I,
THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
VOLUME 43 NUMBER 28 12 PAGES TODAY SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA FEBRUARY 2, 1972 6 CENTS A COPY PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
State Superintendent Here
Dr. A. Craig Phillips, State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, was a visitor in Brunswick
County last Wednesday and is shown here as he
addresses a group of school officials at a lun
cheon meeting at Calabash..
Young Heads
County YDC
Thomas J. Young, Jr., was
elected Chairman of the
Young Democrats Club of
Brunswick County at a
meeting held at Southport
Community Center Thursday
night. Young is a graduate of
the Relators Institute at the
University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill and is owner of
Tom Young Realty at Bolivia.
He .is a member of the
Brunswick County
Democratic Executive
Committee and also a
member of the local Draft
Board.
Elected First Vice
Chairman was attorney Jim
Prevatte of Southport;
Second Vice Chairman,
Percy Hewett of Supply;
secretary, Allison Holden of
Holden Beach; and
treasurer, Mrs. D.T.
(Cherry) Clark, Jr., of
Leland.
Five directors were elected
and are as follows: Leo
Johnson, Jr., of Leland, Herb
Ward of Waccamaw, Mrs.
T.J. (Aveline) Young, Jr., of
Bolivia, Mrs. J.B. Kenney of
Southport and Benny Ludlum
of Supply.
Judge Ray Walton spoke to
the group, discussing the
value of young Democrats
He said young Democrats are
welcome in the party and the
field is wide open for them as
a candidate for office.
In the future, the club plans
to host candidates for
Governor, Lt. Governor, and
other offices. Plans for these
events will be announced at a
later date.
Supt. Phillips:
Taxpayers Take Closer
Look At Public Schools
Superintendent of Public
Instruction Dr. A. Craig
Phillips paid the Brunswick
County Schools a six-hour
visit last Wednesday.
Dr. Phillips, accompanied
by Assistant State Superin
tendent for Personnel
Relations and Public Affairs
Gene Causby, began his visit
with a short briefing by
County School Superin
tendent Ralph C. King,
Associate Superintendent
Robert C. Elkins, and Board
of Education Member Mrs.
Mae Barbee. The briefing
provided Dr. Phillips with an
overview of the strengths and
weaknesses of the unit as well
as plans for improving the
overall program.
Following the briefing, the
group accompanied Dr.
Heart Fund
Kick-Off Set
Jim Street, North Carolina
Heart Association associated
director, will be the guest
speaker at the Brunswick
County Heart Fund kick-off
dutch dinner Thursday night,
7:30 p.m. at Bennett’s Kit
chen in Calabash, announced
Mrs. Doris Redwine, Heart
Fund Chairman, has an
nounced.
“All city, rural, and area
chairmen - along with all the
county officers - are urged to
attend,” said Mrs. Redwine.
“There will be a ten-minute
film entiteld ‘What to Do In
Case of Heart Attack,’ and a
question-and-answer session
following,” said Mrs. Red
wine.
“Mr. Street is a very in
formative speaker. He has
his Ph.D. Degree in History
from Chapel Hill, has worked
in the management con
sultant department of a well
known firmin Atlanta, Ga., is
a freelance writer, was a
director for McGraw-Hill
Publishers and is very well
known in Brunswick, having
been a close friend of Bob
Ruark family in the South
port area,” stated Mrs.
Redwine.
"Anyone who is interested
in the Heart Association and
its work may come to the
dutch dinner and are
welcome to attend," con
cluded Mrs. Rjdwine.
Phillips to the Southport
Elementary School. This
school site was of special
interest to the State
Superintendent because of
the myrid of problems that
grew out of the destruction of
the main building by a fire
about four years ago.
School principal Col.
Marion L. Burn used a sketch
of the facility to underscore
some of the problems posed
by the physical layout of the
school. The visitors were
taken on a tour of the school
plant which included visits in
some of the classrooms.
The Southport visit was
followed by a luncheon at a
Calabash seafood restaurant
honoring Dr. Phillips. Fifty
three persons representing
all levels of professional
educators, local and county
school boards, and the P.T.A.
attended the luncheon.
In a short address to the
group, Dr. Phillips indicated
some possible new directions
in public education. He
pointed out that the tax
payers are beginning to take
a closer look at public
education and are demanding
that schools be held ac
countable for their product.
He stated that public schools
must adopt business prac
tices similar to those ad
vocated by the American
Management Association if
(Continued On Page Eight)
Well Prepared Students |
Goal Of New Curriculum
Curriculum changes in
Brunswick County high
schools next year have been
tentatively approved by the
board of education.
College preparatory,
vocational training and basic
education courses will be
offered; also, changes will be
made in the social studies
curriculum, while “mini
courses” will be offered on
some grade levels.
Working with the broad of
education to develop the new
school program were Supt.
Ralph King; Robert C.
Elkins, associate superin
tendent; Frances Stone,
assistant superintendent;
and Paul M. Brummett,
secondary supervisor.
The board also approved
the Title I program for the
elementary grades, but the
major emphasis of the
meeting was the development
of the new and altered high
school curriculums.
Following is a summary of
the new program:
PHASE SYSTEM
College Preparatory
(Phase 4) is designed to
assure students preparing for
college and university status
Blake Selected
GOP Chairman
Charles E. Blake, South
port builder, was elected
chairman of the Brunswick
County Republican party
executive committee at a
meeting of the committee in
Supply Friday. He succeeds
Mrs. Elizabeth Smith of
Southport.
Blake, who is president of
the Coastal Services Cor
poration and secretary of
Blake Builders Supplies, Inc.,
both in Southport, is a
graduate of the University of
North Carolina.
Mrs. Smith, who resigned
as chairman for health
reasons, was elected vice
chairman of the county GOP
committee, succeeding State
Rep. Thomas Harrelson of
Southport, former committee
chairman.
Visiting Republicans at last
week’s meeting including
John Thompson, of
Whiteville, Seventh
Congressional District GOP
chairman; Leon Simmons, a
Southeastern Community
College faculty member; and
Jerry Scott, finance director
of the State Republican
organization.
Addressing the Brunswick
County GOP leaders, Scott
urged support of the current
state Republican fund raising
campaign, which features
sustaning contributions. The
state goal is $300,000. Hie
Brunswick county quota is
$1,500, of which 25 percent
would be retained for local
expenses.
with the minimum entrance
requirements, subjectwise.
As this particular phase is
devised to provide depth in
qualitative and quantitative
thinking and achievement,
students entering this phase
curriculum should have a
“C+” and above average in
academic subject areas —
English, science, math, and
social studies. Students are
advised to maintain such an
average throughout the
course of study.
General (Phase 3) is
devised for average students
who may have no designs for
continuing education beyond
high school. Students en
tering this phase with slight
modifications and upon
successful completion of
chosen curriculum can seek
and attain entrance to college
prodiving they maintain a
“C” and above average in
academic subjects and
achieve an acceptable score
on required college entrance
examination. Subjectives,
students choosing this phase
will be provided a general
content coverage.
General Business (Phase 3)
parallels that of the general
curriculum phase 3 in
academic subjects in scope
and sequence. Students in
this phase will major in
business subjects during
their junior and senior years.
Having successfully com
pleted this course of study
(Continued On Page Eight)
Penny Tax Produced
$75,000 In Three Months
Brunswick County will
receive about $75,000 from
the first distribution of the
penny sales tax, which was
approved by the. board of
commissioners last summer.
According to a report from
the N.C. Department of
Revenue, $77,429.24 was
collected in the county during
die past quarter, which ended
December 31. The total,
minus one percent which will
be withheld by the Depart
ment of Revenue as its fee for
collecting the tax, will be
distributed among the county
and the Brunswick
municipalities.
The Department of
Revenue report shows that
$20,630.26 was collected
during October, $27,886.87
during November and
$28,912.11 during December.
The commissioners passed
the one-cent sales tax last
summer as a means of
alleviating the growing
burden on property-tax
payers. The board passed the
levy without a referendum,
which was its prerogative,
but commissioners were of
the opinion that the penny tax
was what a majority of the
people wanted.
The tax can be repealed
after the first fiscal year by a
referendum, but it is doubtful
that the sales tax will be
challenged.
The penny sales tax is
applicable to any purchase
that had previously been
subject to the state’s three
cent sales tax. Merchants are
e And Tide
In our issue for February 3, 1937, there was this headline:
“January Was Month of Mild Weather.” The Brunswick county
chairman for the American Red Cross expressed in print his
appreciation for the $480 contributed by citizens of this county
to the Flood Relief Drive sponsored by that organization. The
editor said that he was proud, too.
Back then there was news from more different sections than
now is being sent in to The Pilot. There was even one column
from Bald Head Island. There also were three regular school
columns — Waccamaw, Shallotte and Southport.
There was a front page story in our issue for February 4, 1942,
reporting a campaign to buy a new schoolhouse bell to take the
place of one that had been cracked when rung too vigorously
during Halloween celebration. Victory Gardens were being
suggested, and one loyal landowner was offering free garden
sites—with no takers.
Groundhog day had come and gone, but in its wake was
gloom: Six weeks more of winter weather was in propsect,
according to that superstition.
Brunswick county was to undertake a locally administered
revaluation program. That announcement was made in The
Pilot for February 5,1947. W.P. Jorgensen was tax supervisor.
Representative Odell Williamson had introduced a bill in the
State Legislature to abolish Rural Policemen for Brunswick.
(Continued On Page Pour)
i at a \
required to collect the extra
penny and forward it to the
Department of Revenue, just
as they had done before.
The revenue from the extra
penny tax has already been
figured in this year’s budget.
The levy was approved too
late for any first quarter
collections, but the second
quarter collections will be
distributed during February.
The next quarter ends March
31, and the greatest revenue
is expected during the
summer vacation months.
Chairmen For
Fund Campaign
Mrs. t>mriey war a ot Asn
and Mrs. Peggy Wolf of Rt. 1
Iceland have been named
Rural Heart Fund directors
for Brunswick County, Mrs.
Ouida H. Hewett announced
today.
Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Wolf
will direct the 1972 Heart
Fund Campaign in the non
urban areas served by the
programs of the Brunswick
Heart Association.
In making the an
nouncement Mrs. Hewett
said, “The support of rural
areas in Brunswick has
always meant the difference
between failure and success
in reaching our Heart Fund
goals. The leadership of
Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Wolf
insures that this difficult but
critical part of the 1972 Heart
Fund Campaign will be
thoroughly and effectively
reached.”
Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Wolf
are recruiting the Heart
Fund’s volunteer group for
solication in Brunswick, and
will direct its over-all fund
raising drive during
February, Heart Month.
m \m
Not Pros Is Court’s Safety Valve
Jy ED HARPER
He slapped you and it made
you mad, so you swore out a
warrant against him. The
next day you were on good
terms, he promised not to do
it again and you wished you
had that piece of paper back.
“ “I used to make them all
come to court and testify,”
said Judge Ray Walton, “but
not anymore. If a couple has
made up I let it go at that.”
In this case, Judge Walton
would order a nol pros (lat.
nolle prosequi, meaning
action would not proceed any
further) — a term often used
by the court and nearly
always misunderstood by the
people. It has been criticized
as an excuse not to prosecute
a case, but Walton and fellow
District Court Judge Giles
Clark believe this is far from
the truth.
“We don’t use it except as a
safety valve to take care of
cases in which you do not
have the evidence now but
may have it later,” said
Judge Walton. “The purpose
of nol prossing a case,” Judge
Clark added, “is to keep the
dockets current. We really
don’t close the cases.”
Judge Walton said most nol
prosses involved minor
traffic citations issued to out
of-state drivers. “On the
docket today,” he noted
recently, “we may have 100
f cases, but we won’t try more
than 40 or 50 of them.”
"Once an individual
individual no longer
determine if a case is to
the duty of the state.”
indicts another, the
has the right to
be tried. It becomes
Among the others are the out
of-state residents, charged
with minor traffic offenses
and allowed to go on their
way without bond. Some pay
their fines; many do not.
“The officers know that
most of the out-of-state
drivers will not come back,”
said Judge Walton, “but I’d
hate to live in a state where
they locked everybody up for
minor traffic violations.”
Judge Clark said that
frivolous prosecution is
another cause of nol prosses
in the courts. He cited a case
that allegedly occurred on
December 11, 1970, and was
recently nol prossed.
The plaintiff charged that
he had been shot and injured,
but never came to court to
prosecute the case. "We have
put forth an effort to locate
the prosecuting witness,”
Clark said, adding that the
plaintiff is charged with a
separate crime and would be
subject to arrest if he
returned for trial.
"Nol pros is a safety valve to take care of
the cases in which you may not have the
evidence now but may have it later."
Disputes between couples
or drinking buddies often end
up in court with neither
wanting the case to be tried.
“They get together the next
day and laugh about it,” the
judge noted, “but once an
individual indicts another,
the individual no longer has
the right to determine if a
case is to be prosecuted. It
becomes the duty of the
state."
When a wife or friend
comes to court and asks that
the case not be prosecuted,
District Court Solictor Wilton
Hunt usually asks the judge
to tax the plaintifff with the
court costs. “There is too
much cost involved for the
magistrate, the deputies and
the court,” he said.
Judge Clark said the court
will tax the plaintiff when the
prosecution is found to be
frivolous; that is, said
Walton, when the plaintiff
tells the court that the crime
sworn to in the warrant never
occured.
Sometimes, the threat of
trial is held over a defendant.
“A warrant should not be
used as a personal vendetta,’’
said Clark.
Lee Greer, solicitor for
Superior Coiirt who served
two years ; s District Court
prose e u ter . identified
anothe r cause of riol pros —
“plea bargaining.” An
example of this would be a
defends r t ’ rged with four
offenses, pleading guilty to
(Continued On Page Blight)
Testing For
Foiii dation
t
Workmen are shown here at work at Long
Beach wi>h the ocean in the background as they
make sample borings to determine rock foun
dation at the site of the proposed multi-storied
condominium at Long Beach, (photo by Shan
non).