New Approach Undertaken
For Twin Lakes
Management
BY SUSAN USHER
Twin Lakes residents' battle to
keep their community lakes in Sun
set Beach healthy and looking good
escalated a notch recently with the
hiring of a professional management
company.
Since 1991 the TWin Lakes Resi
dents Conservation Association has
taken a biological approach to man
agement, stocking the 60 acres of
lakes with sterile, grass-eating carp
to help control vegetative growth. A
portion of the Eastern Lake lies
along N.C. 179 toward Calabash.
The association had hoped that in
troduction of grass-eating carp and
an end to irrigation pumping would
alleviate most of the problems.
Results have been mixed, said
President Eddie Walters, prompting
the association to reconsider a
broader range of actions, a package
first recommended to it in 1991 by
Tom Rial of North Carolina Lake
Management, Inc. of Elizabethtown.
"It's going to take human inter
vention to correct the problems that
have developed over the years,"
Walters told Sunset Beach Town
Council members last week. "Every
step will help?a sewer system, bet
ter control of fertilizer application,
everything we do."
At one time lakefront property
owners thought use of lake water for
irrigation by Oyster Bay Golf Links
was the major cause of the lakes'
problems, which sometimes resulted
in runaway growth of algae and
weeds, low oxygen levels and occa
sional fish kills.
Oyster Bay no longer uses the
lakes for irrigation and is committed
to sharing the cost of lakes manage
ment, Walters said, and the lakes'
overall condition has improved, just
not as much as property owners
would like.
"It will never be under control; it
will always require management,"
said association member Walter
Hoff. "The lakes are not stream-fed.
Everything that goes in the lake set
tles to the bottom."
Without human intervention, said
Hoff, eutrophication will continue,
with the increase in nutrients gradu
ally reducing the dissolved oxygen
and creating an environment that fa
BEACON Fi IE PHOTO
BIRDWATCHING is a popular pastime for visitors to Eastern
Lake, one of the Twin Lakes on the mainland in Sunset Beach.
vors plant over animal life.
The lakes are shallow, with an ir
regular shoreline and no known
source of replenishment other than
rainwater. Septic tank leachate and
runoff from the surrounding residen
tial community are sources of bacte
ria, sediment and high levels of nu
trients such as phosphate and nitro
gen that encourage weed growth and
algae blooms.
For a S345 monthly maintenance
fee, North Carolina Lake Manage
ment, Inc. has agreed to take over
treatment and control of algae and
aquatic weeds, shoreline grasses and
brush, using EPA-approved chemi
cals. The company will also provide
annual water chemistry testing and
reporting as part of its aquatic man
agement program.
Its goal is to work toward a
growth pattern of natural balance,
allowing beneficial aquatic plants to
propagate while controlling the
spread of algae and other fast-giow
ing noxious weeds.
Previous management efforts
have been a cooperative venture of
the five-year-old association, the
town of Sunset Beach, Oyster Bay
Golf Links and Sea Trail Plantation.
This time around the $4,140 cost
will be split three ways among the
town, property owners and Oyster
Bay. After two years of co-sponsor
ship Sea Trail has elected not to par
ticipate in the new management ef
fort. citing the costs of managing its
own 100 acres of lakes.
Town council members commit
ted to one-year participation only
and will reassess the town's role at
the end of the contract period. Left
open for discussion was the vague
possibility of the town someday as
suming ownership of the lakes.
The town reached an agreement
with the conservation association in
1991 to assist with management of
the Twin l^akes "from time to time,"
since the privately-owned lakes are
h
BILL
SISK
for
Sheriff
of Brunswick
County
Democratic Candidate
A QUALITY CANDIDATE FOR QUALITY CHANGE IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY
I cannot promise you that I will stop all crime or that I will get
rid of all drugs in our county, but as your sheriff, with the help
of our sheriffs department personnel, I will promise you that
you will have the best in law enforcement protection and service.
Qualifications
?32 years of law enforcement experience
? Served in the United States Air Force
?Two years of college, with a major in Criminal Justice
?Graduate of Fruitland Baptist College - ordained as a minister in 1973
?Experienced business owner
?Began a career as a patrol officer walking a city beat in 1961
?Worked as a city patrol officer
?Promoted to the position of:
Line Sergeant, supervised a squad of patrol officer;
Detective Sergeant, supervised a squad of detectives and performed the duties of
an investigator;
Narcotics Investigator, assigned to detect, apprehend, and prosecute drug relat
ed offenses;
Internal Affairs Investigator, assigned to investigate complaints on police offi
cers, and to report the findings of the investigations to the agency head;
Jailer, Gaston County Sheriffs Department - assigned to the care and
custody of inmates confined to the county jail;
Courtroom Bailiff, assigned to Magistrate's Court, District and Superior
Criminal Court;
Deputy Sheriff, Gaston County - assigned to the criminal and civil divisions as a
criminal and civil process server;
Patrol Officer, Long Beach Police Department -1986 to 1990;
line Sergeant, Long Beach Police Department -1990 to present.
Maintains an active membership in the Masonic Lodge, Shriner's Club, Elk's
Lodge, Moose Lodge, and the Fraternal Order of Police, in Brunswick County
A man for change with an open door, open mind policy
FOR THE PEOPLE OF BRUNSWICK COUNTY!!!!
BILL SISK
FOR BRUNSWICK COUNTY SHERIFF
PAID FOR BY THE CANDIDATE
ClfHM THE BHOWSWtCK BEACON
an asset to the entire town and arc
used by the public for recreational
activities ranging from birdwatching
to fishing.
"We need to look at this from
year-to-year," suggested Council
Herb Klinker. "There's a question of
the precedent we're setting. What if
Sea Trail came before us with a sim
ilar request?"
While fish restocking isn't includ
ed in this year's Twin Lakes man
agement contract, future plans call
for the triploid carp to continue
playing a large role in aquatic weed
control in the lakes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
KEITH/
Love you bunches...
Mama & Dada
Elect
Tom Simmons
Brunswick County
Commissioner
?LEADERSHIP FOR TODAY
?VISION FOR TOMORROW
Paid for by the candidate
TO: BRUNSWICK
COUNTY
CITIZENS
FROM: MICHAEL
BALLARD
/ am writing to ask for your support and help in electing me to the
Brunswick County Board of Commissioners (District 5). If you are
tired of seeing the surrounding counties receive funding for programs
and our county continue to lose ground, then join me in my efforts to
help you by helping Brunswick County grow.
/ am pro jobs: I will work hard to recruit and retain high wage jobs.
The time has come for you to have a commissioner who will work
hard for the citizens of Brunswick County, as they do for their fami
lies. It is not enough for us to just recruit industry, but we must keep
and help the current companies in our county. It is time you had a
commissioner who will use federal and state funding to create and
recruit jobs. We must expand on the job training for our workers to
ensure that they are able to find new employment if the need occurs.
We can build our families if we can build more jobs.
I believe in good education, and I will work hard to end the current
gridlock between the Board of Commissioners and the Board of
Education. Our children deserve a good education, and we must all
work together and stop putting our personal/political agenda before
our children's education. Our schools have some of the best students
and educators, and we must encourage success and build on it. We
must encourage more people to volunteer to work with our schools
and students. It's time for a change.
/ am concerned about and for our environment, and I will contin
ue to work hard to protect it. The time has come for Brunswick
County to move forward with an enterprising recycling program. We
must continue to keep our county clean and free from more landfills.
/ am asking you to vote for me because 1 am compassionate, com
petent and committed to improving the lives of all our citizens. As I
have worked to get to know the great citizens of our county, many
have asked me, when I get elected, to please do something about their
spouse, child or themselves losing their jobs because of layoffs or
other reasons; well my fellow citizens, I will work hard to bring good
jobs to our county. I am going to ask our legisla+ive delegation to help
us recruit more good jobs. The time has come for you to expect more
from your county commissioners, other than an election year visit. As
your county commissioner, I will devote my time and energy to help
ing reform our county government, so you can have better access.
/ am proud to call Brunswick County home and hope you will join
me in making our county better for all of us. It's time for a change. It's
time to renew our economy and lower our unemployment rate. It's
time to elect Mike Ballard as County Commissioner for the 5th
District. It is time for leaders who will lead, who will listen, and who
care. TOGETHER WE CAN CHANGE BRUNSWICK COUNTY. I am
counting on you May 3. Make your voice heard.
Sincerely,
\ lilllllKkl \ I) <> I 1
Michael A. Ballard
PAID FOR BV THE CANDIDATE.