Newspapers / State Port Pilot (Southport, … / March 12, 1975, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of State Port Pilot (Southport, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
JJ* w A - • i; THE STATE PORT PILOT ^e-igi*6 Volume 46 Number 34 March 12, 1975 Southport, N. C. 18 Pages 10 Cents t EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN (EMT) training is being offered to rescue squad, fire and police department personnel in a 120-hour course that started Monday night at South Brunswick High School. The course taught strictly by professionals will qualify participants to serve as EMT’s, which will be required on all ambulance calls after Jan. 1,1976. Fred Hardy, regional coordinator of the office of Emergency Medical Services, Dept, of Human Resources, participated in .the class orientation Monday night. *6Perhaps One Year99 At Beach %%% mm '■ Board Wants Extension Of Tax Listing By BILL ALLEN The Long Beach Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution during its regular monthly meeting Thursday night requesting that the tax appeal period be extended for “perhaps one year” for town property owners. The action was taken at the suggestion of Mayor E.W. Morgan, who said there was “no way” property owners could have corrections made on their tax abstracts during the 30 days Allied Appraisers is required to conduct in formal hearings. Attorney Richard Owens J New Bridge Open The new $3.8 - million Oak Island bridge opened to traffic Thursday afternoon — one day ahead of schedule. 4 Traffic was sent over the high-rise bridge spanning Elizabeth River and the Intracoastal Waterway at Oak Island on Thursday afternoon. The 4,248-foot bridge is 65 feet high and has a 90-foot horizontal clearance. It was constructed with 100-percent federal funding. The State Transportation Board, meeting in Raleigh on Friday, voted to name the new facility the Oak Island Bridge. However, a movement spurred by state officials is underway to name it the Gov. James E. Holshouser, Jr., Bridge. f The modern new bridge replaces the original drawbridge that was destroyed by a barge in September of 1971. Construction of the new high jrise bridge started two years ago. . told the board that the only way to extend the listing period was to have the Brunswick County com missioners request the General Assembly to take appropriate steps. He said the county had extended the listing period as long as it could under state law. Owens substituted for Town Attorney James Prevatte at the meeting. Mayor Morgan said the extension was needed because most the abstracts he had seen contained errors. He said he did not think it was possible for residents to have the errors corrected by Allied Officials before the informal hearings end the first of April. One Long Beach resident told the commissioners he spent all day Thursday at the Allied office. He said Allied officials talked with two residents in the morning and 20 in the afternoon. The resolution approved by the board requests that the listing period be extended (Continued On Page Two) BSL Alcohol Vote Planned Rep. Allen Ward of Thomasboro has introduced a bill in the General Assembly to allow residents of Boiling Spring Lakes to vote on questions concerning sale of alcoholic beverages. The bill, which has been sent to the House ABC committee, would authorize qualified voters of Boiling Spring Lakes to determine whether or not wine and beer may be legally sold on premises and whether or not alcoholic beverage control stores may be legally operated in the town. Voters would cast ballots on whether fortified wine may be sold on -premises in hotels and restaurants, whether malt beverages may be sold on-premises and whether ABC stores may operate in the town. If ABC stores are (Continued or, Page 15) Enforcement 6Discretionary9 Yaupon Service Policy Still Favored By Board | An attempt was made to defeat a recently-enacted “restrictive” town board policy during a special meeting of the Yaupon Beach Board of Commissioners Board Didn’t Bicker, He Says [Councilman Dudley Asks Credit Where Due ? ■ f $ By BILL ALLEN j Credit should be given to the Board of Commissioners for progress made at Long Beach while Frank Kivett has served as town manager, Commissioner Ellis Dudley said at the regular monthly board meeting Thursday night. Dudley, who said that he wanted to make “a point of personal privilege,” referred to an article in last week’s Pilot and a statement read at a sepcial meeting February 28. Dudley said the board did not “bicker” during the special called meeting. The Pilot said in an article about the meeting that ‘‘bickering among Long Beach town officials resurfaced ... when board members learned the services of Town Manager Frank Kivett could be terminated only for ‘unsatisfactory performance’.” “I picked up the local paper and read that bickering had resurfaced among the commissioners, Dudley told the board. “It (the story) cited the reason was the contract with the town manager.” Dudley said that the remarks he was going to make were his own thoughts. He said he had not con (Continued On Page Two) Tuesday morning. Commissioner W.E. Mc Dougle made a motion to rescind the policy that prevents town employees from serving on town boards and citizens from serving on more than one board. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Bill Smalley. But the motion was defeated when Com missioners Gib Barbee, Marvin Watson and Ted Wood voted in opposition. It was the same majority that approved the policy at the last meeting. A letter from the law firm of Lee and Lee in Lumberton was read to the board. The letter requested that a public hearing be held to discuss the case of John Thompson, a town employee who serves as chairman of the Planning Board, under the new policy. Wood made a motion that a hearing was not warranted at this time since no action has been taken under the new policy. The motion was seconded by Barbee, but defeated when Watson, McDougle and Smalley voted in the opposition. During the discussion, it was pointed out that Election Board Chairman Ernest W. Rees had resigned as vice chairman of the Board of Adjustments because of the policy. Mayor C.E. Murphy and several commissioners said that Rees resigned his Board of Adjustments position “under his own free will.” Rees told The Pilot that he did not resign under his own free will. “My letter of resignation says I did not resign of my own free will,” Rees stated. “I resigned under the pressure and duress of the Barbee • Wood - Watson resolution. I must assume that the mayor favors the resolution since he did not vote against it. I would have continued to serve in both posts if the restrictive policy had not been approved.” A citizen at the meeting noted that Claire Rees holds four positions with the town. Board members said she could continue to serve in the four positions since “en forcement is at our discret'on,” according to the policy. In other business, the board voted unanimously to ask the county commissioners to have the General Assembly act to extend the revaluation (Continued on Page 15) Coroner Bennett Resigns Tax Hearings Problem Aired By BILL ALLEN The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners accepted the resignation of Coroner Lowell Bennett during a special meeting Monday night at the Hood Building in Southport. “After much consideration, thought and talking with my doctor, I have arrived at the decision that I will resign as active medical examiner and coroner of Brunswick County effective April 1,” Coroner Bennett said in a letter read by Chairman Franky Thomas. “I appreciate the cooperation from everyone and the support given me the last 17 years, Bennett said in the letter. “If I can be of further service to anyone, please fed free to call upon me.” Chairman Thomas thanked Bennett, who was at the meeting, for the services he has rendered the county during the years he has served as coroner. Bennett told the board that the office of coroner is being abolished by an act of the General Assembly effective April 1. He said the appointed position of medical examiner will replace the coroner after April 1. “f think this is a (Wonderful thing,” he added. Bennett, who has been serving in office 17 years, has been re-elected five times as coroner and medical examiner. He polled 4,921 votes in the 1974 election while his opponent had only 2,597. In other business, the board authorized Tax Supervisor K.T. Bellamy and County Manager Neil Mallory to work to expedite the informal hearings Allied Appraisal is conducting for people with questions about their tax abstracts. Bellamy and Mallory had a meeting with Allied officials Tuesday morning. (See related story in The Pilot.) Bellamy recommended to the board that Allied be asked to estimate the time needed to complete their re 'evaluation work and to add more hearing officers to serve residents with problems. Commissioner W.T. Russ, Jr., reported that he was hearing from numerous residents who are having trouble seeing Allied officials to discuss abstracts. Bellamy said that Allied needed to rim a “more ef ficient operation". He pointed out that the office is not open on Saturdays and the hearings are scheduled to end April 2. One citizen at the meeting told commissioners that he arrived at the Allied office before 8 a.m. one morning last week. He said he was placed 11th on the waiting list. “Ileftat 11:10 a.m. and the first man, who had a lot of property, was still in the office,” he pointed out. "I don’t know when he finished.” Bellamy said he was concerned about residents (Continued on Page 15) Come Early, Fall In Line By BILL ALLEN There appears to be no way property owners can avoid a long wait when they visit Allied Appraisal Company to question their tax ab stracts, Supervisor Monty Blackmon said this week. “The only thing I can recommend is that people come to our office early and get in line,” Blackmon stated. “Or they can come in the afternoon before 4 p.m. and wait. We will see everyone who comes to the office and has the patience to wait.” Residents who want to question their abstracts are serviced on a first come, first serve basis. No appointments are allowed for the vast majority of residents under a policy established by the present board of commissioners. However, realtors and people who own more than 40 tracts of land can make appointments. “This was not done to benefit large property owners, but rather to help the people waiting in line,” Blackmon pointed out. “If we know when a large property owner is coming, we can schedule our time better.” Allied has seen 391 residents during the first seven days of the informal hearings, according to office records. The total includes eight large land owners who made appointments. Blackmon said he thinks the staff will be able to,hear everyone who desires a hearing before the scheduled end on April 2. “Most people usually come to our office the first and fourth weeks of the hearings,” he noted. “But we have had more people here Monday and Tuesday of this week than we did the first two days last week.” Blackmon said he had found that a lot of people come to the informal hearings who don’t need to come. “A lot of people come to the hearings to discuss valuation,” he explained. “The first thing they should do is check their valuation against the (Continued On Page Two) Some Legal Question No RDC Action On New Director No action was taken to hire a director during a special meeting of the Brunswick County Resources Development Commission in Southport Monday night. The board postponed action to set in motion the procedures to hire a director until an attorney can brief the board on the Open Meetings law. Chairman George Inman reported that he had been officially notified that David Broadway and Benny Ludlum had been appointed to the board to replace Luke Appling and William Babson. The chairman also showed members a copy of a letter written by Col. James Gor don, who has resigned from the board. He did not report at the meeting that Col. Gordon had resigned. Chairman Inman said he had been unable to contact County Attorney James Prevatte, Jr., who he wanted to invite to the meeting to explain the Open Meetings law. He said he felt Prevatte is familiar with the law since he is the county attorney. Chairman Inman asked members if they were ready to vote on the motion made at the last meeting to begin advertising for a new director. Frazier said he believed that the board should not vote on the motion until an at torney can tell members about the Open Meetings law. He said he wanted to know if the action of the board in the past has been legal. “I can’t see the point of moving in any direction without knowing that what we have been doing is legal,” Frazier pointed out. “What we have done is legal by my standards, but I don’t if it is legal in the eyes of the law. We should not step any fur ther in the ditch without knowing where the bottom is.” L.H. Stanley said he agreed with Frazier that the board should be on “sound grounds” before taking ac (Continued on Page 15)
State Port Pilot (Southport, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 12, 1975, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75