Opinion Page
THE BRUNSWKK#%ACON
Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers
Edward M. Sweatt Editor
Lynn S. Carlson Managing Editor
Susan Usher News Editor
Doug Rutter Sports Editor
Eric Carlson Staff Writer
Mary Potts & Peggy Earwood Office Managers
Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director
Tlinberley Adams. Cecelia Gore
and Linda Cheers Advertising Representatives
Dorothy Brennan and Brenda Clemmons Moore ..Graphic Artists
William Manning Pressman
Lonnle Sprinkle Assistant Pressman
PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1994
Clear Choices, Real
Issues?Good Time
To Become Involved
The day of reckoning is almost here?the first one, anyway,
for candidates in the upcoming elections.
In some circles, Tuesday's primary elections have been the
increasingly dominant topic of conversation for months. From
now until Tuesday, the varsity political players will get the hard
ball game under way in earnest. Politicking will reach a crescen
do this weekend with fish fries and pig-pickins and all sorts of
fundraisers scheduled too late to make the final pre-primary fi
nancial reports.
It may seem hard to believe to those in the thick of things, but
there are many Brunswick Countians out there who won't have
shaken any candidates' hands come Tuesday and who might be
inclined to sit out this off-year election. That's a shame. This is
one election in which candidates can be chosen by means other
than who is the least mud-covered by primary day.
There have been few dogfights this political season, but that's
not an indication that the issues aren't there. The Democratic pri
mary for sheriff has generated the most interest of any county
wide race. The candidates have, for the most part, conducted
themselves as the experienced law enforcement professionals
they are, confining their campaigning to their personal ideology
and leadership skills rather than finding fault with the depart
ment's past operation or with their opponents. They are to be
commended for taking the high road and offering the voters a
choice not tainted by political back-biting.
While there have been public spats between and among the
candidates for county commissioner and school board, the real is
sues have not been obscured. Foremost among is them is doing
something to repair the relationship between the two boards,
even if it only improves from acrimonious to adversarial. Voters
have a chance Tuesday to make an early and loud statement to
this effect: It's time the preparedness of Brunswick County chil
dren to face the adult world supplanted money, skin color, per
sonalities and petty power struggles as the center of attention.
There are other issues on the agenda and other races on the
ballot?and there's sufficient information in this issue and
throughout the community to help you choose between them.
To tell some Brunswick Countians to get out and vote would
be preaching to the choir. But for the others?newcomers, per
haps, or those whose who have followed national and municipal
politics, but not Brunswick County issues?there couldn't be a
better time to take a stand.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sewers Are Coming?
'Pay Me Now Or
Pay Me (More) Later'
To the editor:
As Yogi Berra would say, "It
seems like deja vu all over again." 1
refer to the efforts of the Sunset
Beach Tax Payers Association and
their attempts to postpone the much
needed sewer system, closely paral
leling our experience over 1980s
with "Del-Aware."
Ixing before Del-Aware was an
embryo, a referendum was passed in
Bucks County, Pa., to issue bonds
and proceed with engineering, con
struction and installation of a pump
to be located at Point Pleasant, Pa.,
for the purpose of pumping water
from the Delaware River to reser
voirs for domestic use, with about
50 percent going to an existing nu
clear power plant for cooling pur
poses (then into the ocean). For their
part, Philadelphia Electric paid well
over their pro-rated share.
The real need, of course, was to
provide water to the thousands of
houses in the area (Montgomery
County, who contracted to buy some
of that pump's output) as well as
Bucks County.
Now along comes Del-Aware (in
the cloak of environmentalists) AF
TER completion of engineering,
manufacture of the pump and con
struction contracts were let. Their
logo was a fish skeleton, but as in
my opinion is the case with SBTA,
the true forces were at work to halt
development.
They would have succeeded, too
(for a while), since some of the mu
nicipal wells were either remaining
dry or were contaminated due to low
water tables. The real tragedy was
the multitude of individual home
owners whose wells were already
unusable.
"Del-Aware" cared precious little
for these people ?just stop develop
ment at all cost. To that end they re
cruited a sizeable army of reac
tionaries including: Anti Nukes,
sport fisherman, honest environmen
talist dupes, antidevelopment and
the usual group of crazies who are
looking for a cause?any cause.
They even hired Abbie Hoffman
(remember him?) to come and camp
out with them at the proposed pump
site.
Well, Del-Aware succeeded in
postponing the installation of the
pump through legal maneuvers simi
lar to those being used against the
sewer system. They succeeded in
spending all of the money the col
lected from the innocent as well as
the believers and legal fees, addi
tional construction costs (because of
delays), etc., cost the county just
about all of the money raised by the
initial bond issue (around 10 mil
lion, I IxHieve).
Additional debt was incurred to
finish the job, and the people of
Bucks County are paying for the
pump the second time.
The anti-developers cost us all
and served absolutely no purpose.
The pump is installed (several years
ago) and serving the citizens well.
Fishing is as good as ever. The flow
of the river is the same. There has
been no discernable or measurable
drop in water level of the river and,
most importantly, the water compa
nies who provide for the existing as
well as future residents are amply
supplied.
The sewers are coming, folks. As
the old saying goes: "Pay me now or
pay me (a heck of a lot more) later.
Raymond W. Patridge
Sunset Beach
(More Letters, Following Page)
Schools And The First Amendment
For months now, Brunswick
County school system policies have
been under re-examination. A policy
committee of staff members plus
school board members Thurman
Gause and Polly Russ have been
reading their way through county
policies with the help of attorney
Richard Schwartz, a school law con
sultant.
They've been looking to see if the
county has all the policies it needs
and/or some it doesn't need; and
whether existing policies (1) con
form to current state and federal law
and (2) are reflected in local prac
tices and procedures. If they don't
meet No. 1 that's easy enough to fix.
No. 2 is another story: Do you
change procedure to fit policy or
policy to fit procedure? It depends
on what's working or not working.
Most policy discussions are, by
their nature, very boring. Not so last
week when the school board met
with principals to discuss some of
the policies that directly affect their
schools. Students' rights?and in
fringement of them?arc big issues
these days.
Principals had lots of questions of
(he nuts-and-bolts type, not high
flung what-ifs, as they tried to iden
tify guidelines or policies for situa
tions they've encountered or can
imagine encountering.
Many of those issues relate to stu
dents' First Amendment rights to
freedom of speech and freedom of
religion. It's more complex than you
might imagine. School is constantly
changing.
When I was in high school the big
questions related to how much hair
and skin we could show. The skin
question's still around but there are
plenty more to go with them.
I think I caught the gist of some
of the discussions, if not all.
Remember, they were talking about
policy needs, not necessarily setting
a specific policy. That comes next.
"Can we regulate the wearing of
bandannas as gang attire?"
Yes, if it is truly gang attire and
not just the latest dress fad among
teens.
"What about hats?" Some teach
ers aft my school get really bent out
of shape when students wear hats in
the classroom.
Yes. And a countywidc policy
isn't needed. A school can set its
own head wear policy, or a teacher
can adopt a class rule regarding
wearing of hats. The important
thing: the rule should apply uni
formly to males and females and to
all hats.
The school system also has the
authority to generally ban stuff be
cause it is violent, offensive, vulgar,
etc.
"What about Malcolm X and
Confederate battle flag T-shirts?"
That becomes a First Amendment
question relating to free speech,
Schwartz advised. The shirts be
come symbolic speech, a right not to
be infringed upon.
However, if one set of shirts is be
ing worn in response to the other,
and people are getting ready to
square up, to the tune of "The rum
ble's on at 3 on the ballficld and
wear your shirts," yep. you can do
something about it.
The free speech right is giving up
to a disruption.
You can respond to the behavior
of the people wearing the shirts, not
the shirts themselves. "You cannot
ban the symbols until after the dis
ruption or the imminent threat of
disruption."
"What if a child repeatedly draws
religious symbols at school?"
Depends, says Schwartz. If, dur
ing free time in art, a student draws
crosses, etc., no problem. But if the
assignment is to draw a realistic rep
resentation of a chicken, etc., and
the animal is drawn with the feet
made into crosses, that's another sto
ry.
"What about if a student is draw
ing Satanic symbols?"
Contrary to popular myth, says
Schwartz, the Supreme Court has
never ruled that Satanism is consid
ered a religion in the United States.
It's mentioned in one minority opin
ion footnote among a list of things
that might be considered religions.
If a kid is drawing Satanic sym
bols during free expression time in
art class, he wouldn't bother that
kid. If the same child is drawing
Satanic symbols or pictures of naked
women, etc., etc., in social studies or
English class, that's another story
and the school could regulate it un
der the "anything it deems violent,
offensive, etc..."
When it comes to prayer in
school, Schwartz notes two major
themes: prayer?the invoking of di
vine presence or divine blessing?
should not be school-sponsored, but
voluntary. If, during a moment of si
lence at a school function someone
in the audience begins an audible
prayer and others join in, that's not
school-sponsored prayer. Ditto if
someone is invited to the lectern for
remarks and, in an unscheduled, un
planned move, invites others to join
him or her in prayer. That's all right.
so long as school officials didn't tell
the person ahead, "If you want to get
up and do that, fine, but I didn't tell
you too."
Also fine are passing references,
as in the reference to God in the
Pledge of Allegiance, or a poetic
reference to "God's canopy," for in
stance, in discussing the beauty of
nature.
Groups that arc not school-spon
sored but meet on campus are free to
have prayer, etc., unless they are
meeting during school hours and
students arc involved or school per
sonnel are required to attend.
What about churches meeting in a
school building? Schwartz says sev
eral cases arc "bubbling up," work
ing their way toward the U.S.
Supreme Court, that relate to
churches that meet in public school
owned facilities. Some of the ques
tions likely to come up: how long
can a church meet in a school build
ing and not violate or appear to vio
late the "establishment" clause, the
Constitutional ban on state-estab
lishcd (in this case, school-"spon
sored") church or religion.
Time limits can be set on how
long a church can use a school
building, Schwartz said.
More important, though, is that
any church using a school facility
have to follow the same rules and
pay the same fees expected of any
other group.
So that the school system isn't in
effect subsidizing any group, fees
charged to community groups for
use of facilities should cover the ac
tual cost of custodial service, energy
usage, etc.
Clear as a bell, isn't it? If you
were principal, next time a situation
came up on campus you'd know ex
actly what was at stake and what to
do.
Right.
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Hoowee! Did Y'all Hear What Howard Said?
Not since Sherman's march to the
sea has the South seen an onslaught
of Northern aggression to rival the
arrival of Howard Stern on our local
airwaves.
For those blissfully unaware of
popular culture (Aren't you lucky?),
Howard is a radio talk-show host, a
best-selling author, the self-pro
claimed "King of all Media" and a
candidate for governor of New
York.
He has also become the Emiliano
Zapata of broadcasting. Like that
fugitive revolutionary who fought to
return stolen land to Mexican peas
ants, Howard is being hunted down
by the Federales of the FCC for ex
ercising his Constitutional right of
free speech.
You see, Howard has occasionally
been known to use what some folks
consider "bad words" during his
wildly popular four-hour radio show,
which has been on the air for more
than a decade.
While most people understand
that radios have on-off switches and
tuning dials to prevent any stray
"bad w>rds" from jumping out of
the spraker and offending them,
government regulators feel the need
to justify their existence by levying
multi-million-dollar fines against
Howard's employers in hopes of dri
ving him off the air.
It ain't working. Not only is
Howard still the premier talk radio
host in New York, but he has also
captured top market slots in
Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles,
Cleveland, New Orleans and now
(Cover your ears, oh ye of little tol
erance!) Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The format of the show is absurd
ly simple. Howard merely sits be
hind the microphone and yaks about
whatever is on his mind. Which
could be almost anything. Or almost
nothing.
There is much ranting and raving
and name-calling and neurotic over
analysis of minuscule subjects, fre
quently reaching crescendos of bab
bling and laughter with everyone
talking at the same time?kind of
like dinner conversation in a large
Jewish household.
Helping maintain the show's fran
tic level of controlled chaos are
Howard's female sidekick Robin
Ouivers and a cast of supporting
players, known affectionately as
"Babba Booie," "Stuttering John"
and "Jackie the Joke Man."
The conversation ranges from sar
castic to moronic to borderline por
nographic with frequent references
to bodily functions, nudity and ado
lescent sexual urges. But there are
also hilariously refreshing observa
tions, biting sarcasm, common sense
opinions and raw, bare-boned hon
esty about issues rarely discussed in
the open.
Kind of like Bcavis and Butthead
with brains.
Howard is famous for voicing
those cruel, unmentionable opinions
that pop into everyone's head now
and then; the ones you never say out
loud and quickly scold yourself for
even thinking. But not Howard.
tie might devote a half hour to the
question of why a rich man like Burt
Reynolds would wear such an ugly
hairpiece. Or indulge in a graphic
discussion of exactly which parts of
Michael Jackson's body are affected
by his alleged skin disease.
When Howard has a guest on the
show, it's usually one of those mar
ginal celebrities who has dropped
off the A list of talk-show regulars.
People like Mr. T or Jessica Hawn
or Joan Rivers or the guy who
played George on "The Jeffersons"
or the guy who played Grandpa on
"The Munsters."
He is also fond of interviewing les
bians, prostitutes, strippers, off-color
comedians and offbeat news notables
like David Koresh's mother and John
Wayne Bobbin (for whom Howard
organized a telethon). Or you might
hear him do a telephone chat with
Chevy Chase's housekeeper.
Most talk show hosts use the
same old 20 questions for every
guest who wants to promote their
latest book, movie or TV show. Bui
not Howard. If Supreme Court
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor visit
ed the show, he'd be more likely to
ask about the color of her underwear
than the future of Rowe v. Wade.
Which means that when you tune
in to Howard Stern, you might be
surprised or shocked or angered or
offended, but you won't be bored.
And you won't have to endure
some pudgy curmudgeon like Rush
Limbaugh hashing and re-hashing
the same old hackneyed, reactionary
dogma that somehow seems fresh
and dazzling to his worshipful audi
ence of "ditto-head" sycophants.
Rush would never admit it, but he
owes his success to Stern. After all,
it was Howard who first broke into
the big time with the outrageously
opinionated talk-show format that
old "Limp Paw" copied and watered
down for more conservative palates.
I was amazed the first time 1
heard the Howard Stern Show on
the radio in Brunswick County. I
didn't think folks around here would
care much for a trashy, loud
mouthed, New York Jewish boy
with a sick sense of humor who as
sumes everyone south of Statcn
Island looks and talks like the
Beverly Hillbillies.
But from what I can tell, Howard
is a hit here too.
I pulled into a convenience store
one morning and saw a woman
pumping gas with the car door open
and the volume turned up loud so
she could keep listening to Howard.
Last week I saw a couple sitting
in a pickup truck outside the Wal
Mart listening intently for Howard
to finish ranting about his latest pet
peeve before going inside to shop.
I've heard lawyers and cops in the
courthouse discussing some of the
more risque portions of Stern's New
Years Eve pay-per-view television
special.
Howard Stern is not for everyone.
If you have any politically correct
nerves in your body, he will defi
nitely find a way to get on them.
And if you think you might be of
fended by someone burping or dis
robing on the radio, I would advise
you to stay tuned to country-western
stations (where they sing about
wholesome things like getting
drunk, fighting and cheating on
wives).
Just remember that the little knob
on the right changes the station and
the one on the left turns the radio
off.