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MEDAL COMES 52 YEARS LATER
Broken Heart
Photo by Holly Kdwards
Milton Domler points to the Purple Heart medal he received 52 years after he was injured in World War II.
‘Sometimes one word in a
conversation will bring
back everything so
clearly,, and then the tears
just start coming. But I’m
not ashamed to cry. We
didn’t have time to cry
during the war.’
Story by
Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
Flifty-two years after he was gouged
with a bayonet by a Japanese
soldier during World War II,
Milton Domler found a Purple Heart medal
in his mailbox.
It was enclosed in a brown padded en
velope. There was no letter of explanation
nor commendation.
For Domler, the medal brought back
memories and emotions he would rather
forget.
“If it took them that long to give me the
medal, hang it up,” said the 74-year-old
Boiling Spring Lakes resident. “When I got
that thing it brought back a lot of rancid
things that happened, and it brought them
back so fresh. What happened to me is be
side the point. It brought back memories
of what happened to other people. They
don't know they got a Purple Heart be
cause they’re not here."
A faded picture of Domler’s platoon
hangs on his living room wall. The men
are smiling, dressed in crisp white U. S.
Navy uniforms and black kerchiefs. Of the
72 men in the platoon. Domler said 53
were killed in action
“That’s a hell of a loss,” he said. “These
are men that you sleep with, work with,
sweat with. On board a ship you get pretty
close. I’m thankful I’m here and 1 don’t
teel sorry for myself, but 1 lost a lot of
Iriends that were good people. The
See Broken, page 10
war
County rules
put wraps on
adult business
By Terry Pope
County Editor
Some residents said they were
willing to increase county taxes to
pay for a legal defense ol an outright
ban on adult businesses
But it wasn't a safe option tor
county commissioners to consider,
explained county attorney Huey
Marshall, just before the board
voted unanimously Monday to
allow adult and sexually oriented
businesses in heavy manulacturing
zones. The commission also
trimmed the Brunswick County
Planning Board’s recommended
2,500-foot setback requirement
•rom homes, churches, daycare cen
lets_ schools, parks and public facil
ities to 1,500 feet instead, in fear of
jeopardizing the rules.
Banning them altogether was a
message delivered by numerous res
idents who spoke at the public hear
ing. Do so and the commissioners
would have support of residents
should the ban be challenged in
court, they indicated. But the board
accepted the advice of counsel.
■■Von would probably not survive
the motion stage," explained
Matshall. "There is a fundamental
itcht lor that person to operate.
When you lose a suit, what the court
sa\s is that you don’t in fact have an
ordinance, and it would give free
See Business, page 8
ST. JAMES
Sewer plan
is approved
By Terry Pope
‘County Editor
St. James Plantation has received approval for its new 600,000
gallon-per-day sewage treatment plant, ending a building moratorium
that has been in effect there since July 15.
The N. C. Department oi Water Quality issued the permit last Tues
day, August 13, for a spray-irrigation treatment system that will even
tually accommodate up to 2,560 homes at the residential and goll
course community near Southport.
Brunswick County health ollicials put a halt to new septic system
taps last month when a transition between county and state permitting
agencies delayed the process tor St. James to receive its operations
permit for a larger plant. Although the capacity of an existing plant,
which uses a drain field, had not been reached, the number of homes
allocated to that capacity had alteady maxed out.
The waste flow would hav e w entually overloaded our drain field,"
See Sewer, page 8
Long Beach
Vote ordered
to determine
term lengths
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Three hundred eighty-eight quali
fied voters have forced an initiative
referendum that will return Long
Beach voters to the polls to decide if
town council members should be
elected to two-year or four-year
staggered terms of office.
Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night
Victim
remains
critical
A Southport man remained in criti
cal condition at New Hanover Re
gional Medical Center Tiiesday after
noon, the victim of a personal water
craft injury.
Donald Bolduc, 37, of Stuart Av
enue was admitted to NHRMC in
critical condition Thursday afternoon
from a head injury he sustained when
thrown from a personal watercraft in
the Lockwood Folly River.
Brunswick County Emergency
Medical Services director Tracy Jack
son said county EMS was summoned
to Colonial Landing Road at Supply
around 1:15 p.m. Thursday. Bystand
See Critical, page 10
to set a referendum on the matter
November 5, Election Day. Voting
to set the referendum on a return to
two-year terms of office were coun
cilors Frances Allen, Helen
Cashwell and Kevin Bell.
Councilors Jeff Ensminger and
Horace Collier voted not to set a ref
erendum date. Councilor Doris
Hertel was not present at Tuesday
night’s council session.
Council earlier this year voted a
return to a procedure which would
establish four-year staggered terms
of office, but in July the town was
presented a petition containing the
signatures of at least ten percent of
all registered voters which sought a
referendum on a proposition to
reestablish two-year officer terms.
From 1969 until 1991 members of
the Long Beach Board of
Commissioners, and later town
council, were elected to four-year
staggered terms of office. In 1992,
petitioners forced a referenJum on i
proposition to establish two-year
terms of office. That referendum
was overwhelmingly approved and
in elections of 1993 and 1995 all six
members of town council were
elected.
Proponents of the two-year term
say it allows voters to more quickh
remove councilors with whom dies
disagree. Opponents of the two-vear
term say it takes elected officials at
least that long to learn their jobs and
invites instability in local govern
ment by creating the possibility no
experienced member of the board
could be returned to office.
It is impossible to stagger two
See Long Beach, page 10
Back-to-school
is special today
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
Summer vacation came to an end
today for 9,700 Brunswick County
young people.
About 500 more students than last
year filled county classrooms.
While rapid growth rate has caused
some schools to become over
crowded, schools at the northern end
of the county have been granted some
relief by the addition of Belville El
ementary School.
Lincoln Primary School was
changed from a kindergarten through
third grade school to a kindergarten
through second grade school and ex
perienced a student population drop
of about 130 students. And, Leland
Middle School was changed from a
fourth through eighth grade school to
a sixth through eighth grade school
and experienced a student population
drop of about 350 students.
Belville Elementary School will
serve over 600 students in third
through fifth grades.
One of the fastest-growing schools
in the county is Supply Elementary,
with a student population of at least
790 and a maximum design capacity
See School, page 10
I STUDENT
OPULATION
1995-96 1996-97
Southport Elementary 843 820
_ Bolivia Elementary 610 650
_ Belville Elementary N/A 601
— Lincoln Primary 750 620
— Supply Elementary 772 790
— Union Primary 790 792
— Waccamaw Elementary 463 490
~ South Brunswick Middle 740 783
^ Leland Middle 1000 650
Shallolte Middle 967 975
South Brunswick High 700 814
_ North Brunswick High 509 621
West Brunswick High 964 1022
^ Brunswick learning Center 104 61
TOTAL
1995- 96.9212
1996- 97.9689
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