School Superintendent's Contract Includes Rewards For Achievement
nv n ? ? *? ?
THE
1 / 3 1 / 99 fcf F'O
HOAG & SONS BOOK BINDERY
? A r?AV H c
f-* O.
SPRINQF'ORT MI 49284
BEATON
Thirtieth Year, Number 47 , .'4wMnu??t<luco-' Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, September 24, 1992 50c Per Copy 36 Pages, 3 Sections; 3 Inserts
House Allocates
Money For OIB
Erosion Study
BY DOUG RUTTER
The U.S. House of Repre
sentatives last week approved a bill
that would provide an extra
$200,000 for an ongoing erosion
control study at Ocean Isle Beach.
The bill also includes $906,000
for routine dredging in Lockwood
Folly Inlet and another $10 million
for other U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers projects in southeastern
North Carolina.
Bob Henshaw, a legislative aid
for Congressman Charlie Rose, said
the Senate was expected to vote this
week on the Energy and Water De
velopment Appropriations Confer
ence Report for fiscal year 1993.
The House passed the bill last
Thursday, approving Rose's funding
requests for the Corps' erosion con
trol study at Ocean isle and mainte
nance dredging of the inlet.
The Corps' district office in
Wilmington has been studying long
term erosion control at Ocean Isle
Beach since July 1990 and was ex
pected to be finished last December.
However, Ocean Isle Beach
Mayor Betty Williamson said the
study had to be expanded. She ex
pects it to be completed late 1993 or
early 1994.
The Corps is looking at the possi
bility of long-term flood control pro
ject at Ocean Isle that would include
construction of a 28,000-foot ocean
front dune.
Williamson said if the study goes
well, the project could be undertak
en in 1995 or 19%. The town would
pay 35 percent of the cost, and the
federal government would pick up
65 percent.
The Corps study is focusing on
construction of two beachfront
dunes that would be designed to pro
tect the town from flooding and oth
er damage in the event of a serious
storm or hurricane.
The primary dune would be 25
feet wide at the crown and 20 feet
above mean sea level and would be
fronted by a smaller berm 50 feet
wide and 15 feet high, under the
Corps proposal.
Congress first authorized flood
control projects along the Brunswick
County beaches in the Flood Control
Act of 1966. The project was reclas
sified as "inactive" in 1974 because
local cooperation requirements
couldn't be met.
Due to changes in the density and
character of development along the
county beaches and the increase in
tax base, the project was reclassified
as "active" in 1985.
The Corps considered an erosion
control project at Long Beach and
Yaupon Beach at that time, but the
project was never approved.
Ocean Isle Beach requested a
study of its oceanfiront in November
1989 after Hurricane Hugo caused
extensive damage to the frontal
dunes and many residences.
Besides funds for the Ocean Isle
Beach study, the House appropria
tions bill includes $906,000 for
maintenance dredging in Lockwood
Folly Inlet
Henshaw said the House of
Representatives was expected to
vote this week on another bill in
volving the Eastern Channel at the
inlet.
Congressman Rose has included
authorization in the Water Resourc
es Development Act for a demon
stration dredging project in the
channel.
The Corps of Engineers would
perform the one-time dredging pro
ject and determine if it improves wa
ter flow in the channel and Lock
wood Folly River.
Save Our Shellfish, a local river
preservation group, has pushed for
the dredging of Eastern Channel for
the past three years.
Members say opening the channel
near the west end of Long Beach
would help water circulation in the
river and help reduce problems asso
ciated with bacterial pollution.
""3 'WK9&0* ' 'Mm
STAFF PHOTO BY WC CAALSON
Walkin ' The Nose
/WcA Edwards of Raleigh enjoys a recent morning of glassy waves all to himself at Holden Beach. A regular visitor to the Brunswick coast
for the past 20 years, Edwards is one of a growing number of surfers who has forsaken the modern short surfboard for a nine-foot model
like those popular in the sport's early years.
Local Builder Questions Library
Hiring Out-Of-County Architect
BY ERIC CARLSON
Saying the deal "smells of poli
tics," a Shallotte area builder Mon
day said the Brunswick County
Library Board should have hired a
local architect to oversee a $1.5 mil
lion construction and renovation
project instead of awarding the con
tract to a Wilmington firm.
Library Board Chairman and
Commissioner Gene Pinkerton de
fended (he decision, noting that the
board unanimously agreed to hire
architect John Sawyer because of his
extensive experience in library de
sign.
Speaking at the county commis
sioners regular meeting Monday
night, contractor Thomas Pope said
he was "flabbergasted" with the li
brary board's decision. He said that
if the contract had gone to a
Brunswick Ccur.ty Sna, it would
have given "a $7.5-million boost" to
the local economy.
He said he expected Sawyer to rig
the bid packages so only large New
Hanover County contractors could
participate in the construction pro
ject, which includes new libraries at
Leland and Oak Island and the reno
vation of the Shalloue and Southport
branches.
"I know and you know that not a
dollar of that money will be spent in
Brunswick County," Pope said.
Sawyer was selected Sept 14 af
ter he and three other firms made
presentations to the library board.
Also considered were Johnson/
Renaud of Sunset Beach; Guidry,
Hill and Barker of Wilmington and
Southport; and a newly- formed col
laboration of architects J. Quinn
Sweeney of Wilmington and John
Thompson of Southport.
Asked in an interview if he in
tended to use local firms for the pro
ject, Sawyer said, "Bidding rcquire
mCTiw assy cut out <* lot of small
builders, but we'll be trying to use
Brunswick County contractors as
much as we can."
Pope said Monday that John
son/Rcnaud had underbid Sawyer by
an estimated 517,000. He made the
thinly-veiled accusation that Pink
erton was responsible for choosing
Sawyer.
"This thing has an odor about it
and it smells of politics," Pope said.
"There is one member sitting on this
board who has his fingerprints all
over this."
Pinkerton immediately rose to his
feet and denied the charge, saying
"Mr. Pope is totally wrong!"
He said one of the firms Pope
termed as local "just moved here"
and another had recently linked up
with a more experienced Wilming
ton architect so he could be consid
ered for the project.
Pinkerton said the library board
conducted the interviews and made
its selection while he was out of the
stale.
Pinkerton said Sawyer was cho
sen because he is the most qualified
to do the work, having designed and
built five libraries in southeastern
North Carolina. He disputed Pope's
contention that a library is "just four
walls and a floor" and noted that
Sawyer, in his presentation to the li
brary board, had offered specific
ideas about library design.
None of the other firms consid
ered for the project have overseen
the construction of a public library.
In interviews after the library
board's decision, members said they
had chosen Sawyer because of his
experience.
In other business commissioners
agreed to appropriate $25,966 in
contingency funds to the Emergency
Medical Services budget to upgrade
the county's recently suspended Ad
vanced Life Support program.
The allocation wi'l provide
$10,000 to contract with Dr. Harry
L. Johnson as medical director. The
remainder of the funds will go to
ward overtime pay to provide 24
hour EMT service and to hire a
paramedic supervisor/training offi
cer.
MISSING SINCE SEPTEMBER 4
Accused Molester May Have Abducted Family
BY ERIC CARLSON
Foul play is suspected in the dis
appearance of a Shallotte woman,
her four children and her estranged
? husband, who was indicted last
month on charges of raping a girl
under the age of 13 and molesting
another girl.
Fugitive warrants have been is
sued for the arrest of Robert Nelson
Burroff Jr., 36, who authorities fear
may have abducted and possibly
killed his family, according to
Brunswick County Sheriffs
Detective Nancy Simpson.
"The worst-case scenario is that
he's killed all of them to prevent
them from testifying," Simpson said
Tuesday.
The sheriffs department has put
out a bulletin on the national police
information network alerting law en
forcement agencies to watch for
Burroff, his wife Gail and their chil
dren Sarah, 12, Melody, 11,
Michael, 8 and Sammy, 2.
They may be driving Gail
Burroff's light blue 1991 Hyundai
hatchback with North Carolina li
cense tag number DZS 6371,
Simpson said.
Police say they have no leads as
to the Burroff family's whereabouts.
Robert Burroff has numerous local
family members, Simpson said. He
has also lived in Louisiana and is
known to have friends in the Raleigh
area.
Burroff was indicted by a grand
jury Aug. 31 on one count of first
degree rape of a child and two
charges of taking indecent liberties
Orton Property Lett In Rural Class
1
0
CONTRIBUTE
REPORTED MISSING under suspicious circumstances are mem
bers of the Burroff family of Stone Chimney Road. Pictured in this
photo, provided by the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department,
are Robert Nelson Burroff Jr. with (from left) Sarah, Melody and
Michael A photo of Mrs. Burroff and the couple's fourth child,
Sammy, 2, is on Page 2- A.
BY ERIC CARLSON
The Brunswick County Commis
sioners Monday declined to change
the county land use plan to accom
modate the owners of lands sur
rounding Orton Plantation, but
agreed to consider modifying the
proposed zoning law to allow light
industrial development there.
Lawyers representing the Sprunt
family, owners of the more than
10, 000- aero Orton tract north of
Southport, told a Joint meeting of
the county planning board and com
missioners that the family hopes to
attract heavy industry to the site.
They expressed concern that the
latest draft update of the county's
Coastal Area Management Act (CA
MA) land use plan classifies the area
as "rural" and asked that it be
changed to "rural industrial."
"They are concerned that the des
ignation may preclude them from
the highest and best use for the land,
which would be some sort of indus
irial development," said attorney
Henry Foy.
The Orion lands make up the
largest contiguous tract of land un
der individual ownership in Bruns
wick County and have been in the
Sprunt family for more than 100
years, Foy said.
Included on the property are
Orton Plantation and gardens, a pop
See BOARDS, Page 2-B
with children. The offenses ware al
leged to have occurred in January
and May of this year.
Simpson said that in sexual abuse
cases she normally conducts inter
views and collects evidence to pre
sent to the grand jury. If an indict
See POLICE, Page 2-B
Inside. . .
Birthdays.... 2B
Business News 9C
Calendar of Events 7A
Church News 5B
Classified 1-8C
. Court Docket I2C
Crime Report
Entertainment 2B
Fishing 10-11C
Golf 12B
Obituaries 10A
Opinion 4-5A
People In The News 4B
Plant Doctor .... ? 3B
Sports 8-12B
Television Listings.....6-7B