A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
VOL UME *6 NUMBER 25 16 PAGES TOD A Y
SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA
JANUARY 8, 1975
10 CENTS A COPY
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
LOCATED AND RECOVERED,'what’s left of the Blue Claw is now at the
Southport Boat Harbor. The boat, Tommy McGlamery (shown here) and
Randy Stuart were the subjects of an air - sea rescue search in mid -
December as McGlamery and Stuart survived 16 hours in a fishbox after the
42 - foot vessel sank. Undersea Venture Southport was cited by McGlamery
as being responsible for recovery of the Blue Claw.
Headquartered In Southport
Sheriff Seeks Efficient
System Without Politics
By BILL ALLEN
The Sheriff’s Department
needs to “put it all together”
at the CID building in South
port to provide efficient law
enforcement in Brunswick
County, Sheriff Herman
Strong told the board of
commissioners Monday.
“I pledged to give the
people good law enforcement
when I ran for office,” Sheriff
Strong declared. “I can’t give
it with the system as it is
today. If we are going to
continue under the same
system, we might as well
throw up our hands and quit.
The people want service and
the only way I can give
service is to put the depart
ment together.”
Sheriff Strong proposed
that he be allowed to move
the Sheriff’s Department
operations, including the
radio facilities located at
Supply, to the CID or Old Jail
building in Southport. He said
the move could be made at a
,v-:
Board Wants 6Trauma Center9
m'
- • i " - ■ ■■■■ . .. . ■
Closing Of Dosher Is Left
To’75 General Assembly
By BILL ALLEN
The North Carolina
General Assembly will be
asked to turn Dosher
Memorial Hospital into an
emergency service center in
order for funds to be received
for the proposed centrally
located hospital in Supply.
The Brunswick County
Board of Commissioners
voted 4-to-l to take the ac
tion during the closing hour
of their regular first-of-the
month meeting Monday in
Southport.
Commissioner Steve
Varnam, Jr., and Chairman
Franky Thomas ramrodded
efforts to have the resolution
approved while Com
missioner Ira Butler, Jr.,
stood alone in opposition.
The board had finished
discussing the items on the
printed agenda when
Chairman Thomas called on
Varnum at 5:10 p.m. to bring
a matter of ‘‘special at
tention” before the board.
The board discussed the
matter for less than 45
minutes before approving the
resolution on a roll call vote.
“I don’t think we are
lessening to any large degree
the availability of medical
services they (the people of
Smithville Township) have
under an emergency
situation,” Varnam stated.
“Only the long-term things
are being reduced. We are not
reducing by doing away with
since we are providing them
with a modern, up-to-date
hospital just a few miles
away from Southport.”
Butler, the Smithville
Township representative on
the board, spoke out in favor
of Dosher hospital during the
discussion. “If I was sitting in
your seat, Ira, I would be
jumping up and down along
about now,” Chairman
Thomas told Butler at one
point during the discussion.
The resolution asks
Brunswick County
representatives in the
General Assembly — Rep.
Allen Ward of Thomasboro
and Sen. Ed Nye of
Elizabethtown — “to
cooperate together to procure
the legislative action
necessary to convert the
Dosher facility into a Trauma
Center as an integral part of
the total Brunswick County
Health Care Delivery
System.”
Vamam, who introduced
the last - minute resolution,
said the specific action
(turning the matter over to
the Genergal Assembly) was
necessary ‘‘in the view of this
board being an appropriate
amendment of the act
creating the Dosher
hospital,” in the words of the
resolution. He pointed out
Hatch Auditorium, 8:15 p. m.
N.C. Symphony Here
For Thursday Program
The North Carolina Little
Symphony, under the
direction of John Gosling, will
present a concert Thursday
at 8:15 p.m., at Hatch
Memorial Auditorium, Fort
Caswell.
The 35-member Little
Symphony is coming to
Brunswick County for an
adult concert and two student
concerts.
Attendants at the Fort
Caswell gate will direct
concert-goers to the
auditorium.
Gosling will direct the
orchestra in a program of
Bach, Stravinsky and Haydn.
Gosling is described as “a
dynamic and talented
American conductor noted
for his success in attracting
adult and student audien
ces.” In 1975, Gosling enters
his fourth season as artistic
director and conductor of the
North Carolina Symphony.
The Symphony will also
perform for students, fourth
grade through ninth, in die
Brunswick County schools at
matinees on Thursday and
Friday.
The N.C. Symphony ad
mission-free elementary
school children’s concerts are
part of the orchestra’s
progressive and expansive
educational program.
These concerts are made
available to Brunswick
County children by mem
berships sold locally by
workers in the Brunswick
County Chapter of the North
Carolina Symphony Society,
headed by Mrs. Bobby Jones
in Southport. More than 100
workers comprised the
campaign effort throughout
the county.
Tickets will be available at
the door for the Thursday
night performance.
Student performances will
(Continued On Page 2)
5
that Dosher hospital was
created by the General
Assembly in 1935.
“Are we putting it (the
hospital question) out of our
hands in their (the General
Assembly’s) hands?” asked
Commissioner Willie Sloan.
“Yes,” said Varnam.
If the General Assembly
does not act quickly on the
resolution, Varnam said the
hospital issue will come back
to the board for action. He
said the board will know the
answer to the question within
a matter of days after the
General Assembly opens next
Wednesday.
Rep. Ward told The Pilot
Monday night that he had no
predictions to make con
cerning what action the
General Assembly will take
on the resolution.
Varnam told the board that
the time had come to act on
the hospital question since
state officials have
threatened to cut-off $1
million in Hill-Burton funds
Feb. 15 unless the county
resolves the matter.
He said he discussed the
matter with Rep. Ward
before taking the action
Monday. “Together we
decided a good approach
would be for the board to
adopt a resolution asking him
and Ed Nye to take the
matter into their hands to
satisfy the requirement,” he
declared. “Rep. Ward said he
would have to have the
resolution in his hands Jan. 15
when the General Assembly
opens to have adequate time
to have it approved by the
Feb. 15 deadline.”
Varnam said he and Rep.
Ward worked out the well
worded resolution to present
to the board last week.
The Lockwood Folly board
representative told The Pilot
after the meeting that he
drafted the resolution after
talking with the represen
tative.
County Hospital Authority
Chairman Mason Anderson, a
driving force in the hospital
dispute, told The Pilot
Monday night that he had
nothing to do with the draf
ting of the resolution. Rep.
Ward is Anderson's s uncle.
Varnam said the hospital
question has been prolonged
over the years. “There comes
a time when a decision has to
be made, whether it is
popular or unpopular,” he
pointed out. “Putting it off
only prolongs the agony or
the blessing, depending
which way you see it.”
Varnam said both the
board and the General
Assembly will be working
under a tight schedule to
meet the Feb. 15 cut-off time
for Hill-Burton funds. “Rep.
Ward impressed upon me the
(Continued On Page 2)
cost of less than $3,000.
“I want you to give me
permission to run my
department as I was elected
to do," Sheriff Strong told the
board. “But if you all are
going to run it, we are going
to be in a mess. It is just that
simple.” f
The new sheriff made the
same proposal at the regular
mid-December meeting, but
the commissioners took no
action on the matter at the
time. Instead, the com
missioners decided to in
vestigate the possibility of
moving the entire Sheriff’s
Department to a Supply
location.
After hearing the sheriff’s
strongly-worded appeal
Monday to move to the CID
building, the board decided to
postpone action on the matter
until a special meeting can be
held Friday evening at 6:30
p.m. at the Hood Building.
The action to postpone a
decision on the matter was
taken after Commissioner Ira
Butler, Jr., made a motion to
allow the Sheriff’s Depart
ment to move to the CID
Board Say-so
About Hirings
The Brunswick County
Board of Commissioners will
have a say - so in the hiring of
all county employees in the
future.
County Manager Neil
Mallory told the board he saw
nothing wrong with allowing
commissioners to approve
the hiring of all employees by
the county.
The issue arose after
Commissioner Willie Sloan
abstained from voting on a
motion to use Coastal Area
Management grant funds to
hire two full - time and four
part - time employees in the
newly - created County
Planning department.
The motion to authorize the
employment of the personnel
with state funds was ap
proved by the other com
missioners. Chairman
Franky Thomas ask Sloan
why he decided not to vote in
the matter.
“You seem to be talking in
circles and are not getting
through to me,” Sloan an
swered.
The Town Creek com
missioner said he would “go
along with” authorizing the
positions and accepting
applications. But he said he
believed that the final
selection for each county
position would be presented
to the board for approval.
Mallory said under the
County Personnel ordinance,
which has been approved by
the State Personnel office,
(Continued On Page 2)
building. The motion died,
however, when none of the
other commissioners would
second it.
The other commissioners
said they did not want to vote.
on the matter until they knew
the “exact cost of the move.”
Sheriff Strong was asked to
prove the “exact cost”
figures at the special
meeting.
The board discussed
relocating the Sheriff’s
Department at a Supply
location before Sheriff Strong
arrived at the meeting, but
took no action.
Commissioner Steve
Varnam, Jr., reported that he
and Sheriff Strong had in
vestigated moving the
department to an old church
building in the Supply area.
He said the old church, which
could be the home of the
department, rents for $200 a
month.
Even though the building is
in “excellent shape,” Var
nam said “quite a bit of
renovation” would be needed
to make office space in the
old church. He said the un-.
paved parking lot would need
gravel.
Varnam proposed that as
“an alternate location” for
the Sheriff’s Department, the
Agriculture building could be
used to house the Sheriff’s
Department in Supply. He
said all the board needed to
do was “put up three walls”
at the Agriculture building.
Varnam suggested that the
county contact three con
tractors to determine the cost
for the work that would be
needed to be done at both the
(Continued On Page 2)
Nuclear Plant Receives
AEC Operating Permit
The Atomic Energy
Commission has issued an
operating license to Carolina
Power & Light Company for
the initial unit at the Brun
swick nuclear plant nearing
completion at Southport.
A CP&L spokesman said
the granting of the license
will permit the company to
proceed with the initial
fueling and subsequent
preliminary testing of the
generating unit, which is
scheduled to begin com
mercial operation this spring.
Ken Clark of the AEC said
the full power operating
license for Unit 2 at the
Brunswick nuclear plant was
issued to CP&L by the AEC’s
Directorate of Licensing
after a public hearing on
environmental matters was
Ocean View Dedication
At Beach This Sunday
United Methodist Bishop
Robert M. Blackburn will
preach the dedication sermon
at Ocean View United
Methodist Church at Yaupon
Beach on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Bishop Blackburn, elected
Bishop in 1972, is the Resident
Bishop of the North Carolina
Conference of the United
Methodist Church. He was
elected to the office from
First Methodist, Orlando,
Fla. He served as a Chaplain
in the U.S. Army from 1944-46
in Europe with the 16th Ar
mored Division.
Ocean View also will
celebrate Homecoming at the
11 a.m. service with guest
minister the Rev. J.B. Helms
of Smith United Methodist
Church, Roanoke Rapids.
Rev. Helms entered the
Methodist ministry from
Ocean View and his mother,
(Continued On Page 2)
BISHOP BLACKBURN
REV. J. B. HELMS
conducted.
Clark reported that the
operating license decision
took into account a
stipulation presented to the
board under which the
company will install natural
draft salt, water cooling
towers by May, 1978.
“In the meantime,’’ Clark
noted, “the plant may be
operated with the present
once-through cooling system
subject to environmental
technical specifications in the
license.”
He said the Brunswick
facility was inspected by
AEC representatives to
assure that the plant was
“satisfactorily completed
and ready for fuel loading”
before the license was issued.
Construction of Units 1 and
2 at the Brunswick nuclear
plant was authorized by the
AEC in February of 1970 after
construction started in 1969.
Each of the two units will use
boiling water reactors and
each will have a net electrical
generating capacity of about
821 megawatts.
Unit 2 is the first of the two
generating units to be
completed and licensed.
CP&L hopes to have Unit 1
ready for fuel loading in
June, 1975.
The CP&L spokesman said
the company believes that
about 30 percent of its total
generation of electricity will
come from nuclear power
when Unit 2 at the Brun
swick plant is activated this
spring. He said the figure is
expected to jump to 45 per
(Continued On Page 2)