Opinion Puytf
THE BRUNSWICK&BEACON
Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweat! Publishers
Edward M. Swentt Editor
Susan L'sher /Yeir* Editor
Terry Pope Staff Writer
Johnny Craig Sports Editor
Mary Potts Office Manager
Cheryl Stanley A Cindy Morris. .Advertising Representatives
Tammie Galloway Typesetter
Steve Anderson Pressman
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Page 4-A Thursday, January 10,1985
No More Passing The
Buck? Time Wi!! Te!!
County commissioners responded to the expressed wishes
of the voting public Monday night when they took steps they
hone will tighten operations at the county complex. How well
the policies will succeed, only time will tell.
They are requiring an accounting of all employees' time,
concentrating needed manpower in the planning department
and concentrating administrative responsibilities in one of
fice, among other changes. (Less understandable is a plan to
require, if legally possible, that all county employees reside in
the county even though that may not have been a requirement
at the time they were hired.)
If nothing else, though, the first three changes should improve
the flow of communication among department heads,
the county manager's office and the commissioners
themselves and re-establish the line of command from department
head to manager to commissioners. Commissioners also
expect to have a much better understanding of the day-to-day
operations of county government, both, its successes and
frustrations.
Still to he recnlvod are several smaller items, such as
establishing what changes, if any, will be made in the chain of
command which previously passed administrative responsibilities
from the county manager to, in his absence, the planning
director, then to the finance officer and finally, the county
attorney.
Meanwhile with the added awareness these changes are
expected to produce will come an added duty for commissioners:
acting responsibiiy on the basis of what they learn.
Practically speaking, for example, tliat could mean dismissing
employees whom they find aren't doing their jobs or adding
employees in departments that are obviously overtaxed.
If need be, squashing rumors about employees that may not
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Generally what we should expect to gain is greater accountability
at every level ot government, pnrtieularly by the
commissioners themselves.
From now on, as one county official said Tuesday, passing
the huck won't be nearly as easy.
National Weather Service
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Brunswick County has known for some time it has a
dedicated, conscientious employee in Cecil Logan, emergency
management coordinator and fire marshal. We were reminded
of it again this week.
Monday night Logan reaped praise not only from county
commissioners, but from the National Weather Service
also?well-deserved praise because he had performed his job
very well under stressful conditions, Hurricane Diana.
A1 Hinn of the Wilmington office of the National Weather
Service called Logan "a gem" while presenting him an award
for outstanding services.
Through his educational and training efforts for citizens
and local officials, Hinn said, Brunswick Countians were in a
"high state of readiness" when Hurricane Diana threatened.
That preparation, he suggested, was partly responsible
for no local deaths being attributed to Diana.
Uigan, it must be noted, had suffered a heart attack three
weeks before the hurricane while on vacation in Santee, S.C
But when Diana's tracks pointed toward North Carolina or
Sunday, Sept. 10, he reported to his office. He would have
stayed at the command post without a break if other county
leaders had not urged him to take occasional rest His motti
throughout the strategy sessions of the Hurricane Response
Committee and for montlis earlier: "It never hurts to Ix
r.vil
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There wort* hitches, of course, but the county hurricam
response nkn worked ?"<i worked we!! liirHy hee?n?e n
Ixigan's leadership 1-ocal officials had learned tve lesson o;
preparedness during a disastrous "trial run" offered by Hur
ricane David several years earlier.
But it took someone with Ix>gan's drive and detenmnatioi
to put all the pieces together and follow through.
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One of the most common New
Year's resolution we tend to make
(and break)?after overspending
each Christmas?is to spend more
wisely, save more, invest more
money in the coming year.
A great resolution, but not always
an easy one to keep, especially
without good overall financial planning.
A Jan. 19 workshop sponsored by
the Brunswick County Council on the
Status of Women will focus on just
that: financial planning, with a
special look at the needs of women.
Tickets are just $3.50 and include a
luncheon. The speaker, from Savannah,
Ga., is an account executive
with Merrill Lynch and knows the
stuff of which she speaks.
It's a great opportunity for some
good advice. Bui a good friend o*
mind suggests that before attending
such a workshop, you need to do
some advance research, some
homework. Sue Avery Douglas, a
Morganton native, manages the
State Employees Credit Union office
in Raleigh. In her tinancia! planning
workshops, she tells women that first
they need to assess how much they
know about their families' current
assets and liabilities.
She gives a quick quiz; usually the
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Apprecia
Mast of us ure familiar with some
of the rhythms of life?like the
seasons, life cycles of plants and
animals, and the phases of the moon.
We watch spring come and daffodils
bloom and (trass begin to grow and
we are reminded that life "begins"
or "awakens" again. Or we gather
thoughts of autumn as the time of
year when life "ends" or "rests"
again. Seldom do we think of the dayto-day
processes happening all
around us that also depend upon the
rhythms of life.
Our life processes themselves are
dependent upon rhythms our
! Opening
' While clipping articles for the
> newsroom file recently, 1 got a se>
cond look at some old stones that
seemed nght for printing at the time
It's strange what one can find when
' they go twek and read arucies trom a
f .t.- ... ....
i Aunougn ii s our joos. li s not
. always easy (or reporters to remove
themselves (rom their stones, to ex^
press themselves in a clear and core
vlSx isMmiri im tin a?rta(cr tra'irr
i"he ? hole idea in writing an article
, is to wTite as though a complete
a strspger who 'yd lust stumhled into
5 town (or the first time ?*s readme
| The Brunswick Beacon's account of a
H news event That much I learned
j (rom journalism school
From reading the article, would
I the average reader understand the
1 news event" Would they gather the
| gist <4 the event Just from reading the
lead paragraph' Those are questions
. the professors ?e?>e?led. and
repeated, hundreds of times
My news editor and 1 usually do a
2 givo joo ? prw* reacting cop) ana
| nwlung sure the average reader
understands the stones here it
Do You KnovA
results quickly indicate just how lit- 3
tie we really know, how poor our [
budgeting procedures are.
In light ot me upcoming workshop |
here, I thought it would be helpful to <
pass Sue's questionnaire along. So 1
here goes. 1
See how well you fare on this inven- 1
tory: 1
1. Who carries your car(s) insurance?
Do you have collision and 1
comprehensive coverage? What are i
your limits of liability? Is there a i
deductible amount? How much?
What is the premium and when is it i
due?
2. Who carries insurance on your '
boat, trailer, truck, recreational
vehicle, camper? Do you know the
items in i>u. 3 or. these vehicles?
3. Who carries you.
homeowners/tenant insurance? Howmuch
coverage do you have? Is there
a deductible? How much is the
premium and when is it due? Do you
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VTECHHIC
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te importance
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W Faver
breathing, our heartbeat, the processes
of digestion, our eyesight,
hearing, speech, sense of touch,
rhythms of sexual fertility and
reproduction. We share most of these
rhythms with all anunals.
More and more evidence is inParagraphs
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Brunswick County. However,
sometimes it just doesn't work well,
no matter now pert en u sounas in the
beginning Sometimes I can be (ound
mumbling in the newsroom whiie
vwuuig u lead paragraph out loud to
nr.) It s my little way of sounding
out or finrtme a sentence that
works
One artk-le from a Jan. II. 19M.
issue of The Beacon shows what happens
when it just doesn't work
"Following a second public hearing
last Wednesday night or. his request,
the board of adjustments
unanimously agreed to allow Duncan
McGoogan of Red Springs to rekcate
hts house." the lead paragraph
staled
That sentence tells the reader who,
what and when, but i! doesn't quite
i About You!
lave mortgage life protection? With
vhom? Who is covered?
4. Do you have major medical ii>
iurance? With whom? Who is
overed? Is there a deductible? How
nueh is the premium and when is it
lue?
5. Do you have disability in urance,
accident insurance, dental
nsurance or cancer insurance? Do
,'ou know the items in No. 4 on these
jolicies?
6. Can you list your life insurance
jolicies and show who is covered by
:ach, what company carries each
jolicy, the amount of each policy,
whether each policy is term or wholelife
and who is the beneficiary of
sach?
7. Who's name(s) are your vehicle)
s) registered in? Wnai are iheir
makes and models? Where are the
Lilies?
9. Who's namefs) is your house
and property in? Where is the deed?
9. Do you and/or your husband
have checking accounts? Who's
names are they in? Wliat are the service
charge policies? If joint, what
happens if one of you die?
10. Do you and/or your husband
have savings acnunts? Who's names
are they in? What is the into earned
and how is it compounded and paid?
If joint, what happens if one of you
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3 Of Rhythm
dicating we also tuive rhythms o(
though*, and creativity which affect
our energy and productivity. Man
has the unique ability among animal
life iuriiLs to recognize and use
rhythms to his own advantage. He
can go beyond the natural instincts
for survival found in most of the
animal rhythms.
Hal Borland, in The e nduring Pattern,
warns us,
Man has done some remarkable
things, but he lias never escaped
his link with the basic rhythms.
He never will. What he has accomplished
has been within the
Tell The W
explain where or why. There arc
several facts stuffed into that
sentence, which would probably
leave the reader feeling the same
way?stuffed
Tiie headline, "Holden Beach
Homeowner Allowed To inuve
House," told the "where" part of the
story, and cne can guess that since it
was a second public hearing the
move was a bit controversial. But
that's not what the lead paragraph
staled
I've even had visions from time tc
tune ix starting work on "that grea!
novei" that remains bidder
somewhere behind an opening
naraeraoh There mav be hope sinc<
it an annual "Wnrvf Qp?tiinr
Sentence" contest conducted by tlx
English Department at San Jos
Stale University in California
According to the 19S5 "01(
r armor's Almanac." more than 4,00
entries were received this year fron
places like Thailand. Kenya, an
Saudi Arabia However, the first- an
second-place winners were fron
Pensacola. Ela . and Houston. Texas
The winning opening sentence
read. "The lovely w omar-child Ka
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- Finances? I
11. Do you and/or your husband
have a will(s)? Where is it? Who has
a copy? When is it dated?
12. How many types of retirement
pians do you and/or your husband
have? When can either of you retire?
Can you Deneni trom ms piari or viceversa?
How much do you liave in
Social Security?
13. Have you ever borrowed
money? In your own name? With
your husband?
14. Do you use any charge cards or
charge accounts? In your own name?
In your husband's name? Are you
responsible for the bills on accounts
in his name only but which you use?
15. Does the local credit bureau
have a file on you?
16. Who do you have your house
financed with? How much is the interest
rate? How much are the
payments and when are they due?
Are taxes and insurance premiums
included?
17. Who financed your car(s)?
Hnw innrh arp thp navmpnts and
when are they due? Do you have
credit life insurance on this loan? On
whom?
18. If something happened to your
husband today, do you know how to
f:rH or where to finci the answer to
every one of these questions?
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s Of Life
framework of those natural laws,
and lus primary achievements
have been in the study and use of
those laws. And he still must live
ill the environment to which he
was born?this planet, this earth.
When we watch the waves washing
the sandy shore at high tide by the
Ul VI JV itill IIIVAIII nC Villa Up
preciate the importance of rhythms
in our natural world. We can also appreciate
the value of the unseen
rhythms that are at work in our lives
to Keep us healthy, creative, and products?
as a fellow inhabitant with all
life sharing the earth with us
hole Story
was mercilessly chained to the cruel
post of the warnor-chief Beast, with
his barbarian tribe now stacking
wood at her feet, when the strong,
clear voice of the poetic and heroic
llandsomas roared, 'Flick your Bic.
crisp umii uuis, aifiu yw n irei nsy
steel through your last meal.' "
For that, Steve Gorman of Pensacola
was awarded a word processor.
Joan Gilliam of Houston
i received a so-volume set ot tne worxs
ut Su Dunaiu Buiwet-t-yriuifl. a
i minor Victorian novelist, for her
1 second-place opening sentence
i It read, "1 had left the barbecue
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> tions to the ladies' room 'out back.'
1 and now faced a black cow ?earn*
one red earring standing beneath an
; ill windmill, fadeless and bent from
years at prev ailing winds, as she wat1
ched me with bovine detachment, my
) heels sunk arch-deep into the
i mire . I hate the country
1 Entries were judged on anticlimax,
i wordiness, misplaced modifiers,
3 overfcJown triteness, ana parody, the
l almanac said
e West coast folks just don't know
a good English when they see it
4