Your Chamber Membership
Is An Investment In Tomorrow
BY BILL DEARMAN, EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
South Brunswick Islands Chamber Of Commerce
After mailing out statements to our membership for their 1993-1994
chamber dues, wc received several calls. Many of these calls were gener
ated by the word "investment" that appeared on the statement next to the
amount due. I understand why there was some concern and I appreciate
the interest of those members who called. The word
"investment" is not what our members arc used to
seeing on their annual statement, and at first glance
it appears strange.
Let us take a minute to look at the word and
what it means. In my thesaurus, words that mean the
same thing include:
a. Contribution, that is true. The money you pay
to the chamber is a contribution.
b. Share. You as a member arc a part of the
chamber. Your share entitles to vote, to serve on
committees, and to serve as an officer or director. DEARMAN
c. Stake. We all have a stake in this community. If it grows and pros
pers, we all benefit. Your chamber investment is used to encourage the
growth and development of business in South Brunswick County.
d. Venture, or undertaking a journey. Your investment in the chamber
enables us to undertake projects and implement programs that make
South Brunswick County a better place to live, work and raise a family.
When the chambcr sponsors Career Day in local schools, wc are in
vesting in our children and their future. Through our advertising wc arc
investing to attract visitors to visit the area. These visitors spend money
that helps create jobs and supports the local economy. Our Hometown
Holidays is an investment to encourage people to shop at home. The list
goes on and on.
Your investment is viewed by the Internal Revenue Service not as a
charitable contribution, but as a cost of doing business. As a member of
the South Brunswick Islands Chambcr of Commerce you arc truly mak
ing an investment of your time, your talent and your funds to make a dif
ference in South Brunswick County.
ESC Lists June Jobless
Rate At 1 3.7 Percent
Unemployment in Brunswick
County rose to 13.7 percent during
June, the third highest rate in North
Carolina, according to statistics
from the Employment Security
Commission of North Carolina.
The county's rate for May was
12.9 and for April, 13.7, according
to earlier ESC statistics.
Individual county unemployment
rates for June rose in 86 North
Carolina counties, declined in 7 and
remained unchanged in 7. The
statewide seasonally adjusted rate
was 5.4 percent. ESC analysts re
gard 5 percent as virtually full em
ployment. The national rate for Jync
was 7 percent.
Brunswick was among eight
counties whose jobless rate cxcccd
cd 10 percent The others are Gra
ham, 19.7; Tyrrell, 14.4; Wilson,
12.7; Hertford, 11.7; Swain, 10.7;
Vancc, 10.7; and Cherokee, 10.5.
The ESC lists these rates for
North Carolina's other ocean front
countics: Pender, 7.4; Onslow, 5.8;
Carteret, 6.3; Hyde, 6.0; Dare, 3.8;
and Currituck, 4.0.
Randolph County had the stale's
lowest rate at 3.1 percent.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Small Business Tax WorkshoD Planned
A free small business lax work
shop for currcnt or prospective busi
ness owners and operators will be
conducted by the IRS Thursday,
Aug. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at
Brunswick Community College near
Supply.
The session will be held in the
teaching auditorium of the ALS
Building on BCC's main campus.
Subjects to be covered include
recordkeeping, types of business or
ganizations, Schedules C (profit/loss
from business or profession), em
ployment taxes, Form 941 (employ
er's quarterly federal tax return) and
Form 940 (employer's annual feder
al unemployment tax return).
Partnership and corporation in
come tax forms will not be covered.
The IRS recommends that partici
pants bring a pocket calculator.
Pre-registration is not required.
For more information call the IRS
Volunteer and Education Coord
inator in Greensboro, 919-378-2193.
Marine Expo Coming
Marine Expo 1993, North Caro
lina's ownly marine trade show and
conference, will be held Oct. 1-3 at
Coastline Line Convention Center in
downtown Wilmington.
The exposition will feature ex
hibits, seminars and workshops of
interest to the marine industry and
businesses that provide services or
products to the marine industry.
Sponsored by the N.C. Marine
Trade Association, the conference is
organized by the Marine Trades Pro
gram of the Small Business & Tech
nology Development Center, the
UNC Wilmington Division for Pub
lic Service and Extended Education
and Cape Fear Community Col
lege's marine programs. ?
Mike Bradley, N.C. Marine Trades
Program director, said the trade
show/conference will focus on "real
time" business issues common with
small marine firms. These will in
clude marketing, regulatory compli
ance, workplace safety, insurance
management and other issues of eco
nomic and management importance.
More than 4,400 visitors attended
last year's show, including more
than 800 marine trade professionals.
For information, write Marine EX
PO, Public Service and Extended
Education, UNC Wilmington, 601
South College Road, Wilm., N.C.
28403-3297 or call 919-395-3195.
Construction Slated
Construction will begin in Octo
ber at Grand Strand General Hosp
ital in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to add a
permanent magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) unit and to double
the size of the hospital's emergency
room, according to spokesman Terri
Jo Ruediger.
The diagnostic imaging unit will
be available for scanning 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, unlike the
current mobile unit. The permanent
unit should be completed by late
spring 1994 at a cost of S2.8 million.
Also, renovation and expansion of
the emergency department will be
completed by late spring at a cost of
S3.9 million.
The project will provide 10,228
additional square feet of space, in
creasing the number of beds from 13
to 28, adding sealing space for fami
ly members, and a second triage sta
tion among other improvements.
Joins Rampage Staff
Newly-licensed broker Michael
L. McDonald
has joined the
sales force of
Rampage Real
ty
McDonald
transferred to
Shallotte as a
medical equip
ment repair
technician and
Mcdonald haS lived here
one year. He recently completed the
advanced brokerage courses of
Brunswick Community College.
Hill Recognized
Michael Hill has been chosen as
The Brunswick Hospital's August
employee of the month.
He is a maintenance mechanic in
the hospital's engineering depart
ment and has been employed by the
hospital for 10 years.
A co-worker nominated Hill, stal
ing, "Mike is always happy and
friendly. He is very energetic and
willing to help out in any situation.
He sets a fine example for other
members of our staff with his posi
tive attitude."
Hill received a rosebud bouton
niere, a complimentary meal and a
cash prize.
MARCIA'S
BUSINESS
SERVICES
DON'T WASTE YOUR
TIME WITH PAPER
WORK. LET US
DO IT FOR YOU!
COMPUTERIZED
BOOKKEEPING
Small Business Set-Up Welcome
Payroll services-monthly, quar
terly and year end taxes, general
ledger, accounts receivable and
payable, check writing and
balancing, secretarial services. 8
years local exp. Reasonable
rates. 579-9474 after 3 P.M.
CP&L Will
BY SUSAN USIIKR
Carolina Power & Lighi Co. has
agreed noi to pass along to cus
tomers extra fuel costs the electric
utility incurred while both units of
its Brunswick Nuclear Plant were
shut down for a year.
In a stipulation announced last
week, the utility also agreed it will
either operate the Brunswick Plant
at better than 57 percent of its ca
pacity over the next three years or
refund up to SI 5.7 million to its cus
tomers. CP&L also has stated it has
no plans to seek recovery of the S80
million increase in operations and
maintenance costs incurred at the
Brunswick Plant this past year.
The agreement, negotiated with
the Public Staff of the North Car
olina Utilities Commission, will be
considered by the Commission itself
when it meets Aug. 27 in Raleigh.
The Public Staff announced the joint
agreement at the same time it filed
an 800-page report of a lengthy in
vestigation of the Brunswick Plant
shutdown it began in August 1992.
CP&L spokesman Wade Pridgen
said the agreement, and not debating
the Public Staff's findings, reflects
an effort by CP&L "to put the issue
behind us and move on."
"This will allow us to focus on
the results we need to attain. We
can't change the past, but we can get
on with what we need to do."
CP&L spent nearly S3 1.2 million
more on fuel last year than was cov
ered by its rates, a difference caused
mainly because the Brunswick Plant
was out of service for 95 percent of
the 12-month period that ended
March 31. CP&L had to buy more
power from other sources and rely
more heavily on its more cosdy
coal-fired plants.
Typically if a utility has spent less
than it has collected, the utility can
file for a fuel component rate in
NO ENERGY COST HIKE SOUGHT
Absorb Higher
Electric Costs
"We want the units to perform well,
to hold down costs and avoid having
to go in for a rate increase for a
long, long time.1'
? Wade Pridgen, CP&L Spokesman
crcasc to rccovcr the diffcrcncc from
rale payers.
Instead CP&L will absorb S25.5
million of the extra expense, writing
it off as a loss of earnings during the
third quarter, said CP&L spokesman
Wade Pridgcn. The result will be a
10-ccnt drop in earnings per share.
"That doesn't mean we will cut divi
dends."
With improved performance an
ticipated from the one unit of the
Brunswick Plant back in service and
the second due to return 10 service
this fall, the utility expects to recoup
the remaining $5.7 million of the
higher fuel expenses without raising
rates. In fact, if the agreement is ap
proved, CP&L customers will sec a
very slight decrease in their electric
bills, 2 cents per 1,000 kilowatt
hours, or a typical customer's
monthly usage, starting Sept. 1 5.
CP&L won't get to use the S5.7
million collected from rate payers, at
least not immediately. The money
will go into an escrow account for
three years. CP&L will keep all of
the money if, on the average over
the three years, the plant's perfor
mance has exceeded 64 percent of
its capacity. If the factor is at the na
tional average (57 percent) or less,
then it will have to refund the full
amount, with interest For percent
ages between those extremes, a pro
rated portion of the money would be
refunded.
Also, if the plant achieves an av
erage three-year capacity factor less
than 57 percent, CP&L will also
Pioneer Announces 'Break-Even'
Earnings As Merger Time Nears
Pioneer Bancorp reports net in
come of S778.550 for the quarter
ended June 30, compared to a net
loss of more than S2.4 for the same
quarter last year.
Total assets of the corporation
were $309 million at the end of
June, compared to S398 million for
the same date in 1992.
"Earnings for the quarter were
bolstered by a gain of almost SI mil
lion recorded on the sale of loan-ser
vicing rights," Pioneer President Ed
Roughton said. "This gain was off
set somewhat by nonrecurring pro
fessional fees associated with our re
capitalization/merger efforts and
higher-than-expected examination
fees, resulting in approximate break
even core earnings for the quarter."
The bank also continued its pro
gress in reducing classified assets
during the period. At the end of
June, net classified assets were
S35.2 million, compared to S54.2
million in June 1992 ? a reduction
of 35 percent.
The company has entered into an
agreement for all its outstanding
shares of common stock to be ac
quired by First Citizens Bancsharcs.
If regulators and stockholders ap
prove, the merger is expected to be
complete in September.
Five Pioneer mortgage loan pro
duction offices are to be acquired by
First of America Bank Corporation,
according to a letter of intent recent
ly entered into.
Pioneer Savings Bank currently
operates 19 retail banking offices ?
including one on U.S. 17 Business
in Shallotte ? and 8 mortgage loan
production offices throughout east
ern North Carolina.
"""" ""'""""""""fffffsfsssssssssss//ss///////////zyzzy/////y%MWWyMWW%6
n ^ <zSand. ^
I
damzfL <^ancLsz?on
^ FINANCIAL SERVICES
IRA Rollovers-Pension Rollovers
Annuities-Mutual Funds*
8.40% Tax Free ^
Life, Health and Disability Insurance p
Medicare Supplements
Call 579-9919 fl
Located at 9960 Beach Dr., Calabash
(NationsRealty office bldg. adjacent to Wings)
?Securities offered thru Equico Securities, Inc., New York, NY I |p
SOUTH BRUNSWICK
MEDICAL GROUP
Gary D, Ross, M.D. (Internal Medicine)
Samuel W. Kirtley, M.D. (Family Practice)
For Complete Outpatient Medical Care
Routine Health Maintenance
Adult Medical Concerns /Pediatrics
Women's Concerns
(Pap Smears /Contraception)
Laboratory & X-Ray Facilities
For Complete Minor Emergency Care
Located off Hwy . 17 at Union School Road
Open Mon.-Fri., 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., Sat. 10 A.M. to 2 P.M.
579-9955 or 579-0800
01908 THE BRUNSWICK BEACON
forego rccovcry of up to $10 million
in future fuel expenses, based on a
formula tied to the capacity factor.
As pan of the negotiations lead
ing to the agreement, James Little,
an attorney with the Public Staff,
said CP&L stated that at present it
didn't intend to seek recovery of the
additional operating and mainte
nance expenses it is presently spend
ing 10 improve uie Brunswick piam.
The investigation revealed numer
ous problems at the plant leading to
the outage. Equipment had been al
lowed to deteriorate and corrode due
to poor maintenance practices and
inadequate work control. Many re
pairs were not performed when
needed, resulting in a large backlog
of repair items.
In general the staff investigation
found a lack of management invol
vement and leadership at the plant
and corporate level, communication
problems, a failure to identify and
correct problems and more.
"Finally, the problems at Bruns
wick persisted despite a series of
programs designed to address the
problems," said James LitUe, an at
torney with the Public Staff.
CP&L shut down both units of
the plant in April 1992 after finding
fake and improperly installed bolts
in the masonry walls of the emer
gency dicscl generator building. The
scope of the outage expanded as the
Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRC)
became concerned about the struc
tural soundness of other critical
plant areas and in June 1992 plated
Brunswick on its watch list of trou
bled plants warranting more scruti
ny.
By the time Unit 2 came back in
service on May 15, CP&L had in
spected over 345,000 individual
structural components at the plant
and completed major upgrades to
the plant's masonry walls, miscclla
neous structural steel, emergency
dicscl genetators and other key sys
tems.
According to Public Staff esti
mates, CP&L has made more than
S50 million in capital improvements
to the plant during the past year. It
estimates another S90 miHion will
be spent by the end of 1995.
It expects operating and mainte
nance expenses to continue to in
crease, reaching over S200 million
through the end of 1995. Little said
the Public Staff doesn't anticipate
CP&L asking that customers help
pay for those repairs for at least
three years.
In fact, Pridgcn said CP&L will
be postponing asking for a general
rate increase "as long as possible,"
though it hasn't committed to a defi
nite time frame.
"We want the units to perform
well, to hold down costs and avoid
having to go in for a rate increase
for a long, long time," said Pridgcn.
Whether that request comes 5, 10
or 15 years down the line, the
Commission will be asked to look at
the company's "total investment" in
the plant, he said. Until then, CP&L
will lose depreciation expenses on
its additional capital investments at
Brunswick.
The resulting "improved material
condition of the plant, linked with
fundamental changes that have been
made in plant management, should
help to insure Brunswick's produc
tivity," said Little.
^ r?
'JlA
D
L pl
nstant Magnetic Business Cards
Jusl Remove While Liner and apply your card.
ACE Home
Improvements
"No Job Is Too
Free Estimates
555-0055
?nents
ooSnvirA
nates V
Brunswick Business Service
Southport 457-4565 ? Shallotte 754-8300
Dissatisfied with
r.D or IRA rates?
today!
call ?"e
Richard C. Glenn
PO Box 2865
Shallotte, NC 28459
(919)754-6771
SECURITIES AMERICA, INC.
1 S Resort Plaza
Shallotte
Member NASD/SIPC
For Thla Sal*
NO DEALERS
PLEASE
0\)$ m
Thla 8?l? For Our
Cuatomara-Wa
Rooorva The Right
To Limit Qua/rtlUaa
Celebrates The Opening of
Our New Shallotte Location
BARGAINS!
BARGAINS!
AT ALL
6 LOCATIONS
JEWELRY
, 3L
New A Refurbished
? NecAlecae ? Bracelets ? Eernnge
? Dinner Ringe ? WMOtng Sets
Uwlxtntm
you Iwi ottered
fwlry pnomm so low . .
Here's a imt f
?n\ pfe
NEW iM a _
Ladiee Diamond CiusMr ?QQ
Compere al S400 wO
MKlOoM . .
Wed<?ng Bends 51 Q95
?taring at | ^
Complete Ladiaa
WadOngSals SCQ95
wth Diamond* U w
Authors Daatar e iAnr
NEWOUin 49
CAMERA EQUIPMENT
Complete Unee tmtAcr ???
? Cannon ? Neton " ~
? Pantax ? Olympus
? Chinnon ? Aako
& More (fi
Visit Our New 4
'Location In Spring
Lake Opening
August 9"
OVER
*1,000,000
TO LOAN
Visit Our Newest Store
4909 Main Street
Shallotte
Max! To Food Fo*s
DOORBUSTER
SPECIALS!
Qood Hal8 locabor a
C.D.'S JAQg
Starting at O
Cassette Tapes
starting at O"
COMPLETE MUSIC
DEPARTMENT
?Guitar* ? Arr.pt
? Keytoarda
? Drum Sou
? Trombonaa ? Trumpota
Uaod MualcaJ
NEW FULL SIZE
Guitar
Compere si MS
NEW CAR AUDIO
? JVC ? Seneu ? Radun
? Pyramid ? Pyie
We new r? larpeat MfcUon o t\
new cer eudto equipment in try
area Hare's a a any*.'
NEWAMFUCaaan . .
CahkWVtom, H Q88
NEW 200 WATT
Urban Auko Works
Car Amp AW-4200
GUNS
? Browrong ? Winctweter ? Ruger
? Co? ? Smith & Weeaon 4 Mora
Over 400 Uoeaberge
ALL ON SALE
Moaaberg Modal 50QA
Veotrto, cftofce tubaa.
wood atocs. modtfted
Compere m *276
Nor
*188
SKSRitoNow
Com pa/ ? at $1 59
Our Pnco
Lorcin Handguns
25 Auto,
$39.95
3?o u $83.95
?9895
We Make Loans
On Anything Of Value.
No One Will
Loan You More.
MICROWAVES
? WaMheuee ? Emeraon
? OE ? Mege Chel
? Panaeonic - Kenwood
t*1 29
"Pawn USA guarantees
everything we sell. We I
have the lowest prices and |
the best service. '
95
WE CASH CHECKS | ** WWl Fu* ^Oe* warranty
'59
?98
USED 19 TVs
and VCR*
*m\X0ry War v*y
PAWN *: USA *
3 WILMINGTON LOCATIONS
OPEN MON-SAT 9-8
JONES PLAZA ON MARKET ST
783-7682
* i 27 GLcAriOcn DRIVE
3921 177
SOUTH SQUARE PLAZA
CAROLINA BEACH RO.
251-1200
FREELAYAWAYS ffi
OTHER LOCATIONS
OPEN MON-SAT 9-7
SHALLOTTE, 4909 MAIN ST.
NCXT TO FOOD FOLKS 754-7918
WHITE VI LLE-NEXT TO
FAMILY DOLLAR 640-3344
WALLACE-ACROSS FROM
ROCKFISH PLAZA 285-8880