THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
.VOLUME 42 , i NO. 46
10PAGES TODAY
WEDNESDA Y, JUNE 2,1971
SOUTHPORT, N. C.
5c A COPY
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY '
•■X*
They ’re Saying It Can t Be Done
The big topic of conversation in Southport this
week is the project to move the old Waccamaw
Bank & Trust Co. building from its location on the
southwest corner of the Howe St.-Moore St. in
tersection to a new site across the street next door
to City Barbershop.
There are a lot of people who do not think this
can be done, but this does not include Carlton
Barbour, who is in charge of the work crew which
has been busy for the past ten days getting the
building ready for its short journey. He is a calm
man and says with confidence, “I know we can
move it.”
In preparation for this move it has been
necessary to undermine the present foundation
and to remove the concrete floor. On Monday
workmen began to demolish the front end of the
building where the vault was located. For this
operation an air hammer was brought into play.
This led one local wag to say “Now I know how
they plan to move the bank — one brick at the
time”.
There are some who side with Barbour, but even
they want to be on hand when the actual moving
begins, and they have asked to be informed ahead
of time. Right now it appears that this operation
should take place sometime Monday. Barbour
says that once the building is jacked up and placed
(Hi dollies, the actual trip will not take very long. So
those who want to see the bank building in motion
should check with this project early Monday
morning.
If — and when — the move is successful the
building will become the new office for The State
Port Pilot. .^ ^ — ,•.
That’s why we are very much interested in the
success of this operation.
Woman Held
For Shooting
Murder charges have been
filed against a Somerset!
Landing woman and assault
charges against three
Shallotte men following the
May 17 shooting death of Billy
Wayne Ward.
Ellen Tippett, 25, is
scheduled to appear at a
preliminary hearing June 14
in Shallotte on the murder
charge. She was admitted to
Brunswick County jail and
bond was set at $2000.
Three members of Ward's
family were charged
with assault. J.C. Ward and
Donard Ward of Shallotte,
charged with assault with a
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School Board Asks That
County Allow Penny Tax
Members of the Brunswick
County Board of Education
have gone on record as
favoring a 1-cent sales tax,
with the money being ear
marked for school purposes.
At their last meeting they
passed the following
resolution:
“Being cognizant of the
financial responsibility
placed upon the Board of
County Commissioners in
meeting fiscal budget
recommendations from
various county agencies and
adhering to the present ad
valorem tax rate, the
Brunswick County Board of
Education does request the
Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners to levy a one*
cent sales tax so as to provide
the financial assistance
needed in meeting the
educational needs of the
county—both short and long
range, and the needs of other
local agencies without in
creasing the advalorem tax
rate, rather the Com
missioners, can over a period
of time, reduce the tax rate
providing the one cent sales
tax is levied.”
In other action, Barbara S.
Rourk was approved as
substitute librarian for
Leland School.
They accepted the
following teachers’
resignation: Bolivia — Ann
H. Evans; Shallotte —
Carolyn H. Sheffield, Mary C.
Stanland; Southport —
Elizabeth Dean, Alma
Caviness (retiring), Dorothy
Blue; Union — Elizabeth Kay
Brannon, Nina E. Britt,
Bobby D. Golden, Ann S.
White.
Reassignment of teachers
in accordinace with HEW
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The Eagle Departs
This is the U.S. Coast Guard Training Ship
Eagle, a three masted barque, which spent three
days last week in Southport while her officers and
crew and the 168 cadets from the U.S. Coast
Guard Academy were guests of organizations
and citizens of this community. A large crowd
gathered on the City Pier to say goodbye to their
new friends as the sailed Friday morning. (Photo
by Delores Spencer)
Sail Ship Eagle Departs
After Port - Of - Call Visit
A strange quiet settled over
Southport about the middle of
the day Friday and things
began to get back to normal
after three days of en
tertainment and excitement
brought on by the visit here of
the U.S. Coast Guard
Training Ship Eagle.
The crowd gathered at the
dock Friday morning to see
her off may have been just a
little disappointed when the
ship failed to hoist her sails,
butthey reckoned without the
wind, which was almost dead
calm. So this distinguisiied
sailing vessel moved out to
Vote Legislation
‘Good As Dead’
A bill that “could have
eliminated outright fraud and
forgery from North Carolina
elections” was killed Wed
nesday by the House of
Represenatives.
The vote was 59-49 to table
the bill. “It’s as good as
dead,” said Rep. Thomas
Harrelson, who voted in favor
of the legislation. R.C. Soles,
the other representative of
the Columbus-Brunswick
district, cast his ballot with
the majority.
Harrelson, who won his
House seat in January when
the State Board of Elections
found evidence of fraud and
forgery in Columbus County,
has pushed for election law
reform.
House Bill 782, introduced
by Rep. Worth Gentry at the
request of the State Board of
Elections, would have
required every voter to sign
the poll book and show
adequate identification prior
to voting. Any voter unable to
sign his name would have
been given assistance by a
poll official.
Harrelson, who said the
measure had the support of
numerous civic
organizations, compared the
bill with another he in
troduced earlier in the
General Assembly.
“This measure sponsored
by the State Board of Elec
tions was certainly no at
tempt to slow down the voting
process, as was alleged in
some arguments,” the South
port legislator commented.
“The State Board of Elec
tions is not interested in in
stituting any procedure that
would hamper the elections
system.
“It is indeed unfortunate,”
Harrelson continued, “that
(Continued On Page Four)
County Changes
House Partners
A redistricting plan that
separates Columbus and
Brunswick counties has been
ratified by the North Carolina
General Assembly.
Next election, Pender and
Brunswick counties will join
to elect a single represen
tative to the state House.
Columbus joins with Bladen
and Sampson counties to
elect three representatives.
Brunswick and Columbus,
partners in a House district in
recent years, had elected two
representatives. Democrat
R.C. Soles, Jr., of Tabor City
and Republican Thomas
Harrelson of Southport are
now serving the district in the
House of Representatives.
The Southport legislator
said that “while I am cer
tainly sorry to see Columbus
and Brunswick counties split
after so many years of close
relations, Pender County will
make a good partner for a
House seat.”
Pender, like Brunswick, is
a rural, coastal county, with
several small towns.
“The counties have many
of the same problems and
opportunities,” Harrelson
said. “Both are largely
dependent on tourism,
agriculture and the fishing
industry, and therefore it will
be a good district to
represent.”
sea under auxiliary power.
On hand for her departure
was Congressman Alton
I.ennon, whose efforts had
largely been instrumental in
having her come in here in
the first place. He followed
her out to the sea buoy as
guest of Col. Thomas G.
Haake aboard the fire boat
from Sunny Point, with
Mayor Lester V. Lowe and
other officials also aboard to
wave a last farewell to the
men of the Eagle.
“I am pleased with
everything that happened
while the ship was here,”
Mayor Lowe said later. “It
was a situation where one
hundred per cent cooperation
made everything turn out
almost perfectly. It was an
honor to have that ship and its
men as our guests, and I
honestly believe they had a
Congressman & Mayor
Congressman Alton Lennon showed up In South
port Friday morning to see the Eagle off on her
return trip to New London, Conn. He is shown here
with Mayor Lester V. Lowe, standing on the City
Pier with the sailing ship in the background.
(Photo by Delores Spencer)
good time.”
One event that helped get
things off on the right foot
was a dance honoring the
U.S. Coast Guard cadets last
Tuesday evening at the
Community Building. The
Jaycettes were hostesses,
with the Junior Woman’s
Club helping with refresh
ments. The Jaycees helped
ees helped keep things in-,
teresting for the members of
the ship’s crew when they
hosted a party for these men
on Wednesday evening and
staged a softball game for
them on Thursday.
Meanwhile, officers and
cadets found Southport people
to be very hospitable and
their time here was filled
with entertainment.
Two events marked the
visit as unusual. Commander
Harold A. Paulsen presented
a plaque to members of the
Southport Jaycees in
recognition for their unusual
efforts to make this visit
successful. He said this was
the first time this has been
done.
The second was the fact
that during her brief stay
here more than 3,600 persons
went aboard the vessel as
sightseerers.
Child Dies
In Accident
A six-year old child was
killed Sunday afternoon when
she was hit by a car in the
Tranquil Harbour section of
Long Beach.
Glenda Cockran was >
pronounced dead on arrival
at Dosher Memorial Hospital
after the 7:20 pm. mishap
that occurred on 78th Street.
She was the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Glen D. Cockran.
Driver of the automobile
was Carey Dickson Aldridge,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter
Aldridge of Southport who
now lives at Long Beach. The
child apparently ran from > ;
between two parked cars into
the road.
No charges have been filed
against Aldridge.
New System At Terminal
Increases Ammo Loading
More than half the am
munition shipped from this
country leaves through the
Sunny Point terminal, and
now the system is being
improved to handle even
greater loads.
The new system, which was
put into operation on Friday,
is called Containerized
Ammunition Distribution
System (CADS). Ammunition
is pre-packaged where it is
manufactured, shipped by
rail to the terminal near
Southport and loaded aboard
cargo ships.
The new method reduces
the amount of handling time
by almost half and reduces
the risk accordingly.
The operation on Friday
was witnessed by tran
sportation officials from
other terminals and
Congressman Alton Lennon,
who lauded personnel of the
Sunny Point terminal.
“This facility, which has
been in operation little more
than 15 years, has risen to the
point that it now handles
approximately 55 per cent of
all the ammunition exported
from the United States,”
Lennon said. “This is a great
tribute to the people who are
here now and have been here
in the past."
Lennon, who has been
familiar with Sunny Point
since it was first authorized
in the early 1950s and
dedicated and began
operation in September of
1955, said the new con
tainerized process shipment
of ammunition will not only
reduce the time of handling of
the cargo but ultimately
reduce the cost of handling
substantially.
“I’ve always had a great
interest in the operation
here,” Lennon said. “It
means a great deal to the
economy of the area. Sunny
Point provides a lot of em
ployment. That’s what I’m
interested in.”
Lennon said Sunny Point
will continue to grow. He said
the current appropriations
requests include funds for
additional construction
projects at the terminal.
“I’m very proud of the
people here,” he said. “They
projected themselves so fast
they have moved ahead of
operations which were begun
many years before this one
was even started.”
Time And Tide
Back in 1936 Vacation Bible School in Southport was a
cooperative venture, with all Protestant Churches par*
ticipating. Our June 3 issue reported that the Rev. J.D. Withrow
was serving as superintendent that year. May had been a dry
month with just .12-inches of rainfall reported. The following
Saturday was the date for the Democratic Primary election.
Register of Deeds R.I. Mintz was at a loss to explain the drop
in the number of divorce actions and marriages in Brunswick
during the first five months of the year; and the editor was
praising the efforts of his staff of country correspondents—in
the obvious hope of adding to their number.
June 4,1941, and the menhaden boats were in operation here.
If fact, a headline in The Pilot called the “Fish Boat Whistles
Music In The Air”. A group of Greensboro fishermen, taking
advantage of the fishing fee plan at Orton pond, had come away
with record catches of crappie and goggle-eye perch.
Joe Leighton had played for the Southport Flower Show Ball
during the past week and had made such a big hit that he and
his orchestra had been booked for an engagement at Long
Beach Pavilion. Marrying was in the news, with a headline
pointing out that “No Advantage For Couple To Leave State To
Marry.” And once more May had been a hot, dry month.
There was distressing news on the front page of The Pilot for
May 29,1946; Oak Island Coast Guard Station had gone on care
take status, with only two men in the crew. However, there was
an added word that this move possibly was only temporary.
The Democratic primary had been held on the previous
Saturday, and a second race was in prospect.
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