Chamber Sets First Meeting * The first membership organizational meeting of the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce will be held Monday night at Oak Island Club, starting at 8 o’clock. ! Invitations have been sent to as many businesses and individuals as possible, based on responses to a questionnaire distributed by members of the group’s Board of Directors. “But even if you have not received the written ivitation you still are invited, and encouraged, to attend,” said President John Barbee. “Ours has been a volunteer effort thus far and inevitably we will have missed someone.” '* Guest speaker for the Monday night meeting will be Mrs. Ann Small, executive secretary of the Greater Whiteville Chamber of Commerce, who will talk on the need for a chamber of ‘ commerce and what an effective chamber can mean to the community. Items on the agenda include distribution of a proposed constitution and bylaws, formation of a Membership and Finance Committee, and an outline of what the chamber hopes to accomplish during its first year of operation. Purpose of the Southport-Oak Island chamber, as stated in the questionnnaire, is “to actively promote the general welfare and future well being of the people and businesses of the entire area.” Specific goals are to be established by the organization, it was pointed out. 3 High Schools Are Accredited The three Brunswick County high schools were presented for accreditation at the annual meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools held December 7-10 in Atlanta, Ga. North, South and West Brunswick were among the 57 elementary schools and 38 secondary schools presented as new members of the association. “Accreditation by the Southern Association represents a measure of excellence over and above the minimum standards required by the state,” ac cording to Supt. Ralph King. “It means that the individual school staffs are constantly trying to improve and extend their services to children.” A voluntary effort on the part of the school staff, ac creditation by the Southern Association requires a self study using standards and criteria designed hy the accrediting agency. Once the self-study is completed, a committee of educators visits the school and files a report which is reviewed by state accreditation committees and the regional agency. ‘‘Southern Association accreditation is not a gold star for what a school has done,” said King, “it represents a continuous ef fort by the school staff to focus on the interests and needs of students by main taining quality staff, materials and facilities. Raise Offered Yaupon Clerk By BILL ALLEN Staff Writer Town Clerk Claire Rees is reconsidering her decision to resign, Yaupon Beach Mayor Marvin Watson announced following a 70 - minute closed board meeting Monday morning. Mrs. Rees, who serves as clerk and holds numerous positions with the town, was expected to announce her decision at a special meeting scheduled Wednesday morning. Mrs. Rees announced Wed nesday that she would resign, effective when a replacement could be trained. She sug gested—and the board appro ved—her employment as part time financial officer and tax collector. The board voted unanimously Monday to offer Mrs. Rees a 50 - cent - per - hour raise to $3.75 an hour and the authority to hire a full time assistant if she will continue her work with the town. Mrs. Rees requested and received 48 hours to consider Jie offer made by the board aefore announcing her iecision. The board decided ;o hold the special meeting Wednesday morning at 11 o’clock to hear her decision. Mayor Watson announced that Mrs. Rees had submitted her letter of resignation last month. The resignation was to have become effective December 19 prior to the board’s action Monday. The board had voted unanimously to hold a closed executive session to discuss personnel under the Open Meetings law. Mayor Watson said the board had discussed “negotiations for continued employment” during the 70 - minute closed session, but no action had been taken. Commissioner Bill Smalley said that his wife, Mrs. Madge Smalley, had volunteered to assist Mrs. Rees with her duties at Town Hall at no charge to the town. He also suggested using both volunteer and paid part - time employees to help Mrs. Rees. Commissioner Ted Wood made the motion that Mrs. Rees be given the 50 - cent - per - hour raise and an assistant. The offer will become effective at once if Mrs. Rees decides to continue her work for the town. Wood said the money could come from unused funds in the Water department. Mrs. (Continued on page 2) ' A BARBECUE BENEFIT for the Southport Fire Department will be held Thursday, sponsored by the Southport Jaycees. The sign explains it: $2.00 a plate, barbecue, slaw, sweet potatoes, hushpuppies, eat there or take home. “There” is the lot adjacent to the ABC Store on Howe Street, and helping promote the feed are Jaycees John Richards and Bill Coring,and Robert Howard and Harold Aldridge representing the fire department. The Jaycees hope to raise $1,000 to fulfill a commitment to the fire deoartment. CP&L Assures Plant Is Needed $ % * $ Charges last week by an attorney opposing Carolina Power and Light Company’s request for increased rates, and his declaration that the Brunswick nuclear plant should not have been built, were refuted by Shearon Harris, CP&L president, during hearings conducted by the State Utilities Commission. Attorney David Permar of the North Carolina Oil Jobbers Association charged, “If you had accurately estimated the demand for 1975, the Brunswick plant wouldn’t have been needed this year. The plant wasn’t needed when it came into operation.” Harris defended the decision to put the plant into operation, saying, ■ y*. “The planning for the Brunswick*: nuclear plant took shape in 1965 and all of our studies have continued tV