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Thirty-First Yeor, Number 7 onallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, December 31, 1992 50< Per Copy 30 Pages, 3 Sections, 3 Inserts
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STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
SESSIONS MEMBER JIM INNES (left) looks on as insurance adjuster Dave Morris takes measure
ments and compiles information in the aftermath of a fire Saturday that damaged the fellowship hall
and temporary sanctuary of Shallotte Presbyterian Church.
Presbyterians Begin Renovating
Fire-Damaged Fellowship Hall
BY SUSAN USHER
Workers Tuesday began hauling away furniture and
tearing out fire-damaged wallboard and carpeting in
the aftermath of a weekend fire that blackened
Shallotte Presbyterian Church's combination fellow
ship hall and temporary sanctuary.
Shallotte Police Department is continuing its inves
tigation of the fire, said Del. Carey Gaskins. He and
Brunswick County Fire Marshal Cecil Logan said the
fire originated from Advent wreath candles near the
pulpit.
The Rev. Lester Dattler, pastor, said that physical
damage to the church was mainly confined to the sin
gle room on the east end of the building on South
Main Street, Shallotte. Elsewhere the building sus
tained only smoke damage.
"There was a charred section about this long in one
of the trusses over the altar area," said Datllcr, indicat
ing a distance of about three feet. "Ralph (McClure)
said he thought it could be pieced."
Helping contain the fire and limit its damage were
five-eighths-inch-thick fire retardant wallboard and
closed, steel insulated fire doors that separated the hall
from the rest of the church, said Dattler.
McClure, a member of the building committee and
the contractor who built the structure, said he expected
renovation of the hall to begin Tuesday, following an
all-clear Monday from the insurance adjuster.
He expects the renovations to take at least four
weeks, but said it may take longer to obtain furnish
ings such as matching carpet and chandcliers and to
(See PRESBYTERIANS, Page 2-A)
HRST TIME IN 20-40 YEARS
Lockwood Folly River
Channel To Be Dredged;
Bid Opening Next Month
BY SUSAN USHER
Commercial and recreational boats in the Holdcn
Beach area should regain a traditional refuge from
storms when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges
the Lockwood Folly River channel later this winter for
the first time in 20 to 40 years.
Restoring the channel is expected to not only make it
possible for fishermen to once again move their boats to
safe harbor near the Lockwood Folly River Bridge when
hurricanes threaten, but also to increase water flow ?
and possibly water quality ? in the river.
Harold Varnam. field engineer in the navigation sec
tion of the Corps' Wilmington Regional Office, said the
dredging will extend approximately two miles upriver
from the Vamamtown fish houses, or about 3.6 miles
above the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Vamam said the Corps expects to open bids in late
January. If bids come in at or below estimate, he said he
hopes to have a dredge at work in the river by mid
February. He expects the work to take less than the 90
days allowed in the bid specifications.
On Dec. 21, the Corps issued an environmental as
sessment and finding of no significant impact on the
project. The report indicates it expects no significant ad
verse impacts to marine life, shellfish waters or vegeta
tion, and that it believes not dredging the channel would
result in "significant adverse economic and social im
pacts" to the local communities by limiting navigability
of the channel by commercial and recreational fishing
vessels.
To limit possible harm to nesting sea turtles or piping
plovers all dredging is to be completed in future years
between Jan. 1 and March 31, and in 1993 only, no later
than April 30.
The Corps will continue to receive comments and
questions on the project from reviewing agencies
through Jan. 29.
So far Vamam hasn't had much response from resi
dents of the area about the planned dredging and sus
pects they arc waiting to see the project under way.
"They've been promised a lot in the past," he said.
"Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope the bids are
good."
Annie Smigiel of Varnamtown said Monday that the
last time she had talked with Corps officials the agency
wasn't sure when it would gel to dredge the river.
"Thai's great," she said, when told the project had been
put on the 1993 schedule.
Smigiel is one of numerous individuals who have
been outspoken in efforts to get the Corps to open up the
river channel. She was president of the defunct Save Our
Shellfish, an organization formed a number of years ago
in an effort to focus attention on improving water quali
ty and therefore productivity of the river. SOS members
and local fishermen argued that improved flow should
increase circulation and help flush contaminants from
the channel.
Varnam said there has been "extensive shoaling" in
some places, leaving only 15 feet to 20 feet of channel.
"It should help increase water flow," he said. "The
two shoals that have given them such a time ? Mary's
Shell Bed and at Rourk's Landing ? will be cleared.
They've been almost acting like a bulkhead."
(See CORPS, Paee 2-A1
Man Wounded As 1 ,000 Flee
Gunfire Outside Local Night Spot
BY ERIC CARLSON
One man was shot and a crowd
estimated at more than 1 ,000 people
was sent scurrying when gunfire
broke out in the parking lot of a pop
ular nightclub outside Shallotte early
Saturday morning, a Brunswick
County sheriffs detective said
Monday.
It was the third shooting reported
since August at Freeman's on
Mulberry Street, where local law en
forcement officers say drug -dealing,
guns and underage drinking arc cre
ating an atmosphere ripe for tragedy.
In the early morning hours after
after Christmas night, three sheriffs
department vehicles, a Shallotte
Police car and an Ocean Isle Beach
Police officer responded to a radio
dispatch alerting all units in the area
that shots had been fired outside the
club. Detective Tom Hunter said.
"When we got to the end of
Mulberry Street it sounded like then.',
was a fircfight off in the distance,"
Hunter said. "There were cars
parked along the entire length of the
road and hundreds of people were
running away from the club."
As the police cars tried to make
their way through the crowd. Hunter
said he saw a man by the side of the
road trying to help another man stay
on his feet. The man had been shot
one lime in the side of the abdomen
with a small-caliber bullet.
"ThCi- wwt so many pcopic, tfto
ambulance could not gel down the
road and turn around. So I carried
him out to the bypass in my patrol
car," Hunter said.
The wounded man was identified
as Darrell McNeil, 22, of Greenville,
S.C. He was transferred to an ambu
lance and taken to The Brunswick
Hospital, where he was kept
overnight and released Sunday
morning. Hunter said.
"When I came back, I could still
hear gunshots," he said. 'To my
knowledge, nobody else was hit. I
think they may have been shooting
into the air."
Hunter said he spoke to the owner
of the club, Freeman Hankins, who
identified the man who had done the
shooting. An arrest is expected in
the case soon.
Witnesses said the incident began
inside the building. Two men got in
to a fight when one confronted the
other about dancing with his girl
friend, Hunter said. After Freeman
moved the two outside, one of the
men ran to a car, pulled out a
chrome handgun and started shoot
ing.
In a search of the area around the
club, police found several spent
shell casings and a few live rounds
of ammunition. Some were 9mm
shells, probably from a pistol.
Homer said. Also fourvd were live,
copper-jacketed cartridges from a
high-powered rifle, possibly a semi
automatic M-16.
'They ain't playing around any
more," Hunter said. "Somebody is
going to get killed down there. I just
hope it's not one of us."
Hunter said officers know to ex
pect trouble when called to
Freeman's and arc under standing
orders not to go there without back
(See NIGHTSPOT, Page 2-A)
Inside...
Birthdays 2B
Business News 7C
Calendar of Events .5B
Church News ???????????????? 4B
Classified ~1-6C
Court Docket 8C
Crime Report 6A
Golf 8B
Obituaries 4B
Opinion 4-5A
People In The News 7 A
Plant Doctor. ???????????????? .3B
Sports 8-10B
Television Listings.....6-7B
County, Schools Invested
For Long Term In 1 992
BY THE NEWS STAFF
Their approaches differed, but both Brunswick
County government and the public
schools focused efforts in 1992 on
investment for long-term results,
despite an uncertain economy.
For Brunswick County govern
ment, the year was largely spent
implementing the aggressive plans
and programs initiated by the board
of commissioners. Highlights in
cluded the completion of an enhanced 911 emergency
phone system, expansion of the water system and the
adoption of a county-wide zoning law.
Responding to concerns expressed by parents, the
business community and the state, Brunswick County
Schools focused on student performance and account
ability for results by educators, parents and students,
they adopted new management approaches, hired a
new superintendent and opened a state-of-the-art ele
mentary school.
Brunswick County Finance Officer Lithia Hahn said
in January that the county was in its worst financial
condition in 20 years. There were encouraging indica
tors of a possible recovery, such as falling interest
rates, but few were in a position to take advantage of
the situation, she said.
Zoning was the top issue raised in a poll of those at
tending a January public workshop on Brunswick
County's latest land use plan update. Improved educa
tion, industrial recruitment and unemployment were
?P* I
IN REVIEW
among the other concerns listed.
In early February the commissioners voted to give
Planning Director John Harvey 120 days to prepare a
' basic" countywide zoning ordinance. Commissioner
Gene Pinkerton criticized the planning department for
dragging its feet on the law it had been asked to draft
two years earlier.
Commissioners took the first step toward forming a
countywide library system with a unanimous vote to
revert the tide of the Southport library to Brunswick
County, allowing it to be operated as a county depart
ment.
A high-rise bridge to Sunset Beach, a second bridge
to Oak Island and a Wilmington bypass connecting
Interstate 40 to U.S. 17 in northern Brunswick County
were given the highest priority on the commissioners
wish list sent to state highway officials in March.
Contracts for another S2.45 million worth of work
on the phase III capitol improvements project to extend
water service to Shallotte Point and Seaside were
awarded in early March. The work included the con
struction of a pumping station and elevated storage
tank.
A state personnel hearing was held in April to deter
mine if Brunswick County officials had reason to fire
Animal Control Supervisor Zelma Babson of Ash, who
was accused of misusing department telephone privi
leges and of being discourteous to fellow employees.
She was suspended and later fired, an action she ap
pealed' to the State Personnel Commission.
The field of candidates vying for three seats on the
Brunswick Board of Commissioners was narrowed
from 13 to six after the May 5 primary election. There
was speculation that a runoff might be necessary in the
District 3 Republican race in which Bob Slockett won a
five-way race by only 135 votes over runner-up Steve
Foster. He later chose not to call for another vote.
County officials were showing off the new 911
Emergency Services Center at the Bolivia complex.
The long-awaited emergency communications program
went into operation May 8, allowing residents of any
the budget, the board agreed to allocate S 1 .5 million for
a four-branch county library system. The plan called
for new buildings at Leland and on Oak Island and ad
ditions to the Shallotte and Southport branches.
After years of public discussion and a final deadline
issued to the planning department, a draft zoning ordi
nance was presented to the county commissioners in
June. The board scheduled a scries of joint meetings
with the planning board to discuss and modify the plan.
area of the county to call for help
by dialing the familiar three-digit
number.
CLEGG
County Manager David Clegg
presented commissioners with a
S45.3 million budget that called for
no increase in property taxes. More
than S5.5 million in departmental
funding requests were cut from the
budget to maintain the current tax
rate, Clegg told the board.
In their last workshop to Finalize
Angry mobile home dwellers assailed the planning
board for a policy statement in the draft county land
use plan update that referred to residents of manufac
tured housing as "less educated" than those who live in
stick-built homes. The language was later deleted from
the final draft.
Late in July, Brunswick County Older
Adults/Department of Aging Director Ronnie Robinson
was suspended from position and later fired after major
shortfalls were found in his budget. Robinson's depart
ment ran out of money one month before the end of the
fiscal year, forcing commissioners to approve an addi
tional $20,000 appropriation.
Customers of the Brunswick water system started
getting a little something extra from their taps in early
August as the county began its long-awaited fluorida
tion program. Public Health Dentist
Dr. David McDaniels called it "one
of the best measures we can take to
help the oral health of Brunswick
County.
Brunswick Emergency Mcdical
Services was forced to shut down
the county's fledgling Advanced
Life Support program after state in
spectors uncovered deficiencies in
its emergency medical technician
training program. As a result, am- DAVIS
bulance personnel were no longer allowed to perform
advanced medical procedures. An aggressive re-certifi
(Sw 1992, Page 8-A)