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THE STATE PORT PILOT
^e-1916
Volume 47 Number 23 December 24, 1975
Southport, N. C.
16 Pages
10 Cents
- > . '
CHRISTMAS IS FOR ALL AGES, a.fact demonstrated again this week by
children from Southport Child Care Center, who went as a group to Ocean
Trail Rest Home for some caroling and the spreading of good cheer.
Investigation Is Asked
Post Office Will Not Issue ~
Food Stamps, Director Says
Congressman Charlie Rose
has been asked to look into
why Brunswick County can’t
use post office issuance of
food stamps at this time.
The request was made by
Director Joel Webb of the
Brunswick County Depart
ment of Social Services in a
letter to Congressman Rose.
“It is my feeling that by
refusing to take prompt
action to allow Brunswick
County to take advantage of
this service, the post office
has perpetrated a
discriminatory act, with' no
apparent basis in present
contract provisions,” Webb
said in the letter.
Copies of the letter were
sent to Senator Robert
Morgan (N.C.), Senator
Jesse Helms (N.C.) Senator
George McGovern, (S.D.),
the postmaster general,
Director Renee Hill of the
state Department of Social
Services, Secretary David
Flaherty of the Department
of Human Resources and
Attorney General Rufus
Edmisten.
The director pointed out
that 31 counties in North
Carolina presently use post
office issuance of food
stamps. Each of the 31
counties pays the post office
80 cents per transaction for
the service.
He pointed out that the
state and the U.S. Postal
Service are parties of the
contract outlining the terms
and conditions. The post
office agrees to issue food
stamps and the local
governments sub-contract
with the state to provide the
service.
“To my knowledge, there is
no provision in this contract
restricting in anyway the
number of local agencies that
may take advantage of the
food stamp issuance ser
vice,” Webb stated.
But he said he had received
“verbal confirmation” from
the Customer Service branch
of the U.S. Postal Office
Sectional Center Facility in
Fayetteville and the Food
assistance Branch of the
North Carolina State Division
fo Social Services in Raleigh
that security inspection of
local post offices leading to
the issuance of food stamps in
Brunswick County will not be
possible at this time.
“It is my understanding
that the post office is not
expanding the food stamp
issuance - service to any new
counties in North Carolina,
and the whole matter is on
hold status pending I don’t
know what,” Webb stated.
He urged that
Congressman Rose and the
postmaster general “deter
mine the reason for the delay
and take action as ap
propriate to insure that
counties in need of this ser
vice have the opportunity to
avail themselves of it on a
timely basis.”
The county director also
said that the state, which is a
party to the contract, should
take immediate action to
insure “that these services are
offered to Brunswick County
Brochure For Area
Is Printed In French
A brochure printed in
French will be distributed in
Canada to promote Brun
swick County, members of
the Resources Development
Commission were told at
their December meeting.
. “This brochure is one of the
first to be printed in a foreign
language for distribution in a
foreign country,” Director
Jackie Stephenson reported
to the board.
He said that the com
mission was one of the
sponsors of the Coastal North
Carolina brochure, which is
being printed in French. The
state Travel and Promotion
Division has approved the
application.
“John Fisher, an author
who knows the Sunset Beach
area of Brunswick County
well and who works for one of
the principal newspapers in
Canada, will distribute these
brochures in Canada to give
us the best coverage
possible,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson said that
directors should receive
copies of the new county data
manual within the week. It
will have the same style
cover, but the color will be
changed.
The director presented the
board with copies of an ar
ticle prepared for publication
in the milestone edition of
The State magazine in
January.
Stephenson said the staff is
proceeding with preparation
of the county reator’s
brochure. He said a printout
of the licensed realtors in the
state has been received.
The board decided not to
hold a Christmas dinner this
year due to the late date.
The board voted
unanimously to increase the
salary of secretary Edna
Watts to $167.44, “which is
commensurate with the
county employee’s salary
scale.” She has been em
ployed for the probationary
60-day period.
Stephenson gave a report
on the trip he made to new
York with other county of
ficials to have the county’s
bond rating increased.
and to any other county
desiring to take advantage of
t!ie service.”
In addition to department
distribution, Webb said that
food stamps can be issued by
the mail, banks and post
offices.
He said the county has
taken “all possible advantage
of mail issuance and further
expansion of this system is
unfeasible.”
He said that bank issuance
is “a comparatively poor
alternative and would not
provide the full range of
service” the county
desperately needs.
“Brunswick County is one
of (he largest in the state, and
this matter is of desperate,
pressing urgency to the food
stamp recipients involved,”
Webb stated.
He pointed out that the
county has about 4,500 food
stamp recipients and each of
the approximately 1,200
heads of the households must
travel an average round trip
of 40 miles to purchase the
stamps. ‘‘Many pay for
transportation at exorbitant
rates and they can still afford
it,” the director explained.
Webb said the ‘‘tran
sportation problems would be
eliminated” if five or more
post offices around the county
issued food stamps.
Yaupon Taxes
To Be Listed
Yaupon Beach property
owners are “legally
responsible” to pay their real
and personal taxes by
December 31 even if tax
notices are not received,
according to Town Clerk
Claire Rees.
“Although some Yaupon
Beach property owners did
not receive tax notices until
this month, 1975 taxes must
be paid in December to avoid
a 2-percent penalty charge to
be assessed January 1, 1976,
as required under “the
Machinery Act of North
Carolina,” she said. An ad
ditional penalty of three
fourths of one percent is
added for each month after
January during which taxes
remind unpaid.
“We apologize for the delay
in mailing out 1975 tax
notices. But the lateness was
a direct result of the un
certainty and confusion
generated by the recently
completed revaluation of all
real property in Brunswick
County.
“Town tax notices could not
be prepared until after the
county tax abstracts were
made liable to the town for
copying, Mrs. Rees pointed
out.
“The tax dollar enables the
town to provide services to
property owners. It is
necessary that each property
owner pay taxes in order to
keep the tax rate as low as
possible,” she added.
Taxpayers are urged to
contact the tax collector if
they find errors in listings of
property on tax notices, or if
the real property valuation
does not agree with Brun
swick County tax notice,
notice.
Rescue Duties
Change Hands
By BILL ALLEN
Staff Writer
“Southport will not be left
without ambulance service.”
With those words, Thomas
E. (Tommy) Gilbert, IV,
announced that Gilbert’s
Funeral Service has resumed
providing ambulance service
in the Southport area — at
least temporarily.
“We will provide the people
with the same ambulance
service we have provided in
the past,” Gilbert stated.
Gilbert’s went back into the
ambulance business after
Care Ambulance Service
Inc., suddenly ceased
operations at noon Friday.
Col. William O. Beasley of
Caswell Beach, president of
Care Ambulance, said the
company had to close its
doors because of “financial
difficulties.”
Col. Beasley said he did not
know what the future held for
Care Ambulance. “We are
insolvent at the present,” he
stated.
Gilbert’s provided am
bulance service in the South
port area from 1959 until June
of 1975, when Care
Ambulance took over.
Gilbert said Gilbert
Ambulance Service, Inc., was
incorporated in Brusnwick
County and North Carolina
Friday to provide the am
bulance service in the South
port area.
He said Gilbert Ambulance
Sendee has agreed to provide
emergency and tran
sportation ambulance service
in the Southport area for the
next 90 days. “We hope to
work out an arrangement to
obtain monetary help after 90
days,” he stated.
Residents of the Southport
area needing ambulance
service should call the
Gilbert’s Funeral Service
number — 457-6161. The
ambulance service will be
Christmas Closings
City, county and state employees will have
three days off for Christmas as their offices will
be closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Financial institutions will be closed Thursday
and Friday, and Peoples Savings and Loan
Association will be closed earlier — at noon on
Wednesday.
There will be no post office service on Thur
sday, Christmas Day, but service will be on
normal schedule other days during the week.
headequartered at the
funeral home.
“Gilbert Ambulance has
been certified by the state to
provide ambulance service,”
Gilbert stated. “All our
ambulance employees have
permits certified by the
state.”
He said that Gilbert
Ambulance can’t honor the
memberships sold by Care
Ambulance or any other
ambulance firm. “We are in
no way associated with Care
Ambulance,” he stated.
Gilbert paid tribute to the
help Col. Beasley provided in
making sure that ambulance
service never came to a stop
during the change.
“Col. Beasley worked with
us to make sure there would
be no period of interrupted
ambulance service in the
Southport area,” Gilbert
stated. “He gave us his full
cooperation.”
Col. Beasley said that Care
Ambulance has turned over
to Gilbert Ambulance two
vehicles. One is a new am
bulance and the other is a
vehicle Care purchase from
Gilbert’s.
Southport Com
munications, Inc., provided
Gilbert Ambulance with the
needed radio equipment to
provide communications,
Gilbert pointed out.
Gilbert said that Gilbert
Ambulance will cooperate
with the rescue squads in the
county. “We will work with
the rescue squads in the
(Continued on page 2)
License Plate Stickers
Go On Sale January 2
The new validation stickers
for 1976 license plates will go
on sale January 2, according
to local license agent
Christine Hewett of Shallotte.
The validation stickers will
be on sale at the Shallotte
Bookkeeping Service office
on Highway 17 North,
Monday through Friday from
9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
“For the first time,
renewal of private passenger
licenses will be by a
validation sticker,” Mrs.
Hewett said. “The sticker is
to be affixed to the upper
right hand corner of the
current license plate in the
designated indenture.”
Although stickers will be
used for passenger cars, the
renewal of all other
classifications, including
trucks, will continue to be by
the annual license plate.
A license plate as well as a
validation sticker will be
issued forw newly - acquired
private passenger vehicles
unless a plate is to be tran-,
sferred.
The application cards
necessary for obtaining 1976
validation stickers or license
plates have already been
placed in the mail in order to
be delivered by January 1.
The Department of Motor
Vehicles has made
arrangements with the
shallotte post office to turn
aver to Mrs. Hewett renewal
Pilot Prints Early
The State Port Pilot will be published early
again next week — on Monday — because of
holiday printing schedules.
Deadline for news and editorial copy will be
Saturday noon, the same as for this week’s
newspaper. The Pilot office will be open Friday
and on Saturday morning from 9 until noon.
cards it has been unable to
deliver.
“Anyone failing to receive
an application card may
possibly find it at my office,”
Mrs. Hewett said. “Those
who don’t receive an ap
plication should apply to my
office as early as possible so
that there will be time to get
one from Raleigh if I don’t
have it.”
She said it will take from
ten days to two weeks to
obtain an application card
from the Department of
Motor Vehicles in Raleigh.
Mrs. Hewett said persons
must have renewal cards to
be able to purchase their 1976
sticker or plate. She urged
residents to complete the
renewal application ac
cording to instructions before
presenting it to her office for
a sticker or plate.
North Carolina drivers
must display the 1976 stickers
or license plates by February
15. ?
Local Phone
Rates Hiked
Southern Bell telephone
customers in the Southport,
Oak Island and Leland areas
will have to dig deeper in
their pockets to pay their
monthly phone bills.
The State Utilities Com
mission granted Southern
Bell Telephone Co. a $36
million rate hike Friday and
the right to charge for
directory assistance calls.
The basic monthly
residential rate on the South
port exchange will increase
30 cents to $6.90. Tele
phones on the Wilmington ex
change, which serves Leland,
was to go up two cents to
$7.70. The increase is effec
tive “immediately.”
In addition, Bell’s
customers in the state will be
charged for directory
assistance (DA) calls after
the first five each month.
This will be the first time
customers have had to pay
for the DA service.
Starting January 15,
customers will be charged 20
cents each for each ad
ditional DA call made over
the first five each month. But
customers will receive a free
DA for every long distance
call completed within their
area code in the month.
Directory assistance calls
for numbers outside the
customer’s area code will
continue to be free.
The commission also
granted Southern Bell a hike
in installation charges from
$15 to $24.
The increase is the largest
ever granted the company in
North Carolina, it was
pointed out.
Southern Bell has
originally asked for a $62.5 -
million rate hike. But the
commission grant only about
two-thirds of the requested
boost, or $36 million.
All but about $5.5 million
the rate hike has been placed
(Continued on page 2)