Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / March 28, 1991, edition 1 / Page 4
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Opinion Page THE BRUNSWKtffftACON Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers Edward M. Sweatt Editor Susan Usher News Editor Doug Rutter and Teriy Pope Staff Writers Johnny Craig Sports Editor Peggy Earwood Office Manager Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director Ttmberley Adams & Cecelia Gore Advertising Representatives Tammle Galloway & Dorothy Brennan Typesetters Wlillam Manning Pressman Brenda Clemmons Photo Technician Lonnie Sprinkle Assistant Pressman Phoebe Clemnvms and Ptances Sweatt Circulation PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1991 Why Not A South Brunswick Islands Fine Arts Center? A small group of local supporters of the arts has made a bold proposal to the Shallotte Board of Aldermen: Why not spend $190,000 and buy the former site of Shallotte Presbyterian Church, then transform it into an arts/community center? The church might even be willing to cut a deal. The icing on the cake would be a permanent home for Sunnyside School, now on temporary grounds at the intersection of U.S. 17 and the Whiteville Road. Shallotte leaders gave the obvious answer: Nice idea, but we can't afford it. We don't keep that kind of money lying around. The proposal has a sound basis: The area does need a cen tralized site for 1) a home for the fine arts community that includes a gallery, teaching areas and room for small musical or dramatic presentations and 2) a recreational area for young peo ple. It is quite conceivable that the two could be housed in the same facilities. If not, either project would be a worthwhile pur suit. The building is available now. But there lies part of the problem. It's too bad someone didn't come up with this idea about a year ago so there would be lead time for raising money and making plans. Whether the fa cility will be leased rather than sold, whether it might still be available a year from now we don't know. Obviously the financial responsibility for developing such a center should not and could not fall on the shoulders of a single town or community. Ideally a steering committee could be organized to investi gate interest in an arts/community center. If sufficient interest exists a non-profit group could be organized to coordinate fund raising, seeking support from each of the communities in the South Brunswick Islands areas as well as from individuals, the county, industries and businesses interested in making the Islands area a nicer place in which to live. Southport has always claimed the title of artistic and cultural center of Brunswick County, but it doesn't have to be that way. The South Brunswick Islands area has an abundance of tal ented artists of its own. All they need is the support and interest of the communities in which they live. An earlier dream ? to have a natural history museum at Ocean Isle Beach ? is about to become a reality. With vision and commitment, so could the dream of a South Brunswick Islands arts center become a reality. Vote Is The Only Way To Decide Annexation Let the people decide. That's the only way to go on annexation at Holden Beach, and that's just what the town commissioners have proposed. In case you missed it, the town board has asked State Rep. David Redwine to introduce a local bill this session that would re quire a referendum of the is land's registered voters prior to any annexation. This proposed state law would put the power in the hands of the people, where it belongs. It would literally change the state's annexation statutes and make an exception for Holden Beach. To my knowledge, there are no annexation plans under consideration right now. But that's something that can change at any time. The legislation would make sure nothing is annexed in the fu ture without the support of a majority of the Holden Beach voters. It's something that is needed this year. The bill requested by the town would apply to annexation initi aled by the town board and annexation initiated by mainland proper ty owners interested in becoming part of the town. For example, let's just say that annexation of the mainland causeway resurfaces at some point, which it most certainly will. This is the area that was approved for annexation by a previous town board and later rejected by the present board. With the state legislation that's been requested, the hands of the town commissioners would be tied. The town board would be bound by the will of the voters. If the people vole in favor of the annexation proposal, then the town board would have to annex the territory. If the people vote against it, the town board would have to vote against it as well. That's democracy in its purest form ? government by the people. More than solving the annexation issue, the state law would take the spotlight off annexation and allow Holden Beach officials to ad dress other issues that demand attention. If the legislation gets through, it would mean that annexation wouldn't be the dominant issue in the November municipal election, when the mayor's post and all five commission seals will be up for grabs. Other issues, such as the need for a central sewer system, can come to the forefront when candidates campaign this fall. I've picked on the Holden Beach Commissioners a little bit late ly for some ol" the things they've done. That's only because I live there and care about what happens. But they deserve a round of applause for coming up with the an nexation vote idea. I just hope the state lawmakers think the same way. Things Hopping Right Along This Easter Easter weekend. For many people who read The Brunswick Beacon this week, it will be their first view of the area. Families may be visiting the county over the long weekend holiday or couples may be exploring real estate options in our little, secret comer of the world. It is a journalist's job to provide the reader with an idea of what is happening within a community, to act as a mirror of society. Only, I've found it's a little more complicated than that. Community journalism should re flect those actions, thoughts and is sues that society helps to raise, yet very often I get the feeling that there arc few people out there who really understand the role of a jour nalist. Often, journalists don't help themselves. We may go for decades thinking that memories of Vietnam will still save us when a war breaks out, or that Watergate (remember that faded blot on American poli tics) could never happen again. On the down side of things, sleaze jour nalism still exists, though I believe it is not rampant. 1 entered journalism school at Chapel Hill on the tail end of the Watergate rush. When Washington, D.C. reporters Bob Woodward and Terry Pope chl Carl Bernstein dropped the bomb in "All the President's Men," a story that rocked a nation and swept clean President Richard Nixon's White House, a flood of aspiring journal ists lined up on the steps of Howell Hall in Chapel Hill. I was barely a teen then and had no idea what i wanted to be when I grew up. These gung-ho writers were ready to become investigative re porters so they could uncover all of the dirt between Murphy and Mantco. "All the President's Men" was still a film some professors chose to show in their classrooms and a book that some students were assigned to read. When 1 was in journalism school. President Ronald Reagan was shot, the United States stepped up its in volvement in El Salvador and, a year later, the Tarheels won the NCAA basketball national champi onship. Things had cooled down. Wc were told thai it is a reporter's job to find out what's going on be hind the scenes, to explain issues | for the reader, whom wc are sup [ pose to represent. That's why we do this every week, because enquiring minds want to know, they have a right to know. We represent the peo ple. We are a mirror of society. But if you read closely, you'll no tice there is a conflict here. Going "behind the scenes" isn't what you would call looking in an imaginary mirror to capture a reflection of so ciety. There is a world of difference. For example, it was years before the public really knew how close President Reagan had comc from dying, i am simckcu by uk most re cent tell-all books and interviews that explain how Reagan's closest aides were preparing to tell the world that wc were just minutes away from losing our President The press was prepared for his exit from the hotel the day he was shot, but they were not prepared for what happened afterwards. Reagan was shot the day Indiana University and the University of North Carolina met for a championship basketball game. The game went on as planned, and Indiana won. I have found iiiai in Brunswick County, it seems there are never enough hours in a day to devote to the issues that are affecting the area. Growth, traffic, crime, coastal is sues and how county arvl city gov ernments respond to the problems arc what local news reporters should examine. I think that's one of our roles as journalists. Getting to the heart of a story in Brunswick County should be a goal, too. As one county employee said recently, people in Brunswick County talk. There are no secrets in this placc. There is a trend toward open interview sessions, public per sonnel evaluations and open griev ance hearings from disgruntled em ployees. Since December, Bruns wick County commissioners have held one 15-minute executive ses sion. Some residents who pick up a copy of the paper this week may be in the county for the first time. Inside this issue, I hope those read ers will get a good grasp of what Brunswick County is all about, what our issues are, who the people are, how the county continues to deal with its growth and related problems. That's our goal. I believe you'll find community journalism in Brunswick County to be a strong and healthy presence, because this Easter weekend things are hopping right along as usual. AHH, S?mG..JIME ^ to get mm AM' BE CLOSE TP MlfiFl T0?c ' \>VN ogS' !^6., \sM 7> ' rvi, & jbl 4*^ v-ki i?AvVj If \\[ii//J wvi"' VNV ??? \U U'itolu 7AU\\^ III n ' ?v\ MuTc V t tl uW/f1 Wtfftfc \\\ 1 1,' \\. ? . ?\ id ,-i ?f \\i (I# / 1 m//Ss FUV\u uvAllwE \Vvui/ 1 (/ < .. 41 I, U ' ' ft/""- <\x v'TT: i v c ( ///?- -T~=siT_^ _ ? \V\VH<Vi w\\n?-vvi( ^ "\^M f^tVOvVtVKWr '\ *? V ? ? I x\ \ i (I i / i ' ". LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Isn't It Time To Bring Out The Old Act? To the editor: This is for those individuals who own property at Sunset Beach or who may have visited there and were so adamant against the re placement of the one-lane pontoon bridge that is a hazard at best They show total disregard for the fact that fire, rescue, and police are at the mercy of the bridge and be fore it is over the loss of a life or lives and severe loss of property will occur. These individuals cried conservation, environment, etc., while perhaps they were prompted by self-focused desire to halt devel opment and impede access to the is land. Surely these people will, in the name of conservation and environ ment, will want to stop the replace ment of the New River Bridge in Onslow County. Surely they arc not so short-sighted as to want only the bridge stopped in their immediate area.. .or are they? Perhaps these people will want to just delay the bridge and see how many million dollars they can cost the North Carolina taxpayer. To Of all living creatures, only hu man beings have the capacity to al ter their destiny by altering their at titudes. I used to be one of the most nega tive people in the world, but with help from some friends over the past year I've been trying to change that. Don't worry, there's no danger of my becoming a Pollyanna and see ing rainbows where there just ain't any. Though my work I'm sur rounded oy loo much of the baser side of humankind to put blinders on my eyes. But if I didn't already know it be fore, the past few months have taught me that while there will al ways be situations I cannot control and may not like, there is something I can change. Hey, I didn't think this up. Take an example shared by writer Henry Emerson Fosdick. He tells of growing up in upstate New York, where one summer day his mother hands him a bucket and sends him to pick a quart of raspberries. It wasn't his idea and he didn't like the assignment. "I dragged my feet in rebellion," he wrote, "and the can was filling very slowly. Then a new idea came: it would be fun to pick two quarts of raspberries and surprise her. I had so interesting a time picking two quarts to the utter amazement of the household, and they never forgot it "But, alas, I have often forgotten the philosophy of it we can change any situation by changing our atti tude toward it. Nobody ever finds life worth living. One always has to make it worth living." hcck with safety of the public, per sonal property and man hour cost to move goods, services and an al ready too high unemployment rate. Isn't it time to bring on the old "save the alligators and bring on the loggerhead turtle" act? I am a full time resident, not just property owner. Macon H. McDavid S nset Beach Sorting Is Not A Major Problem To the editor: In the March 21 issue of the Beacon you published an article concerning Calabash recycling. In this article, Gere Dale, co chairman of the Calabash recycling committee, is quoted as stating that the recycling volunteers at Sunset Beach have to go to their center just about every day to sort materials that arc placed in the wrong boxes. This is not an accurate statement. The Sunset Beach weekly volun teers do visit the center on a regular CAOoUHA c Aprons tHHfL basis to make sure it is kepi clean wrong boxes as this is not a major and to set up new boxes when the problem. old ones become full. However, Sky Bramley they do not normally spend time Volunteers for Recycling sorting materials placed In the Sunset Beach. Need A Change Of Attitude? Susan Usher Cynicism is a professional hazard for journalists; always has been I suppose. Sometimes it is easier to shrug a shoulder or laugh than it is to cry. There are so many things we see that need changing that we have no control over, and haven't got the time or resources to address.. .or sometimes even to write about Without some kind of built-in re newal?deliberately making another "world" for ourselves, cynicism kills our creative nature and our be lief in the ability of people. What does it take? The conscious changing the things it is within our power to change and working each day to change our attitude toward the rest. If I can do it, anybody can. And I'm working on it. The Beacon wclcorr.es letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include the writer's address. Under no circumstances will un signed letters be printed. Letters should be legible. The Beacon re serves the right to edit libelous comments. Address letters to The Brunswick Beacon, P. O. Box 2558, Shallouc, N. C. 28459
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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March 28, 1991, edition 1
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