__The State Port Pilot
OPINION
Blueprint for growth
The county commissioners came out admirably strong in favor of county
zoning Monday, especially when one takes into account commissioner
Frankie Rabon’s statement that, though it passed over his "nay", it
shouldn’t be repealed by the next board.
We trust it will not, given the earlier statements of two of three new com
missioners, and given the mood of enlightenment that seems to affect com
missioner business these days.
The point of beginning for the next board is a good zoning ordinance, a
blueprint for orderly growth that makes as much sense today as everyone
driving on the right side of the road. Too much development is going on in
Brunswick County now for there to be any doubt by what rules and stan
dards this development will take place.
County zoning will take effect next July, and by then sitting com
missioners Donald Shaw and Jerry Jones, along with Tom Rabon, Sr.,
Wayland Vereen and Don Warren who join them soon, have the op
portunity to solidify support for the principle and remove all doubt that it
can be administered thoughtfully, equitably and progressively.
It is hoped they will.
A living legacy
Earlier this year a suggestion was made that an appropriate way to help
commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Smith
ville/Southport would be to plant 200 live oak trees.
This was deemed to be a good project because the canopy of live oaks
has been for centuries a distinctive characteristic of this community, partic
ularly during the winter months when leaves on other trees have withered
and blown away. A second good reason to plant more trees is that the num
ber of these giant oaks has steadily diminished, due not only to encroach
ment of hard surface but from natural deterioration. We have learned that
while live oaks live a long time, they do not last forever.
The idea caught on and officials of the City of Southport made contact
with the N. C. Department of Transportation, asking for help in planting an
avenue of oaks leading into our city. DOT was responsive, and with funds
from the Roadside Environmental Unit sent a crew to help with this pro
ject, being limited in its participation to plantings bordering state high
ways. Although these were planted on the eve of summer, 23 of 27 which
were set out have survived.
The key to the success late last spring, and now, is a giant spade bucket
capable to removing a good-size tree from its natural environment, scoop
ing enough dirt with it to preserve its root structure, then transporting it by
truck to the desired location and depositing it in a previously prepared hole
in the ground.
Sound simple? It’s not. But we have proof positive that it works, and dur
ing the remainder of this week many of our citizens will have an op
portunity for a close-up look.
There is no prospect that we will have access to this specialized equip
ment long enough to complete the 200-tree objective, but it should get us
halfway. That should put the numbers within reach of Boy Scouts, who
have adopted a project to set out another 100 trees of smaller size.
One hundred years from now our descendants will appreciate our
foresight and vision and our determination to do something of lasting
benefit and pleasure for posterity.
Meeting the need
Several years ago a new city manager reported for duty in Southport and
one of his first public appearances was as speaker at the Lions club lun
cheon. "I will not keep you too long,” he said, "because I have another
meeting to attend at 2 o’clock and that will be the fourth I have attended
today. This must be the most completely organized town in the state.”
It still may be, when you consider regular meetings of all the clubs and
organizations, not to mention churches and special committee meetings.
Anybody who thinks Southport is a quiet, laid-back place where nothing
ever happens is dead wrong.
We offer a suggestion to eliminate some of the confusion when our spe
cial events go head-to-head as they have several times recently. Let’s add
one more responsibility to the Southport 2000 office and ask that a
clearinghouse be set up to avoid scheduling conflicts. There’s no way these
can be completely eliminated, considering your meeting-minded fellow
citizens, but the function of a central office certainly would help.
This service would not be automatic and would not serve its designed
purpose unless there is responsible cooperation from the affected clubs and
organizations, but it is worth a try.
The State Port Pilot
USPS 520-280
Published Every Wednesday
James M. Harper, Jr..Publisher
Ed Harper.Editor
Diane McKeithan.Business Manager
Marybeth Bianchi. Feature Editor
Holly Edwards..County Editor
Amitabh Pal.Municipal Editor
Kim Adams .Advertising Sales
Cindy Leverette. Advertising Sales
Debora McKellar.Graphic Artist
Sue Parker.Classified Advertising
Subscription rates (including postage):
$10.80 a year in Brunswick County
$16.40 elsewhere in North Carolina
$19.00 outside of North Carolina
105 South Howe Street, Southport, N.C. 28461*3817
Second class postage paid at Southport & additional mailing offices.
Postmaster Send address changes to:
P.O. Box 10548, Southport, N.C. 28461-0548
Phone: 457-4568/Fax #: 4579427
wmzmwi.
mm
ok! ok! &0M W
poivetf urns! 0ur
r 5TILI PPM'TSEE
W HEEP!
fo& fiiOT^
Not exactly news
Two weeks before Thanksgiving grade-A fro
zen turkeys were selling for the unheard-of price
of 29 cents per pound. What's more, this was the
price at both of the local supermarkets and in other
stores in their chains in eastern North Carolina...
This was good news for the buyers but it was a
disaster for turkey growers. We know, because
we spent enough time on a farm growing up to
know how much a turkey can eat while trying to
get fat enough for Thanksgiving.
Something new has been added to the off
season activities at Stevens Park. On Tuesday
afternoons for the next few weeks dog obedience
classes will be held there with N. C. Highway
Patrol trooper Jerry Dove as instructor. Twenty
five dogs (and their masters) are enrolled... Is it
just us. or is this a dull, dog-eat-dog NFL football
season? Thus far we have not watched a single
game from beginning to end. We stayed with
major league baseball until late October and by
that time NBA basketball was coming on the
scene.
Southport provided three background scenes
this week for segments of "American Discovery",
a feature of the evening news program on WW AY
TV. Rodney Ingle is the special reporter and
Thursday night he spoke from the steps of St.
Philip's Episcopal Church and the following night
he used the front porch of Southport City Hall
next door. On Monday, he was at the Garrison
with the impressive commanding officer's home
as the backdrop... Tim Downing of that station is
an excellent meteorologist but we enjoy seeing
Kitty Fitzgibbon as his weekend stand-in weather
reporter.
We did not realize that juke boxes have been in
existence for the past 100 years but on Saturday
night we watched "Juke Box Saturday Night", an
anniversary program on WUNC-TV with Patti
Paige emceeing a parade of singing stars who
have helped keep these music machines running
for the past several decades. She did some singing
herself, including the song which we have associ
ated with her, "Tennessee Waltz.".. All of which
reminds us of the days back in the 1930s when the
"Honky Tonk" was a favorite place of amusement
here in Southport. It was located in the Northrop
building on Howe Street and Joe Loughlin was
the proprietor. This was back in the days of the
dance craze "Big Apple".
Here it is mid-November and we have seen
ryegrass growing at only one location in town. We
hope some more will be planted before it is too
late... Speaking of grass, we saw a local lawn
being mowed last week. That should do it for the
winter.
Wake Forest and Carolina in football bowl
games! Will wonders never cease? This in a year
in which Clemson, Georgia Tech and Virginia
have fallen from grace... Now it's on tocollegiate
basketball where we find Duke picked third in the
nationalrankings, with Carolina arid Florida State
also in the top ten.
On the Waccamaw 2A Conference level we
have two teams. Whiteville and West Brunswick,
still in the state championship race. This is a
reminder that last season the Trojans went to the
state finals... If we sometimes appear to place too
much emphasis upon athletics let us remind you
of the numbers of boys and girls competitive
sports have helped prevent from becoming drop
outs.
Back in the days when menhaden fishing was
a principal industry in Brunswick County we
remember that the fall fish were called "fatbacks"
because of their oil content. These late catches
brought a premium price... Speaking of late-fall
catches, there were years when shrimpers got a
special bonus from the sea with a late run of big
shrimp.
Church bazaars are a good way to raise money
for worthy causes and they had a good one last
week at Trinity United Methodist... We'll write
this while it still is true: No ice on the water trough
so far at Gladys Johnson's horse bam on the Old
River Road.
Public opinion
Lakes project
To the Editor:
Let me tell you a little bit about
the people who live in Boiling
Spring Lakes. They are good and
generous people.
Each year at this time a handful
of volunteer firemen and rescue
squad members go door-to-door
delivering fire/rescue 911 calendars.
They also ask for donations to help
finance equipment, insurance and
supplies needed to run the squads.
About 80 percent of the families
called on open their hearts and
pocketbooks and give donations.
For example, I remember a single
mother who gave us $2, money she
badly needed for gas; and the
retired man who gave $300 because
he wanted to help "in the best way
he could”; and the little boy who ran
off to get two quarters from his own
savings to give to us.
To all of the residence of Boiling
Spring Lakes, we spend 24 hours a
day in your service and I’m pleased
and proud to do it, because 1 know
the fire and rescue volunteers are
appreciated.
If we missed your family and you
want a calendar and wish to make a
donation, you may do so at City
Hall.
Elmer Schorzman
Worthy cause
To the Editor:
As a volunteer with Hope Harbor
Home. I would personally like to
thank the owner, employees and
volunteers of Ocean Crest Pier and
Motel of Long Beach for their very
well-planned fish fry with all.
proceeds going to Hope Harbor
Home, a shelter for abused women
and children in Brunswick County.
They had a great turn-out of "fish
lovers" who enjoyed a delicious
meal and also donated money to a
very worthwhile cause.
Thanks again to all of you.
Eloise Gibbs,
Volunteer of Hope Harbor Home
School work
To the Editor:
I would like to thank the constitu
ents of this county who diligently
rallied and voted to secure a
position on the board of education
for me this past election day. It gave
To The Editor:
The State Fort Pilot invites its readers to share theirviews on subjects of
;p*lic interst. Comments should he addressed to Tie Editor and wailed
toTt)e Stale Pott Pilot, P.O.Box 10348, Southport, N.C 28461 betters
should he United to 250 words, longer liters will be edited for space,
or will be retained to the writer if editing would significantly alter the
content. Please include the writer's address andfar telephone number so
be of shecan be contacted by the Editor if necessary. Addresses and
telephone numbers will not be printed.
me great pleasure to be part of a
campaign that brought the constitu
ents of this county out in record
numbers.
History was made in Brunswick
County November 3,1992. The
voting numbers were a clear
indication that our citizens are truly
concerned and ready for a change.
The numbers also reflect that the
citizens of Brunswick County have
truly come a long way.
I would like to personally
congratulate Janet Pope for a race
well run. It is my opinion that she
ran a clean and constructively
initiated campaign. She's an
advocate for educational excellence,
and this makes her a winner in my
book. 1 would like to publicly invite
Mrs. Pope and every citizen of this
county to share with me their ideas,
knowledge and concerns to see that
our children, the future leaders of
this county, are academically
prepared to enter what is and what
will be a very competitive market of
survival. I believe that this can be
accomplished through unitiQg and
See Opinion, next page
General Excellence - NCPA weekly division: first 1989, '91; runner-up 1990