Season finale
South BrunswicJ,
Fairmont Friday’
. .. . ...... Jigjiga
Wheels were
heads at Vehicle
Published e1
o- o «■
»T *
;V)au *
1 jpra>- *
■ > -J o
•nto, - »
13 ' 3 f j *
03 *
*
OfOHM *
■ 11.0 I r 3
:,‘.i
to. fa •
?j;: in Southport, NC
November 4, 1998
* ' ■
Phone 910-457-4568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot@southport.net Volume 68, Number 11
50 cents
Oak Island
Bridge
decision
possible
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
A meeting of the minds on where to
site a corridor to a second Oak Island
bridge may come as soon as next
Thursday.
“It is conceivable we could reach
consensus at this meeting,” said Gail
Grimes, an engineer with the
Planning and Environmental Branch
of N. C. Department of Transporta
tion. “We have updated land suitabili
ty and aerial photography. We could
reach agreement.”
An agreement on a path for the road
to a second Oak Island bridge would
end a tremendously frustrating phase
of proposed bridge development
which began in early 1997 when DOT
released its first corridor preferences.
Critical decisions apparently were
delayed by political shakeups on the
N. C. Board of Transportation and
possibly even by local political squab
bling.
The November 12 meeting in
Raleigh at which agreement may
come is one of many interagency
meetings DOT holds routinely with
T "" representatives of some 17 or more
environmental agencies asked to com
ment on NCDOT projects. At this
interagency meeting, DOT’s planning
and environmental branch will pre
sent updated information, gathered to
address concerns the review agencies
expressed earlier this year over a
DOT preliminary decision to select
one of three corridor alternatives link
ing, in direct fashion, a proposed
bridge at Middleton Street to the
mainland opposite it with the N. C.
211 and Midway Road area.
Transportation engineers involved
say data collected recently advances
the argument for a road corridor from
Midway Road to Middleton Street
and a Sunset Harbor Road alternative
does not address the real transporta
tion needs of the people of Oak Island
and Brunswick County. Long Beach
mayor Joan Altman and Brunswick
County commissioners’ chairman
JoAnn Bellamy Simmons have been
invited to the interagency meeting to
present a local perspective on the pro
posed bridge project.
DOT presented three Middleton-to
Midway corridor alternatives in a
February 10, 1997, report which con
tained an environmental assessment
of five route alternatives. Two other
western alternatives, which would
See Bridge, page 7
ON THE AIR
From a news van to a fire
truck, students at
Southport Elementary
School saw it all Thursday dur
ing Career Vehicle Day. These
students gave televisipn journal
ism a try and seemed like natu
rals, but if they didn’t like it
there were no strings attached.
They could just move on to th&
next demonstration. (Photos by
Laura Kimball)
More on Career Vehicle Day
Page IB
Brunswic
CO. 1-)
'J -> :>
tion
Voters back
incumbents
By Terry Pope
County Editor
Incumbents won.
That’s the big news from Brunswick
County elections Tuesday.
But the margin of victory in some races
was about as tight as local political lead
ers can recall.
District 1 incumbent Brunswick
County commissioner Don Warren of
Ocean Isle Beach defeated Republican
challenger Debbie Rupp, also of Ocean
Isle Beach, by less than one percent with
unofficial totals at 9,468 to 9,313.
District 2 incumbent commissioner
David Sandifer of Holden Beach trailed
through the first 16 of 23 precincts
reporting but pulled out a win in similar
fashion over Democratic challenger
Allan Dameron of Holden Beach, 9,294
to 9,145, unofficially.
It means political control of the five
member Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners will not change as
Democrats retain three of the seats and
two seats stay in Republican hands.
The race for sheriff wasn’t as close.
Democrat incumbent Ronald HeWett eas
ily won reelection over Republican chal
lenger and former deputy Robert (Mike)
Allen of Leland, 13*653 to 5,627. Hewett,
who was elected to his first term in 1994,
Will serve another four-year term and
swept in with 70.8 percent of the vote.
Now back to the close races.
District 3 school board member
William D.. (Billy) Carter of Yaupon
Beach survived the closest race of the
night in narrowly fighting off a challenge
from Republican Patricia (Patt) Carney,
9,365 to 9,259. Carney, of Southport, a
See Election, page 7
ELECTION
RESULTS
State House
Hill (D) 8971
Redwine (D) 10619
Babson (R) 7769
Quinn (R) ‘ 7419
Sheriff
Hewett (D) 13653
Allen (R) 5627
Commissioner
District 1
Warren (D) 9468
Rupp (R) 9313
District 2
Dameron (D) 9145
Sandifer (R) 9294
School board
District 3
Carter (D) 9365
Carney (R) 9259
District 5
Browning (D) 10472
Bright (R) 8064
Clerk of Court
Morgan (D) 11338
Hardee (R) 7289
Precinct-by-precinct, page 6
Modular homes build
as Lakes controversy
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Prospects for easing current restrictions on placement of modular homes in the
city have rumors running rampant through Boiling Spring Lakes and the issue has
exposed a big rift in the city's board of commissioners.
Though a public workshop session to be facilitated by former mayor Mark
Stewart was scheduled for next Monday night at City Hall, commissioner Jack
Redmond Tuesday night broke ranks with fellow commissioners and said he
See Modular, page 7
i RusseU to be reassigned
1 New ferry will serve Southport-Fort Fisher run
The motor vessel Southport will
get a new sailing partner with which
to split duties on the Southport-Fort
Fisher Ferry run.
The U. S. Congress last week
adopted a spending bill which
included $2 million for the N. C.
Department of Transportation to
have a new ferry built for the route
connecting major transportation
arteries in Brunswick and New
Hanover counties on opposite sides
of the Cape Fear River.
The State of North Carolina is
expected to pick up the $3-million
balance for construction of a mod
em, 180-foot river class ferry boat
which will replace the M/V
Governor Daniel Russell, the ferry
now on the Southport-Fort Fisher
line which was named for the only
governor of the state native to
Brunswick County. The Russell will
The M/V Southport will be joined by a similar vessel, replacing the M/V Governor Daniel Russell on the Southport-Fort Fisher route.
be relocated to the NCDOT
Division of Ferries operation.
The new Cape Fear River ferry is
expected to be ready for service
about one year after contract for its
purchase is awarded. The Southport
Fort Fisher Ferry Line last year
transported about 400,000 persons
and 130,000 vehicles across the
river. Ferry traffic in recent years
has been targeted by downtown
Southport merchants as an impor
tant market on which to capitalize.
Ferry traffic this year is expected to
exceed last year’s record level.
Seventh District U. S. congress
man Mike McIntyre announced the
federal appropriation last week.
‘This is welcome news for resi
dents and visitors of the Cape Fear
region,” McIntyre said. “The North
Carolina ferry system is a vital link
to the transportation heeds of our
coastal area and this new ferry will
be a great complement to the state’s
system.”
The M/V Southport was added to
the Southport-Fort Fisher line as a
new vessel only a few years ago.
When plans for its purchase were
announced, great local interest was
shown in selection of the new ves
sel’s name. Southport aldermen
quickly fired off a resolution to
NCDOT requesting the name M/V
Southport a,id a considerable cam
paign on behalf of that name was
waged.
State transportation officials say
they will talk to public officials in
the Cape Fear region before naming
the new vessel.
The two ferries on the Southport
Fort Fisher line leave from berths on
opposite sides of the Cape Fear Jt
River every 45 minutes May '■£;
through October. ffi
NEWS on the NET: www.southport.net1