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Local News

  • Fire departments switch on upgraded emergency radios

    BOLIVIA—After several months of delays at the state level, Brunswick County firefighters can finally switch on their emergency radios.

    Emergency Services Director Anthony Marzano told members of the local emergency planning committee last Wednesday that as of 9:03 a.m. Tuesday morning, Feb. 20, Brunswick County fire departments switched to the VIPER radio transmitting system.

    The county has received 365 portable VIPER radios and installed 116 mobile radios in emergency vehicles, but couldn’t use them until service was established.

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  • Leland plans Tuesday roundtable to talk about business signs

    LELAND—Town officials will host a roundtable meeting next Tuesday to learn what residents and business owners think about signs.

    The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 5, in Leland Town Hall.

    Leland has a sign ordinance in place that allows lower profile signs, up to 8 feet tall for individual businesses and 15 feet tall for multi-use signs in shopping centers.

    It’s been an unenforced ordinance until now.

    In January, town staff proposed requiring businesses to replace non-conforming signs within the next five years.

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  • Town council rejects plan to adopt FlexCode zoning

    LELAND—The town council has voted down moving to FlexCode zoning.

    The decision was made at Thursday’s town meeting, despite board members’ unanimous support for the project.

    After councilman John Tait’s call for a vote on the rezoning plan failed two votes to three, the three officials who voted against it said the proposal still needs work before making it town law.

    “It needs tweaked a little. We will look into it more,” councilwoman Jane Crowder said. 

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  • One year in, Leland police chief still building community trust

    LELAND—One year into his tenure as Leland police chief, Mike James is working on ways to improve service to residents.

    “My main focus is to provide the best service we can provide for our citizens and visitors to Leland,” James said. “When I say we are a community police department, I follow that philosophy. I mean it with all my heart. Our partnership with the citizens is vital to do the job.”

    James was hired as interim police chief Feb. 20, 2012. He was named to the permanent position Nov. 15.

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  • Mystery remains cause beachcombers to call police

    Unidentified remains found on the beach Sunday in Holden Beach led a Shallotte couple to take it to the police for identification.

    Nina Clark and her husband Bob found an unusual item while walking their dogs.

    “I saw something in the distance on the beach. I thought it was a conch shell, but it was not a conch shell,” Clark said.

    Clark said they were at the point—the eastern end of the island—when she found what she described as a thigh bone and shin bone connected by knee cartilage and tendons.

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  • Leland man charged with second-degree murder for fatal wreck

    DELCO—Leland resident Martha Mintz was killed in a head-on collision Friday, a wreck that has led to a second-degree murder charge against Pierre Walker.

    According to a report by N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper M.E. Campbell, at around 3:24 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, Walker, 26, of 9453 Grady Way NE, Leland, was involved in two collisions while traveling on U.S. 74/76.

    Walker, who was driving a 1998 Cadillac Deville, hit another vehicle while both were traveling east on N.C. 74/76 in Brunswick County.

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  • No justice for Jaronn

    SHALLOTTE—March 1, 2013, marks one year since 3-year-old Jaronn Ladale McAllister was killed in Shallotte.

    There are still no charges related to his death.

    “I’m personally responsible and accountable for what happens and for making sure we get charges and do everything we can to get a conviction,” Shallotte Police Chief Rodney Gause said. “It’s my responsibility, and I’m not making excuses. I don’t want to blame anyone else. Everyone has worked very hard on this case.”

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  • Volunteering: More than a passion, it’s a way of life

    BOLIVIA—Ted Carlsen retired from a career as an Army colonel, but he couldn’t sit idle.

    Carlsen retired to St. James after spending 32 years in the Army National Guard. He spent 22 years on active duty.

    Originally from California, Carlsen’s career took him to Europe for a three-year tour and to Washington, D.C., where he worked in the Pentagon for eight years. He worked for a number of years as defense contractor after retiring from the Army National Guard. Carlsen relocated to the area in 2004.

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  • Award-winning Rupert Wates performs at Playhouse 211 Thursday night

    Award-winning New York singer-songwriter Rupert Wates will be  in Brunswick County on Thursday night to perform at Playhouse 211 in St. James.

    Wates’ Feb. 28 performance, which starts at 7 p.m., is a stop on his latest tour promoting his fifth album, “At The Losers’ Motel.”

    The London-born soloist’s genre is described as “melodic art/folk—haunting songs that ring true.”

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  • Residents converge on Sunset Beach Town Hall for 50th-anniversary tickets

    First thing Monday morning, Sunset Beach Town Hall was overrun with residents.

    No, they weren’t upset or picketing town issues.

    They just wanted to get their hands on one or two of the available 600 tickets for the town’s upcoming 50th-anniversary reception.

    Residents converged after invitations for two upcoming parties celebrating Sunset Beach’s half-century-mark went out in the mail. The postcards announced tickets for the first event on March 26 would be available starting this past Monday, Feb. 25, through March 15.

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