THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
VOLUME 43 NUMBER 25
12PAGES TODA Y SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA
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JANUARY 12, 1972
5 CENTS A COPY
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
Derelict
This is a scene in Lockwoods Folly River near
the bridge over Highway 211 at Supply. The
probability is that this boat was tied up at this
point for safe harbor, then became a victim of
decay and neglect as she gradually sank to the
bottom of the stream. (Photo by Spencer)
Beach Trash Collection
Schedule Twice-A-Week
The regular monthly
meeting of the Yaupon Beach
Commissioners was held at
the Town Hall, January 3
with Mayor Clarence Murphy
presiding. All commissioners
were present, including Jack
Allen, Frank Aman, Gibson
Barbee, Jackie Herring and
William McDougle.
A letter received from the
UJS. Coast Guard regarding
the scheduling of bridge
openings for pleasure craft on
the Intracoastal Waterway
was read. They required,
among other things, 15
minute interval traffic count
and bridge opening count, so
the Commissioners agreed to
wait for a reply to their letter
to the State Highway Com
mission before acting on the
Coast Guard letter. Mayor
Murphy stated that at the
time the barge - bridge was
installed, the State Highway
Commission had said they
would take a traffic count at
peak hours, if necessary.
Commissioner McDougle
remarked that the boats
seemed to leave the Boat
Harbor in Southport about the
same time as the people on
the island were leaving for
work and the bridge openings
were causing delays and
people to be late. Therefore,
it was considered advisable
And Tide
The date was January 13, 1937, and Southport would have the
UJS. Navy Submarine Perch as a visitor the following day.
There was a front-page streamer in The Pilot saying so, and a
story detailing some of the entertainment that had been
planned for officers and members of the crew.
•Offices for the City of Southport had been moved into the first
floor of the old Southport High School building in Franklin
Square. That big, frame building had been abandoned several
years before as suitable quarters for a school, but had been
renovated with WPA funds for use by the American Legion and
the city administration. A decisidn had been reached not to
dynamite the wreck of the Greek ship Mount Dirfys, which had
sunk in Frying Pan Shoals a few weeks previously. This was
good news for fishermen, for it preserved new feeding grounds
for game fish which fed on barnacles.
Front-page news in The Pilot for January 14, 1942, told of
wartime restrictions; Tire rationing was in order, and only two
certificates for the purchase of new tires had been issued; there
was a great demand for scrap metal, and drives for collection
were on; and the county agent was warning farmers to protect
and plan to get full use from their farm machinery.
A front-page headline: “Weather Is Good For Hog Killing”;
some shrimp were being caught here, with enough sea mullet
(Continued On Page Pour)
to wait for any suggestions
that may come from the State
_Highway Commission.
^Sla anticipation of the in
creased population during the
summer season and the
addition of the Oak Island
-Bwneand Quail Hollow Drive
sections wmcfi were annexed
into Yaupon Beach on
January 1, the schedule of
trash collection was reduced
to twice a week. Property
owners will be advised of the
new collection days.
It was voted that the 1972
tax penalty date remain
unchanged at February 1.
The county has changed their
date to January 1, but the
commissioners felt it would
be in order to give Yaupon
Beach residents the extra
month before the interest
penalty would be added to
their tax bills. Tax notice
forms must be ordered for the
1972 year and Town Clerk
Marsha Stone inquired if the
town and county late dates
should be the same, so the
(Continued on page 2)
River Industry
Attracts Nader
Two members of Ralph
Nader’s staff met Saturday
with residents of New
Hanover and surrounding
counties about plans for a
Water Action Project and
how it might be made to work
in North Carolina.
Mr. and Mrs. Dallas Pigott
of Southport attended both
the morning and afternoon
sessions and when at the
conclusion of the meeting
mention was made that this
type of activity must be
funded, they became the first
to make a cash contribution.
They were there to represent
a large group of boatmen and
fishermen from Brunswick
County.
Robert Michaels and David
Zwick, Nader staffers
coordinating the organizing
effort, met with concerned
environmentalists at 11 a.m.
Saturday, and continued their
talks throughout the af
ternoon.
Basically the information
passed by Michaels was that
“If the people want a Clean
Water Action Project, they
must provide offices, ex
penses, and salaries for a
regional group which then
would in turn have national
backing.”
“We want the Clean Water
Action Project to be a North
Carolina project—not a
Michael’s project—not a
Nader’s project—but your
project,” Michaels said.
Michaels of Washington,
D.C., said the project’s goal is
to set up regional offices
across the country staffed by
lawyers, chemists, ecologists
and others whose duties will
be restricted to combating
water pollution.
“We want to prove to
ourselves and to others that
something can be done about
water pollution,” Michaels
told a group of con
servantionists, business
representatives and city,
Bt*te and federal officials.
(Continued on page 2)
39 Foreigners*
At Historic Site
Thirty-nine students from
19 different nations recently
visited Brunswick Town State
Historic Site while par
ticipating in the third annual
Christmas International
House sponsored by the
Winter Park Presbyterian
Church in Wilmington.
This program was begun
six years ago to provide in
ternational students at
tending colleges and
universities throughout the
country with a place to spend
the Christmas holidays. The
Winter Park church has
sponsored the program in this
area for the past three years.
While in Wilmington as the
guests of various families,
these students are given tours
of many points of interest in
the Lower Cape Fear area.
(Continued on page 2)
International Exchange Students
Students from 19 nations visited Brunswick Town recently
during the Christmas International House sponsored by Winter
Park Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Neal McMillan and some
of the 39 students are shown here
site. (Brunswick Town Photo)
as they begin their tour of the
Cited By State
County Welfare Office
Has Backlog Of Gases
By EU HAKFER
Many welfare recipients in
Brunswick County are being
underpaid, according to
Department of Social Ser
vices director Mrs. Emma
Chadwick.
“It has been our ex
perience,” she said, “that
because of the increase in the
cost of living some recipients
are not being paid as much as
they should be. I don’t think
we have a problem with
_ inolmimo*! tKftllgh ^ __ _
QnraglTi ' ————
Brunswick is among ten
North Carolina counties
identified by Clifton Craig,
commissioner of the state
Department of Social Ser
vices, as having many
ineligibles on the welfare
rolls and having a large
backlog of cases. A quality
control check reported that
ten percent of the North
Carolina recipients of Aid to
Families with Dependent
Children (AFDC) were
ineligible and another 33
percent were paid either too
little or too much.
Mrs. Chadwick said she
does not doubt that the
figures are accurate, but
added that they don’t tell the
whole story.
“We do have overdue
reviews, but we are working
qn them and clearing them
up. Like any agency,” she
continued, “the work
becomes more complicated
all the time and our staff is
forking hard to learn the new
procedures.”
Mrs. Chadwick said there
has been a lot of turnover in
her staff and when new
workers are being trained,
the learning is doubly hard.
“We really need some more
staff,” she stated. “An
eligiblity specialist for the
AFDC program would be a
tremendous help to the
county.”
The Social Services
director said the Brunswick
County commissioners had
provided her department
money to hire an eligibility
specialist but the decision
was made to employ a much
needed clerical worker in
stead. “The commissioners
are familiar with our needs,”
she added.
Mrs. Chadwick has been
aware of the problems of her
department all along; a
release of the statewide
survey called the public’s
attention to the situation and
touched - off an exchange of
charges among state of
ficials.
After Craig blamed the
situation on “improper
management” by the county
Departments of Social Ser
vices, the president of the
N.C. Social Services
Association said the state and
federal welfare agencies
must share equal respon
sibility for the reportedly
high rate of errors.
—“It's -a-part or the whole-"
welfare system,” said
association president E.C.
Modlin. “There is no one
single answer.”
John T. Morrisey,
executive director of the N.C.
Association of County
Commissioners, said Craig
should “quit picking on the
counties.”
“He should lode at the
whole rotten, lousy welfare
system and quit picking on
the counties,” said Morrisey,
not mincing any words. “It’s
-floha~ questhnr of “whour isr
blame for mistakes, but how
to improve a misad
ministered system.”
Craig replied that people
are always insisting that
problems be brought into the
open, “but when we expose
the problems they don’t like
it.”
“It was just making a
truthful statement. The
records show that there are
errors on the county level. If
we find fault that the county
has made, I don’t know
-anything—but to say—the
counties are in error.”
Five-Year Development
Plan Being Formulated
The Brunswick County
Extension staff has begun
work on a new five-year
program to help develop the
county’s economic, natural
and human resources.
The Brunswick County
program is part of a
statewide extension effort,
which was officially launched
in Raleigh today (Thursday).
The program has been named
IMPACT 76, because it is
. expected to have a big impact
upon the state by its ter
mination date of 1976.
A.F. Martin, Brunswick
County Extension Chairman,
said Impact ’76 establishes
goals in five major areas:
agriculture, family living, 4
H, community resource
development, and en
vironmental quality.
“We planned our local
goals with the help of
Rourk Doubts
Sheriff’s Word
Sheriff Harold Willetts
“may as well get ready to be
haunted by the mistake” the
commissioners have made
concerning the county jails,
according to former board
chairman George T. Rourk of
Leland.
Rourk, chairman of the
county board when the jails
now under construction were
being planned, was unseated
in the last General Election.
His objection was to
published statements at
tributed to Sheriff Willetts
that concerned financing of
the facilities being con
structed at Southport and
Shallotte.
In a prepared statement,
Rourk said, “As chairman of
the former Democratic board
of county commissioners, I
take exception to some of the
statements made by Sheriff
Harold Willetts in an article
appearing in the Wilmington
newspaper concerning the
new jails.
“Willetts stated that only
$25,000 was left by the former
board for jail building. This is
not true. Included in the 1970
71 was ten-cent levy for jail
building.”
This levy would be
equivalent to $72,000, Rourk
said.
“A grant of $8,400 for ar
chitect fees was obtained and
a grant of $44,500 for actual
structures was obtained and
$28,000 was included in the
contingency fund for this
purpose. This makes a total
of $152,900,” Rourk noted.
The former chairman said
the amount was more than
(Continued on page 2)
Brunswick County people;
Martin explained. “We in*
vited groups of people in over
a 12-month period and sought
their opinions on our needs
and opportunities.”
Statewide, more than 10,000
local citizens helped the
Agricultural Extension
Service plan for Impact ’76.
Martin describes some of
the specific objectives of
Impact ’76 in Brunswick
County in the following
paragraphs.
“The most important
problem areas were iden
tified by the Extension Ad
visory Committee. The.„
County Extension Office
plans to assist the people of
Brunswick County by
providing them with
educational information and
encouraging them to adopt
new practices that will
provide a better way of life.
The following is a listing of
the major areas for
educational effort of the
Extension Service.
AGRICULTURAL PRO
DUCTION AND
MARKETING —Rising costs
of production continue to
plague farmers along with
low prices for farm produce.
The Extension Office plans to
encourage practices that will
lower costs of production and
to encourage some growers to
add new enterprises to
supplement income. The
management, mechaniza
tion, record keeping and
marketing. The major em-|
(Continued on page 2)