THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
VOLUME 44 NUMBER 3 12 PAGES TOD AY SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA AUGUST9, 1972 5 CENTS A COPY PUBLISHED EVER Y WEDNESDA Y
TRAFFIC CONGESTION at the Intersection of
US Routes 17-74-76 was eased this week by the
installation of signals at the Brunswick County
intersection. There are no signals at the NC 133
intersection nearby, although the regulation of
traffic at the larger intersection is expected to
make traffic flow more smoothly from the South
port-to-Wilmingion road.
Town Creek Would Not
Be Damaged By System
The proposed water supply
system planned to service
this area within two years
will not include the blocking
of Town Creek and will not
involve the dumping of any
waste material into the
stream, according to a report
made to the board of com
missioners Monday by
County Manager Jerry
Lewis.
The county manager
reported on a meeting held
two weeks ago with officials
of the Wildlife Resources
Commission and the
Department of Water and Air
Resources in Raleigh about
the use of the creek as a
water supply in Phase I of a
long-range plan to service
this part of Brunswick
County. Permits are
necessary, Lewis said, before
raw water can be withdrawn
from Town Creek—hopefully
by August, 1974.
The initial purpose of the
water system is to provide
fresh water to the immediate
Southport area and to new
industry locating here. The
$3.6 million project (which
will cost the county nothing,
says Lewis) will include a
400-million gallon im
poundment area off-stream.
The creek will not be ob
structed, the county manager
added, and no waste products
will be dumped.
“The State Board of Health
is extremely happy about
that,’’ Lewis added.
The Wildlife Resources
Commission has asked that
the reservoir be considered
as a recreation area; com
missioners noted that other
areas allow paddle boats and
craft with electric motors,
but not the use of petroleum
products which are difficult
to remove from water.
The area of water im
poundment has not be
determined.
BRIDGE THREAT
The State Highway Com
mission is continuing an
investigation of threats
(reportedly with a gun) made
to the tender of the Oak
Island bridge the night of
July 4. The commission
promised to furnish a copy of
its report, and said it was
reviewing North Carolina
statutes to determine if state
employees are adequately
protected.
Time And Tide
Thirty-five years ago this week plans were almost complete
for the sailing regatta to be held in the Southport harbor.
Governor Clyde R. Hoey was to fire the starting gun and a
wide variety of entertainment was scheduled to take place
during the three-day event.
A fishing camp at Holden Beach was to be constructed to
provide the North Carolina prisons with seafood. The fishery
would be located nine miles from the prison camp at Supply
and would be operated by convict labor.
The Southern Kraft Corporation was still looking for a site
for a loading dock in the vicinity of Southport; a Southport
citizen, Frank M. Sasser, was elected district commander of
the American Legion; W. R. Lingle had been named principal
of Southport High School by the local board.
Thirty years ago this week, a complete investigation of the
U.S.O. Club in Southport was ordered by Governor J.M.
Broughton. The request was made to the U.S.O. Headquarters
in New York. There was a restriction that prohibited dancing
in the building because it was against the policy of the
sponsoring organization, the Salvation Army. The club was for
service men and it was felt that dancing should be allowed if
they wanted it. The operating personnel had been dismissed
because of this incident.
The tobacco markets in the area were to open soon and a 59
million pound crop was expected for the border belt region.
This was an eight million pound increase over 1941.
The local pogie boats were skipping over the fine schools
of bluefish and Spanish mackerel to concentrate on menhaden.
The Navy was appealing to private owners for the use of
ship-to-shore radio telephones; weather bureau statistics
showed that July had been one of the hottest months during
Continued On Page Four
DETENTION CENTER
Commissioners discussed
the possibility of Brunswick
County taking advantage of
the Lower Cape Fear
Juvenile Detention Center at
a cost of $15 a day for each
youth. Chief District Court
Judge urged the county board
to look favorably on the
matter.
The dentition center, which
is designed to segregate
youthful offenders awaiting
trial from hardened
criminals, was financed by
New Hanover County and the
federal government.
Judge Walton stated in a
letter to the board that the
court would make limited and
discriminant use of the
facility, but the board
members agreed that the
possibility should be explored
further. The local jails, the
commissioners noted, are
(Continued On Page Three)
GOP Party
To Convene
Brunswick County voters
have been invited to a
Republican “Meet the
Candidates” evening at the
Agriculture Building in
Supply at 8:30 p.m. next
Friday.
The invitation was ex
tended by Republican County
Chairman Charles E. Blake
of Southport following last
week’s meeting of the
Brunswick County GOP
executive committee.
Republican candidates for
local offices will speak at the
August 18 gathering. Plans
are being made to have the
party’s candidates for state
offices and the U.S. Congress
visit Brunswick County later
in the campaign.
The local Republican
candidates include the five
county commissioners—John
H. Bray, Smithville; William
A. Kopp, Jr., Town Creek;
Vardell Hughes, Waccamaw;
J.T. Clemmons, Lockwood
Folly, and Robert Simons,
Shallotte.
Other Brunswick County
GOP candidates are Thomas
J. Harrelson, Southport,
seeking re-election to the
State House of Represen
tatives, and Arthur W. Knox,
Bolivia, candidate for
register of deeds.
Col. Sunder
Begins Duty
Col. Charles H. Sunder
assumed command of the
Military Ocean Terminal at
Sunny Point recently during a
change - of- command
ceremony.
Col. Thomas G. Haake
relinquished command
pending his retirement on
July 31. He will reside in
Texas.
The new commander was
born in Jeannette, Penn
sylvania, and is a graduate of
the United States Military
Academy at West Point,
graduating in 1948 with a BS
degree. In 1957 he was
graduated from American
University in Washington,
D.C., with a Master’s degree
in business administration.
Following his commission
in 1948, he served two years
patrolling the interzonal
border with the U.S. Con
stabulary in Germany before
his transfer to the Tran
sportation Corps in 1950. His
(Continued On Page Dine)
Hospital Open House For
12-Bed, $86,000 Addition
Open house for a 12-bed
addition to Dosher Memorial
Hosital will be held Thursday
and Friday, with the un
veiling of a plaque that will
recognize contributors to the
$86,000 facility.
L.T. Yaskell, chairman of
the hospital board of trustees,
said the new unit not only will
help meet a growing
demand for space at Dosher
Memorial but will allow for a
much-needed expansion of
the obstetrics facility. “On
behalf of the board of trustees
and the hospital staff,”
Yaskeli said, ‘‘I would like to
extend a sincere thank-you to
everyone who helped make
the new building possible.”
Included in the list of
benefactors is Mrs. Debra
Paxton, Dr. William Dosher,
Mrs. Louise Lewis, the Katie
Blake Memorial, the Duke
Endowment, Carolina Power
and Light Company and the
Southport Jaycees.
Construction of the 12-bed
addition was started last
December with the expected
date of completion in April,
but problems in getting the
necessary materials caused
the building to not be finished
until last Friday.
There will be no formal
dedication ceremony, but
Yaskell encouraged everyone
to visit the facility between 10
a.m. and 4 p.m. either day.
The unit houses five semi
private and two private
County Road Conditions
Stay ‘Mired In Politics’
“Political football” Is what
William A. Kopp, Jr., termed
current road construction in
North Carolina, and the
chairman of the Brunswick
County board of com
missioners said it is time the
matter stopped being kicked
about.
“I hope that someday we
will have a governor—either
Democrat or Republican—
who can take the State High
way Commission out of
politics,” said Kopp, who
agreed with other com
missioners that the county is
getting short-changed in the
amount of gasoline tax
returned here.
This year, the county will
receive about $51,000 for
secondary roads, which
commissioners understand is
enough to pave two and one
half miles. The total is half
what was allocated last year.
Commissioner J.T.
Clemmons of Lockwood Folly
Township, who brought the
situation to light at the
board’s regular first-Monday
session, said the amount was
“utterly ridiculous. They’re
taking money that should be
used to get people out of the
mud and putting it on in
terstates and roads in the
Piedmont.”
Clemmons said secondary
road construction in the
county has “hit a staggering
standstill.”
The board adopted a
resolution (to be sent to Gov.
Robert Scott, State Highway
Commission Chairman
Lauch Faircloth and David
Parnell of Parkton, the high
way commissioner for this
area) stating that “this board
is not complaining of
discrimination in the allot
ment of funds in relation to
other counties in this area,”
but that the board is objecting
to the small allocation. The
commissioners feel other
southeastern North Carolina
counties are in the same
predicament.
“I just don’t think we are
getting our share,” said
Clemmons. "You can’t utilize
that amount in a county as
big as ours.”
The amount, Kopp added,
“wiU not scratch the surface”
of what needs to be done.
The commissioners agreed
that the county is not
receiving a fair distribution
(Continued On Page Three)
River Dredging
A special committee to negotiate for the possible dredging
of Shallotte River and Shallotte Inlet has been authorized by
the county commissioners to communicate with state and
federal agencies and report to the county board.
The committee includes Shallotte area residents Billy
Tripp, Raymond Carter, Harry Chadwick, Lloyd Milligan
and RodeU Hewett.
The group, which will operate at its own expense, proposes
to meet the local responsibilities of the dredging project.
‘No-Wake’ Ordinance
“No-Wake” ordinances for several areas along the In
tracoastal Waterway are being considered by the N.C.
Wildlife Resources Commission.
The Brunswick County board of commissioners, which
requested that boat traffic in certain areas be so regulated,
received a response from Boat Safety Coordinator A.E.
Jenkins, who noted that “several of the proposed no-wake
zones would be in the interest of water safety.” Others,
however, would cause undue delay to persons using coastal
waters, Jenkins reported. ,His investigation continues.
Service Interrupted
Ferry service between Southport and Fort Fisher was
halted Friday when electrical switches on a fire pump caught
fire. The fire was extinquished, but the Coast Guard requires
that the equipment be in working order before the vessel
carries any cars or passengers.
The fire occurred on board the Onslow, a replacement
vessel for the Sandy Graham which left recently for New
Bern to undergo repairs. Regular ferry traffic resumed
Saturday morning after the Onslow equipment was put back
in working order.
rooms. One of the semi*
private rooms is located in
the rear of the building ad
jacent to a private
examination area, both of
which are avilable to
Carolina Power and Light
Company.
Other improvements at
Dosher Memorial Hospital
include a new electrical
generator and a $20,000
renovation to the operating
room.
The new unit, Yaskell
noted, “will enable us tc
expand the examination
room, the iabor room, two
recovery rooms and the
delivery room—all sections of
the maternity complex now
located upstairs.”
The new construction was
approved by the Medical
Care Commission. Original
plans called for the building
of a $70,000 obstetrics unit,
but hospital administrators
were informed the cost would
exceed $140,000. It was then
decided that the 12-bed ad
dition would be constructed
and the old maternity area
renovated.
Fund Sharing
To Aid County
Brunswick County
governments would receive
$341,050 if the revenue
sharing bill recently ap
proved by the House of
Representatives is adopted
,by the Senate and signed by
the President.
The preliminary figures
were reported by
Congressman Nick
Galifianakis, among those
who voted for the measure
June 22 when it was passed by
a 274-124 House vote.
Formally titled the State
and Local Fiscal Assistance
Act of 1972, the measure calls
for North Carolina’s state
government to receive about
$36.3 million annually and
Tar Heel county and
municipal governments
collectively about $76.8
million. A total of ap
proximately $113.1 million in
federal revenues would flow
into North Carolina.
“This bill is not perfect, but
it is an improvement over the
present state and ’ocal tax
situations,’’ Galifianakis
said. “It will equalize some
tax inequities and will
breathe new life into many of
our hard-pressed local
governments.
GRAND OPENING of the 12-bed addition to Dosher
Memorial Hospital will be held Thursday and Friday. The
$86,000 unit, which will provide much-needed space at the
hospital and make possible an expanded obstetrics service,
was financed through donations recognized by the plaque
(insert).