THE STATE PORT
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Phone 910-457-4568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot@southport.net _ Volume 67, Number 23
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West Brunswick wrestles awa
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Published every Wednesday in Southport, NC
Filing
deadline
Monday
Prospects for excitement in the
federal, state and county primary
elections of 1998 intensified this
week when first-term sheriff
Ronald'E: Hewett'pickficT u'p’oppo- ’
sition from within his party.
Former sheriff’s deputy and cur
rent Belville mayor Kenneth D.
Messer, 50, has filed notice of
intent to challenge Hewett, 36, of
Supply for the Democratic party
nomination to be sheriff of
Brunswick County.
Messer was fired from his job as
a detective with the Brunswick
County Sheriffs Department by
Hewett early last year. Hewett
asserted Messer had released sensi
tive information about the death of
a county resident to the press,
before the deceased’s family was
notified.
If no others file to fun for sheriff,
the winner of the Democratic pri
mary will face Republican Mike
Allen, 48, of Leland, the only GOP
candidate to seek the post of high
est law enforcement officer in the
county.
Hewett goes into the election
well-armed. He reportedly has
amassed a campaign war chest in
excess of $46,000. Hewett spent
over $70,000 to win election in
1994, upon the retirement of for
mer Democratic sheriff John Carr
Davis.
Brunswick County voters will
elect candidates for U. S. House of
Representatives and U. S. Senate
this year and will elect one state
senator and two members of the
state House. Two county commis
sioners and two school board mem
bers are to be elected and a
Brunswick County clerk of
Superior Court will be elected.
Those wishing to file notice of
candidacy to seek election to any
federal, state or county office to be
decided this year have until noon,
February 2, to do so. Primary elec
tion has been scheduled May 5.
Should run-off primary elections —
necessary when no candidate
emerges from a primary contest
with 40 percent of the popular vote
— become necessary, they will be
held June 2.
In Other races in or affecting
Brunswick County:
■ E. David Redwine, 50, of
Ocean Isle Beach and Dewey Hill,
72, of Whiteville, both Democrats,
are at this time unchallenged in
their bids for nomination to suc
ceed themselves as members of the
N. C. House of Representatives
from the 14th District. The Pilot in
recent weeks inadvertently reported
a primary challenge to the two, but
the candidate identified lives out
side the 14th House District.
Republican Shirley Babson, 56, of
Bolivia is the only GOP candidate
in the race for one of the district’s
two House seats at this time.
Veteran Democrat R. C. Soles of
Tabor City is the only announced
candidate of either party seeking
election to the N. C. Senate from
its 18th District.
■ Incumbent Democratic clerk of
court Diana Morgarj# 45, of Long
See Filing, page 5
Free tax help offered through AARP
Free income tax assistance will be available
for Brunswick County low-income and elder
ly residents starting Monday, February 2,
through the Tax-Aide Program of the
American Association of Retired Persons
(AARP)- ...
There are volunteer counselors, trained in
cooperation with the' Internal Revenue
Service, providing counseling service and
assistance at the following times, dates and
locations:
■ Southport — Library, 109 West Moore
Street, Wednesdays and Fridays, February 4
through April 15, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
■ Oak Island — Barbee Library, 818
Yaupon Drive, Mondays and Fridays, •
February 2 through April 13, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
■ Leland - Library, 487 Village Road,
Mondays and Thursdays, February 2 through
April 13, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
■ ShalloUe - Rourk Library, 5068 Main
Street, Monday. Tuesdays and Fridays,
February 2 through April 14, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
■ Supply Brunswick Community
College Interagency Building, Tuesdays,
February 3 through April 14, 9 a. m. to noon
by appointment only. Persons should call
Nancy McCrary at 754-6900, extension 400,
to make an appointment.
Lois Beddurd .coordinator for the tax pro
gram, said the service is designed to help
older persons understand income tax forms
and become familiar with special benefits
available to them.
"Our counselors, many of whom are retired
business people with considerable experience
in tax matters, are trained to prepare returns
for older taxpayers," Mrs. Beddard said. "Our
counselors will provide assistance to suit
See Tax help, page 10.
What’s inside
Obituaries 6
Police report 8
Business 9
Calendar 2B
Schools 5B
Church 7B
TV schedule 4C
District Court 6C
Classifieds 7C
\
Photo by Jim Harper
Four Brunswick Learning Center students were carried to Dosher Memorial Hospital on stretchers last
Wednesday after their homeward-bound bus was rammed by an auto on Highway 87-133 at Bethel Church
Road. All were examined for back and neck pain and released.
Dosher invites
local financing
for new facility
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
Rising interest rates within the state Division of Facility Services’ loan
pool have prompted Dosher Memorial Hospital trustees to seek proposals
from area financial institutions to fund construction of a $3.75-million, td
bed skilled nursing facility and dietary section.
Trustees Bill Sizemore, Gib Barbee and Bill Newnam excused themselves
from voting Monday night because of their association with local financial
institutions. The official board vote was unanimous.
A revised consthiction schedule calls for design documents to be ready for
bid by July, bids tovbe awarded and construction to begin in August, and
construction to be complete in December, 1999.
‘in about 22 months from now, we should have an operational facility and.
start generating some revenues,” said hospital administrator Edgar
Haywood.
Trustees last month hired the Charlotte architectural firm Wilkerson and
See Dosher, page 10
Hospital
finances
reported
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
Dosher Memorial Hospital
generated $13.2 million in rev
enue during the 1996-97 fiscal
year, including $12.7 million in
patient service revenue and
$504,350 in rent and other rev
enue, according to an audit
report presented hospital
trustees Monday.
Non-operating income includ
ed $665,017 generated by the
four-cent Smithville Township
property tax levy and a
$458,779 insurance gain on the
fire-damaged Hood Building.
The hospital purchased the
See Finances, page 10
Three-dav retreat
Solid waste
proposal tops
board agenda
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
A proposal to collect household
refuse from curbside at each and
every home in Brunswick County
will dominate the attention of coun
ty commissioners as they begin a
scheduled three-day retreat session
today (Wednesday).
Over the course of the next three
working days, county commission
ers have blocked off an hour for
representatives of each of the 18
municipalities in Brunswick
County to bring their questions and
concerns before the county govern
ing board. While a variety of con
cerns will be given air, it is solid
waste management which tops each
list.
Under terms of a proposal formu
lated by county commissioners’
chairman JoAnn Simmons and
commissioner David Sandifer with
representatives of Waste Industries
Inc., Brunswick County would pro
vide once-weekly curbside refuse
collection at every home in
Brunswick County — inciuding,
Towns and cities
already in the solid
waste management
business will either
cease their opera
tions or modify
them greatly, if
they sign-on to the
county plan
homes in municipalities.
Towns and cities already in the
solid waste management business ■
will either cease their operations or
modify them greatly, if they sign
on to the county plan. If municipal
ities choose not to sign-on to the
countywide program, they may
See Proposal, page 6
Southern schools
‘Year-round’
plan opposed
By Holly Edwards
Feature Editor
Opponents of a proposed year
round school calendar for elemen
tary and middle schools outnum
bered proponents at a public forum
held this week- at Southport
Elementary School.
Complaints about the proposed
year-round calendar were greeted by
rounds of applause from most of the
100 parents who attended the forum.
Some parents said they didn’t want
their children riding a school bus
during tourist season, others said
they didn’t have enough evidence to
support the notion that year-round
schools improve student perfor
mance, and some said it would be
difficult to plan vacations if another
child in the family was on the tradi
tional school calendar.
The calendar would shorten sum
mer vacation from ten to five weeks
but include a three-week break after
each nine-week instructional period.
This year, summer vacation would
be shortened by only two weeks
because of a revised traditional cal
‘You chose teach
ing as a profession,
and reducing burn
out is why you get
weekends off.
Some of us parents
don’t even get
that.’
Carol Causey
endar.
“I’m one of six teachers at South
Brunswick High who will have the
opposite schedule of their children
in elementary school,” said Jill
Jones. “You’re messing with my
time with my kids, and that upsets
me greatly. I have a child with
See Year-round, page 10
NEWS on the NET: www.southport.net