THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
VOLUME 44 NUMBER 2 12 PAGES TODAY SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA AUGUST2, 1972 ' 5 CENTS A COPY PUBLISHFD EVERY WEDNESDAY
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THE BOARD OF EDUCATION has designated
school districts for Brunswick County con
solidated high schools that will be used for the
first time this year. According to Supt. Ralph
King, busing will be confined .to the particular
school district, with no cross-busing necessary to
achieve racial balance. The board has rejected a
request from residents of the Town Creek section
who wanted ther children admitted to the North
Brunswick school, which is much closer to their
homes than South Brunswick. West is expected to
have the largest enrollment (about 900) when
school begins August 31; the other schools expect
enrollments of 650 to 700.
Lightship Project Enters Phase II
Phase II of the Frying Pan
lightship project, which
includes die sandblasting and
painting of the exterior and
main deck of the vessel, now
is underway.
The first stage of the
project to make the lightship
a nautical museum was
completed just before the
Fourth of July weekend when
the vessel was moored at the
Group Sets
Farm Tour
The Brunswick Soil and
Water Conservation District
will sponsor a farm tour on
Friday, August 18.
The group will meet at the
site of the old Food City —
Gibson’s stores in Shallotte at
, 2 p.m.
“We plan to see coastal
bermuda pasture
management, water disposal
systems, minimum tillage,
forestry practices, tobacco
harvester operation, sanitary
landfills, and beach erosion
control measures,” said
James D. Bellamy, Jr., of the
organization.
“Anyone interested in
(Continued on Page Five)
foot of Howe Street in South
port. Responsible for that
work were Von Oesen and
Associates of Wilmington,
Lincoln Construction Com
pany, Diamond Construction
Company, McLean Con
struction Company, Military
Ocean Terminal at Sunny
Point, the U.S. Coast Guard
and Newell’s Chain Saw
Service.
Also, donations have been
received by the finance
committee, including con
tributions from City Cab
Company, $50; Bill Ezzell,
$10; James Tyer, $10; Mrs.
Marcellus Cox, $10; Cape
Fear Realty, $20; Mary
McHose, $10; Dot Gilbert,
$10; James H. Davis, $10;
Mrs. Ruth McHose, $100;
Suzanne Connell, $10, City of
Southport $300; Ressie
Whatley, $10; Jo-Jo
Fullwood, $5; A1 Martin, $10;
Cathy Holth, $10; A.E.
Huntley, $10 and an
anonymous $5 contribution.
A newsboy donated 60
cents, while a collection box
at the lightship has netted
$7.71.
Phase III of the lightship
conversion will include the
sandblasting and painting of
the afterdeck and radio
Workshop Held
For Instructors
An in-service workshop for
kindergarten teacher and
assistants was held at the
Brunswick County
Educational Media Center
near Bolivia last week.
The program, funded by
ESEA, Title I, was conducted
by Miss Eileen J. Miller,
consultant in Early Childhood
Education for the North
Carolina State Department of
Pulbic Instruction, and Mrs.
Elizabeth Frazier, lecturer
in Early Childhood Education
at University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Some of the topics pursed
during the wedk were:
Trends, Purposes, Methods,
and Strategies for Developing
Good Kindergarten - Early
Childhood Programs; Open
Education; The Use of
Educational Media in
Developing Programs for
Young Children; Language
Experiences in Kin
dergarten; Informal Methods
and Testing Techniques Used
to Indicate Developmental
Levels and Needs in Planning
Learning Experiences for
Young Children; Scheduling;
Music ; and Art.
The teachers and assistants
also used a partof each day to
work on materials that can be
used in their classrooms
(Continued on Page Five)
beacon room and the in
stallation of lights; Phase IV,
the renovation of the pilot
wheelhouse and the com
manding officer’s quarters;
Phase V, renovation of the
lower deck and ward rooms;
and Phase VI, renovation of
the crew’s quarters and all
areas forward of the ward
room, including the galley.
The 133-foot vessel, which
has a 30-foot beam and masts
rising 78 feet above the water,
was placed at the end of
Frying Pan Shoals in 1930 and
remained until replaced by a
Texas Tower installation in
the sixties. Though not old in
comparison with other area
landmarks, the lightship has
played an important role in
ttie history of the Lower Cape
Fear region.
The ship is intended to
provide a site for a general
museum that would relate the
story of the Cape Fear area
beacons. The lightship is
expected to be popular at
traction, drawing many
tourists to the area.
Stiller Cited
For Herois]
II
Kenneth Stiller of South
port, a civilian employee of
the Military Ocean Terminal
at Sunny Point, has been
recognized by the Army for
his efforts in averting a
disaster in December, 1971 at
the depot near Southport.
The award was made in
conjunction with a change-of
command ceremoney at the
terminal last Friday. Col.
Thomas Haake, the retiring
commander who termed
Sunny Point the most ef
ficient terminal in the
country, relinquished
command to Col. Charles H.
Sunder.
Stiller shared the heroism
award with James A. Un
derwood and William E.
Stanley. According to
reports, the men were
assisting in the loading of two
million pounds of am
munition aboard a ship when
a fire erupted nearby. Stiller
was not present at the cer
money but another of the men
said, “Our only chance was to
stay and fight. You couldn’t
run far enough to save
yourself.”
The Wilmington Star, in a
Tuesday editorial, noted that
another six to eight million
pounds of ammunition were
stored nearby. “It is difficult
to imagine what could happen
if all the ammunition caught
fireand exploded,” the editor
stated.
“The honors paid these
men are well-deserved," the
editorial continued. “The
community should be proud
of men wl.o respond when the
(Continued on Page Five)
Bond Sales
Exceed Goal
Sales of U.S. Series E and
Series H Savings Bonds in
Brunswick County for June
were $11,910. January-June
sales totaled $51,301,
representing 102.22 percent of
Brunswick County’s goal of
$50,190.00, according to
Rhone Sasser, county
volunteer chairman.
Sales of Series E and H
Savings Bonds for the first six
months of 1972 in North
Carolina came to $42,912,204
— the best since 1915, and 14.7
percent above the same
period last year. This
represents 59.8 percent of the
state’s 1972 dollar goal of
$71,700,000. June sales of E
and H Bonds came to a record
$6,488,084. Sales of Series E
Bonds alone amounted to
$6,375,584, topping all June
(Continued on Page Five)
Search Finds
River Victim
The Coast Guard has
recovered the body of a Kings
Mountain man who is
believed to have drowned
while swh.uning near Ft.
Caswell lost week.
The body of Paul Gladden,
20, of Kings Mountain was
spotted in the Cape Fear
River near Sunny Point
around Friday.
A 44-foot boat was
dispatched by the Oak Island
Coast Guard Station, and
Gladden’s body was pulled
from the river.
Brunswick County Sheriff
Harold Willetts said the
young man apparently dr
owned on July 26 while
swimming with friends at the
Baptist Assembly at Fort
Caswell.
(Continued on Page Five)
School Districts
Outlined In County
“The new consolidated
schools will give everybody a
fresh start,” Brunswick
County Supt. Ralph King
believes. “A student can say,
‘This is our school.’ ”
With such hopes, teachers
and more than 2,000
youngsters expected to oc
cupy the new buildings can
look forward to the opening of
school later this month —
August 28 for instructors and
August 31 for students. The
schools already are furnished
(including desks and chairs)
but King said personnel will
stay busy all month moving
books and other supplies to
the new quarters. *
South and West Brunswick
high schools will ac
commodate grades 9 through
12, but North Brunswick is
planned for grades 8 through
12. “It is our feeling, as well
as the state’s feeling,” King
explained, “that . the
maximum number of
students should be exposed to
the best possible facilities,
and that’s what we have done
there.”
The “practical capacity” of
the high schools is 1,000 for
West Brunswick and 750 for
the other schools. “We expect
a little growing room,” the
superintendent noted, “but
not a great deal.”
King said anticipated
enrollment for West Brun
swick would be 900, com
pared to 881 at the end of this
past school year. South
Brunswick, which had 604 at
Probable Cause
In Herring Case
By BEN JUSTESEN
A 30-minute inquest
Monday night with only one
witness called led to a verdict
of probable cause against
Sherland Roderick Batten, 19
of Rt. 2 Chadbourn in the
shooting death of a Southport
man.
Ellis Herring Jr., 28, of
Southport was dead on
arrival at Columbus County
Hospital July 23, following an
early-morning affray in the
Williamson’s Crossroads
area of Columbus County.
Batten was ordered bound
over for grand jury in
vestigation by the six-man
coroner’s jury, who
deliberated for less than 10
minutes after hearing
testimony by SBI Special
Agent John Richardson.
Richardson described the
events leading up to
Herring’s death as related to
him by the defendant on the
afternoon of July 23. Ac
cording to Richardson, who
was called to the hospital at 3
a.m. when the dead man was
brought in, Batten’s story
went as follows:
Roderick Batten, bis
brother Jimmy Batten, John
Blackwell and James Godwin
were together on the date in
question, having stopped at
the Midway Drive-In near
Lumber River while
preparing to work their
newspaper route. Ellis
Herring Jr. was present at
the scene, along with a
number of other persons.
An argument developed
between Jimmy Batten and
Herring, at which point a
security officer identified
only as “Mousie” intervened
and “invited them to leave
the Midway”. Something was
said, according to the
defendant, about going to
another location in
Whiteville.
The two groups left the
Midway in three vehicles:
Herring, Sammy Hodge,
John Sellers and D.C Hodge
in a white pick-up truck;
Roderick Batten, James
Godwin and John Blackwell
in a yellow ’67 Ford.
The yellow Ford was last to
leave, with the Herring truck
closely followed by the Batten
truck. The defendant stated,
said Richardson, that after
the vehicles had traveled
about 2Ms miles, Jimmy
Batten attempted to pass the
Herring truck but collided
with the rear aid of that
vehicle when Herring
slammed on brakes.
The Batten truck deflected
off the Herring truck, and
both came to rest on opposite
(Continued on Page Five)
the end of last year, is ex
pected to house 690, while
North Brunswick should have
about 650 to 675 (including the
eighth grade) — up from the
630 reported at the end of the
1971-72 school term.
“The growth factor is
certainly a variable,” King
said, “but we don’t expect as
much increase as last year.”
Something new for students
of the immediate Southport
and Shallotte areas will be
school bus service, which by
state law is provided for
students who live more than a
mile and one-half from
school. The state has ap
proved the purchase of three
new buses, to be paid for by
the county. .High school
students and elementary
students will ride separate
buses with only a few ex
ceptions.
Some high school students
will continue to drive buses
for younger students, but
King said the county Board of
Education remains hopeful
that adult drivers can be
found.
King said he does not an
ticipate as much growth in
tee Southport area as last
year, pointing out that the
increase of students slowed
near the end of the school
term. Recent growth of the
Southport area is reflected by
the increase in elementary
school students from 648 to
837 between May, 1971 and
die end of school this year.
The consolidated school,
however, will greatly reduce
die overcrowded conditions
here.
“Last year was a
struggle,” said King, looking
back.
This year, grades 5 thrugh 6
will be housed in die Brun
swick County-Southport
Middle School, the building
formerly occupied ex
clusively by high school
students. Grades K (kin
dergarten) through 4 will
again be placed in makeshift
(Continued on Rage Five)
e And Tide
Thirty-five years ago this week, plans for the sailing regatta
to be h?lH in Southport had been completed and thousands of
visitors were expected to attend the event. Judging from an
incomplete entry list, between 40 and 50 boats were expected.
The Southport harbor had been picked as the ideal location for
such a regatta. The newspaper that week was filled with pic
tures of yachts that were already entered, including an upside
down view of the sailboat “Swift”.
The Brunswick County tax rate was to remain at $1.50 for the
following year, based on the $7 million county valuation.
An appeal was made to Gov. Clyde R. Hoey for the recapture
of Melvin Mintz, an escaped convict, who had been terrorizing
the citizens of Maco by riding up and down the road shooting his
pistol; a Reidsville youth had confessed to the breaking and
entering of two Brunswick County plantation homes from
which he stole $125 and several valuable articles.
(Continued on Page Four)
CLEAN-UP WORK CONTINUES on the In
tracoastal Waterway where about 15,000 gallons
spilled several weeks ago from tanks leased by
Standard Products for the storage of “stick
water," the leftovers of fish, and Bunker C type
oil. A strong southwest wind and quick action by
Waccamaw Construction Company kept the oil
away from the large marshes lying to the south of
the waterway.