Overcrowded?
Glenda Browning was among Leland
area parents asking county officials
Monday to speed up building of a
new elementary school. School
related stories are on Pages 2A, 7A.
THE r
t-- ;
Thirtieth Yeor, Number 23
Hurls Two-Hitter
Scott Core hurled a two-hitter Friday
as the Trojans beat South Robeson 5 -
0. For the details, see the sports V
section. Pages 6B-11B. ?
' 4
She's A Champ!
Brunswick County's new spelling
champ, 13 -year-old Heather
Heavener of Sunset beach, wiii
compete in the national spelling bee
next month. The story's on Page 5B
? im THE MUNSWtCK If ACON
Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, April 9, 1992
50c Per Copy
42 Pages, 3 Sections, 3 Inserts
*\-> IK ? * - BHH
STAFF PHOTO BY TM?Y POP*
SHALIX)TTE'S Honey Cheers (left) speaks with Ray Walton of Southport following the Brunswick
County Democratic Convention Saturday. Walton was the keynote speaker.
County Democrats Rally Behind
Walton's Plea For Party Unity
BY TERRY POPE
Southport attorney Ray Walton
remembers a better day for Bruns
wick County Democrats.
Votes in the Smithville Township
precincts, it seemed, were always
the last ones counted on election
day. Nervous politicians waited for
hours on the edge of their scats.
"We used to say that if you
crossed the Lockwood Folly River
not more than 400 votes behind, you
were safe," said Walton.
But in recent years Democratic
unity has been threatened by a
Republican Party surge, Walton told
the estimated 100 people who gath
ered for the annual Brunswick
County Democratic Convention in
Supply on Saturday.
The result, he said, is a nation
lacking in affordable health care for
a third of its citizeas, a growing
crime and drug epidemic and a lack
of leadership at all levels,
"We must call to account those
who arc responsible for our prob
lems," Walton said, "and we've got
some problems. People are fed up
with crooked politicians and crooked
politics, and they're looking for the
Democratic Party for answers."
Democratic candidates mingled
with precinct leaders and other party
members but were not allowed to
address the convention crowd. Due
to sickness in his family, Party
Chairman Crawford M. Hart of
Boiling Spring Lakes was out of
town, so Grace Peoples, vice chair
man, led the rally.
County Republicans held their an
nual convention March 2 1 .
Walton, a former District Court
judge, said he has listened to candi
dates for national office preach con
servatism and make a mockery out
of being a liberal Democrat for the
past 10 years.
"I'm not ashamed of being a
Democrat," he added. "I'm not
ashamed of being a liberal Demo
crat."
He asked county Democrats to
make two promises this election
year, to work for and to vote for the
best person running in the May 5
primary. Being a liberal Democrat
doesn't mean giving up traditional
values in our schools and homes, he
added.
"Americans need leadership,"
said Walton. "We need leadership in
this county. We have the answers to
die problems facing this county, this
state, this nation."
Directing his comments to the
candidates on hand, he added,
"When you get in there, we expect
you to make and to keep a clean slate
so we can re-elect you in two years."
Democrats also voted on seven
precinct resolutions, adopting four
and rejecting three from the party
platform. Delegates:
?Adopted a resolution calling for
mandatory school attendance until
age 18 or graduation from high
school starting with the 1992-93
school year, proposed by Boiling
I
Spring Lakes Precinct;
?Adopted a resolution calling for an
affordable, universal health care
plan for all Americans, proposed by
Shallouc Precinct;
?Rejected a resolution asking U.S.
Congress to stop paying bonuses
worth S4.5 million a year in
Pentagon funds ho executives of
American auto manufacturers, pro
posed by Shallouc Precinct.
?Adopted a resolution asking the
N.C. Department of Transportation
to use highway funds to build an
overpass at N.C. 130 and the U.S.
17 bypass of Shallotlc, proposed by
Shallotte Precinct.
?Rejected a resolution asking that
the law be changed to tax paper
companies for land at a rate compa
rable to taxes on other private prop
erty, proposed by Oak Island II
Precinct;
?Adopted a resolution to allow un
affiliated voters the right to vote in
(See DEMOCRATS, Page 2-A)
97 7 Delayed Two Weeks
BY TKRRY POPE
Start-up of Brunswick County's 911 emergency communications
program has been delayed until the week of April 27.
Factory delivery of consoles, part of the 911 radio equipment, was
late by about two weeks causing this delay, said Doug Ledgctt, director
of emergency services.
The equipment has now arrived and is being installed.
The county had originally planned to begin the enhanced 911 pro
gram in January, but building design setbacks forced a delay until April
15. The system should be ready to begin during the last week in April,
Ledgctt said on Monday.
"Most of the building is basically complete," said Ledgett. "They are
still doing some wiring. We're very, very close."
New addresses were mailed last week to residents in Leland and
Bolivia postal zones. Part of the 91 1 program eliminates rural routes and
requires residents to use house numbers and new street names to help
emergency rcsponders locate homes.
Residents in the Supply and Southport postal zones will be receiving
their new addresses over the next two weeks, said Ledgett.
"There have been a lot more details that we've had to work out that
wasn't anticipated," said Lcdgctt.
He plans to interview applicants this week for 911 tclceommunica
tors. They must be trained on the equipment before April 27, he said
Council Advocates Private
Purchase Of Bird Island;
Owner Open To Offer
BV SUSAN LSI IKK
Sunsci Bcach Town Council is supporting acquisi
tion of Bird Island by conservation groups and the is
land's owner Monday night didn't rule out that possibili
ty.
Meanwhile, Bird Island won't be zoned unul Sunset
Bcach officials take another look at their options.
Reflecting the "consensus of the community,"
Sunset Bcach Town Council Monday night adopted a
resolution on a motion by Mayor Pro tern Ed Gore sup
porting efforts by environmental groups or other non
profit corporations to acquire and conserve Bird Island
in its natural state.
"I think we would all like the island to remain as it
is," said Councilman Bud Scrantom. "It is a beautiful lit
tle island."
Monday night Mrs. Price did not rule out a different
future for all or a portion of the island as Scrantom and
audience members discusscd efforts by several agencies
and organizations to raise money and try to acquire the
island.
lion of Bird Island as a dredge spoil area. "We wanted 10
show a had value and was not just a sandspil." The plat
shows 15 one-acre lots for single-family homes.
At that time, she said, the Prices received no support
for their efforts from suite or non-profit agencies or from
the local community.
"Everybody wanted fishing boats to be able to come
in and out of Little River Inlet at high speed whether it
was low tide or high tide," she said.
Bill Ducker, whose home overlooks Bird Island,
urged the council to delay the zoning unul an appropri
ate classification is created. He suggested it he zoned a
conservation area and cited concerns about potentially
dense development on the island. He wanted Mrs. Price
to sign an agreement of some kind pledging the island
would never be developed; she refused, saying it would
be impossible for her or anyone else to guarantee what
might happen in ihe future.
"As nebulous as it is now, it doesn't matter if its four
acres or one acre," said Mayor Pro tem Ed Gore. "It
"Let someone come up with a pro
posal and I will entertain an offer,"
she said.
After approximately 30 minutes of
discussion among audicncc members.
Mrs. Price and council members, the
council referred the zoning of the is
land back to the planning board for
further consideration and a new rec
ommendation.
"1 am not a developer: 1 am a w id
Let someone come up
with a proposal and 1
will entertain an
offer."
? Janie P. Price
Bird Island owner
wouldn't allow the type of cluster de
velopment she's interested in "
Minnie Hunt, a former Sunset
Beach council member, agreed that
the category wouldn't allow Mr,.
Pncc to cany out her plans for die is
land.
However, Mrs. Hunt urged die
council to act with caution, since it
would difficult if not impossible to
re/one the island later in a more re
strictive fashion. "Don't do it an acre
o\v and a grandmother. I would like to fulfill my hus
bar.d s dream of building a home on Bird Island, island
owner Janic Page Price of Greensboro and Sunset Beach
told the council and about 35 people attending a public
hearing prior to the council meeting.
While her plans for home building on the island
aren't complete, Mrs. Price said she envisions a "clus
ter" type development with her home and perhaps those
of a handful of other family members, with trails, not a
grid-type arrangement with rows of houses and paved
streets.
Describing herself and her late husband as environ
mentalists before it was popular to be one, she said she
does " not want anyone to do anything there (on Bird
Island) that would be determinental" and has no plans to
develop the island.
She said a 15-lot plat submitted with her CAMA
permit application was left from an earlier fight to block
stabilizing of Little River Inlet and ihe taking of a por
do u four. Give her what she asked lor II you |ini' h.-r
an acre, you can't back out of it."
The Sunset Beach Planning Board had recommend
ed the council /one the island for agricultural tn.i
forestry use, the lowest-density zoning available under
ihe existing zoning ordinance. Thai classification would
allow construction of single-family homes only, on lots
of at least one acre. Traditionally property is put in that
classification temporarily so it will he zoned while the
owner decides how the land is to be used.
Instead, the planning board may look al alternatives
tied to the one house per four acres of land density re
flected in the plat submitted with the C'AMA applica
tion.
"I don't think four acres would be unreasonable for
Bird Island," town attorney Michael lsenberg noted. "It
is a unique situation."
lsenberg recommended that the town not zone the is
(See BIRD ISLAND, Page 2-A)
State Proposes Special Protection For Streams
Waccamaw River, Orion Pond
and Onon Creek could receive spe
cial water quality protection under a
proposal being considered by the
N.C. Wildlife Resources Commis
sion.
The commission's staff pio|x>ses
designating the waters as "critical
habitats" for threatened or endan
gered aquatic spccics, which could
lead to extra protection by the N.C.
Environmental Management Com
mission (EMC).
Randy Wilson, director of the
slate's non-game and endangered
species section, said the local waters
could be among the first in ihe slate
to be tagged as "critical habitats" by
the wildlife commission.
The wildlife commission will
conduct a public hearing on ihe pro
posal Wednesday, April 22, in the
hearing room on the ground floor of
the Archdalc Building in Raleigh.
Waccamaw River, which flows
along Brunswick County's western
border, is a prime habitat for several
threatened species and two types of
endangered mussels ? the Wacca
maw fatmucket and Waccamaw
spike.
Wilson said ihe river provides
habitat for the alligator, Carolina
pygmy sunfish and Waccamaw
darter, all of which are threatened
species.
The Waccamaw River is also
home to five other species for which
wildlife experts have special con
cern. "It's a highly important water
shed in the number of species it pro
vides habitat for," Wilson said.
Orton Pond and Orton Creek, lo
cated between Boiling Spring Lakes
and Southport off N.C. 133, provide
habitat for an endangered aquatic
snail known as the "magnificent
ram's horn," Wilson said.
Federal officials have labeled two
areas m North Carolina as critical.
The stale is working on its first
round of designations, which could
include portions of 34 rivers or wa
tersheds. ,
"Most of them have rare mussels
or fish that serve as indicators of the
overall health of their environ
ments," Wilson said.
If the wildlife commission ap
proves the "critical habitat" designa
tions, Wilson said the EMC could
then consider them for "high quality
water" status.
The Environmental Management
Commission regulateswater quality
in the stale and can restrict die dis
charge of effluent and use of those
waters to maintain their high quality.
The commission is also consider
ing changes in its regulations that
would more sharply define the criti
cal habitat needed by certain spccies
of threatened or endangered aquatic
wildlife.
Former Shallotte Postmaster Says Movin
BY DOUG R UTTER
Former Shallotle Postmaster Homer
Andrews told town officials Tuesday that
it's not too late to fight plans to move most
of the postal operations from the downtown
office to the new South Brunswick station
next month.
"You can turn it around," he said at an in
formal meeting Tuesday night. "What
you're up against is one individual, and that
man has no more pull than either one of
you."
Andrews, who served as postmaster from
1974 to 1988, was referring to the present
postmaster, Frank Bringoli. fie plans to
move most of the mail-handling operations
and employees from the Main Succt office
to the new branch in May.
Town officials fear the move w ill hurt lo
cal merchants. Shallotle Aldermen Roncy
Cheers, David Clause and Morris Hall dis
cussed the plans wiih Andrews Tuesday af
tcr their meeting was canceled due to lack of
a quorum.
Mayor Sarah Tripp was out sick.
Alderman Wilton Harrelson was with his
hospitalized wife in Chapel Hill and
Alderman Paul Wayne Reeves was recover
ing from recent surgery, according to Gausc.
Andrews said it was the local postmaster
who made the decision to move his office
and other operations to the new branch on
N.C. 9()4 at Seaside.
I he move wasn i mandated by the postal
service, Andrews said, and can therefore be
reversed if the townspeople pull together.
"The people are the ones who control it,"
he said. "II they gel on the politicians hard
enough, the politicians will get on the post
office."
Andrews, a Shalloltc native who worked
30 years for the postal service, said it won't
be good for the town, its businesses or peo
ple il the posunaster moves 12 miles from
the community he serves.
" What you're up
against is one
individual , and that
man has no more pull
than either one of you."
? Homer Andrews
Funnel Shallotie Postmaster
"When you move ihe postmaster to that
office that will be the main branch," he said.
"This will be nothing but a classified
branch."
Andrews said the original plans were to
keep the Shallotie branch as die main office
and make the South Brunswick branch a
classified station, mainly for rural route car
riers.
The plans didn't change until the middle
g Plans Can Still Be Changed
of 1990, Andrews said, when he heard from
a friend in the postal service that the main
branch would be moved to the Seaside area.
"Il sort of stumped me," he said. "Why
would you want to move an office out of
Shallotle that's been here so long?"
Andrews said he's concerned about the
identity of Shallotle, and the town's name
being dropped from the South Brunswick
branch. Sunset Beach Town Council voted
Monday to annex the post office property on
N.C. 9(>4.
Several postal service officials have said
town businesses won't suffer because of the
move. They only change, they say, will be
less traffic at the post office.
But Andrews said he thinks the move will
affect business because fewer people will
come to town to use the post office. "If 1
was a merchant I'd be raising hell at every
meeting," he said.
Also Tuesday, Andrews defended Jerry
Jones, a county commissioner who was
mayor of Shallotic when the new postal sta
tion was being planned.
Danny Moles, director of field operations
with the postal service in Faycttcville, indi
cated at the town board's March 17 meeting
that Jones knew of the postal service's plans
all along.
However, Andrews said thai wasn't the
case. He said the former mayor only asked
the postal service to relocate to a new facili
ty in Shalloue to relieve traffic and parking
problems at the existing office.
"Jerry Jones did not instigate the move
ment of the Shalloue Post Office out of
Shallotic," Andrews said emphatically. "The
man from the postal service is misleading
the town."
Cheers said he is convinced that Moles
lied to the town board about the former
mayor's know ledge of the plans after read
ing some of the correspondence between
Jones and postal service officials.