The Pilot Covers Brunswick County THE STATE PORT PILOT A Good Newspaper In A Good Community Most of the News All The Time m VOLUME 412 No. 4 10-Pages Today SOUTHPORT, N. C. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1970 5* A COPY PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY Erosion At Yaupon Beach The ocean has been washing away Brunswick County beaches at an accelerated pace in recent months. The damage is severe at the Yaupon Beach amusement center, above, and has forced a move across the road in search of protection. (Photo by Spencer) County Farms Now Rank 44th Brunswick County has dropped from 39th to 44th in the ranking of the state’s 100 counties based on total value of agricultural production. The information is included in the new edition of North Carolina Agricultural Statistics produced by the Federal-State -'-•Crop Reporting Service in Raleigh. The U.S. and state departments of agriculture are the agencies involved in the project. Total value of 11 major crops in Brunswick County was listed at $4,508,130 in 1968, the most recent year included in the report. This is a decrease from the $5,426,880 listed for 1967. The breakdown by crops shows that tobacco value dropped from $3,986,000 to $3,302,000; peanuts from $4,080 to $2,040; sweet potatoes from $153,000 to $144,000; com from $741,000 to $534,000; soybeans for beans from $485,000 to $462,000; and all hay from $36,550 to $34,700. Increased values were noted for lespedeza for seed, up from $430 to $1,680; oats up from $5,960 to $6,700; wheat up from $6,960 to $9,700; Irish potatoes up from $7,560 to $9,580; and cotton up from $340 to $1,730. The four leading counties in North Carolina, according to the report, are Pitt, Johnston, Robeson and Columbus, which also are the leading tobacco-producing counties in the same order. NORRIS LONG Postmaster Long Retires Norris Long retired Friday as Postmaster at Southport after almost 35 years in the postal service. He has held the local position for the past three years. His position is being filled by Mrs. Marjori Livingston, veteran post office employee, who has filled in at various other times when the position of postmaster was temporarily vacant. Long went to work for the (Continued On Page Ten) Rep. Alton Lennon Reports Comity, Several Beaches Hamper Erosion Control Erosion of Holden Beach has been the center of attention lately, but if any of the Brunswick County beaches get relief from the sea Yaupon and Long Beaches probably will be the first. These two municipalities are the only beach areas in the county that have shown a willingness to share the cost of an erosion-control project that would be jointly financed by federal, state and local governments. The two Oak Island beach communities put up $20,000 to finance the first stages of the project which could answer the entire county erosion problem. Yaupon, the Brunswick beach with the shortest coastline (3,600 feet), put up $2,500 while Long Beach, the county’s longest strand of 43,000 feet, paid $17,500. Southport School Principals Named Principals of the Southport elementary and high schools have been named for the 1970-71 school year, according to county Supt. Ralph C. King. The new Brunswick County-Southport High School principal is E.L. Pettiford, and Marion L. Bum fills the position at the elementary school. The former principals, A.C. Caviness of the high school and T.M. Lee, submitted their resignations after the close of the school year in June. According to Supt. King, “both principals have broad backgrounds of educational experience and proven ability in school work. I am confident each will work for the advancement of the educational program in their respective schools and will provide important contributions to the total educational improvement in the country.”. Pettiford is a native of Spring Hope and was graduated from high school there. He did his undergraduate work at A&T State University and earned a B.S. degree in vocational agriculture. After teaching for several years he attended Fayetteville State University and received a B.S. degree in elementary education. Pettiford taught two more years before returning to A&T graduate school where he received his Masters degree in administration and supervision. He has served as principal at Anandale Elementary School in Pender County. Pettiford, whose wife is deceased, is a Mason and a Shriner. Bum was born in Brunswick, Georgia, but while his father was a boat pilot in 1937 with the U.S. Public Health Service he was stationed in Southport. Burn was graduated from high school in Charleston, S.C. and attended The Citadel, from (Continued On Page Pour) Tii And Tide The Pilot for July 31, 1935, reported the election of Henry C. Stone as principal of Shallotte High School. This was the biggest issue ever published up that date and included a 12-page section learlding the opening on August 8 Whiteville Tobacco Marketing County Agent J. t. uodson naa announced that tobacco marseiiug cards were ready for distribution and could be picked up at the Farm Office at Supply. One editorial cited the shameful need for a hardsurfaced road leading from Brunswick county to the tobacco market; the Waccamaw river was being surveyed to determine the feasibility of building a dam for the erection of a power plant; and news from Baltimore was that Miss Eleanor K. Niernsee was making a good record as student nurse at Johns-Hopkins. Five years later there were signs of international unrest: A Southport lady had received a letter from her family in England, who reported generally good conditions despite the fact that country was at war; there had been 21 Army enlistments from Brunswick so far for the year; and the Marine Corps was slanting a sales pitch to young men of military age. (Continued On Pace FV)ur) Other Brunswick beaches are Sunset (6,000 feet), Ocean Isle (28,000 feet), and Holden (40,000 feet). None has contributed its share of the costs. Aside from the $2,500 already contributed to the erosion study, it is reported that Yaupon Beach is holding approximately $50,000 in reserve to be spent as its share of the project. The local share of the project is six percent and could be shared by the county and the beach municipalities. According to Col. George Pickett, director of the State Department of Water and Air Resources, total cost of the Brunswick County project now is $21 million, almost $2 million more than the $19,251,000 that was estimated in 1968. Reason for the increase is “escalation in construction costs.” Alton Lennon, U.S. Representative for the district of which Brunswick County is a part, reviewed his position on (Continued On Page Bight) BEMC Shallotte Office Expanded Brunswick Electric Membership corporation is nearing the finish line on the addition to its headquarters building at Shallotte and work has started on enlarging the office at Whiteville, according to 'General Manager Robert G. Hubbard, Sr. The expansion at Shallotte, with design in keeping with the original building, is expected to be ready for occupancy this fall. The Whiteville enlargement, under contract to the J. W. Cook Construction Company of Whiteville, is in the foundation stage currently with completion expected in early 1971. Smith Brothers Construction of Whiteville has the general contract for the S' allotte addition. The two additions reflect progress of the cooperative since its founding 31 years ago in 1939. They will increase the total value of all facilities for BEMC to $10 million. Initially, the cooperative started out with only a handful of members and just a few miles of lines. Now there are over 16,000 members and 2,362 miles of transmission and distribution lines serving areas in four counties—Brunswick, Columbus, Bladen and Robeson. Both Manager Hubbard and Area Development (Continued On Page Hour) Deadly Nerve Gas Shipment Scheduled From Sunny Point Worldwide attention will focus on Sunny Point Army Terminal during the next ten days as a shipment of deadly nerve gas is brought here en route to a sea burial off the Florida coast. The disposal plan, announced last week by the Pentagon, has been strenuously and widely opposed, particularly by Florida Gov. Claude Kirk who has threatened to sue to block the effort unless the Army can provide better assurance that the gas will not affect east coast beaches. In recent days, officials have admitted that some gas has leaked from its container-rockets but added that damage from any leakage at sea would be minimal. The plan for the nerve gas disposal calls for trains from Anniston, Alabama, and Lexington, Kentucky, to leave those depots about August 10 with their cargos. The shipments involve 68 tons of the deadly gas. The gas, which is loaded in 15,540 rockets, will be encased in concrete coffins. Each of the 418 casks weighs six tons and will hold 30 rockets. The shipment of the deadly cargo has been declared safe by Pentagon officials but special precautions are being made nonetheless. The cargo trains will proceed from their depots at a slow 35 miles an hour and each will be led by an escort train to test and inspect the railroad route. Also, the routes have been planned to avoid heavily-populated areas, and antidotes have been stocked along the routes in case an Dr.L. G. Brown Ends Practice Dr. liandis G. Brown has retired after serving on the staff of J. Arthur Dosher Memorial Hospital for more than thirty years, arid fifty colleagues and hospital employees attended a farewell; dinner given in his honor at Herman’s Restaurant Friday night. W.F. Cupit, Administrator of the hospital, presented Dr. Brown a letter of appreciation from the employees of the hospital, a $100 gift certificate and a Certificate of Loyal Service from the Board of Trustees. Dr. Fred Burdette presented Dr. Brown with a plaque-type letter on behalf of the Medical Staff. Mrs. Jo Donnally, Director of Nursing Service, presented Dr. Brown with a letter of appreciation and a suit of clothes on behalf of nursing service. Mayor E.B. Tomlinson attended the dinner and made a speech of appreciation on what Dr. Brown has meant to the city land community during these past 30 years. He presented him with a letter from the Board of Alderman of Southport. L.T. Yaskell, chairman of the (Continued On Page Ten) emergency arises. Pentagon officials have stated that the probability that the cargo would leak and cause a major catastrophe is “essentially nil.” It would be “unrealistic” to worry about such an accident, the source added. The toxic chemical agent is in liquid form and the spokesman said that if any spilled, special crews could easily render it harmless by applying a caustic agent. The special trains will carry crews of security guards, medical aides and special technicians, to cope with any possible emergency. Everyone on the trains, including newsmen, must wear head-to-toe protective clothing to prevent any contact with nerve gas in case of that unlikely accident. The Pentagon chose ocean disposal instead of chemical detoxification because, it said, handling the nerve gas would have been too dangerous and too expensive. Critics have suggested that the government efforts to find a better means of disposal have been less than adequate. A team of scientists named to study the disposal stated that destruction of the chemical by an underground nuclear explosion would be preferable to the disposal 280 miles off the Florida coast. Leakage into the ocean through the concrete enclosures Physician Retires Dr. Landis G. Brown, left, was honored Friday night by his colleagues and friends at a dinner at Her man’s Restaurant upon his retirement from active prac tice- Here he receives a letter of appreciation from W. F. Cupit, hospital administrator. (Photo by Spencer) is expected—seepage from the rockets already has been noted—but the liquid gas is heavier than water and should stay near the bottom of the ocean. The depth where the gas is to be dumped is three .miles. A House oceanographic subcommittee currently is conducting hearings into the Army’s plan. Kirk told the panel Tuesday “if the ocean along our east coast became contaminated because something went wrong—if these missiles released their content in a matter not planned—it could be disasterous for us.” Congressmen from areas along the train routes also have expressed disapproval of the plan and there is a possibility that an objection may be forthcoming from the Prime Minister of the Bahamas. The mayor of Macon, Georgia, has threatened to stop the train there for 72 hours to protest the train’s by-passing of Atlanta because the latter is a heavily-populated area. He called the railroads in his area “antiquated” but saw no danger if the train were halted in his town. ratrons talk With Board The Brunswick County Board of Education met Monday night and discussed with Southport patrons plans for transfer of students from Fort Caswell to temporary facilities located on grounds of Southport School. Hope was expressed this transfer would be made before November of this year. These patrons presented to the board a list of items prompting concern among parents of pupils being housed at Caswell and BCHS. It was stated that unless positive action is taken to correct these negative factors before opening (Continued On Pane Tmn\ School Injunction Possible Mayor E.B. Tomlinson this week addressed a letter to County Attorney E.J. Prevatte outlining the position he feels compelled to take with regard to the unsettled school situation. In the course of this letter he states that an injunction will be filed if any attempt is made to begin any other high school building before one has been started in the Southern School District. Mayor Tomlinson admits that the county attorney may not be the primary recipient for this letter, but he has taken care of this matter by addressing copies to numerous other officials, including chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, the Superintendent of Schools and the chairman of the Board of Education. Following is the text of the Tomlinson letter: “I realize that airing school construction problems with you is perhaps going out of the chain of command, but inasmuch as you must make certain positive declarations before county bonds can be issued for sale I believe a restatement of some facts should be made: “In both recent school bond elections the Smithville school district voted overwhelmingly “yes” while much of the remainder of Brunswick County (particularly the western precincts) voted against the issue. “After the bond election passed in 1969, due to the large “yes” vote from both the Southport and Leland areas, school sites for the southern area (Bolivia-Southport) school were investigated at Boiling Springs and Midway. None of these proposed sites could be approved. An alternate site was chosen on Highway 211 (Beaverdam). This site was found suitable and the Weyerhauser Paper Company offered to sell for a reasonable figure. “At this time certain Bolivia area residents filed or threatened to file an injunction against the use of this site, even though it is only some two miles further from Bolivia than is the Boiling Springs site considered earlier. We in the Southport area could not understand this action as we had offered no objection to the earlier possibilities of the school being either at Boiling Springs or Midway. “I now understand that the Board of Education plans to ask for bids on the Shallotte and/or Leland area schools, by passing the Bolivia-Southport area for the alleged reason that we can (Continued On Pace Whit) Electric Cooperative Expansion Addition to Brunswick Electric Membership cor poration headquarters building at Shallotte, shown above, is expected to be ready for occupancy this fall. Enlargement to Whiteville office is just getting underway. Investment is over half a million dollars.

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