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Sports, page 12
Classifieds, p. 1C
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Volume 63/ Number 21
Southport, N.C.
January 19,1994/ 50 cents
Start-up
of Unit 1
expected
By Jim Harper
Staff Writer
Carolina Power and Light Co. is
expected to tell the Nuclear Regula
tory Comm ission today (W ednesday)
that Brunswick nuclear plant Unit 1
will be ready for restart before the end
of the month. ending a 22-month shut
down.
Roy Anderson, vice-president in
charge of the Brunswick plant, said
Tuesday that in today's NRC confer
ence he will say the restart will be
done "with accuracy before speed."
"The reactor is reassembled,"
Anderson said, "the moisture separa
tors and dryers are installed, the head
is on the reactor and we are making
preparations to do a hydrostatic test of
the reactor.
"We're finished with system turn
overs, finished with operability
checks, and that puts us on schedule
to start on January 28. But if things go
as good as they have been, it could be
the 25th."
Brunswick's Unit 1 was shut down
See Unit-1, page 6
Unit 1 was sched
uled for refueling
and restart in the
fall, but discovery
of cracks in the
reactor shroud dic
tated major repairs
Soutfiport public works employee Dickie Marlowe
removes a cracked valve from the city’s water tank
Monday morning after sub-freezing temperatures
ruptured the uninsulated valve. The city installed a
new, insulated valve that will withstand low
Photo by Jim Harper
temperatures, like Sunday night’s record ten de
grees. The water system did not have to be shut
down for repair because water pressure was low
enough to conduct the repair safely, said water sys
tem superintendent Kenny Price.
Cafeteria equipment^ sale
Jones asks dismissal of lawsuit
By Holly Edwards
Municipal Editor
Restaurant owner Jarvis Jones, from
whom the Brunswick County Board
of Education is seeking at least
$ 10,000or the safe return of 46 pieces
of cafeteria equipment it says Jones
purchased last summer without its
authorization, says the lawsuit should
be dismissed.
Jones' answer to the civil lawsuit,
filed by attorney Steve Yount, states
that the case should be dismissed be
cause the board of education failed to
provide a "cause of action" upon which
compensation should be granted.
School board attorney Glen
‘It’s not theft, but it’s basically taking
property that belongs to someone else
without having the authority to do so.’
Glen Peterson
School board attorney
Peterson, however, said the lawsuit
maintains the sale was null and void
because it was never authorized by
the school board.
"It's not theft, but it's basically tak
ing property that belongs to someone
else without having the authority to
do so," Peterson said.
Jones, owner of Jones’ Seafood
House in Long Beach, admits in the
answer that he contacted child nutri
tion director Rebecca Brandon on or
about July 20 and asked if there was
equipment for sale, that he issued a
check on July 20 for S350 to Brun
swick County Schools for "several
items” of equipment, and that he then
sold "certain items" to New Ed'sCaro
lina Restaurant Equipment store in
Wilmington for S7.800.
Southport police chief Bob Gray
has an itemized list of 46 pieces of
cafeteria equipment removed from
Southport Elementary School that
were sold to Jones. The restaurant
supply store, owned by Jones' nephew
Ed Jones, later provided Gray with an
See Jones, page 6
Talking Newspaper' starts February 2
Pilot service gets a dial tone
m
lii
Pilot Line, a tetecommunlcations network offered through The
State Fart Pilot, will be placed in service February 2.
By dialing one telephone number and the appropriate extension,
callers can heara pre-recorded message on a variety of topics.
"Businesses can use Pilot Line to advertise services they offer,
house rentals and daily restaurants specials, but we also envision
Pilot Line as a line of communication for churches with their
congregations, clubs with members and schools with parents," said
Ed Harper, editor of the Pilot.
Among the first subscribers was a Southport church that will use
Pilot Line for daily updates of its prayer list and other church raws.
Another subscriber is providing an extension for South Brunswick
High School to present information on school activities.
’"Ihe potential uses of the service are virtually unlimited " Harper
continued .He said the newspaper will use some extensions to tell
callers how to subscribe to the Pilot and place classified advertise
ments. A daily update of news and sporting events also is amici
Among the public services toe newspaper will offer are weather
reports, tide tables and ferry schedules.
"It gives Southport-Oaklsland residents immediate information
at their fingertips," Harper said. "These services are becoming
available elsewhere at an ever-increasing pace.”
Tlwre is no charge for a caSer to rise the service, which is
available 24 hours z&y.TTit State Pm FitotyMvui&aia weekly
listing of subscriber extension numbers and inform callers on the
use of Pitot Line.
The messages am recorded by the subscriber and can be changed
as frequently as the subscriber Chooses. The messages can be up to
90 seconds in length.
The first listing of subscriber extension numbers wi appear in
toe February 2 edition of The State Pm Pilot. Users of toe network
can bear more about how It works by calling 457-5084, extension
121 or 123 (subscriber information).
Mom information is available by contacting toe newspaper
advertising department. 457-4568. .
S&c&'-S
Going up the coast
Johnson steps
down as beach
town manager
By Holly Edwards
Municipal Editor
Long Beach town manager Tim
Johnson announced Tuesday night
he will resign effective February 14
to resume his former position as
town manager of Belhaven, a small
coastal community in Beaufort
County.
"This is just an opportunity for me
to more or less go home," he told
the council. "I have no ill-will
towards the Town of Long Beach. I
love it here."
Town clerk Pat Brunnell will serve
as interim town manager until a re
placement for Johnson is found.
Johnson has been Long Beach
town manager since September,
1992, and was Belhaven town man
ager from 1984 to 1990. He said he
decided to return to Belhaven be
cause it is his wife’s hometown and
it is a "hunting and fishing mecca."
"I’ve done a lot of deliberation on
it, and I honestly feel it’s the best
move for my family at this time," he
said..
Johnson said all of his wife’s
friends and family are in Belhaven,
and that he has had some regrets
about leaving his own personal
friends there.
Although Johnson indicated the
See Long Beach, page 7
911 dead spots
create a crisis
By Terry Pope
County Editor
What if an earthquake struck
Brunswick County?
If it happened, local emergency
responders wouldn’t be properly
equipped to deal with such a dis
aster, the director of Brunswick
County Emergency Services told
county commissioners Tuesday
night.
Dead spots in pager and radio sys
tems often block communications in
the Southport, Calabash and Leland
areas, said Doug Ledgett.
"If we had to talk to everybody in
the county at one time, right now,
we would have a problem," he said.
"If we don’t have adequate com
munications during a disaster, then
we’ve got all kinds of problems. But
you hope that you never have to deal
with an earthquake."
A committee will study how the
county can correct problems in its
911 equipment, which often disrupts
emergency signals operating on the
same frequency in Carteret County,
90 miles away.
At the same time, local signals
often fail to reach rescue squad
volunteers and firemen less than 20
miles from the 911 center near
Bolivia.
‘If we don’t have
adequate communi
cations during a
disaster, then we’ve
got all kinds of
problems. But you
hope that you never
have to deal with
an earthquake.’
Doug Ledgett
Emergency director
It could cost up to S249,000 to
correct the problem that has kept
county officials baffled since the
911 system came on line two years
ago. Simulcast relay antennas may
be installed on county-owned water
towers in the Leland and Calabash
areas to solve the problem.
Officials have learned that the
height of radio towers and paging
See Dead spots, page 9
Forecast
The extended forecast
calls for partly cloudy
skies and cold Thurs
day, with highs in the
30s and lows in the
20s. Fair skies are
forecast for Friday
and Saturday, with
highs in the 40s but
lows staying below
freezing.
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, JANUARY 20
1:35 am. 7:52 a.m.
1:54 p.m. 8:11p.m.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 21
2:30 a.m. 8:52 a.m.
2:50 p.m. 9:07 p.m.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22
3:26 a.m. 9:51a.m.
3:47 p.m. 10:02 p.m.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 23
4:21 am. 10:47 am.
4:42 p.m. 11:55 p.m.
MONDAY, JANUARY 24
5:14 a.m. 11:38 a.m.
5:34 p.m. 11:45 p.m.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 25
6:03 am. 12:26 am.
6:23 p.m. p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26
6:50 am. 12:33 am.
7:10p.m. 1:11p.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 Inlet, high -22, low -8.
How does Pilot Line work? Call 457-5084 from touch-tone phone,'extension 123