Columbus County Community Chat

The drownings of two East Columbus High School students last week at Lake Waccamaw was a tragic accident.

Drownings are infrequent at Lake Waccamaw, in part because the lake is shallow in most places, but hypothermia apparently proved too much for two of the three boys.

We were impressed with the efforts of all involved in the rescue and recovery effort.

The accident occurred during the coldest conditions of the year. At times, the temperature dipped into the teens and winds gusted to 25 miles per hour.

Local fire, rescue and law enforcement officials were on the water or going pier-to-pier in terrible conditions when the possibility remained that the boys were alive.

Rescuers were faithfully back on the water on the subsequent three mornings, even when it was obvious the two boys could not have survived.

It was also gratifying to see the out-of-county units that assisted, ranging from the Coast Guard, which sent a helicopter, to water rescue teams from surrounding counties. The team that found the last victim was from the New Bern area.

It’s unimaginable what the families of the two boys have gone through and continue to experience; yet, it should be of some comfort that so many people understood their loss and responded with extraordinary dedication.

Update

Rescuers found the body of Williams Mills in Lake Waccamaw Saturday using a sonar unit brought in from Craven County. Mills was found not far from where the paddle boat he and two friends were in capsized Wednesday afternoon. A diver recovered the body.

Searchers from several agencies from Columbus and surrounding counties participated in the search, often conducted in sub-freezing weather. Rescuers found the body of Glenn Marvin Thursday. A third boy, Scott Collins, was able to swim to safety but suffered from hypothermia.

The boating accident occurred a few hundred yards in front of the pier at Dale’s Seafood. All three boys attended East Columbus High School.

See Monday’s issue of The News Reporter for a full report and more photos.

The body of 17-year-old Glenn Marvin was recovered today (Thursday, Jan. 3) about noon from Lake Waccamaw. The youth is one of two East Columbus High School students who drowned Wednesday afternoon in a boating accident at the lake.

His body was found within 300 yards of the pier at Dale’s Seafood restaurant. This is where Scott Collins, 18, of the lake swam to shore at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Searchers are battling frigid conditions with stiff winds in 30-degree weather on the lake as they continue looking for the body of William Mills, 18, also from Delco.
See today’s story on Page 1 for more details.

Rescuers battle high wind, frigid water as they resume search today (Thursday) in Lake Waccamaw. One of three teenagers managed to swim ashore after a paddle boat capsized late Wednesday afternoon.

By BOB HIGH
Staff Writer

Rescue personnel again fought bitter cold wind and frigid water in Lake Waccamaw this morning (Thursday) as they sought to recover the bodies of two East Columbus High School students missing after a boat capsized Wednesday afternoon.

Gusts as high as 18 mph and a steady northwest wind at about 12 mph made conditions almost unbearable on the choppy waters of the lake. Rescuers called off search efforts at midnight Wednesday.

William Mills, 18, and Glenn Marvin, 17, both of the Delco area, are missing following the 3:30-3:45 p.m. accident about a mile into the lake from the north shore.

Scott Collins, 18, and a resident of Lake Waccamaw, managed to swim to within 400 yards of the shoreline in front of Dale’s Seafood restaurant, and walked the rest of the way to safety. He emerged from the lake at 4:30 p.m.

Helicopter used

Collins, suffering from hypothermia, was taken to Columbus Regional Healthcare by rescue workers at about 5 p.m.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, equipped with a piercing searchlight and thermal imaging gear, made two trips Wednesday night and searched the west end of the lake.

At least 10 small boats – ranging from the Wildlife Resources Commission to craft from Supply, Acme-Delco-Riegelwood, White Lake and Lake Waccamaw – fought the elements for about four hours Wednesday night.

A rescue boat from the Seagate community in New Hanover County was too large to be launched into the shallow water at the boat ramp on the west end of the lake.

However, the Seagate craft had a Coast Guard radio and this enabled rescuers to talk to the helicopter.
Lake Police Chief Scott Hyatt provided the following information:

Collins, Mills and Marvin decided to put a small paddle boat into the lake following the end of their school day – the first session of school following the Christmas and New Year’s Day break.

Launched boat

The teenagers drove to a home near the west end of the first bridge on Canal Cove Road. They launched the small craft into shallow water along the edge of the lake’s cove area leading to the deepest part of the lake.

The water level is at least 14 to 15 inches down from the top of the dam on the lake’s south side, and about 17 to 18 inches lower than normal.

The boys were going “to mess around a little,” according to a report from people who talked to Collins at the hospital here.

As the boys moved farther from shore they escaped the tree line that provided a partial buffer to the strong wind Wednesday afternoon, and the wind began to push the boat farther into the lake, despite the teens’ best efforts to stay close to shore.

Boat kept moving out

Collins told officers that the three teens paddled as hard as they could, but couldn’t make any headway against the wind, and the boat kept moving out into the lake.

The northwest wind pushed the small white boat southeast, and it was moving toward the dam and state park area when it capsized. The exact location of the accident is not clear, but is believed to be at least a mile or more offshore in front of the seafood restaurant.

Collins, almost unable to be understood as he tried to report what happened to restaurant workers, said he had been in the water “for hours.” It’s not clear if he was confused by his harrowing experience and did not clearly understand the time issue.

Kaitlyn Ward, a waitress at Dale’s Seafood, said she was waiting on some customers when one of them pointed to a person walking to shore in the shallow water in front of the restaurant.

Smokey Bell, a cook at the business, said he was in his pickup truck parked behind the building, and noticed a young person (Collins) coming to the shore from the water.

“He walked to where I was in my truck. He told me he and two other boys had turned over in their boat. I brought him inside here and tried to get him dry and get some hot liquid in him,” Bell said.

‘Couldn’t say much’

“He was so cold he couldn’t say very many words. He couldn’t handle a cup of hot coffee. He was out of it. He stayed here about 20 minutes before they took him to the hospital,” Bell added.

Collins spoke to his family by telephone about what happened before being taken for medical treatment. Collins lives in the 3900 block of Waccamaw Shores Road, near the dam on the south side of the lake.

As rescuers were gathering outside the lake restaurant, Police Officer Jeff Marlowe used binoculars to locate the bobbing white boat far into the lake. It was visible between each large wave as it was being pushed to the southern shoreline, almost in front of the dam.

A N.C. Forest Service plane was used to help locate the boat and to scan for survivors. The first rescue boat reached the overturned craft at 5:30 p.m., and the boat was pulled to the west end near the boat ramp.

Wind, cold brutal

Ice was scraped off rescuers and boats as they fought the elements late Wednesday. The wind chill was at freezing or below all day Wednesday, and force of the wind was amplified as it moved across the open water.

By the time rescuers abandoned efforts Wednesday night, the wind-chill factor was in the single digits and dipped to zero and below in some of the highest wind gusts.

Today’s early temperature ranged from 20 to 25 degrees with a steady 10 to 12 mph wind – far below the freezing point.

Visit whiteville.com for updates to this story after presstime.

New Year’s Day fire traced by investigators to Christopher Shawn McDevitt, a son of Nakina Fire & Rescue Chief Vince McDevitt.

By BOB HIGH
Staff Writer

Christopher Shawn McDevitt, a 25-year-old Nakina firefighter and son of Nakina Fire and Rescue Chief Vince McDevitt, was arrested early New Year’s Day on a charge of second-degree arson.

McDevitt is charged with setting a blaze inside a double-wide mobile home along Ramsey Ford Road that was still to be “set up” as a new home for McDevitt’s aunt.
Investigators report “at least” $25,000 in damages to the structure, owned by P&R Homes of Fairmont. The fire was reported by the young McDevitt at 2:28 a.m. Tuesday, records show.

Ironically, it was McDevitt’s aunt, Evelyn Vernell Reaves who lost her home – almost across the road from the firefighter’s home — in three questionable fires less than three months ago.

The mobile home that was burned had just been delivered by the Fairmont mobile home firm, and was still to be placed on a permanent foundation, it was reported.

Fire and Rescue Chief Vince McDevitt resigned Tuesday. He stated his action was because he felt it was the “right thing to do,” according to a report.

Assistant Chief Jimmy Williams is now the acting chief for both departments. Young McDevitt was suspended until the outcome of the arson charge.

Crucial evidence

Investigators said they found crucial evidence in McDevitt’s home, and also collected important items outside the residence.

There are several other suspicious recent Nakina fires, including the burning of the headquarters of Nakina Fire and Rescue and the home of John Ward, chairman of Nakina’s board of directors for the fire and rescue units.

In addition, the brick home of Evelyn Reaves was destroyed by three unusual fires in a 25-hour period on Oct. 21-22 last year.

Records in the county Fire Marshal’s office show Reaves’ home was the site of a blaze reported at 1:51 a.m. on Oct. 21, then a second fire was reported two hours later at 3:50 a.m.

Oct. 22 fire

The fire that gutted the 30-by-60 home was reported at 2:44 a.m. the next morning, according to Shannon Blackman, the county’s acting fire marshal.

Blackman and his assistant Jason Soles said McDevitt said he was in his home Tuesday at 2:30 a.m. at his computer and saw flames through the blinds of a window.

McDevitt told investigators he ran outside and found his own home burning from vinyl siding that had been torched. He used a garden hose to douse the flames on the two-story structure where he is living.

He was not charged in this fire, because it is still being investigated, it was reported.

McDevitt was taken to the county jail shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday, and was released on a $25,000 bond posted by his family before being confined behind bars.

If there is a department of county government that must do its job well, it’s the 911 Center.

No matter how good the county’s fire, police and EMS services are, their efforts will be diminished if there are procedural issues at the 911 Center .

Sheriff Chris Batten recently appealed to the county commissioners for help in resolving issues with the 911 Center and communications with his deputies.

When it comes to stressful jobs, 911 dispatchers are at the top of the list. We have a dedicated crew at the 911 Center here, but they need to be in an environment where they can do their jobs effectively.

Bear in mind that dispatchers not only answer phone calls, they also dispatch them, type in information for record keeping, plus maintain radio communications with responding units – all simultaneously. Usually, four dispatchers can handle what comes in, but sometimes, several emergencies happen concurrently. That’s when you don’t want to be understaffed.

Several problems listed by Batten and brought to light recently need to be addressed. Perhaps the first is the simplest: 911 dispatchers here have to handle too many non-emergency calls. Often, these are calls for situations like interrupted water or sewer service or lost pets.

Citizens should expect answers to these calls, but intermingling these with heart attack or house fire calls is putting too much stress in an already stressful environment.

Batten is correct in asserting that whoever is handling sheriff’s department calls needs to be a sheriff’s department specialist – someone who understands law enforcement and is familiar with sheriff’s department protocols.

Can these current issues be resolved by honing procedures for non-emergency calls and rethinking operations? Maybe, but the 911 Center’s performance will never be predictable because of the nature of emergencies, which often occur en masse.

There are plenty of areas where the county can cut expenses, but the 911 Center isn’t one of them. Error has to be on the side of caution.

A proposed resolution that calls for stricter enforcement of immigration laws in Columbus County is better left where it was at the last county commissioners’ meeting – on the table.

The issue, which is being pushed by Commissioner James Prevatte, is low on the list of priorities of the federal government, so why should it be a priority for Columbus County?

Earlier in the year, Congress failed to pass a sensible immigration bill that would have given amnesty to illegal immigrants in the country now, but tightened restrictions in the future. So while Columbus County’s proposal may seemingly address what some consider to be a problem, we have much bigger issues on which to spend our time and energy than getting tangled up with a threatened lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU has said it’s itching to file suit against a county that adopts a resolution such as the one being considered here.

And the ACLU raises some valid points, such as the lack of due process for those suspected of being illegal aliens, and penalties for people who employ them.

But for practical purposes, does the county need to be involved in yet another costly lawsuit it would probably lose? For example, the Hazelton, Pa., town board adopted a similar resolution and spent $2.1 million defending a lawsuit it eventually lost.

We’re better off letting the federal government wage this fight to the extent that Congress allows it because we have bigger fish to fry in Columbus County.

By FULLER ROYAL
Staff Writer

“When I look at the condition of safety of the Whiteville City Schools, I have great concern,” said Whiteville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Randall Shaver as he began his introductory remarks to the more than 100 parents and school employees during Tuesday night’s PTA school safety forum. “There is a preponderance of weapons and we must take action.”

The forum came about after Shaver met with the system’s four PTA presidents. Confusion and concern over any new rules, especially those pertaining to book bags and pocketbooks, became the driving force. Shaver and the presidents thought a public forum would answer concerns and calm fears.

Central Middle School PTA President -elect Becky High moderated the meeting.

Shaver told the group that school safety was an administrative issue, not a school board issue. Each school’s school improvement team (SIT) and principal came up with the proposals presented.

“The schools need to be flexible to do what is necessary without constraints from the board,” Shaver said, adding that he will look at the recommendations from each school.

“Ultimately, that decision will be certified by my office,” he said.

He said the new rules won’t be the most convenient but the students will be safer.

Shaver said the primary safety issues are weapons on campus, visitors on campus, violence, fighting, drug use, crisis response and crisis communications. (See full story.)

www.whiteville.com/pages/2007WEBPAGES/OCTOBER2007/10.29.07.mon/news5mon.html”>

• One captured by Tabor City police Sunday night. Inmates find outside door partially locked although control-room computer showed door secure.

By BOB HIGH
Staff Writer

Three male felon inmates breached the new modern jail – occupied for just two weeks — here Saturday and escaped. One was captured Sunday night by Tabor City police, and the others remain at large.

Jimmy Carroll Edwards, 26, of West Third Avenue, Chadbourn, and Benjamin Currie, 34, of Seal Street, Tabor City, are on the run.

Jason Earl Ward, 21, of Lewis Street, Tabor City, was captured shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday by Tabor City police.

“The escapees should be considered dangerous and members of the public shouldn’t try and capture them. Call 9-1-1 or my office at 642-6551 if somebody sees them.

Let us or another law enforcement agency go after Currie and Edwards,” the sheriff pointed out.

“The only thing I can say for sure is the control-room computer for the pod where they were housed indicated all doors were locked. But, one door leading outside to a fenced area wasn’t locked,” Sheriff Chris Batten said Sunday.

Computer glitch

“The lock on the outside door didn’t fully engage, and apparently Jason Earl Ward found it and he was out before 5 p.m. Saturday. We’re not sure when Jimmy Carroll Edwards and Benjamin Currie found the same door open. It could have been at almost the same time.

“The fenced area has a lock on the gate, but one of the prisoners kicked it open. We’ve now got chains on all the fenced areas outside each of the four pods,” the sheriff added.

“We’ve had several calls about where the three prisoners have been seen, but we’ve been unable to find Edwards and Currie. We appreciate all the help we’re getting from the public, and want them to continue to call,” Batten declared.

Tabor City Police Lt. Ronnie Carroll said police there put the word out on the street about the escape and asked for information about any of the three – particularly Ward and Currie, both who normally live inside the town’s limits.

White male ran

“I got a call just after 9 Sunday night that Ward was probably walking along Lewis Street, the same street where he usually lives,” Carroll said.

Carroll, along with Officer John Evans, went to the area in an unmarked car and turned onto Lewis from Sixth Street. “There was a white male walking with three other males.

“The white guy ran as soon as he saw the car. He ran into the woods on the east side of the street. John Evans jumped out and ran after him, and I drove around the block and went into the woods from the other side.

“I hollered for Evans and heard him holler back that he had him. Teamwork made it happen,” Carroll declared.

Ward was picked up in Tabor City by sheriff’s deputies and returned to the new jail.

Escape discovered

Batten said the three felons were discovered missing after a head count at 8 p.m. Saturday, shortly after the detention center’s staff went through a shift change.

The door used to reach the outside “never showed it was unlocked all day. There’s a problem somewhere in the computer system, and we have to wait until Tuesday for a technician to come and find out where the problem is,” Batten noted.

The sheriff said he hopes he can make a change in the number of computers needed to control outside doors. “Now, we use three computers, but if the fire code will let us shift the controls to one computer, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

Batten and several deputies were out almost all night Saturday, and continued their searches Sunday and most of Sunday night.

Officers praised

Batten praised Tabor City police for their quick help in capturing Ward. “The work by Tabor City’s officers Sunday night is the type of cooperation we’ve been getting for years from other county agencies, and an example of good police work,” the sheriff said.

Edwards had been confined since Wednesday, Oct. 24, when he was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

Chadbourn Police Lt. Deon Hayes charged Edwards with the offenses. The firearm was found during surveillance by Intensive Probation Officer Eric Lammonds.

Edwards was placed on probation in May 2006 after being convicted in Brunswick County on five counts of obtaining property by fraud.

Currie had been jailed since Monday, Oct. 22, when he had been arrested as a fugitive from a burglary charge in Horry County, S.C. Currie was also charged with at least three Columbus County felonies involving property crimes after he was jailed last week.

Ward was serving a 90-day jail term after he pleaded in District Court here on Oct. 11 to a misdemeanor breaking and entering charge, records show.