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.

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

The Columbus County Fire and Rescue Association is recommending that an emergency room physician at Columbus Regional Healthcare be appointed the county medical director.

It is unclear if Dr. David Phillips will take the position if an offer is made or what the offer may be. Phillips could not be reached at Columbus Regional Friday afternoon. An employee in the emergency room said he would not be available until next week.

The Columbus County Board of Commissioners has not had any open discussion on the medical director position with the exception of asking that the position be advertised.

In a letter dated Nov. 13, 2007, the president of the Fire and Rescue Association, on behalf of the group, asked the board to consider Dr. David Phillips for the contract edposition.

“Dr. Phillips functions as an emergency room physician at Columbus Regional Healthcare System. He resides in Wilmington, N.C. In talking with Dr. Phillips, he has agreed to carry a pager and cell phone to be easily accessible to county departments.

“In the county’s search for EMS Medical Director, we hope that you would take this recommendation into consideration for this very crucial position.”

According to N.C. Medical Board data, Phillips, 39, has privileges at Columbus Regional and is certified in emergency medicine.

His North Carolina license was issued in October 2003 and he was previously licensed in S.C. and Michigan. He is a 1996 graduate of Wayne State School of Medicine.

The recommendation comes just days before the current medical director’s notice expires on Nov. 27. Dr. Fred Obrecht resigned months after eight of nine volunteer rescue squad chiefs asked the Columbus County Board of Commissioners to terminate Obrecht’s contract. Some complained of a lack of communication and favoritism.

Obrecht, who had been the medical director for eight years and is a physician at Columbus Regional, said he was being targeted for high standards and questioning squads about missed calls.

The N.C. Office of Emergency Services has said if the county is unable to fill the position prior to Obrecht’s last day, the office will work with the county until a new physician takes the position.

Under N.C. statutes the county is required to provide emergency medical (ambulance service) countywide.

The county fulfills that obligation through contract agreements with volunteer squads in exchange for certain tax revenues.

The squads also have the opportunity to bill private insurance, Medicaid and others for the service.

The county paid Obrecht $12,000 a year but has not discussed what a new contract would entail. A separate contract with the hospital for certain nurse liaison and infection control services totaling $25,000 was ended prior to Obrecht’s resignation.

Fire and Rescue Association President Tony Miller is expected to be present at the commissioners meeting tonight. Continue reading »

Acme-Delco-Riegelwood Fire-Rescue Chiefs Steve Camlin and Donna Hammond remove draping from a monument outside the fire station during a ceremony Saturday honoring victims of the 2006 Riegelwood tornado.

Staff photo by Mark Gilchrist

By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Steve Camlin refused to let Saturday be entirely a day of mourning.

The chief of Acme-Delco-Riegelwood Fire-Rescue told the crowd at Saturday’s monument dedication that the killer tornado of a year ago should be remembered not just for the lives lost, but for the way a community came together.

“It’s a day we need to remember,” Camlin said, “but even when we saw lives taken, we saw lives saved.”

Rescue chief Donna Hammond said the community is still healing.

“It’s been a long year,” she said. “We need to remember the lives lost, and celebrate them, too.”

The F3 tornado struck a mobile home park in the pre-dawn hours, killing eight people, injuring dozens and destroying or damaging most of the homes along Pretty Branch and Holly Tree lanes.

O’Keon Tennell Wilson, Tyesha McKoy Wilson, Suley Ruiz Martinez, Danny Ruiz Jacobs, Miguel Angel Jurado, Timothy Carl Mai, Mary Ann Gasper Mai, and Timothy Michael Browne died in the storm.

Browne was a member of ADR Fire-Rescue. He and his daughter Cheyenne lived with Browne’s parents, the Mais.

Camlin related how Browne’s body was found five feet from his daughter, who was seriously injured.

“Mike was a firefighter, and he died a hero,” Camlin said, “trying to help Cheyenne.”

Cheyenne was at Saturday’s service with her grandmother, Glinda Browne. She was carried in to the service by Chris Cumber, in a procession of more than 100 firefighters, rescue workers, law enforcement and other first responders. Cumber cared for Cheyenne during the first part of her recovery.

Four-year-old Cheyenne has another year of therapy to complete, according to Glinda Browne. She said Cheyenne attends day care, and wants to follow fire trucks.

The little girl recently completed eight weeks of swimming lessons, and goes to dance class every Tuesday.

“She loves it,” Glinda Browne. “She’s come a long way.”

Camlin and Hammond helped Cheyenne present certificates to Will White and Brandy Jacobs. When firefighters needed an emergency neck brace for Cheyenne, White yanked off his own shirt and rolled it up. He continued to help care for Cheyenne despite being bare-chested in the near-freezing temperatures and driving rain, Camlin said.

Camlin and Hammond described how Mike Browne was “a fire chief’s dream.

“He didn’t question. He didn’t talk back, and he was all muscle,” Camlin said.

The chiefs were first concerned whether the quiet and soft spoken Browne would fit in with the ADR crew, Hammond said. Camlin said the chiefs decided to “just find out.

“Mike would surprise you,” Camlin said. “We learned that. He became a member of the ADR family.

“Mike wasn’t what you might think,” Camlin said. “He drove a minivan with a child safety seat in the back, but he drove it like it was a Camaro or a Mustang.”

Camlin noted that Browne couldn’t concentrate on his fire and rescue training unless he knew Cheyenne was taken care of first.

“The last thing he did was try to help Cheyenne,” Camlin said, “and the day after he died, his certificate came in. He died a firefighter.”

The 88-inch tall memorial, which is shaped like the Washington monument, was made by Cole Monument Works in Whiteville and paid for through donations.

The obelisk lists the names of the dead on one side, along with the names of every Columbus County fire department, rescue squad, emergency communications office, and law enforcement agency that responded to the tornado.

Several firefighters were overheard calling the monument the “Plan Seven” marker, using the worst-case scenario plan ADR has had in place for years, but never activated before the tornado.

James E. Horrell-Hammond, a volunteer with ADR Fire-Rescue, said the monument is more a reminder of the future rather than a symbol of the past tragedy.

“We want this to be a memento of a future in which the members of Ransom Township and the surrounding communities will continue to grow,” he said Thursday, “and become stronger despite the opposition of uncontrollable events that life presents.”

Glinda Browne wiped away tears and exchanged hugs with well-wishers as fire and rescue personnel spent time with Cheyenne. For many of them, it was the first time they’d seen Cheyenne since she was last at the fire station with her father a few days before the storm.

“Mike was all about that little girl,” she said. “She loves this department and these people, and they love her.”
Ronald Allen, Mike Browne’s boss, attended Saturday’s event with Glinda Browne and Cheyenne.

“Mike was the ideal employee,” he said. “He was never late without telling me. He worked hard. He was serious about his job.”

“I tried to tell him sometimes to take a day off because he was sick,” Glinda said. “He wouldn’t do it. He was serious about his work, and all he wanted to do was take care of his daughter and help people.”

Saturday’s service was one of four in the community over the weekend. A private service was held Friday at Christ the King Catholic Church, and another was held there on Sunday, followed by a multi-faith time of prayer at the disaster site. A service was also held at 4 p.m. at the community building.

Congressman Mike McIntyre was the featured speaker at Saturday’s event. He quoted Psalm 138, emphasizing the verse that reads “and mercy endures forever.”

“As soon as the storm struck, this entire community came together,” McIntyre said. “People didn’t wonder what to do – they jumped in to help their neighbors. The N.C. Baptist Men Disaster workers, the churches, the other groups…everyone came here to help.”

Earnestine Keaton of the Sandyfield Citizens Corps and the Community Emergency Response Team – a first response group that deployed for the first time during the tornado – handed out disaster preparedness materials from a table near the fire station driveway.

“We hope it doesn’t happen again,” she said, “but we need to be ready.”

Camlin said the disaster gave many people a different view of the fire and rescue training which takes months to complete.

“I know there was a time before the storm some of the husbands and wives and girlfriends and boyfriends thought we were just getting away from the house,” he said. “…training takes up a lot of time away from your family.

“Since that day when we had 200 people on the ground helping their neighbors,” Camlin said, “there hasn’t been a lot of nagging.”

“Everybody did a miraculous job that day,” Camlin said. “I’m proud of every single one of them and the way they reacted.” Continue reading »

• EMS personnel divided over complaints of favoritism, poor communication; Obrecht cites missed calls and controversial 911 recording

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Rescue squad personnel from throughout Columbus County packed the commissioners’ chambers Monday night.
Eight of nine rescue chiefs voted at a Columbus County Fire and Rescue Association meeting to ask that the Board of Commissioners fire Dr. Fred Obrecht from his contract position as EMS medical director and eliminate nurse liaison Becky Smith’s position, association president Tony Miller said.
The board took no action but said they would take the request under advisement.

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Columbus County’s Emergency Services Medical Director may have thought a debate that erupted years ago involving the renewal of his contract was over.
But it’s not.
Columbus County Fire and Rescue Association President Tony Miller will ask the Columbus County Board of commissioners to not only remove Dr. Fred Obrecht from his position but also nurse Liaison Becky Smith.
A letter signed by the association’s Vice President Sara Spivey lists all rescue squads but Whiteville as being in favor of the removal but does not specify why.
Attempts to get in touch with Miller at his home Friday were unsuccessful.
“We wish both Dr. Obrecht and Mrs. Smith well, but believe that Columbus County and its Emergency Medical Service providers will be better served with a change at this time,” the letter reads.
A separate letter bearing Miller’s name requests the item be added to the commissioner’s agenda for Monday night.
“I’m probably headed out but I’m going to tell the truth when I go out,” Obrecht said Sunday (Aug. 19). “I have a rebuttal planned.” (See full story by clicking on title)