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INSIDE
Volume 61/ Number 45
Southport, N.C
June 24,1992 / 50 cents
Oak Istand police pact a standoff
Yaupon yields, accepts Long Beach EMS fee
By Jim Harper
Staff Writer
Three Oak Island communities have apparently reached accord over the
provision of emergency medical services, but whether talks on a merged police
department -- forestalled by discord over EMS fees - will proceed is still an
open question.
Early last week communications between Long Beach and Yaupon Beach
governing boards led Yaupon Beach mayor pro-tern Joe Broyles to urge
payment of $ 1,056 more than his board had budgeted for services of the Long
Beach rescue squad.
Those communications included a letter from Yaupon Beach board member
Dot Kelly, stating why her town would pay $5,500 instead of the $6,556 Long
Beach had asked; a letter from Long Beach mayor Joan Altman stating that
Long Beach was adamant in its demand; and a telephone conversation with a
Long Beach btidget, page 2
Long Beach councilman in which Broyles learned that continued medical
service for his community was in real jeopardy.
Broyles said last Thursday that he sought "reluctant agreement" from his
fellow board members after an unnamed Long Beach councilman told him
there were enough negative voteson the Long Beach council toendemergency
medical service to Yaupon Beach.
Broyles said he polled his board (mayor May Moore is vacationing out of the
country) because "what became important was for our people to have rescue
services," and found agreement to pay the extra $1,056 that Long Beach had
requested.
Broyles said that the decision would be ratified and the budget amended in
a regular board meeting. The next session is July 13.
Emergency medical service on Oak Island has traditionally been provided
by Long Beach and supported bv donations from Caswell Beach and Long
Beach. 6
This spring Long Beach officials met with representatives of its neighbors,
seeking a formal EMS contract and requesting a specific fee rather than a
donation.
In the meetings Long Beach representatives also suggested further talks on
possible shared services among the three municipalities, including police
protection.
Caswell Beach has agreed to a $2,500 contract with Long Beach for
emergency medical service (as well as police dispatch service), and also has
named commissioner Bill Boyd as a representative to talk about cooperative
police services.
But in the June 8 Yaupon Beach town board meeting talk about police
See EMS fee, page 5
Southport
board sets
58-cent rate
Southport aldermen Tuesday night
approved a $5,784,065 budget and
set a 58-cent tax rate to support it.
The bulk of the budget is taken up
with water and sewer, electrical and
Powell Bill (road) funds; the
$1,677,142 general fuiwf is sujp
ported by ad valorem taxes that total
$491,9% for the coming year.
General fund expenditures are also
to be supported by a $146,659 ap
propriation from the fund balance --
roughly 8.7 percent of the total.
Other significant contributions to
the general fund include $153,633 in
solid waste fees, $235,600 from in
terfund transfers (from water and
sewer and electic funds) and
$319,000 in shared state revenues.
Adoption of the budget followed a
brief discussion and general support
by board members for renovation of
the Community Building. Budget
approval was unanimous, preserving
the present 58-cent tax rate while
also maintaining utility fees, water
fees, sewer fees and sanitary dis
posal fees.
In other action the aldermen heard
a recommendation by city manager
Rob Hites that city pier refurbishing
be extended to include installation
of new lights before the Fourth of
July.
Hites called on aldermen to join
with other members of city advisory
boards and city staff in helping paint
the pier railings before the Indepen
dence Day celebration.
A total of $1,900 was allocated for
the project.
A year-end board session to ratify
final budget amendments was set for
7:30 a.m. June 30 at the Sea Captain
Restaurant.
Davis Creek at Long Beach is a favorite fishing spot for American
egrets as well as for cast netters seeking shrimp for trout bait. Jim
Ratcliff, the netter here, supplies live bait to Long Beach Pier.
Tourists over trailers
High-dollar comment
in policy a cheap shot?
By Holly Edwards
County Editor
A handful of disgruntled Brunswick
County residents asked members of
the planning board last week why
they wanted to discourage the prolif
eration of mobile homes for county
residents and encourage "high-dol
lar" industry for tourists.
"You're focusing on two extremes,
but there's a middle in there,” said
county resident Patty Young. "It's not
anyone’s fault that they don't have
$75 to play a round of golf. There
should be other kinds of tourism, too."
An article published in the
‘If you have nothing but T-shirt shops,
our people will never be able to pull
themselves up by their boot straps be
cause they won t have any boots. We’re
trying to provide a better caliber of jobs
for our people.’
John Barbee
Wilmington Morning Star last week
triggered the controversy by focusing
on two statements in the county's draft
of the Coastal Area Management Act
(CAMA) land use policies. These
See High-dollar, page 5
Assistant principals stand
in corner, awaiting decision
By Marybeth Bianchi
Feature Editor
Three assistant principals await their fate as the
Brunswick County Board of Education decides
where they'll be working come fall.
Doyle Brinson, who lias spent the last four
months as assistant principal at South Brunswick
Middle School; Michael Brown, assistant at North
Brunswick High; and Diana Smith, assistant at
tincoin Primary, were displaced from their jobs
Thursday night in a shift of assistant principals
across the county.
Smith has been an educator for the past 19
years, seven of which have been spent as assistant
principal at Lincoln, Unlike teachers and princi
pals, assistant principals cannot cam tenure after
three years on the job, she pointed oat.
Smith said superintendent P. R. Hankins con
tacted her the day before the meeting last week
to tell her she was going to be removed from her
job, for which she said she had recently re
ceived an outstanding performance review.
Smith is uncertain what the future holds for
her, but she did say, "I want a job somewhere in
the county Tm going to sit back and see where
I go,"
She and the others may find out later this
week when the Brunswick County Board of
Education meets again in a special session at
6:30 p,m. Thursday to discuss personnel,
"Tire central office administration has the job
of looking at the staff when the board and
4;% See Principals, page 20:
County services are lacking
Bald Head a deserted island?
By Jim Harper
Staff Writer
Formation of apolitical action com
mittee (PAC) on Bald Head Island
was suggested Saturday as a means of
getting the attention of Brunswick
County commissioners who do not
send much money to the island.
Inavillage council discussion about
tying in with the county water system,
mayor A. C. SoitcII recalled that com
missioner Gene Pinkerton once said
the county might pay far installing a
water line to the island.
But he said that communications
with Pinkerton seem to have broken
down after he recently asked the com
missioner for help in getting some
county trash services for the island.
"It is a completely frustrating feel
ing to get nowhere with (the county
board)," Sorrell said.
"There have been discussions of
forming a PAC and getting involved
in county politics," Sorrell noted. He
also said a suggestion had been made
that the island community could be
removed by the state legislature to
another county, "or the General As
sembly could force Brunswick County
to give us a different tax rate."
The village's frustration over county
services stons mainly from what taxes
flow out -- $978,750 this year — and
what comes back - $27,500 in fire
and rescue funds.
In a special section of his budget
message, village manager Wallace
Martin said, "We are now reaching a
point in combined taxes (county and
town) that equals the combined rates
of Raleigh, Durham, High Point and
other large towns that provide many
more services to their taxpayers.
"Our property owners pay a county
and a municipal tax so there are two
levels of service and two levels of
taxation. The county level of service
is difficult to identify on Bald Head."
Another island complaint is that the
county commissioners three years ago
stopped sending bade sales tax funds
on the basis of how much was col
lec ted, and now doles it out according
to how many residents Bald Head
Island has.
"Over a three-year period the vil
lage has suffered an income loss of
$300,000," Martin's message said.
"We all know that the tax money
goes to support the county govern
ment and its departments but if every
incorporated town contributes in pro
portion to Bald Head Island with so
little return there should be created a
very large surplus in the county trea
sury,"
■The county level
of service is difficult
to identify on Bald
Head.’
OUTSIDE
Forecast
The National Weather
Service calls for variably
cloudy skies on Thursday.
Friday through Sunday, the
forecast is for a chance of
showers or thunder
showers. Highs during the
period will be in the mid
80s, with nightly lows
around 70.
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
10:03 a.m.
4:23 P-m- 10:54 p.m.
FRIDAY, JUNE 26
4:3$»-m- 10:59 a.m.
5:22 P">. 11:51p.m.
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
5:37 a.m.
6:18 p.m.
6:36 a.m.
7:13 p.m.
7:32 a.m.
8:04 p.m.
8:28 a.m.
8:56 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1
9:23 a.m. 3:20 a.m.
*48P-m- . 3:25 p.m.
The following adjustments ahould be made:
Bald Head bland, high -10, low -7; Caswell
Beach, high -5, low -1; Southport, high +7,
low +15, Yaupon Beach, high -32, low -45;
Lockwood Folly, high -22, low -8.
SUNDAY, JUNE 28
MONDAY, JUNE 29
TUESDAY, JUNE 30
11:54 a.m.
-p.m.
12:47 a.m.
12:50 p.m.
1:41 a.m.
1:41 pjn.
2:32 a.m.
2:33 pjn.