Brunswick’s ‘Hook a Kid
on Golf’ recreation program
wins national honors - 8B
I VOLUME 64/NUMBER 21
SOUTHPORT, N.C,
50 CENTS | L,
Brunswick Buddies offers
a helping hand to youngsters
who just need a friend - IB
A man, who told police he
had committed murder, dies
in police custody — Page 2
Recreation
name stays
for facility
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Although not among the greatest
issues facing local government in
the 1990s, town council’s decisions
to not rename the Long Beach
Recreation Center and to continue
requiring town auto registration
stickers clearly drew the greatest at
tention of councilmen and citizens
Tuesday night
At his second meeting as a town
official, newly appointed town
councilman Bob Boyd saw his mo
tion to redesignate the town "recrea
tion center" a town "community
building" go down to defeat on a 5-1
vote. Only Boyd supported the mo
tion.
In a resolution which would have
See Long Beach, page 13
Hewett
says no
meeting
.... By Terry Pope
County Editor
Sheriff Ronald Hewett says he is
doing all he can to appease a black
group that has accused his depart
ment of discriminating against women
and minorities.
Members of the Concerned Citi
zens for Equal Justice, led by Dr.
George Saunders of Calabash, held a
press conference at the county gov
ernment center last week to again
criticize Hewett's administration.
They claim Hewett has "slammed the
door in the face of peaceful law-re
specting citizens" by refusing to meet
with the group as a whole to further
discuss the issues.
Hewett says he hasn't slammed the
door in anyone's face.
"I would be glad to help them on a
personal level any way 1 can," said
Hewett, "but I felt we'd addressed all
the issues that needed to be addressed."
The CCEJ says it is concerned be
cause the number of African-Ameri
• cans in the sheriffs department over
the last few years has declined. It
asserts there are too few women depu
ties in the department and that Hewett's
actions have done nothing to change
matters.
Hewett assumed the position of
sheriff in December.
In a news release issued just days
See Hewett, page 6
Sunny Waterfront Park was just the right spot for
Greer Hughes to practice his ki stick exercises to
Photo by Jim Harper
reggae sounds Monday, but the weather forecast for
the end of the week rules out more barebacking.
Middle up, high down
Room for improvement, schools say
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
More Brunswick County students in grades three through
eight performed at grade level last year than the year
before, but the percentage of county high school students
who performed at a proficient level decreased.
And, while the percentage of third-through-eighth grad
ers who performed at grade level was above the state
average in both reading and math, the performance of
county high school students was below state average on
end-of-course tests on core subjects — algebra 1, biology,
physical science, economic, legal and political systems,
U. S. history and English I.
Brunswick County's dropout rate (2.54) was lower than
the state (3.09), as was the county's average score on the
Scholastic Assessment Test. While the average North
Carolina student scored 835 on the SAT, the average
See Schools, Page 8
No public review
Audit reveals
Southport had
negative funds
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
In the year ending June 30, 1994,
the City of Southport overexpended
its budget in the general fund, the
electric fund and the water and sewer
fund.
Southport also began 1994-95 —
the current budget year — with nega
tive fund balances available for ap
propriation in the general fund, elec
tric fund and solid waste fund, but
appropriated $27,671 from the prior
year's general fund balance anyway.
In 1993-94, the city spent $112,160
more from its general fund than the
general fund took in.
And, in the 1993-94 budget year
the city's two biggest enterprise funds
- its water and sewer fund and its
electric fund — both posted operating
losses. The electric fund sustained an
operating loss of $47,514. The water
and sewer fund operated at a loss of
$26,244.
These are. among the findings of
independent auditor Menton Padgett
of the accounting firm Brock, Padgett
and Chandler of Wilmington and
Southport. Padgett delivered a report
of his audit of the books and records
The city began
1994-95 — the cur
rent budget year —
with negative fund
balances available
for appropriation
in the general fund,
electric fund and
solid waste fund
of the City of Southport to city offi
cials with a management letter dated
December 7. Copies of the auditor's
findings were distributed to staff, the
mayor and city aldermen sometime
before Thursday's meeting of the
board of aldermen, but the documents
were never discussed publicly.
In past years, audit findings have
been presented publicly to the board
in open session and Padgett has been
See Audit, page 8
County allows
homes to stay
By Terry Pope
County Editor
There was no real solution, only a
compromise.
But what Brunswick County com
missioners arrived at Tuesday will
allow the Applegate family to live
and build homes on its scenic 13
acre tract along the Cape Fear River
north of Southport.
That will ease the zoning con
troversy which has frustrated those
caught in the middle since October,
when they learned the family tract
was zoned for heavy manufacturing
(H-M) use and homes were not al
lowed on the waterfront lots.
The property was platted as a
family-owned subdivision off
Shepard Road in 1990, surrounded
by industrial and farmland owned by
Archer-Daniels-Midland Corp. and
Carolina Power and Light Co.’s
Brunswick nuclear plant.
However, homes have been there
for more than 50 years, and those
residents made a tearful plea again
Tuesday to allow them to live there
without restriction.
Commissioners voted to amend
the county zoning ordinance to al
low single-family homes as special
exceptions in H-M zones. That
places final approval for anyone
who wishes to build homes in H-M
zones in the hands of a county board
of adjustments, a move that has the
Applegate family still a bit un
See County board, page 13
A burning issue
Retreat
was all
business
•' . V " . -
By Ten-y Pope
County Editor
■ ‘ .
You can quick-fix almost anything,
r But the new Brunswick County
| Board of Commissioners says it will
seek long-term solutions when it
tackles the county's growing list of
See Retreat, page 6
.v-y-:- ■ ^ "-.r‘_- ^ .SL '
Incineration favored
with 12-year backout
By Terry Pope
County Editor
County officials say they favor a 25-year garbage incineration
proposal with Vedco Energy Corp., now that the contract includes
an option to break the agreement after 12 years.
David M. Griffith and Associates is expected to give county
commissioners its analysis of the deal within 30 days. A clause that
allows the county to back out at the halfway point pleases the ones
who may sign the long-term deal. '
"They've come a long way," said District 5 commissioner Bill
Sue. "If the numbers are a little higher, even with Vedco versus
handling a solid waste landfill site, environmentally and every
other way it's best to burn it and get some energy out of it."
See Burning, page 10