• ,• , >! _ Trojans and Scorps remain undefeated, but Cougars may be hottest team — 1C VOLUME 6 7/ NUMBER 8 SOUTHPORT N.C. r is. Young an down on tl games anc pi er i r. h. t? KC Yaupon have sew<. ty revised in stu ts to u:WMoefc Photo by Jim Harper Community hairdressers took “just a little off the top” of 73 heads in Franklin Square Sunday in a fund raiser for breast cancer research. Carolyn Hewett, one of the organizers, said nearly $1,500 contributed by men, women and children will be forwarded to the City of Hope research center. Graves to be rededicated Blacks had important role during Civil War By Holly Edwards Feature Editor Matthew Miller said he immedi ately recognized the importance of his discovery when, while doing research at the Southport library, he found the names of two black Union soldiers buried at John Smith Cemetery. Documentation of black Union sol diers is rare, he said, and it’s even more rare to find them buried in a small-town cemetery. “Most black soldiers were buried at the National Cemetery in Washing ton,” he said. “This is the first record of black soldiers buried in a small town like this I’ve ever found.” The long-time Civil War buff said he decided to share his discovery so that others would recognize the im portance of black soldiers in the Civil War. “As soon as 1 found them, 1 decided to try to organize a rededication of their graves,” Miller said. “A lot of people don’t realize there were blacks fighting in the Civil War side by side with whites.” By rededicating the graves of these forgotten men - Abraham Galloway and Abram Blount -- Miller said he hopes to promote a clearer under standing of this chapter in American history and to enhance racial under standing in Southport. As many as 100 Civil Wai reenactors will likely participate in the rededication ceremony of the sol diers’ graves in early February, it conjunction with Black Historj See Civil War, page 9 Southport-Oak Island EMS, operations proposal signals new cooperation By Richard Nubel News Editor Need for increased emergency medical service (EMS) presence in this portion of the county may spur a cooperative county and municipal effort to build a combination county emergency medical services substa tion and municipal emergency opera tions center (EOC) in the Southport Oak Island area. Long Beach mayor Joan Altman last week issued invitations to county commissioners and Southport-Oak Island mayors to attend an October 28 meeting devoted to discussing a combined county-municipal EMS EOC building. Altman this week said the two needs -- a county EMS facility and a municipal EOC building -- can be met under one roof, she and others be lieve. In her letter of invitation to county commissioners’ chairman JoAnn Simmons, Altman said the benefits of a combined EMS-EO.C structure potentially could include a by* several local governments and more efficient use of existing re Southport-Oak Island has increased its dependence on Brunswick County for response to routine calls sources. “ We know the county has budgeted money for an EMS substation in the Southport-Oak Island area, which is appropriate, given the population here now and the projections we have for the future,” Altman said Tuesday. “The Oak Island towns and Southport have talked about establishing a cen tral EOC as a gathering point in the event of a storm or other emergency,” While Southport-Oak Island offi uttfcVm. have ■ *opreaenU»liv«* »v* »oUv»« during an emergency, there is also a See Cooperation, page 9 Yaupon. Caswell Towns unsure about levying occupancy tax By Richard Nubel News Editor What will the neighbors say? That seemed to be the unspoken question Monday night as Yaupon Beach comniissioners gave some pre liminary thought to raising the town’s three-percent occupancy tax. Caswell Beach commissioners ad dressed the occupancy tax question Thursday and were unable to reach consensus. Should Yaupon Beach raise its tax on short-term rentals if Long Beach and Caswell Beach do not? What if Long Beach doesn’t and Caswell Beach does? “If Caswell Beach Is not going to impose it and Long Beach is defi nitely not going to do it.... If we re the only ones who end up doing it, i it’s a nightmare for people like you in the (cottage) rental business, mayor Dot Kelly told commissioner ‘If we’re the only ones who end up doing it, it’s a nightmare for people like you in the (cottage) rental business.’ Dot Kelly Yaupon Beach mayor Dick Marshall, owner of a real estate and property management company, and other commissioners. “Are we going to lose (vacation See Towns, page 11 .' I By Richard Nube) News Editor Not wishing to forfeit even a modest amount of control over Small Boat Harbor operations, city aldermen Thursday reluc tantly ratified a management agreement with the N. C. State Ports Authority which will allow Southport officials to oversee some marina activities, but not rewive pay for the effort. '■ ■ , “At first gfoiice, I would say if they want to make us •dance" without paying us ali mony, I would tell them to take their ma rina and shove it up their state port,” said an angry alderman Bill Delaney. He and other aldermen have contended the city more than earned the monthly fee Southport has received since the late 1980s for moni toring activities of contract marina opera tors ofy Sr As Denaii. ' The action, for the time being, ends a dis pute between the city end SEA board mem bers over city compensation for its efforts on behalf of the state agency. Under terms of the agreement aldermen authorized, the city will hot receive its $1,500 monthly pay ment from SPAafter June, 1998. From that time forward, SPA will instead place that See SPA deal, page 6 s - > - \ ■:■ ' - ' .■ . - 4 . * - "" '* T()p STORIES ON THETOTERNETwww^outh