^oUiriQv
THE STATE PORT PILOT
^6-191^
Volume 47 Number 30 February 11, 1976
Southport, N. C.
18 Pages
10 Cents
;v . 42*£> -8^
A LIFE PACK MONITOR has been placed into
service at Dosher Memorial Hospital to help
heart patients needing emergency care. Nursing
Assistant Ruby King, Administrator Lorraine
Eichofn, Registered Nurse Dorothy Gore, and
Director o.f Nurses Sarah Burnish, left to right,
demonstrate the use of the Life Pack.
Mrs. Henry
To Not Run
Mrs. A.P. Henry, Jr.,
announced this week she will
not be a candidate for re
election as Chairman of the
Democratic Executive
Committee for Brunswick
County.
“I am making this an
nouncement before the first
step is taken in setting up the
new party organization, in
order that those who have
aspirations for this position
can begin their work at the
grassroots,,r she said.
“I have greatly enjoyed my
two-year term as county
chairman of the Democratic
organization and I appreciate
the cooperation I have
received from many sources.
By working togeter we were
able to achieve some notable
successes in the general
election two years ago. It is
my hope that we will be able
to do as well again,” she
observed.
In announcing her decision
not to seek re-election as
party chairman, she said she
has other plans during the
coming months which will
make it impossible for her to
continue in the role she has
held for the past two years.
She did not elaborate on these
plans.
Mrs. Henry issued a
reminder that precinct
meetings will be held
■f '
throughout Brunswick
County on Thursday night at
7:30 o’clock. All meetings will
be held at the polling place
for the respective precinct,
she said.
She also called attention to
the fact that, whereas quotas
do not apply to precinct
organization, she hopes that
these ten-person committees
will reasonably reflect the
voter make-up of the
precincts.
“Men and women, young
and old, black and white,
should be represented,” she
said.
The Brunswick County
Democratic Convention will
be held at Bolivia Middle
School on Saturday, March 6,
at 2 p.m.
Mrs. Henry also said that
anyone desiring to be con
sidered as delegate to the
National Convention in New
York in July must fill out a
form declaring the name of
his choice for President or
that he is uncommitted. “I
hope some persons from
Brunswick County will want
to become delegates,” she
said.
Mrs. Henry called attention
to the forthcoming Jefferson
Jackson Day dinner in
Raleigh on March 13. Tickets
may be purchased from Mrs.
Henry.
Chamber Sets
Monday Meet
The organizational meeting of a permanent
Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Com
merce will be held Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at
Jones’ Restaurant, Long Beach.
Acting President John Barbee said elections
will be held, charter members and special guests
recognized and appropriate and necessary
business discussed at the meeting.
Barbee said the chamber has “the mem
bership and financial encouragement and a
survey for a plan of action” because of the in
terest and active participation of residents who
want to establish the organization.
He reported that a "dutch treat dinner ” will be
held at the restaurant, beginning at 6:30 p.m.,
prior to the meeting. Members are urged to
attend and bring guests and prospective
members. -
Stamps With
New System
In order to reduce the crowds and waiting time
at the Social Services office in Southport, a new
method of issuing food stamps will be started
March 1.
Each household eligible for food stamps will be
mailed a blue “Authorization to Purchase” card
on March 1. This blue card must be presented at
the Social Services office before food stamps can
be purchased for March. No one will be allowed
to buy food stamps who does not have this blue
card and the green identification card.
The blue card will show purchase price and
food stamp allotment. “This system will allow
the Department of Social Services to speed up
the sales transaction and will help in developing
sales points in other parts of the county,” said
Director Joel Webb. “Food stamp recipients are
requested not to come in until they receive their
blue card.”
Boards Are Together
On Complex Site Use
By BILL ALLEN
Staff Writer
The Board of Education
should know where it can
locate the bus garage
maintenance facility on the
Brown-Knox courthouse
complex site before the
master plan is finalized.
Vice-President John
Boudreaux of LBC&W, the
Columbia, S.C., firm hired by
the county to provide ar
chitectural and entineering
services for the complex,
made the announcement
during a special joint meeting
held between the Board of
Commissioners and the
Board of Education Monday
night.
Boudreaux said he believed
his firm could obtain enough
informatioh to allow the
school board to, select a
location before the master
plan is completed in mid
April.
County Planner Johnny
Sutton said that the office
space needs survey,
originally scheduled to be
completed the first of March,
could take an additional two
weeks to finish because of
delays.
Once the survey in
formation is obtained,
Boudreaux said LBC&W
would need about five weeks
to complete the master plan.
A three-dimension model of
the proposed facilities will be
available at that time in mid
April, he pointed out.
Member Bill Sue said the
school board wanted to get
started on the bus garage
maintenance facility since
$300,000 has been budgeted in
1975-76 for the project.
“We are not that interested
in the office space survey,”
Sue declared. “We want to
School Roof Matter
Heading For Court. . .
After delaying the decision
for years, the Brunswick
County Board of Education
finally took action to correct
the leaking roofs at the three
high schools during a meeting
Monday night.
The board voted
unanimously to have Bullard,
McKim and Sawyer, the
Wilmington architectural
firm hired to correct the
problem, call for bids to
repair and replace the roofs.
Even School Attorney
Mason Anderson, who has
been trying to compromise
the matter, urged the board
to act. “You are doing the
right thing,” Anderson
declared. “Drive on.”
Anderson told the board
that he was “unhappy to
report that it appears” that
negotiations to have the
contractors replace the roofs
according to the Ballard,
McKim and Sawyer
specifications had broken
down.
The school attorney said he
was confident a settlement
could be worked out until he
received a call from the
lawyers on the afternoon of
the meeting. “The
disagreement is between the
architect and the builders,”
/
Board Delays Choice
Of Complex Architect
By BILL ALLEN
Staff Writer
The Brunswick County
Board of Education failed to
select an architect for its
construction on the Brown -
Knox courthouse - complex
site during a regular meeting
Monday night.
The board voted on a split
decision to delay the selection
of an architect “until a later
date” following a long
discussion. Member Franklin
Randolph voted in opposition.
The problem developed
because LBC&W of Colum
bia, S.C., one of the two firms
being considered for the
work, refused to give the
board a price.
Vice - President John
Boudreaux said that LBC&W
could not provide the board
with the fee charged for the
services because of “our code
of ethics and state statutes.
This is as we understand the
law. But we try to be com
petitive.”
If LBC&W is selected, he
said a fee could be negotiated
within two days. The
negotiated fee can be ac
cepted or rejected by the
board, he explained.
“I would be out of the
picture if I had to quote you a
fee before we are selected,”
Boudreaux told the board.
After interviewing a
number of architectural
firms in recent months, the
board has narrowed the
choice to LBC&W and
Ballard, McKim and Sawyer
of Wilmington. The
Wilmington firm has
provided the board with the
fee that it will charge for the
work.
Randolph said he had
always believed a “local
firm” should be selected if all
things were equal. But he
said LBC&W should be
considered because it had
been hired to do the work for
the county. He said a new
firm would have to go over
some of the same work that
LBC&W has done for the
county.
Board Attorney Mason
Anderson said iie agreed with
Randolph about trying to hire
local firms. “But I don’t
understand why he can’t give
this board a price,” Anderson
declared.
Member Bill Sue told the
board that he was not ready
to vote on the matter without
a price.
“I don’t think we should
delay any longer,” Randolph
declared. “I don’t see any
reason to prolong it. This is
the third time this thing has
been before the board.”
If the board cannot work
out an acceptable fee with
LBC&W, Randolph said he
would make the motion to
reject the firm.
Chairman Wilber Earl
Rabon asked if the board
wanted to delay the decision
since Member Barbara
Yount was absent. Mrs.
Yount was unable to attend
the meeting because she is
expecting a baby “at any
time,” it was reported.
Randolph reported that
Mrs. Yount told him that she
would "go along” with any
architect the board selected
for the project.
In other business related to
location on the complex,
Assistant Supt. John Hicks
gave the board a report on
school office space needs.
He said the board would
need 14,000 square feet and
seven acres for the ad
(Continued on page 2)
he reported. “That is the
problem.”
The board will spend about
$300,000 to have the work
done and take the architect
and contractors to court in
order to recover the money.
In other business, the board
voted unanimously not to
allow the North Brunswick
freshman class “make an
extended educational tour
involving travel to Georgia
and Tennessee on April 19
25.”
But the board voted
unamously to allow the
students to make the trip
provided a minimum of four
teachers accompany the 100
students.
Both actions were
recommended by Supt. Ralph
King, who said he needed the
guidance of the board in the
matter.
King said that school ac
tivity bus policy was unclear
on the question. The policy
said an activity bus was not to
be used for over night trips
unless under special
provisions.
He said the North Brun
swick local school committee
had discussed the matter and
had expressed no opposition.
Chairman Rabon and Sue
said they had children in the
freshman class at the school
who planned to make the trip.
Sue said he was concerned
about a bus having repair
problems on the highway a
long distance from Brun
(Continued on page 2)
build the garage. The 19th of
April is a long time off. We
want to get something
started. Every week, we are
that much behind.”
Sue told Commissioners
W.T. Russ, Jr., that the
school architect, who has not
been hired, will need to look
at the site where the facility
will be located before he can
start drawing up plans.
Assistant Supt. John Hicks,
who is in charge of con
struction projects for the
board, said it was looking
“doubtful” that bids for the
school facility could be let
before the fiscal year ends on
June 30. He said he wanted to
know whether the com- ,
missioners would put the
money back in the school
budget next year for the
project.
Commissioner Chairman
Steve Vamam, Jr., said he
felt the money would be
placed back in the school
budget next year, although
the county board has not
discussed the matter.
Commissioner Franky
Thomas said he believed that
the county board should
establish a separate fund in
the 1976-77 budget to “ear- ,
marie” money for the com
plex to eliminate
“speculation” about the
project. “We have more
capital improvement
projects than the complex,”
he added.
Chairman Vamam said the
county board could un
derstand why the school
board wanted to get started
on the bus garage
maintenance facility. “We
don’t want to delay it,” he
stated. “We want to make
sure it is put together in a
(Continued on page 2)
Mayor Outlines Plans
For Township Hospital
The Southport Woman’s
Club met Feb. 4 in a special
evening session to hear a
report from Mayor Eugene
Tomlinson of Southport on, as
he phrased it, “the continuing
saga of ‘As Dosher Turns’.”
Mayor Tomlinson told the
I
club that with the services of
Murchison, Fox & Newton,
attorneys, and the ar
chitectural firm of Ballard,
McKim and Sawyer, the
license to continue to operate
Dosher hospital is now secure
with all deficiencies
Groundbreaking For
Hospital On Saturday
Groundbreaking ceremonies for Brunswick
County Memorial Hospital will be held Saturday
at the site west of Supply, weather permitting.
In case of rain, ceremonies will be held at
Shallotte Middle School, it was announced by
Hospital Authority Chairman Mason Anderson,
who will preside over the program.
Guest speaker for the 2 p.m. activity will be
James R. Felts, Jr., executive director for the
Hospital and Child Care Section of The Duke
Endowment. Ground-breaking will be done by
members of the Hospital Authority and present
and former county commissioners.
Music will be offered by bands from North,
South and West Brunswick high schools.
Invocation will be given by Rev. David C.
Adams of Soldier Bay Baptist Church at Ash.
The benediction will be pronounced by Rev. H.O.
Johnson of Southport.
The mayors of all towns, hospital officials,
local doctors and state hospital representatives
have been invited to attend the groundbreaking
ceremony.
Work on the foundation of the hospital was
started in December and officials hope for
completion by December, 1977. The referendum
which approved the new hospital construction
and a $2.5 - million bond issue was held in June,
1973.
corrected except the
generator to be installed in
three weeks on a lease
purchase agreement, and
there now exists a legal base
to improve and maintain the
original facility despite
original state opposition to
more than one hospital.
Mayor Tomlinson ex
plained that this now affords
the voters of Smithville
Township an opportunity to
approve a bond issue, to be
submitted to the voters on
August 17,1976.
The repayment of the bond
issue, if approved, will be by
special addition to the tax of
Smithville landowners of four
cents per $100 of property
valuation. The average
homeowner with a $25,000
home will pay $10 per year.
Mayor Tomlinson stated
that this bond issue of $2
million would allow Smith
ville Township to completely
renovate Dosher hospital.
The existing building would
be remodeled to provide
ambulatory services and
doctor’s examining rooms.
The new construction,
according to Mayor
Tomlinson, would be “ah
extremely well - designed and
efficiently - arranged
hospital” with plans for 51
beds (seven intensive care,
six concentrated care and 38
medical - surgical).
Mayor Tomlinson gave this
breakdown of costs: $1.5
million for new construction;
$150,000 for remodeling of the
old building and $350,000 for
equipment and architectural
fees.
The tax of four cents on $100
levied on Smithville Town
continued on page 2) >