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THE STATE PORT PILOT A Good Newspaper In A Good Community VOL UME 43 NUMBER 47 10 PAGES TOD A Y SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA JUNE 14, 1972 5 CENTS A COPY PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDA Y Valuation, One-Cent Levy Drop Tax Rate To $1.42 Brunswick County property owners will be taxed only $1.42 per hundred dollar valuation during the next fiscal year, a reduction of 48 cents made possible by in creased valuation and the one-cent sales tax. The property valuation doubled from $67 million to $130 million, but County Manager Jerry Lewis em phasized that an individual’s listing was not changed unless he bought more property or improved what he already had. “We owe a lot to the efforts of the tax department to put unlisted property which had never been taxed, back on the tax books,” the county manager noted. The county is anticipating about one-quarter million dollars from the penny sales tax levied last summer by the commissioners. Allotment of $63,894 and $88,500 were received the first two quarters the tax Was effective here. Although a special ten-cent jail levy was to be subtracted from this year’s budget anyway, the 25-percent decrease was totally unex pected. Even with the reduction in the tax rate, Citizens’ Protest About Trailers Brings Results The Yaupon Beach board of commissioners held its regular monthly meeting at the town hall last Monday with Mayor Clarence Murphy presiding and Commissioners Jack Allen, Frank Aman, Gibson Barbee, Jr. and William McDougle present. Men Killed By Explosion, Fin An unexplained explosion and fire apparently killed two men near Leland early Friday morning. Coroner Lowell Bennett said the case is still under investigation. Dead are Paul Fowler, 37, of Riegelwood and Malcolm B. Tedder, 41, of Wilson, his brother-in-law. *« - According to Bennett, the bodies have been sent to Chapel Hill for further tests. They were found in a house about ten miles south of Leland on US 17. A neighbor how lives about one-quarter of a mile away reportedly heard an ex plosion about 3 a.m. He said a car came by a few minutes later, with the unidentified driver honking the horn and saying that a house was burning. The Winnabow Fire Department responded to the fire, but reported that the house had fallen in. The watch of one of the men reportedly had stopped at twenty minutes past three. Sheriff Willetts said he wanted to determine if the deaths were the result of an accident or foul play, ex plaining why the State Bureau of Investigation was called in. He said the SBI was working on the case. Mayor Murphy made the following announcements: 1. The Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public hearing on the beach erosion project for Yaupon Beach and Long Beach at 7:30 p.m. on Fiiday at the Brunswick County courthouse in South port. 2. The Yaupon Beach water system is in and working; however, there are still a few k small problems to be «" corrected which will be taken care of as soon as possible. 3. A fire truck was on display last Tuesday at the town hall for public in spection. Notices have been distributed in mail boxes and Mayor Murphy said he hoped all the townspeople would support the Volunteer Fire Department in efforts to purchase this truck for the town. This would mean that when the Fire Insurance Rating Bureau in Raleigh inspects and approves the town’s water system, hydrants, fire equipment and the training the volunteer firemen will receive at the Cape Fear Technical Institute, the town’s fire rating classification will be reduced and a reduction in fire in surance premiums will result. The reduction in premium will depend on the type of insurance policy carried, but will average between S percent and 15 percent on fire premiums. The windstorm premium will remain un changed since Yaupon Beach is in the “beach” area and the windstorm premium is twice (Continued On Page Three) Beach Erosion Hearing Friday Over $250,000 in state and local funds have been spent on plans for Brunswick County shore protection projects, according to Raymond S. Talton, Chair man of the State Waterways and Seashore Committee of the Board of Water and Air Resources. Talton made the an nouncement Monday during a meeting of committee members, Department of Natural and Economic Resources officials and State Brunswick County and local municipal officials. He said the meeting was organized to give the com mittee members and the officials their first close-up look at the plans prior to a Corps of Engineers public hearing on the projects this Friday in Southport. The Corps prepared the plans at a cost of $270,000. The state paid for 80 per cent of the total and the communities paid for the remainder. ‘ We feel the money is a good investment in correct planning for protection of such important natural resources,” Talton said. Col. Albert C. Costanzo, Corps District Engineer and members of his staff briefed (Continued On Page Three) Lewis said the county will be able to provide essential oorvippct “We should be able to improve the sanitary landfill program and expand the mosquito control program,” he said. Taking the funds appropriated last year for the consolidated schools into account, Lewis added, the board of education has received a 42.5 percent in crease. The board of education will receive 54 percent of the total budget, plus 57 percent of the expected sales tax revenue. According to Lewis, five cents of every tax dollar — an expected $58,500 — will be applied^ to a capital im provements fund which eventually will be used to build new county facilities. Schools will receive $1,610,282.81 in fiscal year 1972-73, compared to $1.44 (Continued On Page Three) Award Given Island Church Ocean View Methodist Church has been selected the Church of the Year from among more than 800 Methodist churches in the North Carolina Conference. The Rev. M. W. Warren is pastor of the church, which last year was named Rural Church of the Year in the conference. The award was made last week during the conference’s annual session at Duke University. The pastor presented a resume describing church activities during the past 12 months. Included among the church activities this year were ministries to the county jail and nursing homes and the work done in the community immediately after the Oak Island bridge was destroyed last fall. The coffee-house concept used in the Agape Inn for young people, which played a major role in last year’s selection as the state’s best rural church, was an important factor this year too, Rev. Warren noted. “Above all,” he said, “the award reflects the willingness of the church and the community to sacrifice. After the bridge destruction, he said, “rather that talk about fear, the church ex panded its activity.” CHURCH OF THE YEAR honors in the North Carolina Methodist Conference have been awarded to Ocean View United Methodist Church of Yaupon Beach. Last year, the church was honored as Rural Church of the Year by the same group when two categories were recognized. The Rev. M.W. Warren is pastor. Lockwoods Folly Jetties ‘Not Economically Sound’ anauoue area nsnermen are unhappy with a report presented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Monday night that the dredging of some sections of the Shallotte and Lockwood Folly rivers and stabilization of ‘he inlets is not economically feasible. About 90 fishermen and area residents attended the public hearing held in the Shallotte courthouse. Col. Albert Costanzo, Corps district engineer, conducted the season. The Corps’ recom mendations include a nine foot deep, 109-foot wide for each inlet. Initial cost of the Lockwood Folly project would be $92,000 with annual maintenance costs of $27,400; the Shallotte Inlet project would carry a total price tag of $251,200. In terms of money, local interests would be required to provide a cash contribution THE NEW BRICK HOME OF SHERIFF Harold Willetts stands beside the old Willetts residence off US 17 just south of Bolivia. Rumors circulated in the county would have it that Brown & Root, contractor for the CP&L plant near Southport, NKkH has built the house for Willetts as a personal favor. Company officials deny this, although admitting that some of the work has been done by Brown & Root employees. towards the cost of operation and maintenance of the projects. For the Shallotte Inlet project, the figure would be about $24,000, or 5.9 per cent of the construction costs. Local interests also would be required to contribute 10.5 of the maintenance costs for the Shallotte River portion of the improvements, now estimated at $4,600 a year. After the proposals were presented, Col. R.J.V. Page of the N.C. Department of Water and Air Resources stated that his department wanted both inlets stabilized. “We feel that jetties will be the ultimate solution, although it is not economically feasible at this time.” According to Col. Page, the state would pay 80 percent of the local costs of initial construction of the Shallotte Inlet project. Also, Page said, con sideration should be given to dredging Lockwood Folly Inlet to the west of the present location, and that dredged material should be placed at the west end of Long Beach that has eroded badly in recent months. At times loud comments were offered at the Monday night hearing. One fisherman said there are about 18 to 20 boats in Shallotte alone that no longer could use the inlet. Many other boats have left the area because of the shallow inlet, another noted. Tom Swain of the Corps of Study Approved The House Public Works Committee, meeting in Washington Wednesday afternoon, accepted Hep. Alton Lennon’s resolution for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “to conduct a study to determine the advisibility of reopening Corncake Inlet in the interest of navigation, pollution and siltation abatement, and fish and wildlife development.” Doug Jones of Southport, an aide to Congressman Lennon, said the authorization was the “first step” towards the possibility of reopening the inlet, which was closed in 1954 by Hurricane Hazel. Officials in favor of the inlet project claim that the inlet will make possible a flushing action that will clean the polluted waters behind Bald Head Island where shell-fishing now is prohibited. Engineers staff estftrfated ft would be at least two years before the rivers are dredged. Six months will be required for project review, he noted, followed by a written agreement with a local sponsor, then con struction. Improvement above Carter’s Landing was rejected because tne volume of traffic reportedly did not justify the proposed work. City Adopts $1.75 Rate The Southport board of aldermen has approved a tax rate of $1.75 per hundred dollar valuation, to be of ficially adopted July 13 if no objections are raised before then. The tentative budget was presented at the board’s regular meeting last Thur sday night. In other business before the board, a group of people discussed the proposed sewer, water and storm drain system which is planned for the city. There was also some discussion about playgrounds for school children and police for school crossings, A motion was made that before the next school year the superintendent of Schools be contacted about school police rContinued On Page Fbur) Company Denies Building Home For Sheriff Willetts Recent reports that Brown & Root, contractor for the CP&L nuclear power plant at Southport, is building a home for Brunswick County Sheriff Harold Willetts were denied this week by high company officials, who admitted that their workmen had previously done some work on the new Willetts residence, now nearing completion. The two-story, brick home is located on Highway 17 south of Bolivia. A letter from M.M. Fitch, senior vice-president for Brown & Root, admitted that several months ago the company did some work for Sheriff Willetts. One job was grading a road into his property. Another was framing work on a house. The letter stated that records for these jobs were handled entirely separate from the CP&L project and “was in voiced and paid for the same as any other contract.” The letter further stated that at a later date several company employees ‘‘roughed in” electrical wiring at Sheriff Willett’s new house as a personal favor. The statement said that the bill of materials was made out by Brown & Root men but was paid for by Sheriff Willetts. The communication from the Brown & Root official further stated that men working on the Willetts home at the present time are not employees of the company. This information was disclosed Monday afternoon at a news conference with Brown & Root and CP&L representatives with publishers and reporters from the two Brunswick County newspapers. The newsmen said they had heard repeated reports that Brown & Root was building Sheriff Willetts a house and had (OoottaRMd Ob Pal* Twr)
State Port Pilot (Southport, N.C.)
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June 14, 1972, edition 1
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