Monday night’s open school board forum on the dispute over the Gideons’ request to put Bibles in Columbus County fifth-grade classrooms shed light in a number of areas, but it also revealed that the waters are indeed untested and murky.

The county school board is in an untenable position, likely to be sued either way it chooses.

That’s bad news for Columbus County schoolchildren, who need the full attention and focus of school leaders to improve education in conditions that are difficult enough already.

We suggest that all sides contemplate practical solutions. Given time, things could be resolved without a court fight.

The first logical step would be to give the North Carolina School Board Association time to develop a model that all school boards could adopt and be in compliance with federal case law.

The “Practical Solution of the Night” award goes to the Baptist preacher who suggested that the sons and daughters of Christian families give Bibles to classmates who want them. It is allowed, and nobody will wind up in court.

The preacher’s oration could offer a silver lining to the entire affair.

What if the faith-based community took this opportunity to muster forces and really get involved in the schools? The school board has already said that it welcomes – and even encourages – churches and church members to volunteer in the schools.

Could the same group that met Monday night set a goal of doubling the number of the faith-based community who currently volunteer helping students learn to read, or by providing a strong, moral shoulder for vulnerable children to lean on?

If just one-tenth of the 6,700 people who signed the Gideon petition agreed to volunteer in the schools, what a blessing that would be for so many students.

That’s the hard work the faith-based community should be doing.

Our schools don’t need a court fight. What they need are practical solutions from practical people willing to roll up their sleeves and make a difference in the lives of our young people.

By FULLER ROYAL
Staff Writer

The Columbus County Board of Education is facing one of its biggest decisions in recent years – a decision that could result in legal action from two opposing groups and a decision that will leave some folks angry, no matter what’s decided.

The school board met in open forum Monday night in the Cerro Gordo Elementary School auditorium to discuss its 2007 decision not to allow the Columbus County chapter of Gideons to offer Bibles to fifth graders throughout the system.

The auditorium was about two-thirds full with county residents mostly in favor of allowing the Gideons to continue the 35-year tradition.

Superintendent Dan Strickland opened the meeting with a detailed history of the events leading to the Monday night gathering.

He said that two years ago, after the board of education had already okayed the Gideons’ Bible request for spring 2006, he received a call from the state representative of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“We understand that in Columbus County, you have a policy of distributing Bibles,” Strickland said the representative asked. Strickland said there was no policy.

Strickland explained to the caller that the board had been approving a single request from Gideons to place Bibles on tables for fifth graders to pick up.

Strickland said that the ACLU representative informed him that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled such a Bible distribution was unconstitutional.

He said that the ACLU guaranteed that if the practice were to continue, there would be a lawsuit.

Strickland said that the request had already been granted, but they would look at it for 2007.

At the same time, the Brunswick County Schools was dealing with the ACLU on the same issue.

The Brunswick County Board of Education elected that year to not allow the Gideons to distribute the Bibles in order to avoid what could be expensive litigation.

One year ago, when the Gideons submitted their annual request, the Columbus County board turned them down but offered to allow them to distribute at the high school level, which would be allowed under law.

The right thing

“Our thoughts as a board were that we were doing the right thing,” Strickland said. “We never took the Bible out of the school. We moved it from fifth grade to high school.”

Strickland pointed out that students can bring Bibles to school and give them to all of their friends if they wish.

Strickland said that in Brunswick County two years ago, there were six or seven organizations ready to file suit for equal access.

County schools’ attorney Bill Phipps spoke next.

“We’ve had the pleasure of working with the Gideons all of these years,” Phipps said, adding that there has never been a problem since “we live in the middle of the Bible Belt.

“But no one had ever shot a bullet across our bow,” he said of the 2006 letter from the ACLU.

No policy

Phipps said the real problem lies with the county’s lack of a policy, one way or the other, concerning open or closed forum schools.

He said that the N. C. School Board Association (NCSBA) is working to complete a new policy manual this spring that is aligned with recent court decisions.

To comply with recent court decisions, the school board must decide if it will practice open or closed forum.

In open forum, Phipps explained, all religious groups, and not just the Gideons, must be granted equal access to students.

That means, when the board chooses a day for Bible distribution, it must also provide equal space for any other religious group – Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Wiccan or in extreme cases, Satanists or witches.

In closed forum, no religious group is allowed any access at all to students.

Phipps said that the policy written by the board could allow community-based materials promoting Scouts or area festivals.

No objections

He said that the board has been able to accommodate the Gideons because there have been virtually no objections from parents and there has been little religious diversity in the county.

“We haven’t had a complaint about the Gideons except from the ACLU,” he said.

He said that without a policy, the ACLU will take a hard look at all of the school board’s actions and determine if it’s an open forum with equal access.

Phipps said that Brunswick’s superintendent said she had received literature from non-Christian religious organizations to pass out on the same day as the Bibles, including several boxes of colorful Wiccan literature from a Wiccan church in Asheville.

A note was attached that read, “When you display the Bibles, display ours also.”

Phipps said that if his fifth-grade kids had come home with the Koran or Buddhist and Wiccan materials, he would have explained what they were as he threw them away.

He said that the only element the board could control would be illegal matter such as pornography or material that encouraged illegal activity or sedition.

Legal help

Phipps said that the school board had been contacted by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Christian rights group with a history of fighting the ACLU.

The ADF said that if the school board follows a policy of equal access and permits the Gideons to distribute the Bibles, it would represent it for free in court, should litigation arise.

“We don’t have equal access,” Phipps said. “We couldn’t win. What we’re trying to do is make sure we comply.”

Liability issues

Phipps said that if the school board were to be sued in federal court by the ACLU or a disgruntled parent, each board member could stand to have a judgment against him.

The board’s liability insurance is from the NCSBA. Phipps said if the board is sued and it’s not in compliance with recent court rulings, the NCSBA will not cover any damages or costs.

Phipps said a judgment and/or attorney fees for the plaintiffs could run several thousand dollars. He said the superintendent and assistant superintendent could also be sued.

“Judgments are collectible from the people representing you who are trying to educate your children and grandchildren,”
Phipps told the audience.

He said the members of the administrative staff are reluctant to put their personal financial wellbeing in harm’s way.

“We’re here to educate, not litigate,” he said. Phipps said it would be difficult to justify one or two million dollars in judgments and damages.

Phipps said the board is doing a good job educating the county’s children and they don’t need to be distracted by a lawsuit.

“There is a lot of worry and anguish when you’re sued,” he said.

Ed Worley, a longtime member of the Gideons, spoke next.

He asked the board not only to allow the distribution of Bibles to this year’s fifth graders, but to also to sixth graders, since they received none last year.

He said that in the 35 years he has been involved, only six children had ever turned down a Bible.

He called the Bible distribution something that the students look forward to.

“You can read it on their lips and the expressions on their faces,” he said.

Worley said that the fifth grade was the ideal grade for the Bibles. He said high school students have too many other things on their minds.

Bleak picture

Kip Godwin spoke next.

“Mr. Phipps paints a bleak picture,” he began. “You can’t believe anything the ACLU tells you. You can’t take their advice as gospel on legal matters.”

He said that the ACLU and the ADF have cited cases that support their positions.

“I encourage the board not to side with the ACLU but to side with the Christians of the county.”

Godwin told the group that if the county’s Christians don’t take a stand now, it will only be a matter of time before Bibles won’t be allowed in homes and people will not be able to assemble in church.

“We’re in Columbus County,” he said. “This has got to go a different way.”

Godwin encouraged all to pray for the board. “We don’t want them to be sued,” he said. “If we see a policy adopted the right way, the ACLU will go away.

Bad position

“As a board, you are caught in the worst possible position you could be in,” he said, addressing the board members.

He said they could be facing a lawsuit by the ACLU if they decide one way and a lawsuit by the ADF if they decide another.

“The ADF can bring suit against you as well,” he said. He accused the board of discriminating against the Gideons.

Broken the law

“By your own practice, you have broken the law,” he said. “You need a policy of equal access.

“Does that open the door to the Wiccans?” he asked. “They have the same right to assemble as we do. We’ve got to allow them all in. In Columbus County, it’s a little bit of a red herring to cite those examples.”

Godwin said that the law may not apply to just religious groups, but could also apply to Scouts and area festivals that wish to distribute literature.

Godwin suggested that a policy include the requirement that a religious group’s representative be present during the distributions of material.

“If you want to distribute materials, don’t ship it from Ashville,” he said, referring to the Wicca materials in Brunswick County. “You have to present it yourself.

“I don’t mind putting God’s word up against anything else offered,” he said. “Either you have a policy open for everything or not.”

Illegal act

Godwin said he didn’t think anyone there wanted to do something illegal, but he repeated his charge that the denial of the Gideon request was “an illegal act of discrimination perpetrated by the school board.

“You didn’t have to allow us to be on the agenda,” he said. “We appreciate this opportunity.”

Signatures

In the most dramatic moment of the evening, Godwin called for the representatives of more than three dozen churches to bring to the stage their petitions.

As they did, each church representative called out the number of signatures they had collected.

More that 6,700 signatures were gathered. The meeting switched to the open meeting portion. Two people spoke.

First was Dulah Baptist Church minister Ragsdale Allsbrook.

“Let them sue,” he said, adding that he was troubled when he first heard about the board’s denial of the Gideons’ request.

Sitting idly by

But he had a different take.

“Are we expecting the Gideons to do what we Christians ought to be doing?” he said. “We’ve been lazy and we’ve let (the Gideons distribute Bibles) while we sit idly by.”

He said he was thankful for the Gideons. “If lives are changed, it’s by the word of God,” he said. “The best method to distribute Bibles is by students.”

He suggested giving church youth Bibles to give to their friends.

‘”We’re going to take the offense,” he said. “God will do the rest. We need to be wise as serpents and harmless as does.”

A teary-eyed Allsbrook returned to his seat amid a standing ovation.

Strickland reiterated Allsbrook’s comment saying that students can distribute Bibles of their own accord.

The last speaker was Andrea Miller, a member of Hinson’s Crossroads Baptist Church.

She recalled receiving her red Gideon’s Bible as a fifth grader and how much it meant to her. Her daughter received one also several years ago.

“It’s wonderful to see the light of God’s word in a child’s eyes,” she said. “I believe our laws stem from our Bible and God laid down the first laws.”

She said that if other groups and religions place their materials in the schools, it will be the duty of parents to say to their children – “Hey, you don’t pick up that stuff.

“These kids need these Bibles. Some kids are from bad homes. These might be the only Bibles they get. I appreciate what the Gideons do, even if it means other groups’ stuff will be beside it.”

Keep partnerships

Strickland stressed how important the churches are to the schools and that he didn’t want to see any partnerships with churches come to an end.

He cited the Good News Clubs at two schools, the Bible Club at one of the high schools, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Meet at the Pole prayer programs as well as some church-based after-school tutoring programs in place for students at Hallsboro-Artesia Elementary School.

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.

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Columbus County’s negotiations with Waste Management appeared to be close to settled at a Dec. 17 meeting.

In a 6-1 vote, the Board of Commissioners verbally agreed to sell a three-sided metal waste transfer station and lease the land the building sits on to Waste Management in exchange for certain incentives.

Putting the agreement in black and white was all that was left to do.

Commissioner Ricky Bullard, who opposed the sale, said after the meeting that he didn’t think the sale was legal.

According to state law, county real property and property valued in excess of $30,000 can’t be privately sold unless it is going to a non-profit and meets certain state requirements for historical or other value.

It had to be done through a bidding process, Bullard said.

Now, Waste Management, in a letter from corporate legal counsel, is saying the letter presented to the board in December “mischaracterizes the payment of the $325,000 by Waste Management to the county as a payment for the purchase of the transfer station building.

“In fact, the proposed $325,000 payment to the county is to compensate the county for waiving its option to purchase the transfer station building under the current agreement, in conjunction with the extension of the agreement,” Janne C. Foster wrote in a letter to Interim County Manager Leo Hunt dated Dec. 27.

The letter explains that Peverall “was clear in his statements to the county about the ownership of the transfer station building,” but adds that “the transfer station has been owned by Waste Management since it was constructed pursuant to the June 25, 1997 Transfer Station and Disposal Service Agreement.

“Waste Management built the building at its expense and holds the permit for operation of the transfer station,” the letter reads.

“I’m still against selling the transfer station,” Bullard said Friday. “I think when Waste Management owns the transfer station it is going to be hard to get a fair bid.

“I don’t think any contractor should have a hard contract to where we have no way to negotiate and bid out a contract,” Bullard said.

Bullard said news that the details of the $325,000 payment had changed it “stunned him.”

“I haven’t seen anything that shows me they own the building in black and white,” Bullard insisted. “If they built it and paid the contractor for it it’s probably a situation where they own it,” Bullard added.

Bullard said according to the terms of the old contract the county would own the building in five years with no cost. Under the new proposal Bullard said the county would be stuck either renewing a contract or paying more than what the building is worth to buy it back.

“The building will be 15 years old,” Bullard said.

Bullard said clarification of what the payment is for is a way around the law. He said previously the sale did not follow the law.

“I think all they are doing is changing the verbiage to make it legal,” Bullard said. “Well, that’s my opinion – that’s a way around it.”

It is noted on the upcoming commissioner’s agenda that the issue of selling the building was “tabled.”

“The issue was not tabled – the issue was voted on,” Bullard said.

Bullard said the contract on leasing the land, the trash pick up contract and transfer station agreement should all expire at the same time.

Chairman James Prevatte and Commissioner Bill Memory said at a previous meeting they had worked that out with Waste Management.

The latest proposal from the company is a little unclear.

While the proposal specifically states that the transfer station agreement and waste disposal service contract run until Dec. 31, 2012, a notice of the intent to buy the transfer station is required months in advance.

In addition, the proposal does not specify that the lease of the land is until Dec. 31, 2012. It states the lease is for five years but indicates no start or end date.

“Everything should expire at the same time,” Bullard said.

That permit is not in the county’s possession.

County administration staff said Friday they did not have a copy of the permit in question.
A call to Peverall was not returned.

The county building inspections department has been unable to locate any permit issued to the company 10 years ago.

Discussion of the agreement began in November when the county received a letter from Waste Management. No one was aware that the agreement was up for renewal and the board was crunched for time and did not want service interrupted.
Bullard has called the situation confusing because of a series of changes in the negotiation.

First, the Columbus County Board of Commissioners had two choices: pay Waste Management $325,000 for the metal building located at the closed New Hope landfill (owned by the county) or renew the company’s exclusive multimillion dollar agreement with the county and get a break on consumer price index increases for a year.

The company had never paid taxes on the building and some commissioners thought the price was excessive.
Then, things changed.

A few commissioners met privately with the company and Waste Management came back with an apology stating a clerical error resulted in the price error of $325,000 that should have been $171,000.

Greg Peverall, an executive with Waste Management, said in a “good faith effort” the company wanted to pay the county $325,000 for the station and pay the county to lease the land the building is located on.

Peverall maintained that the company owned the building but was offering to pay the county for it, plus give the county a break on consumer price index increases in the countywide curbside pick-up and transfer station agreement.

By BOB HIGH
Staff Writer

Happy birthday, Columbus! Not Christopher Columbus – Columbus County!

This is 2008 and the 200th year since the county’s formation in December 1808. In other words, this is our bicentennial.

Today, The News Reporter announces its intent for the balance of this year. The bicentennial logo accompanying this story is the work of staff member Fuller Royal. Civic, church and community groups can share the logo across the county.

Today also marks the first of 104 questions about the county’s history that will be featured on the front page above the masthead. Answers to today’s and subsequent questions will usually be found on Page 3.

Just one ‘Columbus’

A curious fact is that this county is the only county in the United States known as “Columbus.” There are many “Columbia” counties in scattered states, plus there are several cities and towns named for the 1492 discoverer of the New World, but this is the only county with Christopher’s last name.

The News Reporter will present articles throughout the year detailing the history of this county, including the unusual politics in the state’s General Assembly that led to our birth.

All of these stories and photographs, maps and drawings, plus many more will be presented in early December in a special volume that will give exhaustive views of the events that have shaped the present conditions of this county – from advances and declines in economy, education and healthcare, to construction of the infrastructure of the many towns and communities embraced in our 939 square miles.

Vocations and trades maintained by our ancestors have disappeared, not by neglect in most cases, but by necessity brought on by general advances in the way we live and the everyday demands we have for products and services.

One-room schoolhouses

Our economy is no longer based largely on what we can gather from vast tracts of timber, even though this industry is still our backbone. There are still those who remember the basics drilled and driven by dedicated teachers in countless one-room schoolhouses. Today, our young have camera and Internet capable cell phones, and most of us are slaves to computers to produce our work.

Children dance down streets to tunes ingested by gadgets equipped with cords that dangle from their ears. Adults get in daily exercise by running or walking with ears covered by “muffs” drilling music and words into their brains.
Our legacies include struggling to make ends meet on thousands of small farms as our forbears carved a bare existence by their bootstraps, to working at home on electronic products that reach to the far corners of the world.

We celebrated the birth of the rail era in 1852, and within 110 years many miles of the iron rails that marched across the county from east to west were removed. Today, trucks deliver what we need and – for the most part – ship our products.

Collapse of textiles

Textiles were an exciting industry in our nation, and examples of American inventions of machinery and processes were scattered across the county in the early 1900s. But, then came increased international trade, and the realization that foreign workers don’t need to be paid very much. Our textile industry, for the most part, has disappeared.

The examples of what The News Reporter will feature include unknown and rumored incidents being developed into genuine facts – from blacksmithing and working mules and oxen to driving air-conditioned tractors across fields to seed and harvest. From riding a horse and driving a buggy to wheeling at break-neck speed across the county on a four-lane highway.

We live in a high-speed society, geared to acts of speed instead of thorough study. The News Reporter will present a comprehensive look at our 200 years – a product created with input from hundreds who have shared their families’ accomplishments. And, the stories are intended to highlight the trends and those who started and/or embraced them to move us to where we are today.

Input from readers is sought, not just for family history, but memories of what went on in your community. Who was the village blacksmith? Who drove the first horseless carriage your grandfather ever saw? Who went to work in the “deep woods” on Monday and came home Saturday? How did the tobacco industry impact your family’s life?

Hog killing days

Who was the storekeeper in the community? Who killed hogs on a frigid January day? Who were the preachers and teachers? Did your grandfather takes up arms to defend this country – either as the United States or the Confederacy?
Did your ancestors exist as slaves, and only began to live when freed? Did your family contribute to the advancement of this county’s life in any way?

Do you have photographs, drawings or maps that would help develop “hearsay” and “hand-me-down” stories into fact? Do you have a question about county history that would be suitable to be included as one of the 104 to be posed in each of our editions for 2008?

There are countless facts, questions and comments concerning our 200 years of history. If a reader wants to furnish information, make a comment or ask a question, contact Bob High at 642-4104, Extension 247, or by mail at P.O. Box 707, Whiteville, N.C. 28472.

The first installment of detailed county history will be presented in the Jan. 10 edition.

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.

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.

An estimated one-third of U.S. citizens don’t buy the first present until the week before Christmas,
Christmas cards must be written and addressed, and major meals must be prepared for Christmas day.

But despite the histrionics, uneasiness and heightened emotions that often come with the season, we’re always impressed with the number of people who take time to help others at Christmas. 2007, from what we’ve seen, has been no exception.

There are the church groups who arrange carolling at the nursing homes, there are the families that adopt less fortunate families, there are toy runs by bikers, there are school kids sending care packages to our soldiers overseas, there are people asking friends and family to donate to good causes rather than give gifts…and the list goes on.

The bad news is that the freneticism of Christmas isn’t likely to change anytime soon. The good news is that peace and happiness can just as easily be found if the true joys of Christmas – compassion and love for our fellowman, especially the less fortunate – are observed.

This year, make Christmas what it is supposed to be: a reflective and rewarding time that is centered on others rather than yourself.

It sounded good to Columbus County Commissioners.

A couple hundred thousand in cash and another $125,000 in gate credits from Waste Management won the favor of six of seven commissioners Monday Dec. 17.

The agreement to sell the three-sided metal building located at the closed New Hope landfill comes just weeks after the county was told they didn’t own the building.

At that time the county was told it could either renew a five-year transfer station agreement with Waste Management or buy the building for the company’s $325,000 book value.

Waste Management had something different to say Monday.

Error on value

Greg Peverall, of Waste Management, told the board an error had occurred in the calculation of the building’s book value and it was actually only worth about $171,000 and that his company in the “spirit of trust and good faith” had a new offer.

That offer was to pay the county $325,000 for the building with $200,000 being in cash and the rest in gate credits at the transfer station.

Under the plan the county will receive an additional $90,000 over the next five years in gate credits for the land the building sits on and 56 cents per ton for trash moved through the station.

Waste Management will forego the annual consumer price index increase for the next two years for more than $400,000 in savings, Peverall proposed.

Contracts concurrent

The county’s curbside pick-up contract and transfer agreement will both run concurrent for five years. Both will expire on Dec. 31, 2012.

Fuel surcharges will continue.

Peverall wanted a 10-year lease on the building and option to buy the land and scales from the county in five years but the board pushed for the five-year lease.

“At our December 3 meeting we had to buy the building,” Commissioner Bullard said. “Why is it you are asking to buy the building?

“Who owns the building?” Bullard insisted.

“We own the building,” Peverall said.

Sell building

“Mr. Chairman, I personally oppose the selling of the building. I feel like we have a noose around our neck. We only have 30 days to negotiate a contract,” Bullard said of the contract that expires Dec. 31. “I just don’t feel it’s a smart move on the county’s part. I just oppose selling the transfer station.”

Peverall suggested the county would have the option to buy the building back in five years at fair market value but have a 10-year lease on the land.

“They want to lease the land for 10 years with a five-year contract and I oppose that,” Bullard said.

Chairman James Prevatte agreed.

“This is something Mr. Peverall and I discussed and I told him this might be a problem,” Prevatte said.

Commissioner Amon McKenzie appeared frustrated that the two board members who met with Waste Management, Bill Memory and Prevatte, didn’t have a clear-cut recommendation on the proposal.

Prevatte explained that he and Memory met with Peverall a few times but he did not like some details Waste Management wanted in the contract.

“They paid to build the building but it was never put – the building – in their name,” Prevatte said.

No last minute

Prevatte explained that he had asked for the contracts to run concurrently and asked for a one-year notice of the renewal date so that the county will not be caught with renewing a contract at the last minute.

“Other parts are what they have offered,” Prevatte said.

“I think we need to look at the lease on the property. It needs to coincide with the five-year contracts,” Commissioner Ronald Gore said. He said he would like the county to have the option to buy the building back at tax value.

Peverall said if the company was spending $325,000 on the building the sale value in five years should not be the tax value.

“One of the things we discussed was a negotiation of the price,” Memory said. He said the company and the county would both get an appraisal and then negotiate the price.

“Right now they are moving forward. I think they realize they made an error and we have spent a ton of money with them,” Memory said. He pointed out the company had agreed to concurrent contracts.

Good faith

“I think that’s a good faith effort on their part,” Memory said, before adding that he too agreed the lease should also be five years not 10.

“We have a gentleman’s agreement to work out the details in 30 days,” Memory said. “We can’t afford to let 170 tons (of trash) a day build up.”

“I was in the understanding that you two negotiated this and it was my understanding in essence you had agreed to the proposal,” Commissioner Sammie Jacobs said to Memory and Prevatte.

“The committee went there; do you have a proposal?” McKenzie added.

“I don’t have a problem with giving them a lease for five years but I can’t obligate past the five years,” Prevatte said.

“Do we pass up the $200,000 cash they propose to give us?” Jacobs asked.

“I oppose,” Bullard said. “In five years the board will not have the money to buy any building.”

Move on

“We can do either one,” McKenzie said. “I want the recommendation so we can move on.”

“We are leasing the land itself and selling a three sided building for a price that is pretty hefty and would put $200,000 in our coffers,” Memory said.

Memory said he didn’t see what the problem was. “There is already a problem with the floors,” Memory said. “I’ve looked at it.

“This is an opportunity for Columbus County to reduce solid waste fees by 56 cents a ton. Unless we have someone standing outside the door with a better offer, gentleman, I think we had better take some action on it,” Jacobs said.

“They have made some good offers,” Bullard said, but did not back down from his opposition to the sale.

Consider cash

“We should maybe consider the cash payment,” McKenzie said, but questioned if it could be put in a lease, not sale, of the building.

Peverall said he would not be willing to lease the building on those terms.

“Why is the building so important?” Bullard asked Peverall.

“What would you lease the land for?” Prevatte asked.

“I’ve not been prepared to offer any other,” Peverall said.

“Mr. Chairman, are we passing up $200,000?” Jacobs asked. “I thought you had it negotiated.”

“Personally, I think it’s a good offer,” Memory said.

Prevatte asked about extending the negotiations an additional 60 to 90 days.

“We would prefer while we are all here to make it work,” Peverall said.

McKenzie said the county is not displeased with its service from Waste Management. “We feel two parties can agree and we can at least work with them and at least trust them,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie said a recommendation should have been made by the negotiating board members.

“We cannot decide for seven,” Prevatte declared. “I’m telling you there are two points there I don’t agree with.”

Problem here

“I’m beating a dead horse here,” McKenzie said.

Memory said it was a matter of how the proposal was worded.

“We have a problem here, gentlemen –that’s 170 tons a day that’s got to be moved out of county,” Memory said. “We could put money in the bank to reduce the cost of waste collection. We are looking at almost $1 per ton in savings with the five-year lease and extension in five years.

“That’s a lot of money for us,” Memory said. “We could lose the $200,000 and lose the 56 cents gate credit.”

Prevatte pointed out that they had negotiated the lease from $60,000 to $90,000 and no CPI increase in 2009.

Good job

“I think you did a good job. We just need to follow through,” Jacobs said.

Another obstacle in negotiations was a provision that if the county chooses to buy the building back, they need to let Waste Management know two years before the contract expires, or in 2010.

“That lets them know if you are or are not gong to renew the (waste) contract,” Bullard declared.

“I see no problem giving them two years,” Jacobs said.

“In the spirit of moving forward we will make a six-month concession,” Peverall said. The county must notify the company by July 1, 2011.

Peverall explained the permitting process for a transfer station could easily take a year and they would need time to site a new one.

Memory made a motion to accept the proposal with the suggested amendments. His motion was seconded by Commissioner Lynwood Norris. Only Bullard voted “no.”

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Waste Management has never paid taxes on a building located at the county-owned but closed New Hope landfill.

Two weeks ago in a board meeting a representative with the company told Columbus County commissioners the three-sided metal building was worth $325,000 on their books and the county could either buy it or renew a five-year contract.

County Tax Administrator Richard Gore said Thursday it was not brought to his office’s attention during revaluation that the building was not county property. While the building is valued at $59,000 on the tax books, it is exempted as being county-owned.

“No one knew that it belonged to Waste Management, “ Gore explained. “They never got a building permit.”

“Nobody has told me that they own it,” Gore said. “I’m just hanging loose until somebody tells me whose it is.”

Gore said if the county and Waste Management agree it belongs to the company, the office could go back five years to collect taxes which would amount to about $3,000 in taxes and penalties based on the $59,000 valuation, not Waste Management’s value of $325,000.

The Waste Management office building is listed with the tax office as well as a number of vehicles.

It is unclear why a building permit was never obtained or why no taxes have been paid on the building.

When asked about the building not being listed with the tax office, Commissioner Chairman James Prevatte had little to say about the situation.

“I have to be careful because there is some negotiation going on there,” he explained. “It’s not listed in their name at this time.”

It appears that possible offers, which Prevatte did not disclose, have put the tax issue on the back burner for now.

“I can’t divulge the contract negotiations right now but it doesn’t look as bleak as it did,” Prevatte said. “It’s a contract negotiation.”

Prevatte said he and others had met with Greg Peverall, a representative with Waste Management, to discuss the contract and a subsequent meeting was planned prior to Monday’s commissioners meeting.

Prevatte said he had requested that someone with the authority to make changes and actually negotiate the contract be at Monday’s (tonight’s) meeting and that person would likely be Peverall.

Under the county’s current transfer station agreement, which must be renewed by Dec. 31, the county owns the land the transfer station is on but does not own the building or most of the equipment used at the station.

The county does not receive any portion of fees per ton nor a reduction on its waste and user fees for hosting the transfer station, with the exception of 33 percent of the fee paid on inert debris dumped at the closed landfill.

The county finance office could not determine the exact amount of money being paid to the county for such measures but said it appeared to be minimal.

Public Utilities Director Leroy Sellers said it was his understanding very few trucks from out of county come into the station.

According to the contract, trash may be hauled into the station for transfer to larger trucks from a 100-mile radius, which would include other counties in North and South Carolina.

At the previous public meeting, several commissioners blasted the contract as being to the benefit of Waste Management.

Commissioner Bill Memory said the county appeared to be between a rock and hard place and pointed out the county residents had paid the company millions over the years only to be told a metal building on their own property was valued at $325,000.

Waste Management had offered to defer consumer price indexing increases for the first year of the renewal that would have saved the county more than $400,000 a year but most commissioners weren’t agreeing that it was such a great deal considering the county’s waste contract with the company is around $6 million and not including fuel surcharges.

“This is, in my opinion, a one-sided contract,” Commissioner Ronald Gore said Thursday, but pointed out he hoped negotiations would bring forth a better deal for the county. “We need to see some issues ironed out,” he said, pointing out “there is room for negotiation.” Ultimately he admitted: “I think we are going to have to renew the contract.”

Interim County Manager Leo Hunt was reluctant to comment on what his recommendation would be to commissioners.

He has prior commitment and will not be at Monday’s meeting but did have concerns that the board found out about the contract at such a late date – less than a month before its renewal .

“I wish I’d known about this earlier – this almost slipped by us,” Hunt said.

As for the building not being taxed, Hunt said that would likely change and referred the reporter to the tax office. “It looked like it belonged to us,” he explained.

Commissioners meet tonight (Monday) in the Dempsey Herring Courthouse Annex building at 6:30 p.m.

Other agenda items include a request that the county purchase additional land for the airport, a county recreation department update, and a scheduled closed session for personnel to interview manager candidates.