's Detective Gene Allen Caison.
He was being held in the Brunswick County Jail
TiuicHoo nn^ir ennnm a
? uv.ruuj utivivi JV,VAA/ IAVIIU, VUl.X/ll .XtlU. n HI Jl up*
pearancc in Brunswick County District Court has not
been set
Varnam is the key subject in a three-month investiga
tion into an organized theft ring in the Holden Beach
area, said Detective Kevin Holdcn. Mostly mainland
homes were involved in the break-ins with one located
on the isiand, said Holdcn.
"We received lips, and one thing led to another," said
Holden. "We expect this to lead to other arrests."
Officers seized approximately S50,(XX) in stolen items
from Vamam's home on Stone Chimney Road (S.R.
1115) Monday aftcnuiori. Caison said dctcctivcs loaded
up a U-Haul and four smaller trucks with the items
seized.
The stolen goods had been "set up for use in his
home," said Caison. The break-ins date back to March
1991.
Confiscated were refrigerators, a dishwasher, video
recorders, televisions, coffee pots and other items, said
Caison.
In a plea bargain agteement, Varnam pleaded guilty in
Brunswick County Superior Court in 1988 to 18 counts
of trafficking in cocaine and 18 counts of conspiracy to
traffic in cocaine. He was one of 80 defendants indicted
on drug trafficking charges by a special investigative
grand jury under former District Attorney Michael
Easley.
He rcccivcu a J5-yc?u suspended sentence in
September 1988, was placed on five years' supervised
probation and fined S2,(XX) for his drug involvement. He
was also ordered to serve 200 hours of community ser
vice work.
A probationary sentence was handed down at the time
because of Varnam s cooperation with die state and per
sonal danger ne would tace it imprisoned with individu
als he implicated in various drug investigations. Judge
Lynn Johnson noted.
Indictments accused him of distributing more than
eight pounds of cocaine in Brunswick County between
February 1985 and May 1986.
The goods seized from Varnam 's home Monday will
be relumed to the owners or to insurance companies,
said Holden.
"We expect more charges to come out of this," said
Caison.
NO LONGER NEEDED?
Vote To Drop Advisory Board Angers Robinson
BY TERRY POPE
Rnin<wictf bounty Rcgisf' of
Deeds Robert J. Robinson was fum
ing when he left the commissioners'
chambers Monday nighi.
i- . . . j _ r
llhlCUU U1 lUip^lllUllg lllVllltA-U
to his Register of Deeds Advisory
Board, Brunswick County
Commissioners voted 4-0 to abolish
it.
Robinson said amendments or re
visions to the resolution that formed
the board in November 1987 must
ho approved by both ihc commis
sioners and the register of deeds.
"I'd like to go on record of taking
exception to the fact," said
n
I\UUH1.>UII.
"I do not concur," he added before
leaving the room.
But the resolution also indicates
that commissioners must appoint
four of the five members to the
board for it to remain active.
STAFF PHOTO BY DORI C GURGANUS
First Baby Of '92
Robert and Phebie Mclean of Shallotte show off their daughter ,
Kay la Denise McLcan, the first baby born in 1992 at The
Brunswick Hospital. Arriving Jan. J at 9:34 a.m., she weighed 8
pounds, 1 ounce, and was 20.75 inches long. The McLeans re
ceived gifts from local merchants and the hospital that include a
free photo sitting, a baby ring, a stroller, free car seat rental and a
$25 savings bond, as well as a manufacturers' gift package of as
sorted baby products. Kay la's grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. J.B.
Smith and Eliza Hewett, all of Shallotte. Great-grandparents are
Mr. and Mrs. Winfred Robinson of Shallotte. She has a brother,
Corbit, 5.
Commissioners say ihc advisory
hoard members soi ns> policy for tho
Register of Deeds office and operat
ed on a monthly SJ5 per diem plus
travel expenses. Its members are
Inan TKnrrv I onnl Chir^'; Tf*m
Morgan, Billy Carter and Earl
Andrews.
"I don't sec where we still need a
Register of Deeds Advisory Board,"
said Kelly Holder), chairman of the
Board of Commissioners.
Commissioners traded a few tart
comments with Robinson before the
4-0 vote ;o axe the board. District 4
Commissioner Frankic Rabon was
sick and did not attend.
"Would the Register of Deeds of
fice continue to operate without an
advisory honrd?" District 2 Commis
sioner Jerry Jones asked Robinson.
Robinson responded, "The same
as the operations of the county
would carry on without a board of
of citizens to serve in an advisory
capacity" to the Register of Deeds.
Its duty is to "bring to the atten
tion of the Register of Deeds any in
adequacies that may pose undue
problems" and to "discuss other is
sues of relevance that the Register of
Deeds deems necessary for office
operation."
Robinson said board members
"obtained input from the public on
the everyday operations" of the de
partment. There arc 13 such adviso
ry boards in North Carolina's 100
counties, he said.
Information supplied by Bill
Campbell of the N.C. Institute of
Government indicated Brunswick
has the only such advisory board,
said Holden. Ones were formed in
Orange and Guilford counties to
help select new computerized
recording systems for the office, but
have since become inactive.
Deeds offices do not routinely re
port to the Institute of Government
on their activities, which is why that
agency did not Imvc up-to-date in
formation on advisory boards, said
Robinson, who serves as the N.C.
Register of Deeds Association's leg
islative chairman.
A data sheet given to commis
sioners in their meeting packets
Monday listed S554.29 in expenses
for the local advisory board mem
bers for the months of July, August,
October and November.
commissioners.
The advisory
board was estab
lished under
Chairman Grace
Beasley of the
previous board
of commission
ers. According
to the charter, it
was created to
form "a system
ROBINSON
(See VOTE, Page 2-A)