THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
VO! tJMF 4F> NUMBER44 20PAGES TODAY SOUTHPORT. NORTH CAROLINA MAY22, 1974 10 CENTS A COPY PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
BALD HEAD ISLAND Golf Course, scheduled
to open for play this fall, will be one of five
courses in Brunswick County. The layout, with
scenery ranging from oceanside to forest to a
combination of the two as shown here, was
designed by George Cobb, who also prepared the
championship course at Oak Island. The photo is
by Geof Nesossis of Carolina Cape Fear.
71 - Percent Increase Sought
School Board Finalizes
County Funding Request
By BILL ALLEN
The Brunswick County
Board of Education has
decided to submit the
proposed $4,735,884 school
budget for 1974-75 to the
county commissioners.
After a short discussion
Wednesday night, the board
voted unanimously to instruct
Supt. Ralph King to present
County Agent
Coleman Cited
Milton Coleman of Brun
swick County has been
named the top young
agricultural extension agent
for Southeastern North
Carolina.
The N.C. Association of
County Agricultural Agents
presented Coleman with its
“Young Agent Award”
Monday night during the
association’s annual meeting
at Nags Head.
Coleman, 32, was cited for
his work with extension 4-H
and livestock programs.
A native of Tabor City,
Coleman joined the Brun
swick extension staff as an
assistant agent in 1966. He
was promoted to an associate
agent in 1970 and to a full
agent in 1973.
Coleman is a 1935 graduate
of North Carolina State
University with a B.S. degree
in animal science.
the budget to County
Manager Nell Mallory and
the board of commissioners.
Supt. King told the board he
had already scheduled a
meeting with County
Manager Mallory on Sunday
to discuss the budget. He
expressed the hope the
proposed budget could be
presented to the com
missioners on Monday.
Member May W. Barbee
said the budget was “a fair or
realistic statement of our
needs.”
The tentative request of the
board of education involves
an 87-percent increase
overall and a 71-percent rise
in local funding, compared to
last year’s final budget.
The board voted
unanimously to employ L.R.
Evans and Associates of
Raleigh to be the architect on
the planned construction
work at Union Primary,
Lincoln primary, Waccamaw
primary and Bolivia primary
schools. Funds for the county
project, costing $1.7 million,
came from the state bond
issue, which was approved
last November by state
voters.
Tax Distribution Made
Net collections of the local-option sales and use
tax in Brunswick County during April amounted
to $52,085, the State Department of Revenue has
announced.
The department also noted that Brunswick
County received $139,027.74 from the county
sales and use tax collections during the first
three months of the year. The quarterly
collections amounted to $140,436.32, but the
department deducted $1,408.58 for collecting the
money.
The county will receive $118,493.59 from the
total quarterly collections. Cities and towns in
the county receiving funds from the money in
clude Boiling Spring Lakes, $832.59; Bolivia,
$50.84; Holden Beach, $1,540.15; Long Beach,
$7,811.90; Ocean Isle Beach, $1,041.71; Shallotte,
$2,265.82; Southport, $4,756.44; Sunset Beach,
$755.16; and Yaupon Beach, $1,469.54.
The board held a long
discussion about two other
architectural firms before
Chairman Wilber E. Rabon
recommended that Evans be
employed.
During the discussion,
Member William T. Bowen
said that the board should
keep open the option of being
able to recommend an
engineering firm to work with
the architect.
Members decided to invite
a representative of the Evans
firm to a board meeting and
discuss engineering needs for
the construction work. After
that meeting, the board will
take action to employ an
engineering firm.
Assistant Supt. P.R.
Hankins announced that the
county school system will
receive a $187,102 grant from
the Emergency School Aid
Act (ESAA) to help improve
math achievement for
students in grades four to six
who are a year or more
behind in the area of study.
The math program will serve
(('outimii'il On i’aj-W 2)
SPECIAL MEETING
The Brunswick County
board of commissioners will
hold a special meeting
Tuesday night at 7 o’clock at
the Hood Building to discuss
negotiations to purchase well
sites and review the school
budget with the board of
eduation, Chairman William
Kopp has reported.
$100,000 Mistake Noted
County Water Bids Made;
Costly Error Casts Doubt
By BILL ALLEN
The awarding of bids
totaling $2,150,502.50 for the
county water system
highlighted a regular all-day
meeting of the Brunswick
County Board of Com
missioners Monday, but it
was not done without a
problem.
“You have good con
tractors and better than
average prices,” said Troy
Doby of Pierson and Whit
man of Raleigh. “The county
should be happy with the
bids.”
Crain and Denbo, Inc., of
Durham was awarded the
contract to construct the
elevated tank foundation with
a bid of $168,860. Six other
bids were received for the
work.
The board awarded the
contract for the 1,000,000
gallon elevated water tank to
Pittsburg Des Moines Steel
company of Atlanta. The
Atlanta company's $357,690
Arthur Greene
To Step Down
Arthur M. Greene, general
manager of Boiling Spring
Lakes development for the
past 11 Mi years, will resign
from that position effective
June 1.
Greene, who served as
mayor of the resort
retirement community for six
years, said Wednesday he
will remain with the
developer, Reeves Telecom
Corp., for one year as a
consultant to a successor yet
to be named.
The 56-year-old New York
native will then devote full
time to personal business.
He was named to his third
four-year term on the town
commission last November
but since has been succeeded
as mayor by Alfred J.
Switzer.
Greene is the fourth man to
serve as general manager of
Boiling Spring Lakes in its 14
years of development. Others
were Charles Pratt, Harold
(Continued On Page 2)
bid was under two other
companies.
Pierce Ditching Company
of Florence, S.C., won the
water line contract with a bid
of $1,624,032.50. Six other bids
for work were received.
$100,000 “ERROR”
After the bids were ac
cepted and unanimously
approved by the board, E.P.
Childs, Jr., of Pittsburg
rushed back to the meeting
and told board members he
had made a $100,000 error In
his bid. The error resulted
from a mistake in addition,
he said.
Shortly afterwards, Doby,
accompanied by County
Attorney Thomas Horne,
returned to the meeting to
discuss the matter with the
board. Both Doby and Horne
recommended that the board
hold Pittsburg to the bid. “We
should follow standard
procedures in matters like
this,” Doby noted.
Pittsburg won the elevated
water tank with a low bid of
$357,690. The second lowest
bid came from Brown Steel,
which bid $406,200.
During the discussion of the
matter, It was pointed out
that Pittsburg could seek
court relief to try to escape
from the contract. It was also
noted that it might be
cheaper in the long run for
the company to build the
water tank at the low bid
price and absorb the loss.
The board took no more
action on the Pittsburg bid
since the Atlanta company
has a 15-day performance
bond from Monday to decide
whether or not to live up to
Continued On Page 6
Once New Hospital Opens
Dosher Board Votes To
End Acute Care Service
The Dosher Memorial
Hospital board of trustees,
by a 4-2 vote split on city
county lines, Monday night
passed a resolution calling
for an end to acute care
services once the new county
hospital is completed.
Commenting Tuesday
night, Board Chairman W.B.
McDougle said he was
“grossly opposed to the
resolution” which he felt
injected the board in the
“political fight” of where
county medical services
should be provided.
“I feel that the resolution is
detrimental to the con
tinuation of Dosher in its
present operation from a
financial standpoint,” Mc
Dougle said. He noted a $2,100
profit for April, leaving the
hospital only $2,000 in the red
this fiscal year.
The resolution, introduced
by county appointee Ralph
Nordquest, was seconded by
Willie Beatty and voted for by
Ed Johnson and Willie Ward.
Voicing strong opposition for
the better part of an hour
were McDougle and board
member L.T. Yaskell.
The only member absent
from the Monday night
meeting was Tom Gilbert,
reportedly out of town on
business. However, Mc
Dougle said, county ap
pointee A.H. Gainey, Jr., left
the meeting after all business
apparently had been con
cluded. City appointee Basil
Watts reportedly left when
talk of the resolution started.
McDougle said he had no
official vote as chairman, but
did vote so that the public
could see where he stood on
the matter.
The resolution, formally
drawn and already typed
when presented by Nor
dquest, stated that the board
“goes on record as to the
following aspects of the
operation of this hospital.”
The resolution called for
the phasing out of acute care
services upon completion of
Brunswick County Memorial
Hospital, “which is
designated to serve all of
Brunswick County.”
Also, the resolution called
for the Medical Care Com
mission, the Duke En
dowment, the board of
(Continued On Page 2)
No Sheriff Run-Off
There will be no run-off for sheriff, but
Brunswick County Democrats will still have to
return to the polls June 4 to nominate a candidate
for the State Senate.
Chairman Lester Babson announced that the
Board of Elections has received a letter from
D.E. Tripp withdrawing from the race for the
Democratic nomination for sheriff.
Herman Strong, who thus gains the nomination
without a second primary, defeated Tripp 2,191
to 1,234 in the first race and came within six
(Continued On Page 2)
Paving Plan Okayed, Also
Beach Council Approves
Town Engineer Position
The Long Beach Town
Council voted Thursday to
authorize the position of town
engineer, reversing a two
week-old decision to defer
action until after the 1974-75
budget is prepared.
Town Manager Frank
Kivett, who suggested the
hiring of a 512,000 - a - year
engineer at the May 2 town
meeting, Thursday asked the
council to “reconsider” its
earlier 4-2 vote that tabled the
matter.
“No one could be employed
until after July 1, anyway,”
Kivett told the council,
because of the necessary
advertising and interviews.
And he assured the council
that, although an increased
budget is possible, the
engineer’s salary will require
no extra town funds.
The engineer would **‘pay
for his own services,” Kivett
said, citing a need for
professional service par
ticularly in conjunction with
the proposed town water
system. Powell Bill funds (for
roads) can be applied to the
engineer’s salary, a point
Councilwoman Virginia
Christenbury said she did not
recall from the May 2
meeting.
The vote Thursday night
was unanimous except for an
abstention by Councllwoman
Nancy Leggett. Councilman
Ellis Dudley, who earlier had
introduced the motion to
defer action until budget
time, introduced the motion
to create the new town Job.
Kivett is authorized to
advertise and fill the position
for up to $12,000. Anything
more would go before the
town council.
STREET PAVING
Memorial Day Closings
City, county and state offices will be closed
Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
Banks and savings and loan institutions will
remain open, however. The Post Office will be
closed except for regular box service.
The council approved a new
street paving plan, with
possible changes when the
town gets down to the “nitty
gritty later on.” Part A calls
for the town to pave a certain
number of streets each year;
part B Involves the par
ticipation of property owners
on a 50-50 basis.
The planning board will
have initial responsibility for
determining which streets
the town will pave, with
recommendations to be
reviewed by the council. The
50-50 plan also would be
routed through the planning
body.
Kivett said he understood
that until now property
owners have not shared in the
cost of paving a particular
street. “Apparently we need
(Continued On Page 2)