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INSIDE
Volume 62/ Number 20
Southport, N.C
January 6,1993/ 50 cents
Out of work
15 percent? How well are ESC
head-counters doing their jobs'/
By Holly Edwards
County Editor
Brunswick County’s unemploy
ment rate swelled to 15.1 percent in
November — a major jump from Oc
tober’s rate of 12.6 percent, and the
third highest unemployment rate
among North Carolina’s 100
counties.
Of the 20,100 people currently in
the county’s labor force, 17,010
were employed in November and
3,030 were unemployed, according
to statistics released by the Employ
ment Security Commission of North
Carolina.
The region had an unemployment
rate of 8.3 percent, which was high
er than both the state figure of 5.8
percent and the national rate of 7.0
percent. Statewide, the unemploy
••• I still think the figures for Brunswick
County are skewed. We have maintained
the same high level of building activity,
and that is inconsistent with a 15-percent
unemployment rate.’
David Clegg
County manager/attorney
ment rate rose in 95 counties.
However, county man
ager/attomey David Clegg ques
tioned the state’s statistics, and said
the numbers do not accurately
reflect what is going on in Bruns
wick County.
"There are lots of variables in a
hospitality or tourist economy like
See Jobless rate, page 6
Let the taxing begin;
county approves levy
By Holly Edwards
County Editor
The total value of taxable property
in Brunswick County is $4.3 billion,
creating a total tax levy for 1992 of
$29.6 million, county tax supervisor
Boyd Williamson told the board of
commissioners Monday night.
Commissioners unanimously
agreed to accept the figures, and
directed tax collector Nancy Moore
to begin collecting the money.
Nearly half of the total valuation
Valuable lands
Brunswick County taxable property
by townships
of the county is located in the
Dosher Hospital District, or Smith
ville Township, which has a total tax
value of Si.8 billion. The hospital
will benefit from a tax levy of
$725,488.
Property in the district is taxed at a
rate of four cents per $100 of prop
erty value. Proceeds from the tax are
then used to pay lor the hospital’s
20-year bond and for hospital costs
of operation.
Valuation of the district is about
$100 million more this year than
last, which is primarily due to busi
ness and personal property audits
and the increased value of Carolina
Power & Light Co., Williamson
said. The county showed an overall
valuation increase of $166 million.
Approximately $68 million was
added to the district’s tax value as a
result of business discoveries, in
cluding audits of Cogentrix and the
Archer Daniels Midland Corpora
tion, which recently shoveled out
five year’s worth of unpaid taxes.
"The value of the district may not
be as high next year," Williamson
said. "Without the business audits
there would have been about a $35
See County levy, page 6
Attorney General Michael F. Easley is given the
oath of office by judge William C. Gore, Jr., in the
Photo by Jim Harper ■
Southport City Hall on Friday. Easley’s wife Mary
and son Michael participated in the ceremony.
Southport cafeteria building
among bids accepted Tuesday
By Marybeth Bianchi
Feature Editor
In a special session Tuesday night
the Brunswick County Board of Ed
ucation approved bids for two con
struction projects and made a budget
adjustment to reflect additional
funding approved by county com
missioners.
The board agreed to hire GRAKA
Building Inc. of Whiteville as gener
al contractor on the cafeteria addi
tion and renovation to Southport
Elementary School. That company
was the low bidder at $624,660.
The electrical contract was
awarded to Anchorage Electric Co.
of Carolina Beach with a low bid of
$87,695. T. A. Woods Co. of Wil
mington got the plumbing contract
Lincoln school gets breath of fresh air
■> v iviarjucin uiancni
Feature Editor
While students and teachers were at home enjoying the Christmas
holidays, school maintenance workers and outside contractors were
busy at Lincoln Primary School taking steps to improve air quality.
Assistant principal Faye Nelson said carpeting in the hallway leading
to the second grade classroom wing and in the ten second grade class
rooms was removed and replaced with tile. Carpeting in other areas of
the school got a professional cleaning.
Quality Air Tech of Raleigh fogged the ventilation system throughout
the school with a chemical to kill mold and bacteria in the ductwork,
and ionizers were installed to purify the air, assistant superintendent
Bill Turner said Tuesday.
"We’ve done everything the state recommended," he said, except for
replacing a heating/air conditioning unit in the kindergarten wing. That
is expected to be done soon after the school board approves the
$24,000 expenditure for the new 30-ton unit
„ W*16" lhe students and staff returned to school Monday morning
"everything looked so clean and shiny and pretty," Nelson said
Talking with teachers on Monday, Turner said, "They were very rosi
tive about the freshness of the building."
But Beth Crawford, the second grade teacher who brought the
ventilation problem to the school board’s attention, was cautious about
saying all was well, like one television station reported Monday.
Looking at tiles that were wet from rain leaking through the ceiling of
her classroom, Crawford said, "I don’t think we should jump the gun
and say we’re healthy." She said the air quality still needs to be
monitored to see if the corrective measures taken are enough to rectify
the problem.
"By Friday, we’ll know," Nelson said. Crawford had said earlier that
the ventilation problems usually worsened after students had been in
the classrooms all week.
The work to improve air quality at Lincoln was done upon recom
mendation by the state that mold-contaminated air and mite-infested
carpeting was causing allergic reactions among the students and staff at
Lincoln Primary. The problem appeared to be worst in the second grade
wing, but was not limited to that area.
A door was installed in the special education building to increase air
flow in that building, which the state consultant pointed out was getting
no outdoor ventilation. Turner also said a fan may be added for addi
tional air circulation.
The total cost of the work will exceed $35,000, Turner said. The state
consultant is expected to return to Lincoln Primary later this month to
recheck the air quality.
The assistant si$erintendent commented that because of its efforts to
rectify air quality problems at Lincoln, the school system will host a
regional workshop in March on the sick-building syndrome.
with a low bid of $112,905 while
the mechanical contract went to
Blanton and Co. of Wilmington,
which offered the low bid of
$148,000.
The total cost of the work has been
budgeted at $1,082,064, including
$974,064 for construction.
Assistant superintendent Bill
Turner said Tuesday the cost of the
project is higher than had been
originally estimated because it was
delayed for more than a year after
the plans received board approval.
Also, an additional $161,000 was
added to purchase new cafeteria
equipment to replace obsolete items
currently in use.
The project calls for the addition
of a 3,400-square-foot dining area to
accommodate 284 students at one
time, and a 2,100-square-foot kitch
en. It will be located at the front of
the school next to the fourth grade
pod, facing Ninth Street.
Work on the cafeteria will begin'
immediately so it can be completed
by the opening of the 1993-94
school year in August, Turner said.
Once the addition is completed,
work can begin on renovating the
existing cafeteria for handicapped
student classrooms, several resource
rooms, teachers’ work area and a
language art classroom, Turner said.
In addition to the work at South
port Elementary, the board accepted
Howard Roofing Systems of Cary as
the low bidder for roof replacement
on a ten-classroom building at
Union Primary School. The existing
See School bids, page 6
Sales tax report
Collection of the local-option sales
and use tax in Brunswick County to
taled $437,714 during the month of
November, the monthly report from
the N. C. Department of Revenue
indicates.
OUTSIDE
Forecast
The extended forecast
calls for mostly cloudy
skies Thursday. On Fri
day, skies will he cloudy
with highs in the 50s and
lows in the 40s. Saturday
and Sunday, mostly
cloudy skies return with
temperatures in the 60s
during the day and 50s at
night.
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, JANUARY 7
£:42 a.m. 12:22 a.m.
7:0. p.m 1:07 p.m.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 8
7:37am- 1:11a.m.
7:54 P-m- 1:53 p.m.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 9
2:02 a.m.
8:45 p.m. 2:39 p.m.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 10
2:51 im.
9:37 P-m- 3:28 pm.
MONDAY, JANUARY 11
?-59a m- 3:43 am.
10:31 P-m- „ 4:15 p.m.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 12
I?™ *'m’ 4:35 a.m.
11:27 p.m. 5:05 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13
11:43 a.m. 5:31a.m.
5:56 pm.
Ihe following adjustments should be made:
Bald Head Island, 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.