Newspapers / The Brunswick beacon. / Feb. 10, 1994, edition 1 / Page 3
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'Voices' Program Helped Guide Northwest Into Incorporation Northwest is one of the oldest rur al communities in the county. Many of its families?the majority of which are African American?had lived there and fanned its rich coastal land for more than KM) years. Rlit in recent vrars complexities and demands of modern life made it difficult for residents to accomplish tasks and meet needs that were sim pler in the past. Services which ur ban residents take for granted were denied to the 4X9 residents of Northwest because the community was never incorporated as a city. Jessie Miller, who retired to Northwest in 1991 to care for her ill mother, recalls the problems facing Northwest community. "Though we had a firchousc, we had no equipment to run it. We could have used the fire house as a community center as well, but we had no heating nor chairs for people to sit in during meetings. We have a large water and sanitation plant, but the water was piped past us to the beaches. Services such as police and fire protection seemed beyond our reach. We lost a home here last year because the fire trucks had to come all the way from Leland, which is approximately 10 miles away. There had been discussions over the past few years about Northwest becom ing incorporated as a city, but there was lack of communication and or ganization to make this a reality." Then, two elements gave the 489 residents of Northwest the clout to turn an old community into a new city: the efforts of a local leader and business owner named Jerry Munn and a rural program named Com munity Voices. "Mr. Munn has been working tire lessly for several years to get our community incorporated." Miller says. "Then he found out that the town of Sandy Creek was planning to icv-oiic iiuu extend its boundaries within a mile radius of the center of their town. This would have cut Northwest in half. Sandy Creek is a relatively new community; they wouldn't know the needs of families who have been here for generations. Nobody sought us out to discuss this, to hear our opinion. But, it was also fortunate that the Community Voices program was introduced at about the same time we learned of Sandy Creek's plans." PHOTO CONTRIBUTED JESSIE MILLER (left), a Community Voices graduate, and Pearl Stanley, home economics agent with NC A&T's Cooperative Ex tension Program, stand in front of Miller's home in the newly in corporated town of Northwest. Community Voices is a rural lead Cmhip dCVC!GpIT,nn' nrnnnm -i/lmin. istercd through NC A&T's Co operative Extension Program and funded in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Pear! Stanley, an A & T home economics agent with Bruns wick County's Agricultural Center, explained how Community Voices works. "A program such as Community Voices allows people to help them selves, to reach a group consensus from within their own community," she said. "Community Voices con ducts 13 training sessions over b week period. These sessions cover topics such as group leadership, problem solving and community in volvement skills. Fundraising meth ods were also studied. These skills are reinforced through videotapes, exercises and role-playing. The ses sions also help to identify and en courage emerging leaders?people who have the potential to help bring about positive change in their com munities, but who did not know how ADOPTED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE Ordinance Amended To Allow Relocation Of Old Mobile Homes BY ERIC CARLSON Owners of older mobile homes breathed a little easi er Monday night after the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners agreed to amend a zoning ordinance re quirement that would have prohibited them from mov ing the trailers to another lot. The zoning law that went into effect Jan. 3 originally stated that manufactured homes constructed prior to July 1, 1976 could be given an occupancy permit only if the applicant submitted a notarized report from a licensed inspector certifying that the home meets code require ments set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The law would have prohibited anyone from bring ing a pre-1976 manufactured home into the county and also would have prevented an existing mobile home of that vintage to be moved to another lot within the coun ty County Planning Director John Harvey on Monday told the commissioners that "more public concern has been expressed about the 1976 cut-off than on any other matter" since the zoning law became effective. "There are a number of people each day who are coming in for permits, telling us they have an earlier than-1976 or -1970 unit they live in and wish to relocate in the county, or sell to buy a newer unit," Harvey said. Several mobile home owners and dealers attended Monday's meeting to voice their concerns. "1 want you to consider that there are some older mobile homes that are in better shape than new ones," said Roger Fowler of Sunset Harbor. "My daughter also owns one and her landlord keeps raising the rent. He knows she won't be able to move it because of this law. And she just bought it a year ago." Alice Gray said the law, as originally written, would deprive mobile home owners of rights enjoyed by other citizens. "We spend our hard-earned money on our homes just like anyone else," she said. "We pay our taxes. But we might want to put them on a different lot. You should allow those who live in Brunswick County to move if they want to." Manufactured home dealer Gerald Beck said the law would put a financial hardship on mobile home owners even if they did not intend to move. "We all need to ask ourselves how we would feel if we found out that the equity we've built into our homes was taken away with the stroke of a pen," He said. "There are hundreds of others out there in that position besides those who came here tonight." Commissioners Chairman Don Warren, an insurance agent, said he frequently writes policies for older mobile homes and agreed that their condition cannot necessarily determined by age. "I've seen '65s that look better than '85s," he said. Harvey suggested an amendment to the proposed or dinance change that would allow mobile homes that were set up and connected to utilities as of Jan. 1, 1994 to be moved to other locations in the county. Mobile homes built before 1976 could be brought into the coun ty only if they comply with standards set by the American Standards liistiiuic (ANS!/. The revised amendment was adopted by the board in a unanimous vote. GOP's Anderson Files Third Time For 7th District Seat Robert C. Anderson of Fayette ville filed Monday seeking the Republican nomination for the 7th Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Charlie Rose. Anderson, a retired U.S. Army at tack helicopter pilot and entrepre neur, is making his third consecutive attempt to unseat Rose, who has held the seat for 22 years and is ranks among the senior leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives. He ran in IWO and 1992. Anderson was transferred to FayeHevi!!e with the U Armv in 1978 and retired as a decorated lieu tenant colonel after 22 years in ser vice. lie is president of a general contracting company. Describing himself as the "voters' champion tor change" and a real conservative" with a "proven record ot action and courage," Anderson busy pretending to be a contender said the top issues of his campaign for the House Speaker's chair to will be crime control, taxes and spend any time meeting the needs of health care. the district voters." He opened his campaign with an Anderson also attacked GOP pri attack on incumbent Charlie Rose as mary opponent, Fayetteville attorney "an embarrassment to the people of Jim Cooper, as a "tax and spend lib the 7th District" and an "entrenched eral lawyer with a pro-tax, anti-citi liberal". He asserted Rose is "too zen record much like Rose's." WHAT IS VALENTINE CANDY WITHOUT A BOOK? ONLY HALF A HEART! To go all the way, Include a best seller paperback or hardback from L BOOKWORM Located at the bridge to Holden Beach and he or she will know how much you really care. __ Open Dally 10 to 6. 842-7380 HH EST FAX AND PHOTOCOPY to fully realize this potential." Jessie Miller said one of the most important concepts promoted through the Community Voices ses sions was follow-through: "Sometimes, in the past, a group would arrive at a decision, but things would fall in the cracks. Since I was retired, I had the time to follow through. Often, it would just take an extra telephone call or a per sonal visit to a church or a govern ment agency to bring the job to completion. "Another important skill was how to obtain a group consensus; success is much easier to reach when the goals are clearly stated and you know you have the support of a ma jority of people you're working with." The first Community Voices train ing session took place on March 19, 1992. in the town hall of the neigh boring city of Navassa. The 19 par ticipants?nine men and 10 women ?graduated on May 9. The graduates proceeded to pro mote community interest in incorpo ration. There were bake sales, fash ion shows and other fundraising events. The first public meeting for the proposal drew a standing-room only turnout. There were letter-writ ing campaigns to legislators, public agencies and private-sector busi nesses. When Rep. Thomas Wright approached the General Assembly in February 1993, he had 13 pages of signatures from people in and around Northwest urging incorpora tion. On June 26, Northwest became the 18th incorporated city in Bruns wick County; its first mayor was Jerry Munn. Miller said some benefits, such as a new fire truck and fully opera- hope to build a recreation center for tional fire department, happened our youth and our elderly. quickly with incorporation, hut other "We also hope to attract more in goals will take more time. dustry here, which will give us more "We arc starting out slowly be- tax support. We can't do everything cause we want to keep our taxes as overnight, but this is the first step in low as possible, especially for the the right direction." first few years. Now that Northwest l or more information about Corn is incorporated, our 4X9 people have munity Voices, call Pearl Stanley, the same rights as a city of 15.(MM). Brunswick County Agricultural We're now eligible for grants and Center, (919)253-4425. State Auditor Will Attend Feb. 16 Trustees' Meeting State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr. plans to attend the next meeting of the Brunswick Community College Board of Trustees, set Feb. 16 at the main campus north of Supply. A reception honoring Campbell will be held in the multipurpose room of the administration building from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited, said Linda Phillips, a for mer Southport alderman who now serves as Campbell's special assis tant. After his election in 1992 Campbell set a goal of attending a meeting of each member campus of the state university system and com munity college system during his first 18 months in office. As part of his effort to effectively communicate with two systems, at each meeting Campbell presents his goals and objectives for the Office of the State Auditor. The state audi tor is required by law to audit uni versities and community colleges each year in order to maintain ac creditation standards and to protect their bond ratings. Prior to his election as state audi tor, Campbell served \s a Raleigh ?curing Kir by's Winter Clearance Our Specially Marked Fall & Winter Clothing For Men & Women Main St., Shaltotte, 754-4846 et994 THE BRUNSWICK BEACON city councilman for four terms and was an auditor for the state depart ments of insurance and revenue and the state health benefits office. He has a bachelor of arts degree in busi ness administration from St. Au gustine's College. Campbell serves on the N.C. Council of State, N.C. Information Resource Management Commis sion: N.C. Local Government Com mission; N.C. Capitol Planning Commission and N.C. Educational Facilities Finance Agency Board. nr v v yt Special Gifts For Special Sweethearts 'Loving" gift from V.. ,?a V Plush Toys V Valentine Snow ?y ' V Globes Give A Tom Clark Gnome A Home! 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Feb. 10, 1994, edition 1
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