Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Dec. 30, 1993, edition 1 / Page 4
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Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers Edward M. Sweatt Editor Lynn S. Carlson Managing Editor Susan Usher JVeu>s Editor Doug Rutter Sports Editor Eric Carlson Staff Writer Mary Potts & Peggy Earwood Office Managers Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director Tlmberley Adams. Cecelia Gore and Linda Cheers Advertising Representatives Dorothy Brennan and Brcnda Clcmmons Moore ..Graphic Artists William Manning Pressman Lonnle Sprinkle Assistant Pressman David White Photo Technician PAGE 4 -A, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1993 On The Cusp Of Even Bigger Changes, Get Ready For '94 Though 1993 was a notable year for Brunswick County on many fronts, many of us will likely remember it most for the sur prise March 13 "Storm of the Century," when the water and wind just kept building on a Saturday afternoon until $23 million in damage had occurred. It left us with something to be thankful for, as well as much to repair. No lives were lost, despite the fact that evacuations were virtually impossible, since the storm caught residents and visitors off guard. This year saw the escalation of several issues likely to shape the near future of our communities. The South Brunswick Is lands' three remaining unsewered municipalities ? Calabash, Sunset Beach and Holden Beach ? devoted considerable time and effort to exploring the sources of, and possible remedies for, deteriorating estuarine water quality. Shallotte, the commercial hub of the area, began discussing expanding its sewer system. Though Brunswick County has fallen from its long-standing second place in population growth rate among North Carolina's 100 counties, there is as much reason as ever for these and other communities to continue anticipating and preparing for the in evitable changes ahead. Toward that end, a coalition of Brunswick County govern ments began pushing for state aid in studying the feasibility of an integrated regional sewer and stormwater runoff control system which could serve as a model for coastal communities statewide or even nationwide. Environmental concerns served as catalysts for two other ma jor issues ? the opposition to the proposed Martin Marietta lime stone mine near Southport and the growing effort toward public acquisition of Bird Island, the undeveloped barrier island off Sunset Beach. At year's end, both showed signs of pending vic tory. Some things, unfortunately, didn't change. The Brunswick County Commissioners and Board of Education suffered a bud get impasse which required a professional mediator to sort out. Late in the year, the school board reorganized its central staff, eliminating locally paid administrative positions in a move which while probably pleasing the county commissioners, prompted cries of "foul" from civil rights leaders claiming the central of fice's racial parity had been unfavorably altered. Brunswick County was one of only 14 school systems to rank below both the state average and below par, or below simi lar systems. It showed the lowest overall performance of any school system in southeastern North Carolina. Perhaps most disturbing of all was Brunswick County's re flection of the national trend toward escalating violence and illicit drug activity among adolescents. "Operation War Paint" in the fall resulted in a sweep of suspects from the county's known crack cocaine markets. Just weeks later, 10 people were indict ed ? seven of them teenagers ? in connection with a murder be lieved related not to drugs, but to "gang meniality." Though we remain in the "rural" pigeonhole of demogra phers and planners, Brunswick County faces big-city problems and growing pains. We'd best be ready for '94. Our work is cut out for us. Here Comes That Deja Vu Thing Again Well, it's that time of year. Time for the relentless media bombard ment of boring end-of-the-year re views, unrealistic new year's resolu tions and absurd predictions for 1994. Every television and radio network, every magazine and every newspaper indulges in this annual feast of year-end nonsense. You innocent consumers probably think these accounts are lovingly crafted as a public service, encour aging us to pause and consider our circumstances, to reflect on our past mistakes and accomplishments and to chart a new course for the future. Actually these stories are pro duced because the days l>etween Christmas and New Years are what we professionals call a "slow news week." We rehash old news and make up new stuff because all the important people who do newswor thy things are at home watching TV and stuffing their faces with holiday cheer while we're stuck at the office. As usual, the supermarket tab loids are on the cutting edge of this effort and many have already com piled their reviews, resolutions and predictions. Thank goodness. Otherwise you might have forgotten the story of the 10-month-old baby who was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean 81 years after she fell off the deck of the sinking luxury liner Titanic. She was alive, but had aged considerably. Or the discovery in Vermont of a small colony of bats WITH HU MAN FACES (bearing an uncanny resemblance to that batty Texas bil lionaire Ross Perot). And the Cali fornia secretary who received more Eric Carlson than 20 messages on her answering machine ? FROM GOD (offering her a chance to buy into a mountain condominium project). The Globe predicts Hillary Clin ton and Whoopi Goldberg will go into business together with a restau rant catering to movie stars and homeless people (Le Petit Dump ster?). There is no indication of how this will go down with Rosanne Arnold, whom the Weekly World News identifies as the first lady's long-lost stepsister. The magazine also predicts Joey Buttuafucco will announce that he is the long lost stepbrother of Bill Clinton. Neither mag ventures a guess as to Amy Fisher's relation ship to Tom Arnold (or to his other wife, Kim Silva). It is predicted that Arnold Schwa rzenegger will change political affil iations and accept a post as ambas sador to some European nation. The article doesn't say which one, al though Monaco seems a likely bet, since the tiny country is supposed to declare war on the U.S. next year. Jack Nicholson will undergo a harrowing afternoon when he be comes super-glued to a door handle while playing with his children. There was no indication what sort of game gets him into this sticky situa tion. Madonna is also seen to be head ed for some changes when she mar ries an Arab sheik and becomes the robed-and-veiled mother of his twins. Meanwhile, Princess Diana will take to reading Tarot cards as a psychic to the stars. Country music fans may be sur prised (or not) to learn that Garth Brooks will drop out of show busi ness to embark on a career as an in terior decorator. The mother-daugh ter singing Judds are expected to re veal that Wynona is really Naomi's mom. The two were mistakenly identified on birth records and never bothered to correct the error. The Weekly World News also predicts that TV executives will try to sign Jeffrey Dahmer for a half hour cooking series called "The Ghoulish Gourmet." The deal falls through when the proposed recipes are found to be "in poor taste." Just picture the scene at the Dahmer dinner table: MOTHER: Jeffrey, I hate to pry. But I really don't like your neigh bors. DAHMER: That's OK. mom. Try the potatoes. For those of who find these pre dictions a trifie far-fetched, I can't resist reminding you of my own prognostications for 1993, which ap peared in this space last Dec. 31. I said (and I quote): "The West Brunswick High School Trojans will win the State 3 A Football Championships. "The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners will hold numerous meetings and make many decisions, often in split votes. The Calabash town hoard will do likewise. "Thieves will break into scores of homes and steal guns, television sets, videocassette recorders and mi crowave ovens. The criminals will be arrested and later put in jail. "Flea markets and pawn shops will offer bargain prices on guns, television sets, videocassette recor ders and microwave ovens. The criminals will be released from jail and later arrested on similar charges. "Earthquakes, tornadoes, ty phoons, hurricanes, floods, droughts, famine and diseases will occur in various locations around the earth. Hundreds will be killed in plane crashes. Still more will perish in au tomobile accidents. "Throughout the year, brightly lit daytime hours will be followed by periods of darkness. Each day. the surface level of the ocean will inex plicably rise and fall, with profound effects on both navigation and fish ing. "Birds will fly north for the sum mer. Flowers will bloom. Spots and king mackerel will return to our coastal waters. The days will grow longer, the weather will get warmer The tourists will come back. Bus iness will improve." I believe if you check the record, you'll find that I batted a solid 10(H) last year. So now I plan to go further out on a limb and repeat those same predictions for 1994. I might miss one this time. But I'd rather be wrong than be a jinx. Happy New Year. J? "> o 1 Help ihe Chi/JrenJ i.HelptheChilchvn $ Help the Children 1 4.Help+be Children I \s.fie(p-flie ChfMnsn ]6.Hel|pt/ie Children Welptte Children / 8. Help-Hie Chilkn ' ^ Helpihe Children 0 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Mine Opponents Urge Passage Of Protective Ordinance EDITOR S NOTE: The Brunswick County Commissioners were scheduled Wednesday (Dec. 29) to consider an ordinance to pro hibit deep mining within a 5-mile radius of the Carolina Power and Light Brunswick Nuclear Facility and Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point. Opponents of the proposed Martin Marietta limestone quarry in that area submitted numerous letters to the editor this week in support of such an ordinance. In the interest of space, and to avoid redundancy, those letters are excerpt ed here. Good Start, Overdue To the editor: An ordinance to stop all blasting and de watering necessary for the operation of a deep mine within a 5-mile radius of the CP&L power plant and Sunny Point is being considered by our county commissioners next week. It is paramount that this ordi nance be passed. Our commissioners have the right and obligation to protect the many people and jobs that will be impacted by this giant hole. The anti-mining alliance has spent months on this project and has many reports that support their position. TTiis ordinance is a good start for our lo cal government and is long overdue. Nicole Tatum Southport Vote Of Confidence To the editor What more has to be done? More than 3,000 people in Brunswick County, Congressman Charlie Rose, State Sen. R.C. Soles, Rep. David Redwine, Rep. Dewey Hill and CP&L have realized that a quarry is not needed and certainly not wanted. Dan Sams, Wilmington regional engineer for the state Division of Land Resources, has asked the state to not even consider a permit due to the sensitivity of the area. An ordinance to stop ail blasting within a 5-mile radius of CP&L's power plant and Sunny Point. ..will be a vote of confidence for our commissioners. Karen Z. Perry Southport Why Not Unanimous? To the editor: The majority of our Brunswick County commissioners have realized the potential dangers that Martin Marietta's proposed mining operation imposes on Brunswick County. I do not understand why this real ization is not unanimous... I do not congratulate (Commissioner) Jerry Jones for voting against the ordinance that would protect us from these potential dangers. Rather, I ask him why. Sharon Sykes Southport MM Invested Too Soon To the editor: The same company that stated it wanted to be a "good neighbor" to us is now threat ening you and our county if a new ordinance prohibits them from blasting at their pro posed limestone mine... Martin Marietta also said that an otdi nance like the one proposed is illegal be cause they have invested at least $2 million in their proposed operation "to prepare the site for mining." I ask, two million on what? As of today, Dec. 22, I have looked as far as you can see ? nothing worth $2 million in sight. Perhaps they are speaking of the cost of studies or legal fees. Well, they took a risk by investing before they knew if they could obtain a state permit to operate. Also, if before they invested one dime, they had held a county-wide meeting with property owners, they would have known the opposition before they spent money. It was their decision to keep things quiet. Deborah Bolduc Southport Vote For Protection To the editor: ...All of the expert evaluations of this mine proposal indicate that it would be haz ardous to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Brunswick County. If our county commissioners aren't willing to vote in favor of our protection, then we desper ately need some changes made in the next election. Dean Jones Southport 'We Must Insist ' To the editor: We must insist that the county commis sioners vote in favor of this ordinance for all of our protection. Otherwise, we need new commissioners that are willing to protect us against such companies coming in to destroy our county and its people. Warren M. Rhodes Southport County Attorney Capable To the editor: In all the fuss over an ordinance designed to protect the citizens of Brunswick County from the dangers of a proposed blasting op eration with associated de-watering called a quarry, we have left out one basic ingredi ent. We have an excellent county attorney. Michael Ramos, who is more than compe tent to draw up a protective ordinance. ...We are not lawyers, nor do we want to be. We don't have to worry as long as we are in his capable hands. With the commis sioners' input, and his direction, we can trust that the public health, safety and welfare will be protected. Suzanne Osborne Southport Cannot Take The Chance To the editor: ...The dangers that the proposed quarry presents are well known. To allow such an operation would be a crime. No one can accurately determine the ex tent of damage that would result from min ing. It could be calamitous. We just cannot take that chance! There is overwhelming public support that there should be no mining at this loca tion. Louis F. Welcker Boiling Spring Lakes Can't Handle Traffic To the editor: ...I would hope the ordinance could be rewritten in such a way that local businesses could continue to extract marl and other such materials as they have in the past. I would also hope that blasting, dewatering and destruction of the environment, such as endangered species and wetlands, would be the primary thrust of the ordinance... Why encourage a potential disaster? If 200 trucks a day go through Boiling Spring Lakes, I shudder to think what might happen with hundreds of school children sharing N.C. 87, a two-lane road with those heavy, possibly overloaded trucks. Highways 87, 133 and 211 were not built for heavy traffic, and the taxpayers will have to foot the bill to keep them up. Martin Marietta will pay somewhere in the neigh borhood of $23,000 to $30,000 in taxes, and that wouldn't pay for enough resurfacing from the mine site to Boiling Spring Lakes or from the mine site to N.C. 21 1 . Bert H. Buckbee Boiling Spring Lakes Area Prone To ' Pot Holes' To the editor: ...The drawing of a large volume of water daily may very well cause many pot holes, hence becoming a hazard to the plants and the population... One has only to review Sunny Point's problems with pot holes as this facility and the railroad were built. This area is prone to pot holes developing without the removal of great volumes of wa ter. Pot holes could develop many miles from the mine site. A great percentage of the population within several miles of the mine may lose their water supply or have a salt water intru sion. Nell S. Mayberry Boiling Spring Lakes Bury This Problem To the editor: ...For several months we have been in a battle for our sanity, quality of life and safe ty. It seems a company has spent $2 million to put a quarry between a nuclear power plant and an ammunition depot. This is in sane!. ..Let's bury this problem and move on. Roy C. Meares Southport (More Letters, Following Page)
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Dec. 30, 1993, edition 1
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