THE STATE PORT PILOT
7^e-i9i6
Volume 48 Number 16
November 3, 1976
Southport, N. C.
24 Paget Today
10 Cents
4
TOO YOUNG TO OPEN OYSTERS well, this youngster had nothing to do
but eat—and eat he did—at the Saturday afternoon free oyster roast spon
sored by the Sea Captain Market, which celebrated its grand opening last
week. Oyster eaters consumed 300 bushels of the hard-shelled delight during
the afternoon feast.
"' ... — . —— " 1 .. ■ !■ ' m ii ■' ■ *" i; ii i i i i
Democrats Sweep If
County Election
Clemmons, Vereen Gain Four-Year Terms
Democrats, riding a tide of
national and state ticket
votes, scored a clean sweep in
Brunswick County in the
general election on Tuesday.
The Democrats won every
office at stake in the election,
including William (Billy)
Gaither’s upset victory in the
contest for register of deeds.
Congressman Charles
Hose, Governor-Elect Jim
Hunt, President-Elect
Jimmy Carter and others all
polled more votes than any
Democrat running on the
county ticket.
On the other hand, Arthur
Knox, William Kopp, Jr., and
Harold Davis received more
votes than their national and
state tickets, but still lost.
Democrats polled between
6,990 and 6,013 votes while
Republicans finished bet
ween 5,360 to 3,320.
Cletis Clemmons of Lock
wood Folly and Pearly
Vereen of Waccamaw
became the first com
missioners ever in the county
to be elected to four - year
terms on the county board..
William Stanley, Jr., of
Shallotte, Marvin Watson of
Smithville and incumbent
Vice-Chairman Willie Sloan
of Town Creek also won seats
on the county board.,
Incumbent Coroner
Thomas (Tommy) Gilbert,
IV, received more votes than
any other candidate on the
Only Board Incumbents
Nominated By Authority
By BILL ALLEN
Staff Writer
Members whose terms had
expired were all re -
nominated during the regular
monthly meeting of the
Brunswick County Hospital
Authority on Wednesday
night in Shallotte.
Chairman Mason Anderson
and members Albert Parker,
Percy Hewett and Ceasar
Hardy all were unanimously
re - nominated by the other
members to serve another
three-year term.
The action was taken after
the board had voted on a split
decision to nominate only one
person for each of the vacant
positions.
Chairman Anderson,
Parker, Hewett and Hardy
were the only names put in
nomination for the four seats
on the authority.
After the four members
were re - nominated,
Chairman Anderson said it
was “the first step” in the
nomination process since the
appointments to the Hospital
Authority are made by the
chairman of the county
commissioners alone.
The authority also voted
unanimously to request that
County Commission Chair
man Steve Varnam, Jr., act
on the nomination of Long
Beach Commissioner Pauline
Morgan, which has been
pending for several months.
Mrs. Morgan has been
nominated by the authority to
represent Smithville
Township.
Under the state law
establishing a hospital
authority, Chairman
Anderson explained during
the meeting, the members
nominate persons to serve
and the selection is made by
the chairman of the county
commissioners. Members
whose terms have expired
continue to serve until their
successors have been
selected and take their oaths
of office.
Once the authority makes a
nomination, the law says the
chairman must act in a
“reasonable time." If the
nomination is rejected by the
chairman, the authority must
submit another name. The
process continues until the
chairman selects a person
nominated by the authority.
Chairman Anderson
suggested that the authority
take no action to fill the
Smithville vacancy since
Mrs. Morgan has already
been nominated. He said he
.. \ " -i. • ■ V . .,
believed that the proper
action would be to wait until
Chairman Varnam acts on
the nomination.
Mrs. Morgan was
nominated by the authority,
but Chairman Varnam
requested that more than one
nomination be submitted.
After discussing the matter,
the authority sent a letter to
Chairman Varnam
requesting that he reconsider
(Continued on page 2)
County Board Is Upset
Over Authority Action
By BILL ALLEN
Staff Writer
The Brunswick County
Hospital Authority is being
asked to submit more than
one name for each expired
position.
Brunswick County com
missioners agreed with
Chairman Steve Varnam, Jr.,
during a regular meeting
meeting Monday to make the
request again to the Hospital
Authority.
Chairman Varnam ex
pressed concern because the
authority nominated only one
person — the incumbents —
to fill four expired terms.
(See related article in this
edition of The Pilot.)
Chairman Varnam ex
plained that the com
missioners had asked that the
authority submit more than
one name for each vacant
position, “but they have not
seen fit to do that”.
“They have gone directly
against the wishes of this
board, which is elected b the
people of Brunswick Coun
ty," he declared.
After obtaining agreement
from the other com
missioners, Chairman
Varnam instructed County
Attorney James Prevatte,
Jr., to write a letter to the
authority requesting ad
ditional names. The authority
will be asked to provide the
additional nominations by the
November 15 meeting.
“This (November 15) will
give them ample time if they
intend to act,” he explained.
Under the law, the
authority nominates and the
chairman of the county
commissioners makes the
appointments. But he can’t
appoint anyone who is not
nominated by the authority.
Chairman Varnam said he
had a conversation with
Executive Director Warren
Oliver, who informed him
that the four members whose
terms expired this month
have been re - nominated. He
reported that Oliver also said
the authority wanted him to
act on the nomination of Long
(Continued on page 14)
county ticket in winning his
first general election.
Incumbent Allen Ward had
no trouble winning Brunswick
County in his re - election
campaign to the General
Assembly representing
Brunswick and Pender
Counties.
Executive Secretary Linda
Babson of the Brunswick
County Board of Elections
said that about 70 percent of
the registered voters in the
county cast ballots in the
election.
Gaither scored a major
upset when he defeated in
cumbent Arthur Knox in the
race for register of deeds. He
defeated Knox by only 156
votes in the closest race on
the ballot in the county.
Knox, who has served as
register of deeds the past four
years, polled more votes than
any other Republican run
ning in Brunswick County.
But he still lost to Gaither
5,360 to 5,204.
Gaither’s victory mean
that the Republicans, who
held every office in the
county except one prior to the
1974 election, will be without
an elected office holder after
December 1.
Clemmons, who had to win
a second primary to gain the
nomination, topped the voting
for seats on the Brunswick
County Board of Com
missioners. He defeated
political newcomer Jack
Hewett, who finished last in
the race countywide, 6,619 to
3,430.
Vereen, finishing 234 votes
behind Clemmons, placed
second in the voting. The man
who topped the voting in the
Democratic primary
defeated former two - term
Commissioner Vardejt
Hughes 6,383 to 3,453. '*
Since Clemmons and
Vereen topped the voting",
they won four - year terms on
the board under the
staggered term system that
takes effect for the first time
in the election.
Stanley, who finished in
fifth place in the primary'
jumped up to third in the
general election. He defeated
(Continued on page 9)
County In Tune With I
State, National Votes
• ' • • "" ' '• • v { ' f - ,..... - ....
' ’ * ’ , •’ ' : ' i -f' • •; \ r ........ .
r';^r * “ , ■ : 1.
Congressman Charlie Rose
topped the voting in leading
all Democrats to victory in
Brunswick County in the
general election on Tuesday.
Congressman Rose,
Governor - Elect Jim Hunt,
President - Elect Jimmy
Carter and other Democrats
had no trouble winning their
races. In fact, none of the
Republicans running for state
and national offices were able
to run close races in the
county.
Congressman Rose scored
the biggest victory in the
county by rolling over Mike
Vaughan of Wilmington 8,494
to 2,417.
Hunt had an easy time
beating David Flaherty 7,951
to 2,895 in the race for
govenor. Chub Seawell polled
-'~4, >'• A «- <
68 votes and Arlan Andrews,
Sr., 29.
Carter defeated President
Ford 7,373 to 3,635 in the
county. Thomas Anderson
had 30, Roger MacBride 11
and Lyndon LaRouche, Jr., 2.
Jimmy Green beat Bill
Hiatt 7,666 to 2,931 to win the
race for lieutenant governor.
Arlis Pettyjohn had 83.
Secretary of State Thad
Eure was re - elected with
7,229 votes while Asa
Spaulding had 3,033. T.M.
Long had 128.
Harlan Boyles was elected
state treasurer with 7,509
while Howard Coble had
2,584.
Incumbent Henry Bridges
was re - elected state auditor
with 7,227. Michael Godfred
finished with 2,643.
incumbent Rufus Edmisten
was re - elected attorney
general after beating Ed
Powell 7,394 to 2,748.
Incumbent Jim Graham
defeated Kenneth Roberson,
7,310 to 2,582 to win re -
election -as secretary of
agriculture. Ed Drury polled
101.
Incumbent John Ingram
was re - elected com
missioner of insurance with
7,441. Ed Tenney finished
with 2,739.
John Brooks defeated in
cumbent Avery Nye, Jr.,
6,789 to 3,337 to be elected
commissioner of labor.
Incumbent Craig Phillips
was re - elected superin
tendent of public instruction
by beating Evelyn Tyler 7,077
to 2,912. Arthur Nuhrah had
93
E.C. Soles, Jr., running
without opposition, won the
district state senate seat with
6,724.
District judges elected
were Frank Grady with 7,038
and William Wood with 6,516.
They had no opposition.
Frank Huskins defeated
Samuel Howard 7,362 to 2,847
for associate justice of the
Supreme court.
Other state judges elected
without opposition included
Fred Hedrick, 7,521; Gerald
Arnold, 7,437; Earl Vaughn,
7,473; Lynn Tillery, Jr., 7,595;
Darius Herring, Jr., 7,377;
Giles Clark, 7,746; Ronald
Howell, 7,466; and Robert
Gaines, 7,455. ...
School Salary Data,
Funding Tie Denied
By BILL ALLEN
Staff Writer
Another apparent dispute
has broken into the open
between the Brunswick
County manager's office and
the Board of Education.
The Board of Education
instructed Supt. Ralph King
at a meeting Monday night to
provide County Manager Don
Flowers, Jr., with no salary
information until requested
by county commissioners
themselves.
The action was taken after
Flowers requested that King
provide him with the salary
information.
“I am shocked that
financial information is being
denied totally against the
state Fiscal Control Act and
particularly since Ralph King
agreed to provide such in
formation last week,” said
Flowers when informed
about the school board action.
“I can only assume that
someone wants to keep this
information secret.”
After contacting county
commissioners on Tuesday
afternoon, Flowers an
nounced that the second
quarter check due the school
board would be delivered on
Wednesday morning.
Before Flowers made his
announcement, it was
rumored that the county
planned to withhold the
$332,936.82 quarterly check
until the salary information
was provided.
Flowers told The Pilot that
he requested the current
salary information to give it
to new commissioners
elected in Tuesday’s general
election. The newly elected
commisioners have been
invited to attend a four-day
school on county government
next week. (See related ar
ticle in this edition of The
Pilot.)
Flowers said he made the
request to King in a telephone
conversation last Wed
nesday. “Ralph told me he
would have the information
on Friday,” he stated.
" Flowers produced a memo
he sent to King following, the
conversation last Wed
nesday. Copies of the memo
was sent to commissioners,
school board members and
County Finance Officer
Regina McKeithan.
“Pursuant to our telephone
conversation (on October 27),
I am requesting your finance
officer give Regina
McKeithan the following
information by Friday,
October 29,1976,:
“D An updated list of all
salaries and supplements and
travel allowances for
professional staff, principals
and assistant principals;
“2) An updated salary list
of all staff personnel, finance
officer, etc., and
“3) Basic benefits and costs
for hospitalization,
retirement and fringe benefit
plans.
“That’4 about it," added
Flowers, who also thanked
King for his help in securing
bands for the groundbreaking
ceremonies at the complex in
the memo.
Flowers said he did not
think King would have any
difficulty providing the
financial information. He
said the county could provide
the information in about an
hour.
King said he would have
provided the information
Friday if Flowers had not
sent the memo to school
board members. After it was
sent, he said he felt he had an
obligation to discuss it at a
school board meeting.
“We are not withholding
any information,” King
stated. “We provided the
salary information at budget
time. Now, the same request
is being made again four
months later. It is a matter of
beng reasonable in what is
requested and how often it is
requested.”
Flowers said he could not
understand why the school
board discussed the matter
since the salary information
was an administrative
(Continued on page 9)