Volume 47 Number 48 June 16, 1976 Southport, N. C. 2 Sections, 24 Pages 10 Cents
“REVOLUTION!” GENERAL Manager Robert Britton (right) presents
to Waccamaw Bank and Trust Co. City Executive Baxter Sterling a cer
tificate of appreciation for help rendered by the bank, a corporate member
of the outdoor musical drama production. “Revolution!” opens a seven
week run at Franklin Square Park in Southport on June 29.
■> 'i * «.*£*.*' ^ t v. - * - • ■ :v •' ^
‘Surgery’ Trims Shallotte
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School From Budget
By ED HARPER
News Editor
The Board of Education re -
arranged its budget to match
the allotted funds Tuesday
night, and the major
casualties were nine teacher
positions and the planned
Shallotte middle school.
But the board left in the
budget what it hopes is suf
ficient funding for the new
Leland Middle School, which
is near - ready for bids. Last
week, county commissioners
made reductions in the
proposed school budget that
totalled $2,330,572, including
$281,558 in current expenses
and $2,049,014 in capital
outlay.
There was a consensus of
opinion among members that
‘ a school bond issue will be
required to meet the
educational needs of the
county.
“Where does it leave us?”
Chairman Wilbur Earl Rabon
and Barbara Yount asked
after being told of the revised
budget. With $3,080,000 for the
Leland school and $425,000 for
the new bus maintenance
garage, they were told.
Beach To Vote Water
Referendum June 29
By EMILY HIGHTOWER
Staff Writer
On June 29, Long Beach
citizens will vote to decide
whether the town may sell
$2.9 million of bonds to be
used to finance expansion of
the town’s water system.
Long Beach now has a
small water system supplied
by four wells which serves
beach - front dwellings. The
system has 550 customers.
Most Long Beach residences,,
however, get their water from
shallow private wells.
If Long Beach voters
authorize the bond sale, $2.9
million of General Obligation
bonds will be sold and the
revenue generated used to
finance the water system
expansion.
If the proposed water
This is the background and factual information
concerning die Town of Long Beach proposed
water system. Next week, staff writer Emily
Hightower will report on the feeling of the voters
— pro and con — about the issue to be decided
June 29.
system is built, when com
pleted, city water would be
supplied to most houses in
Long Beach. The system
would be constructed in
stages, with most populous
areas receiving water lines
first.
Long Beach would pur
chase water wholesale from
the Brunswick County water
system, which could provide
a potential flow of 1,500
gallons per minute to the
town and a 300,000 - gallon
reserve.
Revenue produced by the
water system, and not tax
dollars, would be used to
retire the bond debt, Town
Manager John J. Berry said.
The bonds would be paid off
over 40 years.
Since the bonds are the
General Obligation type,
Berry said, tax money would
have to be available to retire
the bonds in case water
Changes Are Suggested
For Police Department
Recommendations for
changes in the Southport
Police Department were
approved unanimously by the
Board of Aldermen during a
special meeting Monday
night.
But no action was taken
following a one-hour, 34
minute executive session to
discuss “personnel” in the
department. Chief George
" McCracken was present.
Only one other matter of
business was conducted by
the aldermen — a decision to
complete paymept for the
Jelks property, located
between Howe and Lord
streets at the west end of
Leonard, which has been
used for the placement of
utilities. Payment approved
Monday night was $8,307.75.
All members of the board
were present — although
Mary McHose still was
“under the weather” — to
discuss the police department
report, submitted by a
committee that included
Pierce Horne, chairman;
Mrs. McHose, James Harold
Davis and C.D.Koontz.
Following are the
recommendations con
cerning equipment:
1. The patrol vehicle
assigned to the chief be
placed on patrol with other
vehicles and thus removed
from his personal use.
(purpose: to equalize the
mileage on police vehicles.)
Chief McCracken states that
his vehicle is driven ap
prxoimately 2,500 miles per
year which would hardly
justify maintenance of one
vehicle for his personal use.
2. All patrol vehicles be
equipped with first aid
equipment and Class A-B-C
five-pound fire extinguishers
and suitable flares for ac
cidents.
3. The two older vehicles be
disposed of by public auction.
4. Fingerprint kit be pur
chased for the Police
Department.
5. Complete vehicle
(Continued on page 2)
system revenues prove in
sufficient.
According to the
engineering report prepared
by Pierson & Whitman, Inc.,
of Raleigh, consulting
engineers for the system, the
predicted demand population
for Long Beach will reach
nearly 30,000 people by the
year 2000.
The report states that the
proposed Long Beach system
would be adequate to that
time, when the average daily
season demand for water is
estimated to be 500,000
gallons per day. The system’s
primary water main would be
a 12-inch line and most of the
other mains would be 6-inch
lines, Berry said.
In contrast, Berry said,
Long Beach’s present
customers are supplied their
water by a 4-inch main.
Trunk lines for the
proposed water system will
parallel Beach Drive, Ocean
Drive, East Oak Drive, East
Holly Drive, Yacht Drive,
Middleton Avenue, 33rd St.
E., 40th St. E„ 56th St. E.,
62nd St.. and 79th St. E.
* Initial stage lateral lines,
to be constructed early in the
project, would be built along
63rd through 78th Sts.
Two 300,000 - gallon storage
facilities would be required
upon completion of the total
system. During initial stages
of the project, however, only
one 300,000 gallon elevated
storage tank would be
needed. It would be located in
the vicinity fo the corner of
56th St. and East Ocean High
way.
Maximum pressure in the
system would be 60 pounds
per square inch, and
minimum static pressure
would 50 pounds per square
inch at the low water mark in
the tank.
How much would town
water cost the consumer? If
(Continued on page 2)
“It still sticks in my craw
about the county complex,”
said the chairman, referring
to the reduction in the
number of teacher positions
and the elimination of funds
to start work on the Shallotte
school. “It just doesn’t seem
fair to me.”
Board members were told
of the addition to the budget
— after discussion with
county officials — of $20,000.
for site preparation at the
proposed county complex
site. Also, the school board
will be expected to provide
water and sewer at the
complex site and water at the
Leland school site at an
additional $40,000 C06t.
King said the revised
New Principal
JL . •;>£
For Southport
The County Board of Education voted
unanimously Tuesday night to hire Joseph
Butler as principal of Southport Middle School.
Butler, who has served as assistant principal
at Shallotte Middle School since 1973, succeeds
Jessie A. Francis, who will retire at the end of
the month.
The board decision followed a five-minute
discussion.
The new principal is a 1966 graduate of
Fayetteville State University with a degree in
elementary education. He earned his master’s
degree in administration in 1974 from North
Carolina A & T State University. Following his
graduation from Fayetteville State, he taught
sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Phillips High
School in Battleboro, before comng to Shallotte
in 1968.
He taught sixth grade at Union from 1968 to
1972, according to his resume, before coming to
the Shallotte school.
He is a member of the North Carolina
Association of Educators, the National
Educators Association, and the Principal’s
Division of NCAE.
He served as 1973-75 president of NCAE
District 13 after being vice-president in 1971-72.
The previous year he was president of the
Brunswick County unit. In 1969-70 he was vice
president of the county organization, and in 1968
69 he served as vice-president of the N.C.
Teachers Association, according to the resume.
He is current president of the county chapter of
the North Carolina Symphony after serving as
vice-president from 1973 to 1975, and has served
the county Beautification Committee and the
county Heart Association.
budget “represents major
surgery” on the former
documentrchool supplies also
were cut, meaning that fees
probably will be continued.
King said a continuation of
the present “trend” of cutting
the school budget could affect
accreditation of county
schools in the future.
Every local employee will
receive a pay raise identical
to raises given to state - paid
personnel. This reportedly
amounts to six percent for
many employees and as high
as 14 percent for the lower -
paid positions.
Rabon said new schools in
the county “will never be
built like this," citing the
elimination of funds for
Shallotte school. Member Bill
Sue suggested the board “go
to the commissioners and say
‘let’s have a bond issue’."
Members Yount and Franklin
Randolph agreed.
Asst. Supt. John Hicks
noted that costs have risen 30
percent since, a long - range
school improvement plan was
adopted a few years ago. He
estimated that under the
current situation it would be
at least six years before the
Shallotte facility is started.
In the long run, Sue stated,
it would save taxpayers
money to approve a bond
issue. •“
In other business before the
board Tuesday night, a
request to postpone the
opening of Bolivia school one
week this fall was tabled for
further consideration.
Member Yount, who had
presented the request to the
board on behalf of area
residents, said hot weather is
the primary reason for the
suggestion. With school
opening in August and closing
in June, she said, “They’re
getting the heat both ways.” ",
Member W.T. Bowen said
folks in his (Waccamaw)
area “would go along with
that pretty strong, too.” The
need for children to help in
farming also was cited as a
reason for the request.
The board gave a
unanimous “statement of
intent” to sign contracts for
air conditioning six school
cafeterias. All will be air
conditioned under the con
tract except the high schools,
Southport Elementary and
the Leland school, the latter
(Continued on page 2)
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Chamber Full-Time
The Southport - Oak Island Chamber of
Commerce office, located on the Beach Road,
will be open longer hours during the summer
months.
An Employment Security Commission,
program will fund the salary of Josann Bren
nick, who will work with secretary Patti Lewis to
keep the office open. Hours Monday through
Friday will be 9 a .m. until 5 p.m., and on Sunday,
12 noon until 5 o’clock.
Telephone number for the Chamber office is
457-6964.
The Chamber directors have urged all area
businesses that have inquiries for tourist
information to refer them to the Chamber office.
Also, upstate visitors are reminded that the
office has available information on attractions of«
the area.
Downtown Post Office
Site Still Considered
A report that the U.S.
Postal Service is still con
sidering a downtown site for
its new office highlighted a
relatively uneventful,
Thursday night session of the
Southport Board of Aider
men.
Mayor Eugene B.
Tomlinson, Jr., said he had
talked with a representative
of the Atlanta postal service
office, who reported that
planners were working with
the old Southport school site
in mind. Negotiations
reportedly are underway for
the Robinson property on
Atlantic Avenue, which would
give the post office full-block
frontage on Nash Street —
only a few hundred feet from
the present location.
“I can appreciate their
position," Tomlinson said of
-the postal service planning
far the long-term needs of the
community.
More than half of the
meeting was held in a closed
session designated for
“personnel.” Blackie Webb,
whose job was eliminated in a
recent shuffling among city
departments, attended the 40
minute session.
The meeting ended soon
after the closed hearing, as
Alderman Bill Furpless had
to leave because of business.
This left the board without
the quorum necessary to
conduct official business;
Mary McHose rpeortedly was
ill, while Harold Davis also
was absent because of
business.
In other matters before the
Board of Aldermen,
“Revolution!” General
Manager Robert Britton
presented the city with a
certificate of appreciation for
help rendered to the
production.
Britton cited the “youthful,
enthusiastic and professional
response (by the production)
to that dream” which was the
American Revolution. Mayor
Tomlinson said the city was
“equally as proud as you
are” of the community effort
that has gone into the making
of “Revolution!”, which will
open a seven-week run here
on June 29.
The mayor reported on a
trip last Wednesday to
Raleigh made by himself and
City Attorney Carter Lam
beth. The brief review con
cerned "opinions” from the
office of the Attorney General
concerning whether the
township can vote to support
and expand Dos her Memorial
Hospital.
The decision reportedly
rests with the State Board of
Elections which, Lambeth
noted, earlier had approved
the form of the ballot for the
planned August referendum.:
Joe Walton of the
Recreation Commission
addressed the board con*
cerning the program in
general and the salary of
Director Gary Walker in
particular. His extra hours of
work were noted, but
Alderman Conley Koontz
pointed out nobody got a raise
this year.
Tomlinson said of the
director’s position that “the
city is getting an awful lot of
service for a very little bit of
money.” Supplemental funds
— but not taxes — could be
used to pay for the overtime,
(Continued on page 2)