Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Oct. 14, 1993, edition 1 / Page 5
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I American Alligators Remind Us Of Giant Reptiles From Past I- AVER PHOTO BY BILL FAVEH BY BILL KAVER Lizards, snakes, turtles and alligators make up the group ot animals we call rep tiles. They are all simi lar in that the typical reptile has a protective covering of plates or scales, has five claw like toes on each foot and uses lungs rather than gills for breathing. Most reptiles eat ani mals and lay eggs, though most poisonous snakes bear live young. The alligators and crocodiles are the largest reptiles today, though much larger species were alive in the past, as the very successful exhibit at the Cape Fear Museum in Wilmington will attest. The American Alligator ( Alligator mis sissippiensis) ranges along the Atlantic coast from the Carolinas southward and along the Gulf Coast. Our alligators have a broad, rounded snout and are usually from 6 to 15 feet long. Oid adults are dark gray ish-black, but young are black with yellow bands. Alligators live in fresh water, brackish marshes, swamps, rivers, canals and bay ous. They can be seen basking in the sun shine in spring and summer, or drifting like logs in the water. During the spring mating season males can be heard bellowing as they seek a mate and ward off any competitor. After mating. the female is busy with building a nest mound near water in which she will lay 29 to 60 eggs. She covers the eggs with vege tation and guards them for about 19 weeks until they hatch. The young stay with her for about a year and feed on frogs, aquatic insects and crustaceans. Adults eat fish, turtles, birds and small mammals. With a four-chambered heart, alligators are unique among reptiles. They have the most highly developed brain of any rep tiles, but are not as able to detect tastes and odors as are most of the other reptiles. Alligators do raise their head and upper jaw, not just drop their lower jaw, as some observers have claimed. Their teeth are used for catching and holding prey and not for chewing. The gizzard part of their stomach does the chewing of food with the grinding aided by rocks and other hard ob jects they eat. The rear legs of alligators are usually longer than the front legs, leading scientists to speculate they once walked up right, like man. L.ike most wild things, alligators are safe if not disturbed or chased from their pre ferred habitats. We get in trouble when they are teased, or become dependent upon us for food or are confined in too small a space by development, fire or other change in their habitats. Alligators are a good reminder of the gi ant reptiles of the past and of the diverse and valuable life forms sharing life with us on planet Eiarth. ALLIGATORS are our largest reptiles and are reminders of the large animals of the past. Tough Equ Balancing the equation is a chal lenging dilemma when it comes to our potential new Brunswick County resident, Martin Marietta Aggregates. Yaupon Beach Commissioners are circulating a resolution through out the Southeastern Brunswick County municipalities and other public bodies in the area it believes would be most affected by MM's lo cation of a quarry between the CP&L. Bethel Church Road and Sunny Point properties off N.C. 133 north of Southport. Opposition to the company's plans appears to be mounting. The site would be buffered from a near by residential area and the company has offered to replace affected shal low drinking water wells. But noise, visual appearance, lowered property values and damage to wells aren't the only concerns. Some of the resolution sponsors' greatest worries relate to traffic, not just on N.C. 87 at the Sunny Point intersection and into Boiling Spring ation: Gains Lakes, but N.C. 87 south to Dosher Cut-Off and N.C. 211, the roads that will handle an estimated two-thirds of the plant's truck traffic. These al ready-busy, two-lane roads serve. Supply, Southport and Oak Island. The resolution also questions im pact of the discharge line on endan gered species and their habitat. Opponents aren't convinced that Brunswick County will gain more economically by Martin Marietta Aggregate's presence than it would lose in terms of quality of life. They haven't been persuaded that the in creased county and Smithville Township tax base, lower haul rates for crushed rock, and the 20 or so local jobs that the plant will ulti mately create are worth it. They plan to forward the joint resolution to state level officials and state agencies that will be involved in application review or issuance of the permits MM will require to do business here: mining and water dis charge permits from the state, build And Losses ing permit, for example. More approvals may he required since CP&L has rejected the compa ny's request to discharge water pumped from its limestone pit into CP&L's discharge canal that leads to an ocean ouifall on Caswell Beach. MM will have to pipe the water to an outfall of its own, since local creeks are too fragile to accept the volume of water anticipated. ? ? ? Two performance groups from the Brunswick County Schools and President Clinton were where I would rather have been last Tues day ? joining in my alma mater's Susan Usher f FINANCING AVAILABLE, LAY-AWAYS TOO! LARGEST SELECTION AT GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICES! PRICE GUARANTEE IF AFTER YOUR PURCHASE, YOU BY CHANCE FIND AN IDENTICAL MATTRESS FOR LESS. WE WILL REFUND TRIPLE THE DIFFERENCE. 14 BEDROOM GROUPS TO CHOOSE FROM?. Black, Ivory, Pecan, Walnut, Giay Marble & others.. .Contemporary, Modern, Traditional or Early American. 4 PIECES start as low as I w Dresser, mirror, headboard & frame, chest only $99 MATTRESSES PRICED TO SELL IN SETS SLEEPWORTHY BUDGET-FIRM SOQ95 ?J kJ Twin Each Flccc ?49 Full, Ea. Pc. *159 gueen, Set ?199 King, Set SLEEPWORTHY COIL-O-PEDIC $>IQ95 r Twin Each Ptcce ?69 Full. Ea. Pc. *199 gueen, Set ?269 King, Set YEAR WAR RANTY SEALY s59 ? 1 NAME IN MATTRESSES U1LTED FIRM 5 Twin Each Plecc ?89 Full, Ea. Pc. ?249 ..gueen. Set ?349 King. Set SLEEPWORTHY RIVIERA FIRM $CQ95 Twin Each Plecc ?89 Full. Ea. Pc. ?199 gueen, Set *299 King, Set 312 COIL 10 YEAR WARRANTY LEEPWORTHY POSTURE PROFILE EXTRA FIRM $7Q95 ? Twin Each Piece ?99 Full. Ea. Pc. ?249 gueen. Set *349 King. Set THICKEST COIL! 15 YEAR WARRANTY SEALY EXTRA FIRM OR PLUSH $11 Q95 X X 17 Twin Each Piece A NAME YOU Full, Ea. Pc. can trust *399 gueen. Set '549 King, Set FASHION SOFT-SIDE WATERBED $1 OQ95 JL <?* c/ Twin Each Plecc SOFT. YET FIRM *159 Full, Ea. Pc. support *399 gueen. Set 10 YEAR WARRANTY *499 King. Set ,/Kv MATTRESS m DISCOUNTERS f Shallotte, Across from Hardees Open Mon thru Sat 9-5 ? 754-2370 Possible With MM Quarry Proposal 20<)th birthday gala at Chapel Hill. That's right. West Brunswick High School's chorus and the North Brunswick High School Band were chosen to represent Brunswick County in the festivities at Kenan Stadium. Sybil Clemmons called to tell us that Brian Benton and his 80-mem ber NBHS band and 11 -girl flag corps were going. They had a busy weekend, holding a fundraiser that Saturday to help offset the expense of the trip. The band was to join 70 others from across the state in play ing Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" and J. Howell's "Bicentennial Fan fare." written for the celebration. Patti Jordan and her 35 to 40 cho rus members left Shallotte last Tues day morning, bound.for Chapel Hill as well. Assistant Principal Jerry Small confirmed. The group was one of 60 high school choruses gath ered to sing "Onward Ye Peoples" by Sibelius and "Hark the Sound," the UNC fight song. (Hark the sound of Tar Heel voices...) Nothing could be finer than to be at Carolina...! I'm confident both groups represented Brunswick County well. Friends and acquaintances of Master Bullshooter and retired Brunswick County veterans'service officer Jess Parker may want to drop him a note. Jess recently underwent triple bypass surgery and would also appreciate your prayers. He can be contacted at University of Wash ington Medical Center, 1959 NE Pacific St.. Seattle. Wash. 98185. 1 ct. Hugs & Kisses Style Tennis Bracelet $399 A superior quality bracelet known for ita durability. Other sizes and styles available Oa/^IsCancC JezueCers "We're not just a jewelry store, we're jewelers." River Run Shopping Center Hwy. 211 & Long Beach Rd., Near Southport 457-4407 ? Behind Pizza Hut & McDonald's Est. 1976 -All major credit cards accepted ? Don't Miss The Savings At Qcean City '93 n CLOSE-OUT 20,632 j'93 Fleetside Custom by American Luxury Coach. Has everything including radar! Was $24,442 '93 S-10 Blazer 4x4 Loaded! Tahoe Pkg. Was $23,423 Now $20,632 (Inc. GM Rebate) '93 Geo Storm Sport Coupe Real nice! Was $13,730 Now 1 ,623 (Inc. GM Rebate) USED CAR BONANZA '92 Lumina APVVan Loaded. Was $19.308...... Now $1 3,950 '92 Buick Park Ave. .Now $18,560 Fully loaded Was $26 569 '92 Metro Conv Now $8,44050 Stk #9240. blue. auto. AC Was S1 1.770 '92 Metro LSI Conv... Now $8,275 Stk #9233. white, auto. AC. Was $11,770 '92 Storm HB Now $7,635 Stk #9202, auto. AC. Was S 13.735 '91 GMC Sonoma Now $7,488 Stk #9274. Was S11 .875 '93 Lumina Euro Now $12,415 Loaded Was $17,929 '92 Geo Prizm Now $9,488 Auto. AC. Was $14,200 '93 Chevy Corsica... Now $10,288 AC. stereo Was $14,683 '92 Buick Royal Custom :...... AC. stereo Was $18.670 Now $12,350 Ocean City Cars, incorporated "YOUR" Brunswick County Chevrolet-Geo Dealet 1 -800-242-0373 Sales ? Service ? Parts ? Hwy. 17 N., Shallotte ? 754-7117
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 14, 1993, edition 1
5
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