School Board Members Say They Won't Be A 'Lame-Duck' Board
(CoatiMcd From Page 1-A)
ber has to "have faith thai people elected
them to do the right thing, which she defined
as trying to see that "everybody in the sys
tem is doing what they were hired arc*
trained to do. If we're unable to do that, it's
not hard to understand why we're third from
the bottom."
In her six years on the board. Baxter said
she's been told over and over again "if I
have this, then I can do this," but that the
changes in academic performance haven't
been forthcoming.
As her replacement on the ticket, she'd
like to sec a person with children in the
school system, who enjoys reading "because
there is a lot of reading." who listens to what
is going on in the community and with stu
dents. and who already understands fi
nances. "I also hope this person ha? a good
sense of humor." she said.
A similarly discouraged Fairley an
nounced his intent to withdraw several
months ago, but waited until after the prima
ry so that his party would have a chance to
name another nominee for the scat.
His decision came after the board re
versed its support of a resolution drt^td by
Fairtey that the board had already approved,
then amended to reflect some teachers' con
cerns. The measure would have linked
bonus pay for teachers to the academic per
formance of their students. With Baxter's
abstention counting as a yes, the vote to re
scind the resolution was 4-1.
Both Fairfey ssd Baxter plan te complete
their current terms on the board, saying
there is still work to be done.
"I believe she (Baxter) will continue to be
effective and that the board will be effec
tive," said board member Russ. "! don't
think we're going to be lame ducks.
"I'm looking at the remainder of my term
with a different perspective, that there's a
time limit and there is still an awful lot to
get done."
As chairman Baxter 's job includes having
to "take the brunt of a lot of criticism" that
rightly should be shared, said Russ. "For ex
ample. the re!?!Hi~hip with county commis
sioners is not just Donna, but the board. It
wasn't just her." The board voted 4-1 last
year, with Cause dissenting, to take legal ac
tion in an effort to obtain more funds for the (
schools.
The confrontation led to a court-mediated
settlement. Friction between the two boards
has continued, surfacing most recently ia
disagreement over funding pians for the
Leland Elementary School.
Russ said she supported Baxter's decision
to withdraw and didn't try to talk her out of
it. "Donna needs to give Donna some time,"
she said. "I don't think people realize how
much time she has invested in this job."
While Baxter's tenure on the board was
marked by criticism of her public relations
ability, it has included successes as well.
The board set tons- and short-term goals for
improvement of The schools; built Supply
Elementary School and laid the groundwork
g j ? P.I l. fc- - -
?vt a ikw uiaiN i^iviuviiuuj Jtliuui, ucglllt
putting classified employees on new pay
schedules; begun giving teachers and princi
pals more authority through site-based man
} agement and more input in development of
policies; and hired Superintendent Ralph
Johnston and his assistants, Oacar Blanks
and Jan Calhoun. The board is -also tevising
and updating policies that hadn't been
changed in iuor (2 years
A "safe schools" effort hain't been in
place long enough to document its effective
ness. Baxter said, "but we're doing things
that have been proven to work elsewhere."
jO AM m Ml ? 1 1 In I 1JLIT? ? Jijl I 1 1 r?i i i *1 ? _ _ ft |j- J-.
DorncFic wimci rawing Mtso
The Republican Party will also be seeking
a new nominee for the District 4 county
commissioner's seat. Pete Bamette, director
of the Brunswick County Volunteer and
Information Outer, confirmed Friday that
be has asked party leaders to replace him as
a candidate.
Sainciic was miiiug uK 5C2* held by !R
cumhent Tom B. Rabon. who won his
Democratic primary.
"I just have entirely too much, my work
with VIC is too demanding. My work sched
ule doesn't lend itself to the responsibility of
good civic service," be said, adding that be
would be submitting a formal letter of with
drawal to the elections board soon.
Bsikhs said he *ould !iJte to it" ?*sr
ty choose "a businessman, like (Com
missioners) Don Warren or Donald Shaw"
as his replacement.
Brunswick County Republican Party
Chairman Shirley Babson said the executive
committee has been talking to prospects for
both tickets, but hasn't reached a decision.
Roney Cheers, chairman of the
Brunswick County Democratic Party, could
not be reached for comment.
Murder Warrant Issued Against
r AAnn In Pi irl^ptt ^hnnfinn Don+h
? , I ? s v ? ? - - s s 3 s a ? ? ? ' a a _m a a ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
(Cestiaued Fro? 1-A)
six-shol, .22-caliber derringer at
u: ?
"They were looking for trouble."
he said.
Again the altercation moved out
side. where the suspect reportedly
pointed the weapon at the crowd of
bar patrons who followed them out.
"Th<* nwncr InjH ?v?rylvvly in g;j
baCft inSiuC, CwSOn Said. Thcii
something else happened and the
other guy got his gun. There was an
other altercation. The victim tried to
calm things down and got shot."
An autopsy has determined that
Puckett died from a single .22-cal
iber bullet fired from about five feet
away, (Jaison said. The derringer,
with one spent shell and five live
No Change In
Primary Outcome
After Canvass
A May 5 canvass of votes cast .in
the May 3 primary increased votes
for one candidate by 200, but didn't
change the outcome of any race.
Lvrda Britt elections supervisor
fot ine Brunswick County Board of
Elections, said District 1 school
board candidate Olaf "Bud" Thorsen
received 294 votes instead of 94 in
Shallotte Precinct The number was
misread on a voting machine print
out.
If the error had resulted in a loss
of 200 voles intlfaH of ! ?*>??
would have been enough to change
the outcome of the election. Instead
it widened what had been a 1 13- vote
margin, giving Thorsen 3,972 votes
to incumbent Thurman Gause's
3,659 votes.
Normal Spring
Temps Ahead
Expect normal spring tempera
tures and precipitation over the next
few days, advises Jackson Canady,
Shallotte Point weather-watcher.
Average daytime highs are ex
pected to be around 80 degrees, with
average nightly lows about 60.
Canady forecasts about half an inch
of rainfall.
For the period May V) hr
recorded a maximum high tempera
ture of 83 on the 7th. with the mini
mum lew, 47, cs the 6&. The daily
average temperature of 64 degrees
was about 4 degrees below normal.
He measured 1.15 inches of rain
fall at his home.
rounds in the cylinder, was taken in
to custody at the scene, along with a
9mm semi-automatic pistol belong
? ??? M? the SIlSpCCl S CTtMUMuiOu.
"Our investigation indicates that
the victim had not been drinking,"
Caison said. "He went out there 2o
make peace and to separate what
was going on and got shot in the
process."
A friend of Puckett's !ok! Ih?
Beacon she had just returned home
Saturday night from two weeks out
of town. She and her husband went
to the Gator Lounge at about 11:45
"to unwind."
She said the placc was crowded
with locals and many people from
outside the area. She and her hus
band were sitting at a table in back,
watching Puckett play darts when
they noticed a disturbance at the bar.
The witness, an emergency med
ics! technician, said she saw a group
of people follow two men outside.
They returned to the bar, then went
back out the door again. When the
two men came back in a second
time, she said Puckett walked over
to offer his help to his uncle,
Johnny Way Son, owner the Catsr
Lounge.
"TVy all went outside again and
I heard a shot," she said. "I ran to
the door as Jet was coming in. He
said, 'He shot me. 1 can't breathe. I
can't breathe.' He had a small hole
the left side of his chest and blood
was frothing out of his mouth and
his nose. It looked like he had been
hit in the lung and maybe the heart."
Shr wirf she yelled for som-w?ne
to call 911 as Puckett fell t< the
floor. She checked his wrist and
ikoa sad fbusd hi; pubc. She be
gan administering cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) and continued
until rescue workers arrived and
took over.
Puckett w as pronounced dead on
arrival at the Brunswick Hospital. At
least two other men were treated for
injuries suffered in the scuffle. One
was reportedly hit on the head with
a gun by one of the two suspects.
While details of what happened
that night remain sketchy, those who
knew Puckett insist he was not the
kind of man to get involved in an
"akohoi-induwd bar bra*!," as oth
er news accounts have suggested.
They say he had a steady job with a
local construction company and also
worked for his uncle at the Gator
Lounge on weekends.
"If anything, he would have been
a calming force," said Karen Mo
shoures of Shallotte. "Everybody
was his friend and he was a friend to
everybody. If be thought you needed
SlG, he'd give U to you before you
had a chance to ask."
Moshourts's daughter Kristi and
Puckett were planning to be married
this fall. "He loved my daughter and
would have done anything for her,"
she said. "That's why he was so pre
cious to me. He was part of our fam
ily.
"He was just a regular guy with a
great big heart."
O IB Commissioners Stand
Firm On Plan Board Vote
l-A)
Proctor said Tuesday be was disappointed but aot surprised that no
fellow board members changed their vote. His position is abo uncfaawged.
"I still think we against die wiauc* at the poopic,* he said. Theles
soa to be learned here is that property owners need to get more involved
and say what they want. The town will change when the people want it
to."
Is 3 related matter the board voted 4-1 to appoint Bob Shupe of Enct
Third Street to the planning and mntwg board to fill the vacancy created
by the reaignartna to April of DeCarol Williamson. Shape's term will end
in Jniy 1996. Making die nomination. Benton said Sbape had esprejaed a
strong interest in serving on the board and that the loam had expressed a
desire to have a representative bom the east end of the island
KeotM Snh voted for h? nominee. Ron SpealoBan. savins ha had
? ? i
?ion and Noifleet Underwood and EIX member Frank
Wharja the aon of Mayor Betty WOliatnaon.
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Wafer Plans Examined
sw morb ?r mc caisom
Utilities director Jerry Webb shows the Brunswick CotuUy Utilities Operations Board preliminary
plans for extending county water service to the Shell Point and Booties Neck areas. Ox Monday the
board dslsysd iijpniif afsx ssssssstant roil far mmmr Sum* ? Shun.*, ~
construction contract far Special Assessment District 19. Shown (seated clockwise from lower left) are
board members William Browning, Rudolph Simmons, Tom Rabon, Chairman Al Morrison, Earl
Andrews, Dan Yarbrough and Berton Meyers. Standing behind the board is Thomas Home of
Buccaneer Hills.
Foundation Raising Funds For
Supply Baby's Heart Transplant
(Continued From Page l-A:
Dui Midi 4 iiiuBiu^ GCCUTS Culy s!
great expense ? emotionally, finan
cially and physically ? to the young
family which also includes Logan's
10-year-old sister. Heather Nicole of
Supply.
Though no bills have come in yet,
the Pottorffs know that Logan's care
in Chapel Hill costs $30,000 per
week, not including the $200,000
transplant. The tab doesn't stop
when he gets home, either. There
will be a standing weekly medical
appointment in Chapel Hill, and the
family is looking at $3,000 a month
for treatment for the rest of his life.
"We've really had to shove our
pride out the way" she said Eddie
Pottorff, who before Logan's birth
had a good job with an engineering
company, has had to stop working
and rrmttin liom? u-e'k-;
so that Alicia can stay in Chapel Hill
with I noun.
Eddie's job was good enough that
Alicia didn't have to work for a pay
check; until her pregnrocy, she vol
unteered her time to the Coastline
Volunteer Rescue Squad as an emer
gency medical technician.
But they had no health insurance.
To cover the family through Eddie's
employer would have cost $720 per
month. When they learned Alicia
was pregnant, they began saving
money to cover the cost of a
Caesarean delivery, never dreaming
that a few weeks after the baby's
birth they'd be facing medical bills
most families could never pay in a
lifetime.
Tl?ey became prime examples of
the cliche "falling through the
CSmSSmS^9 kauino tOO tSSQSB? tC
qualify for ;miMnnrr as long as
Eddie kept his job, but not a fraction
of what it costs to fund an act of
miracle medicine.
Now, Logan has qualified for
Medicaid, which under most cir
cumstances coven only six medica
tions at a time and 24 doctor visits a
year. There's a possibility that his
condition may fall under a special
exception for children with life
threatening conditions, but the
PottorfEs don't know for sure yet.
Alicia has been fortunate to be
able to stay at Chapel Hill's Ronald
McDonald House during Logan's
hospitalization, but even at S8 a
night, that begins to add up after a
few weeks.
Through the social worker on
! ?rr -?pu-' ?*?- Bnw,
orffis learned about the Children's
Organ Transplant AmotV^W (CO
TA), which will kick off an organi
zational meeting for the fundraiser
tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. at the
Brunswick County Government
Complex public assembly buildbg
They'll be looking for volunteers to
help with Logan's case.
COTA is an Indiana-based nation
al charity which organizes and
guides families and communities to
help raise funds for organ trans
plants. COTA spokesman Mike
Miller says every penny raised for
[>ogan will go toward his transplant
and related expenses.
An account has been established
for Logan at NationsBank in
? ?
Shallotte. Tax-deductible contribu
tions may be mailed to NationsBank
2* 4920 St, g NC
28459 or made in person at any
branch location. Checks should be
made payable to COTAfor Logan
and should have the account number
623059400 written in the memo
space.
Meanwhile, Logan's relatives
send up prayers of thanksgiving and
anticipate the day when he's home
to sleep in his own crib and he
spoiled by grandparents Jessie and
Arnold Dillon and great-grandmoth
er Lizzie Clemmons, all of
Supply ? as well as a host of
Arkansas relatives who have yet to
touch their miracle boy.
Holden Board
Meets Mondav
0
TSsc Hgmjcs Beach awMBtUM in
vestigating alleged violations ot
building, health and coastal manage
ment rules at the Coastal Devel
opment & Realty office is expected
to report to town commissioners
Monday.
Holden Beach Commissioners
have scheduled a special meeting at
10 a.m. in term hall. Town Manager
Gus Ulrich also will present his pro
posed 1994-95 budget at the meet
ing
The town board will hold an all
day retreat Wednesday, May 18, at
Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club
near Calabash. Commissioners will
leave town hall at 7:30 a.m. The
meeting is open to the public.
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ShaDotte, N.C. 28459
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