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Auditorium Plans Get Nod
STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
Brunswick Community College Trustees have approved final plans for the Odell Williamson
Auditorium, subject to review by the state. Architect Ken Phelps of Honey & Associates said bis could
be advertised by late summer. Construction is expected to take 13 to 14 months. The facility will be the
last on the campus to be built by funds from general obligation bonds approved by county voters.
BCC Will Ask County For $603,000
BY SUSAN USHER
Brunswick Community College
will ask for more than S603,(XX) in
Brunswick County tax dollars for
the coming year.
Trustees approved the budget re
quest last Wednesday at the first
meeting ever held by the board at
BCC's Southport campus. The re
quest must be submitted to the coun
ty commissioners by early April.
The proposal rejects an increase
of about S77.000 over last year's
county budget allocation. Figures
show increases in utility costs with
the opening of the Leland Industrial
Training Center, anticipated repairs
at the Southport campus and in
creased security needs.
County funds make up a small
portion of BCC's budget, which is
primarily funded by the state. BCC
is asking the county for 5593,243
for current operating expenses and
$10,000 in capital outlay money to
buy vehicles for the basic law en
forcement training class.
The current expense request in
cludes SI 00,000 for repairs at the
Southport campus, SI 5,000 for
landscaping and S 10,000 for a long
range campus land use plan. The re
quest also include salaries for build
ing and grounds employees and two
new part-time employees. BCC is in
the process of hiring a part-time
evening coordinator and security
person and wants to also hire a part
time switchboard operator. Both
employees would work nights.
Despite an increase in enroll
ment, BCC could have to operate on
less money next year because of
suite budget cuts.
Last week Community College
System President Bob Scott warned
that unless state budget cuts subside
and community colleges get a major
infusion of new money, drastic
changcs could occur. Speaking to a
group of state business leaders, he
said classes and programs could be
canceled, students turned away and
training requests from businesses
have to be ignored.
A legislative subcommittee on
education has voted to recommend
an additional SI 9.2 million cut in
the base budget for community col
leges. This comes on top of several
major cuts over the past two years,
including one cut of SI 1.5 million
this year.
Other Business
In other business trustees:
?Subject to review by the board's
attorney, approved submission of a
joint request with the Waccamaw
Siouan Development Association
and The Marine Crescent for an Ec
onomic Development Administra
tion public works grant to fund an
aquacullurc program for the cam
pus. President Michael Reaves said
he did not anticipate problems in
obtaining required matching funds.
?Heard from Reaves that BCC is
considering establishing its own
child care center in the future be
cause of the importance of the ser
vice to students, but for the coming
year will continue to contract out
that service.
?Learned from Reaves that BCC
will have an acccss from the Supply
bypass to campus for property on
the south side of the bypass. He said
BCC can also seek aid from the
state Department of Transportation
in building the connector road.
?Heard from Dean of Students Beth
McLean that 628 students were en
rolled in spring quarter classes,
compared to 566 at the same time
last year, an 11 percent increase.
She also said 122 students are en
rolled in 18 BCC general education
courses taught during the quarter.
All of the courses qualified under a
dual transcript program with UNC
Wilmington. That means students
can rcccivc transcripts for the class
from both BCC and UNC-W.
Noting that BCC provided
S3(X),(KX) this year in financial aid,
she said that "financial reasons"
were citcd by only 5 percent of the
students who do not return to cam
pus. In a recent survey, 35 percent
gave personal reasons that range
from pregnancy to "lazy" or "don't
want to go to school right now," she
said.
?Learned that it cost S3,9(X) to re
move a chimney at the Southport
campus and $37,860 for roofwork.
?Approved amendments to the cur
rent year's budget.
?Scheduled a retreat April 5 and 6
at the N.C. Baptist Assembly at Fort
Caswell. The agenda will include
discussion of policies relating to af
firmative action and employee
grievance procedures, as well as
long range planning.
CRC Delays Decision On Bulkhead Ban
The N.C. Coastal Resources Com
mission (CRC) made no decision last
week on a proposal to amend the
stale's policy banning bulkheads,
seawalls and other erosion-control
devices that "harden" the beach.
The amendment to the six-year
old ban on hard structures was pre
sented last Wednesday afternoon,
one day before the commission
gathered for a two-day meeting at
Wrightsville Beach.
A committee of the coastal panel
discussed tlie controversial proposal
Thursday before deciding to study it
further and bring it up again later
this year.
A memo from the director of the
N.C. Division of Coastal Manage
ment said several CRC members
initiated the proposal. The members
weren't identified in the memo.
The proposal would make it easi
er for towns and public agencies to
get consideration for erosion-con
trol projects designed to protect the
beach.
It would change the decision cri
teria and procedures the commis
sion uses when it's asked to decide
r
if an crosion-control structure
would be allowed.
The proposal would allow hard
structures on the beach if the project
would not cause "significant ad
verse effect" or if it would provide
"overriding public benefits."
The proposal suggests that cro
sinn-control structures could be
used as a last resort if beach nour
ishment projects and relocation
don't work.
"Alternative approaches will be
allowed where the applicant can
show that such measures arc neces
sary to provide adequate protection,"
the proposal states. "Comprehensive
shoreline management shall be pre
ferred over small scale methods."
Power Expanded
The slate commission usually
deals with coastal issues only, but
expanded its regulatory authority
last week to cover about 10,000
acres of inland crceks and streams.
The CRC voted to control activi
ties such as dredging in inland pri
mary nursery areas, which are des
ignated by the N.C. Wildlife Re
sources Commission.
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Primary nursery areas arc waters
where baby fish and other marine
specimens spend their first growing
season.
The coastal commission already
restricts activities in nursery areas
along the coast, which arc named by
the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commis
sion.
More than 30 people spoke in fa
vor of the proposal to expand the
CRC's authority at a public hearing
the commission held last Thursday.
Nobody spoke against it.
The state restricts dredging in pri
mary nursery areas, but the com
mission adopted a rule in January to
allow maintenance dredging if it's
needed to maintain the traditional
and established use of a channel.
I
New Ordinance Gets Final
Touch From Planning Board
BY TERRY POPE
A new county subdivision ordi
nance will be in the hands of Bruns
wick County commissioners when
they meet April 15.
The Brunswick County Planning
Board has prepared a fifth, and per
haps final, draft of the ordinance
that has been in the works for the
past 10 years.
However, most of that time the
revised ordinance has sat on the
shelves at the Brunswick County
Planning Department.
Since December 1981, commis
sioners have refused to deal with an
ordinance which would further re
strict developments in new subdivi
sions lying within unincorporated
areas of the county or areas not af
fcctcd by a town's extraterritorial
zoning district.
The county's present ordinance
was adopted June 22, 1980. Because
of growth, the addition of a county
water system and changes in sewer
system needs sincc then, a new
board of commissioners told the
planning department in Dcccmbcr to
get a new ordinance ready to adopt.
At its meeting last Wednesday,
the planning board put the finishing
touches on a fifth draft and agreed
to send copies to commissioners.
The board also asked that Planning
Director John Harvey be at the
April 15 commissioners' meeting to
present the ordinance.
County Manager David Clegg
said the new ordinance isn't going
to hurt new development in Bruns
wick County. Area developers, he
said, have always done a good job
of maintaining quality growth even
though the present ordinance re
quires very little.
The new ordinance will require
new developments adjacent to
county water lines to connect to the
system. Major subdivisions (six or
more lots) within 1,000 feet of
county water lines must connect
while minor subdivisions (five or
less lots) within 250 feet of a water
line must connect to county water.
Minimum lot sizes are also estab
lished in the new ordinance. Streets
within new subdivisions must also
meet N.C. Department of Transpor
tation standards, which means all
streets must have 60 feet right of
ways and must be paved among
other requirements.
Last Wednesday, the planning
board revised a section dealing with
sewer system requirements. At least
75 percent of lots within a proposed
subdivision must be capable of ser
vice by a wastewater treatment sys
tem or developers will not be al
lowed to file ihe proposed plat.
The lots that arc not suitable for
septic systems must bear a warning
label that says the lots arc not suit
able for human habitation.
The warning label is designed to
protect the buyer from unknowingly
purchasing a lot that is not suitable
for building. Such lots can be sold,
but for purposes other than as
homesitcs.
The new ordinance also contains
a section regulating planned unit de
velopments, an imaginative innova
tion clustering single-family units,
multi-family units or office build
ings over a large tract of land ? a
concept almost unheard of 10 years
ago. The tract of land must be 10
acres or more.
Golf course developments can be
considered as planned unit develop
ments, with 10 percent of the open
area reserved for recreational pur
poses. The tract would also have to
keep 30 percent of the land for
open, uncovered space.
The ordinance also limits high
way acccssways to major subdivi
sions. Too many entrances to subdi
visions within one area creates traf
fic congestion, said Planning Direc
tor John Harvey, who used N.C. 179
south of Shallouc as an example.
INCIDENT REPORTED TO DSS
Program Targets Adult Neglect
BY TERRY POPE
Neighbors say they were angry
and upset after seeing an elderly
woman in a wire pen outside her
Brunswick County home last week.
The woman reportedly has Alz
heimer's, a disease of the central ner
vous system that produces premature
mental deterioration. She has been
known to wander from her home.
Three anonymous callers, con
cerned about the woman's care un
der her legal guardian, reported the
incident to The Brunswick Beacon
last Thursday. Their calls to the
Brunswick County Department of
Social Services led to an investiga
tion of the incident.
"We did gel some contact from
individuals who were concerned
about another individual there," said
DSS Director Jamie Orrock.
Reports from concerned neigh
bors is one way DSS receives infor
mation that abused or neglectcd
adults in the county may need help,
said Adult Protective Services Di
rector Brcnda McMillian-Simmons.
Calls are kept in confidence and the
caller's name will not be released,
she said.
As of Friday, Ms. McMillian-Sim
mons said the case reported last
week had not been resolved.
"We're still in the evaluation pro
cess," said Ms. McMillian-Sim
mons. "We not only have to see the
individuals, but we have to talk to
the collaterals."
Collaterals are persons who may
have reported the incident and other
health care professionals who arc
familiar with the apparent victim
and the case, she said.
Investigating such incidents is a
part of Ms. McMillian-Simmons'
job, a position she has held since
1984. She is the county's only so
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" It's not a poverty
thing at all"
? Brcnda McMillian-Simmons
Director
cial worker assigned to study re
ported cases of aduli abuse, neglect
or exploitation.
In February, there were 1 1 report
ed cases of adult abuse or neglect in
Brunswick County. Of the reports
her office receives, approximately
40 percent reveal actual abuse, Ms.
McMillian-Simmons said.
"If we get a report alleging that a
person is being mistreated, we have
to initiate an investigation within 24
hours if the case is an emergency,"
she said. Non-cmcrgency cases are
investigated within 72 hours.
An average of four to 16 cases
per month arc reported to the DSS
office in Bolivia. The average case
takes four to five months to close,
she said.
"It's not a poverty thing at all,"
said Ms. McMillian-Simmons. "I've
seen malnutrition in people that
have high incomes, and I've seen
malnutrition of people that didn't
have any income. A person can be
disabled and not be aware of ser
vices available to them."
That can result in a person not
gelling the food, medicine and per
sonal grooming care, such as bath
ing, they need to live healthy lives,
she said.
DSS has three in-home services
available for adults who need care,
but persons must qualify for Medi
caid first. Other personal care ser
vices arc available through private
companies, but ihc individual must
qualify for Medicare, Medicaid,
have medical insurance or pay for
the services.
Adults who arc incompetent or not
able to take care of themselves must
have someone assigned to provide
care for them. Petitions of incompe
tence arc decided by the Brunswick
County Clerk of Superior Court.
If an assigned g"ardi3n is accuscd
of not providing adequate care for
the patients of if the patient has no
one to care for them, an adult protec
tive services petition must be filed
before a Superior Court judge. The
DSS office will try to place the per
son in a nursing home or rest home.
"It is preferable for family mem
bers to become guardians because
they are accustomed to that person's
lifestyle," Ms. McMillian-Simmons
said. "Sometimes, non-family mem
bers are chosen. Even though they
may not be related by blood, they
can be just as concerned about the
person."
Problems occur in trying to locate
an empty nursing home bed once a
petition has been signed by a judge,
said Ms. McMillian-Simmons. The
aging population in Brunswick
County is growing, she added.
Persons receiving help from Adult
Protective Services are not always el
derly. The service is for people 18 or
older who are not receiving adequate
family support, who live in sub
standard housing or lack resources tc
get food and medicine they need.
When a person dies in Brunswick
County and no one claims the body,
the Adult Protective Services office
is assigned as guardian of the body.
Sometimes, if no one steps forward
to claim the body, it is donated to
science.
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