Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Sept. 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 2
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PUBLIC HEARING TUESDAY Shallotte Aldermen Eyeing $1.6 Million Sewer Expansion BY DOUG RIJTTER Shallotte residents and business owners get their chance next week to comment and ask questions about the town board's plan to more than triple the sewer sys tem capacity. Aldermen will conduct a public hearing Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. on a proposal to boost the wastewater treatment capacity to 750,000 gallons per day at a cost of $1.63 million. Shallotte sewer customers can expect to pay an extra $7.55 per month, or $90 per year, as a result of the ex pansion, according to the draft facilities plan for waste water treatment plant expansion. The facilities plan, written by engineer Street Lee of McKim & Creed of Wilmington, calls for the phased addi - tion of 550,000 gallons of wastewater treatment capacity. Based on residential and commercial growth projec tions. the additional 550,000 gallons would be enough to serve Shallotte for the next 20 years. The existing facility, which has been operating since 1984, has a maximum capacity of 206,000 gallons per day (gpd). Shaiioiic serves about 612 sewc: cv'omers and t-c-\Ls an average of 140,000 gpd, but the demand for sewer service is increasing due to the overall growth of the re gion. It is projected that Shallotte's population will increase ftom 1,288 to 2,033 over the next 10 years. By the year 2014, the town will be home to 3,209 people. In addition to residential growth, ShalJotte officials anticipaie that the number of acres developed for com mercial use will nearly double in the next decade. Of the 11,000 acres of land zoned for business and commercial use, only 477 acres have been developed. However, the number is expected to grow to 815 acres by the year 2004 and 1,391 acres by 2014. Based on those projections, the town will be treating 400,000 gallons of wastewater per day within 10 years and 750,000 gpd by 2014, according to the facilities plan. Expansion of the facility to accommodate the addi tional 550,000 gpd will include construction of a 24-acre lagoon, adding 170 acres of spray fields and a 1,500-gal Suicide is Preceecied By Notes, Threats , Gunshots From Porch (Continued From Page I -A) Martin, who was upset and said she needed help with Roger. "He never called me to say there were any problems. I didn't have a clue until last week," Mrs. Arm brustcr said. "We were all worried about hirr. and thought we could get him some help. I think when she got the restraining order, it really both cicu iiiin. He jusi wanted to be around her." Both Neller and one of Arm bruster's brothers had been to visit him recently. They realized he had grown obsessive about Martin but said he was trying his best to keep it to himself. Neller said he told her he was "taking things one day at a time." No one in the family was aware that Armbruster had purchased a pistol from a local pawn shop sever al weeks earlier. "I knew it was bothering him, but not that bad," said his brother. Court records indicate that Roger Armbruster 's obsession had grown significantly worse in the past six weeks. On July 26, Margaret Martin found the note and the bullet on her car and swore out a warrant against Armbruster for trespassing. A judge agreed to grant her a court order prohibiting him from visiting Martin. Last week, on Aug. 22, Martin went back to court for another do mestic violence protective order. It claimed that Armbruster called her on the night of Aug. 14 and threat ened suicide. Three nights later she got another call from him saying "if I did not drop the charges against him, that I would be sorry and he would kill himself and take me with him. I callcd 911," the court order says. After another threatening call on the night of the 21st, Martin said Armbruster came to her home at about noon the next day and "threw a bag of hair that he shaved from his head and a note." Police say they be lieve he cut off his hair while drink ing with friends at a local bar. Brunswick County Sheriff's Detective Nancy Simpson said Martin had tried to get psychiatric commitment papers filed against Armbruster, but was unable to do so "because at the time, there was no evidence that he was a threat to him self or others." After piecing together Armbruster 's actions leading up to t-3Eafr*y-" ? ? - ? ? PHOTO CONT*WUTK3 ROGER ARMBRUSTER and his ex-wife Margaret Martin in hap pier times, before his obsession for her ended in suicide on a Long Beach dune Saturday morning. his suicide, investigators agree that Armbruster's psychological condi tion must have deteriorated more se riously and rapidly than anyone real ized. Simpson said Armbruster wrote several letters and "made the rounds of all his friends" to say goodbye. On Friday, he placed his advertise ment in the Beacon and wrote out a new will. He left it in a pickup truck owned by Martin's new boyfriend. Shortly after midnight, Armbruster showed up on Martin's pofch and began banging on the door. After she refused to answer he fired at least two shots from his pis tol. One of the bullets passed through the side of a neighboring trailer and lodged in a living room wall. The owner had been lying on the floor watching television while his wife and child slept in the adjoining bed room. He immediately called 911 and reported the shooting. Armed with a warrant, Simpson said she headed for Martin's trailer and asked patrol officers to waich for Armbruster's white van. A deputy spotted the vehicle headed toward Holden Beach and began fol lowing him at speeds that never ex ceeded 45 miles per hour, the detec tive said. The deputy followed the van to the east end of Holden Beach Boulevard and watched as it drove out onto the sand and stopped. Knowing Armbruster was armed, the deputy called for back-up before approaching the vehicle. But when officers reached the van, they found it empty. Police speculate that Armbruster slipped out of the van, put the pistol in his pocket and swam across the inlet. Then, in the last hours of his life, he apparently removed the bul lets and let them dry while scrawling one f:r.a! message in the sanu. "At least he's at peace now," Rosemary Armbruster said on her son's porch Monday afternoon. "Nothing will ever bother him again." Schools' Funding Arguments To Resume In Court Thursday (Continued From Page 1-A) resolved. A second motion claims that there was not enough evidence presented at the trial to support the jury's award of $14 million to run the county schools. It asks the judge to set aside the award and to gran: the schools a lesser amount. "At most, the evidence supported a judgment for the amount asked for in the continuation budget, or $9.7 million," the motion states. Instead, it claims the jury awarded the amount requested in the school "ex pansion budget." Such motions are standard proce dure for the losing party in a civil suit and raiely result in a new trial. But County Attorney Mike Ramos said the county's third motion "will be argued strongly." It claims that Judge Thompson made "an error in law" when he re fused to let the county present evi dence about its ability to collect and pay the $14 million requested in the school board budget. "Evidence of funding to other An appeals court decision on the motion or the verdict could take a year or more. agencies of the county couid have aided the jury in deciding whether the Brunswick County Board of commissioners could have, consis tently with their fiscal policy, paid $14 million to the board of educa tion," the motion states. It claims North Carolina law requires that the amount of money given to schools "be within the financial resources and consistent with the fiscal poli cies of the board of county commis sioners." The motion claims the judge was wrong in not allowing the jury to hear evidence about the county's "ability to pay" before deciding how much it should award to fund the schools. Ramos said Judge Thomp son specifically prohibited him from informing the jury about how their decision might affect county taxes. "I think it is very relevant," Ramos said of the third motion. "I plan to argue strongly that (under state law, the amount budgeted) has to be within the county's financial resources and consistent with the fiscal policy of the board of com missioners. The judge had his own ideas about that." If Judge Thompson aiiows the county's motion, he could set a new trial on the case. Otherwise, the mo tion could be appealed. An appeals court decision on the motion or the verdict could take a year or more. If it decides to appeal, (he county would continue to fund the schools at the same level used to operate them last year. Commissioners say a tax increase would have to be instituted anyway, so the award could be paid immedi ately if the appeal is denied. If the courts rule in the county's favor, the additional tax money could be re funded ?on-per-minute pump station and upgrading the chlorine feed system. Town officials have proposed a phased approach to the expansion, with the first phase providing an addi tional 200,000 gpd of treatment capacity ? enough to last the next 10 years. Phase I, which will cost about $1.05 million, includes construction of approximately haif the 24-acre storage lagoon. The pump station, thloriri contact chamber and chlo rine feed system* will or designed for the full expan sion, with the exception of the pumps, motors and elec trical switch gear. This equipment will be sized for the first 10 years in order to reduce initial construction costs. The spray irrigation system will be installed in phas es, the first of which will provide a capacity of up to 200,000 gpd. Town officials are considering leasing or buying two parcels of land for the additional spray fields. They're looking at an 1,100-acre tract north of the sewer plant owned by International Paper Company and a 210-acre site east of the pianl owned by Federal Paper Board. The $1.63 million cost estimate does not include land. Town officials hope they can work out a long-term lease with International Paper that wouid aiiow the company to continue harvesting trees while the town uses the land for spray fields. Expansion is not expected to significantly affect oper ation and maintenance costs, which were $243,871 list fiscal year. Costs would increase about $5, (XX) per year over the first several years. The method of financing for the project will be based on the availability of loans under the Clean Water Bond Program administered by the N.C. Division of Environmental Management. Shallotte officials have said there's a good chance loan funds will be available in January 1995 for the pro ject. I -oans would be repaid with revenue generated from user charges as well as impact fees and acreage fees. Shallotte also has approximately $110, (XX) in its capital reserve fund that could be used for the expansion. Brunswick Students' SAT Scores See 30-Point Drop (Continued From Pip 1-A) white students. White students averaged 822 on the SAT. while black students averaged 678. "The SAT is just one measure of student perfor mance. yet it is perceived as a general indicator of the health of our schools," said Johnston in a prepared statement released last week. "Staff and administrators continue to believe that our students are getting a bet ter education than the SAT scores indicate." While Brunswick County's senior scores fell from an average score of 806 to 776, the statewide average increased one point, to 860. and the national average remained the same, at 902. While statewide average scores have showed a steady gain totaling 33 points over the past 12 years, local scores havt seesawed This year's local scores arc the lowest posted in at least four years, and came as a surprise and disappoint ment to local school officials after a 25-point gain from 1992, when the average score was 781, to 1993, when the average rose to 806. In 1991, the county av erage was 803. North Carolina's one-point gain this year did not af fect its ranking at 48th among the SO states. New Hanover County Schools, with a total average score of 863. was the only school system in the 19-county southeastern educational regional to post an average score at or above the state average System results across the region ranged from a drop of 62 points in the Clinton schools to a 76-poin! giui by Giccnc County seniors. Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jan Calhoun, who is tit charge of instructional services, said he be lieves local students will show gains on the SAT in the future because of changes thai arc occurring now. Students showed improvement this year in end-of grade, end-of-course test results, indicating better alignment of the county's instructional program with the state's standardised curriculum and state testing program "Both inititi'vn rrniurr uuitrniv in use higher order thinking skills and to apply what they have learned comparable to what is required by the SAT," said Calhoun "These positive indicators should provide higher SAT scores in the future " Meanwhile. Johnston and Calhoun arc convinced part of the solution lies in setting higher expectations for performance and encouraging students to partici pate in more challenging courses, with a focus on core curriculum such as reading, writing, math, science, history and social studies Johnston also wants to focus in staff training and de velopment and school -based planning on tasuring that teachers use instructional approaches that allow for students' different styles of learning He said a break -down of score information from the SAT provided by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will help educators identify areas where gieaier instructional emphasis or new approaches arc most needed. ABC Merger Would Allow Liquor Stores On U.S. 1 7 (Continued From Page 1-A) in seven miles of Ocean Isle Beach. Sunset Beach and Calabash If the merger happens. Ramsey said the likely spot for a new ABC' store would be near the heavily trav eled intersection of U.S. 17 and N.C. 211, about 6.2 miles north of Shallotte. Because of its central lo cation. that area would also be an ideal spot for a warehouse to serve the cntiff ?ys!?fn, he ssid. Both the town of Shallotte and the cnunty ARC board would benefit from the merger, Ramsey said. The town's ABC system, which saw its sales plummet after the county built its Holden Beach store, would join in the profits and the benefits of an "economy of scale" created by an expanded joint system, he said. Both systems would also share in the pro ceeds of a new store on U.S. 17. "Right now we have thousands of people driving through Brunswick County every day from Wilmington to Myrtle Beach and we can't open an ABC store anywhere on thai highway," Ramsey said. Although the larger system would What's on the tube? Check our listings. Pases 6-7B. this issue. THE BRUNSWKXfcKACON Established Nov. 1, 1962 Telephone 754-6890 Published Every Thursday At 4709 Main Street Shallotte, N.C. 28459 SUBSCRIPTION RATES IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY One Year $10.36 Six Months $5.55 ELSEWHERE IN NORTH CAROLINA One Year $1486 Six Months $7.90 ELSEWHERE IN U.S.A. One Year $15.95 Six Months $8.35 Second class postage paid at Shallotte, N.C. 28459. USPS 777 780. Postmaster, send address changes to: P.O. Box 2558, Shallotte, N.C. 28459-2 558 simplify staffing, ordering ana ac counting, Ramsey said there would be no employee "firings, layoffs or salary cuts" if the two systems arc merged Any reductions in force would happen over time as existing workers retired or moved to differ ent jobs, he said. Ramsey said he could not say how the financial arrangements would be organized in a mercer of the two systems. fivr prrcrnl of rvrry ABC system's profits are earmarked for law enforcement, Ramsey said savings from the joint system and increased profits from the opening of another store would probably pro vide enough revenue to hire a sec ond county ABC enforcement offi cer. Detective Mike Speck of the Brunswick County Sheriff's Depart ment currently handles that job for the entire county in addition to his regular duties. No firm date has been set for the joint ABC meeting. Ramsey said he hopes it can be held in late Sep tember or early October. Enjoy First Hint Of Fall Sooth Brunswick Islands resi dents and visitors may get their first hint of autumn this weekend. Shalkxte Point meteorologist Jackson Canady said Tuesday he anticipates a cooling trend to reach the area around the week end or the first of next week. For the week he expects tem peratures to average from the up ps 50s st night into the upper 80? during the daytime, with about three quarters of an inch of rarnfall. Fur the period of Aug. 23-29, Canady recorded a high of 91 de grees on Aug. 27 and a nightly low of 58 degrees on Aug. 25. A daily average high of 88 de grees and an average nightly lew combined for a daily average icmpci aiurc of 76 degrees, which Canady said waa 2 degrees below the long-term average for this time of year. He recorded only five-hun dredths of an inch of rainfall for the period. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE BRUNSWICKfeBtACON POST OFFICE BOX 2558 * SHALLOTTE. NORTH CAROLINA 28459 JjO-TlCE Reliabhe or consistent delivery cannot be guaranteed since this newspaper must rely on the U S Postal Scrvice for delivery Wo can only guarantee that your newspaper will he submitted to the post office in ' Shallotte on Wednesday of the week of publication, in hme for dispatch to out-of-town addresses that day ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: Sr. Citizen In Brunswick County U6.30 ?5.30 N.C. Sales Tax Postage Charge TOTAL .32 3 68 9.30 Elsewhere In North Carolina 116 30 rkC Mn Cni?. *t*. JDv,u 05.30 N.C. Sales Tax .38 .32 Postage Charge 8.18 8.18 TrtTAI 13.80 -ISM. 1AM Outside North Carolina (J6.30 tj5 30 Postage Charge g rs qRc; TOTAL 15.95 Complete And Return To Above Address Name : 14.95 Address City, State Zip i
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 1, 1994, edition 1
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