Anglers' Alert!
They're 'totin' 'em off by
the coolerf ul' at local
piers. Pagell-B
Thirty-First Year, Number 32
t >9*1 1X1 UUNSW1CK MACON
Shallotte, North Carolina, Thurs
, iiHyJ, 1993 50c Per Copy 96 Pages, 4 Sections Including Supplement, 4 Inserts
County Explores
Firing Supervisor
Followinq
Felony
Drug Arrest
BY F.RIC CARLSON
Brunswick County Attorney Michacl Ramos began
reviewing the evidence against suspended Animal
Control Supervisor Robert Grisscu Tuesday to deter
mine whether Grisscu should be fired because ot his ar
rest on felony drug charges last week.
Sheriff's department narcotics agents raided Grissett's
mobile home on Royal Oak Road, Supply, Wednesday
night (June 23) after he allegedly sold three ounces of
mari juana to a Carolina Beach man.
In a search of Grissett's home. Detectives confiscated
94 marijuana plants and about three-fourths of a pound
of marijuana in various stages of processing for sale,
Detective David Crocker said shortly after the arrest.
Grissett, 33, has been charged with possession with
intent to sell and deliver marijuana, the sale and delivery
of mari juana and felonious possession of marijuana
He was freed on SI 5, (XX) unsecured bond Wednesday
night and made his first appearance in .Brunswick
County District Court Friday. He was indicted on the
three charges by a grand jury Monday. A probable cause
hearing has been scheduled for July 1.
Grissctt was suspended from his position without pay
Friday under state personnel policy guidelines allowing
a county employee to be relieved of duties for up to 45
days while under a criminal investigation, Ramos said
Monday. The county attorney said he plans to consult in
vestigators and review Grissett's case file before making
a recommendation as to whether Grissctt should be
fired.
Detectives said they were surprised to discover that
Grissctt had been dealing marijuana and said he was not
under investigation at the time of his ancst. Grissctt had
even worked on animal control investigations with some
of the narcotics officers who raided his home, one detec
tive said.
Investigators say they now believe Grissctt may have
been growing and selling marijuana for more than a
year.
Local authorities were alerted to Grissett's alleged
drug activities after the New Hanover County Sheriff's
Department received information that a Carolina Beach
resident Harvey Lee Holder would leave his job site
there anil travel to Brunswick County to purchase mari
juana, Crocker said.
New Hanover vice agents, accompanied by Bruns
wick authorities, followed Holder as he drove to
Grissctt's home, Crocker said. He went inside and let t a
short time later, Crockcr added.
Holder was followed hack across the Cape Fear
River, where New Hanover detectives pulled him over.
Inside the car they found 6f> grams of marijuana and
$550 cash. They placed Holder under arrest.
In an interview with New Hanover Lt. Sid Causey,
Holder allegedly admitted buying the inanjuana from a
"subject named Bob," Crockcr sa.a Holder also said
that "Bob was with Brunswick County Animal Control."
Brunswick narcotics detectives immediately obtained
a warrant to search Grissctt's home and went to the resi
(See GRISSKTr. PaRe 2-A)
Motion Claims
Chamber Suit
Frivolous; Legal
Fees Sought
BY ERIC CARLSON
Two former presidents of the
South Brunswick Islands Chamber
of Commerce will ask a superior
court judge to order Tired chamber
executive Hollis Richards to repay
the defense costs of what their attor
ney called her "frivolous" lawsuit
against them.
"Her allegations were scandalous
and without merit factually or legal
ly," Winston-Salem attorney Mich
ael Greeson Jr. said Tuesday on be
half of Annette Odom and Terry
Barbec. "My clients have incurred a
substantial amount of costs defend
ing against a frivolous lawsuit. We
want that back."
Last February, Richards voluntari
ly disirissed the 20-page lawsuit
against Odom, Barbec and the
chamber in which she claimed shj
was fired "on account of her sex."
The suit included numerous graphic
accusations about the personal be
havior of the two chamber directors
while Richards served as its execu
tive vice president.
Those charges were denied in the
chamber's counterclaim, which as
serted tli at Richards was fired for
failing to perform her duties as di
rector.
Although the suit was dismissed
Feb. !, it was done so "without prej
udice," giving Richards one year to
reopen the action. The terms also al
low the defendants the right to "pur
sue sanctions" against Richards by
asking the court to make her pay the
defendants' legal fees.
In order to recover those costs,
the judge would have to find that
Richards' ^uit "was not well ground
ed in fact and was not warranted by
existing law.. .and that it is inter
posed for an improper purpose."
A July 6 hearing has been sched
uled to hear Greeson 's motion. But
that action may be postponed be
cause Richards' lawyer, William
Shell, is involved in the defense of
Candace Nifong in a murder trial
currently underway in New Hanover
County.
Shell is in court this week and
could not be reached for comment
or. the Richards' suit Tuesday. A
spokesperson at his law office said
she was unsure whether Shell would
(See MOTION, Page 2-A)
NO WEAPONS
BEYOND I
THIS POINT
BBB K03EK . GK1SSL i 1 , Bt umwuk
County animal control
supervisor (in photo above),
awaits ptocessing in the county
TIM jail Wednesday night shortly after
^ his arrest on felony drug charges.
At left, narcotic s "gents who arc
unnamed because their work
requires anonymity, unload some
of the 94 marijuana plants
confiscated in Grissett's arrest at
g his home on Royal Oak Hoad,
J Supply. Grissett was charged with
1 possession with intent to sell and
I deliver marijuana, sale and
delivery of marijuana, and
felonious possession. Free on
PI H $15,000 unsecured bond, Grissett
Jgfc was suspended from his position
^ MB with the Brunswick County
Health Department.
House OKs Funds For Channel Study
The U.S. House of Representatives last week voted to
give S50.000 to the Army Corps of Engineers so it can
further study a plan to re-open the Eastern Channel at
Lockwood Folly River.
If approved by the Senate, the money will be used to
study the feasibility of closing Lockwood Folly Inlet and
opening Eastern Channel, according to Congressman
Charlie Rose's office.
Eastern Channel served as the inlet between
Lockwood Folly River and the ocean before the Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway and existing inlet were dredged
about 50 years ago.
Located near the western tip of Long Beach, the chan
nel has become clogged with sand in recent years. Some
local Fishermen say lack of water How through the chan
nel is relaied to pollution problems in the river.
Much of Lcckwood Folly has been closed to oyster
and clam harvesting due to bacterial pollution, and the
proposal to re-open Eastern Channel to improve water
circulation as gained a lot of support locally.
In May, the newly-formed Brunswick County
Environmental Coalition called for the re-opening of the
channel at a meeting with federal, state and count) offi
cials
Coalition members said dredging the channel and
closing olf the existing Lockwood Folly Inlet would im
prove water flow in the river and therefore allow the riv
er to purge itself of bacterial pollution.
However, a 1991 study by the Corps of Engineers
(See FUNDS, Page 2-A)
New Manager Says
He Hopes For A
Decade Of Service
BY ERIC CARLSON
Soon enough, he will face the
challenges of finding a replacement
landfill site, of implementing a new
zoning ordinance and of overseeing
the day-to-day operations of Bruns
wick County government.
But like anyone preparing to be
gin a new job, recently hired County
Manager William Wyman Yclton
spent his first few days in Bruns
wick County last week looking for a
placc to live.
County department heads wel
comed Yelton (who prefers to be
called by his middle name, Wyman)
during a Monday morning reccpuon
at the county government complex.
Yclton. a former manager of
Wayne and Sampson counties, said
he didn't come with any precon
ceived notions about transforming
Brunswick County government. He
said at first he would spend much of
his time getting to know the area
and its citizens.
"The first thing 1 need to do is sit
down with the commissioners and
get a handle in my mind on what
their concerns arc," he said. "I need
to understand their different priori
ties and philosophies. And I need to
look over the facilities and get ac
quainted with the budget. That's
quite a challenge."
Noting that Brunswick County is
"not a typical eastern North Carolina
county" dominated by agricultural
interests, Yelton noted that the area
has an "unusually diverse" popula
tion.
"You have farming communities
and beach communities. You have
retirees and people who are new to
the area and people who live here
pan lime. And you have people who
have lived here all their lives. That's
quite a contrast," Yelton said.
Yelton said economic develop
ment should be "a high priority," but
said he has "no specific plans yet"
for dealing with the county's chroni
cally high unemployment rate. He
said the problem is a difficult one
that cannot be solved overnight.
"I'm sure all those people need
and want employment. And those
who are employed want everyone to
be self-sufficicnt. But wc nave to re
alize that we can't have a Utopia. Wc
can't have 100 percent employ
ment," he said.
Like most newcomers, Yukon's
first priority was to get a root over
his head.
"I found a place to rent near
Shallotte," Yelton said. "Now I just
need to sell my home in Rocky
Mount so I can buy one here."
Yelton, 56, said his wife Kay
plans to remain in Rocky Mount
while their home is on the market.
The Yeltons have a 26-ycar-old son,
Scott, a sales manager in Wil
mington, and a 25-year old daugh
ter, Stephanie, a sales representative
for a mobile communications firm in
Kaleigh.
A native of Ruthcrtord County,
Yelton spent the past several years
as regional administrator for the
N.C. Council of Governments in
Rocky Mount. A veteran of nearly
17 years in county government,
Yelton began his career as a finance
officer for Burke and Catawba
Counties. He was manager of
Sampson County for more than six
years and Wayne County for four
years.
As one of four finalists inter
viewed by the commissioner for the
(See YKLTON, Page 2-A)
Inside...
Bi rnidays.v~... . 2B
Business News
Calendar .. ? 6B
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Classified ...... ...i ........ . 1 ?
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Crime Report ..12B
Entertainment. ...4B.7B
Fishing -. II B
10B
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Opinion ?????????????????^??tf** 4-5A
People In The News 4B
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Contract Awarded For Sunset
Bridge Environmental Study
BV LYNN CARLSON
A $580,000 study on the environ
mental impact of replacing Sunset
Beach's pontoon bridge ? just get
ting under way now, though it was
ordered by a federal judge three
years ago ? may take until late 1994
to complete, says the project man
ager
The N.C. Department of Trans
portauon has awarded a profession
al services contract to prepare a full
environmental impact statement to
Greincr Inc., an international engi
neering firm whose earlier design
for a high-rise span at Sunset was
nixed by the court after a lawsuit by
the Sunset Beach Taxpayers
Association. Greincr is also the firm
which solicited public opinion on
the issue last fall as part of a pre
study "scoping" project.
Ten to 12 alternatives, including a
tunnel or a ferry across the Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway, will be ex
plored along three prospective corri
dors, including the existing roadbed,
Project Manager Franklin Price said
in a Monday telephone interview.
As the study progresses, alterna
tives determined not to be "reason
able or feasible" will be discarded,
he added, predicting that "when it
gets to he really serious," the likely
options are a low drawbridge, medi
um-height drawbridge or a fixed
high-rise span similar to the bridges
at Ocean Isle and Holdcn beaches.
' We're just getting cranked up,"
Price said. His company will soon
be making plans to hold two more
"scoping meetings" and a formal
public hearing on the issue. DOT
has begun peak-usage traffic counts
to make sure any future changes
will improve traffic flow to and
from the island.
Interest in the bridge issue height
ened following a severe winter
storm March 13 in which high tides
would allow simultaneous land and
waterway traffic.
In 1990, the Sunset Bcach Tax
payers Association won a court hat
tie aimed at halting construction of a
new bridge. U.S. District Judge Earl
Britt ordered the state to complete a
full environmental impact study and
voided all permits already obtained
for the multi-million project.
Because of the court order, Price
said Grciner will be placing particu
lar emphasis on environmental con
cerns, such as threatened and endan -
gered species which might be af
fected by bridge construction.
Equal weight will be given sever
al "quality-of-life" issues, such as
whether the existing bridge endan
gers public safety because of its va
garies of operation, ana whether a
high-nsc bndge would degrade the
quaint atmosphere of Sunset Beach.
The social and economic compo
nents have been subcontracted to
ami strong winds made the bridge
inoperable for more than nine hours.
During that storm, high-rise bridges
to Ocean Isle and Holden beaches
were also closed to the traffic, but
for shorter times and not to emer
gency vehicles.
Following the storm, the Sunset
Beach Town Council reiterated its
support for a better bridge and re
solved to ask that the environmental
impact statement be stepped up. It
was not clear whether council's res
olution had anything to do with the
timing of the contract award.
At Greiner's public meeting last
fall, nearly 250 people turned out,
most telling planners they want
something belter than the existing
bridge but short of the high-rise
span the slate first proposed.
It has been 13 years since the
DOT began making plans to replace
the one-lane pontoon swing bridge
with a high-rise fixed span which
Hayes and Associates, planning
consultants already under contract
to the town government for other
projects; and Apogee Research of
Bethesda, Md.
Consultant Peggy Hayes was em
ployed because she drafted the
town's land use plan and can give a
"local flavor" and "first-hand
knowledge" to Apogee researchers
as they explore the social and eco
nomic issues surrounding the
bridge, Price said.
All other components of the
study will he done in-house by
Greiner, which has no plans to set
up a local office, opting instead to
work out of the town hall when its
staffers are in town. Price said be
tween 5 and 15 people would be
working on the study at any given
lime.
Meanwhile, Mayor Mason Bar
ber and Police Chief J.B. Buell say
they try to keep their fingers crossed
and their patience intact.
This past Monday morning, traf
fic backcd up in both directions as
die bridge shut down for a 45
minute cable replacement. There
were no emergencies during the clo
sure, but it remains "a dangerous
and cosdy situation," the mayor
said.
OiTiccrs must lie pustcd on ciuici
side to keep an eye on the traffic sit
uation, Barber said. Buell added that
despite the inconvenience, residents
and visitors on the island side have
been mosdy cheerful about delays
and willing to go back to ttfeir cot
tages and wait rather than remain in
a traffic clog.
"I feel sorry for those people
coming back to the island from the
Food Lion," tlie mayor said, laugh
ing. "I've seen women out there
giving away ice cream sandwiches
they knew were going to melt while
they were waiting to cross."