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'America's Funniest." 11-A
Helping Kids Say No I * ^ Unveiling The Plans
~ A local sheriff's lieutenant is I e f An architect shows plans for
{ { 0 state's DARE Officer Of The 9 V new and improved libraries
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Thirty-First Year, Number 16 Off} TMi ^^^^^hallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, March 4 50? Per Copy 36 Pages, 3 Sections, 4 Inserts
Commissioners
May Exempt Rural Land From Zoning Ordinance
BY ERIC CARLSON
Rural land owners say there is no
need for zoning in the largely unde
veloped agricultural sections of
Brunswick County. They want the
board of commissioners to exempt
areas north of U.S. 17 from the zon
ing ordinance scheduled to take ef
fect July 1.
About 60 Waccamaw area resi
dents got some encouragement for
that idea last week when District 4
Commissioner Tom Rabon said he
"might consider recommending
changes" in the law.
Rabon joined Commissioners
Chairman Don Warren, Planning
Board Member Marion Warren of
Ash and other officials at the Wac
camaw community building last
Thursday for the third of six work
shops scheduled to explain the im
pact of zoning in rural areas.
Warren said Friday that he also
might support the idea of leaving the
county's southwestern agricultural
areas exempt from the zoning ordi
nance. He said he may ask the com
missioners to support a plan to
"phase in" zoning in rural areas until
development pressures make such
regulation necessary.
STAFF PHOTO BY EKIC CARLSON
HOBBY !X)NG of Grissettown comments about the county-wide zoning ordinance that takes effect July I. About 60 residents of
Brunswick County agricultural areas met with county officials to discuss how the law would affect them.
Commissioner Wayland Vcrcen, "People who live out in the coun- shops near Supply and Southport landowners arc opposed to zoning in
a long-time opponent of county- try should be in charge of their own were "overwhelmingly in favor" of undeveloped areas, despite assur
wide zoning, said Monday he would destiny," Vcrccn said. the new law. anccs that "bona fide farms" would
welcome any effort to case the law's Don Warren said most of those But he said he was not surprised be exempt from most of the law's
restrictions on rural landowners. who attended previous zoning work- to find that farmers and other rural restrictions.
"You can fix their dinner the best
you can. But they just weren't ready
to cat it," Don Warren said.
No one in the packed community
building remained seated Thursday
night when someone asked oppo
nents of rural zoning to stand. After
the meeting, lines formed to sign
copies of a petition asking the board
of commissioners "to discontinue
the effort to zone any real estate
which lies north of U.S. 17."
"What you're telling us is that we
in our community arc so ignorant
that we don't know how to take carc
of ourselves," Bobby Long of
Grisscttown said during the meeting.
"There's not a farmer on one of
these boards and they're creating an
other layer of bureaucracy to tell us
how wc ought to use our land," said
another man.
"How is this going to help me in
Makatoka?" asked C.C. Russ.
"This thing is more complicated
than the constitution. 1 think you
ought to throw this whole mess in
the trash can and start over!" said
Robert Gore.
"I'm not against zoning, but I'm
against the way you're doing it in
(See FARMERS, Page 2-A)
7 7 JOBS DEEMED 'ESSENTIAL'
Clegg OKs
Hiring In Health, DSS
BY ERIC CARLSON
Six weeks after the Brunswick County
Commissioners ordered him not to hire any "non
essential" personnel. County Manager David
Clegg said Monday he has dccided that 11 vacant
positions must be filled to maintain county ser
vices.
The Department of Social Services will begin
advertising for applicants this week to hire four
human resources aides for the CHORE in-home
services program and two social workers for child
protective services.
The Health Dcparunent hired a community
health assistant Eriday and has been authorized to
hire a public health nurse, an animal control offi
cer, an environmental health specialist and a so
cial worker for pre-natal care.
At the county board's regular meeting Monday,
Clegg said he understood that the commissioners
"fell intense pressure" from the public over their
requested scrutiny of county hiring. He said he
appreciated the commissioners' patience and their
"willingness to allow me the opportunity to make
the inquiries necessary to make these decisions."
Clegg said he met with Health Director
Michael Rhodes and DSS Director Jamie Orrock
last week to discuss their personnel vacancies. He
said the two department heads "provided exten
sive documentation" that led him to decide that at
least some of the positions needed to be filled.
Rhodes and Orrock said Tuesday that they
were pleased at Clegg's decision. But both said
they have other vacant positions that are just as
vital for providing services.
The health director said he needs another pub
lic health nurse and a soil scientist to aid in scptic
lank inspections. Orrock had requested authoriza
tion to fill eight other social services positions.
"I got six out of 14, and I'm very grateful to
have them. But I hope this will begin a process in
which we will fill all these positions," Orrock
said.
He said it will take "at least a month" to inter
view and hire the new social services personnel.
Hiring the new CHORE workers will allow the
department to bring the number of in-home care
hours nearly back to the level it previously pro
vided, Orrock said. But it will not provide enough
manpower allow DSS to take on any new cases.
Orrock said he was concerned about the timing
of the commissioners' new hiring policies. He
said he will have to request additional positions in
the coming budget to handle the ever-increasing
demand for services.
Rhodes said the aulhoiizalion allowing him to
hire another animal control officer came just in
the nick of time. He was preparing to recommend
to the board of health that it delay enforcement of
the county-wide leash law that bccomcs effeclivc
April 1.
The hiring delay also has causcd the depart
ment to lose a long-sought qualified applicant for
the position of soil scientist, which he has not
been authorized to fill. Rhodes said he has been
trying to fill the position sincc the commissioners
authorized it last July
"It's ironic that just as I found someone with
20 years experience who was eager to come here,
I was told I couldn't hire anyone," Rhodes said.
The soil scientist would work with environ
mental health inspectors to determine whether a
proposed septic tank site has the proper soil char
acteristics to handle the system. Brunswick
County has more septic systems than any other
county in the state and a wide range of soil types,
Rhodes said.
"If any environmental health program needs a
soil scientist, it's us," he said.
Clegg said Monday his review of county posi
tion vacancies "is ongoing" and more hiring may
be authorized.
In the Jan. 19 directive, the commissioners had
asked Clegg to notify them whenever he autho
rized an "essential" hire. The board made no
comment about the new positions at Monday's
meeting.
Williamson Gets Post
On State DOT Board
Odell Williamson of Ocean Isle Beach will be sworn in Friday to a
scat on the N.C. Department of Transportation board.
Gov. Jim Hunt this week appointed Williamson to represent New
Hanover, Brunswick, Duplin, Onslow, Pender and
Sampson counties after Williamson, a longtime
Hunt supporter, expressed an interest in the post.
Williamson, a former six-term member of the
N.C. House of Representatives and the original de
veloper of Ocean Isle Beach, currently serves as
Ocean Isle's streets and utilities commissioner.
Hunt, during his second term as governor, ap
pointed Williamson to the state's economic devel
opment board.
"I feel like I could do him a good job,"
Williamson said last week prior to the appoint
ment, adding that he sees "protecting the state's investment" through
highway repairs as a priority for the DOT board.
Williamson, who bought almost all of Ocean Isle in 1953, was listed
as Brunswick County's sixth highest taxpayer in 1991, with properties in
his name valued at nearly 528 million. Williamson and his wife Virginia
each contributed S8.000 to Hunt's 1992 campaign, the maximum legal
donation.
WILLIAMSON
Local Leaders Focus On Education
As Key Area For Future Cooperation
BY SUSAN US1IKR
The big E's?education, the econ
omy and the environment?domi
nated discussion Friday afternoon at
a forum that brought together about
30 Brunswick County municipal,
educational and county government
leaders to discuss barriers tocounty
widc cooperation and to identify ar
eas of common ground where such
cooperation is most likely.
The five-hour session was hosted
and sponsored by the University of
North Carolina at Wilmington as
part of its regional community de
velopment effort. Much of Friday's
discussion foe used on education and
additional ways the university could
work in partnership with Brunswick
County Schools specifically and
school systems across its 16-county
service area in general to increase
overall student academic perfor
mance and retention.
During public meetings on
Brunswick County's latest CAMA
land use plan, education improve
ment was the second greatest need
(behind zoning) cited.
"Our schools are not terrible, but
there is always a lot of room for im
provement," said Councilwoman
Cherri Check of Sunset Beach, a
sentiment with which others con
curred.
"What people don't print is that in
Brunswick County for a long, long
time being mediocre has been
okay," added Gloria Tallcy of the
Brunswick County Schools. "But no
niimiiiiiimm MWitt > ;
SIAff PHOTO BY SUSAN USKt*
MAYORS Mason Barber of Sunset Reach and Betty Williamson of
Ocean Isle Beach chat during a break in the program.
more is thai the case and wc have a high school education, as well as dc
loi of catching up to do. And wc still veloping a long-range plan for cur
have some people here who want to riculum improvement.
continue operating on that level." Boosting Kducation
Ken Messer, mayor of Bclville, Specific ideas for partnership
suggested the schools need to with UNC-W included helping pnn
strcngthen both early education and cipals develop leadership skills and
developing the Total Quality
Management approach in the system
to expanding existing cooperative
efforts. These include teacher educa
tion, student scholar development
and the new A+ Arts program.
Community-based planning was
proposed as a way to address a con
cern of Brunswick County Board of
Education member Bill Fairlcy of
Southport: How to provide continu
ity that will survive frequent
turnover in board membership and
administrators.
UNC-W is eager for the Cape
Fear Educational Partnership Net
work (EPN) to expand into Bruns
wick County and to link with a pilot
state of the arts telecommunications
"electronic highway" that wiii be
developed between the university
and Research Triangle Park.
EPN provides interactive full-mo
tion video educational program
ming. UNC-W believes expansion
of this technology across the region
will address multiple needs, promot
ing rapid advancement of economic
development and boosting rural edu
cational opportunities and access to
specialized medical care.
"We have the people in place in
Raleigh and the opportunity over the
next few years to vault over other
regions," said Jane Patterson Smith,
senior policy advisor for Gov. James
B. Hunt and formerly director of
UNC-W's Southeastern Network for
Economic Development.
(See FORUM, Page 2-A)
Sunset Plan Board Proposes
Tough Zoning For Bird Island
BY LYNN CARLSON
The Sunset Beach Planning Board
has proposed a "conservation re
serve residential" zoning district for
Bird Island which, if adopted, would
be significantly more restrictive than
the zoning regulations being sought
by the island's owner and prospec
tive developer.
The town council, planning board
and town attorney will discuss both
proposals at a work session tenta
tively scheduled for Thursday,
March 18, at 10 a.m.
The 148-acre island off Sunset
Beach straddles the state line and is
North Carolina's only undeveloped
barrier island west of the Cape Fear
River. Janie Pace Price of Greens
boro has proposed to develop 85
acres of her land into 15 four-acre
homesitcs accessible by a 5,400-foot
system of bridging and causeway
she plans to construct across Mad
Inlet.
Price's attorney, H. Glenn Dunn,
in a letter to Sunset Beach Town
Attorney Michael lsenbcrg has pro
posed a /.oiling uiuiiuimc foi Suu
Island which calls for a minimum lot
size of 7,500; the planning board
proposal would set the minimum lot
size at one acre.
"We realize that this is likely to
be controversial, but believe there is
no reason to require larger lots on
Bird Island than are required on the
oceanlront at Sunset Beach,"
Du.in's letter said, asserting that
small minimum lot sizes "will allow
the flexibility necessary to develop
the island in a manner sensitive to
environmental restrictions."
Acknowledging that "wetlands
meander thmugh Bird Island," Dunn
said, "It would be difficult to subdi
vide into larger lots and be sure that
each would include adequate non
wetlands area u> accommodate a
house and scptic lank."
Both the planning board's and
Pricc's proposals would allow as
permitted uses single-family homes,
swimming pools, private piers and
docks and underwater utility cross
ings.
However, Price's agents arc also
seeking as "special uses permissible
on appeal to the Board of Ad
justment" such facilities as marinas,
hotels and restaurants. The special
use designation means plans for
such facilities would require a pub
lic hearing and approval by the plan
ning board, acting as a zoning board
of adjustment, prior to implementa
tion.
The planning board's proposal
would place all commercial devel
opment of Bird Island out of reach,
since the only special uses it would
permit are public parks and recre
ation areas.
(See BIRD, Page 2-A)
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