School Board Petitioned
A Calabash man seeks signatures to support
demands that the system improve. The board
chairman cries foul. Page 2-B.
They're All Winners
West Brunswick High School seniors are honored
at the school's annual awards day ceremony Story
and photo on Page 12-B.
Storm Fouls Fishing
A weekend torrent with strong winds and high
tides makes fishing a veritable wash-out. Stories.
Page 12-C.
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Thirtieth Year, Number 31
C19f J THC MUNSWICK llACON
Shollotte, North Carolina, Thursday, June 4, 1992
50<? Per Copy
38 Pages, 3 Sections, 3 Inserts
Varnam Sentenced To
35 Years On Drug, Burglary Charges
seven years, according to the Brunswick
County District Attorney's office.
The arrangement was called "a good
plea" by Assistant District Attorney Lee
Bollinger, who said a jury trial in the case
might have been risky because it would have
hinged on the testimony of one of Varnam's
accomplices in the burglary ring.
"Any time a ease depends on the testimo
ny of an admitted thief, there will always be
a question of credibility," Bollinger said.
"We had the goods that were stolen and we
had the testimony of co-defendants, but we
did not catch them coming out of a house."
The cornerstone of the plea bargain was
the burglary charge, which carries a mini
mum active sentence of seven years before
the defendant can be considered for parole,
Bollinger said. Once paroled on the first
charges, Vamam will then begin the 10-year
sentence imposed in the drug case.
In 1988, Vamam pleaded guilty to 18
i*-i n mm
BY ERIC CARLSON
Confessed cocaine smuggler and thief
Olaf Dale Vamam was given a 35-year
prison sentence Monday in a negotiated
guilty plea tol2 felony charges stemming
from a scries of burglaries in the Holdcn
Beach area last winter.
Varnam pleaded guilty in Brunswick
County Superior Court to one count of sec
ond degree burglary, six charges of possess
ing stolen goods and five counts of breaking
and entering. Another dozen felony charges
were dropped in the plea bargain agreement
that revoked his probation and activated part
of the suspended sentence imposed after
Vamum's 198X drug trafficking trial.
The presumptive sentence for the 12
charges dealt with in the agreement was 47
years. The state agreed to accept a 25-year
sentence on the theft charges with the addi
tion of 10 years of the 15-year sentence that
was suspended in the earlier plea bargain.
Varnam, 40, cannot be paroled for at least
A
" Dale Varnam had a
chance and he blew it
? Rex Gore
District Attorney
counts each of cocaine trafficking and con
spiracy. He was one of 80 people indicted
on drug charges by a special grand jury in
vestigation. He was given a 15-year sus
pended sentence, fined $2,000 and put on
five years probation. Varnam was not sent to
jail because he had cooperated with investi
gators and because Judge Lynn Johnson felt
he would be in danger if imprisoned.
"Varnam got a huge break when he was
placed on probation," said District Attorney
Rex Gore in a prepared release. "However
his help then did not buy him license to steal
now. Dale Varnam had a chancc and he
blew it"
STAFF PHOTO BY
SOUTHBOUND TRAFFIC creeps through floodwaters on U.S. 17 Saturday afternoon just south of the Shallotte bypass.
Water, Winds Leave Mark Over Weekend
Torrential rainrall, high winds and higher than
usual tides left their mark on Brunswick County
this weekend.
Tides Friday night ranged from two feet to two
and one-half higher than usual, according to bul
letins from the National Weather Service.
In a period of a little more than 24 hours,
southwestern areas of the county received from 5
inches to 7 inches of rainfall Friday and Saturday.
At Holdcn Beach, the storm washed out three
to four feet of sand in some places and damaged a
half dozen oceanfront walkways.
Building Inspector Dwight Carroll said he tied
red ribbons to about six sets of stairs that he de
termined to be "structurally unsafe."
Erosion was spotty up and down the beach.
"We lost three to four feet in some places," he
said. "Some of the places it was not noticeable at
all."
Carroll said the erosion and damage was
caused by a combination of an unusually high
tides and strong easterly winds that blew waves
onto the beach.
At Ocean Isle Beach, wind direction helped
minimize damage to the island's vulnerable east
end.
Building Inspector Druid Roberson said, "We
fared better on the cast end than I thought we
would. The wind stayed out of the east, so there
was very little erosion. We just had grass washed
up on the road on that end.
'There was six inches of rain measured in 27
hours, though, at the (sewer) treatment plant. We
found some minor repairs we need to make, that
were there before the storm."
The heavy rains and high tides resulted in shal
low flooding of low-lying areas around the coun
ty. In the vicinity of Shallottc, flooding was evi
dent south of the U.S. 17 bypass .
A state Department of Transportation crew was
out Saturday afternoon erecting "High Water"
signs and barrels with reflectors to direct motorists
away from water that had inundated the south
bound lane at the southern end of the bypass.
"We've had just a tremendous amount of rain
fall," said Garland Suggs. "Seven inches so far."
Suggs is project supervisor for the widening of
U.S. 17 from the bypass to the South Carolina
slate line. The rain caused a temporary setback in
roadbed preparation, with two small "blow-outs"
OWNERS FEEL BETRAYFD
near Grisscttown where flood waters had cut
through the path of the new lanes.
Flooding also piompted temporary closure of
Shalloltc District Park, where water covered por
tions of two ballfields and a picnicking area.
Greater than normal rainfall remains in the
forecast over the next few days, along with un
seasonably cool weather, according to Shallotle
Point meteorologist Jackson Canady.
He expects about three-quarters of an inch of
rainfall on top of the 4.55 inches he measured
from May 26 through June 1.
He expects temperatures to range from the low
er 60s at night into the lower 80s during the day
time, continuing, the existing weather pattern.
"We continue to be in a very unusual pattern
for this time of year. We are continuing to have
weather we should have had 30 to 40 days ago,"
he said.
For the period, he recorded a high of 83 on
May 26 and a low of 52 degrees on May 28.
An average daily high of 76 degrees combined
with an average nighUy low of 62 degrees for an
average daily temperature of 69 degrees, which is
about five degrees below normal.
Beach House Needs Changes To Satisfy State
BY DOUG R UTTER
Jimmie and Sandy Monroe will
probably have to tear down a wall,
seal two closets, rip apart a shower
and make several other revisions to
their new house at Holdcn Bcach to
satisfy the state.
The mandated changes came out
of a contested hearing last week in
Raleigh that was called after county
health officials accused the couple
of building a six-bedroom home
when they only had permission to
build four bedrooms.
"We can't believe the state's do
ing this," Monroe said Monday,
"We're being treated like low-rate
criminals."
The Monroes and their attorney
met with state health department of
ficials and the attorney general's
staff last Thursday in Raleigh to
hammer out the agreement.
The Brunswick County Health
Department had suspended the cou
ple's septic tank permit for a four
bedroom house at 137 Ocean Blvd.
West last month after a final inspec
tion of the on-site sewage disposal
system. The plans called for four
bedrooms and five baths.
Health officials contend the
beachfront house has six bedrooms,
which is two bedrooms too many,
and the septic system can only han
dle the number of people who would
be expected to sleep in four bed
rooms.
The Monroes, who just retired
last year and had planned to rent the
house for extra income, say the
house only has four bedrooms. They
planned to use two other rooms for
an office and a den.
"I think we were picked as a land
mark," Mrs. Monroe said. "We were
picked for some kind of example."
Brunswick County Environmental
Health Supervisor Andrew Robin
son said the permit wasn't suspend
ed to make an example of the
Monroes, alihough they were the
first in the county to be denied final
approval under these circumstances.
Robinson said three or four other
homeowners have made changes to
their cottages during construction
when it was determined they had too
many bedrooms, including two in
the past week at Holdcn Beach.
Health department officials con
sider a "bedroom" to be any room
that can reasonably be expected to
function as a bedroom. If it has
doors, closets, windows and direct
access to a bathroom, they say it's a
bedroom.
Overcrowding has been a hot top
ic at Holdcn Beach and other area
beaches for years. Houses intended
to accommodate six or eight vaca
tioners arc often advertised and rent
ed to sleep a dozen or more.
The Monroes said they're aware
people build homes with more bed
rooms than they should to get the
most out of their investment. But
the> said they had no plans to cram
more people in their house than state
rules allow.
"The fact that they're calling us
liars gets me more than anything,"
Mrs. Monroe said. "Our own gov
ernment doesn't even trust us."
The exact extent of the changes
required to the couple's house
wasn't known as of Tuesday. The
Monroes had expected to receive the
necessary changes in writing from
the state last week following the
hearing.
Robinson said the county health
department also hadn't received
written notification of the necessary
revisions as of Tuesday.
The Monroes said the state will
likely make them tear out a wall be
tween a bedroom and den, close a
hallway entrance to the den, build an
office desk and bookshelf, remove a
shower and seal off den and office
closets.
They said the only other option
offered by the state was finding
more land to add additional waste
water treatment capacity to the sep
tic system. But that would cost more
(See BEACH. Page 2-A)
After a three-month investigation into an
organized theft ring, police arrested Varnam
last Jan. 6 and seized about $50,000 worth
of stolen items from his house on Stone
Chimney Road. Many of the items, includ
ing appliances and bathroom fixtures, had
been installed for use in the home.
In describing the crimes for Superior
Court Judge Giles Clark, Bollinger said a
Holden Beach contractor could have testi
fied that he saw Varnam looking over the
shower doors and bathroom fixtures at a
house under construction the day before the
items were stolen. The contractor later went
to Varnam 's house on the pretense of mak
ing an estimate and saw the stolen goods,
Bollinger said.
The state was prepared to call Perry
Brown, a co-defendant in the case, who
would have described several of the burglar
ies on which he accompanied Varnam.
Witnesses would have testified that all the
break-ins occurrcd at night when the homes
were unoccupied, Bollinger said.
Acting on information supplied by co-dc
fendant Wayne Brown, investigators ob
tained warrants to search Varnam's house.
Detectives built their eases by matching the
recovered items with property reported
missing in recent larcenies.
Dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans,
Varnam stood before the judge and chcwcd
bubble gum as the 12 charges were read.
After each one. the judge asked if Varnam
was pleading guilty. Each time Varnam
replied, "Yes, sir."
In all Varnam admitted to possessing
more than 511,000 worth of stolen goods.
Among the items stolen were televisions, re
frigerators, microwave ovens, bathroom
sinks, an outboard motor, a deep fryer, pil
lows, bedspreads, curtains, a lawn mower,
coffee makers, sleeping bags, food, a cookie
jar and two toilets.
Holden Inspector To
Give Permit For Bridge
To Island In Marsh
BY DOUG RUTTER
Holdcn Bcach Building Inspector
Dwight Carroll plans to issue a per
mit next week to allow constmction
of a bridge from Ocean Boulevard
to an uninhabited island in the
marsh.
Holdcn Bcach Enterprises applied
for a minor CAMA permit Monday
to build a 900-foot- long, 12-foot
wide wooden bridge to link Ocean
Boulevard West and Bacon Island
The company doesn't plan to
build the bridge or develop the is
land right away, said Holden Beach
Enterprises Secretary-Treasurer Vir
gil Roberts.
"There's no immediate plan.
We're not rushing into anything,"
Roberts said Tuesday. "We're just
getting our permits in order in case
we decide to develop it."
Although he expects plenty of
public opposition, Carroll plans to
issue the permit next Friday. He said
there's nothing in town or state reg
ulations to prohibit construction of
the bridge.
Under CAMA permit procedures,
residents and others interested in the
proposal have until June 11 to sub
mit comments to the local permit of
ficer. Carroll said he would like the
comments in writing.
The proposed bridge would con
nect Bacon Island with Ocean
Boulevard West around house num
ber 678, which is near one of the
few public bcach accessways on that
part of the bcach.
Both Girroll and Roberts said the
bridge wouldn't cover or disturb any
wetlands, which means the Army
Corps of Engineers would not be in
volved in the minor permitting
process.
Bacon Island, located north of
Ocean Boulevard between Sand
Dollar and Swordfish drives, covers
approximately 25 acres. Roberts
"We're jiist getting
our permits in
order in case we
decide to develop
it.
? Virgil Roberts
Holden Beach
Enterprises
said between 12 and 16 acres could
be developed.
The island and surrounding marsh
was platted in the 1970s for canal
property. Since government regula
tions no longer allow the digging of
canals, Roberts said plans would
have to be changed.
He said the company probably
will divide the usable land on the is
land into 16 to 20 "real exclusive,
high-priced lots" measuring three
fourths to one acre each.
Roberts said the island has some
property that is 14 to 18 feet above
sea level and is covered with soils
that would be suitable for develop
ment with septic tanks.
"Soil studies have just been fan
tastic as far as being able to handle
wastewater sewage," he said.
Roberts said the bridge wouldn't
be built until the company is ready
to develop lots. "Once it's done it
will be an exclusive development
like Holden Beach West," he said.
Holden Beach Enterprises devel
oped the subdivision at the far west
end of Holden Beach. A private
paved road leads to the development
situated near Shallotte Inlet.
Roberts said he doesn't know if
the proposed bridge to Bacon Island
would be open to the public.
(See PERMIT, Page 2-A)
Meeting To Focus On River
Save Our Shellfish members want to know if state and federal offi
cials are making any progress cleaning up the polluted Lockwood Folly
River.
The local organization of fishermen and environmentalists hopes to
get some answers when it sponsors a public meeting on Wednesday, June
10.
"They haven't let us know anything in a couple of years," SOS
President Annie Smigiel said last week. "We just want some answers."
Representatives of the N.C. Department of Environment, Health and
Natural Resources and the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries are expect
ed to provide those answers to questions about water quality.
Lockwood Folly River, once considered the best place in Brunswick
County to gather oysters, has been plagued by bacterial pollution in re
cent years.
The pollution, which state officials believe comes from faulty septic
tanks and stormwater runoff, has resulted in frequent closures of the river
to shellfish harvesting.
Mrs. Smigiel said county commissioners and other local officials
have been invited to the meeting, as well as representatives from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.
Lena Riuer of the N.C. Coastal Federation will attend. Mm. Smigiel
hopes for a big turnout of fishermen and other area residents interested in
the river.
"If they make a living out of that river or if they're interested in the
river they should show up," she said. "We might wind up with a houseful
or we might wind up with a handful."
The meeting will start at 7:30 pjn. in the Lockwood Folly Com
munity Building, located on Slanbury Road in Supply.
For more information on the meeting, call Mrs. Smigiel at 842-6758.