Sports
Southport aldermen plan to
honor major league player
Quinton McCracken - 1C
Neljj
The weath
the smiles jr
the Fourth c
Oui
it
ring
Former Soutn,
students joined in a special
reunion this week-- Page 2
North
sewer
Developer
aids county
with project
Bv Terry Pope
Countv f'ditnr
Dev elopers ol [he Magnolia Greens
golt and residential development near
I eland struck a deal with Brunswick
( ountv commissioners Monday to
provide sewer to the project by De
cember. pernaps before regional ef
lorts are underway
1 andmark ( orp. wants to bring
sewer to its development quickly un
der Phase I ol the Northeast
Brunswick Regional Wastewater Fa
cilities Plan. .miipanv will pay
loi enginei .tv ices to do so
while tlie o (a :v ontmues to secure
■ite-nie• a! government agreements
’ ill I ■•land. Navassa and the Leland
harm u v District.
I el.uul Iown Council set a special
''.venue today (W'ednesdav) at 4 p.m.
- discuss the county's interlocal
igtcement and a contract with Land
aark Corn., said councilman Jean
speight The Leland Sanitary District
as i srvcial meeting July 15 to dis
" the regional contract, and
h w v a has agreed to review the con
See Sewer, page 11
County
water
Loud voice
against fees
By Terr> Pope
( 'omit v Bdi ti ir
An :i11tir\ ii'iinl ot more than 150
people mostK 1mm the Shallotte
area, said it would collect donations
to hire a lawyer and light a manda
tory water tap policy adopted in May
In the Brunswick County Board ot
('ommissioners.
Four hoard members stood firm in
lay or ot the ordinance on Monday and
yoted doyvn District I commissioner
Don Warren s attempt to rescind the
action, w hich he led in May. Warren's
motion to drop the policy was de
feated. 4-1. amid shouts from the
crowd thai commissioners were tak
ing awav constitutional rights.
"The people are angry because they
don't understand the rates, and we
don't know the rates."-said Warren.
"We should knoyy These people don't
l-iuny what is happening. 1 think yve
ought to let the public have input on
making the decisions."
The controversy stems from an or
dinance approved May 15 that re
quires property owners pay a manda
toiv service fee and tap-on tee. plus a
monthly water availability tee, on all
See Water, page 8
INSIDE
Opinion 4
Police report 10
Waterfront 12
Art winners 2B
Church 5B
Obituaries 5B
TV schedule 6B
District Court 7C
Business 8C
Classifieds 11)
I'lmto h\ Jim Harper
Hands raised in a gesture of courage and hope, new citizens swore allegiance to the I nited States of
America in a naturalization ceremony at Fort Johnston last Thursday. The ecu atony was for the second >ear
a highlight of the N. C. Fourth of July Festival.
Naturalization ceremony
Our new Americans
celebrate the Fourth
Bv Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
United States citizens share three important
qualities: All ot us are immigrants, all of us are proud
to he Americans and all of us are equals, 7th District
U. S. Congressman Mike McIntyre told a group of 57
people who became Americans during the second
annual Fourth of July Naturalization Ceremony.
"Just remember, when you become a citizen of this
country, you ate cqu.il to the rest ot us vs ho have been
citizens a lone time. McIntyre said.
Theceremonv w held Thursday on the Garrison at
Fort Johnston
Lois and Jenv in le ot Long Beach were the driv mg
forces behind estab: dirnent of the Naturalization Cer
emony in the N t 1 urth of July Festival program. 1 he
Gables say the cete" >ny provides a deeper meaning to
the festivities and - - all of us an opportunity to pause
sin Vmericans, page 6
Regional sewer project
SBSD delays award
of bid, to seek grant
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
By delaying award of construction bids until Oc
tober, Southeast Brunsw ick Sanitary District can tap
into up to $1.5 million in grant funding which will
then be available through the federal Rural Economic
Development Commission.
That grant will partially olfset an apparent $3.5
million cost overrun the district realized when it
opened bids recently tor the 500.000-gallong-per-day
wastewater treatment plant and sewer collection svs
Set' Grant, page 6
‘It is inevim ae; it’s coming.
We’ve had ns tough obstacles
to overcome )Ut we’ve
overcome & ;n
James VV. Smith
SBSD chairman
Split vote
Long Beach
will contest
state penalty
Bv Richard Nubel
Municipal f-'ditor
"Hcil Hiller." shouted l.ong Beach
United tor Progress president Rupert
Riley as tow n council concluded a 15
minute noon meeting Monday.
"Oh. you're sickening, too,” town
resident Betty Weaver called across
a small tire station meeting room to
mayor Joan Altman.
"Why is it called a public meeting
it the public can t speak?" another one
ot the 35 or so persons attending the
brief session shouted out.
Outside the meeting room coun
cilor Frances Allen continued to whip
up supporters, telling them she felt
repeatedly violated by fellow coun
cil members.
I he show' ol acrimony was spurred
by a 4-2 council decision to contest
before an administrative hearing of
ficer a $7UU fine levied against the
\v»Ns;n v.«l \ \ W.VC \\ \->sy eiV\u.AA\s v A
the N (’ Division ot Coasiaf M.m
.mi cent Die do o si asserts, and the
a wv n if ics not Jetu. mm I , me Hoe h
pushed '.ind Ivtween s.Mfi Street Sf
and i -1th Slret l si. !i< mi M.n I a r ,
M.iv 72, O'D. hi i nation ot a pr< ihi
‘There was no
effort made to hide
that. It is hard to
hide a bulldozer.’
Jerry Walters
Town manager
hition on beach bulldozing at that time
of year. The ban at that time of year
is to protect loggerhead sea turtles
which may be nesting.
At the Monday session, tow n man
ager Jerry Walters repeated a claim
he has made publicly and mayor Joan
Altman has supported: The town
made every attempt to secure a
'fXcuip >. i » c>iW \Uc. Sam.\
pushinu, ph'.i when a need K; push ir,
that critic.illv eroded area occurred.
I !lC I )l \ i -1. 'Ji f ( '.I ., i 1 \ J i :' . ' •
1' to h/.imc i vi. 11 v : ' ..
nuniC.Jtc I .» me iiirnc - 1 v. an -, 'i
See It \. 1 n
POLITICAL FODDER
LBUP platform
has same plank
I?v Richard Nubel
Municipal bditor
While sin nits ol llcil Hiller .ire
lar from commonplace at meetings ol
Long Beach low n ( 'ounci 1. the recent
line imposed In stale coastal regula
tors on tlie town over a beach hull -
do/mg incident has taken <'ll a strange
political life larger than the issue it
selt
It has done so, not so coincidentally,
in an election vear
Long Beach residents who have
opposed pav ing lor am nourishment
ot Pie beach with local trinds have
used the fine as ev idence o uincil di >es
not reallv w ant to pn 'ter l turtles
I ii.it the ti >w it a ould bulkf >/e dur
ing i han to protect nesting turtles is
evidence ot council's disdain lor
turtles, some argue. Residents who
believe this, also believe council
wants to tenourish the beach to pro
tect pro ate proper!*.
I his assertion is made as the IJ S.
Armv Corps ot i ngmeers is engaged
in the design ot a beach nourishment
project which, coincidentally, will
place sand on the same area ot Long
[teach shore at which the disputed
bulldozing during turtle nesting sea
son took place, l he corps will fund
its portion ot this project under a pro
gram that is, ironically, established to
See Platform, page 10
Festival fun
despite heat
Livery one expects the N. C. Fourth of July Festival in Southport
to he nothing short of the best family holiday fun available.
And. the 1 MO7 festival didn’t disappoint.
Friday night the N. C. Fourth of July Festival Committee con
cluded the three-dav event with an extravagant fireworks dis
play above the Cape Fear River.
'it was an extremely well-coordinated festival,” said Marga
ret Rivera, first vice-president of the 1997 event and president
elect for 1998. "This festival was the culmination of a lot of
hard w ork by so many dedicated committee members and so
manv others who just showed up to help. The magnificent fire
works display was a fitting ending for a nearly perfect festival.
We went out with a bang.”
Southport municipal officials too were well-satisfied with the
See Festival, page 8
^OP STORIES ON
•in