The Pilot Covers Brunswick County THE STATE PORT PILOT A Good Newspaper In A Good Community Most of the News All The Time VOLUME 412 No. 2 5* A COPY PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY mmm Deed Delivered For Recording pus was the scene in the office of Register of Deeds Durwood Clark, left, Friday afternoon when E. J. Prevatte, secretary of the Carolina Cape Fear Corporation presented for recording a warranty deed from Frank O. Sherrill for Bald Head Island. A com plementary deed from Mr. Sherrill and a deed of trust from the corporation to Mr. Sherrill also were delivered for recording. Observing this historic transaction were Mrs. Emily McKeithan, Mrs. Cherry Clark and Mrs. Faye Dickerson, with Mr. Prevatte on the right. (Photo by Spencer) Record Check Received This is a photostat copy of the check for $5,500 from Frank O. Sherrill which was delivered in pay ment for revenue stamps to be affixed to the deed of trust for Bald Head Island and was recorded at the office of the Brunswick County Registry of Deeds in Southport Friday afternoon. At one-tenth of one percent, the legal requirement for revenue stamps, the sale price for the island was pegged at $5.5-mil lion. Funds received for the revenue stamp go into the Brunswick County treasury. Border Belt Markets To Open Tuesday By BILL EDMUNDS The recommendations of the Tobacco Marketing Committee have been approved by the Border Warehouse Association. ..and its now official—tobacco sales on the Whiteville Market, along with 7 other markets on the Border Belt, will begin next Tuesday, July 28th. First sales on opening day will be at Crutchfield’s, Moore’s and Smith’s Warehouses. Under a schedule adopted by the Whiteville Tobacco Board of Trade, each of the 8 Whiteville Warehouses will have a sale each day throughout the season. Sales during the first week will be of 4 hours duration for each of the 3 sets of buyers with sales continuing thru Friday. For the 2nd and 3rd weeks the allotted sales time will be 4'/2 hours each day, Monday thru Thursday. On Tuesday the familiar chant of the Auctioneers will begin promptly at 9 a.m., and within a few minutes thousands of growers will have a pretty good indication of how successful their efforts of the past eight months have been. In many instances prevailing weather conditions during the past 60 days have already given growers a pretty good idea of what to expect. Advance reports indicate that extremely dry weather in many sections of the Border Belt have adversely affected the quality of the 1970 crop, however, experienced observers say that generally speaking the crop in most areas of Columbus County is far superior to that in other (Continued On Page ttx) Board Sets $1.90 Tax Rate A tentaive tax rate of $1.90 cents has been approved by the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners and more than half of the levy will go to the schools. The tentative budget was okayed last Wednesday night and will remain on file in the courthouse for 20 days before it officially can be adopted. The commissioners have authority to alter the budget until the 20-day period has expired. Commissioners V.A. Creech, Clemit Holden, Paul Dennis and Willie Ward voted in favor of the tentative budget and Commissioner George Rourk voted “no.” Rourk has expressed displeasure with the proposal that the county spend money to construct two jails. The commissioners have voted to set aside ten cents for the construction of the jail facilities but have stated that the levy will be deleted after one year. The budget allots $6,664,937 for the operation of the county services and the construction of three consolidated schools. The 1970-71 fiscal year budget is more than $4 million above the total for last year although the tax rate only increased ten cents from $1.80. Proposed school building and jail construction accounts for the big jump. Tax budgets have increased for the past several years in Brunswick county. In fiscal year 1968-69 the county tax rate was $1.55 and the budget was $2,146,584. Last year the budget was $2,668,299. The $6-mUlion plus budget for the 1970-71 fiscal year includes $3,733,000 for school construction. A special bond election was okayed last year for $2.85 million of the costs $500,000 of state bond money and other county money, including the insurance from the burned Southport High School building, was added to meet the expected cost of the three schools. Still, the money as insufficient but the commissioners have found what they believe is sufficient money to pay for the schools. Of the $1.90 levy, 86 cents is designated for the schools and 94 cents for the county services. For the schools, the current e And Tide Our July 17 edition for the year 1935 announced that C.A Ledford had been elected principal at Southport High School. Heavy rains had caused crop and road damage in Brunswick county, with a cave-in occurring on Highway No. 17 near Bolivia. Announcement was made that work as about to begin on the erection of a seafood freezing plant at Southport. A 6-foot alligator had been caught in a shrimp net while trawling operations were in progress in a creek near Southport; a mule belonging to a fanner in the Shallotte Village area had been stuck and killed by lightning; and our community news coverage included correspondence form Grissettown, Shallotte Village, Town Creek, Winnabow and Supply Route No. 1. Seven new historical markers had been erected in Brunswick, according to report in our July 17 edition for the year 1940. A little (Continued On Pag* Pour) expense budget has increased from $571,681 to $744,000 since last year, the capital outlay dropped from $331,000 to $211,000 but was supplemented by the $3,733,000 outlay for school construction. The debt service increased from $233,000 to $253,000. The school budget has increased from $727,140 two years ago to $1,136,311 last year and $4,942,081 this year. The jail construction levy will accrue $60,300 based on the current county valuation of $67 million and tax collection rate of 90 percent. This figure has been deemed sufficient for the county to construct the jail facilities at Southport and Shallotte, as approved by the commissioners. Other county expenses specified in the budget included $367,000 for the general fund, up from $329,000 last year; the county accountant expenses, up from $22,230 to $24,120; welfare administration, up from $97,000 last year to $106,000 this year. Old age assistance tentatively has been budgeted $171,000 which is a reduction from the $192,000 allotted last year; aid to families with dependent children is down from $295,000 to $281,000; aid to partially and totally disabled is down from $188,000 to $143,000; but the medicaid and medical assistance programs jumped from $111,000 to $278,000. The program was not listed in the budget for 1968-69. Aid to the blind was decreased from $10,187 to $6,567 and the cost of revaluation was lowered from $27,900 to $24,120. The county debt service dropped from $88,000 to $80,000. The Resources Development Commission is allotted $36,000, an increase over the $34,500 (Continued On Pag# Five) Bald Head Sold To Private Developers For $5.5 Million At five minutes past 2 o’clock Friday afternoon E. J. Prevatte, secretary of Carolina Cape Fear Corporation, walked into the office of Register of Deeds Durwood Clark and said he wanted to record three deeds pertaining to the sale of Bald Head Island. The first of these was a warranty deed signed by Frank O. Sherrill and wife, Ruth J. Sherrill. The second was what the Southport attorney termed a complementary deed, which was without warranty. The third, which went on record following the first two, was a deed of trust from Carolina Cape Fear Corporation to Mr. and Mrs. Sherrill. This latter was to secure the mnpaid balance • of $5,396,169 and referenced a separate contact agreement governing future payments and interest. Also presented at this time by Prevatte was check for $5,500.00 from Sherrill to the Register of Deeds for Brunswick county for revenue stamps. The legal rate of one-tenth of one percent, this would indicate a total purchase price of $5,500,000 for this transaction. This would make it the largest single real estate deal in the history of Brunswick county, although there already have been some big ones. The sale of his interest in Long Beach by E.F. Middleton to National Development Corporation several years ago was a big deal, as was the sale by West Virginia troveraor Denies Access To Island Bald Head Island will not be connected with the mainland either by road or ferry service during the administration of North Carolina Gov. Bob Scott. The state’s chief executive reaffirmed his position Tuesday, stating unequivocably, “There will be no access granted to Bald Head Island during my administration.” The governor’s position was revealed earlier in the Ft. Caswell Sets School Use Limit Ralph King, Superintendent of Brunswick County Schools has received a letter from Dr. W. Perry Crouch, general secretary of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, outlining the conditions under which the Baptist Assembly at Fort Cowell may continue to be used this year to house classes of the Brunswick County-Southport High School. The letter also stated that under no conditions will permission be granted to use these facilities after the upcoming school year. Copies of this letter also were mailed to each member of the Brunswick county Board of Education and to George T. Rourk, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. Text of the letter follows: “The Executive Committee of the General Board of the Baptist State Convention has asked me to write you a sincere word of concern about your use of our Caswell property, and a final word about a deadline for such use. The Executive Committee has been anxious to help you meet an emergency caused by one of your school buildings burning in December, 1968. At your request, we offered our facilities at Caswell to meet this emergency without cost to you, except utilities and upkeep. “On November 20th, 1969, we (Continued On Page Five) JUJI Rear Admiral St. George St. George Is Rear Admiral Captain William Ross St. George of Norfolk, Va., has been promoted to rear admiral. Presently serving as commanding officer of the guided-missile frigate USS Josephus Daniels (DLG-27), he reports July 27 to Pentagon duty as chief of the Middle East, (Continued On Page Five) con verv a ti on-development argument over who should own the semi-tropical real estate near Southport. The sale of the island was announced Friday in a deed transfer from previous owner Frank Sherrill to Carolina Cape Fear Corporation, a private enterprise that wants to develop the island into a push $288 million resort. Now, the governor has assumed a wait-and-see position “because the situation is still up in the air.” Gov. Scott has sided with conservationists who want to maintain the island in its natural state and who believe that dredging operations, which are necessary to the construction of a roadway or ferry slips, would destroy the ecological balance of the marshes between Bald Head Island and Southport and would kill marine life that breeds there. Without the causeway or ferry slips, the only way to get to the island is by airplane or boat, or “swim,” as one state official has suggested. It is expected that the construction or an airfield also would necessitate dredging of the marshlands. The state wanted to purchase the island for Sherrill’s $5.5 million asking price but the owner could not negotiate with the state while Carolina Cape Fear Corporation held an option on the property. The Nature Conservancy, a national endowment fund, reportedly would have advanced the money to he state for the purchase. Gov. Scott said Tuesday that the state is still interested in the purchase of Bald Head Island and the preservation of its marshes. He has expressed interest that a marine research center be located on the island and that a public beach area be set up. The goemor contends that the state owns 9,000 acres of marshland but that the owner of the property, whomever it may be, has clear title to the 3,000 of high ground on the island. A spokesman for the Carolina Cape Fear Corporation said his firm is unsure who has rights to the marshes. Pulp and Paper Company of its holdings in Brunswick county to International Paper Co. But the Friday sale stands alone at the top. Regardless of what the future may hold for this business transaction, the full amount paid for revenue stamps goes into the Brunswick county treasury. No sooner had the deeds been delivered to Register of Deeds Clark than the telephone started ringing as upstate newsmen sought verification of the transaction. Earlier in the day Bill Henderson, chairman of the board for Carolina Cape Fear Corporation had issued a press bulletin announcing that the option held from Sherrill for the purchase of Bald Head Island had been exercised. Later Governor Bob Scott had issued a statement expressing disappointment that the state had been unable to purchase the property. Conversation with Prevatte left no doubt that the corporation which he represents plans to proceed at once with plans to create a residential, recreational development which eventually will include convention hotel facilities. Board Backing Erosion Work The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session Monday and John Holden, Mayor of Holdens Beach, came before them to request the endorsement of a Resolution entitled “A Resolution requesting the Honorable Alton A. Lennon to take the initiative in obtaining financing for the stabilization of Lockwood’s Folly Inlet in ?rder to prevent the further deterioration of the marine resources, the fishing and tourist Industries, and the navigational possibilities of Brunswick County”. Following is the text of that > resolution: “WHEREAS, the economy of Brunswick County is closely related to the successful operation of its fishing and tourist industries, and in order for these industries to thrive its marine and natural resources must be conserved, but regardless of the economic impact resulting from the destruction of our natural resources, our government has a responsibility to conserve these resources; “AND WHEREAS, Lockwood’s Folly Inlet is (Continued On Page Five) Construction Progress At CP&L Plant rteimorcing steei roas suck up from the foun dation of the CP&L nuclear power plant near South port like trees in a forest. This picture was made this week end shows the progress that has taken place at this site during the past six months. (Photo by Spencer)

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