April 14, 1999 THE STATE PORT Phone 910-457-4568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot@southport«net Volume 68. Number 34 Volunte Dosher volunl money to mo: Ligntho Runners keep Oak Island ter 50 cents 'o:3. ;JO W •• i • '-•Jr-. Publishei i jday in Southport, NC . Stanley gets state road post | By Richard Nubel 0 Staff Writer I' More than a year after the post became vacant, Brunswick County and southeastern North Carolina got a new representative to the N. C, Board of Transportation with the appointment this week of Joe Stanley. Stanley, 47, a long-time Democratic party activist and owner of two Shallotte businesses, was appointed to serve N. C. Transportation District III •— Brunswick, New Hanover, Sampson, Pender, Duplin and Onslow counties. He was sworn to office Friday, the second day of the trans portation board’s two-day, semi mummy IHCCl ing in Raleigh. The speed with which his appointment was announced and consum mated this week SlUUIltU STANLEY Stanley himself. “I never actively pursued the appoint ment.” Stanley said early this week. “(N. C. Rep.) David Redwine ask me about it a couple of times and I told him there was no problem if he wanted to consider (recommending) me.” A gubernatorial assistant informed Stanley of his selection in a Wednesday telephone call and the owner of Joe’s Photography and partner in Joe and Moe's Auto Service was off to Raleigh the next day. “I did get to meet the governor,” Stanley said. “The whole board met at the Governor’s Mansion for breakfast and I had a chance to talk to him.” The District III seat on the Board of Transportation has remained vacant since November, 1997, when Odell Williamson of Ocean Isle Beach was forced to resign. Gov. Hunt demanded Williamson’s resignation the day the Raleigh News and Observer broke a See Stanley, page 6 BIRD IN THE HAND IMioto In Jim Harper On Sunday afternoon Irene Dixon enjoyed the laughing gulls in Waterfront Park and the gulls enjoyed the food she had brought them from South Carolina. Gulls, ibises, egrets and herons combine to make these exciting bird watching times in Southport ‘You’re not going to get it.’ SBSD commissioner asked for resignation By Richard Nubel Staff Writer Twice Monday morning. Southeast Brunswick Sanitary' District commissioner Lucille Laster refused calls for her resignation from the district's governing board. A motion by commissioner Ginger Harper by which the board itself would ask for Laster’s resignation fell 3-2, when only she and district chairman Gene Formy-Duval cast votes in favor of it. Commissioners James W. (Bubba) Smith and Charles Welling sup ported Laster. Formy-Duval said he would take up the matter of Laster’s continued service to the board with SBSD attorney James R. Prevatte and with officials of the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office. USDA is the primary funder of the district's wastewater nnmagement project. The calls for Laster’s resignation came aliei Formy Duval alleged her conflict of interest and after Ms. Laster’s husband — Bill Laster, owner of Oak Island Landscaping — sought payment of over $5,800 he See Resignation, page 12 Drain! ;hes St James digs, is fined; says it will comply By Terry Pope Staff Writer State environmental regulators have levied $! 67.454 in fines and requested that developers of property adjacent to St. James Plantation restore wetlands and other areas drained during recent construction. Hie Division of Water Quality cited developers of two tracts for stormwater permit and turbidity violations while the Division of Land Resources cited these same developers for tailing to submit erosion control plans and for failing to keep off-site sedimentation from draining into surrounding creeks. "Ditches were dug in unapproved areas, erosion control plans were not followed and too much sediment got into surface waters." said Tommy Stevens, director of the Division of Water Quality. Stevens said the ditching at St. James caused significant increase in down ‘The landowners are currently review ing the enforcement actions and will respond at a future date.’ John Atkinson St. James president stream turbidity and that run-off had threatened Beaverdam Creek, which is designated as a primary nursery area and is classified as high quality waters. St. James Development Co. was See St James, page 10 Along N. C. 211 City will look at annexation By Kiduird Nubel Stall’Writer Facing four annexation requests Thursday night and the prospect of many more to come, Southport aider men said the city needs to take a more comprehensive approach to annexa tion, particularly along the N. C. 211 commercial corridor between city lim its and the Carolina Power and Light Co. canal. At the board's direction a city task force, formed after the Wal-Mart annexation to advise aldermen on commercial zoning matters, will be asked to recommend annexation policy to the board. The board said it may be bad policy to pursue further annexation of hon-contiguous properties, a practice known as satellite annexation. “This would be worse than satellite annexation; it would be satellite checkerboard annexation." alderman Nelson Adams said of a proposal to ‘If there is agree ment out there, we can do better than the checkerboard style now.’ Nelson Adams Ward II alderman annex a smaller-than-one-acre parcel on which the Party Time store is locat ed on N. C. 211 north of the city. But. alderman did eventually adopt an ordinance of annexation for that property on a 5-1 vote. Aldermen also set for July a public hearing on a request See Annexation, page 12 1 Caswell Beach may hire consultant on sewer plan By Richard Nubel Staff Writer A wastewater study committee is publicly withhold ing the name of the consulting engineering firm it will recommend Caswell Beach commissioners hire, but the firm will do a good deal of work for the $12,000 the committee says it has asked. "We decided as a committee that this is a recommen dation and any announcement should come from the town,” wastewater committee chairman Jim Hinkhouse told those attending the monthly meeting of the Caswell Beach Board of Commissioners on Thursday. He said the committee recommended a $12,000 first-year expenditure on consulting engineering fees after inter viewing four firms that replied to the seven requests for proposals the committee issued. Essentially, the $12,000 will buy a preliminary engi neering report on development of a wastewater^collec tion system to ron the length o Caswell Beach Road from the N. C. Baptist Assembly to the Yaupon Beach ‘If you were really serious about a wastewater system in the Town of Caswell Beach, this is a good $12,000 expen diture.’ Jim Hinkhouse Committee member town line. The report will not focus at length on waste water treatment. Hie town will look to an outside enti ty — 1 ikely the Town of Oak Island or Brunswick See Caswell, page 8 Southport Maritime Museum Not quite smooth sailing By Laura Kimball Staff Writer ■ ■ • M The stormy situation at Southport Mari time Museum is beginning to clear. The board of directors of the museum, which includes exhibits ranging from arti facts from sunken ships and hurricanes to the history of the Lower Cape Fear region, recently informed the public that its days may be numbered due to lack of funds. The museum currently is supported by Brunswick County, City of Southport, pri vate donations, grants, souvenir sales and museum admission fees. Combined funds from the city and county for this fiscal year amount to $40,000; the annual operating cost of the museum is said to be over $90,000. The original concerns that if funds were not raised the museum would close in May have been quelled by a recent surge of donations, See Museum, page 6 Lois Gable (right) presents checks for $1,000 from Southport Lions Club and $300 from Pelican Post to Mary Strickland, director of Southport Maritime Museum. ■ NEWS on the NET: www.southport.net ■

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