North Brunswick goes in search of a state 1A baseball title this Saturday — 1C The beachfron the care it can g» learn at an earl) Our T Public radio has. ear of many Brunswick County listeners — Page 2 County water Towns concerned over time-frame of rate increase By Richard Nubel Municipal Editor Perhaps Long Beach town manager Jerry Walters Hiesday outlined the only means by which county water system customers — retail and whole sale — can avoid a proposed 36-per cent rate increase in the year to begin July 1. He told county manager Jim Varner county commissioners should reexamine their “financing philoso phy.” Other Brunswick County local gov ernment leaders meeting with the county manager, assistant county manager Robert Hyatt and county fi nance officer Lithia Home told them the county should shore-up its tap-on policies in an effort to bring water to more users, thus spreading the cost of capital projects in the future. Alters said the burden of repay ing capital costs spurring the rate in crease could be eased if commission See Water, page 8 Legal action is promised bv NAACP By Holly Edwards Feature Editor < A low number of minority teach ers and principals in Brunswick County schools is the result of racial discrimination among school board members and administrators and is one of the primary causes of low morale and low test scores among minority students, says NAACP Southport chapter president Nat Parker. Parker and other county NAACP representatives met with parents and school employees last week to hear complaints about the number of mi nority teachers, principals and coun selors in county schools. The complaints will be included in a civil action the NAACP says it will filewith the Office for Civil Rights in Atlanta. “The school board made a recom mendation to have the Office for Civil Rights come down here and do an in vestigation last year and nothing hap pened,” Parker said. “So we have to start somewhere.” The school system requested a civil rights audit last year but Office for Civil Rights attorney Cheryl Colfield said her office needs “concrete evi dence” of a problem before it be See NAACP, page 10 Photo by Jim Harper Visiting fireman Dave Johnson of Knoxville found brisk easterly winds over the weekend just right for launching his fleet of kites. He and a friend even managed to get a lighted kite airborne one evening to the dismay — and ultimate delight — of Long Beach neighbors. Mine. schools kev issues } ' GOP House hopefuls in forum of their own By Terry Pope County Editor A small gathering Friday heard two Republican candidates for State House address the same issues that Democratic incumbents debated a week earlier. Robert Quinn of Southport and Shirley Babson of Bolivia are challenging for the two 14th District seats held by Democrats David Redwine of Ocean Isle Beach and Dewey Hill of Lake W&ccamaw. A legisla tive forum May 24 did not include either Quinn or Babson, so they hosted their own session Friday at the county government center near Bolivia. The 14th District includes most of Brunswick County, with the exception of northern communities in the minority 98th District represented by Thomas Wright of Wilmington. “There’s a lot going on in the state legislature,” said Quinn. “A lot of bills deal with significant issues, and every one of them is being introduced by the Republicans. The Republicans are driving the train. They’re driving the train See Forum, page 7 Sewer system Loan default a possibility for Yaupon By Richard Nobel Municipal Editor Without significant new revenue from its sewer operation, Yaupon Beach is on a two-year course to de fault on loan payments to a state fund which built the town’s wastewater management system. Information released this week as part of the town’s budget deliberation process indicates Yaupon Beach will appropriate $248,593 from its unap propriated sewer fund balance to make up for a predicted revenue shortfall in fiscal year 1996-97. That sum nearly matches the $259,488 scheduled payments in 1997 on a state revolving loan made in 1991. The money to be appropriated from fund balance this year is unexpended pro Due to a moratorium on new sewer taps imposed by the state in July, 1994, new construction in Yaupon Beach has essentially halted ceeds of the construction loan itself, town finance officer Jean Yates said. Scheduled payments of over $253,000 due in 1998 can be paid by cashing in a certificate of deposit the See Default, page 8 County opposes Martin Marietta permit extension By Tterry Pope County Editor County commissioners approved a resolution Monday which asks the N. C. Mining Commission to deny Mar tin Marietta Aggregates Inc. an ex tension on its permit application to mine for limestone near Southport. It was one of five resolutions the board adopted in hopes of persuad ing state officials to take action dur ing this short session of the N. C. General Assembly. Other resolutions seek support for state mosquito control funds, expan sion of Smart Start early childhood intervention programs into Brunswick County, House Bill 540 that would provide bonds for comple tion of the Interstate 40 bypass of Wilmington and a stance against un funded mandates from the state, es pecially rising Medicaid costs that are passed on to counties. Copies of the Martin Marietta reso lution will be sent to Charles Gardner, the director of the N. C. Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources, and to James Smack, chairman of the mining commission. District 3 commissioner Leslie Collier of Long Beach will present it in person at the mining commission’s public hearing on Martin Marietta’s request, June 19, in Raleigh. She asked that the Town of Caswell Beach also receive a copy, since it was that municipality which asked the county to take action. The resolution states that “over whelming evidence establishes that such mining would be detrimental to the health and welfare of the citizens of Brunswick County due to the ad verse impact mining would have on the fragile coastal environment of Brunswick County, including the Castle Hayne aquifer and also the possibility of collateral damage to the Carolina Power and Light Co. nuclear plant and Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal.” Martin Marietta Jiad until May 29 to respond to numerous state agen cies that recommended denial of the permit to operate a mine on 1,000 acres north of Bethel Church Road. It had previously received an exten sion of time, but on May 28 filed for another extension with the mining commission. The Brunswick County Board of See Extension, page 10 Forecast A break from the hot temperatures may be in store for the weekend. High temperatures should be in themid to upper 80's. rnrnm; INSIDE Opinion % *»«*«* District Court Business Obituaries »-.. y Church ♦ * ♦ Schools ..,..... Classifieds ....« Pilot TV ... 13 U: