VOLUME 64/ NUMBER 52 SOUTHPORT, N.C. 50 CENTS Neighbors Public schools throughout Brunswick County open today — ready or not — IB Our Town Bald Head weighs its options for beach renourishment - fingers crossed - Page 2 Oak Island post office is canceled By Richard Nubel Municipal Editor Oak Island will not receive a post office upgrade as part of the U. S. Postal Service’s five-year improve ment plan, a postal official told Sen. Lauch Faircloth in an August 15 let ter. The USPS communication to Faircloth was spurred by a letter the senator forwarded postal officials from Yaupon Beach mayor May Moore, who called the present con tract post office on Oak Island a “dilapidated storefront with next to no parking.” The Yaupon Beach Board of - Commissioners has continued to press for establishment of a first class post office on Oak Island — a drive that dominated Oak Islanders’ attention last year. ”... Mid-Carolinas District facili ties officials advise that they have no current plans to replace the con tract post office” on Oak Island, USPS Manager of Legislative Affairs Anthony W. Conway wrote Faircloth. In July, Moore wrote Faircloth, Sen. Jesse Helms and Congressman Charles G, Rose,- seeking to enlist their support in convincing postal officials to upgrade facilities on Oak Island. Last year postal officials inspected the Oak Island contract postal facility and the only improve ment made was the location of a mailbox with a snorkel shoot into which mail can be deposited with out leaving a vehicle. Moore said Oak Island is due a first-class postal facility in light of postal service plans to further upgrade the existing first-class post office in Shallotte. Island officials have also cited the first-class postal facility at Supply, saying Oak Island deserves no less. A postal official told the Shallotte Board of Aldermen in June that a new facility with additional parking spaces would be built there in 1996. He said 43 other post office facili ties were targeted for construction or upgrade in 1995-96. The Shallotte facility is expected to cost USPS $500,000. “When does Oak Island’s turn come for an adequate post office?” Moore wrote the area’s federal leg islative delegation. “Oak Island has a permanent population of 5,000 See Post office, page 11 horecast Continued hot, with highs between 85 and 90, but with an increasing hope of late afternoon thunderstorms as the weekend approaches. Tide table HIGH LOW THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 7:24 a.m. 1:20 a.m. 7:43 p.m. 1:28 p.m. FRIDAY, AUGUST 25 8:05 a.m. 2:01 a.m. 8:22 p.m. 2:11p.m. SATURDAY, AUGUST 26 8:45 a.m. 2:40 a.m. . 8:59 p.m. 2:53 p.m. SUNDAY, AUGUST 27 9:24 a.m. 3:18 a.m. 9:36 p.m. 3:34 p.m. MONDAY, AUGUST 28 10:04 a.m. 3:55 a.m. 10:14 p.m. 4:17 p.m. TUESDAY, AUGUST 29 i 10:47 a.m. 4:34 a.m. 10:56 p.m. 5:02 p.m. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30 lt:34a.m. , 5:16a.m. t1:42p.m. 5:51 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. SUMMER SALT msmm Oak Island beachgoers will have an opportunity to kick up their heels this Sunday as the final Beach Day gets underway at the Long Beach cabana. Photo by Jim Harper Musical entertainment begins at 1 p.m. and activi ties will include volleyball, beach games and sand carving. Classes start today 1 v( School bells ring an end to summer By Holly Edwards Feature Editor Summer came to an end today for approximately 8,800 Brunswick County students. Many changes — ranging from freshly painted walls to new acade mic programs -- greeted students as they returned to school. “The air is electric with excite ment,” declared Supply Elementary School principal Cafolyn Williams. Principals throughout the county said they were ready for the stu dents, although there were lingering personnel vacancies and supply shortages reported in some schools. School officials say local funding for supplies is not yet allocated because the Finance officer’s posi lion has been vacant much of the summer. Superintendent Ralph Johnston served as finance officer until Mary Ha/el Small was hired to fill the position last month. Small said schools should receive their supply funding within the next two weeks. She said additional local funding for school equipment and vehicles should he available after she meets with county finance offi cer Lithia Hahn Small told the school board last week that she was unable to locate some money promised hy the coun ty for capital outlay expenditures.’ but could not say how much more she expects the schools to receive. Students will no longer have a half-day off on Wednesdays. See School b«41s, page 11 Civil rights inquiry focus on ‘extremes’ By Holly Edwards Feature Editor If the U. S. Department of Education decides to conduct a civil rights audit of Brunswick County schools it will focus on established patterns of discrimination and extreme cases of racial harassment, not on more subtle forms of racial bias. “We wouldn’t make any recom mendations unless there were real extreme situations,” said Roger Mills, audit coordinator of the U. S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. "Our job is not to jump at each instance in which people are offended, but to call it what it is — the informal give and take that goes on in all interpersonal relation ships." Mills requested information from the school system detailing how stu dents are "ability grouped," the number of students by race in the cducable mentally handicapped cat egory and the gifted and talented program, and the number and race See “Extremes', page 11 A candidate last time around Varner new county manager VARNER By Terry Pope County Editor It’s a job Jimmy Varner sought two years ago, but he lost out then on a split vote by the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners. This time Varner is the top choice to become the new county manager and will start work here September 5. “My heart’s always been with the coast,” said Varner, who called com mission chairman Jerry Jones Tuesday and accepted an offer made Saturday following a second round of interviews. “I am familiar with the area,” Varner added. “I’ve always liked the coast, and I’ve always liked Brunswick County.” Varner has served as Yadkin County manager for four years. Previously he had served eight years as Davidson County manager and stints as city manager for York, SC, and Gatlinburg, TN. He obtained a business administration degree from Central University in New Mexico in 1962 and has also worked with the state’s probation and parole office. Final details about his employ ment will be announced at a special meeting of the board of commis sioners Monday, August 28, at 6 p.m. The board hasn’t officially taken a vote to hire Varner or to set his salary. District 2 commissioner Jerry Jones said Varner was his top choice during the interviews in 1993, when Wyman Yelton of Rocky Mount was hired instead by a split vote as three Democrats controlled a majority on the board. Last November, Republicans regained the majority and Jones was elected chairman. Yelton was fired in March. Varner becomes the fourth manag er in four years to fill the seat. He said the turnover rate was some thing to ponder before he made his decision. “Definitely, you always do that.” said Varner. “But I thoroughly See Manager, page 11 Assistant manager also is selected Brunswick County’s first assistant county manager will start work Monday with his main duties to oversee a new central purchasing depart: ment. Robert C. Hyatt, town manager of Clayton in Johnston County for seven years before he resigned in March, was hired Tuesday at a salary of $58,564 per year. In the 1995-96 budget the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners agreed to fund the assistant’s position for the first time as part of restructur ing, county government. Hyatt will manage central purchasing for all coun ty departments, the schools and Brunswick Community College. His office will tentatively be the former commission chambers in the county administration building. Interim county manager Charles McGinnis hired Hyatt on Tuesday, the same day Jimmy Varner of Yadkin County accepted an offer to become manager. Hyatt earned $48,500 per year'in Clayton, where he resigned March 10 at the request of a majority of council. While there, Hyatt directed and supervised all departments, including finance, library, planniAg and inspections, police, recreation, streets, sanita tion, water and sewer. He also served as budget officer Of a $ 10-million yearly budget. In Brunswick County he will coordinate social services, public health, See Assistant, page 11 Sales tax revenues disbursed Brunswick County and its 18 municipalities shared a local government sales and use tax distribution of over $2.8 million in the quarter ended June 30, the N. C. Department of Revenue announced this week. Brunswick County gov ernment received the largest share of the distribution, $2,113,165. Distribution to municipalities was: ■ Bald Head Island $3,157 ■ Belville $3,306 ■ Boiling Sp. Lakes $69,119 ■ Bolivia $9,545 ■ Calabash $49,360 ■ Caswell Beach $7,317 ■ Holden Beach $27,039 ■ Leland $73,762 ■ Long Beach $162,677 ■ Navassa $18,013 ■ Northwest $24,439 Ocean Isle Beach$22,433 ■ Sandy Creek $9,842 ■ Shallotte $42,006 ■ Southport $92,480 ■ Sunset Beach $27,930 * Vamamtown $16,862 I ■ Yaupon Beach $30,493 " -.:.'•••' .••

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view