Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / March 21, 1991, edition 1 / Page 4
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Edward M. 5>weatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers Edward M. Swcatt Edtlor Susan Usher ....News EdUor Doug Rutter and Terry Pope Staff Writers Johnny Craig Sports Editor Peggy Earwood Office Manager Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director Tlniberley \dains & Cecelia Core Advertising Representatives Tammle Calloway & Dorothy Brennan Typesetters William Manning Pressman Brenda Clemmons Photo Technician T onnie Sprinkle Assistant Pressman Phoebe Clemmons and Frances Sweatt Circulation PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY. MARCH 21. 1991 What's Good For Beaches Isn't Always Good For County The South Bruaswick Islands Chamber of Commerce is being short-sighted in trying to influence the temporary or permanent rout ing of the Northern Outer Loop ? the Wilmington bypass and connec tor between Interstate 40 and U.S. 17 in Brunswick County We didn't hear the South Bruaswick Islands communities asking Lcland, Belvillc or other northern Brunswick communities where a "welcomc center'' should be located; they might have suggested the point where the 1-40 connector enters Brunswick County or connects with U.S. 17, by golly, instead of the U.S. 17 bypass and N.C. 130 west interchange in Shallotte. The proposed routing should look closely at the needs of Brunswick County as a whole and especially at the needs of northern Brunswick County, often viewed in its own eyes and that of county and state government as a "stepchild" of sorts. Northern Brunswick is the county's industrial heartland, and ease of access from its industrial parks to MO is critical. Sometimes we in the southwestern comer of the county forget that tourism may be the county's leading industry, but it certainly isn't our only industry. It is important to Brunswick County's long-term growth and stability to balance the industrial profile, not become overly re liant on a single industry. We must not fall for the rulc-of-thumb that what is good for the beaches is good for all of Brunswick county. That's faulty logic. The chamber has written the N.C. Department of Transportation suggesting what il calls a "short term plan" for bypassing Wilmington while a more permanent route is worked out. It proposes the state route traffic around Wilmington off of MO by way of Exit 408, which would turn traffic onto N.C. 210, which runs into U.S. 421 and U.S. 421. By widening about 12 or 13 miles of Highway 210, the route to the southern Brunswick beaches would be four-lane all the way to Shallotte and beyond. Then, il says, environmental studies could be done and the best route determined for the long-term solution. "We're looking for immediate relief, something that will help us right now," explained chamber Executive Susanne Sartelle. While saying the route is proposed as a short-term solution, the chamber request reads more like a long-term route proposal, contrast ing this plan with other route proposals. Judge for yourself: "We believe that this bypass route will have the least adverse af fect on the environment and will be the least expensive, given the op tions." In addition, the chamber suggests the route could be completed in the least amount of time and would open the door for needed develop ment along 210 and 421. Certainly traffic has to follow some route until the bypass be comes a reality. The chamber had already asked that ? and is pretty confident that DOT will ? put up signs denoting Exit 408 as the route to U.S. 17 and the Brunswick County beaches. It was logical the chamber suggest the same route for a temporary bypass. But now that chamber proposal is on the list of alternative bypass routes the N.C. Department of Transportation is taking to a public meeting in Wilmington for review and discussion." As a permanent route that plan would be a huge mistake. The U.S. 17/74/76 interchange cannot adequately handle the rush-hour com muter traffic already flowing through, as anyone who has sat with traf fic backed up can testify. The sooner the state gets on with a genuine long-range solution, the better. The environmental costs associated with building another bridge over tlx; river farther north certainly must be weighed with those of in creasing the capacity of the existing interchange and feeders into it Optioas are limited, given its location on a river and at the busi ness districts of two towas. Routing 1-40 to the north beyond the existing towas would not kill business for Leland and Belville, because we can expect significant commuter traffic to continue using that route. The rerouting would prevent the major ill associated with several other plans: cutting through one or more towns or the industrial parks on its way south. The northernmost route ? supported by Brunswick County gov ernment ? channels traffic westward before making a left turn beyond the county industrial park and emptying into U.S. 17 at Bishop, near the N.C. 87 north intersection. U.S. 17/74/76 option must be for the short-term. Sooner or later attitudes do not appear to be in the best long-term interest of Brunswick County. It docs no good if those visitors to the beautiful South Brunswick Islands must make the final miles of a long journey in an ambulance. Yes, our area can use the business that traffic is expected to bring, but the infrastructure to handle that growth needs to be in place first. The existing interchange cannot handle the amount of traffic that would use this Wilmington bypass. The proposal to "move people" through the U.S. 17-74-76 interchange should certainly be of concern. At best it should be a VERY short-term solution. At its worst, the route would create a need for second bypass, ine Leland-Belville Loop. Visitors to southern Brunswick County would grow sick and tired of Bruaswick County and its traffic problems before they ever reached U.S. 17 south. The South Brunswick Island Inlands Chamber of Commerce may be pushing this route as a short-term remedy, but its representatives must make i! very rlear to the state that such a route will never be ac ceptable to Brunswick County as a genuine solution to the problem of traffic congestion around Wilmington. The chamber's zealousness in wanting to bring vacationers to the beaches may be lauded on the one hand. But on the other, it must be tempered with getting them here as quickly and easily as possible. It should never stand in the way of doing what is best for Bruaswick County, if not for its individual members. The Captain Who Never Lost A Battle I first mei "Jimbo" Clemmons in 1968, as a third-grader at Lincoln Primary School where he was prin cipal. It was a rough year for both black and white students as Bruns wick County's schools had desegre gated after a spring and summer of riots and racial violence in the Leland community. Clemmons would march down the mint green hallways and, in his righteous manner, answer to a hun dred squeaky voices, those of ele mentary school children who look ed up to the man for providing them with an educational sanctuary. Black, while, Indian, race didn't matter. We were all his children. During our adjustment to racial integration, we felt safe at Lincoln for one reason, the man in charge saw no colors and was concerned about the education of every child on his campus. If an eight-year-old could figure that out then the caring and concern that Clemmons out wardly displayed for his students was surely genuine. The news of Clemmons' death last week was shocking for it was so sudden. A heart attack at home took away this educational pioneer who served 41 years as a teacher and principal in this county and served six years on the Brunswick County Board of Education. In the 22 years that I knew Clemmons, never did I hear an un kind word said about him. People would disagree with his educational philosophy and expressed those views outright, but no one ever lost if rcspcct for the man. Former stu dents would ride past his home on Village Road, honk the hom and yell, "Hey, Jimbo!" They had made a friend for life. He was defeated in his bid for re election to the school board in November. You could tell it was un expected, for Clemmons talked about his loss as a kind of bitter joke that politics often plays on its participants. Retired, aging and out of political office, 1 feared for his idleness, that somehow the soldier would lay down his arms and pri vately call it a job well done. In 1951, when James Franklin Clemmons Jr. was named principal of all -black Lincoln High School the building had just six classrooms and four seniors in its graduating class. Two of those seniors later earned college degrees and came back to teach school under the prin cipal who stayed behind to build a better education for the next crop of seniors. He had been a teacher for eight years. As a principal, he wanted his teachers to have better facilities. He wanted the school to grow. Together with a group of students, Clemmons Terry PoDe I A V .v helped construct a cement- block building on the Lincoln campus that was standing the day he re U red as principal in 1984. The educator with a master's de gree from Columbia University in New York could have picked his spot in any other educational arena in the country, but Brunswick County was his home. A graduate of Brunswick County High School in South port, Clemmons received a bachelor's degree from North Caro lina Cemral College in Durham and obtained the rank of top sergeant in the U.S. Army prior to returning to post-graduate work in education. In December 1984, a retirement party was held at Lincoln Primary School to honor the man that would be leaving after 33 years as princi pal there. Many of those attending had to fight back tears. There were tears of joy for his winning a seat on the school board and tears of sadness at seeing an institution leave the Lincoln campus. At a time when principals are reassigned about as often as professional base ball pitchers, his lengthy tenure there appeared phenomenal. During his tenure as principal at Lincoln, Clemmons never took a vacation, saying that continuous work was "nothing but a state of mind." As a hobby, he planted shrubbery and flower beds at the school and could often be found be neath the hood of a school bus, for he was also a very good mechanic. I returned to Lincoln Primary in 1978 to drive a school bus for Jimbo Clemmons. That first after noon he stood in the stairwell of my bus, and his authoritative voice cap tured everyone's attention. He told the students, in no uncertain terms, cxactly what was expected of them on their ride home. Think I had any trouble with those kids? Nah. Viola Thomas, a teacher at Lin coln Primary, said it best when she noted a' her boss's retirement party, "He is a captain who has never lost a battle." There is one battle we all must lose in life, unfortunately. "I always had a big mouth, but i carry a big stick. My big stick was to look at the record," Clemmons once said about his carccr at Lincoln. "It's the kids, the actual contact with them that I'll miss the most." On occasions since then, I've had to interview Jimbo Clemmons for information about his political races or in covering school board meet ings. He would always laugh and say, "You know me. Pope! You go ahead and write it! You know how to write it. Pope!" And then he would begin to talk about every thing. Everything. Well, I don't know how to write it this time. So I'll let Jimbo say it, as he did at his retirement in 1984, just one of the many milestones in his brillant career. "I don't want anybody to feel sorry for me. James Clemmons has done the very best he could, and he isn't going to ask any more than that from you." This captain never lost a battle. B^BouR (Sl^l CARolinA cAktoons March Madness Was Made For The Underdogs It's March Madness time. It's the time of year when college basket ball runs through its final frantic paces and brings an end to another long season. It's the time of year when the top student-athletes receive honors and Dick Vitale names his various teams. He's got the All Windex Team (guys who are tops at cleaning the glass), All Dow Jones Team (guys who play good one game and crash the next) and All Airport Team (guys who dress sharp and look good in the airport but can't play their way out of a wet paper bag). The NCAA Basketball Tourna ment is special. Even people who don't follow college basketball seem interested when the field of 64 teams is announced and the festivi ties begin. But contrary to popular belief, the NCAA tournament is not great because of teams like the UNLV Running Rebels or the Arkansas Razorbacks or even the North Caro lina Tar Heels. What makes the NCAA tourna ment so great are the teams like Montana, St. Francis, Georgia State, Northeast Louisiana and Towson State. These are teams that have two chances of winning the tourna ment ? slim and none. They're also the icams that Americans love to support. The basketball tournament format lends itself to upsets, and that's what makes it great. The tournament will have already reached the regional semifinals by the time this column is published. The field of 64 will have been cut in half, and then cut in half again. I hope several of the lop teams have been knocked out by the time Doug Rutter we reach the Sweet 16. There was already one major upset the first day of the tournament The University of Richmond Spiders, who compete in the same conference as the UNC-W Sea hawks, pulled off a very big upset last Thursday when they toppled the mighty Syracuse Orangemen. Richmond's win was the biggest opening-round upset since the NCAA tournament expanded its field to 64 teams. Playing well as an underdog is nothing new to Rich mond. In 1988, the Spiders knocked off the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers in the first round. March Madness is all about pulling for the little guys like Coastal Carolina. The branch college of the University of South Carolina is lo cated just over the border, down near the Waccamaw Pottery. The upstart Chanticleers were matched against mighty Indiana in their first-round game last week and gave the Hoosiers, ranked third in the nation, everything they wanted and more. The Chants were within three points of the lead with less than three minutes to play before Indiana pulled away. Maybe Coastal Caro lina didn't get a win, but at least a few more people know they're out there. I'll never forget the upset Villanova pulled off in 1985. They were given absolutely no chance of beating the Georgetown Hoyas, with Patrick Ewing towering over everybody. But Villanova coach Rollie Mas simino got his team fired up and be lieving in themselves and they went out and made just about every shot they took. That was a special tour nament for me, because 1 grew up just a short drive from Villanova. In the film Hoosiers, I really like what one of the players says about competing in the Indiana state high school basketball championship. He tells his teammates not to win it for themselves or their school, but for all of the small schools that nev er had a chance to play for the title. Thai's what the Villanova Wild cats did six years ago. I hope anoth er college underdog does it again this year. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Military Appreciates Public Support To the editor: a uninnt cianrf anoinM .? ? ? : ? L To the editor: I think this is an opportune time to express appreciation to the peo ple in this area for their many acts of kindness and generosity to the military personnel assigned here. It is heartwarming and gratifying to witness the reception they have re ceived throughout our extended participation in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. As with those who were de ployed to the Gulf region, the U.S. Army, Coast Guard and Naval Reservists stationed here were called to active service to aid this nation and the coalition partners in a unified stand against repression and aggression. They willingly left families, jobs, friends and roots to preserve freedom, serving in a place unfamiliar to many of them. We are especially proud of the job they have done and will continue to do for as long as neces sary to support the return of U.S. Forces and their equipment from the Gulf region. It would be an impossible task for me to even try to list individual and group efforts put forth over these past seven months in making these soldiers and sailors feel wel come and appreciated. They know who they are and those who helped them in making ideas become real ity. To ail collectively, please ac cept our heartfelt thanks and ap preciation. Our job isn't finished. We are committed to see it through, and I'm confident the good citizens of this area will continue to be behind us all the way. Michael S. Featherston Colonel, U.S. Army Commanding Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (More Letters Following Page)
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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March 21, 1991, edition 1
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