Shallotte Cutting Back On
Commercial Trash Pickup
BY DOUG RUTTER
Some Shallottc merchants will be paying a lot more
for trash pickup come November when the town enters
into a new contract for sanitation service.
On a unanimous vote Tuesday night, aldermen decid
cd U) drastically reduce the amount of money it's been
p;iying for commercial trash pickup.
When the new contract is approved, town officials
plan to give business owners the same deal they're al
ready giving residents.
Shallottc will pay for pickup of one 90-gallon trash
container once a week for every house and business in
town. Businesses that create more garbage than they can
stuff into a 90-gallon cart will have to arrange for extra
pickup with the sanitation company.
Under the present contract, the town pays for removal
Third Charge Is Filed Against Former
Pastor Charged With Grave Desecration
A third warrant charging dcsccra
tion of graves has been drawn
against the former pastor of a Lcland
church who allegedly unearthed and
moved five caskets to facilitate a
land sale, a Brunswick County Sher
iffs Dctcctivc said Monday.
Jerry Calvin McKinncy, 43. re
cently of Wallis, Texas, was arrested
Sept. 4 on two felony charges of
"desecrating, plowing over or cover
ing up graves" after authorities were
alerted by a woman who says her
stepfather was one of the five bodies
moved.
The woman, Judy Johnson of
Winnabow, had been keeping track
of McKinncy's travels for two years
and notified authorities that he
would be in the county on business
that day.
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week after the daughter of another
moved decedent agreed to press
Officers Nab
Arson Suspect
After Tip-Off
A lip from an informant last week
led to the arrest of a Shallot te man
wanted for allegedly setting fire to a
home occupied by his 4 -year-old
son, a Brunswick County Sheriffs
dctectivc said Monday.
Hyle Eugene Rosser. 26, was sur
rounded by five detectives and two
SBI agents outside a home in Ocean
Pines at about 8:30 Wednesday
night (Sept. 9).
He surrendered without a struggle
and has been charged with first-de
gree arson, said Detective John
Ingram.
Police had attempted to arrest
Rosser the previous day at another
house, Ingram said, but the suspect
jumped out a window and ran off.
Also staying at the Ocean Pines
home was Rosser's ex-wife, Brcnda
Lee Rosser, 33, who had been rent
ing the one-story wood frame house
in East Tanglewood that Hyle
Rosser allegedly set afire Sept. 2,
said Ingram.
The incident occurred after a do
mestic dispute during which Brenda
took her two children and went into
the backyard, according to Ingram.
As one of the children went back in
side to go to the bathroom he saw
Rosser setting fire to items in the
house, Ingram said. The house was
declared a total loss.
After questioning witnesses, Ing
ram issued a warrant for Rosser's ar
rest. Detectives Tom Hunter, Charlie
Miller and Billy Hughes and Deputy
Jimmy Davis assisted in Rosser's
apprehension.
Rosser is being held in Brunswick
County Jail in lieu of S40.000 se
cured bond, Ingram said.
Ribbon-Cutting
To Mark Bolivia
Bypass Opening
Brunswick County residents and
beachgoers who have experienced
backed-up traffic in Bolivia over re
cent years can celebrate the opening
of the U.S. 17 bypass of Bolivia
with state and local officials Friday,
Sept. 25.
State Transportation Secretary
Thomas Harrelson, area State Board
of Transportation member Marilyn
Williams of Wilmington and others
will formally open the 7.5-milc road
with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at
3:30 p.m. at the intersection of the
bypass and Galloway Road.
After three years of construction
the bypass actually opened to traffic
Aug. 1 1 , providing a clear shot of
four-lane highway from Wilming
ton to Supply.
Construction began in May
1989. Contractors who have worked
on the project include W.E. Black
mon Construction Co. Inc. of
Smithfield and S.T. Wootcn Con
struction Company Inc. of Wilson,
with grading and paving of the pro
ject costing $8.8 million.
Clarification
The Fred Parker listed in the
court docket of last week's
Beacon is not the John F. Parker
Sr. of lxickwood Folly Golf
Links.
charges, according to Dctcciivc Ken
Mcsser.
McKinney is the former pastor of
the Damascus Road Church in Lc
land. While in that position he nego
tiated to sell a piece of church prop
erty to the New Jerusalem Outrcach
Ministries. As a condition of the
sale, McKinney agreed to relocate a
small cemetery containing the five
graves, Mcsser said.
It appears that McKinney initially
tried to have the graves moved
legally and even approached the
Brunswick County Health Depart
ment for the proper permits. But he
ended up falsifying documents to
show he had permission to move the
graves, Messcr said.
The incident was first discovered
in January, 1991, by another church
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been buried in the cemetery, Messer
said. The man rode by and saw
workmen with a backhoe digging up
the graves. The caskets were being
reburied in a wooded area at the
edge of the church properly.
"(McKinney) had hired some jack
leg laborers to do the work," Messcr
said, "it's my understanding that a
couple of the caskets were broken
open in the process."
McKinney was released on
S4.000 bond after his initial arrest
He has not beer served with the
third warrant, Messer said.
The new charge was brought after
a complaint was filed by the daugh
ter of a woman whose body was
moved. Messer said. The woman
said McKinney had asked her grand
mother if he could move the grave,
but was not given permission to do
so.
and more charges may be filed in
the case, Messer said.
of i<p to 16 yards of commercial garbage per week.
But town officials say the current system isn't fair be
cause residents get about S85 worth of pickup per year
while businesses get up to SI ,000.
"We arc slowly becoming one of the few that picks
up as much on the tab as we do," Maintenance
Supervisor Albert Hughes said Tuesday.
Town board members agreed that it would be fairer if
the town paid for the same amount of trash pickup for
everyone.
They said some business owners pay less in town tax
es than the town spends to pick up trash at their busi
nesses.
Alderman Roncy Cheers voted in favor of the new
policy, but only after questioning the proposal.
"Are we sure we don't owe the businesses a little
more consideration?" he asked. "After all, they're the
lifcblood of the community."
Wilton Harrclson said the extra cost of trash pickup
would be a minor overhead expense for most businesses
in town.
Harrclson, who owns a business himself, said it isn't
fair for the town to tax the homeowners to subsidize the
merchants.
Mayor Sarah Tripp and Alderman Paul Wayne
Reeves were sick and missed Tuesday's meeting.
County Plan Approved
In other matters Tuesday, aldermen voted 2-1 in favor
of a county plan to boost water pressure on the north
side of the U.S. 17 bypass.
The county will install a 515,000 to S20.000 metering
vault near the bypass to improve low water pressure for
the town's benefit.
In exchange, the town will turn over to the county the
lucrative West Brunswick High School water account.
Shallotte makes about S5.400 profit per year by sell
ing water to the school, minus any related water system
maintenance costs.
The town could install a metering vault and keep the
water account. But officials said there's no guarantee the
county wouldn't run its own water line to the school in a
few years and wipe out the profit
"There's a possibility we wouldn't recover that mon
ey," Harrclson said. "We have no control over what they
(county officials) do."
Hughes said the town neerk to boost its water pres
sure near the high school one way or another.
"There's been a problem O"' there for some time." he
said. "It's a serious matter that we do something out that
way."
Aldermen Morris Hall and Harrclson voted in favor
of the proposal, while Cheers opposed it
Cheers said earlier in the discussion that the town had
prepared its budget based on the anticipated revenue
from the high school.
Other Business
In other business Tuesday, aldermen:
?Authorized Town Attorney Mark Lewis and Tax
Collector Sandy Hcwctt to work on collecting overdue
taxes.
?Approved a mutual aid agreement that will allow
the Shallotte and Ocean Isle Beach police departments
to assist cach other when needed.
?Heard from several Brierwood Estates residents
who support a proposed ordinance prohibiting peddlers
on Main Street.
?Referred to the town planning board a requested
variance from the sign ordinance. Westphal Sign
Company wants to erect two billboards on the bypass in
the town's exuaicrn tonal area.
?Approved a revised police department policy manu
al. The manual includes guidelines for a new program
that will allow residents to ride in patrol cars and ob
serve officers on the job.
?Voted to write a tetter supporting lite creation of tite
Cape Fear Resources Conservation District.
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