Opinion Page
THE BRUNSWKX&ftACON
Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers
Lynn Sweatt Carlson Editor
Susan Usher .News Editor
Doug Rutter Sports Editor
Eric Carlson *. Staff Writer
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Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director
Timber Icy Adams & Linda Cheers.... Advertising Representatives
Dorothy Brennan A Brenda Clemmons Moore Graphic Artists
William Manning Pressman
Lonnle Sprinkle... Assistant Pressman
PAGE 4 -A, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1994
Get On Your Gloves
And Help Sweep
Brunswick Beaches
Get your gloves on and hit the beach. Saturday is Big Sweep
day in eight Brunswick County towns, and when it comes to
picking up litter, there's no such thing as a surplus of volunteers.
After a summer of heavy tourism, the beaches are in dire
need of a good spring cleaning, even if it happens in September.
But Big Sweep is about more than just garbage disposal. It
heightens public awareness of the need for appropriate waste
management ? not just for aesthetic reasons but for the health
and safety of residents, visitors, birds, fish and turtles. It involves
businesses, citizens and governments in a joint effort to accom
plish something positive and to instill in the community's chil
dren better habits than their elders have.
Thanks in part to Big Sweep, North Carolina school children
are being taught about the peril plastic six-pack rings pose to ma
rine life, how every cigarette filter tossed on the sand takes
decades to break down, and how a bleach bottle discarded off a
boat can kill something the size of a whale.
We've heard lots of permanent residents complain this year
that beach litter was a worse problem this summer than they've
seen in years. That may be true. The possibility is all the more
reason to get out there and make a difference on Saturday.
A Lesson In Commitment
Commitment and tenacity. We could all take a lesson in those
qualities from the life of Warren D. "Bud" Knapp of Calabash
and Sunset Beach.
Bud passed away Friday after a battle against diabetes fought
longer and harder than a weaker man could have or would have.
Until his very final days, he continued working for what he be
lieved best for his community.
There was no ambivalence about what Bud wanted ? better
schools in Brunswick County and strict limits on growth in
Sunset Beach and Calabash. Many, ourselves included, disagreed
strongly with some of his ideology and many of his methods, but
it was impossible not to admire his passion.
After decades of corporate life, it's tempting for a retiree to
relax into martinis-and-tee-times mode. Bud Knapp didn't. He
worked hard, spoke up and left his mark on a community he truly
loved.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Shallotte's Peddlers
An Eyesore, Danger
To the editor:
Our town has started to have a
new facelift with new businesses
and new storefronts. It is a great im
provement fur Shallotte. I always
felt Main Street was pretty tacky
when driving through.
All this summer we have had ven
dors peddling fish, vegetables, rab
bits, clothes and furniture. Not only
has this become an eyesore, but (it)
is dangerous driving down Main
Street. I have seen several accidents
almost happen when people stop
suddenly in front of the vendors.
We have a nice flea market set up
on Al Street. It would be nice if we
had a farmer's market there. Maybe
a big increase is needed (in permit
fees) to discourage this peddling on
Main Street.
Let's clean up our town and make
Shallotte a place to be proud of.
Ruth E. Hierman
Shallotte
Help Animal Lover
To the editor:
This is to inform all people who
read The Brunswick Beacon about a
real animal lover ? Jeannine Friday,
who lives at 3376 St. Charles Place,
Southport.
Three years ago she became affil
iated with the N.C. Wildlife Asso
ciation, taking care of injured peli
cans, seagulls, raccoons, etc., which
then led to her caring for domesti
cated dogs and cats that owners did
not want to keep.
Jeannine took upon herself the re
sponsibility of caring for these ani
mals without asking for help; but the
population has increased so much
she now needs volunteer help in car
ing for them. None of the animals
are ever put to sleep; thus, the in
creasing numbers she has.
Jeannine's life work has now
come to a stop. She became disabled
with a very bad back and is now
bedridden. Her sister and a few oth
ers have started to care for the birds
and animals.
Donations of money, food and
volunteers are now needed to help.
By word of mouth, a few dogs and
cats have been adopted, but many,
many more ? especially cats and kit
tens ? need loving homes.
With the help of the Brunswick
Animal League, there will be an
open house at Jeannine's on
Saturday, Sept. 24, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
3376 St. Charles Place, Southport.
Light refreshments will be served.
Hopefully, all animal lovers who
wish to adopt dogs, cats and kittens
will show up and take one home.
Money, food and volunteer help
will be needed for those animals left
behind.
Kathleen Thorn
Calabash
Politics As Usual
To the editor:
Oiled by more deficit spending on
more social/welfare programs in the
name of a crime bill, the "big politi
cal machine" is once again operating
in full gear. Its product for our con
gressional district is the same as be
fore: Congressman Charlie Rose ?
ready to smile, shake your hand and
spend your money as he marches to
the drum-beat of President Clinton's
liberal/socialist agenda.
It's time to bring politics-as-usual
to a grinding halt. For the past 30 to
40 years the U.S. Congress has tak
en more and more money from
hard-working Americans and given
less and less representation. Now,
Congressmen, along with the presi
dent, are exploiting our fears and
frustrations with high crime rates
and the need for affordable health
care in order to create new spending
bills.
I am weary of the tyranny of a
Congress that imposes heavy bur
dens on U.S. citizens, then exempts
itself from the same.
Thomas J. Lee
Shallotte
(More Letters, Following Page)
The Oldest
Living
Periodical Tells All
Watch for a hurricane in the
Carolinas the first week of Sep
tember 1995. That forecast is from
the 203rd edition of the Old Far
mer's Almanac, the country's oldest
continuously published periodical.
This year's edition hit bookstores
and newsstands on Tuesday, recog
nizable as ever by its yellow mver
with nail hole in the upper left cor
ner. And, as always, it is chock-a
block with advice, trivia, predic
tions, humor and rarities.
A few pearls of almanac wisdom:
? "Not only is it nice to listen to,
but Mozart can make you smarter,
too. Researchers in California found
that students taking tests after listen
ing to Mozart's Sonata for Two
Pianos in D Major scored eight or
nine 10 points higher than after two
other 'listening conditions' (a relax
ation tape and only silence).
Unfortunately, the effects lasted only
about ten minutes."
? It costs $250,000 for a regular
citizen to be mummified in Moscow
at the lab in charge of preserving
Lenin's body.
? To get rid of fleas in your
home, "place on the floor of the in
fested room a shallow pan filled
with water and a little dishwashing
liquid. At night, turn on a lamp and
focus it right over the pan. Turn off
all the other lights in the room. The
fleas will jump at the light and fall
into the dish. You'll be amazed at
the number of fleas you'll catch the
first night. Change the solution as
needed. Continue the treatment for
Lynn
Carlson
at least two weeks to get the next
generation of fleas after the hatch."
? Book retailers report that not
only does the Bible continue as the
world's best-selling book, with some
2.5 billion copies currently in circu
lation, but it is also the most com
monly shoplifted book in America.
The new almanac reveals the
identity of the world's most nutri
tious vegetable. You may think that
would be brussels sprouts or spin
ach. I learned that it is indeed the
humble but delicious sweet potato,
loaded with beta-carotene, vitamins
A,C, B6, potassium and even dietary
fiber!
If you're interested in cooking,
there's an article on the Brunswick
Stew Wars with a recipe for Virginia
Brunswick Stew to feed 600.
Another details "How to Appreciate,
Prepare, Cook and Eat a Mess of
Turnip Greens.'* Published are the
first-, second-, third-place and hon
orable - mention - winning recipes
from its 1994 contest. They arc, re
spectively, Cheesy - Chive Eggs,
Creamy Smoked Salmon Tart. East
Texas-Pennsylvania Ranch Eggs and
French Toast Strata.
Readers are invited to enter the al
manac's 1995 essay contest. Topic:
The Best Tried-and-True Way to
Cure a Headache."
If it's ailment lore you want, turn
to page 106 and read "For Good
Luck and Good Teeth," wherein is
dental folklore from around the
world as collected by Dr. Joseph G.
Carter, a dentist's son and professor
of geology at the University of
North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
These relate to the shedding of
baby teeth:
? "Put the tooth in a mouse hole
for the mouse to chew it. The child
will then have strong, straight teeth
like mice. (Ohio)"
? "Run with a shed tooth around
the house, repeating four times,
'Beaver, put a new tooth into my
jaw.' Throw the tooth onto the roof.
(Cherokee Indians)"
There are feature articles on:
? The Sinister Truth About Lcft
Handedness ("Women's clothing,
with buttons on the left, is most effi
ciently buttoned by a left-handed
wearer or by a right-handed lady's
maid, the origin of the conven
tion.");
? The Revolution That Began on
Tuesday, October 23, 1945 (the day
Jackie Robinson broke baseball's
color barrier);
? The Most Prayed-For Man in
World War II (Ernie Pyle).
A story about cicadas says some
time next spring. North Caro
linians ? along with residents of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia
and West Virginia ? will begin hear
ing an "incredible and constant rack
et the likes of which they will not
have heard since 1978..."
The adult cicada, I learned,
"needs very little food, so it can con
centrate on the really important
things in life ? singing and sex." In
what must be the most bizarre entry
in the new almanac, the cicada de
buts as snack food:
"Just the right size for popping in
to your mouth, with a satisfying
crunch and a flavor that has been
compared to a cross between a pota
to and an avocado, cicadas would
seem to be the pcrfcct snack food.
The Native Americans were quite
fond of the crispy critters, but the
settlers could never be persuaded to
munch along, and few people today
appreciate this rare taste treat.
Cicadas arc easily prepared: Just dip
in batter and fry in butter until gold
en brown. Serve with cocktail
sauce."
On that taste-tempting note. I'll
leave it to you to discover the rest of
the almanac's trove of treasure.
Throw in astrological timetables, a
list of church holy days, some clas
sified ads. frosts and growing sea
sons. phases of the moon, a tidal
glossary and a windchill table, and
you get abundant amusement and a
font of facts for less than the cost of
renting a videotape
Let me know how the cicadas
were...
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Look Past Surface Of School Funds
Appeal
1 have a question for anyone who
believes the Brunswick County
Commissioners were wrong to ap
peal a jury's decision awarding $14
million of our tax money to the
Brunswick County Board of Edu
cation:
Imagine you are the CEO of a
large corporation. Your stockholders
vote to replace two of your five
managers. Another manager resigns,
saying he's frustrated because his
colleagues won't set measurable
goals for the company's workforce.
Your head manager also quits after
admitting she has lost the confi
dence of shareholders.
The company owners demand im
provements. They agree to give you
another $4.8 million and they expect
results.
Now for the question: Do you im
mediately write a check to your out
going managers and let them decide
how to spend it? Or do you wait a
few months until the company is
taken over by new leaders selected
by a vote of the stockholders?
That's precisely what is happen
ing in the much-publicized legal bat
tle over school funding. This is not,
as some would have you believe, a
ease of one side wanting to improve
education, while the other side pan
ders to voters.
it's a matter of trust.
The citizens of Brunswick County
have made it quite clear that they do
not trust the elected officials who
run our schools. Early this year, one
of the school board's own members
expressed his frustration with board
policy by refusing to seek re-elec
tion.
In the May primary, two school
board incumbents failed to muster
the support of their own party. The
chairman was nearly defeated by a
candidate who had been dead for
several months. (She had the fore
sight to withdraw from the race be
fore the general election.)
With nothing to lose and every
thing to gain, this lame-duck board
PnV
la I IV
Carlson
presented the commissioners with a
wish list demanding 34 percent
more spending than the county felt
was necessary. When the commis
sioners said no, the outgoing school
board hauled them into court.
This beef has been going on for
years. Commissioners continue to
accuse the school board of spending
too much on administration and not
enough on teaching. Board of edu
cation members insist that student
performance can't improve until the
county spends more money on
schools.
The commissioners initially wel
comed the court trial as an opportu
nity for each side to present its case
before a jury of Brunswick County
citizens. But that's not what hap
pened.
Judge Jack Thompson (admitting
he had no legal basis for his ruling)
decided that the only issue for the
jury to consider was the amount of
money the school board claimed it
needed to run the schools.
The judge refused to let the coun
ty explain the process of creating a
budget. He did not want the jurors to
hear about the needs of all the other
county departments. Nor could they
be told that the commissioners must
set priorities to balance county
spending and tax revenue.
The jurors were not permitted to
consider that if every department got
everything it asked for (as the school
board demanded), this year's Bruns
wick County tax rate would be 90.4
cents per $100 valuation instead of
58.5 cents.
Nor was the jury told that its deci
sion to award the schools a $14 mil
lion budget would raise taxes by 10
cents. Judge Thompson went so far
as to decree that the "T-word" could
not even be uttered in the court
room.
The county feels the judge was
wrong and insists there was no rea
son to prohibit the jurors from hear
ing both sides of the argument In
taking the funding question out of
the commissioners hands, they felt
the court shouid have given the jury
the same information the commis
sioners used to make their decision.
That's why the jury verdict was
appealed. Not because the mean old
commissioners don't care about
good schools. Chairman Don
WaiTen and County Attorney Mike
Ramos both have children in the
Brunswick County school system.
You can be sure they care just as
much about their kids' education as
any other parent.
But the commissioners don't
seem to trust this school board any
more than the voters of Brunswick
County do. After hearing a lot of
promises and watching test scores
continue to fall, they apparently feel
this board of education has not
earned the right to administer the
largest school funding increase in
county history.
The commissioners don't have far
to look to find evidence of poor fi
nancial management. Just consider
the board of education's handling of
the Supply Elementary School sew
erage debacle.
Last March, health inspectors
found the septic field at the county's
newest school to be in "a total state
of failure" with effluent spurting to
the surface near the playground.
During the next five months, no re
pairs were performed on the system
while the school spent more than
$18,000 hauling sewage away for
treatment.
It wasn't until the county health
board threatened to close the school
that the administration began a seri
ous effort to get the system fixed
Needless to say, the jury wasn't
allowed to hear about that either.
Which is another reason why the
commissioners acted in the county's
best interest when they appealed the
jury decision and the judge's han
dling of the case.
A woefully misinformed editorial
writer recently called the county's
appeal "just plain stupid" and insist
ed the commissioners are "throwing
sway dcHsrs !c save dimes."
In fact, the appeal is estimated to
cost about $5,000. Winning it would
save county taxpayers $5 million.
That's a lot of dimes.
Or the commissioner might con
sider a third option.
While the case is on appeal, they
could call for an immediate state au
dit of school needs and expendi
tures. Then, when a new board of
education takes office, the commis
sioners could offer to drop their ap
peal in exchange for the school
board's agreement to follow the au
dit recommendations.
! suspect county taxpayers might
feel more inclined to support a tax
increase for that.
Worth
Repeating...
If your morals make
you dreary, depend up
on it, they are wrong. I
do not say give them up,
for they may be all you
have, out conceal them
like a vice lest they
should spoil the lives of
better and simpler
people.
?Robert Louis
Stevenson