rHOTO CONTtllUTtO
Altizer Chosen Top Officer
Patrolman Rhea Altizer (left) has been named 1990 officer of the
year in the Shallotte Police Department. Chief Rodney Gause
(right) chose Altizer on the basis of his outstanding achievement
and dedication to the department.
State To Mandate Plans
For Septic Maintenance
BY TERRY POPE
New stale septic tank regulations
will have county officials scurrying
to meet a July 1 deadline.
As of that date, property owners
will be required to submit a long
range management plan for contin
ued maintenance of their new septic
tank systems before a local permit
can be issued. The new law will not
affect permits issued before ? that
date.
State law will mandate that de
partments responsible for issuing
permits, either the county or towns,
have in place a management entity
to oversee the new regulations by
July 1. The Brunswick County
Health Department issues all septic
tank permits in the county.
"It'll be the first time in North
Carolina that there will be an ongo
ing or perpetual maintenance pro
gram required for sewer systems,"
said Brunswick County Health
Director Michael Rhodes. 'The ob
jective is to better protect the
groundwater in North Carolina. It's
not going to be easy to implement."
Rhodes said county officials, the
Brunswick County Board of Health
and local contractors must all work
together if the deadline is to be met
in Brunswick County.
The health board will appoint
four members u> iis environmental
health committee to begin doing
legwork on the project this month.
Rhodes addressed the health board
Monday to give an outline of the
new regulations.
"My main feeling is that we need
to be portrayed as the agency to
provide information to citizens,"
Rhodes said. "It's going to take ev
eryone."
Rhodes said the new regulations
will also mean additional costs for
the property owners seeking permits.
"You're going to have to have
someone who is certified to main
tain your system," he added. "These
people who do the maintenance will
be overseen by the local health de
partments."
The health department hopes to
have a plan for implementing the
program by May, 'or June at the lat
est," Rhodes said.
He said the regulations are
lengthy. Permits for the larger and
more complicated sewer systems
will be phased in under the new reg
ulations first until eventually every
system will be required to have
some type of maintenance program
in place.
The state had originally sched
uled start-up of the maintenance
program in July 1990 but postponed
it until 1991.
"It's gotten to the point now
where we've got to move," Rhodes
added.
In other business Monday, the
board of health approved a health
care worker immunization policy
for health department employees.
The policy is needed to protect
both clients and staff from vaccine
preventable diseases, Rhodes said.
As mandated by the state, any
employees born after 1957 must
present written evidence of immuni
ty from measles and rubella or re
ceive vaccination for them.
Workers whose jobs require expo
sure to bleed or blood products and
have not been vaccinated against
Hepatitis B must take the vaccine.
The policy requires all animal
control workers to receive a pre-ex
posure vaccine for rabies and boost
er doses as indicated.
Other sections of the policy en
courage all staff members to take an
influenza vaccine each year. This is
due to high exposure to flu in the
clinic setting. Workers are also en
couraged to take a tetanus and diph
theria vaccine every 10 years.
The board postponed its election
of officers until the February meet
ing.
'TURMOIL' OF PAST YEAR CITED
Brunswick Schools Get Poor Report Card
BY SUSAN USHER
Brunswick County's school sys
tem fares poorly on North Caro
lina's first statewide report card.
Its 8,408 students are rated as
performing below their peers in
similar schools and statewide and
the system itself rated "below par"
when compared to systems with
similar socioeconomic and student
body profiles.
It was one of only 12 systems of
134 statewide to rank in the bouom
grouping in both categories and the
only district in the region to score
below average achievement levels
in all four subject areas considered
? reading, language, math and so
cial studies.
Superintendent P.R. Hankins said
he and other school officials were
"somewhat shocked" at the sys
tem's overall ratings, but not entire
ly surprised with some of the spe
cific findings. And he pointed out
ongoing efforts by the system to im
prove its curriculum and a new
long-range planning initiative.
Local student performance as
measured by standardized, test
scores, for example, showed de
clines in all four subject areas evalu
ated from 1988 to 1990, while stu
dents in similar systems showed
gains in relation to the state average.
"We're not happy. We're trying
to determine the reasons," said Han
kins last week.
"This past year was one of tur
moil," he continued, which could
have affected the outcome of the re
Brunswick County's Report Card
Overall Index
Achievement Reading Suffice Social Studies Math Ranking
Below Par Below Par Below Par Below Par Below Par 4
port card. Events during the past
year include the firing of the previ
ous superintendent, dissension on
the school board and several special
audits and financial investigations.
The stale rated school systems on
student achievement based on scores
on slate cnd-of-coursc and national
standardized tests.
It used a two-sicp process to rale
each school system above par, par
or below par. It evaluated student
performance in 29 categories, in
cluding standardized lest scores, to
determine if the district's studetns
were performing at the stare aver
age, above or below.
Then the state rated each school
system on several social and econo
mic factors, such as family income,
race, substandard housing and par
ents' education, to see which sys
tems were "advanmgeu" or "disad
vantaged" on a scale of -40 to 40.
Chapel Hill, at 21, was considered
to have the most advantages; Hali
fax County, at -31, the most disad
vantages.
The "report card" was issued in
response io a legislative mandate as
part of Senate Bill 2, the School Im
provement and Accountability Act.
Brunswick County was one of
three area systems rated below other
districts will comparable profiles.
Others were Onslow and Pender
counties.
New Hanover County Schools
rated above par and with above av
erage achievement in reading, sci
ence and social studies. Duplin
County schools also rated above par,
and was one of 10 systems statewide
with above average achievement in
all four subject areas in which stu
dent achievement was evaluated.
Columbus County Schools rated at
par, while Whitcvillc City schools
rated par with notable student
achievement in math. Bladen Coun
ty rated at par and Onslow and Rob
eson below par.
While N.C. Department of Public
Instruction officials expressed con
fidence in the report card's results,
Superintendent Hankins noted that
the card was a first effort and that
future versions would be fine-tuned
for greater accuracy and would fac
tor in additional information not
used this time around, such as drop
out rates. Brunswick County has
worked hard in reccnt years to re
duce its drop-out rate, he said, and
that would have been a factor in the
county's favor.
At least one local educator, Ed
Lemon, principal of West Bruns
wick High School, questioned moti
vation behind the report card. In a
letter to the editor in this week's
Beacon, he said the ability of each
county government to locally fund
education was a "major factor" used
in calcuating the report card.
While Brunswick County, from a
tax base standpoint, is in a position
to provide a high level of support
(an "advantage"), it is ranked last in
the state in its actual educational
funding effort. This figured against
the county in the rating, he said.
He questioned whether the report
card might be a political effort by
some state education officials "to
force wealthy county governments
to drastically increase locai funding
for education" by using systems
such as Brunswick as "pawns".
The local funding level is noted
in the report card. However, accord
ing to the state's explanation, the in
dex of "advantagement" was based
on six other factors only: the per
centage of parents of third, sixth
and eighth grade students who have
not completed high school; percent
age of students in the same grade
who have 15 or more absences; per
centage of non-white students; local
spending per pupil; percentage of
students who have applied to re
ceive free or reduced price lunches;
and percentage of the average daily
membership served by Chapter 1
compensatory services.
According to the state, these six
factors have been shown to be di
rectly related to achievement in
North Carolina.
School Board
Was To Meet
The Brunswick County Board
of Education was to receive its
audit report for the 1989-90 fis
cal year at a special board meet
ing called Wednesday, Jan. 16,
at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting was set for the
conference room at the beard of
fice in South port.
Also on the agenda were the
possible naming of a new ele
mentary school to be built at
Supply, a report from member
Robert Slockett on procedural
concerns relayed to him by
Barbara Rogers, who had been a
candidate for the superinten
dent's post; and discussion of
the school system's "report
card" from the N.C. Department
of Public Instruction.
Vigil Will Recall
Abortion Decision
Brunswick County Right To Life
advocates will sponsor a candlelight
prayer vigil Jan. 22 to mark the U.S.
Supreme Court decision 18 years
ago legalizing abortion.
The vigil will begin at 7 p.m. at
the Public Assembly Building at the
Brunswick County Government
Center in Bolivia.
Participation in the vigil and brief
service is open to all interested per
sons. Participants are asked to bring
their own candle.
Jury Selection Begins
For Trafficking Trial
Jury sclcction began Tuesday af
ternoon for the trial of a North
Myrtle Beach, S.C., man chargcd
with three counts of trafficking co
caine and two counts of conspiracy
to traffic cocaine into Brunswick
County.
Jerry L. High, a former Calabash
businessman, had entered into a
plea arrangement on Oct. 16 with
the District Attorney's office to
plead guilty to one count of conspir
acy to traffic in more than 400
grams of cocaine and one count of
possession of more than 400 grams
of cocaine in exchange for dismissal
of the other charges.
However, Superior Court Judge
Giles Clark later refused to accept
the transcript of plea because High
had indicated on the transcript that
he was not guilty of the charges.
High was indicted in June 1989
on the charges stemming from two
alleged undercover operations, one
in December 1987 and another in
January 1988. He had previously
been given a 13-year prison sen
tence in 1984 in connection with the
"U-Haul" marijuana smuggling case
in Brunswick County dating to the
early 1980s.
High's attorney, Robert Floyd,
had filed a number of motions in
Brunswick County Superior Court
prior to trial Tuesday. On the mo
tions, Judge William C. Gore Jr.
ruled lhal High's constitutional
rights had not been violated during
his arrest.
Judge Gore further ruled that
statements High made to investigat
ing officers Corey Duber of the SBI
and Del. David Crocker of the
Brunswick County Sheriff's Depart
ment on Oct. 16 were made freely
and voluntarily and that the defen
dant was aware of his constitutional
rights at the time.
However, Judge Gore ruled that
the state will not be able to use in
court those statements obtained from
High when it was thought that a plea
arrangement was in the works on
Oct. 16. High had been interviewed
by the officers while awaiting trial
in the Brunswick County Jail.
Should High chose to testify in
his own defense, the state has the
right to use any previous convic
tions within the last 10 years that
arc punishable by more than 60
days to impcach him in court. Judge
Gore ruled.
High contends that he had coop
erated with officers by giving infor
mation about "various alleged drug
activities that have gone on in
Brunswick County and the South
Carolina area," Judge Gore read
from a document in court Tuesday.
High indicated that he had served as
"an undercover agent" and ended up
charged with the crimes.
Offices To Close
For King Holiday
The Brunswick County .Govern
ment Center at Bolivia and other of
fices will be closed Monday, Jan.
21, in recognition of the Martin
Luther King Jr. holiday.
Also observing the state and fed
eral holiday will be area post of
fices, banks, Brunswick County
public schools and Brunswick Com
munity College.
Town halls at Sunset Beach,
Calabash, Ocean Isle Beach and
Holden Beach will be open for the
holiday.
THE BRUNSWICK j&BEACON
Established Nov. 1, 1962
Telephone 754-6890
Published Every Thursday
At 4709 Main Street
Shallotte, N.C. 28459
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
!N BRUNSWICK COUNTY
One Year $10.30
Six Months $5.50
ELSEWHERE IN NORTH CAROLINA
One Year $14.80
Six Months $7.85
ELSEWHERE IN U.S.A.
One Year $15.95
Six Months $8.35
Second class postage paid at the
Post Office in Shallotte, N.C.
28459. USPS 777-780.
Cool, Wet Weather Expected
Area residents can expect near
normal temperatures but above av
erage rainfall for the next few days.
Shallotte Point meteorologist
Jackson Canady said Tuesday that
temperatures should be near normal
for January with about 3/4 inches of
rain expected. He expects tempera
tures to average from the mid-30s at
night to the mid-50s during the day.
For the period Jan. 8-14, he re
corded a maximum high of 65 de
grees, which occurred on Jan. 11.
The minimum low of 27 degrees
occurred on Jan. 14.
A daily average high of SS de
grees combined with an average
nightly low of 41 degrees for a daily
average temperature of 48 degrees,
or two degrees above average.
i
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO
THE BRUNSWICK&BEACON i
POST OFFICE BOX 2558
SHALLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA 28459
FOR AWARD-WINNING NEWS COVERAGE
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: Sr. Citizen
In Brunswick County ?6.30
N.C. Sales Tax .32
Postage Charge 3.68
TOTAL 10.30
Elsewhere In North Carolina 06.30
N.C. Sales Tax .32
Postage Charge 8.18
TOTAL 14.80
Outside North Carolina ?6.30
Postage Charge 9.65
TOTAL 15.95
Complete And Return To Above Address
Name
Address
City, State
Z'P
?5.30
.27
_1?8
9.25
?5.30
.27
8.18
13.75
?5.30
9.65
14.95
Manager May Be Hired Monday
(Continued From Page 1-A)
conduit between the people and the
county commissioners," Clegg said.
"The county manager should be an
articulate and an aggressive spokes
person for Brunswick County."
Clegg told the board that his tal
ents include an understanding of fi
nancing, federal statutes and state
laws relating to capital improve
ment projects. He said county em
ployees should not work for
Brunswick County "simply to bring
home a paycheck. Employee morale
is directly related to a sense of ac
complishment, an achievement of
the goals of the county," Clegg
added
Varner, 56, was fired from his job
as city manager
at Knightdale in
December. He
said he was nev
er given a rea
son for his dis
missal. Knight
dale is a town
outside of Ral
eigh.
He was also
city manager of
Gatlinburg, Tenn., a tourist town in
the Great Smoky Mountains, from
1986-89. He served as Davidson
County manager from 1966-74 and
manager at Alexander County from
1978-82 !?? between, he worked in
real estate.
He has received a degree in busi
ness administration from High Point
College and a master's degree in
business administration from Bristol
University in Tennessee.
Vamer pointed out that, like
VARNER
Brunswick County, Gatlinburg is al
so a tourist-oriented community. He
said a committee of 100 was formed
in that town under his direction to
develop long-range planning for the
future.
"Tourism was our bread and but
ter, " Varner said.
Varner said he oversaw a $50
million annual budget and led the
town in construction of a 530 mil
lion convention center during his
tenure there.
Yelton, 54, served as finance di
rector of Burke County in Morgan
ton from 1973-75 and director of fi
nance and rev
enue in Catawba
_ County from
<"7 " 1975-79. He
was Sampson
County manager
in Clinton from
^ aW 1979-85 and
^ JT Wayne County
manager in
Goldsboro from
YELTON 1985-89.
He also applied last spring for the
Brunswick County's Resources De
velopment director's post. Yelton
has served about a year as executive
director for the Council of Govern
ments Region L, which includes
Wilson, Nash, Northhampton,
Edgecombe and Halifax counties.
He received a bachelor's degree
in accounting from Duke University
and a master's degree in public ad
ministration from Appalachian State
University.
"It's the manager's job, number
one, to administer the policies of the
board," Yelton said, "not to make
those policies."
He said the manager needs a
good working relationship with the
public, department heads and the
board of commissioners.
"My job is to make recommenda
tions to provide for services," he
told the board. "I shouldn't be polit
ical."
Mashbum, 44, has been Yadkin
County manager for four years. He
also served from
December 1986
to February
f 9 1987 as county
manager in Col
j umbus County.
< He was Davie
County manager
^ AW from 1979-86
and city manag
? er of Yadkinville
MASHBURN from 197<S-79.
Mashbum received a business degree
from Western Carolina University
and a master's degree in public ad
ministration from UNC-Greensboro.
Mashbum owns a home in North
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
He told commissioners that the
county manager has to remain flexi
ble.
"My style is not one that you'll
sec my name in the paper a lot,"
Mashbum said. "I don't come to the
meetings and make a lot of surprise
recommendations to the board."
Keeping employees informed and
participating in decisions "is a big
aspect in employee morale," Mash
bum said.
Mashbum told the board he has
been involved in water and sewer
expansion projects in Yadkin Coun
ty and has coordinated a SI. 6 mil
lion building project there recently.
Business travelers tend to view
airplane travel somewhat differ
ently than people who fly for
pleasure. In some ways, they are
more relaxed about the frustra
tions of air travel, such as de
layed flights, cancelled flights
and schedule changes. Yet It
becomes a constant source of
Irritation In their process of doing
business
What many of them do to
help cushion these Irritants is to
avail themselves of the many
services airlines now offer busi
ness travelers to lure them to
their airline These Include busi
ness class which on many air
lines Is as good as first class, fre
quent flyer programs, upgrade
certificates, special meals, pre
assigned seating and boarding
Dasses. special lounges at air
port terminals, and many other
perks which help to cushion the
businessman from the trials and
tribulations that pleasure travel
ers regularly face.
If you are a business flyer and
are not taking advantage of all
the 'perks' available to you, call
BRUNSWICK TRAVEL today and
ask for one of their Corporate
Travel Consultants who will help
your business travel go as
smoothly as possible.
Brunswick Travel Is a full ser
vice agency handling both do
mestic and International travel,
and there Is never a fee for our
services.
Brunswick Travel
(919)754-7484 ? 1-800-852-2736
East Gate Square, Shallotte
150 Holden Beach Rd.