Sports, page 1C
Classifieds, p. 5C
I's most complete
ite properties
Volume 62/ Number 29
Southport, N.C
INSIDE
March 10,1993/ 50 cents
Williamson land, input are key
Oak Island residents might cross that bridge
»y i erry rope
County Editor
A major property owner along the proposed route for a second bridge to Oak
Island rates that project as "high priority" to him as a newly appointed member
of the N. C. Board of Transportation.
Odell Williamson of Ocean Isle Beach was appointed to the board March 1
by governor Jim Hunt. He will serve a four-year term.
Records at the Brunswick County Tax Department show Williamson and his
wife, Virginia, own 3,500 acres adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway, in the
direct path of the proposed 9.7-mile route.
In an effort to push the project along, several major property owners
reportedly met with Department of Transportation secretary Tommy Harrelson
last year to negotiate right-of-way agreements. Apparently, those talks hit a
snag.
A bridge will cross the waterway at Tranquil Harbor and a connector road
will tie-in with Midway Road on N. C. 211. The state’s 1993-99 Transportation
‘People need to realize that the squeak
ing axle gets the grease. They do have a
need there. A 12-mile island with one
bridge, that just doesn’t cut it’
Odell Williamson
Improvement Program schedules planning in 1994, design in 1995 and
construction to begin in 1997.
Williamson said he has already presented DOT officials an offer that still
stands today.
"I offered to give them all the right-of-way that I had for nothing," said
Williamson, "but I don't know what their position was.”
Williamson said the project is not the number-one item in his book, but that
it is of "high priority" to him.
"My main purpose for getting on the board is to do a good job for the region,”
he added. "I'm also for other projects, too."
Right-of-way negotiations may now involve attorneys because Williamson
said he doesn't want it to be viewed as a conflict of interest for him because of
his recent appointment to the transportation board.
"They're not going to have any trouble with Odell Williamson," he added.
"It certainly wouldn’t cost the state anything."
Tax maps show Williamson is one of six persons or corporations that hold
title to land along the route that passes through virtually undeveloped property
south of N. C. 211 and west of St. James Plantation. Williamson’s tract is
valued at $836,380.
Records show the other landowners involved are:
See Bridge, page 6
THE CHAMPIONS
On the Cougars' biggest basketball night *
both girls and hoys took conference crowns - the
hoys trophy was handed to Josh White for safe
delivery back to South Brunswick. White has
been delivering ali year, and Friday logged 35
points in the 81*70 defeat of Fairmont.
DuPont is appealing
$2-million added tax
By Terry Pope
County Editor
One of the county's largest taxpay
ers has received another huge bill it
plans to challenge at an appeals hear
ing Thursday. * ‘
The DuPont Co. in Leland owes
Brunswick County "around $2 mil
lion" in taxes for the period covered
by an internal audit from 1987-92,
said county manager David Clegg.
But DuPont officials have sched
uled an appeal of the case before the
Brunswick County Board of Com
missioners on March 11,5:30p.m., to
contest the findings.
Commissioners will serve as the
Board of Equalization and Review,
which normally hears tax appeals,
because that board hasn't been ap
‘It looked like a
mutually beneficial
program. It was
good for the firm,
and it's good for the
county.’
Boyd Williamson
Tax supervisor
pointed for 1993.
DuPont is the county's second larg
est annual taxpayer with a 1992 prop
erty valuation of S256 million and a
tax bill of S1.7 million. The manufac
turing plant on Mt. Misery Road north
of Leland is the nation's largest pro
ducer of Dacron polyester fiber.
Tax Management Associates
(TMA) of Charlotte is in its 20th
month of a three-year contract to find
hidden property taxes owed the
county. So far, 493 county businesses
have faced some form of audit, said
Boyd Williamson, Brunswick County
tax administrator.
There are approximately 2,000busi
ness accounts on the county's tax list,
ranging from small family-owned res
taurants to major corporations with
home offices outside the county.
From the audits, the county has
collected more than $560,000 in dis
covered taxes, said Williamson. The
See DuPont, page 6
Babson elected to lead
Brunswick GOP effort
By Terry Pope
County Editor
Shirley Babson of Bolivia, active
in local politics for 30 years, was
elected Saturday to serve her first
term as Brunswick County Republi
can Party chairman.
Elected to consecutive terms on the
Brunswick County Board of Educa
tion in 1976, she served four years as
chairman.
Her goal for the next two years is to
better organize precincts and to raise
funds to help pay the mortgage on the
headquarters building near Supply.
"I intend to run it like a business,"
Water quality a matter of time
By Holly Edwards
Municipal Editor
High levels of trihalomethane, a suspected cancer-causing agent, recently
discovered in the Long Beach water supply can largely be explained by the
amount of time the water stays in the lines before being used, state health
official Ralph Harper said this week.
The substance is a byproduct of chemical reactions between chlorine used
to treat the water and microscopic particles of organic matter from the upper
Cape Fear River, one of the county's water sources. Therefore, Harper
explained, the longer the water remains in the lines the more time chlorine has
to react with organic matter and the more THM is generated.
If water remains in the lines long enough all of the chlorine will dissipate,
but that can create a different problem: the appearance of chloroform in the
water indicating bacterial contamination. Water at The Arboretum residential
development at Caswell Beach recently tested positive for chloroform, and
health officials blamed that problem on a lack of chlorine due to low water
usage.
"It's a very awkward situation to deal with, and it's a real fine line between
not enough chlorine and too much," said Harper. "It's a very difficult situation,
and a common problem in beach areas with wide population changes.”
While health hazards associated with THM are said to be caused by long
term exposure, health problems caused by bacterial infection are more imme
diate. Therefore, the state requires that chloroform-positive water be treated
immediately.
In response to the problem at Caswell Beach, the chlorine level of the
county's water was increased, and subsequent tests on the water supply at The
Arboretum indicated it was no longer contaminated with bacteria.
Both Caswell Beach and Long Beach have also been flushing their water
lines of unused water to prevent the buildup of THM and to keep the chlorine
levels high enough to kill bacteria. While Harper said he believed that flushing
is about all towns can do to keep their water systems safe, town officials
complain that flushing programs are costly and wasteful, and don't always
solve the problem.
"We flushed 52,000 gallons of water on the beachfront, and by the time we
See Water, page 6
said Mrs. Babson, "but I realize that
there are a lot of volunteers involved."
The party has around 10.400 regis
tered voters. She hopes to increase
that number by 1,000.
"I think this is my time to be chair
man," she added. "I know all about
the party organization. I believe we
can have a very strong party."
Mrs. Babson, 52, is married to Wil
liam A. (Bunny) Babson and is a
member of the Cape Fear Substance
Abuse Board of Directors. She has
served twice as secretary to the Re
publican party and as a delegate to the
Republican State Convention since
1976.
She has served as precinct chair
man, township chairman and was ap
pointed by governor Jim Martin to the
Personnel Administrative Commis
sion for Public School Employees.
Most recently she worked as co
chairperson for Jim Gardner's 1992
campaign for governor in Brunswick
County.
Some party members were dis
gruntled two years ago when they
didn't get appointments or jobs from
See Babson, page 6
OUTSIDE
Forecast
The extended forecast
calls for partly cloudy skies
on Thursday with highs in
the 60s. Clouds move in on
Friday, followed by rain on
Saturday (highs 50s, lows
40s). Sunday’s forecast
calls for windy and cold
weather, with highs in the
40s and lows in the 30s.
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, MARCH 11
10:10 a.m. 4.02 a.m.
10:47 pm. 4:15 pm.
FRIDAY, MARCH 12
11:03 a.m. 4:55 a.m.
11:40 p.m. 506 pm.
SATURDAY, MARCH 13
11:58 am. 5:49 a.m.
— pm. 601 pm.
SUNDAY, MARCH 14
12:38 am. 6:46 am.
12:54 pm. 657 pm.
MONDAY, MARCH 15
1:38 a.m. '7:45 a.m.
1:56 p.m. 801 pm.
TUESDAY, MARCH 16
2:39 am. 8:48 am.
257 pm. 903 pm.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17
3:39 am. 9:45 am.
3:57 p.m. 1003 pm.
The following adjurtmeoli should be made:
Bald Head bland, high -10, low -7; Caswell
Beach, high -5, low -1; Southport, high +7,
low +15, Yaupoo Beach, high -32, low -45;
Lockwood Folly, high -22, low -8.