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Volume 46 Number 35 March 19, 1975 Southport, N. C. 18 Pages 10 Cents SOUTHPORT MIDDLE School students participated in the observance of Arbor Week on Friday by planting several trees Board Wants Secrecy Formal Tax Hearings Set April 22nd, 29th All Brunswick County residents must list their taxes by March 31, members of the Board of Commissioners were informed during a special meeting Tuesday. County Attorney James Prevatte, Jr., said all residents must list their taxes by the end of the month even if they have questions or complaints. Prevatte said that residents who fail to list their taxes by March 31 will be “subject to penalty” under North Carolina law. “They can list and still protest valuations,” he added. Prevatte said that all residents who plan to appeal their valuations must contact the Tax Supervisor’s office by July 1, which is the last day notice can be given. The Board of Equalization and Review, which hears from citizens who have complaints, must meet the first time as long as notice is given the general public. The E and R board can hold hearings in late fall if it desires. Prevatte said he had been advised by a state officials that the best policy is not to make any decisions until after the July l deadline. If decisions are made before the deadline, citizens who have their valuations reduced will tell others about it He said the state official said this would “prompt others to want to appear at the hearings.” After hearing from Prevatte, who had resear ched the matter, the board voted unanimously to hold the first Equalization and Review hearings April 22 and April 29. The meetings will be held from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the Hood Building in South port. Residents who would like to appear before the E and R board will be required to phone Tax Supervisor K.T. Bellamy at 457-6436 in Smith port. Prevatte announced that Bill Conley of the tax division of the Department of Revenue in Raleigh will meet with the board Tuesday night at 7 p.m. to provide infor mation needed before the E and R hearings are held. Chairman Franky Thomas said he believed that the E and R hearings need to be held in a “controlled at mosphere”. Commissioner W.T. Russ, Jr., said he agreed residents should be handled on a “one to one basis.” Commissioners discussed requiring residents to make appointments to be heard at the E and R hearings, but took no action. It was also suggested that a tape recorder be used if the citizens agree. Prevatte said Conley will be able to tell the board if the E and R board can meet in closed session to hear from the citizens. Russ said he believed the meeting should be closed to the public and press. Earlier in the meeting, Bellamy told the board that Allied Appraisers had ex pedited the process of seeing residents. After seeing 300 (Continued On Page 18) State Agency Stops Sloan Hiring Effort By BILL ALLEN State officials acted last week to prevent abuse of the Emergency Jobs Manpower Program in Brunswick County involving the "misuse of funds and nepotism.” Officials in die Office of Manpower Services in Raleigh stopped John Sloan, father of Town Creek com missioner Willie Sloan, from being employed in the county program. State program coordinator Jack R. Stone provided The Pilot with a copy of a letter he wrote about the matter. Stone said his office learned that there was “a possibility of misuse of funds in the Emergency Jobs Program in Brunswick County. The misuse involves nepotism,” Stone continued. "In order to avoid any misunderstanding, let me inform you that the hiring of a relative is illegal.” After explaining the pur pose of the federal program, designed to hire unemployed persons, Stone noted that "the law specifically disallows the hiring of relatives.” If the possible misuse had not been discovered and nipped in the bud, Brunswick County taxpayers could have been required to refund program funds. “Any misuse of funds may result in auditing problems that could eventually require a county to pay back those funds,” Stone declared. Brunswick County has already received $150,000 in Manpower money and the total is expected to grow because of increasing unemployment here. The Pilot heard reports in the county'last week that state officials had intervened in the matter. A Pilot staff member visited the Office of Man power Services in Raleigh to determine the truth of the report and the Raleigh program officials confirmed the fact. Stone told The Pilot that his office ‘‘picked-up in formation” that Com missioner Sloan’s father was being considered for em ployment under the program in violation of the nepotism law. He said his office has seven employees who travel the state to monitor the program to see that abuses do not occur. The problem apparently developed because of a policy decision made by the Brunswick County com missioners during a regular meeting February 17 to allow each commissioner to name three persons from his township to be employed under the Manpower program. The policy, unanimously approved without opposition, open the door to the near abuse of the program that followed. Stone told The Pilot that he knew of no other county in North Carolina in which individual commissioners refer persons for em ployment under the program. He said other counties have the appropriate agency or (Continued On Page 8) in the vicinity of the school lunchroom. Here are the students -who participated, their teachers and Principal J.A. Francis. lwo tabbed In Drug Bust Two Shallotte area men were arrested on multiple drug charges following a raid Friday night, Chief Det. George Reed reported. Albert Willis, 20, was charged with three counts of possession with the intent to distribute and three counts of Belling and delivering drugs to minors. James Watts, 25, was charged with three counts of possession with the intent to distribute. They will be tried in District Court in Shallotte in April. Willis has been released on $10,000 bond while Watts is still being held under a $5,000 bond. Willis and Watts were arrested after three juvenile girls reportedly were found unconscious beside the In tracoastal Waterway near Gause Landing Friday night. The three girls were found by a brother, who took them home. The girls were transported to Myrtle Beach hospital, where they were treated for an over-dose of narcotics — THC. One of the girls was held until Saturday while the other two were Det. Reed said Willis and Watts were arrested after a raid on their home in the Gause Landing section Friday night. He said the house had been under ob servation for several weeks. The deputies and Bureau of Narcotics officers, armed with search warrants, reportedly found THC, marijuana and LSD in the house during the raid. Baseball Lights Ineludet By BILL ALLEN Bids on the four state building bond projects and the lighting of the three baseball fields could be called for in May, members of the Brunswick County Board of Education were told during a special meeting Monday night. Lou Evans of L.H. Evans, architect of boih projects, told the board that bidding was between four to six weeks away if everything goes according to schedule. Board members spent over an hour reviewing and studying plans and design documents for the con struction projects at Bolivia, Lincoln, Union and Wac camaw schools. The county received $1.7 million in the State School Bond building program to do the work. Evans said the main problems now are to obtain additional property at Bolivia school and soil borings at the Union school site. Identical concepts are being followed with certain changes at each of the four schools. “Team teaching will be greater at Bolivia, Lincoln and Union than at Wac camaw,” he noted. For Improvements City Continues Dosher Funding The Southport Board of Aldermen decided to continue the monthly donations to Dosher Memorial Hospital during the regular monthly meeting Thursday night at City Hall. The board voted unanimously to continue making the $800 donation despite the fact the Brun swick County Hospital Authority has taken over Dosher. The donation, however, was designated to be used to correct deficiencies in order for the hospital to keep its temporary license. The motion requested that the Hospital Authority keep the board advised of the deficiencies corrected with the donations. The motion was approved following a closed-door meeting to discuss the hospital situation. About 20 residents, who were at tending the meeting, were asked to leave. Earlier in the meeting, Mayor E.B. Tomlinson, Jr., told the citizens that the board “had not given up one biton its commitment to keep Dosher operating as an acute care hosptal.’’ The residents applauded after hearing the statement. The board voted unanimously to protest the higher property values set by county revaluation and higher electrical rates. A spokesman for the NAACP chapter requlrested that the board act on the two mattera. He said the two requests were made by more than 500 NAACP members and concerned citizens, who signed petitions calling for the action. Mayor Tomlinson reported he had read that Rep. Allen Ward of Thomasboro had said he is willing to introduce a bill in the General Assembly to set aside the revaluation. The NAACP sppkesman said a letter had been written to Rep. Ward. The mayor said the mon thly fuel adjustment clause has caused the electric rates to increase. He said the city electric department has lost about $14,000 since the first of the year because of the higher rate being charged by Carolina Power and Light Company. The mayor and board members answered a num ber of questions asked by a delegation of black residents. The delegation, estimated to number about 50 people, asked about dsainage, water rates, trash pick-up service, streets, etc. A large number of the citizens stayed for the rest of the meeting. City Manager Alvin Kor negay, Jr., was instructed to , do what he could to expedite the start of the water, sewer (Continued On Page 9) County Rescue Units To Meet There will be a meeting of all rescue squads in Brunswick County on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Leland Volunteer Rescue Squad building. Purpose of the meeting is to form an association of county rescue units. ; Guest speakers will be Fred Hardy, regional coordinator for Emergency Medical Services, and county commission chairman Franky Thomas. Ed Forbes, representing the Disabled American Veterans organization, also will be on the program. Refreshments will be served by the Leland ladies auxiliary. Former Sheriff’s Case Is Defended By County The Board of Com missioners voted on a split decision Monday to use county funds to defend for mer Sheriff Harold Willetts and a deputy in the mobile home “writ of attachment” case. Southport Attorney A.H. Gainey, Jr., told the board he had been asked by Willetts and former Deputy Talmadge Varaam, defen dants in the case, to request that the county pay the lawyer fees to defend the action. The bond will pay the judgment if Willetts and Vamam lose in court, but it does not cover the cost of defending the action, Gainey pointed out. Gainey said he was not seeking the job of defending Willetts and Varnam in the case. He said he would not take the case, but said he could not rule out another member of his firm doing the legal work. County Attorney James Prevatte, Jr., reviewed the law about the matter. He said the law says the county “may” provide the funds to defend the case. But he said the law did not say the county “shall” provide the money. Vice - Chairman Steve Vamam, Jr., presiding over the session in the absence of Chairman Franky Thomas who did not attend the meeting, said the board needed to look at the matter from the point of right and wrong. “I feel if you are working for the county, the county is responsible for your actions unless you are totally negligent, which has not been proven in court',” Vamam declared. Commissioners W.T. Russ, Jr., and Ira Butler, Jr., said they agreed with Varnam. But Commissioner Willie Sloan said he disagreed. “I can’t go along with it,” Sloan declared. ‘‘I would not want anyone to pay my at torney fee if I broke the law. I don’t think the money for an attorney should come from the taxpayers of this county.” Prevatte said he could not speculate how the judge would rule when the case is tried. He also said he could not estimate the cost of hiring an attorney since he did not know how much time would be involved. Gainey said action was needed on the matter because Willetts and Varnam had to file an answer to the suit April 1. He said the two men had been granted an ex tension to answer it. Gainey told the board he (Continued On Page 8) School Projects Nearing Bids Evans, who was awarded the contract for architectural services to light the baseball fields at the meeting, said the total project will cost about $135,000. He said it will coat between $38,000 and V000 to light each of the fields at North, South and West Brunswick. The price will depend on the light support used. He said he believed it would be best to use towers, which will make the cost about $45,000 at each field. Chairman Wilbur Earl Rabon and Member Willi earn Sue said they agreed the towers should be used. Evans said he could design the baseball lighting projects in four to six weeks. He said it will take 190 days to light each field, with most of the time needed to obtain materials. He said he belived the board would attract more Udders if the school and baseball field projects were put up at the same time. He also said his company of ficials will be able to follow construction closer with all the work underway at the same time. The board voted unanimously to name Henry Buffaloe and Associates of Raleigh engineers on the baseball field lighting projects. The board honored George L. Bagby of Charlotte at a banquet prior to the meeting. Bagby donated to the board free of charge a 1973 model, 32 • foot Chris Craft houseboat. The boat, valued at between $31,000 and $34,000, is at the boat harbor in Southport. The boat will be used in the Marlneology classes. Supt. Ralph King thanked (Continued On Page 9)
State Port Pilot (Southport, N.C.)
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March 19, 1975, edition 1
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