INSIDE
Southport) N.C.
February 5,1992 / 50 cents
Informal survey
dumps sewer idea
By Ed Harper
Pilot Editor
This will be the most quoted article in The State Port Pilot this week
-- maybe this winter — and undeservedly so.
Opponents of a Long Beach wastewater management system can cite
numbers that show a majority of respondents are opposed to a $15
million system that would replace septic tanks that already are paid for.
Proponents can quote figures that indicate a sewer system will be
uwvoaaiy in uiu nv^ui
future and will argue I
that now, in this peri
od of low-interest
loans, is the time to
act.
Non-residents can
use numbers from ei
ther side and say they
had a voice in an in
formal survey, if not
in town government.
But in any case, let
them all be reminded
that the "Sewer or
not?" survey proce
dure was not without
flaws:
The survey was
open only to readers
of The Slate Port
Pilot. An original
newspaper clipping ^
was required for ,
voting but there was
no assurance that
those with access to
more than one news
paper could not cast
multiple votes, proponents claim, ana opponents admit, that negative
feelings are more vigorously expressed than are the positive.
With that in mind, here are the results of the "Sewer or not?" survey
conducted by the Pilot:
Of the 384 responses to the proposition of constructing a wastewater
management system in the Town of
Long Beach, 257 (or 66.9 percent)
_I said no and 127 said yes. The
response from those with residences in the "wooded” area of town was
ANALYSIS
the same percentage-wise ~ 66.9 percent opposed - with an actual
count of 198 to 98. On the "beachfront" (Beach Drive and other streets
south of Davis Canal), the vote was marginally closer: 66.2 percent op
posed (47 to 24).
The survey asked for the respondents’ addresses for the purpose of
determining whether they lived in the wooded area or on the beach
front. The survey also asked whether one’s property was occupied or
See Sewer survey, page 6
Schools seek county funding
Five-year, $17.5-million improvement package
By Holly Edwards
County Editor
"We know we are making prog
ress in Brunswick County schools,"
superintendent of schools P. R.
Hankins told the county board of
commissioners Tuesday night
"We’re in the people business, and
you can’t just press buttons and
make a turn-around. It takes time to
reach and to set goals. We’re not
satisfied in where we are, and that’s
why we’re moving on."
And, in order to "move on",
Hankins said, commissioners need
to approve a $17.5-million, five
year plan to ensure the continued
growth and improvement of Bruns
wick County schools.
"We are reaching the point where
expansion is very important, and we
don’t want to wait until the last
minute. We want to be ahead of the
game,” Hankins said. "I’d like the
county commissioners to approve at
least the concept of the plan." The
county’s student population has in
creased nearly 50 percent over the
last decade, Hankins indicated.
Commissioners agreed to study
the information Hankins and board
of education members presented, but
declined to make any commitment.
,"Wc will be absorbing the informa
tion between now and budget time,"
said commissioners’ chairman Kelly
Holden.
One of the primary goals of the
plan would be to eliminate all of the
trailers currently used as classrooms,
said William Turner, assistant super
intendent of schools. A total of 41
trailers are used by the 11 schools in
the county, he said. "We feel like
the boys and girls in Brunswick
County deserve better than trailers,"
Turner said.
Commissioner Frankie Rabon said
he agreed that it was important to do
away with the trailers. Moving chil
dren from one trailer to another
presents a safety hazard, he said,
and students would be inclined to
perform better academically in a
nice classroom rather than a trailer.
Another aspect of the plan would
be to move the central office from
Southport, and construct a new of
fice building at the Brunswick
County Government Center near
Bolivia. The proposed building
would cost an estimated SI million
See County board, page 18
m
Photo by Jim Harper
A trio of pelicans, shadowed by a fourth, visits the Southport yacht population seems to have swelled recently, perhaps reflecting hard
basin, hoping for a handout from a seafood packer. The local pelican fishing times in colonies farther up the coast.
Waste-to-energy plan
may cut landfill need
By Holly Edwards
County Editor
A Texas-based company has made
an offer that could save valuable
space in the Brunswick County
landfill and provide the county with
a long-term means of solid waste
disposal.
Vcdco Energy Corp. of Houston, a
company that specializes in waste
to-energy projects, has submitted a
proposal to build a solid waste com
bustion plant on DuPont property in
Brunswick County near Leland. The
$32-million combustion plant would
bum household trash from Bruns
wick, Pender and Columbus
counties. And, by burning trash, the
incinerator would generate steam
that would be purchased by DuPont
to power its plant
"This is absolutely the best tech
nology for the environment, and the
best technology in the world for
handling waste," said Vedco vice
president Alan McDonald. "Espe
cially in eastern North Carolina,
where 85,percent of the land is un
suitable for a landfill."
The biggest stumbling block to the
project, McDonald said, is that it
would require 200,000 tons of trash
per year to support the project, and
Brunswick, Pender and Columbus
counties combined produce only
about 100,000 tons of trash per year.
However, McDonald added, the
potential benefits of the project
could outweigh any problems.
"We are in the very early stages
(of planning)," he said. "We could
probably justify a project based on
100,000 tons, but the tipping fees
would be much higher. Also, in
Brunswick County, the population
quadruples in the summer, and we
See Waste-to-energy, page 7
‘Incinerators have
gotten a bad reputa
tion for polluting
the air and wasting
energy. We’re not
at all like that. This
is about as high
tech as you can get
for solid waste dis
posal
Alan McDonald
Vedco vice-president
Rabon won’t
seek election
to new term
Two-term Republican incumbent
Frankie Rabon Tuesday night be
came the third county commissioner
to announce he will not seek re
election in 1992.
Rabon, who represents District 4
and was first elected to the board of
commissioners in 1984, joins com
missioners’ chairman Kelly Holden
and District 3 commissioner Gene
Pinkerton of the Southport-Oak Is
land area as announced non
candidates. All five present county
commissioners are Republicans.
Only commissioners Jerry Jones of
District 2 and Donald Shaw of Dis
trict S have not indicated publicly
whether or not they will seek re
election.
Rabon denied a recent initiative to
force county commissioners to seek
office every two years factored into
his decision to not run for office. He
also indicated he might have other
See Rabon won’t, page 18
Not worst, school board told
uy iviaryDetn uiancni
Feature Editor
Education has made some positive
movement in Brunswick County
during the past year, the board of
education was told at its meeting
Monday night, and strategies are
being developed for problem areas
that exist.
Despite receiving a "below aver
age acnievement and below par"
rating in the 1991 Report Card
issued last week by the N. C. De
partment of Public Instruction,
"We’re not one of those schools
ranked among the 23 percent lowest
in the state," assistant superinten
dent Mose Lewis assured the board.
The school system met or exceeded
81.S percent of the standards listed.
State regulations target schools for
takeover if they do not meet 75 per
cent of the state accreditation stan
dards, if student performance is in
the bottom 23 percent of all school
districts, and if the dropout rate is
higher than 4.86 percent t -
"There were 19 areas of the Report
Card where we made positive im
provement" Lewis said.
There were four areas of non
compliance in the 1990 Report
Card. This year there were two.
where Brunswick County schools
did not meet the state accreditation
standards: student performance in
algebra I and student attendance.
Lewis pointed out that attendance
was up one-tenth of a percent from
the previous year but still five-tenths
of a percent below the level recom
See Not worst, page 18
Board help sought
for new fire truck
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Volunteer firefighters in Boiling
Spring Lakes turned to com
missioners Tuesday night for help in
securing a new combination pumper
and tanker truck.
"The volunteer fire department has
not grown any as far as being able to
handle structure fires," department
officer Randy Stewart told com
missioners.
Stewart asked commissioners for
the assistance of town attorney Elva
Jess, who will be charged with
making application for Farmers
Home Administration loans and
grants to offset the anticipated
$130,000 cost of the firefighting
equipment.
The purchase will pay-off for
homeowners in the form of reduced
fire and homeowners insurance
rates, Stewart said.
"With the personnel we have and
(new) equipment, it is highly likely
we can drop the insurance rates a
See Board help, page 18
| OUTSIDE
Forecast
The extended forecast
calls for partly cloudy skies
Thursday and Friday with f
highs in the 50s and lows
in the 30s. Saturday, fair
but chilly, with highs only
in the 40s. , ■
'V '* , /
fv * ^ VA'^v, ft ff4
i'V; ’V : ‘. Vi,-.,
>V.r ‘ >
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6
9:22 a.m. 3:11a.m.
932 pm 337 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7
9:51 am. 3:48 a.m.
10:09 pm. 4:10 pm.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8
10:23 a.m. 4:28 am.
10:50 pm. 4:46 pm.
' SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9
,11:05am. 3:11am.
1137 pm. 537 pm
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10
1131am ‘ . 6:01 am
** TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 *
1233am 7:01am
12*9 pm 7:18 pm
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12
1:39am. 8.-09 am.
201 pm 834pm
ITae following adjuttmenu thouid be made:
Bald Head Uland, high -10, low -7; Caiwell
Beach, high -5, low -1; Southport, high *T
low +15; Yeupoe Beach, high -32, low -4!
Lockwood Folly, high -22, low -I. «
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