Have Your Say The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is asking for citizens' input about development plans for Bird Island. Page 12-A. Coming Around Again Supply Elementary School students learn about recycling as a way to clean up in more ways than one. Page 6-B. Touch That Dial Don't miss any of your favorite classic Christmastime flicks. Check our television listings, Pages 10-11C 12/31/99 **P0 HO AG & SONS BOOK BINDERY P.O. BOX 162 SPRINGPORT MI 49284 I VEHICLE DESTROYED BY FIR F mlM 42 Pages, 3 Sections, 3 Inserts Trojans Elated And Emotional After Win (Related Stories And Photos. Pages 2-A, 8-10B) BY DOUG RUTTER West Brunswick's football players were understandably elated and emotional following their impressive 14-6 victory Saturday in the state 2-A championship game in Chapel Hill. Players said the victory over the Maiden Blue Devils helped erase sour memories of 1991, when the Trojans lost the championship game to Tnomasviile 2i-6 at Kenan Stadium. "It made up for last year when we came up here and lost," said West Brunswick senior fullback/linebacker Aaron Butler, who was named Trojan defensive player of the game. "That just hurt us all. That hurt the community and the families and everybody," Butler said. "We just tried to come up here and win this one for them and for ourselves." Senior offensive lineman Geoff Byrd also remembered the heart breaking loss in last year's state title game. Byrd was visibly emotional following Saturday's win. "It feels good," he said, holding back tears. "We knew all year we were a good team. After the East Bladen game everybody worked real hard. We've come a long way." West Brunswick lost 14-8 to East Bladen on Oct. 30. The loss dropped the Trojans to 5-3 and put their playoff chances in jeopardy. (See TEAM, Page 2-A) STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG RUTTER WEST BRUNSWICK SENIOR Geoff Byrd celebrates the Trojans' state 2-A football championship Saturday in Chapel Hill. West defeated Maiden 14-6 to capture the first state foot ball title in school history. Driver Takes 28 From Smoking Bus To Safety BY SUSAN USHER A quick-thinking driver cscortcd 28 middle school students off a smoking school bus and to safety Monday afternoon before the bus burst into flames. South Brunswick Middle School Bus 88 was destroyed in the fire, which was caused by a short in a fuse panel, according to Cecil Logan, Brunswick County fire marshal and emergency management coordinator. "She did a fantastic job and no one was hurt," he said. "Her training paid off." Susan Gore will receive a letter of commen dation from Brunswick County Superintendent of Schools Ralph Johnston and Assistant Superintendent Bill Turner for her handling of the situation, said Turner at a meeting Monday of the county school board. "From the way she handled it today, you would never have known she was a first-year dri ver," said Tom Simmons, assistant principal at South Brunswick Middle School. Gore had worked as a substitute driver for three years be fore getting a bus full-time this year. Her bus was headed toward houtnport on N.C. 87 about a half-mile away from the Boiling Spring Lakes campus when Gore noticed smoke pouring out from under the hood and pulled the bus over along the highway about 3:35 p.m., said Turner. She evacuated the bus and was escorting the students on foot back to the school when the bus burst into flames. Simmons had the sixth- through eighth-grade students checked by Beatrice Flythe, school nurse. After about a 30-minute wail in the school cafeteria, they were put on another bus for the trip home. "We had one of the mechanics drive the bus and the driver tell him where the stops were," said Turner. "She was pretty shook up and we didn't want her to have to drive." The bus burst into flames under the hood, breaking the windshield, and spread to the interi or, where the seats caught on Fire. As a precaution, traffic on N.C. 133 bound for N.C. 87 was rerouted temporarily along N.C. 133 until Boiling Spnng Lakes VFD hau extinguished the fire and a wrecker had towed the bus carcass to the county garage at Bolivia. However, Logan said there was no threat of explosion. "This is the first time this has ever happened," said Turner, describing the fire as a "freak acci dent" having nothing to do with any equipment malfunction. Replacement of the bus won't be covered by the school system's insurance, he said. A new bus costs about 533,000. The county school system is using four "loan er" buses from the state this year, with two new buses scheduled for delivery in January and plans to purchase two more during 1993-94. Monday's loss will put the county down one more bus, Turner acknowledged, but said he ex pects the state to continue to work with the local system in meeting its transportation needs. Five Men Arrested In Three Drug Investigations The Brunswick County Sheriffs Department drug squad Tuesday an nounced the arrest of five men on felony charges of selling marijuana and crack cocaine in three unrelated undercover investigations. William Randall CteinmoitS, 27, of Hartford Road in the Boones Neck area of Supply has been chargcd with four counts of sale and delivery of marijuana, five counts of possession with the intent to sell or deliver marijuana, four counts of maintaining a dwelling for the pur pose of keeping marijuana and pos session of drug paraphernalia, ac cording to court records. Last June, detcctives arranged the purchase of a quarter-ounce of mari juana in the kitchen of a home be longing to Clemmons' mother, ac cording to a search warrant issued later in the investigation. Clemmons went to the rear of the residence and returned with several quarter-ounce quantities of marijuana. The next month, an undercover officer purchased a quarter-ounce bag from Clemmons for S45, the warrant states. Then in August an undercover officer asked to purchase more marijuana. Clemmons produced six clear plastic baggies containing approxi mately one ounce each, the warrant states, and bragged "that this mari juana came straight from a bale and thai it was Colombian." In November an undercover offi cer asked to purchased an ounce of marijuana from Clemmons. He went outside and returned with a gallon plastic bag containing four baggies of marijuana. The warrant said the officer bought one of the bags for SI 80. Later that month a citizen report ed to a sheriff's detective that he had seen "a heavy flow of traffic" at the Clemmons house, with cars stopping and leaving about four minutes later, the warrant states. The caller also said he had seen Clemmons with "Uzi-type weapons." On Dec. 3, sheriffs detectives went to the Clemmons home with a search warrant. "We observed Mr. Clemmons hiding one-and-a-quarter pounds of marijuana in a wooded area behind the house," Dei. David Crocker said Tuesday. In a search of the house after Clemmons' arrest, police found a Tech-9 semi-automatic pistol (simi lar to an Uzi) loaded with 16 rounds of 9mm ammunition, Crocker said. Detectives also seized Clemmons' pickup truck, several pieces of gold jewelry and S986 in cash, including bills that had been marked by police for identification. Also found during the arrest was a marijuana pipe, 16 marijuana ciga rette butts and cigarette rolling pa pers, court documents show. Clemmons made a first appear ance in Brunswick County District Court last week. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Dec. 22. He was released on payment of a S65 ,500 bond. In another investigation, Crocker said 20-year-old Keith Dorrell Dcltz of the Brunswick Mobile Home Park in Leland was arrested Friday and chargcd with possession with the intent to sell and deliver crack cocaine, selling cocaine and main taining a dwelling for keeping co caine. An undercover officer in the Lcland area used marked bills to purchase a small quantity of cocaine at Deltz's trailer, Crocker said. In a search of the home, detectives found S869, including the marked money, along with about $5,000 worth of what authorities believe to be stolen property. Detectives arc trying to determine the owners of the recovered items, Crocker said. More charges may be filed against Delu, and other arrests are expccted in the case. Deltz was still in custody in the Brunswick County Jail Tuesday afternoon. Crocker also announced the arrest of one Lcland man and the pending arrest of another in a third undercov er investigation. Gary Lynn Hasty, 36, of Wood burn Mobile Home Park has been chargcd with one ccuiit of po sion with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and one count of selling the drug. Outstanding warrants on the same charges have been issued for David Hayes, 28, of Route 1, Leland, Crocker said. One of the men approached an undercover source for the Wilm ington Police Department and of fered to sell him a large quantity of marijuana, Crocker said. Dctectives arranged to purchase a pound of marijuana from Hayes in the parking (See BUSTS, Page 2-A) Closed For The Holidays Christmas is almost here, bringing closings galore. Bninswick County students get the most time off, with their holiday starting when school lets ont at its regular time Friday. They will return to classes Monday, Jan. 4. All three campuses of Brunswick Community College will be closed to the public from Wednesday, Dec. 23, until Monday, Jan. 4. BCC fac ulty and students will begin their holidays Dec. 21, returning to classes Jan. 4. At the Brunswick County Government Center at Bolivia, offices will be closed Dec. 24 and 25 and Jan. 1. All three branches of the Brunswick County Public Library will be closed Dec. 24, 25 and 26 and Jan. 1 . Town halls across the South Brunswick Islands will be closed Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and New Year's Day, Jan. 1, with Holden Beach Town Hall also closed Dec. 23 and 24; Calabash Town Hall will also be closed Christmas Eve day, Dec. 24. Banks will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. NEW PROGRAMS ENCOURAGE RECYCLING State Law To Ban Yard Waste From Landfill Effective Jan. 1 BY ERIC CARLSON Faced wilh dwindling landfill space and new slate regulations about what can be buried in one, lo cal solid waste officials are stepping up efforts to promote recycling and will require the sorting and separate disposal of yard waste. Under provisions of state legisla tion that become effective Jan. 1, grass clippings, leaves, branches, prunings and other yard waste will no longer be allowed in public land fills. The 1988 law contains several provisions aimed at reducing the amount of landfill waste by 25 per cent before June 30, 1993 To comply with the regulations, Brunswick County Commissioners will be asked next week to modify the solid waste ordinance to impose a fine on anyone who delivers a mixture of yard waste and house hold trash for disposal in the county landfill. "This is not something we've de cided to saddle the citizens with," County Manager David Clegg said Tuesday. "Wc have no choice but to implement the legislation." The county will face a hefty fine if state inspectors find too much yard waste in the landfill, Clegg said. Such inspections are made at least six times a year. Representatives of Waste Industries Inc., have been meeting with county and municipal officials to discuss how best to comply with the new requirements. The company is under contract to operate dump sites and to haul solid waste within the county and for residential pickup in several area towns. The county is awaiting state ap proval of a "demolition landfill" where Waste Industries can dispose of yard waste, the remains of demol ished buildings and construction scrap. Clegg said he expects the new dump site to be operational in time to comply with the new landfill reg ulations. Clegg said the county also is seeking to contract with a commer cial "tub grinder." Such operations process tree branches and other yard waste into mulch, which can be used in landscaping. Waste Industries Branch Manager BROWN GLASS STAFF PHOTO BY EKIC CAXISON BRUNSWICK RECYCLING coordinator Mary McCarley displays one of the more than 60 signs that have been erected to direct peo ple toward the county's eight recycling sites. Behind her is the trail er the county makes available to groups wishing to provide a tem porary recycling site for fundraising drives or other special events. Randy Gaincy said Tuesday that af- has been mixed with yard waste, tcr Jan. 1, the company will no "Hopefully we will have boxes at longer pick up household trash that each dump site where people can dispose of yard waste separately," Gainey said. Those served by residential pick up also will be required to separate their yard waste from other trash. Gainey said the company will prob ably have to establish separate pick up days for such materials. Details of the plan have not been worked out with the towns, he said. "Obviously, we can't look into every bag," Gainey said. "But we will monitor our collection routes as closely as possible. If a bag is found to be mixed with pine straw, we will have to leave it at the curb." Gainey said complying with the new regulations will mean a signifi cant additional cost to the county for more containers and for additional hauling fees. He said he cannot esti mate how much increase the county can expect. Meanwhile, Mary McCarlcy, co ordinator for the county's recycling program, has introduced a number of measures to help reduce the amount of waste going into the land fill. Her department recently finished erecting more than 60 signs to direct people to iocal recycling sites. The county has five permanent manned recycling centers where res idents can dispose of newsprint, alu minum and three colors of glass. (See NEW, Page 2-A) Inside... 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