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thedrifter
09-02-09, 06:55 AM
Lejeune back gate closure continues to concern local residents
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September 01, 2009 5:58 PM
SUZANNE ULBRICH

Businesses and residents may have adjusted since Camp Lejeune restricted access along N.C. 172, but few have stopped hoping base officials will revisit the decision and find a compromise.

“We’ve adapted, but it’s not by choice, it’s because it’s not an option,” said Breck Newber, the manager of Guy C. Lee Building Material in Sneads Ferry.

It has been more than two years since base officials closed the popular shortcut connecting Sneads Ferry to Hubert for security purposes, and residents in those areas wonder why there hasn’t been any move to accommodate civilian traffic.

Base officials say it’s a non-issue.

Limited use, other than for emergency vehicles, has not been considered for security reasons, said 2nd Lt. Nicole Teat, spokesperson for Camp Lejeune.

“The purpose for the closure was to address security issues for the base and was not in response to any one single identified threat,” she said in an e-mail response. “Since 9-11, we have continued to upgrade the security posture of Camp Lejeune, for example, gates have been redesigned and radiation and chemical detectors have been installed. The closing of (N.C. 172) to non military traffic was just another necessary security measure.”

But Newber said the closing continues to affect Sneads Ferry businesses on a daily basis.

“A lot of our business is in the Hubert and Swansboro area. With the base closure, we have an added time factor and fuel factor — now it takes an additional 30 to 40 minutes to get to a job site (in those areas),” he said.

He said it has also affected some of his employees who commute from the Hubert-Swansboro area.

“We’ve had to take pay cuts to survive with the economy … They’ve had to absorb the additional travel costs as well,” he said.

Onslow County teachers from Hubert who taught at Dixon schools transferred to other schools, said Beth Howard, the art instructor at Dixon Elementary, citing two teachers lost just at the elementary school.

Treasure Realty in Sneads Ferry has been more affected by losing suppliers they used to deal with from areas above Jacksonville, said Richard Baker, one of the owners. Overall, he believes real estate sales have not been affected by the closing and have only increased due to the expansion of Stone Bay and an increased military presence in Sneads Ferry as a result.

“We may have lost some weekend rentals — people from the Swansboro side of town will go to Emerald Isle versus Topsail — but our business has been most affected by the builders and suppliers who have been less likely to come and help us with building and maintenance because of the added burden on them — like plumbers, inspectors and electricians,” he said.

Tourist attractions continue to be affected, said Jerome Gundrum, who owns Dr. Rootbeer’s Hall of Foam.

“People used to come down here from the (Cedar Island) ferry and Outer Banks areas, and local people from Swansboro and Jacksonville would cut through base to come here — now they bypass us,” he said. “(Day-trippers) would come to the beach from up there when there was easy access, but they don’t come anymore.”

As a resident of Sneads Ferry, Ray Tielborg said he believes Swansboro restaurants and shops have also suffered from the restriction of traffic through the base, because there were many Sneads Ferry residents who frequented that area.

“I know I would go up there to eat and shop, and I don’t go there anymore,” he said.

Randy Swanson, the owner of the Icehouse in Swansboro agreed he has fewer patrons from the Sneads Ferry and Topsail areas.

“We don’t get the traffic we used to,” he said. “The gate closing has definitely slowed down the transfer of commerce between the areas.”

Jack Bright, a former Onslow County commissioner and president of the executive board of the Swansboro Chamber of Commerce, said while he understands the value of security, the solution would be to not open it up to the public again, but let people who would use that back gate every day for business purposes apply for and get a security pass that would allow them to go back and forth.

“Have that renewed however often the base deems necessary,” he said.

Newber agreed.

“I am willing to let them do background checks for my people and pay a fee,” said Newber.

Bright and many others interviewed also believe many areas of the base are more vulnerable than the back gate.

“Large areas of the base are not even protected by any type of fencing, and you can go up the New River and Stones Bay and Sneads Ferry on the water in a boat and in the Intracoastal Waterway, which is all open, so I fail to see completely all the security issues and concerns,” Bright said.

Lynn Hinnant, who owns Fulchers Landing Campground in Sneads Ferry agreed. He believes his business has been affected by the closing of the back gate.

“You can jump in a boat and shoot over there and do whatever you want to do, so I think the issue about closing the gate over security is a joke,” he said.

A statement from Camp Lejeune Commanding Officer Col. Richard Flatau said limited use of the road “has not, and is not being considered” for security reasons.

“When my predecessor, Col. Adele Hodges, made the decision to close (N.C. 172) to the general public, she did not take that decision lightly,” Flatau said in the statement. “She spoke with many entities, both military and civilian and initiated research into the matter as well. The current leadership has no plans to revisit the decision and continues to believe the closure of (N.C. 172) was vital for the safety and security of the Marines, sailors and civilians who work, train and live aboard the installation … ”



Contact Suzanne Ulbrich at 910-219-8454 or sulbrich@freedomenc.com.

Ellie