Supervisor To
Review Values
By BILL ALLEN
SUH Writer
Although re-valuation has
been in effect for 18 months,
the Brunswick County Board
of Commissioners finally
decided Monday to conduct a
countywide review to make
sure the new values are equal
for all.
The board instructed Tax
Supervisor K.T. Bellamy to
have his department make
the review of the valuations
and report back.
The action was taken at the
request of Chairman Steve
Varaam, Jr., who said it was
the only way to make sure
everyone is being treated
equally. The other com
missioners approved the
request although no vote was
taken.
Because of the work in
volved in the review, Bellamy
told the board that property
owners will have to continue
paying taxes this year based
on the present valuation. He
said the new values will be
reflected in the 1977 tax
billing.
“The people are looking to
us to do something about
this,” Chairman Varna m
declared. “I am in total
agreement with that.”
Bellamy told the board that
his department would con
duct a township-by-township
and individual-by-individual
review of the revaluation tax
values.
“It will be a time
consuming job that will not be
done overnight,” Bellamy
stated. “It will not affect the
tax rate and tax base this
year since we don’t have the
time to review the county in
the next seven weeks.”
Chairman Varaam said
there was no doubt in his
mind that Allied Appraisal
Company did not do the best
job that could be done for the
county during the
revaluation. “It has caused
us many problems,” he
stated.
Since the rate schedules
approved by the old board
were not followed, he said
woodland and farmland in the
county was valued much too
highly.
“We need to instruct
Bellamy to comply with the
schedules and re-assess
every parcel of land in the
county and re-adjust it ac
(Continued on page 2)
No Progress Yet On
Complex Site Survey
No action was taken to hire
a surveyor to make a
topographical survey at the
new courthouse complex site
during a meeting of the
Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners Monday.
Commissioners decided to
delay action again until the
next meeting after being
informed by County Attorney
James Prevatte, Jr., that the
surveyors don’t want to tell
how much they will charge to
do the work.
“We need the best deal
possible," Commissioner
Franky Thomas stated. “This
is the wildest thing I have
heard of. We should be able to
find out prices.”
Prevatte told the board he
had written letters to five
surveyors doing work in the
county. He said he had
received two written and two
oral responses “and they said
it was unethical to submit
bids.”
The county attorney said he
believed the surveyors would
attend a board meeting a
discuss the project. But he
said he did not know if they
would discuss prizes.
“They are trying to draw a
fine line on this,” Prevatte
told the board.
In other business, Director
Mary Gornto told the board
that the county Bicentennial
Commission had received a
check for $3,000 from the
state to use to pay on the cost
of writing the history of the
county.
She requested that the
$3,000 placed in the 1975 - 76
budget be placed in the
budget this year. She said the
commission wanted to spend
the money to have the book
printed.
Mrs. Gornto showed the
board the six winners in the
senior and junior division of
the art contest. She said the
pictures will “tour” the
county before being placed on,
display in county buddings.
She reported that 150
students entered the essay
contest this year. It is 35 more
than entered the contest last
(Continued on page 2)
m < Vv u$ ^ wsmatmmsmhiv ..i...... n i
WILLIAMSON SCHOLARSHIP winners this year are Jay
Barnes, son of Mr. and Mrs. James T. Barnes of Southport who
spoke on “The Dyslexic Child,” and Mary Kellagher, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kellagher of Holden Beach whose
speech was entitled “Communism in America.” Both students
have expressed preferences to attend North Carolina State
University. The Williamsons, left and right, have established
the annual scholarship to promote oratorical skills among
students.
School Board Drops Office
Plan In Favor Of Schools
By KD HARPER
News Editor
The Board of Education
“trimmed” its own budget
Monday night, deciding to not
ask for funds to construct a
central administrative office
at the county complex site.
Voting unanimously to not
ask funding of the project at
this time, board members
agreed the emphasis should
be placed on construction of
new school facilities. Left in
the budget request is
$1,721,000 to complete funding
Smithville Towns Seek
Help Against Mosquitos
By BILLALLEN
Staff Writer
Smithville Township
municipalities put in their
requests Monday for county
help in the annual summer
battle against mosquitoes.
Mayor E.B. Tomlinson, Jr.,
told the Brunswick County
Board of Commissioners that
Southport needed about $5,000
from the county to purchase
equipment and pay labor
costs.
Mayor Marvin Watson
requested that Yaupon Beach
be given $3,000, the cost of a
new mosquito spraying
machine. He said he was
dropping the request he made
for $2,000 at the last meeting.
Commissioners Russell
Morrison and William Jones
said Long Beach would settle
for about $2,000 in county
funds.
Mayor Robert Jones said
Caswell Beach would like to
have the old mosquito
spraying machine county
Mosquito Control Director
Tink Benton offered to give
away free.
Chairman Steve Varnam,
Jr., said the board would
consider the request and act
after seeing if the funds were
available in the budget. He
indicated that the board
would help the four towns.
Mayor Tomlinson said the
four government heads were
attending the meeting to find
out what plans the county had
to spray the municipalities.
“The county receives all
the mosquito control funds;
yet the ten municipalities
have received no funds,
although they have about one
third of the population,”
Mayor Tomlinson declared.
Mayor Watson said he had
made his “pitch” at the last
meeting. But he said the
board should remember the
large number of visitors who
go to the beach in the summer
months.
Morrison said that Long
Beach had to make a budget
transfer of $1,390 to have any
funds for spraying this
summer. He said the town
hopes the old machine will
‘Southport-Oak Island9
Directional signs at the new junction of NC 133
with US routes 17-74-76 will read “Southport-Oak
Island,” following a request from the local
Chamber of Commerce.
According to Department of Transportation
officials the markings will be prominent — in
cluding an overhead sign with the Southport -
Oak Island designation for NC 133. The state had
already placed an order for signs which only
read “Southport,” before the Chamber of
Commerce request. The signs were re-ordered at
a slightly higher cost to the state.
“We are grateful for the Department of
Transportation action on this matter,” said
Chamber president John Barbee. “It will help
bring more tourists to our area, and it certainly
reflects the cooperative spirit the Chamber is
trying to promote in the community.”
it
meet EPA standards.
Jones said the town hopes
to spray the 150 miles of
streets in Long Beach every
other day, six days a week to
fight mosquitoes.
Morrison said Long Beach
would like to have help this
and next fiscal year. “We
wish the county would con
sider helping the town
because we are the ones
putting it (tax money) into
the county,” he stated.
Vamam said the county
does not believe it can do an
“adequate job” spraying the
towns. He said the county
believes the towns can do a
better job.
Commissioner W.T. Russ,
Jr., said the county could not
provide the coverage than a
town can.
“We don’t expect the
county to do it all,” Morrison
said. “We just want you to
help us.”
Jones said he believed the
biggest costs to the town will
involve purchasing the
chemicals.
Commissioner Franky
Thomas said the state told the
county to do all the spraying
about two years ago before
changing its mind.
“The level of service we
(Continued on page 2)
of Leland Middle School, and
$1,500,000 towards con
struction of a 1,200 - student,
$3.8 - million middle school at
Shallotte.
The initial funding of the
Shallotte middle school would
make possible design
development work, allowing
bids to be let soon after the
balance of the project is
funded by the county. The
same procedure has been
followed for the Leland area
project.
Chairman Wilber Earl
Rabon opened discussion of
the proposed administrative
offices by saying, “I’m just
about ready to scratch that
one.” “That’s what I’m in
favor of,” said Member Bill
Sue. “We need classrooms
more. I’m for taking the
money and putting it
somewhere else in schools.”
Board members noted that
central offices had been “way
down” the list of priorities
established several years ago
by the Board and state school
officials.
Board Member Franklin
Randolph wanted to know
why Waccamaw school has
been improved before the
Shallotte school, (“A blind
man can see Shallotte is
worse ...”), and was told that
requirements for state
supported kindergarten
dictated that priority. He said
he understood. Supt. Ralph
King said that all of the old
county school buildings are in
basically the same condition.
The board did not decide
when the administrative
office funding should be
sought, but Rabon said he
didn’t “think it is something
we should totally ignore or
forget about.”
In other items in the
Capital Outlay section, the
Board of Education has
budgeted $558,000 for the
school bus maintenance
garage - warehouse project.
Of the total, $300,000 is
carried over from the current
fiscal year, and $125,000 is
proposed to be paid by the
county as its part of the
garage facility.
The board has requested
$200,000 for architect fees,
which includes $120,000 for
design development of the
proposed Shallotte middle
school.
In a matter related to ar
chitect - engineer fees Rabon,
who was absent when the
recent action was taken,
objected to spending $7,200
for Ballard, McKim and
Sawyer to oversee in
stallation of air - conditioning
in six school cafeterias. Asst.
Supt. John Hicks told the
chairman that any such
projects over $40,000 require
professional services.
The board left in the budget
request — following a 3-2 split
decision — $30,000 for a
computer to supplement one
Power Off Sunday
Electric service will be interrupted for ap
proximately three hours from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
this Sunday in Southport and parts of Brunswick
County.
The interruption will include the city of South
port and CP&L customers in the area from
Southport to Boiling Spring Lakes. The town of
Boiling Spring Lakes will not be included, ac
cording to F.C. Lennon, Carolina Power & Light
Company’s Wilmington District Manager.
already in operation. Supt.
King and assistants Hicks
and P.R. Hankins maintained
the new machine was
necessary to make payroll
and expense paying more
efficient.
Member Sue suggested that
the workers go on shifts, or
that the superintendent in
vestigate having Waccamaw
Bank handle the payroll for a
fee (noted in a presentation
earlier by Baxter Stirling of
the bank system). “I don’t
know whether we can afford
the luxury (of another
computer),” declared Sue,
who pointed out the other
computer was bought two
years ago.
Sue introduced a motion to
(Continued on page 2)
Howard, Stirling Get
Promotions By Bank
Senior Vice - President
Robert D. Howard, city
executive of the Southport
offices of Waccamaw Bank
and Trust Company, has been
promoted into branch ad
ministration, according to an
announcement from L R.
Bowers, president.
Vice - President A. Baxter
Stirling replaces Howard as
city executive.
Howard joined Waccamaw
in 1967 as a trainee in his
native Southport. He has
graduated from the Carolina
School of Banking at Chapel
Hill. He has held numerous
offices in local civic
organizations and has
received awards including
being named the Jaycees’
Outstanding Young Man of
the Year in 1970.
He was among the honored
in the 1970 edition of “Out
standing Young Men of
America” and was named
“SENClander of the Month”
in 1974.
Howard has served as city
executive of the Southport
offices since 1971, and was
named senior vice - president
in 1974.
He is married to the former
ROBERT HOWARD
BAXTER STIRLING
Rebecca Pickerell and they
have three children —
Robbie, 13; Budda, 12; and
Katherine 5. The Howards
will continue to reside in
Southport.
Stirling, a native of Dunn,
joined Waccamaw in 1969 as a
trainee after graduating from
Southwood College. He
served as city executive of
the Beulaville offices before
transferring to Southport last
year.
Stirling and his wife
Brookie have two children
and reside in Southport.
President Bowers also
announced the promotion of
Vice - President Leo Johnson,
Jr., to city executive of the
Shallotte offices.
Johnson has served in
(Continued on page 2)