Volume 62/ Number 26 Southport, N.C. February 17,1993/ 50 cents
School board taking aim at weapons problem
By Marybeth Bianchi
Feature Editor
Board of education member Polly Russ said it's not unusual for her son and
other West Brunswick High School students to head to class directly from an
early morning hunting trip.
But in doing so, they are violating the law. That shotgun they may have so
innocently carried to school is a weapon and is prohibited from campus by state
and federal law.
Soon, Brunswick County schools will be cracking down on those students,
and others who intentionally bring weapons on campus to cause trouble or
threaten someone.
In a four-hour workshop Thursday, the board of education ironed the
wrinkles out of a complicated, yet important policy designed to ensure the
safety of students and teachers in school.
School law attorney Richard Schwartz of Raleigh led the board members
step-by-step through a proposed weapons policy. No formal action was taken;
Schwartz said he would compile the board's recommendations into a draft of
a policy the board could act on at its March meeting.
"One of the key pieces on dealing with weapons in schools is educating
students and parents, and letting them know what your tolerance level is and
what can happen,” Schwartz told the board.
The policy has four parts;
•Banning weapons and facsimiles of weapons prohibited by law.
•Sanctions for possessing a weapon.
•The appeals process for students found to be possessing a weapon.
•Criminal prosecution.
Schwartz told the board there is a little known state law that prohibits anyone
from carrying a weapon onto school property.
"If they had a weapon, and they had it on school grounds, it's against the law,"
he said. If convicted, the individual is guilty of a misdemeanor and can receive
a fine of up to $500 or six months imprisonment.
According to the Crime Control Act of 1990, federal law prohibits the
possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, Schwartz said.
"The sanction is substantial,” he commented. It's a fine of $5,000 and/or five
years in prison. As people become aware of the law, Schwartz said he expects
to see more federal prosecution of students carrying guns on school campuses.
However, because students are, in most cases, juveniles, what the court
system does with weapons-possession cases brought before it is beyond the
school system's control, ’’but it can be influenced by what the school says,"
Schwartz commented.
The state legislature is currently considering a law taking parents to court if
their child carries a weapon onto school property, Schwartz said, and some
school districts have already included it in their weapons policies.
WEAPONS BANNED
Using the legal basis to ban weapons from school grounds, school board
members agreed that facsimiles of weapons could be just as dangerous as
See Weapons, page 6
Towering masts of the schooner Pilot beckoned to
harborwatchers all weekend at the Southport city
pier. The 150-foot (125-foot mainmast) sailing vessel
Photo by Jim Harper
put into harbor last Thursday because of an injured
crewman and remained here for rest and repairs
through Sunday afternoon.
CP&L hit for $225,000
Fine the largest ever
for Brunswick plant
By Jim Harper
Staff Writer
The Nuclear Regulatory Commis
sion has fined Carolina Power and
Light Co. an extraordinary $225,000
for neglecting to fix walls in the
Brunswick nuclear plant diesel gen
erator building that did not meet earth
quake-proof standards."
Repairs to the walls necessitated
the shutdown of both Brunswick
nuclear generating units last April 21,
and while that deficiency has been
corrected the trouble-laden plant re
mains closed and under close NRC
scrutiny while many other repairs and
maintenance deficiencies are being
addressed.
The NRC noted in levying the fine
that CP&L had known about the sub
‘Your untimeliness in analyzing an
identified deficiency and your inadequate
analysis ... led to the continued operation
of the plant in an unacceptable condition
until April, 1992.’
Stewart Ebneter
NRC administrator
standard walls for five years, yet did
nothing about them until prodded by
NRC inspectors in a special inspec
tion last spring.
The fine is the most recent in a
series of penalties and bad grades
CP&L has received from the NRC.
Last week the NRC decided to keep
the Brunswick plant on its "watch
See CP&L fine, page 12
Long Beach
Board solicits help
in marsh ownership
By Holly Edwards
Municipal Editor
To decipher the rules determining
when the state can lay claim to mar
shland and wetlands - and settle
some property disputes ~ the Long
Beach Town Council agreed Tues
day night to request the assistance of
the state property law office.
In particular, council members
want to know what portion of the
land along Davis Canal can be pur
chased by private property owners.
Some developers who buy property
along the canal may not own as
much land as they think.
Still slightly over budget
City Riverwalk back on path
By Holly Edwards
Municipal Editor
Even without a Bay Street beach access, a gazebo and
a lighting system, the pared-down Riverwalk project is
still estimated to cost about $4,500 more than anticipated
due to inflated lumber prices, public services director Ed
Honeycutt told the board of aldermen Thursday night.
Honeycutt said he hoped to get project costs down to
within $6,000 of the original amount budgeted for the
project, but skyrocketing lumber prices will require the
city to fork over an additional $10,586.
"The demand for lumber is up, the supply is down and
the price has gone through the roof," Honeycutt declared.
Ibe city has sent two letters to the state CAMA office
requesting the reduction in scope and a three-month
extension of the grant deadline. Currently, the terms of the
$75,000 state grantrequire the city to spend those funds by
March 31.
Although CAMA has not yet officially responded to the
city's requests, Honeycutt said CAMA planning coordina
tor Haskell Rhett has assured him that approval will come
soon. And as soon as CAMA gives the go-ahead, he said,
the contractor will start building.
Honeycutt also said Rhett told him the city can apply for
additional grant money after March 1.
The proposed funding for the pared-down project in
cludes the $75,000 state grant, a $29,966 cash match from
the city and $12,000 worth of in-kind services by city
See Riverwalk, page 12
'The demand for
lumber is up, the
supply is down and
the price has gone
through the roof’
Ed Honeycutt
Public services director
"That land has been in question for
a great deal of time,” said council
member Horace Collier. "It’s time to
take the initiative."
A proposed Pelican Point subdivi
sion located along the canal was
recently denied because the town
council could not agree on whether
the houses fronted on the marsh or
on the canal, Collier said. A town
ordinance requires houses to front
either on the street or on the canal,
and not on the ocean or marsh.
The subdivision, submitted by
Hoboke, Inc., would be located be
See Long Beach, page 5
$250 prize
in mystery
product test
Some of them are common,
everyday products you may regu
larly purchase. But do you know
how much you pay for them?
The State Port Pilot is testing
your knowledge in this week's
Mystery Product Contest.
Thirty-two items and the busi
nesses where they can be pur
chased are featured. The object of
the contest is to visit each store,
find the mystery product and write
the price down on the official
entry form.
A winner will be randomly se
lected from all correct answers
received at the Pilot office by
noon Friday, March 5.
A $250 grand prize will be
awarded. If the winning entry in
cludes a signature from each store,
it will be worth $350.
OUTSIDE
Forecast
The extended forecast
calls for partly cloudy
skies Thursday with highs
in the 40s. Colder
weather Friday and Satur
day, with highs between
30 and 40 and lows at
night in the 20s. Warmer
Sunday, with highs in the
60s and lows in the 40s
under variably cloudy
skies.
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18
5:54 a.m. 11:56 a.m.
6:05 p.m. -p.m.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19
6:38 a.m. 12:09 a.m.
6:47 p.m. 12:39 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20
7:19 a.m. 12:52 a.m.
7:27 p.m. 1:19 p.m.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21
7:55 a.m. ,1:32 a.m.
8:04 p.m. 1:56 p.m.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22
8:29 a.m. 2:10 ajn.
8:37 p.m. 2:32 pjn.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
9:01 a.m. 2:47 a.m.
9:12 p.m. 3:06 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24
9:32 a.m. 3:25 a.m.
9:44 p.m. 3:41 p.m.
The 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.