THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
i i A
VOLUME 46 NUMBER 21 2 SECTIONS, 22 PAGES SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA
DECEMBER 11, 1974
10 CENTS A COPY
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
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CHAIRMAN—Connie Connaughton, left, is serving this year as chairman
of the committee for the Blind and Visually Handicapped for the Soutn port
Lions Club, is shown here with Tommy Gilbert, who was the speaker at the
Thursday night meeting.
Construction A Stabilizing Influence
Unemployment Rate High
But It Could Get Worse
A};
By BILL ALLEN
Insured unemployment is
rising at the present time at
an alarming rate in Brun
swick County following the
recent years of spectacular
economic growth.
Insured unemployment has
more than doubled in the past
year and could be around
seven percent now, reports
David Holden of the Em
ployment Security Com
mission branch office in
Southport.
Holden said that a report
from the ESC Bureau of
Emnloyment Security
Research in Raleigh showed
that Brunswick County , had
an insured unemployment
rate of 6.6 percent in Sep
tember, the latest month for
which figures are available.
“I don’t want to startle
anyone, but it does appear
that the unemployment rate
in Brunswick County is
around seven percent at the
present time,” he stated. “It
is definitely higher now than
it was in September.”
The Department of Labor
reported last week that the
nationwide unemployment
rate jumped to 6.5 percent in
November, the highest it has
been in 13 years. The latest
statewide figures show that
unemployment in North
Carolina has reached 4.8
percent.
Accurate information
about the number of unem
ployed workers at any one
time is almost impossible to
obtain since comprehensive
data is unavailable. .
Government - released
percentages basically show
the number of “insured”
persons drawing unem
ployment insurance. The
percentages don’t reflect the
number of un - insured
persons — job seekers not
receiving unemployment
insurance — trying to obtain
employment. Some experts
believe the government -
released percentages should
be doubled to obtain a more
accurate figure.
Unemployment under 2.5
percent has been considered
“normal” until recent years.
Now government officials are
saying that 5 to 6 percent
unemployment is acceptable
* Would Make Job Easier9
More Funds Sought
For Water Projects
An additional $76,000 grant
would make it easier to
construct the proposed $1
million - plus water, sewer
and storm drainage project,
the Southport Board of
Aldermen was informed at a
special meeting Tuesday
afternoon,
■ C.E. Davis of Henry Von
Uninterrupted Opportunity ’ To Speak. . . Once
Meeting Rules, Procedures
fi .
iDiscussed By Beach Council
By BILL ALLEN
■The Long Beach Board of
Commissioners approved.
rules and regulations
governing both meetings and
public hearings during the
regular monthly session
Thursday night at Town Hall.
The rules and regulations,
worked out during a closed
executive session in late
September, were approved
on a 4 - to - 2 vote after three
changes were made following
sharp debate.
Commissioners Ellis
Dudley, Virginia Christen
bury, H.E. Joyce and Nancy
Leggett voted to approve the
rules and regulations while
Mayor E. W. Morgan and
Commissioner Russell
Morrison were in opposition.
Basically, the rules and
regulations give citizens an
“uninterrupted opportunity”
to present a statement at a
meeting upon recognition by
the mayor. A citizen can’t
make a second statement on
die same subject “unless
called upon by a member of
the council.” A citizen can
place an item on the agenda
by notifying the town
manager five days in ad
vance of a meeting “if
possible.”
Mayor Morgan said he had
always opposed any rules and
regulations limiting citizen
imput. He said he voiced his
opinion on the subject at the
September meeting and had
not changed his mind. The
mayor played a tape
recording he made at the
September meeting to show
that his views had not
changed.
Morrison said he believed
that citizens should be able to
speak as long as they desire
at meetings. “I will sit here
all night long to hear what
citizens have to say,” he
stated.
The closed executive
session the board held to
work out rules and
regulations was the subject of
much discussion at the
Director Has ‘Ambitious Plans’
Schmidt Resigns Marina
Post; Watts At Meeting
H.A. Schmidt, for the past
ten years manager of the
Southport Boat Harbor, a
marine facility operated by
the N.C. State Ports
Authority, announced
Thursday that he is resigning
Holiday House
Holiday House, sponsored by five women’s clubs
and garden clubs, will be held in the Community
Building on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from
noon until 6 o’clock.
Exhibits will be received at the building on
Saturday morning from 9 until 11:30, giving those
in charge time to arrange the building before the
doors are opened to the public.
Music will be presented at intervals and wassail
will be served from three o’clock each afternoon.
effective Dec. 15.
Schmidt made the an
nouncement as he presided
over a dinner meeting at the
Lantern at which Mr. and
Mrs. Rae Watts were guests
of honor. Watts, new
executive director of the
State Ports Authority, was
here to meet members of the
advisory board for the South
port Boat Harbor and a few
other invited guests.
When he spoke to the groig)
following Schmidt’s surprise
announcement. Watts made
it clear that this decision was
reached by the local man and
that no pressure had been
exerted.
“I am sincerely sorry he
has reached this decision,”
Watts said.
Schmidt recalled that it
was ten years ago this week
when he was contacted
regarding the Job as manager
of the Southport Boat Harbor
and that he was formally
notified of his acceptance two
days before Christmas that
yea;'. He described his years
of service at the local marina
as “the happiest of my life”
and expressed regret that he
is removing himself from
further personal par
ticipation it its development.
He gave assurance of his
continued interest and his
conviction that ‘‘great things
lie ahead for the Southport
facility.”
During the course of his
remarks Watts thanked Sch
midt for his service, which
has helped bring the marina a
long way from its modest
beginning, then outlined
some very ambitious plans
for the future.
“We need to put all of our
land area to work.” Watts
said, detailing some ideas for
enlargement and for ad
dition^ services.
Among them is the con
(Continued On Page 2)
Thursday night meeting.
Mayor Morgan and
Morrison both said they
believed the closed meeting
was illegal. Town Manager
Frank Kivett, who called the
session, said the meeting was
legal because the board
“discussed personnel — me.”
(Continued On Page 2)
Oesen and Associates, consul
ting engineers tor the city,
said the $76,000 was needed
“to take care of the entire
project as originally planned
plus adding drainage for
West Street.”
If the city can’t obtain the
additional grant, Davis said
the entire three - part project
can still be constructed ‘if
everything goes smoothly.”
“We don’t plan to delete at
all,” Davis told the board.
“We plan to do the most
essential work first and work
toward the less essential.”
Davis suggested that the
city take the base bid for the
water works as submitted
and use desirable alternates.
“We will then have enough
funds to do the job if we also
delete some less essential
sewer lines on the outskirts of
town and certain streets
without houses or houses that
could be served from ad
jacent streets,” he pointed
out. “These are incidental
deductions, but they got us
down to the point where we
would have enough funds to
make an award.”
The Von Oesen
representative said he
believed the city could made
do with less than the normal
construction contingency in
the project. He said he has
reduced the construction
contingency from five per
cent of the job to two - and -
one - half to three percent, or
$28,000 - plus.
“Usually for any type of
construction work un
derground, especially ones
close to water, we like to have
a higher contingency factor
(five percent) than we have,”
(Continued On Page 2)
to keep inflation down.
Holden said national of
ficials predict that unem
ployment will level off and
the economy will experience
a slight upturn this summer.
“It could happen here,” he
added.
Holden said that bureau
figures show that insured
unemployment in Brunswick
County has been moving
upward with a single ex
ception since the early
summer of 1973 when it stood
about 2 percent.
Insured unemployment
climbed to 3.1 percent in July
of 1973 before falling down to
1.8 percent in September of
1973. “I don’t believe the
September data is realistic
because unemployment goes
up and not down after the
summer months,” Holden
pointed out. “Some local
influence helped send the
percentage down."
Insured unemployment
almost doubled between July
of 1973 and July of 1974, when
it reached 6.0 percent. It
climbed to 6.6 percent in
September.
Holden said unemployment f
(Continued On Page 2) M
For Water Tanks
Land Payment
Said ‘Inflated’
Five Oak Island residents
have charged that Brunswick
County commissioners paid
“a greatly inflated price” for
property at Long Beach to
build an elevated storage
tank.
“We are as interested as
anyone on this island in a
water system, but we don’t
think anyone should make a
‘fast buck’ on it at the ex
pense of the taxpayers of
Brunswick County,” said the
letter signed by Royce L.
Hewett, Blanch A. Hewett,
Bryant Tritt, J.H. Joyce and
A.K. McCallum.
Members of the Old
Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners voted
unanimously and without
discussion November 21 to
purchase Lots 32 and 33 at
Long Beach for the an
elevated storage tank. TwO
members of the new board
were present when the vote
was taken.
After the meeting, com
missioners and county
officials said the county paid
the owners of the property, a
(Continued On Page 14)
RESIGNS — H.A. Schmidt, left, announced Thursday night
that he is resigning as manager of the Southport Boat Harbor.
Rae Watts, executive director of the State Ports Authority and
principal speaker for the occasion, expressed his regrets and
publicly thanked the local man for his good work.