August 16,1995
50 CENTS I
Sports
Whopping big time awaits
footballers and cheerleaders
at the UCB Jamboree — 1C
Neighbors
The things we did this sum
mer — swimming, horseback
riding, ballgames — IB
Our Town
There is no place like the
‘alley’, and apparently no
way like one-way - Page 2
Paving
for Yacht
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Despite scattered objections
voiced at a public hearing, Yacht
Drive in Long Beach will be paved
its entire length.
Town council Tuesday night voted
to accept the negotiated low bid of
Mac Construction Company to pave
Yacht Drive and construct associat
ed drainage systems along it at an
estimated project cost of $730,201.
Actual costs -- on which an estimat
ed $5 to $10 Iront-foot assessment
will be based — will not be deter
mined until the project is completed,
town manager Jerry Walters said.
The bid awarded Tuesday night
also will pay for paving 72nd, 73rd,
74th and 75th streets SE, but it is the
long-awaited paving of Yacht Drive,
a potential major east-west thor
oughfare through Long Beach, that
fullills a town goal of long standing.
“It’s been a goal of this board for
at least three years to pave all streets
in town,” councilman Jeff
Ensminger said. “After this, one
more year and all will be paved.”
Surprisingly, the proposal to pave
Yacht Drive drew criticism from
some of its residents at a public
hearing prior to contract award.
See Paving, page 10
Caswell
sanitation
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Operators of home septic tank sys
tems would pay into a town enterprise
fund to toot the cost of inspecting
their wastewater treatment units ev
ery five years, under terms of a pro
posed ordinance now under consid
eration by Caswell Beach commis
sioners.
There are currently 159 private sep
tic tanks in Caswell Beach which
would be inspected for proper func
tion in an initial round of inspections,
if the board adopts the ordinance pre
sented by commissioner Bill Boyd on
Thursday.
“Trouble-free, low-cost service
over an extended period of years,
while protecting human health and the
environment, is the objective of this
proposal,” Boyd wrote in a memoran
dum to the board. “If approved, the
town will sponsor a maintenance pro
gram of scheduled inspections and
pumping of all conventional septic
systems within the tbwn.”
Boyd told commissioners an ordi
nance to govern privately owned sep
tic tank maintenance was initially pro
posed, but abandoned, several years
ago. But the town is now considering
several other wastewater manage
ment alternatives and required main
tenance of home septic systems
should be reconsidered.
“With 159 systems in town in
ground for one to 15 years, some of
those systems have been pumped in
the last three years. Others may have
been sitting in the ground for 15 years
and percolating,” Boyd said. “We
may be sitting on a time bomb.”
Under terms of the ordinance pro
posal, after an initial inspection of all
in-ground septic systems, tanks would
be inspected every three years and
ordered pumped of sludge build-up,
if necessary. Inspection and pumping
would be performed by a certified
individual or firm under contract to
the Town of Caswell Beach.
“As a general rule, the tank should
be pumped if the sludge layer in the
bottom of the tank has built up to
within 18 inches of the tank outlet or
See Septic, page 6
This lively loggerhead youngster was in the spot
light last week as members of the Oak Island turtle
protection program gathered to witness unearthing
Photo by Holly Edwards
of a sea turtle nest and only he turned up. A great deal
was made of his subsequent march to the sea.
Hurricane Felix
Area residents
on storm alert
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Evacuation of some 1,700 residents
and visitors on Bald Head Island was
recommended by village officials
Tuesday afternoon in the face of ap
proaching Hurricane Felix.
Notification of the storm’s ap
proach was made over island-wide
cable TV beginning at 1:30 p.m., and
volunteers later visited residences
where TV was not available to sug
gest evacuation.
Village officials and island devel
opment and transportation staff were
to meet later to discuss whether
evacuation would be made manda
tory.
At the time the storm with 80 m.p.h
winds was some 400 miles south
southeast of Cape Hatteras, heading
that way at 15 miles an hour, and hur
ricane warnings had been posted from
South Carolina to the Virginia East
ern Shore.
Oak Island officials said Tuesday
they would look to Brunswick County
emergency management officials for
direction should evacuation become
necessary.
“We’ve got all our folks on alert,
making sure we’re in shape to deal
with whatever we have to deal with,”
Long Beach town manager Jerry
Walters said Tuesday afternoon.
He said town-owned buildings
were being secured and equipment
needed subsequent to any severe
See Storm, page 6
School startsAugust 23
School calendar
still uncertain
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
With the first day of school just one
week away - August 23 - the calen
dar for the upcoming school year re
mains uncertain as principals and
school board members negotiate for
a compromise that will satisfy both
teachers and parents.
While teachers say they need time
for planning and staff development in
order to fulfill the requirements of
site-based management -- which
hands much of the responsibility for
improving education to each indi
vidual school - many parents say they
do not want their children to have a
half day off each week.
During the last school year, stu
dents were sent home after lunch on
Wednesdays while teachers and prin
cipals conducted training sessions.
Fire and rescue tax
Are districts a real solution?
By Tferry Pope
County Editor
Fire and rescue tax districts
will get a closer look from
county officials.
The idea has been tossed
around for years, but the
Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners has now or
dered interim county manager
Charles McGinnis to arrange
a meeting with state officials
who can better explain it.
Some local towns, alone
with several fire and rescue units, have petitioned the board for
action. But could districts become a workable solution here?
“Right now, things are not working out right,” said District 5
commissioner Bill Sue of Leland. “We’re just not getting all of the
bang for our buck.”
Tax districts can be drawn according to electoral districts (the
county has five), or one territory for the entire county. They would
only tax residents outside of municipalities.
Each district would set its own tax rate based on what is needed
, ; *9 operate the departments. An independent board would oversee
~ district and set the rate. Assessments would be listed on tax
bills collected by the county tax department.
Commissioners have stated they are hesitant to set up tax dis
tricts because of the difference
in property values. Land in
rural Ash doesn’t compare
with beachfront lots or at golf
course developments. Rural
departments face an equal ex
pense to operate, if not more
because of the added mileage.
“You’re going to get all
kinds of responses,” said com
mission chairman Jerry Jones
of District 2. “I don’t know
how you work it out.”
Also, some commissioners
r say they don t like the idea of
five separate entities establishing five different tax rates -- with
the result a mass confusion for county agencies. Waccamaw resi
dents may have to pay a 35-cent rate and Ocean Isle Beach a three
cent rate to support the same size department, if based on prop
erty values.
Jones said he wants McGinnis to arrange a “brainstorming ses
sion” with county emergency medical services director Doug
Ledgett, emergency management coordinator Cecil Logan and
state officials to review the pros and cons of some districts now in
operation in North Carolina.
“I think we need to develop a philosophy on rescue squads right?
now,” said Sue. “Some haven’t answered a call in eight to ten
See District, page 6
iSome haven’t answered a call in
eight to ten weeks. All of these
rescue squads are getting the same
amount of funding from the
county. '
Bill Sue
District 5 member
Many county educators say this
time has enabled them to make
progress they otherwise would not
have made.
But, upon assuming office in Janu
ary, school board members received
a flurry of complaints from parents
who said the early release policy was
disruptive and placed a financial bur
den on them to provide day care or
babysitting services for their children.
Board member Clara Carter agreed
that the policy was not “education
ally sound” and noted that some stu
dents and teachers considered it a “fun
day.”
However, many teachers and prin
cipals sav the day was filled with se
rious work and thought-provoking
discussion.
A group of principals met with the
board Monday afternoon and pre
sented an alternate early-release pro
posal that would schedule early re
leases on days immediately preced
ing holidays and teacher workdays.
The board took no action on the
proposal but asked the principals to
create a formal, written proposal com
See School, page 6
Forecast
Hot! Hot! Hot! That's what we have
to look forward to through,the week
end. Temperatures will be in the 90's
with highs in the 70’s
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17
1:26 a.m. 7:30 a.m.
1:58 p.m. 8:06 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18
2:16 a.m. 8:21a.m.
2:50 p.m. 9:02 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19
3:09 a.m. 9:15 a.m.
3 44 p.m. 10:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 20
4:04 a.m. 10:10 a.m.
4:38 p.m. 10:57 p.m.
MONDAY, AUGUST 21
4:59 a.m. 11:04 a.m.
5:29 p.m. 11:49 p.m.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22
5:51a.m. 11:55 a.m.
6:17 p.m. -p.m.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23
6:39 a.m. 12:36 a.m.
7:01a.m. 12:43 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; Lockwood Folly, high -22, low -8.