Augustl2, 1998
THE STATE PORT
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Phone 910-457-4568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot@southport.net
Volume 67, Number 51
50 cents
Dune lines i
Volunteers are busy prott .ji- j:
the beach, and sea turtles hJr-.' ‘
Prep drills i ;
South Brunswick, other
tuning up for the Jambo !
- — • r,
Published every Wednesi
Habitat
at home
in county
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
"A hand up, not a hand out."
Providing that "hand up" is the
work of Habitat for Humanity
International. And, that work con
tinues on Oak Island today through
the efforts of Brunswick County
Habitat for Humanity, one of 42
Habitat affiliates in North Carolina.
The county organization is support
ed locally by Southport-Oak Island
Interchurch Fellowship, which fills
the role of Covenant Church, pro
viding prayer, volunteer and finan
cial support for Habitat's work.
With two homes in southwestern
Brunswick County under its belt,
Brunswick County Habitat for
Humanity last week broke ground
on a new home construction project
in Long Beach. The group plans to
construct a nearly 1,100-square-foot
home on NW 21st Street for a
young couple in their 30s with a
new baby.
Though footings have been dug
and the home's foundation is set to
pour, construction contractor Billy
Soots hopes to begin building in
earnest Labor Day weekend. With a
large and eager volunteer crew, he
expects the job to move rapidly.
"I think it's a good idea to do this
J over Labor Day weekend." Soots
’ V. said. "W'e'll have Thursday. Friday.
/ Saturday and maybe a half-day
^ unday. We should have the thing
Jried-in."
V Construction of the young fami
ly's new one-story, three-bedroom,
11/2-bath home caps an already
exhaustive effort to select eligible
Habitat partners to own the home.
The family which will receive the
Long Beach home has agreed to
invest 300 hours of "sweat equity”
helping to build this home, or others
for Brunswick County Habitat.
"This is not a give-away program.
They have a job to do," said Jack
Hancox, a member of the
Southport-Oak Island Interchurch
Fellowship and board member of
the county Habitat for Humanity
affiliate.
The couple qualified to build and
own the Habitat home by filing a
formal written application, listing
income and expenses.
"Then we do a credit check and a
police check and check references
See Habitat, page 12
Beating
suspect
arrested
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
As a 75-year-old Yaupon
Beach man clung to life in New
Hanover Regional Medical
Center early Tuesday morning,
the young man he considered a
grandson was arrested in Horry
County, SC, and charged with
his near-fatal beating a week
earlier.
Raymond Lloyd Gamble, 20,
who shared a home at 311
Norton Street with his victim,
Robert Moeller, was arrested by
Horry County authorities about
2 a.m. Tuesday. Police there
said a shot was Bred and the
wanted man fled into woods
near Longs, SC, where he had
allegedly holed-up at the home
of a friend.
Yaupon Beach police sergeant
See Beating, page 14
CHILLING OUT
Photo by Jim Harper
Players at South Brunswick High School football practice this past week learned about blocking,
tackling, running, passing and the blessed relief of a cold shot of water on the back of the neck.
Kickoff time for the Cougars is the Jamboree on August 21.
Still time to register
7th District, Calabash
votes on special ballot
By Terry Pope
County Editor
A special election September 15 will choose the Democratic
candidate for the 7th Congressional District while voters in
Calabash will decide whether to keep Carolina Shores as part of
the town or become a separate municipality.
Incumbent congressman Mike McIntyre of Lumberton faces
Randy Crow of Wilmington in the Democratic primary delayed
since May while state legislators adjusted district lines for the
12th Congressional District in the central part of the state.
The new primary date was instituted by the N. C. Board of
Elections while the redistricting process was ongoing. However,
no precincts or county polling places were changed in Brunswick
County as a result. The county lies totally within the 7th District.
No Republicans filed for the 7th District seat won by McIntyre
two years ago following retirement of long-time congressman
See Elections, page 6
‘I’ve found that when
you have an election
like this, it usually gen
erates confusion. I’m
sure there will be some
who will be confused.’
Lynda Britt
Elections supervisor
Tuesday hearing
Sand mining
application
is opposed
By Terry Pope
County Editor
Carolina Power and Light Co.
officials have voiced their concern
about a proposed mining permit to
dig for sand near the Brunswick
Nuclear Plant's twin reactors and
transmission lines north of
Southport.
David Berry, attorney represent
ing CP&L from the firm Smith,
Anderson and Blount, told the
North Carolina Mining
Commission Tuesday the company
remains concerned about the pro
posed sand pit off Sunny Point
access road. A public hearing was
held at Bolivia on a permit filed by
Polote Construction Co. to dig for
dirt on the Swain tract to be used to
build buffers at the Sunny Point
ammunitions depot.
The tract is located in the area
north of where Bell Construction
Co. was stopped from digging last
year after state officials learned the
depth had reached below accept
able levels and into the Castle
Hayne aquifer. Polote Construction
was awarded the contract by the U.
S. Army Corps of Engineers to fin
ish the job.
"This is not for mining per se, but
for a plain, old borrow pit." said
Southport attorney Grover Gore,
who represents the Swain family.
“It is not so that sand can be sold to
the general public. It is for the sole
purpose of this one project. That's
all."
Gore said CP&L owns no proper
ty adjacent to the Swain tract and
See Mining, page 6
Percentage of tax
School board,
commissioners
formalize pact
By Terry Pope
County Editor
A school spending plan agreed to
by educators and county commis
sioners last month has been formal
ly signed and accepted by both par
ties.
It comes at a time when school
officials are ecstatic about the 1997
98 end-of-grade state test scores
which ranked all but one of the
county schools as exemplary based
on higher-than-expected student
achievement.
During budget deliberations in
June, the Brunswick County Board
of Education and county commis
sioners reached an agreement to set
aside a specific amount of the coun
ty's tax levy for the next two fiscal
years for school use.
"This continues that agreement.”
said county attorney Huey Marshall,
as commissioners signed the deal
last week.
The agreement includes the fol
lowing:
■ Commissioners will appropriate
36.5 percent of the tax levy for
1998-99 and 1999-2000 to the board
of education.
■ The 36.5 percent will be deter
mined based on actual taxes levied
and collected for that fiscal year.
The county tax rate is 68.5 cents per
$100 of property assessed based on
an anticipated $6.15-billion valua
tion.
■ Schools will receive 35 percent
of all 1997-98 fiscal year taxes col
lected during that year. The money
over-collected this year from the
past 1997 ad valorem tax levy will
be placed in a special school reserve
fund. This will set aside some work
ing capital to pull from.
■ Both parties agree to implement
ways to help reduce costs.
■ Both the county and schools
will coordinate all Category 1 capi
tal outlay needs with the county's
needs for capital improvement, tak
ing into consideration the half-cent
sales tax and. public school building
See School, page 8
New Brunswick VP Keenan
Challenge has changed at CP&L
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Describing his challenge as new vice-president
of Carolina Power and Light Co.’s Brunswick
Nuclear Plant, Jack Keenan alternately heaps
praise on managers who preceded him at
Brunswick and lauds the workforce which has
transformed the facility from one on the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission’s perpetual watch list to
one of exemplary performance.
Though stingy with words about himself, the
observations he shares ol his predecessors and
contemporaries paint a portrait of a manager who
will rely heavily on a well-trained body of
employees to move Brunswick Nuclear Plant into
an era of substantial change in the power industry.
“This plant has been a reasonable plant for a
period of time,” Keenan noted this week. “During
a period of time when the industry was not watch
ing itself closely, it did not live up to its potential.
Since then it has had the leadership to become a
leader."
With about three weeks at the helm of
Brunswick, Keenan plans to continue a pattern of
leadership that will allow Brunswick Nuclear
Plant to remain a leader in nuclear power produc
tion.
Keenan comes to Brunswick from CP&L’s
Robinson Nuclear Plant at Hartsville. SC. He
joined the company's Robinson team in 1995 as
director of site operations and was promoted “to
See Challenge, page 9
INSIDE
Opinion 4
Police repot t 13
Obituaries 16 ,
Business 17
District Coi rt 18
Public notic es 6B
Calendar 7B
NASCAR 9B
TV schedule 6C
Classifieds </8C
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