Schoo
. BY TERRY POPE
To help relieve overcrowding and
to restock the schools' transportation
supply, the Brunswick County Board
of Education Monday unanimously
approved a four-year capital outlay
budget that will request $2.2 million a
year from county commissioners.
The plan presented by School
Superintendent Gene Yarbrough
calls for the construction of new
classrooms at Lincoln Primary,
Union Primary and South Brunswick
High Schools beginning in intervals
over the next four years. Yarbrough
said a long-range plan was devised
after consulting with County
Manager Billy Carter.
The $2.2 million request for the
1985-86 fiscal year will be added to
the $4.4 million request in current expense
funds the board approved last
week. The schools' total local allocation
request for next year from coun
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IXMJG SIMMONS of Calabash come
shivering first-grader. Phillip Johnsoi
1? youngsters injured Monday mornii
TugbootC
BY SUSAN USHER
A May 17 sentencing date has been
set for a tugboat operator found guilty
of negligence after his boat
damaged tarn Brunswick County
bridges in January
Meanwhile, the N.C. department
of Transportation and the company
that owns the tugboat. Sea Tow Inc .
of Virginia Beach. Va . have agreed
on a ceiling (or recover) of damages
by the slate.
"The owner has sax) he would pay
up to C2S OQO." said DOT spokesman
BUI Janes
Federal Administrative law Judge
Peter A. Fitipatrick ruled that
James R Kelly Jr. of Vtrguua
Reach. V*.. was guilty of two of three
charges levied by the US Coast
Guard, said LI James Carter cf the
District Marine Safety Office.
?
Is' Constru<
ty commissioners is $6.6 million.
In the last year of the four-year
proposal, the 1988-89 fiscal year, the
schools will seek $3.2 million for the
construction of an additional school
that will relieve overcrowding and
longer bus routes, Yarbrough said. A
$1.4 million construction reserve will
be applied toward the project to
reduce the requested amount from
the commissioners to $2.2 million.
"We feel that this proposed capital
outlay budget will meet our facility
needs and help put our rolling stock
back into condition so we won't have
to run on bare thread," Yarbrough
said. "I don't think it's a radical plan
at all."
A study conducted by the state
Division of School Planning last fall
shows the Brunswick County schools
have almost 1,000 pupils more than
their capacity, ne noied. A ihree-man
team from the department toured the
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I to the aid ol a Primary School
i. He was one o( Shallotte.
ig when a l.'nion
SENTENCIN
Kvner, Siui
Punishment for Kelly could range
from an official admonishment to
revocation of his license. But Carter
said he expects the U S Coast Guard
to argue for a sentence between those
two extremes, such as a suspension
of tlie license and/or probation
Kitzpatnc* ruled the Coast Guard
proved that Kelly was negligently
operating the tugboat "Angela M."
on Jan. 12 when it pushed a 210-foot
barge into the Sunset Beach Bridge,
destroying the fender system, three
17-foot sections of the bridge and
damaging a fourth, cutting off
vehicular traffic to the island for 44
days
He also was found to be operating
negligently when, earlier on the
same day. the tug and barge struck
the fender system of the Ocean Isle
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:tion Plan A
schools last October and advised the
school system it may need another
elementary school in the Supply area
within five years that will house 700
students, Yarbrough said.
Next year's allocation would allow
the start of a $1.4 million construction
at Lincoln Primary School while in
the second year a $1.3 million renovation
project would begin at Union
Primary. In the third year of the
plan, an $820,000 construction would
begin at South Brunswick High.
Next year's capital outlay request
also includes $20,000 for a
dishwashing room at Scuthport
Primary, $20,000 for the replacement
of waste water treatment systems,
$10,000 for water system hook-on fees
and $5,000 for high school stadium
bleachers. Another $126,000 for the
replacement of three activity buses
and three maintenance pick-up
trucks will be requested.
Munif
tow
Shallotte, North Carolina
1W
Li
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It AM ???OtOlT MUNlAHd
bus collided with a truck in downtown
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Beach Bridge, damaging the fender
and breaking two timbers
Fit pa trick did not find that Kelly
was negligent when his boat ran
aground just north of the Ocean Isle
Beach Bridge, said Carter
The May 1? sentencing hearing is
tentatively scheduled at 9:30 am. in
Wilmington, but Carter said he expects
the hearing to be moved to Norfolk.
Va
The N.C. Department of Transportation
had delayed beginning action
to recover damages in the incident
pending the outcome of the Coast
Guard investigation.
Jones said DOT is putting together
final balls for repairs and Other expenses
associated with the incident
The tails anil be sent to the department
controller, who wtli send an to
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vsks For $2.!
"This is one of the best budgets I've
ever seen," said school board
member James Clemmons. "I don't
believe there is anything hidden in it.
It's clear and cut."
Board Chairman James Forstner
said that adding a new elementary'
school by the year 1989 was "not just
our idea, but the state's idea. It just
makes since to plan for it ahead of
time."
In the second year, the schools will
seek to replace two activity buses,
three pick-up trucks, one activity
van, two yellow school buses and a
diesel truck and tanker. All replaced
school buses will have diesel engines,
Yarbrough said, so a $30,000 diesel
tanker will be necessary.
Water and sewer systems at all
schools will be replaced under the
plan as well as furnishings and equipment
for the schools and administration.
In the tirsi $2.2 million budget.
$241,660 is requested for computer
II M mjm
IVBVK7
, Thursday, May 9, 1985
School Bu:
Union Stu<
BY TERRY POPE
AND SUSAN USHER
Two school bus accidents sent
more than 40 Brunswick County
students to the hospital Monday morning,
but no serious injuries were
reported.
In the worst accident, 17 Union
Primary School students were
treated at the Brunswick Hospital in
Supply after receiving cuts and
bruises when their bus collided with a
pick-up truck at the intersection of
U.S. 17 and N.C. 130 south in
Shallotte. The bus was enroute to the
school south of Shallotte when the
7:50 a.m.'accident occurred.
Students were sprayed with flying
glass and received cuts and bruises
after being thrown on impact. The
worst injury, a fractured arm, was
sustain by second-grader Ixisley
Holden, 7.
All 42 students on the bus were
transported to the hospital where
they were checked by physicians
before their parents picked them up.
Onlv nno hnv u-ac Vnni nuornicfhi htf
observation after complaining of a
headache, said hospital public relations
director Betsy lewis
The driver of the school bus, Johnnie
Christopher i Chris i Hargis, 16, of
Route 1, Supply, was charged with
running a red light and operating a
vehicle without a valid school bus
license by Shallotte Patrol Officer
Nellie Evans.
The regular bus driver for the N.C.
130 (Holden Beach area) route, Randy
lee Hair, 19, of Route 1, Supply,
was charged with allowing an
unauthorized person to operate a
motor vehicle under his control. Hair
was on the bus Monday morning at
the time of accident. His bus driver's
license was automatically revoked.
According to Officer Evans, Hargis
had completed bus driver training.
However, to obtain bus driver certification,
the applicant must have
had a driver's license for si* months.
Hargis' six-month waiting period
ended Monday, but he had not reeeiv
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voice to the owner for payment
Jones said the state hopes its costs
don't exceed the sum Sea Tow is witting
to pay
"II they cannot pay or do not pay,
we will have to pay any difference,"
he said.
Two months ago, the federal
government granted 1160,COO in
emergency funding for repair of the
Sunset Beach Bridge.
In a hearing in March, Kelly
testified that his boat scraped the
Ocean Isle Bridge hrf thA ?#
and Chat gust* o< wind had caused the
boat to crash into the Sunset Beach
Bridge
Witnesses for the Coast Guard
testified that the tugboat and barge
had fodowed a wearing course down
the waterway.
2 Million A
hardware and leasing, library equip- c
ment, dish washers, vocational 6
education business classroom equip- 5
ment and instructional equipment. c
According to the current enroll- t
ment, nine of the county's 11 schools t
are presently over capacity, Yar- 5
brough reported. Only Lincoln
Primary and Waccamaw Elemen- t
tary are slightly under capacity. :
Shallotte Middle has 1,069 students :
enrolled at the facility which has a
capacity of 924 students. Union 1
Primary houses 725 students while its 1
capacity is 616. !
South Brunswick High School is the 1
most overfilled school with 855 1
students, or 215 students over capaci- I
ty. West Brunswick High has 925 i
udents, or 23 over capacity while <
North Brunswick High has 688 I
students, or 48 over capacity. <
Othpr Qrhnnlc arp Roliuia riomnn.
tary, 4SS students, IS over capacity;
Inland Middle, 937 students, 13 over
DErtU
25c Per Copy 28 F
s Accident J
dents To He
ed his certificate before taking the
wheel of the bus.
It was the second bus accident of
the morning resulting in damages
and minor injuries, said School
Transportation Supervisor Bill
Turner. Several students were taken
to the hospital by their parents for examination
after a Iceland Middle
School bus ran off the road and
struck a tree on State Hoad 1428,
known as the Sumuierhill Hoad, near
Iceland.
Turner said the driver was swatting
at a spider when the bus steered
oil the roail and canie to rest on Its
side in a ditch. The driver had Just
started the route and only a few
students were on the bus at the time.
Officer Evans said the Shailotte accident
occurred when the International
1972 southbound bus ran a red
light at the intersection of U.S. 17 and
N.C. 130 west in Shailotte. The bus
struck a truck crossing the intersection
from N.C. 130 to Blake Street.
Its front crumpled, the truck was
declared a total loss. The right front
fender and doorwell of the bus were
damaged, Evans said. The impact
knocked the windshield out on the
passenger side of the bus and created
a mosaic of broken glass in the
driver's side.
Jason i/ee Smith. 49, of ltoute 6,
Whitcvillc, was driving the truck at a
speed of 30 mph to 35 mph, Evans
estimated, while the bus was traveling
at an pstirnated 25 mph.
Smith and a passenger in the truck,
I.eonard Kackley, 36, also of
Whiteville, were taken to the
Brunswick Hospital also, where
Smith was treated for a fractured
rib.
Union Primary P.E. instructor
Tom Simmons was trailing the bus
and was one of the first to arrive at
the scene.
"I think the kids did a super job,"
Simmons said. "Once they saw a
familiar face, they calmed right
down."
Students were transported by
Shallotte and Waccamaw Volunteer
Rescue Squads and patrol cars
driven by Officer Evans, Brunswick
County Sheriff's Deputy Jerry
Bryant and Chief Deputy John
Marlow.
Sheriffs Department Sgt. Larry
Joyner and Shallotte Police Sgt
Rodney Cause assumed patrol
coverage in Shallotte, clearing
Evans to help transport the students.
"The emergency room people at
the hospital did a super job," Simmons
said. "1 think they were only
expecting the five kids we had in the
patrol car When we got there with 19
they were shocked When the rest of
the students came In by bus, they just
flew into action."
Alter receiving treatment in the
emergency room, students were
taken to the hospital cafeteria where
manager Randy Keesee supplied
chocolate ice cream and milkshakes
(or those recovering from stitches or
other forms of treatment Some of
the students also talked about the accident
"We were just ndsng alor.g," said
Melissa Robinson. 9, "am the next
thing 1 knew we crashed. I'm fust go
Year
:apacity; South Brunswick Middle,
95 students, 101 over capacity;
iouthport Primary, 763 students, 125
>ver capacity; Waccamaw Elemenary,
415 students, or 25 below eapaciy
and Lincoln Primary, 654 students,
!2 below capacity.
Board members voted Monday
light to approve requests from nine
schools to exceed maximum class
sizes as established by the state.
Affected are 11 classes at Bolivia
elementary; nine at Inland Middle;
;en at lincoln Primary; eight at
Shallottc Middle; six at South
Brunswick Middle; 18 at Southport
Elementary; 15 at Union Primary;
two at Waccamaw Elementary and
six at South Brunswick High. No
classroom is exceeding its limit by
more than five students, except for
one science class at South Brunswick
High that has 12 excessive students,
gvv RELATED STOHv
PAGE 5-A
.
Ill
m
'ages Plus Supplement
/*
Sends
jspital
ing to be sore for a few days."
"The next thing I knew 1 got u tooth
knocked out," added lenon Norris, 6.
According to Ms. lewis, hospital
public relations director, nurses
from other areas of the hospital were
called in to help in the emergency
room during the influx of students
Montlay. Off duty volunteer rescue
sauad members also helneH in lh?
emergency room. The hospital did
not have to call in additional physicians,
she said.
According to Union Assistant Principal
Diana Mintz, the Ust of injured
sUuteoUi traated at the hospital Included
Crystal Crabtrce, 8;
lawrence Jackson, 7; Heath Caison,
8; Kelly Stepp, 8; Andrea Fulford, 9;
Tanya Powers, 8; Heath Inman, ?;
Nicholas Locklear, 6; Walter Solano,
6; Patrick I-ocklear, 6; Misty Skipper,
8; Shana Lynn Staley; Sarah
Robinson; Phillip Johnson; Lesley
llolden; tenon Norris and Melissa
Robinson.
Most of the students were track in
school Monday, Ms. Mintz said.
Four witnesses to the accident
agree that the bits ran the light, Officer
Evans noted.
She said road markings indicate
that truck driver applied brakes
shortly before entering the intersection,
with the vehicle skidding about
:<8 feet after impact.
The bus driver apparently did not
apply brakes until after the collision,
Evans said. Hargir. ~-z thrown out of
thii Mrit/or'e u/?ol iKon /iiiinUln ??*
UM. uuiuvcu a -vcai, tautens/oat
(Src VOIAiNTEERS, l'age 2-A |
Beer-Wine
Vote Set For
Tuesday
Shallotte voters will decide Tuesday
whether to allow diners to have
a glass of wine or beer with a
restaurant meal and/ or to let shoppers
take home dinner wlnea at well
as beer from area Mores.
The polls at the Shallotte
Volunteer Fire Department open at
:3d a.m. and voting will continue
until 7:30 p.m., iCCOfdifl^ to the]
Brunswick County Board of Elections,
which just Shis year took over
the job of conducting the town's
?L~*in~> .. . ' ' fiaaxi
When registration book* clceed
an Apni Ji. 334 voters were listed A
final cheek of the bock* will he
made thb week.
Specifically voter* will deckle
whether to allow any or ati of thee* I
optica*: 1) sale of beer sad rther
n?H beverages for consumption o?v I
pretidses at Class A resteereate,
hotels and motels; 2) safe of uofortified
(dinner) wines for oaprwdiM
eaaewapde* m <??. /*
place*; and 1' sale of aefortifled
wf? by Howard retail ajore* far
Fortified wfaea and beer already
see available for off-prowntaw ten