THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
——— - . . . . . ■_ ... . . . ... - .
VOLUME 46 NUMBER 13 20 PAGES TODAY SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA OCTOBER 16, 1974 10 CENTS A COPY PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
Phone Cables
To Town Cut
A large underground
telephone cable containing
100 pairs of telephone lines
serving the Southport ex
change was severed Friday
morning.
The damage was done by
digging crews along the high
way near Sunny Point.
Southern Bell repair crews
were able to restore some
service to the Southport -
Long Beach area by 10:30
Friday morning. Even so,
telephone communication to
and from the area was
knocked out from aroind 8:30
to 10:30 a.m.
The complex job of splicing
in a new section of 100 - pair
cable by emergency
telephone repairmen was
completed and service
restored by 1 pjn.
J.H. Mann, district
manager, said that the
company regrets any
inconvenience caused by the
incident. “Damage to our
lines such as this happens
more often than we would
like,” Mann said.
He further stated that
regular contacts are made
(Continued On Page 2)
Seven South
Students Out
Seven South Brunswick
High School students were
suspended following a
“minor incident” Thursday
morning, Supt. Ralph King
has reported.
King said the incident
started with “some pushing
and shoving” before a fight
started and “other students
around reacted.” He reported
it was quickly brought under
control.
The Brunswick County
Sheriff’s Department was
called to the scene and one
student was arrested on a
juvenile petition, Sheriff
Harold Willetts reported.
Seven students were
suspended for periods
ranging from 5 to 30 days,
Supt. King said.
ariM
.SETt
HAPPINESS IS .. in this instance, a candy sucker given the
young lady by “Smokey” the bear. Last week was National
Fire Prevention Week, and among the local highlights were the
appearance of “Smokey” in several locations and Saturday
night’s benefit softball game between the fire department and
the Southport Jaycees. Reportedly over $1,000 was collected.
\p
New Petition Circulated
City Seeks ‘Safeguard’,
Protects Dosher Future
By BILL ALLEN
City Attorney E.J. Prevatte
has been authorized by the
Southport Board of Aldermen
“to take whatever action
necessary to step any work on
the new county hospital until
the determination is made
concerning the future of
Dosher.”
The action giving Prevatte
the authority to act on the
matter was taken at the
regular monthly meeting of
the Southport Board of
Aldermen Thursday night at
City Hall.
The resolution, which was
unanimously adopted by the
board, also calls for the
circulation of new petitions to
establish a hospital district in
Smithville Township.
Action on the two matters
was taken after Prevatte
brought the board up-to-date
on recent hospital develop
ments and recommended a
course of action to follow.
“We are right now faced
with this matter coming to
somewhat of a head,” the city
attorney told the board. “I
am lead to believe possibly
that there are some con
flicting moves going on in the
county, some of them in
sympathy with what we want
here and maybe some of
them are not.”
19 NB Students
Are Disciplined
Disciplinary action has
been taken against 19
students involved in the
recent disorder at North
Brunswick High School, Supt.
Ralph King said this week.
Nine students have been
expelled for the remainder of
the school year while ten
students have been
suspended, six for ten days
and four for five days.
“All the students who have
been disciplined were in
volved either directly or
indirectly in the disorder,”
Supt. King declared.
The disciplinary action was
taken after North Brunswick
Principal Nelson Best and his
staff spent one week in
vestigating the disorder,
which occurred October 4.
Their report was reviewed by
a faculty judiciary com
mittee before it was turned
over to King.
King reported that the
North Brunswick committee
is still investigating reports
that a school bus was run off
(Continued On Page 2)
“I assume not, particularly
in light of what one of the
members of the Board of
County Commissioners
(Vice-Chairman J.T.
Clemmons) said when he
observed that the county is
torn apart and split up worse
than it has ever been and the
time has come for people to
come together,” he stated. “I
believe that there is more
than some sentiment in the
direction to sit down and
reason together.”
But Attorney Prevatte said
the aldermen needed
“safeguard against even
tuality. It has been brought to
the county board’s attention
very forcefully that you
cannot ignore the signatures
of over 2,500 persons favoring
something they want.”
The city attorney recom
(Continued On Page 2)
13,781 Registered
Brunswick County will have a total of 13,781
eligible voters who can cast ballots in November
5 general election, Chairman Lester Babson of
the Brunswick County Board of Elections an
nounced Monday.
“This is the largest number of eligible voters
we have ever had in Brunswick County,” Babson
declared. “It shows how much our population
has grown.”
Brunswick County now has a total of 10,285
Democrats, 3,230 Republicans and 266 in
dependent or no party voters.
Chairman Babson reported that 701 persons
registered to vote in the county between May 7
and October 7, when the books closed for
registration for the November 5 general election.
During the registration period, the number of
registered Republicans increased 375 and the
number of registered Democrats 311. The other
new registration went in the independent or no
party column.
The county is still short of having 14,001
registered voters, the number required to nave a
full-time Board of Elections office, Chairman
Babson reported.
Southport, Long Beach Unanimous
County Wants Land-Use
Plan; Towns Prefer Own
The Brunswick board of
Commissioners has decided
to submit a county wide land
use plan required in con
nection with the Coastal
Management Act.
The board unanimously
adopted a resolution during
its regular meeting last week
to file a letter of intent to
prepare the necessary land
use plan. The resolution said
it was the intent of the board
to prepare the com
prehensive land - use plan in
cooperation with the various
municipal planning boards in
the county. It authorized
County Manager Neil
Mallory to apply for grant
funds available for the
planning.
The action was taken
following a meeting of
Brunswick County
municipality representatives
at Jones’ Restaurant at Long
Beach. The meeting, which
was also attended by state
officials, was held to discuss
planning requirements of the
new Coastal Mangement Act.
Commission Chairman
William Kopp, Jr., who is a
member of the Coastal
Management Commission,
reported that October 29 is
the deadline for counties and
municipalities to submit
letters of intent saying
whether they will prepare
land-use plans. Failure to
submit the letter of intent, he
said, means that the state
commission will make the
land-use plan.
He reported that the county
can apply for a grant for
No Official Action
Lawsuit Bills
Before Board
During the adjourned
session of the Board of
County Commissioners here
Friday Chairman W.A. Kopp,
Jr., reported that he had been
presented a bill for court
costs in the recent litigation
by two Brunswick County
newspapers when they sought
an injunction for failure to
comply with the Open
Meeting law.
Stating that the action had
been taken upon advice of
counsel and that “it was
unfortunate this action had to
take place. Nevertheless it
was done,” he then expressed
the hope that fellow members
of the board (excluding
Commissioner James W.
Smith, who was not a
member at the time of the
lawsuit) would concur with
his decision to go im
mediately following the
meeting to the office of the
Clerk of Court and write
personal checks for one-fifth
the total amount of $1,644.60.
No vote was asked for nor
taken and there was no
comment by other members
of the board.
On a motion by Com
missioner Vardell Hughes,
seconded by Commissioner
Smith, the board voted
unanimously to rescind a
previous action of retaining
trustees as the governing
authority of the proposed new
hospital and to authorize the
appointment of a hospital
authority.
Commissioner Hughes
stated he felt the earlier
action was detrimental to put
off naming the hospital
authority and had voted
against it. Chairman Kopp
declared, “In my opinion the
hospital authority concept
will achieve the results I feel
Mr. Clemmons (Com
missioner J.T.) was looking
for in his comments Mon
day.”
Commissioner Clemmons
was not present for the
Friday meeting, having
received painful but not
serious injuries in an
automobile accident.
A request from the Board of
Education pertaining to
needed repairs at the building
now shared by that body with
the Social Services Depart
ment and the Health
Department brought the
suggestion from Chairman
Kopp that County Manager
Neil Mallory remind Supt.
Ralph King of the impending
removal of the Social Ser
vices Department to a new
location and to ask for his
recommendations based
upon this new circumstance.
In other action the board
heard Mallory explain the
contract for inspection
service from the Jerry Lewis
Engineering Firm for in
spection services for the
installation of the pipeline for
the new Brunswick County
Water Authority.
He explained that this
service is provided to see that
specifications are being met,
that there are no shortcuts
and that the pipeline is
cleared. A contract for these
services was entered into in
May, 1973, and the purpose of
the requested action by the
board was to eliminate any
duplication with the
(Continued On Page 2)
Brunswick County and obtain
more funds than if both the
county and the municipalities
all make applications.
“I feel it is in the best in
terest of Brunswick County
for the county to make the
application and work with
input from all the municipal
planning boards,” Chairman
Kopp declared.
Mark Sullivan, assistant
chief of the Division of
Community Assistance with
the Department of Natural
and Economic Resources in
Raleigh,and Susan Sheek, a
senior planner with the
Division of Community
Assistance in the Fayetteville
office, explained the planning
requirements to the
municipality represen*
tatives.
They presented newly
prepared guidelines to be
followed in submitting ap
plications for planning
grants. They said it was the
first time the guidelines have
been presented to a public
body.
A total of 25 represen
tatives from Brunswick
County municipalities at
tended the meeting. South
port, Shady Forest and
Calabash were not
represented at the meeting,
Mallory noted..
At Least 3
To Plan Own
At least three Brunswick
County municipalities have
decided to submit their own
land-use plans required by
the Coastal Management Act
of 1974.
Southport, Long Beach and
Holden Beach town boards
voted last week to submit
their own land-use plans
rather than have the county
do it.
Yaupon Beach com
missioners discussed the idea
last week,but took no action.
They are planning to hold a
special meeting later in the
month to vote on the matter.
It is not known at this time
what the other municipalities
in Brunswick County will do
since they have not voiced
their intentions.
Brunswick County Com
missioners last week
unanimously adopted a
resolution saying the county
intended to prepare a land
use plan in cooperation with
the municipalities.
Under the act, the county
can submit a land-use plan
for the entire county or the
municipalities can submit
individual land-use plans.
Commission Chairman
William Kopp, Jr., who is also
a member of the Coastal
Resources Commission,
recommended at several
meetings that the county
submit the land-use plan with
imput from municipalities.
He said this week he based
his recommendation on the
belief that it would be
“easier in the long run if the
county put together the total
package.” “But either way, it
it perfectly all right,”
(Continued On Page 2)
Letter To Governor
Emergency Loans Sought
For Brunswick Farmers
Several matters of major
importance were handled by
members of the Board of
Commissioners at an ad
journed session here Friday
morning, among them a
request to Gov. James E.
Holshouser to intercede with
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to have Brun
swick County designated as
an Emergency Loan Area.
Edward Johnson, county
supervisor for Farmers
Home Administration,
presented information
supporting the request,
declaring that excessive
rainfall during the growing
season had resulted in a 20
percent loss in the tobacco
crop, a 20-to-30-percent loss in
the corn crop and a 20
percent loss in the soybean
crop.
He set the gross income
from 2,640 acres of tobacco at
$5,280,000; the gross income
from 15,072 acres of corn at
$3,768,000 and the gross in
come from 9,500 acres of
soybeans at $1,662,500.
Johnson pointed out that
these emergency loans would
Hasn’t Paid Yet
County Commissioner Chairman William A.
Kopp, Jr., who Friday told fellow commissioners
he was going straight to the Clerk of Court and
pay one-fifth of the Open Meetings lawsuit court
cost, had not paid his share as of noon Wed
nesday.
Star-News reporter Vicki Clemmer quoted
Kopp as saying he was going to write a check for
the amount. “I don’t have it but I can bit the
nickel a little bit,” the chairman said.
A total of $1,644.60 was levied against the
commissioners, “individually and collectively,”
by Superior Court Judge E. Maurice Braswell.
Unofficial reports place the total already paid in
the commissioners’ defense at $7,000 — all from
county funds. Before Kopp’s statement on
Friday, it was expected taxpayers would have
paid the final portion, too.
be at 5 percent and would be
used to pay-off existing in
debtedness, with repayment
being stretched out over a 1
to-5-year period, depending
upon the financial ability of
the individual farmer.
The commissioners voted
unanimously to have County
Manager Neil Mallory write a
letter making this request
through the governor’s
office:
“The Brunswick County
Board of Commissioners in
formal session on October 11,
1974, adopted the attached
resolution requesting that
you officially designate
Brunswick County as an
Emergency Loan Area due to
massive crop damages as a
result of weather extremes.
As you well know, Brunswick
County is primarily an
agrarian county with a large
percentage of our total in
come derived from farm
crops. I am personally
acquainted with this situation
having talked with numerous
agriculral leaders in Brun
swick County and the
information received has
been corroborated by Mr.
Edward J. Johnson, County
Supervisor, Farmers Home
Administration.