THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
VOLUME 44 NUMBER 31 14 PAGES TODAY SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA FEBRUARY 21, 1973 10 CENTS A COPY PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
SUNSET BRINGS TO A CLOSE another cold winter day at Long Beach,
drawing a day closer the time when the water will again be warm enough for
swimmers, and the beach warm enough for sun bathing.
Long Beach Meeting
Centers On Contract
A meeting of the Long
Beach Town Council last
Thursday centered on
discussion of that town’s
contract with Associated
Consultants, Inc., to
negotiate for beach erosion
protection and for financing
of water and sewer systems.
Attended by more than 50
people, the meeting was
dominated by complaints
about the legal document.
Members of the town claim
that the contract is not in
accordance with a town
charter stipulation that
business be conducted in
public meetings.
Town officials, on the other
hand, justified the contract as
being part of the town
manager’s job of hiring
personnel. Edward Liggett is
the acting town manager.
However, Liggett’s signature
is not on the document, which
is signed by all the members
of the council.
Paul C. Plvbon, president
of Associated Consultants,
Inc., reportedly made an
offer to withdraw from the
agreement. According to
Liggett, Councilman L.H.
Conley made a motion to
accept the contract. The
motion was removed, and the
matter was tabled until the
town’s next monthly meeting
on March 15.
Also presented by Conley
was a motion to inform the
federal government of the
town’s intent to participate in
a beach erosion control
project. The only motion
voted on, it was passed with
the single dissenting vote of
James Ratcliff.
Ratcliff said he was not
opposed to some type of
erosion control. He indicated,
however, his preference for
the matter to be investigated
more thoroughly as to
available measures of
erosion control.
The town’s legal
representative (the firm of
Bryan, Jones, Johnson,
Hunter & Greene at Dunn,
North Carolina) is reportedly
checking the legality of the
contract with the Institute of
Government in Chapel Hill.
Greene has indicated that he
considers it legal.
Town officials are in
general agreement that the
contract is justifiable.
Liggett maintained that
Associated Consultants has
proved its worth. He says
Plybon has made a trip to
Washington, D.C., in con
nection with the contract.
Liggett also says that Plybon
has verbal concessions and
letters of intent for right-of
way clearance for erosion
control.
Also according to Liggett,
(Continued On Page Twelve)
Commissioners Now Planning
For New Hospital Bond Issue
The Brunswick County
Board of Commissioners has
announced intentions to seek
as much as a $2.5 million
bond for construction of a 60
bed hospital to be located in
the Supply area of the county.
In a release to a
Wilmington newspaper
earlier this week, Com
missioner J.T. Clemmons
said the hospital bond issue
would be called for at the
Tuesday meeting of the
Board of Commissioners. The
matter was not discussed
during the Tuesday session;
however, a legal notice
concerning the bond issue has
' been drawn by the county
attorney and appears in this
issue of The State Port Pilot.
The proposed bond issue
will have to be approved by
the Local Government
Commission. Thomas Horne,
the county attorney, ex
pressed confidence that the
issue would pass through the
cotnmission because of the
county’s strong tax base and
healthy financial status.
After securing this ap
proval, the Bond Council
would write an ordinance to
be referred to the Board of
Elections by the County
Commissioners. According to
Horne, a separate election
would probably be held on the
bond issue this May or early
this June.
Details for the proposed
hospital have been studied by
a hospital committee. This
commission is a group of
about 30 members named by
the Brunswick County
Commissioners two years
ago, divided into an executive
Heart Sunday
Campaign Set
Mrs. A. Earl Milliken of
Shallotte, Mrs. Judy White of
Southport, Mrs. Margaret
Bordeaux of Leland, Mrs.
Alton Bridgers of Bolivia,
Mrs. Betty Galloway of
Supply, Mrs. Charles Carroll
of Leland and Mrs. David
Hughes of Ash are heading up
the Heart Sunday campaign
for Brunswick County this
year, Mrs. Ouida H. Hewett,
president of the local
organization, has announced.
Mrs. Shirley Piver of
Shallotte is the new secretary
for 1973-74 and Cecil Register
of Shallotte is again serving
as treasurer.
Heart Sunday is a one
afternoon residential
solicitation to be held during
February, when the North
Carolina and American Heart
Association hold their annual
campaign.
“The Shallotte, Southport,
and Leland city chairman are
also planning other activities
during the month. And due to
considerable bad weather,
I’m sure the drive will hold
over until sometime in early
March,” said M'-s. Hewett.
“Heart Fund Business Days
(Continued On Page Three)
committee and several
subcommittees which have
been studying the feasibility
of a new hospital for the
county.
The site committee studied
maps to determine the
geographical distribution as
well as the distribution of
county residents. The
commiliee has recommended
that the proposed hospital be
located in Supply.
Five sites near Supply were
originally chosen, but that
has been narrowed to a 35
acre site about one mile south
of the community.
Shallotte attorney Mason
Anderson, chairman of the
county’s hospital com
mission, said the site in
Supply was chosen because,
“in terms of transportation
and people, Supply is the
fairest for all the people
concerned.”
A. Bibson Howell and C.P.
Cardwll, Jr., were hired as
consultants by the hospital
commission.
“The recommendation of
the consultants is that the
county build a hospital with
operating rooms, diagnostic
services and other support
facilities that would support a
100-bed hospital,” Anderson
said.
The hospital would consist
primarily of private rooms.
“If everything goes right,
and the county com
missioners call for a bond
issue, the building of the
hospital would take possibly
two years,” Anderson said
last week.
The architectural firm of
Middleton, Wilkerson and
MacMillian of Charlotte
would design the hospital
“The firm told the building
committee 98 percent of their
work is in hospital design,”
Anderson explained.
A second firm, Jeffries and
Fairs of Wilmington, has
been selected to supervise the
hospital construction job,
should a bond issue be
(Continued On Page Twelve)
Board Suggests Zoning
Outside Of Town Limits
By BOBBY HILL
Southport’s Planning and
Zoning Board held a public
discussion here Thursday of a
proposed recommendation to
extend that board’s
jurisdiction to the city’s
extra-territorial area.
‘Country Boys’
To Come Here
September 1 is the date
tentatively scheduled for the
opening of the new 18,000
square foot Wilson’s Super
Market to be located in the
Southport Plaza Shopping
Center.
Boney Wilson & Sons, the
“Country Boys”, who will
operate the new ultra modern
supermarket, are opening the
door to a new “Wonderland of
Adventure” in food shopping
for the people of Southport
and Brunswick County, ac
cording to a spokesman of the
firm.
The opening of the new
store will be the sixth for
Wilson’s. The others are
located in Long Creek,
Burgaw, Warsaw and
Wilmington.
The Wilsons have over a
half-century of experience in
the grocery business. “Mr.
Boney” as he was known to
his many friends and
customers, began his career
in the grocery field 52 years
ago in Wilmington as a clerk
in a grocery store.
At the end of one year as a
clerk, he opened a store of his
own and operated it for ap
proximately a year and one
half. He then decided to
return to his home com
munity in the long Creek
section of Pender County and
begin a grocery business
there.
He began with a small store
in Long Creek, which has
been expanded many times in
the past 50 years.
His oldest son, Ed, returned
home in 1948 and became a
partner in the business after
attending Campbell College
and serving in the U.S. Ar
med Forces. The store was
again enlarged and a modern
supermarket replaced the
grocery store.
Upon graduation from
Campbell College in 1955, his
younger son, Allan, also
came into the business and as
a result further expansion of
the business resulted in the
construction of a second
supermarket in Burgaw. By
late 1959, the Wilson’s had
expanded their operations by
opening their first super
market in Duplin County at
Warsaw.
In 1964, the fourth store was
(Continued On Page Twelve)
Solicitor May
Get Assistant
Rep. R.C. Soles, Jr., has
introduced in the House of
Representatives a bill to
authorize an additional
Assistant Solicitor for the
13th Judicial District that
includes Brunswick County.
Soles currently represents
Bladen, Columbus and
Sampson counties, but
represented Brunswick
County in the legislature until
redistricting. The 13th
Judicial District includes
Bladen, Columbus and
Brunswick counties.
Soles said the legislation
was requested by the solicitor
of the 13th District, Lee J.
Greer. “Greer is one of five
solicitors in the State of North
Carolina who has only one
assistant,” Soles noted.
“The case load which the
solicitor and his assistant in
the 13th Judicial District are
handling is steadily in
creasing and will probably
increase substantially if a
new District Court Judge is
authorized by the legislature
in a bill which I have in
troduced,” Soles said.
Basically, two projected
proposals were presented by
the board’s chairman, W.B.
McDougle. First, the board
proposes to recommend that
Southport add to the city the
zoning area in a one-mile
radius outside the city limits.
Second, the board also
recommends adding two new
zoning districts to the
proposed zoning of the extra
territorial area.
The two new zones would
include Open Space and RA
20, Residential Agricultural
District. The OS zone would
provide a buffer area bet
ween residential and in
dustrial areas. Also, the OS
districts reportedly cannot be
built upon because of the soil
type.
The RA-20 zone would be
subject to construction
requirements of residential
buildings. It was recom
mended that a minimum of
20,000 square feet of property
be required per sirgle family
residential unit. This would
allow well and septic tank
development. A modification
of this rule, if the develop
merit is near to city water and
sewer, would be to require
15,000 square feet per housing
unit.
The supposedly con
troversial meeting was at
tended by approximately 30
people. Several arguments
over zoning of specific lots
were precipitated by in
dividual misunderstanding of
past zoning regulations and
by isolated mistakes made on
the proposed zoning map.
Bob Thorsen objected to the
restricted general business
zoning on Howe Street. This
recorded objection contained
Thorsen’s desire for Howe
Street to be strip-zoned
general business all the way
to the end of the extra
territorial limit. Thorsen said
that the restricted zoning
would be a hindrance to
private enterprise.
Chairman McDougle
replied that the intent of the
proposed restriction of
general business zoning along
this street is to prevent South
port’s main street from
becoming congested and
(Continued On Paffe Three)
January Tax
Tops $54,000
Collection of the one-cent
sales and use tax in Brun
swick County during January
totalled $54,823.38, according
to the monthly report by the
N.C. Department of Revenue.
The total is below the
$58,408 collected in December
and the lowest since July,
1972. Still, the January total is
the 7th highest since the local
option tax was made effective
in Brunswick County in
October, 1971.
The January total will be
combined with funds
received in February and
March for distribution at the
end of the quarter. A small
percentage will be withheld
by the Department of
Revenue as a collection fee.
The county and nine
municipal governments
share in the quarterly
distribution of a property tax
basis.
The first month of
collection (Oct. ’71), only
$20,630 was received from the
tax, which is applicable to
good otherwise subject to the
state’s three-percent levy.
The montly receipts climbed
steadily and have surpassed
$47,000 every month since
May, 1972.
The largest one-month
receipt from the tax was last
September when $66,771 was
recorded, followed closely by
October ($65,229).
The November and
December totals were in the
$58,000 range before the
decrease in January.
The tax, commonly thought
of as a levy on sales in
Brunswick County, also is a
“use” tax applied to goods
bought elsewhere and
broughtherefor use. Because
of this provision, the Brown
and Root construction work
on the CP&L nuclear power
plant near Southport has
supplied a major part of the
sales tax received here.
Unique Thing About Library?... “That We Have One”
By BOBBY HILL
The most unique thing about the
library in Southport, says volunteer
worker Mrs. Sue King, “is the fact
that we have one.’’
Getting and keeping the South
port-Brunswick County Library has
been a long uphill struggle. And,
with the discontinuation of federal
funds this year, the battle is apt to
continue. However, the new library
built in 1968 is now very much a part
of its surroundings.
“We have a nice library,”
librarian Mrs. Dorothy Davis said.
“We want people to realize there is a
need for the service we provide.”
The proof for services rendered is
seen on a lot of charts in a back room
used for meet'-'gs. The charts, with
a bunch of ja^ 1 lines running up
and down, look . *e icebergs. The
tops of the icebergs reveal that the
library checked out about 3,500
books this January.
Like all icebergs, a lot is hidden
down below. Mrs. Charlotte Hart,
assistant librarian, would certainly
agree. “We’re checking out about
150 a day now. I tell you, during the
summer they work the socks off us,”
chp coiH
A LOT HAS CHANGED
Until the new library was built, a
room was used in the City Hall since
1959. Then from 1964 to 1966, con
cerned citizens began raising money
to fund a separate house for books.
“Around $43,000 was raised over the
three-year period,” Sue King said,
“This was raised ... we begged it in
nickles, dimes and dollars.” The
finished building finally cost over
$98,000.
Miss Gertrude Y. Laughlin is
another one who remembers the
library’s trials and tribulations. In
fact, if you’re a devotee of local
literary talent, Miss Laughlin can
remember for you things like the
night Robert Ruark was born. Miss
Laughlin has been the library’s
volunteer treasurer for 14 years, and
she was the librarian before that,
too. She remembers it all.
Things have changed since that
night Robert Ruark was born.
As the imminently quotable
Sue King puts it, “We’ve come a long
way, baby.” From a beginning of
four paltry books, SBCL now boasts
ever 31,000 volumes. Furthermore,
if they don’t have the book you want,
they can get it — through an inter
library borrowing system.
Another tiling that has changed in
recent years is the expansion of
SBCL. There is a branch in
Shallotte, run by Miss Josephine
Nance. And, sometime in the not
too-distant future, a branch will be
opening up in Leland.
Meanwhile, the “Bookmobile
lady,” Mrs. Patty Jones, will con
tinue keeping her appointed rounds.
“She drives, checks books in and
out, and does anything else that
needs doing ... Of course, she
doesn’t repair it (the Bookmobile),”
Mrs. Davis said.
SEASIDE FLAVOR
REMAINS
Like all libraries, it’s quiet in
there among the musty smell of old
books and the ghosts of authors past.
And there’s that funny feeling that
maybe Shakespeare or Walt
Whitman is looking over shoulders
to see how the reading is going. But
some people aren’t particularly
awed by the presence of literary
greatness.
Robin Thorsen and two other
eighth grade girls sat at a table
Continued On Page 2