Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / July 16, 1992, edition 1 / Page 1
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12/31/99 **P0 HOAG & SONS BOOK BINDERY P f? BOX 1 62 SPR I NGPORT MI 49284 $TAf f phqjq gy E|uc CARLSON They Look Like Ping-Pong Balls! The discovery of a loggerhead turtle nest on Holden Beach Saturday morning attracted a crowd of ea ger young spectators. Eddie Wagoner, a volunteer with the Brunswick Coitnty Turtle Watch program, carefully removed ihe eggs so the nest could be relucaieu io a safer spot. Enjoying the process are (from left) Jillian Cosentino, 4, of Avon iMke, Ohio; Kirstin Smith, 5, of West Ixike, Ohio; and Ashley Folan, 4, of Strongsville, Ohio. More about Turtle Watch on Page 3-A. REDWINE SEEKS FEASIBILITY STUDY Towns, Health Board Work Together Against Septic Tank Pollution u BY LYNN CARLSON Representatives of four local beach towns and the county health board seem to agree that action is needed to prohibit overcrowding of rental cottages and perma nent homes which rely on septic tanks for waste dispos al. But they also agree that care must be taken to develop enforceable regulations which do not violate the privacy or unici fights of property owners and vacationers. Holder. Beach, Sunset Beach, Calahash and Long Beach representatives spoke to the amw Brunswick County Board of Health Monday night, each outlining differ ent needs and concerns regarding sep tic tank pollution in their communi ties. They also pledged to work to gether to develop guidelines and reg ulations to address each town's needs. They were asked to do so without interfering with property owners' wishes to use rooms in their homes as dens, offices or libraries and without prohibiting such traditional beach ac tivities as family reunions. "1 have an ugly vision of somebody out with a flash light doing bed-checks, and that's not what we want," said David Sandifer, a Holden Beach commissioner ap pearing before the health board. Sandifer said that while 20 people may be visiting a house at a given time, they, might not all be staying there or sleeping there. Holden Beach Commissioner Gay Atkins said, "I'm not concerned about (regulating) misrepresenting adver tising, but it is a major concern if people lose the right to have a room be what they want it to be." Atkins was re ferring to the statutory definitions of bedrooms. In dif ferent rulings, the state has defined a bedroom as any room that can be reasonably expected to function as a sleeping quarters, and as any room which contains a closet and is connected to a bathroom, even by a hall way. A recent state ruling required a Holden Beach couple to make a number of changes to a home they built be fore a certificate of completion could be issued. Health officials had suspended the couple's septic tank permit for a four-bedroom house in May after a final inspection of the sewage disposal system. Inspectors said the two story house had six bedrooms, two more than the septic / have an ugly vision of somebody out with a flashlight doing bed-checks, and that's not what we want." ? David Sandifer system was designed to handle. The couple had said the home, built as a rental cottage, would use two of those rooms as an office and den. Marlene Ihomas, a member of Holden Beach's wastewater management committee, said that group has developed a draft ordinance to prohibit property owners and real estate firms from advertising that a home will sleep more people than its septic tank can accommodate. ' I ~h ? mmmiltAa'c nltn n iauI r\ onll f/%r ??? ?? mtrn ? iiv wimiiiiUw O piuii r? v/uiu wuii ? \si iny miuvn nutti ing notifications before a warrant is obtained authorizing the town building inspector to inspect the property. Violations would be turned over to the health department. Thomas said the committee's ap proach relies on education and volun tary compliance. The group has been working with County Health Director Michael Rhodes to develop an ordi nance that is compatible with state regulations, and that the health de partment will be able to enforce. Engineering consultants employed by Sunset Beach and Calabash said wbwbwhwtoibiwh regulations will work only if property owners are required to declare an occupancy capacity, based on the septic system's capacity, at the time of per mitting. Joseph Tombro, civil engineer for Powell Associates, said his firm is testing to determine the fre quency of septic tank failures and the contamination of groundwater and adjacent waters. He said the two towns probably will form a sanitary district to deal with the problem, whether or not a central sewer system is built. Long Beach Mayor Joan Altman, whose town defeat ed a central sewer referendum, said she is "interested in all the assistance the health department can provide," since the town "will be relying on septic tanks for the foreseeable future." Altman said a glance through Long Beach cottage rental brochures revealed "very few, but a few, gross violations" of exceeding septic tank capacity. HJ. "Skip" Davis, health board chairman, said statis tics exist only for septic tank failures "that we know of," since breakdowns often occur on weekends and the re pairs done without permits. Davis also said no informa tion exists indicating the causes of those breakdowns. However, Andrew Robinson, county environmental health supervisor, said septic tanks can pollute even (See BOARDS, Page 2-A) Could State Purchase Bird Island? BY SUSAN USHER As deadlines for public comment on plans to develop Bird Island approach, a local legislator has introduced a measure providing for study of the feasibility of its purchase by the state. The measure is part of a package of special provisions recommended in a capital spending bill the Generai Assembly was expected to con t -? - ?i? i ? .? ? ? ?. ?? o?uvi iu^oua) Ui TiuiiiV/dikij ui um wv/viv. utaiia for the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources to study "the feasibility and appropriateness" of the state acquiring Bird Island for the purpose of conservation. The agency's findings and recommendations are due to the General Assembly no later than May 1, 1993, but Rcdwine expects the study would be completed sooner than that Redwine includes in a revised version of the bill a clause intended to reassure the island's owner, Janic Pace Price of Grecsnboro, that the study is not intended to influence decisions re garding development permits for which she has applied. He has talked with Price and her attorney regarding the bill and said they are not entirely tui <ji against it, but unoerstanu wny he is seeicing the study. "We need the information that will be provided by the study to be in a position to ask for state money if and when that opportunity arises," said Redwine. "We could potentially have money available through the state parks system or per haps through The Nature Conservancy or both. We need to know what our choices arc." At a Sunset Beach Town Council meeting ear lier this year. Price indicated her willingness to consider an offer for all or part of the property, an island and marsh system of about 1,200 acres, of which the Attorney General's office says about 85 acres are considered high ground. The island is located between Mad Inlet and Little River Inlet in Souui carouna. it is accessioie oy coat, or oy crossing Mad Inlet on low tide on foot from the far west end of Sunset Beach. She has applied for a series of permits required to develop the island for residential use. In February Price applied to the N.C. Division of Coastal Management for a major CAMA per (See FEASIBILITY, Page 2- A) Bacon Island Owners Will Seek Major CAMA Permit BY DOUG RUTTER Owners of Bacon Island have decided to apply for a major permit that would allow them to de velop the island after building a bridge over the Holden Beach marsh. Original plans to get a minor permit for the bridge have been scrapped, and Holden Beach Enterprises is moving ahead on plans to subdivide the island and sell lots for houses in what devel opers say will be an "exclusive," high-priced de velopment Virgil Roberts, a partner in Holden Beach Enterprises, said the owners decided to go for the major permit partly due to increasing interest ? from potential buyers. He said newspaper articles about the company's plans to build a bridge over wetlands and eventually sell lots on the small is land have helped create interest among real estate buyers. "We do have some interest that we didn't have before," Roberts said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "It's just allowed us to speed up our plans." Roberts, secretary-treasurer of Holden Beach Enterprises, said it will take about eight weeks to complete an application for a CAMA major de velopment permit. The application will be given to the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, which will in vite comments from other state and federal agen cies before deciding whether to issue the permit The head of the division, Roger Schecter, vowed last week to fight the issuance of a minor permit that would have allowed a bridge io the is land. In a July 6 letter to Holden Beach Building Inspector Dwight Carroll, Schecter said he want ed the owners to apply for a major permit, instead of a minor permit Due to plans for development of the island, the coastal management chief asked Carroll to return (See MAJOR, Page 2-A) Holden Withdraws As GOP Candidate For State House BY SUSAN USHER Republican candidate Kelly Holden withdrew from the 14th District State House race last week, with no replacement candidate or candi dates in sight as of Tuesday afternoon. "Nope, not a word," said Lynda Britt, supervisor of the Brunswick County Board of Elections, echo ing comments from other election board offices in the district. ties in the district will choose a new Republican candidate. Prior to the primary Caletta Faulk of Columbus County had been discussed as a possible candidate; she could not be reached for comment last week. Holden said he decided not to wait until later to withdrew in order to give more lead time to anyone else who might run. "I love politics. I wanted to run," he said. "I didn't want to pull out" But he said he did not have the time to take way away from his family and his business interests to hold a legislative seal, or to cam paign for one. "I think just reality set in," he said Friday after giving his letter of resignation to the Brunswick County Board of Elections, which for warded it to other elections offices. "I didn't think 1 could be gone the hours needed to go to Raleigh. I can't be away from the business for weeks at a time." Holden is a partner in a family-owned farm, produce stand and pick your-own operation and a tax preparation franchise office. Peak season coincides with spring and summer months when the General Assembly is generally in session. He said the time comes to reassess priorities, noting, "My family and business come first." He said he doesn't know what kind of people can afford to get in volved in state-level politics, who can take the time away (from other (See HOLDEN, Page 2-A) Pi n HOLDEN Watch Your Bus Behavior! You May Be On Candid Camera BY MARJORIE MEGIVERN How would you like to watch a video of your child en route to school on the school bus? Would it be in structive to hear and see what goes on inside one of those big yellow buses during its morning or afternoon run? This is a distinct possibility for Brunswick County school buses during the 1992-93 school year, according to William Turner, assistant superintendent. He de scribed a new means of observing bus behavior to the Brunswick County Board of Education Monday. "It's called the black box," he explained, "because you install a small black box at the front of every bus, with a mirror in front of it, reflecting a camera that might or might not be behind it." The camera, he went on, is installed in one of the buses each day, without students or even the bus drivers knowing which one. It records on videotape the sights and sounds that go on during the bus ride. Tumei said the cost of a camera is $1300, and the box expense is minimal. "I think I can get the money from the stale for our black box system this school year," he said. "This idea has been developed because of discipline problems on school buses," he said. "In one school sys tem using this, the bus drivers soon forgot all about it, and their recorded language was not what it should be and they were reprimanded." This tantalizing prospect might have been the high light of a long, hot meeting, in which some 30 members of the public endured three hours in an un-aircondi tioncd room. Chairperson Donna Baxter told diem mid way through the meeting, "If we turn on the air-condi tioning, you won't hear a thing we say, so you choose." Someone called out, "We'll suffer!" Turner also gave a progress report on the new Supply Elementary School, due to open this fall. "I know some of you have seen it but, trust me, we will be in on lime." He listed items being completed: tile work finished by July 20, paving by the Department of Transportation beginning August 15, and carpeting in stalled July 13. He said the extreme heat forced post ponement of landscaping until fall, "There arc two shifts working now, almost around the clock," he said. The School Advisory Council for Supply Elementary was approved with the following appointed: Wayne Roach, Eugene Hewett, Cleveland Simmons, Lynn Ellis, Teresa Fulfond and Betty Sellers. He announced that Brunswick County will not get 25 new buses as originally planned. 'The state only ap propriated money for 400 buses for all of North Carolina," he said, "so we hope for six." Patricia Ward, Chapter 1 supervisor, got board ap proval for her program, in which she said a greater need for reading had been discovered. "We'll continue the program for grades two to six," she said, "with a first grade program at Supply, Union and South Brunswick Elementary." A pilot pre-kindegarten program will be conducted at Union and Lincoln, with 16 students, one teacher and one assistant at each site. "Students will be chosen based on need, after we have sent flyers to all parents," Ward explained. Transportation will be provided for this all day program. Nelson Best, driver education coordinator, proposed a driver's education program this year with part of the instruction contracted to a private instructor. He said teachers already certified for the subject would be used for classroom work. Bids for the in-car contract will be opened August 24 and the program will begin September 10. "It will be held after school, before school, during the summer, whenever a particular school wants to schedule it," Best said. "Driver education is not permit ted any longer during the school day and our state dri ver's ed funds have been cut 22 percent It costs $100 per student for in-car instruction, and we have $240 per student allocated by the state." An enrollment of 183 and a membership of 168 in last year's extended day program were reported by Freeman Gause, director of extended day and communi ty schools. "We had a dropout rate of eight percent," he said, "but thirty students graduated in the county be cause of this program." The enrollment breakdown was: North Brunswick, 75; South, 49; West, 59. This program, also known as education for employ ment, is a program of the Job Partnership Training Act (JTPA). It provides economically disadvantaged youth ages 16-21 with the chance to continue their education while working full or part-time. The community schools program involves volun teers in ail schools, efforts to improve community school relations and partnership with businesses, as well as the community use of school facilities.
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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July 16, 1992, edition 1
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