Opinion Page
THE BRUNSWICK&BEACON
Edward M. Swcatt and Carolyn H. Swcatt Publishers
Edward M. Sweatt Editor
Lynn S. Carlson Managing Editor
Susan Usher News Editor
Doug Rutter Sports Editor
Eric Carlson StaJJ' Writer
Mary I'otts & Peggy Earwood Office Managers
Carolyn H. Swcalt Advertising Director
Timber lev Adams, Cecelia Gore
and Linda Cheers Advertising Representatives
Dorothy Brennan and Brenda Cleminons Moore ..Graphic Artists
William Manning Pressman
Lonnle Sprinkle Assistant Pressman
PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1994
When Executive Session Info
Leaks, It's Time To Go Public
Holdcn Beach Commissioner David Sandifer should have re
ceived some support from his fellow board members when he
tried to instigate public discussion of the to-date unsuccessful
scheme to terminate Town Manager (lus Ulrich for reasons
which at this point remain non-specific.
In a meeting last Thursday Sandifer cast the lone vote against
going into closed session to discuss "personnel matters" obvious
ly related to an article published on that day in this newspaper, in
which Commissioner Dwight Carroll characterized Ulrich as
"useless" and worthy of being fired. Sandifer also expressed his
displeasure that some commissioners had discussed with our re
porter what transpired in an earlier closed session, and said he
wanted to offer board members a chance to give their views in an
open session.
1 he insuc begs that several points be made.
f irst of all. our article was no revelation of any deep secret.
Rumors about the push by Carroll and cohorts to have Ulrich
fired were rife following the earlier executive session. In fact, the
source of our tip was not an elected official hut several citizens
who heard the news "on the street."
That's a good indication that commissioners had been sharing
executive session information pretty freely around town, which is
perfectly within their rights. While the N.C. Open Meetings Law
sets forth the circumstances under which a closed session can be
held, ii contains no gag rule for the participants, and it shouldn't.
Holdcn Beach's experience is a good example of the fact that
elected officials more often use the executive session privilege to
shield themselves from public scrutiny than to protect their em
ployees from embarrassment. When that strategy backfires and
rumors start flying, citizens demand and deserve a public expla
nation from the men and women they elected to represent them.
In this case, they still haven't gotten one.
Meanwhile Ulrich. ser\ ing his second stint as one of a series
of Holdcn Beach town managers in recent years, stands publicly
accuscd of being unfit to do his job for reasons which remain en
tirely nebulous. Both he and the citizens of Holden Beach de
serve a thorough public airing of the charges, the investigation
and the conclusions. Only the commissioners can give them that.
Worth Repeating...
{\mcrica was discovered accidentally by a greal seaman who
w as looking for something else; w hen discovered it was not
w anted; and most of the exploration for the next fifty years was
done in the hope of getting through or around it. America was
named after a man w ho discovered no part of the New World.
History is like that, very chancy.
?Samuel Eliot Morrison
I The strongest and sweetest songs yet remain to be sung.
?Wall Whitman
I Everybody wants to be C'ary Grant. Even / want to be Cary
ii rant.
?Cary Grant
I He know the human brain is a device to keep the ears from
granny on one another.
?Peter De Vries
I There comes a time in a man 's life w hen to get where he has to
go?if there are no doors or w indow s?he w alks through a
wall.
?Bernard fviaiamud
\Where I was born and where and how / have lived is unimpor
tant It is what / have done with where / have been that should
be of interest.
?Georgia O'Keeflc
Demise Of Spelling Bee Sign Of The Times
"What about the spelling bee?
What's the schedule? What's hap
pening?"
I was only the second caller to
ask. she said
It was the first of March and there
hadn't been a classroom or school
spelling be anywhere in Brunswick
County. It was time What was
wrong?
There isn't going to be a
Brunswick County Spelling Bee this
spring, anil perhaps not next year or
the year after. The demise of the bee
is a symptom of a larger ailment.
Nearly 11 years ago. the Shallotte
Junior Woman's Club, under the
leadership of Debbie I x'mon and
with the help ol The Sum? I'ort Pilot
in Southport. revived the Brunswick
County Spelling Bee. The county
winner could no longer advance to a
regional bee, because there wasn't a
regional bee.
So. for the past 10 years a student
from Brunswick County had ad
vanced directh to the Scripps
llovvard National Bee in Wash
ington. D.C.. part of a select group
of students from across the country.
Our contestant never won. often
didn't make it past the first round of
a vers difficult competition. But that
student was there, a visible state
ment that to someone back home.
Susan
Usher
spelling was important.
That "someone" was mainly
Debbie Lemon, a Shallotte Middle
School math teacher and then-Junior
clubwoman. I ast year she retired as
bee director, after having tried three
or four years to recruit a co-dircetor.
She would have continued another
year as a co-director, but no one
would take the other half of the job.
Just as well, she's been thinking.
The past several years it's been like
pulling teeth to get the cooperation
of teachers and schools in schedul
ing the bees, and of the community
in raising the money needed to send
a speller and his escort to D.C. and
obtaining prizes suitable for a coun
ty-level competition.
I ct a year pass and perhaps some
other people will miss the bee, she's
thinking. Maybe students will miss
the bee.
I'm afraid they won't. Debbie.
1
Few people, it seems, think spelling
matters.
Why should they think any differ
ently? That's what they're taught in
school. Standardized tests give mini
mal weight to any of the "mechan
ics" of writing, though colleges
complain regularly that the high
school graduates entering their halls
don't know how to write?in terms
of both mechanics and the concise
expression of thoughts and ideas.
"It's not important" or "I never
use it" are typical excuses given by
many an adult who never learned
how to spell or use a dictionary, or
can pass the chore on to clerical
help.
Just the other day, a news release
was presented on the letterhead of a
county educators' group on a topic
of current concern?allowing the
faculties, principals and parents/
communities to have a greater say in
how their schools are run. Educators
usually call it "site-based" manage
ment, but in this instance, the news
release called it "sight-based" man
agement almost all the way through
to the bottom of the second page.
leased about it. the submitter
said. "We ran it through the spell
checker four or five times."
"Sight" and "site" are homonyms,
words that sound alike but have dif
ferent meanings. Both are legitimate
words thai a spell-checking program
on a computer would scoot past
without a pause. Computerized
spell-checking is no substitute for
proofreading. I was reminded of that
myself the hard way.
The release reminded me of one
of our all-time goofs here at The
Brunswick Beacon, where we do
make a conscious effort to use and
spell words correctly even if we
don't always succeed. (I'd like to
think the same could he said for our
schools.)
One of our staff writers referred
to the "wench" on the old lloldcn
Beach Bridge, when he meant to
write "winch." That little print imp
sneaked past a spell-checker, of
course, plus two editors and a type
setter. It showed up on Page I, to
our dismay and the delight of sharp
eyed readers. One even wrote a po
em in its honor which we ran on the
opinion page the following week.
Spelling may not often be the
stuff of life-or-death scenarios, but it
is important. If clarity anil under
standing are the goals of a writer,
spelling must be a part of the
process. There's no substitute for it,
not even computer literacy.
An annual spelling bee was one
way of getting that idea across to
Brunswick County students. I. for
one, will miss it.
is ^emo: Use exfre^^'^^n^n&^ng Wnew sxSc'm
p especially fhae wHf? ?
" ^ 'SffiBCUR. & (WY cfiMuuA r/tmm t
/VVDCC
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR
Rates Are Sewer Opponents' Only Concern
i o me euiior:
What nerve! II there is a hidden agenda any
where on the Calabash Hoard of Commissioners,
it's with the opposition to the sewer authority.
Their agenda is to secure their own sewer rates,
regardless of good or bad. There is no concern for
what's best for the town: its extraterritorial juris
diction or the region as a whole in the long run.
The line of thinking seems to be, "What can we
do for ourselves?"
The whole area needs this system. The over
whelming majority of the elected officials agree
this is the best way to go. The only people who
don't are those with a special interest in Carolina
Hiythc.
Using the term "hidden agenda" seems a bit
hypocritical to me. Hut if we do have one, it's
this: if we don't go ahead with this system, we'll
all soon be floating in "it."
Forrest King
( alahash (Commissioner
Like A Friend's Visit
To the editor:
Once upon u time, I was told that a good way
to get to know an area was to subscribe to the lo
cal newspaper. So when my husband and I pur
chased a condo at Sea Trail, we took our our sub
scription to the Beacon. What I was not told was
what an enriching, entertaining experience it
would be!
Each week we look forward lo visits from our
friends as we catch up on what's going on in a
very special corner of the world. We think of it as
a mini-vacation! Believe me. we've needed all the
vacation we could get from the terrible weather
we're having. (There's another 6 to 12 inches on
the way today, exactly what we don't want!)
We've learned thai Brunswick County is not an
idyllic, never-never land, but that the citizens of
the area are trying to come to grips with the prob
lems that face all communities before they be
come insurmountable.
Progress is, indeed, a two-edged sword and
must be handled carefully. Your reporting of these
issues has been accurate, fair and most enlighten
ing. Thank you. and keep up the good work!
Lach time we visit, it leels more like home,
thanks to you. We look forward to the time when
we can get the Beacon hot off the press and not
from an ice-encrusted mailbox!
Rebecca Winfield
Eastlake, Ohio
{\Siii~c !/it'ers. Following Page)
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ymous letters will not be published.
Style Slaves:
Don't Change
A Hair?Or Hat
As a youngster, on (he tare occasions when I stum
bled upon a particularly astute observation, my grand
father always got a kick out of saying, "Hey, you're not
as dumb as you
look."
"You're darn
right!" I would
answer indig
nantly. "I mean
Yes I am! Hey.
Wail a minute.
I'm not dumb!"
Which re
minds me of an
embarrassingly idiotic, yet stubbornly popular dressing
habit that likewise makes one question whether the
wearer really is .is intellectually bankrupt as their ap
pearance would indicate.
I 'm talking about that ridiculous turned-around base
ball cap thing
Now there's a fashion statement. One that shouts,
"Look at me! I'm an imbecile!"
The fact is. walking around with your hat backwards
is about as stylish as wearing underwear on the outside
<>t your clothes or stumbling around with your shoes on
the wrong feet
Hopefully, I've employed a sufficient number of "big
words" to lose any readers who are so tragically clue
less that they actually believe a ball cap is supposed to
be worn with the bill (or visor) protruding out the back.
I don't want people like that calling to complain.
(They aren't likely to write a letter.)
"Duhhhhh.Mr. Carlson? You know that thing you
wrote?...I think you're...like...wrong...or something."
" Thank you. pumpkin. Don't' change a hair (or your
hat) for me."
Most stupid fashion statements are easily ignored.
Hut so many people continue to cling to this moronic
reverse hat habit that our MTV-infected young people
might start to believe that the visor REAIJ-Y DOES
belong in back!
Imagine an entire generation "growing up" to be
come like that slovenly pest in the Burger King com
mercials; the one who wanders from table to table pick
ing at peoples' food and yodcling I LUUUUUUVVV
T1IIS PLACE!"
He reminds me of the mental patients you see loiter
ing around the Port Authority Hus Terminal in New
York, talking to themselves, grabbing at imaginary in
sects and forgetting to use the bathroom.
Those guys can be excused for wearing their hats
backwards. (Or their pants for that matter.) Shock treat
ment and heavy doses of lithium will do that.
Hut anyone with properly functioning brain synapses
should understand that the purpose of a cap's bill is to
shield the wearer's eyes from sunlight or rain. And un
less you are extremely paranoid, your eyes are located
in the front ot your head Pretty simple, eh?
The visor dates hack to the "days of yore," a peril*!
spanning the years between the development of early
stone tools and the invention of duct tape. In those
days, knights in shining armor used to poke each other
with spears and hit each other on the head with cans of
Mace.
They also wore protective helmets equipped with lit
tle swinging doors in front called "visors." Che term
comes from the t rench words "vis," meaning face, and
"or." meaning coverer-upper. Visors protected the
knights from the stinging effects of Mace and allowed
them to taunt each other in nasty ways without being
recognized:
"Yo! UtiKclol! You're so ugly, when you were born,
the doctor slapped your mother!"
"Oh yeah? Well, you wouldn't say that if you
weren't wearing that visor!"
A knight named Harold of llalitosi was the first to
commit fashion suicide by wearing his visor in back,
lie thought it "looked cool." Hut the lack of ventilation
made him violently ill anil he choked to death on his
own vomit.
The original visor lost its usefulness as people be
came more civili/cd and started killing each other with
artillery and automobiles. It was retained on the base
ball cap to shield a fielder's eyes from the sun. (Visors
also keep the faces of managers and umpires a safe dis
tance apart while they scream at each other.)
liaschall catchers were the first to wear their caps
backwards, because they had a legitimate reason to do
so: I'heir protective mask would not fit with the visor in
front, fortunately, they had enough sense to return the
hat to its proper position after the game
In the 1970s, some teenagers wore their caps turned
sideways anil occasionally backwards as a "style
thing." Hut the trend faded when new modes of sell ex
pression came along that didn't look quite so dorky.
The next decade saw young white kids revive the hat
backwards thing after a few rock musicians were seen
wearing them that way. It's hard to say whether this
was done on purpose, or because they didn't know any
better, or because they exceeded the recommended
dosage of medication.
Axl Rose, the lead screamer for the Guns and Roses
rock band, was once asked if he knew how stupid he
looked wearing a bandanna and a backwards hat at the
same time.
"Uhhh ..yes," Axl said "I mean, no. Is this a trick
question?"
Perhaps it isn't the visor in back that matters. Maybe
these folks like to have that perforated plastic strap
mashed across their eyebrows so they can have little
tank-tread marks etched into their foreheads
Personally, I don't get it.
I can imagine only four legitimate reasons to wear a
baseball cap with the visor turned around. You may do
so if (and only if):
1) You are a baseball catcher actively engaged in
catching baseballs while wearing a baseball catcher's
mask.
2) You are looking through a camera lens, a keyhole
or some other aperture in such a manner that the bill
would get in the way.
3) You are outdoors during a windstorm or engaged
in some form of activity that causes air to move rapidly
toward your face, creating an area of low pressure
above the visor, causing your cap to be blown off.
4) You really are as dumb as you look.