Sports |
The first pitch of the Dixie
Youth Baseball 1997 season
was tossed Saturday — IB
Lady <
in Wacd
hitter tn
rs
to 6-0
i no
1C
County
expands
park area
By Terry Pope
County Editor
The bases are loaded at Smithville
Township District Park near
Southport, but expansion is in the
works to relieve the crowded condi
tions.
Brunswick County commissioners
voted Monday to purchase 17.17
acres of land on the park’s north side
for $85,850, roughly $5,000 per acre,
from J. D. and Loretta Price.
In other expenditures Monday,
commissioners appropriated $26,000
to match a state grant that will help
fund a domestic violence program for
district attorney Rex Gore’s office.
The 13th Judicial District will receive
$360,000 in each of the next two
years, but $77,000 must come this
year in matching funds.
Columbus County officials also
voted Monday to contribute $26,000.
Bladen County will be asked to con
tribute a like amount.
County attorney Huey Marshall has
been negotiating for more than a
month for the purchase of land to ex
pand the Smithville park and another
park in the county, the site of which
See Park area, page 10
'Gouging'
ordinance
is adopted
By Terry Pope
County Editor
After Hurricane Fran struck last
fall, power outages which lasted for
weeks in some Brunswick County
communities sent residents in search
of batteries. Some found the price
three times what they were before the
storm hit.
County officials say that is “price
gouging” and adopted an ordinance
Monday to prevent businesses or in
dividuals from taking advantage of
citizens in the event of another disas
ter.
“We will be presenting it to all 18
municipalities and asking for their
adoption so it will be uniform
throughout the county,” said county
attorney Huey Marshall. “It will help
law enforcement if it’s a violation no
matter where they are standing in
Brunswick County.”
The anti-gouging ordinance was
modeled after one the City of Charles
ton, SC, adopted to make the sudden
rise in the price of goods after a di
See Ordinance, page 10
Forecast
The extended forecast calls for
mostly sunny skies Thursday through
Saturday with highs in the 70's.
INSIDE
Police report ... 8
Kids’ page.14
Obituaries.15
Business.18
Church.4B
Schools .5B
TV schedule .... 6B
Calendar.8B
District Court .. 7C
Photo by Jim Harper
What could be better than opening day of baseball season, getting out there and mixing it up with all the
guys, having fun — or, proudly watching the youngster in one of the true Vmerican rites of passage, setting
boldly forth... What indeed? (More youth baseball photos in the Neighbors section.)
County convention
Brunswick Democrats
sticking with ’winner'
By Terry Pope
County Editor
County Democrats on Saturday
outlined their political success during
1996 and reelected their entire slate
of officers at the annual convention.
County commissioner Don Warren
asked why break up a group which
has worked well together to regain a
majority on the commission and re
tain control of the school board. Un
der chairman Connie Powell's lead
ership, the party also retired a $22,(XX)
debt on its headquarters building near
Supply.
Also reelected were first vice-chair
man Moses Stanley, second vice
chairman Bernest Hewett, third vice
chairman Tracie Franks, treasurer
Vernon Ward and secretary Ruth
Finley.
Unity on the county level is tied to
unity on the state level, said state lead
ers who attended the Saturday ses
sion.
“1 predict, if we keep working like
we have," said state senator R. C.
Soles Jr. of Tabor City, "we’re going
to have a solid Democratic state gov
ernment in the future.”
Soles told the audience it was w i >n
derful to return to the Senate that n ' '
has a solid 30-20 Democratic maa >
ity. Last fall, voters narrowed the
Republican gap in the State If>uv.
too
r
Guest speaker Saturday was slate
auditor Ralph Campbell Jiwho
served on the Raleigh eitv eouneil
before he chose to run tor auditor in
1992. His office is responsible tor
See Democrats, page 17
COUNTY SYSTEM
Water taps
to become
mandatory
By Terry Pope
County Editor
An ordinance county commission
ers have requested would make it
mandatory for property owners who
live where county water lines are ac
cessible to tap to the line or pay the
tap-011 fee.
It's a move commissioners say will
help wean the water system, now run
ning at a $4-million-per-year deficit,
off tax dollars used to supplement it.
The vote came swiftly Monday night,
and it was unanimous.
Recently, the Brunswick County
Utility Operations Board has debated
the issue but with no clear direction
on where commissioners now stand
on the issue. When the system was
built in 1987, and in expansion
projects since, mandatory taps have
not been required
“I think it’s time we’ve given the
utility operations board some direc
tion,” said District I commissioner
Don Warren, whose motion to request
an ordinance came at the end of
Monday’s meeting and was not on the
‘We’re going to
have to do this.
We’re not going to
be able to provide
countywide water if
we don’t.’
David Sandifer
District 2 member
regular agenda.
“Since I've come hack on the
board, we have been concerned with
increasing our customer base and with
trying to reduce the deficit.” sait
Warren. "We have talked about dil
ferent things to improve our custome
base.”
Warren’s motion asked that ■ ountr
See Water, page 8
Long Beach
Burning ban
stays in force
By Richard Nuhcl
Municipal F-’ditoi
A controversial ban on open burn
me ol yard debris will icinain in
loree in Long Beach as the town
investigates the purchase of equip
ment to remove unbagged (rash
troni curbside, town council decided
In the narrowest ol margins
Tuesday night
Mayor Joan Altman hioke a V r lie
ol council to let the open burning
ban begun this year remain in toree.
It was Altman who hiought the
burning ban back up lor review
luesday. keeping a promise she
made to opponents ol the ban seven
al months ago.
Voting with the mavoi to keep the
I>.m in force wen.' e <>nne11>>rs Jell
Tnsiningcr, Marx Snead ami II'trace
Collier. Councilors Kevin Hell.
Trances Allen and Helen Cashuell
'.'.anted to allow open burning ol
s ard debris from one to two da\s per
week hy permit Irom the police
department.
In an unrelated item ol business,
council also voter! iinammouslv to
send a resolution to the state's leg
Islame delegation opposing the
occupancy tax bill mtioduced this
week by Rep H David Redwine ol
Brunswick Counlv. (See related sto
i ics. page 2).
Clearly it was the burning ban that
demanded most ol the public’s
attention Tuesday night. Twelve
See Burning, page 8
Cans For Kids success story
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
Cans For Kids of Brunswick County has been named the top
recycling success story in the nation by Can Manufacturers In
stitute in Washington, l)(
Over a million cans have been collected thus far, and pro
ceeds from redeeming the cans last year provided $10,690 to
479 Brunswick County high school graduates. The project be
gan three years ago w ith one aluminum can bin and has grown
to include 20 collection sites.
Project organizer l.inda Vereen said the project began with a
dream that someday recycling would generate enough money
to send every high school graduate in the county to college.
“Our kids recognize that the future is education, and that it’s impor
See Payment, page 6
Brunswick County Cans For Kids was named the top recycling suc
cess story in the nation by the Can Manufacturers Institute.
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