Coastal inlet offers closest view of G8 action, sort of

By The Associated Press

Posted 8:50AM on Wednesday, June 9, 2004

Ordinary citizens can't get any closer to world leaders at the G-8 Summit than Larry Payne as he stands at the end of a wooden fishing pier at Gould's Inlet.From Payne's standpoint, only 50 feet of shallow water separate the eastern shore of St. Simons Island from the southern tip of Sea Island, where the Group of Eight leaders began their three-day meeting Tuesday.Miles of marsh, thousands of police and a causeway blocked with steel gates and concrete barriers separate most coastal residents from the exclusive resort island. But from the pier, Payne can just make out the tops of the complex about two miles away where world leaders are meeting."Right down there you can walk to Sea Island at low tide," said Payne, pointing to a particularly narrow spot in Vassar Creek, which empties into the Atlantic at the inlet.No one was trying to make it to the island, though. A boat with three state officers was anchored in the inlet to keep people out of the water, and guards riding all-terrain vehicles with fat tires patrolled the wide, flat beaches on Sea Island.Walking her Yorkshire terrier on the beach, Joan Shaw peered across the water at the beachfront security outpost. "What do those signs say? No trespassing? I can't tell," she said.Off the coast, a handful of military patrols boats were visible along the horizon. A jet providing air cover roared overhead.Environmentalist and island resident Eileen Hutcheson had no complaints about the security as she walked along the beach past the inlet. After all, her '69 Pontiac Firebird is running again after an FBI agent inquired about purchasing it."I didn't sell it, but he got it started. So the G-8 has been good for me," Hutcheson said.___PRESIDENTIAL SURPRISE: President Bush briefly left Sea Island on Tuesday evening to make an unscheduled visit to the security command center on neighboring St. Simons Island, where he thanked workers."It means a lot to me, and it means a lot to the people whose lives you're protecting," he told them.The visit led to traffic jams on the island as security personnel closed down some of the main roads on St. Simons to allow for the president to easily move on and off the island.___WELCOME GIFTS: As they arrived at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah for the summit Tuesday, each world leader was presented with a gift made by third-graders from the Brunswick area and St. Simons Island.Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and his wife, Sheila, were handed a framed fish print from 8-year-old twins Jessa and Lawton Smith, representing 30 students from Satilla Marsh Elementary in Brunswick.Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi noticed bright red shirts and miniature Japanese flags waved by third-graders from C.B. Greer Elementary in Brunswick. He accepted a handmade clock in the shape of Georgia from Sam Jones and Devon Guffy, both 9. He bowed, much to the delight of the children, who bowed back and continued bowing until Koizumi walked to his waiting helicopter.After a short session with the German press, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder walked over to third-graders from Glyndale Elementary in Brunswick, where he was presented with a handmade quilt. Clearly delighted, he gave 9-year-old Nancy Rowell a kiss on both cheeks before carefully folding the quilt. Schroeder had a few surprises of his own for the students. After presenting the school with a bag of soccer balls, the chancellor _ himself an accomplished soccer player _ pulled out a ball and executed a few kicks with the kids.___NO FISHING ALLOWED: Protesters accuse the Group of Eight member nations _ most of the world's richest _ of causing economic difficulties for others, but fishermen along Georgia's coast are experiencing G-8 troubles firsthand.Heightened security surrounding this week's summit has closed off waters near the summit site of Sea Island, adjoining St. Simons Island and around Savannah, 80 miles to the north, where thousands of journalists and international delegates are staying.The closed waters have the catch of many crabbers and shrimpers in the area."It just hurts all us little people who have to work for a living," said Tina Hill, who works at Two-Way Fish Camp in Brunswick. "The crabbers couldn't go check the traps. They wouldn't let them in."The Coast Guard has closed access to a 120-square-mile security zone from the south end of Jekyll Island to the northern tip of St. Simons Island, said G-8 spokesman Lt. Tony Russell. The only exceptions are some cargo vessels, which are being allowed in to the port with a Coast Guard escort if they give 96 hours' notice.All the security has delayed the typical start of the area's commercial shrimping season by a few days. The season has started by June 10 the past two years.While saltwater fishing has been cut off, freshwater fishing has picked up in its absence, said Randy Cooper at Cooper's Bait and Tackle."We have a lot of people coming through who would like to go saltwater fishing, but can't because those waters are closed," he said. "Our business has actually been good."___ANOTHER BOMB SCARE: A suspicious package in a garbage can near a National Guard armory in Brunswick caused a bomb scare Tuesday, but police didn't find anything threatening.A multiagency explosives team investigated the contents of the can and determined "it was just trash," said G-8 spokesman Bobby Nash."They just went in and checked it out. They didn't have to blow anything up," Nash said.It was the second bomb scare this week in Brunswick, where many summit security forces are stationed because it is the closest inland community to Sea Island.Sunday, police shut down several city blocks when someone reported a suspicious manilla envelope stuffed in a postal drop box. After the package was detonated, police determined the envelope contained papers.