Sports Preston McGriff is a tower of strength but he can’t carry Seahawks by himself — 1C Neighbors Outdoor displays are light ing up Christmas spirits — and sometimes the sky -- IB Our Town Southport has granted a conditional use permit for Bald Head project — Page 2 Yaupon sewer Golf course plan may be stymied By Richard Nubel Municipal Editor A new problem has arisen that may put an end to plans to spray-irrigate the Oak Island Golf and Country Club golf course with treated effluent from the Yaupon Beach wastewater treat ment plant. And, this new development places additional pressure on Yaupon Beach officials to seek an alternative means of disposing of some 400,000 to 500,000 gallons of wastewater each day. Engineers had figured a naturally existing pond on the 18th hole of the golf course could be used as a reten tion pond in which to store treated wastewater prior to spraying it to ir rigate the golf course. As engineers See Yaupon, page 6 ^w^'s State Port Pi lot will be printed anddistrife: utedon the regular Wednesday schedule, tot deadlines for that edition have changed. Red estate ad materials must be in the newspaper office by noon this Friday. The deadline for classified advertising is 3 p.m. Friday. Deadline for regu lar display advertising will be 2 pan. next Tuesday. The of fice will be closed Monday in observance of Christmas. All news material must be in band by 2 p.m. Tuesday. The office will be open Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon to ac cept materials that may be sub mitted early. The staff of The State Part Pilot wishes you a happy and safe Christmas holiday. The adult and children’s choirs and drama ministry of Southport Baptist Church joined a capacity congregation in celebration of the Christmas season with “Festival of Carols” on Sunday evening. Photo by Jim Harper Observances of the most popular Christian holiday will continue in community churches through Sunday, concluding with evening can dlelight services (listed under “Sermon Topics” inside). 'Report Card' Scores vary by districts By Holly Edwards Feature Editor Variations in socioeconomic conditions and levels of parental involvement in Brunswick County largely explain the differences among end-of-course test scores in county schools, officials say. In general, schools in the southern part of the county scored above county average, schools in the western part of the county scored about average and schools in the northern part scored below average. School officials say the scores reflect socioeconomic conditions in the three sections of the county. “I’ve been in some of these homes, and some people's pets have a better See Scores, page 10 End-of-Course Percentiles May Moore had distinguished career as Mayor Retiring Yaupon Beach mayor Legacy is incomplete “The only two jobs I ever had were garbage and mayor -- and I thoroughly enjoyed being mayor.” May Moore By Richard Nubel Municipal Editor The mayor who leaves behind as her legacy toYaupon Beach a strong commitment to the environment, to sound financial planning, to develop ment of the single biggest public works project the town will ever un dertake, began her career in town gov ernment with garbage. May Moore was appointed first to the board of commissioners of the Town of Yaupon Beach in April, 1983, and was promptly assigned the role of garbage commissioner by her trusting fellow board members and mayor Bob Wilson. Well, she also had a few other responsibilities ~ like beachfront maintenance and recre ation programs that scarcely existed then. She was also put in charge of mosquito control. Last Monday, Moore presided over her last meeting of the board of com missioners of the Town of Yaupon Beach. She opted not to seek reelec tion this year. But, the appointee of 1983 who would win election in her own right in 1985 and win election as mayor in 1987 by fellow commissioners for the first of four times, doesn’t blame any “ol’ boy” system of municipal poli tics for her early and humble govern ment assignments. “I was the town mother in charge of trash and I stayed so for many years,” Moore said Thursday, three days after she presided over her final board meeting. “It wasn’t that I was the only fe male, that’s just where people tradi tionally start - sanitation, recreation and the beach.” “1 think sanitation and thd beach were hard,” the mayor recalled of her earliest responsibilities in town gov emment. Those jobs were also a hard launch ing pad from which to propel oneself into a distinguished career in local government. “With the beach, it continues to erode. With the garbage, it gets col lected. With mosquitoes, they con tinue to bite,” Moore observed. But, distinguish herself Moore did. And, when her predecessor Wilson decided to end nine years as mayor in 1987 Moore was ready to step into the big job in town government. And there she has stayed for the last eight years, guiding the town through its usual growing pains and through its biggest challenge - development of a public wastewater management system begun in 1990 and, unfortu nately, still uncompleted today. The transition from “town mother in charge of trash” to mayor allowed See Legacy, page 11 Long Beach Town finances in good shape By Richard Nubel Municipal Editor Three new councilors joined mayor Joan Altman and three returning councilors to repeat oaths of office as the governing body of the Town of Long Beach met and reorganized Tuesday night. Sworn to office by resident District Court judge Napoleon B. (Poli) Barefoot Jr. to succeed them selves were mayor Altman and councilors Horace Collier. Jeff Ensminger and Kevin Bell, all reelected in November. Repeating the oath of office for the first time as Long Beach town councilors were newly elected members Helen Cashwell, Frances Allen and Doris Hertel. But, amid the pomp and circum stance of installation ceremonies, independent auditor Menton Padgett may have delivered the most signif icant news of the night. Last year, when presenting state mandated audit results to council for the year ending in June, 19$4, Padgett pronounced Long Beach ‘in the strongest cash position ever." Padgett could have said the same this year, but didn’t. A synopsis of audit findings for the year ended June 30, 1995. showed the town increased fund balances in its two government funds and increased retained earn See Long Beach, page 15 Northern sewer plan advanced By Terry Pope County Editor A regional sewer plan for northern Brunswick County is gaining support. A resolution approved by the Brunswick County Board of Com missioners on Monday endorses the Leland Sanitary District’s plan to link resources with the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority and draft a comprehensive sewer study for the northern communities. Leland town government has be come bogged down in sewer negotia tions with the Town of Belville, which See Sewer plan, page 6 Forecast A cold front moves through the area bringing with it winter weather. Highs each day only in the 40's. 4