| VOLUME 65/NUMBER 8 SOUTHPORT, N.C. 50 CENTS
South Brunswick defeats
Pinecrest, its second 4A vic
tim of the ‘95 season -- 1C
Neighbors
[eaw.i.fcVi .i ■■■■-; Ii . n , ' Tffl.
The Great Pumpkin would
have been lost in the crowd
at this fun-filled event— IB
Our Town
Southport looks for ways
to trim use of electricity by
I largest customers — Page 2
Point
access
Long Beach allows
west beach driving
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Operators of four-wheel-drive
vehicles may apply for a $50 annual
permit to drive from the end of the
pavement on West Beach Drive to
“The Point” of Long Beach on the
Lockwood Folly Inlet.
That new privilege came about
when a majority of council Tuesday
night rejected councilman Jeff
Ensminger’s proposal to make The
Point accessible by vehicle only to
those residents who could convince
the town manager they suffered a
physical limitation which prevents
them from getting to the extreme
western end of the island on foot.
The amendment to the town’s
code as adopted by council Tuesday
night extends the right to seek a per
mit to any resident or property
See Point, page 7
Long-range
planning
Thursday night
at visitors center
By Terry Pope
County Editor
Planners chose the right location for
a discussion on transportation needs.
A small gathering in Leland last
week spoke at length on highway and
waterway concerns during the third
in a series of seven planning sessions
sponsored by the Brunswick County
Long-Range Planning Committee.
Leland’s growth is a product of
Wilmington’s expansion and of Inter
state 40’s influence on travelers
headed southward. Traffic flows
through northern Brunswick County
from 1-40 at a rapid pace, but road
ways in the Leland community may
not be able to accommodate the de
mand in future years, residents fear.
“This area, you may not realize it
in a maximum of ten years or possi
bly five,” said V. A. Creech Jr. of
Belville. “That is already set.”
The committee is charged by the
Brunswick County Board of Com
missioners as a fact-gathering body
to develop planning recommenda
tions to prepare for heavy growth over
the next 20 years. The panel will sub
mit a report to the commission by the
end of the year.
1\vo more public meetings were to
See Planning, page 9
Forecast
The extended forecast calls
for partly cloudy skies with a
chance of showers and Fall-like
weather with highs each day in
the mid 70's.
INSIDE
JLLMJAL/L.
Opinion.. 4
Business . 13
District Court ...14
Obituaries ...... 15
Church ...... ^ 3B
TV schedule-6B
Plant Doctor-8B
Ah, the perils of the castnettcr working the
Southport shore, where one misstep may mean you
Photo by Jim Harper
ing his craft in Monday’s midday brilliance at the
foot of the Garrison.
Early-release policy
NCAE will file suit if
schools don't concede
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
Unless the Brunswick County
Board of Education concedes it
wrongfully abolished the Wednesday
early-release policy and expresses a
“genuine interest” in working with
county educators, the North Carolina
Association of Educators will file suit
against the board, the NCAE attorney
said Tuesday.
“I’m in the process of drafting a
lawsuit and I’m not delaying what I’m
doing at all,” Tom Stem said. “The
fear among some county educators is
that the board is paying lip service but
has no interest in compromise.”
He said if the school board conces
sion is not made within two weeks he
will bring the matter before
Brunswick County Superior Court.
‘I'm not asking the board to change its
position simply because it's illegal. I'm
asking them to change their position
because principals and teachers are
telling us that there will be irreparable
damage.../
Ibm Stern ’ ,
NCAE attorney . '
Stem said a state statute stipulates
that changes in schools’ performance
based accountability plans can be
made only by each school and not by
See NCAE, page 8
Rate-hike opposition
Water, water
everywhere in
town concerns
By Terry Pope
County Editor
An entourage of wholesale water
customers, led by Long Beach mayor
Joan Altman, convinced county offi
cials Monday to take a closer look at
drastic rate increases proposed for this
fiscal year.
County commissioners tabled the
action and agreed to meet with mu
nicipal and sanitary district represen
tatives before any measure is ap
proved, a vote that could hike rates
88 percent over four years to wean
the water system off tax dollars.
“Personally, I had some more ques
tions that I wanted answered," said
District 3 commissioner Leslie
Collier of Long Beach. “But the
towns definitely have some valid
points.”
Ms. Collier asked county attorney
Mike Ramos to study the county’s
contract with Long Beach and to in
terpret language that may exclude the
town from any responsibility for cer
tain debt incurred by the system.
Commissioners received a study from
consultants David M. Griffith and
Associates which shows how county
officials can raise water rates over a
period of four years to eliminate the
need to commit general fund rev
enues, including ad valorem tax dol
lars, to offset wafer system deficits.
Over the past three years, more than
$10 million in tax dollars has been
used to keep the system afloat, and it
has currently sunk more than
$500,000 in the hole since June. Com
See Water, page 7
EIS to he sought
Caswell looks
to halt Yaupon
disposal plan
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Do we have the power to stop it?
That will be one of the questions
Caswell Beach commissioners will
put to officials of the state Department
of Environment, Health and Natural
Resources concerning the Yaupon
Beach proposal to spray treated
wastewater on the Oak Island Golf
and Country Club property.
The question, commissioners de
cided Thursday, will be put in the
form of a letter to DEHNR officials,
along with a request that the depart
ment conduct a public hearing on the
Yaupon Beach plan as soon as pos
sible and before permits for the
project are issued.
“I would feel that a public hearing
is one of the things we should ask for,”
said commissioner Bill Boyd. “Let’s
get the pros in here.... If the burden
of responsibility falls on the mayor
and council to make a decision, we
can make it informed.”
But earlier, in public discussion of
The club plans to
spray the treated
effluent on its golf
course, which
spans both Yaupon
Beach and Caswell
Beach and is
bordered by the
upscale Arboretum
subdivision
the Yaupon Beach wastewater dis
posal plan, commissioner Joe
O’Brien, a mayoral candidate, cut to
the chase.
“Do we have any legal power to
See Caswell, page 11
Pilot Line school
calls reach 2,600
More than 2,600 calls were made to Pilot line school exten
sions during September.
South Brunswick Middle School numbers were called 1,864
times; South Brunswick High School numbers, 737 times.
“It is gratifying that so many students and parents have taken
advantage of Pilot Line,” said Ed Harper, editor of The State
Port Pilot which provides the service. The school extensions
are sponsored by Carolina Power and Light Co. as part of its
community schools program.
“Without CP&L this service would not be possible,” said
Harper. “And without the cooperation of teachers it would not
be successful. We hear much discussion about where fault lies
f in our educational system, but certainly it is not with these
' people who make the extra effort to see their students suc
ceed.”
Pilot Line school extension numbers are published weekly
in The State Port Pilot,
^• . ...___i..-:..—_-_
Church
access
Free Pilot Line service is
available to any church that
can access either the 457- or
253- telephone exchange.
Sermon topics, prayer lists
or other messages can be re
corded by the pastor, then ac
cessed by dialing Pilot Line
and the church extension. A
touch-tone phone is required.
More information is avail
able from Pilot business man
ager Diane McKeithan, 457
4$68 or 253-7733*