Neighbors ,
History and memories lie
buried in some abandoned
graveyards in our area - IB
South Brunswick wins its
Waccamaw opener and
plays again tonight - 8B
Our Town
A proposed connector for
Long Beach and Bethel
roads considered - Page 2
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Schedule, 3B
Easter
has us
hoppin'
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
That giant sucking sound heard
across Oak Island this week was no
Texas millionaire announcing his po
litical candidacy; it was the sound of
merchants and public officials taking
thift bhe YaS! dee^TifeathljefofeEaS1
ter weekend hits.
Easter weekend ~ the unofficial
beginning of the tourist season on Oak
Island -- brings that Erst onslaught of
visitors, annually swelling the popu
lation six- to seven-fold.
Easter weekend is a test, of sorts,
for some merchants and public offi
cials - a test of readiness for the sum
mer season that lies ahead.
By all indications the business
owners, public officials, and even
year-round residents may be in for
quite an exercise this Easter weekend.
"If it is anything comparable to
what we've had in the last three
weeks, we're going to be very busy,"
said Ann Mansfield, owner of Jiffy
Bait and Tackle on Oak Island Drive
in Long Beach.
Ms. Mansfield said business at Jiffy
began picking up about a month ago
as the weather started to turn a bit
warmer. Like most business operators
on Oak Island, she believes visitors
will be swarming area shops and at
tractions if the weather cooperates
this Easter weekend.
"We've already been busy," Ms.
See Easter, page 6
A porpoise glides down Dutchman Creek after a brief foray with a
companion far up that stream looking for food. These all-time people
Photo by Jim Harper
pleasers are to be seen in the ocean, harbor and its tributaries in all
seasons.

Schools show restraint
in fund disbursement
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
Some of the most crucial capital
and instructional needs in Brunswick
County schools will soon be met.
The school board voted unani
mously Monday afternoon to allocate
a large portion of the additional $ 1.35
million in local funding it received
this year in a legal settlement with the
county.
About $393,200 of that amount will
be used immediately to repay the es
timated shortfall in the schools' $9.4
million interim budget.
Of the approximately $957,000 re
maining, $673,468 was allocated
Monday by the school board for needs
deemed critical by school principals.
$393,200 of that
amount will he
used immediately to
repay the estimated
shortfall in the
schoolsy $9.4
million interim
budget
About $283,000 in local funding
remains to be allocated this year.
"What makes this task so difficult
is that the schools' needs are so great
and so varied," said superintendent of
schools Ralph Johnston, who drafted
the funding proposal.
The school board approved all of
Johnston's recommendations, which
included computer support specialists
for all three high schools and South
Brunswick Middle School, and a part
time computer specialist for
Southport Elementary School.
The board also approved expendi
tures of $15,000 for furniture for the
new addition at North Brunswick
High School, $8,000 for a sidewalk
at West Brunswick High School,
$20,000 to remove a mobile unit and
excavate at North Brunswick High
School, $100,000 for general school
See Restraint, page 5
Buying
power
County, schools
considering joint
purchasing plan
By Terry Pope
County Editor
School and county offi
cials may take a step toward
better working relations by
forming a central purchasing
office for the two agencies.
In a cooperative spirit
which has been missing in
recent years, commissioners
also voted on Monday to al
low county engineer Robert
Tucker to assist the school
system on some school
projects.
The school board asked
See Buying, page 6
Taps
Moratorium
remains but
town hopeful
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Some existing Yaupon Beach
business owners and residents may
be permitted to tap to the town
wastewater treatment system as ear
ly as next week, under terms of a
pending agreement to relax, but not
lift, a state-imposed moratorium on
further sewer taps.
Mayor May Moore said the ele
ments of such an agreement were
forged at a Tuesday afternoon meet
ing between some town elected offi
cials, their consulting engineers and
representatives of the Wilmington
regional office of the state Division
of Environmental Management
(DEM). Consulting engineers Finley
Boney and Robert Graham, of
Boney and Associates, will hammer
out details of this accommodation
with Rick Shiver, head of Wilming
ton’s DEM office this week. Moore
said the agreement should be pre
sented to commissioners for ratifica
tion when they meet Monday night
DEM representatives Tuesday,
however, refused to lift the
moratorium which has been in effect
since July, 1994, until substandard
soils used to construct the
wastewater treatment system’s
rapid-infiltration basin are replaced.
"This was presented as an interim
agreement to meet the needs of the
town residents until sand is placed
in the basin and the moratorium is
lifted," mayor Moore said.
Although the mayor said specifics
of the agreement remain "up in the
air," she believes those in town
limits who have thus far been unable
to tap to the wastewater system may
be accommodated.
"We have some existing homes
and businesses which have not
tapped on and we have some who
want building permits," Moore said.
"My assumption is those who have
existing homes and businesses will
be given priority. But, that is my as
sumption. It is not part of any agree
ment now."
Commissioners had hoped for
more from their Tuesday meeting
See Yaupon taps, page 6
Forecast
We can expect partly cloudly but
otherwise nice weather for the period
of Thursday-Saturday. Highs each
will be in the high 60's with lows in
the 40's.
Tide table
HIGH
12:33 am
1:00 p.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 6
LOW
1:20 am
1:51p.m.
FRIDAY, APRIL 7
6:58 a.m.
7:09 p.m.
2:14 a.m.
2:50 p.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 8
7:48 a.m.
8:03 p.m.
3:11 am
3:50 p.m.
4:10 a.m.
4:48 pm
8:44 a.m.
"9:03 p.m.
SUNDAY, APRIL 9
9:42 am
10:05 p.m.
MONDAY, APRIL 10
10:39 am
11:04 p.m.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11
5:06 am 11:32 a.m.
5:43 p.m. — pm
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12
6:00 am 12:00 am
6:35 pm 12:22 p.m.
The following adjustment] should be made:
Bald Head tsumd, high -10, low -7; Caswell
Beach, high -5, low -1; Southport, high +7,
low +15; Lockwood Folly, high -22, low -8.
For members only
St. James adds second
course, new clubhouse
St. James Plantation has announced plans to con
struct a second 18-hole championship golf course
with an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse in the
community's second phase of development.
Construction will begin early this summer with
completion scheduled in fall 1996.
The new country club complex - called The Mem
bers Course -- will be constructed by community
developer Homer E. Wright Jr.
' Golf course architect is Clyde Johnstdn and Asso
ciates, of Hilton Head, SC, a regional designer whose
courses seek to retain the natural beauty of the coastal
landscape. Some of Johnston's most notable designs
includes Heather Glen Golf Links, Myrtle Beach;
Wexford Plantation Golf Club and Planters Row at
Port Royal Plantation, Hilton Head; and Marsh Point
Golf Club on Kiawah Island, all in South Carolina.
The new clubhouse, the second for St. James Plan
tation, will be designed by architect David R. Polston
of Wilmington. Polston has created more than 140
community recreation centers throughout the South
east and Canada.
Features of the St. James social and recreation
center include dining facilities, tennis courts and a
swimming pool.
"The addition of the second golf course is a sig
nificant milestone in the development of St. James,
offering property owners their own private champi
onship layout and an all-inclusive club facility be
fitting the finest country clubs," said John Atkinson,
executive vice-president of St. James Plantation,
which is currently developing 2,100 acres of resi
dential property along the Intracoastal Waterway
near Southport.
The new course complements the existing 18-hole
Dye-designed championship course, in addition to
a clubhouse with dining, tennis and a pool.
Vacation
The 1995 Vacation Guide published by The State Port Pilot is included in
this edition. *• \ p
The 72-page supplement, which includes features on things to do while
visiting the Southport-Oak Island area, will be available throughout die spring
and summer months at most local businesses. Real estate companies regu
larly display the guide in their rental properties.
"The '95 guide is valuable to vacationers to our area," noted Ed Harper,
editor of the Pilot, "but it also is a resource for residents who sometimes may
overlook recreational opportunities available to them as well."