o..<* ^ .• 1/i ,y Good stretch South Brunswick's unbeaten streak ends short of North / Carolina soccer ■dV>.v . Volume 69, Number 11 Phone 910-4574568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot@soutlipoii.nci hi- • November 10; 1999/50 center Published'every Wednesday in Southport, N. C. i' i 4 King event opens By Richard Nubd Staff Writer Odds of winning the 1999 U. S. Open King Mackerel Tournament this weekend may be better than they've ever been since the fund-raiser for the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce began 21 years ago. Postponed from its traditional first weekend-in-October spot on the tour nament fishing calendar by Hurricane Floyd's untimely visit to Southport Oak Island September 15-16, U. S. Open organizers expect a smaller field of boats to compete this year. “Preregistration is definitely off,” chamber executive vice-president Karen Sphar said Monday. “We did offer a full refund if anyone couldn’t rearrange his schedule. A lot took advantage of the refund.” But, the U. S. Open will go on. Any thought of canceling the tournament in this difficult and trying year for the Southport-Oak Island community was quickly rejected By chairman Kim Skipper Anderson and her committee. “The committee felt for everyone in the community to get back to normal after the hurricane, we could not cancel the tournament." Ms. Sphar said. “For reasons of Uudition and for the tries- ■ sage such a move would send to peo ple outside the community, we could not cancel.” With the U. S. Open’s $100,000 all cash prize structure guaranteed, the prospect of a small registration puts the chamber at some considerable risk this year. The $25,000 first prize and 55 other cash prizes will be awarded regardless of,the number of entry'fees paid. While that increases each fisher man’s chance of taking home a pile of cash, it also may send the chamber to its pocket. “We have a guaranteed prize struc ture,” Ms. Sphar said, estimating 465 tournament entries would be needed to cover prizes and other fixed tourna ment expenses. “We are taking a huge risk in going See U. S. Open, page 10 COLORFUL HISTORY Photo bv Jim Harper A brilliant glimpse of the past was presented to area students Friday at the annual Powwow at Brunswick Town. Dancers, handcrafters, musicians and storytellers stretched imaginations back to the primitive times and ways of Native Americans. St. James fine is pending Coalition contests wetlands authority By Terry Pope Staff Writer State officials say a lawsuit filed in Wake County Superior Court last week won’t deter their effort to protect wetlands and to prohibit any. associated ditch ing and draining. Filed on behalf of a coalition of developers, industry and fanners, the suit contends the state lacks any authority to protect wetlands from ditching and drain ing. Petitioners include the N. C. Homebuilders Association, N. C. Citizens for Business and Industry, N. C. Aggregates Association, N. C. Farm Bureau Federation and two coastal developers. The suit comes in response to a recent Environ mental Management Commission ruling that rein forces support for the state’s authority, which has also been put to the test locally by area developers. In April, stale environmental regulators levied $167,454 in fines and requested that developers of property adjacent to St. James Plantation near South port restore wetlands and other areas drained during construction there. The Division of Water Quality cited developers of two tracts for stormwater permit and turbidity violations while the Division of Land Resources cited the same developers for failing to sub See Wetlands, page 7 Oak Island v Beachfront repairs okay, as law allows By Richard Nuhel Staff Writer . Oak Island's beachfront cannot be re built to prc-luirricane status, but what ever oeeanfront property owners are privileged to do under state law. they may begin to do now. ■ All remaining restrictions on access to Beach Drive were eliminated Tues day when the section between 11th Place. East and Middleton Street was reopened. ■ Oak Island inspections department is now issuing repair permits for (.Kean front homes. ■ N. C. Division of Coastal Manage ment (DCM) has granted Oak Island's appeal of the first line of vegetation it set day* after Hurricane Floyd passed, allowing adequate room along the beachfront for utility lines, a bicycle path and other public infrastructure. ‘Tire oeeanfront is available for peo ple to get to work:” Oak Island co mayor Joan Altman said Tuesday. 'The / ,, 'iee Beachfront, page 10 ‘We question whether or not DCM’s reaction to this storm event, in moving the first line of vegetation so dramatically, is con sistent with what was done in other communities....’ Joan Altman Long Beach mayor essentially the same ouncil adopts mainland zones By Richard Nubel Staff Writer Zoning classifications in the newly annexed 5(X) mainland acres of Oak Island will he virtually the same as when land use classifications there were assigned by Southeast Brunswick Sanitary District. Oak Island Town Council Tuesday night amended the Yaupon Beach zon ing ordinance to include the new main land section along Long Beach,Road. Fish Factory Road and Airport Road. Both the Long Beach and Yaupon Beach zoning ordinances rue now in effect for Oak Island as the town's planning hoard works to consolidate the two document^, town planner Don Eggert said. Yaupon Beach and Long Beach consolidated as Oak Island on See Mainland, page 12 New logo Everything from stationery to police cars will bear the new, official Oak Island seal. Page 6 Learning center Schools seek waiver of attendance policy By Diana D’Abruzzo Staff Writer Students who attend Brunswick Learning Center shouldn’t have to worry about how the classroom time they have missed due to pregnancy or suspension will affect their ability to pass a course. That’s what school officials in Brunswick County are arguing in a request to the state that would allow the school to award a unit of course credit based on mastery of the subject, not how much time is spent in the classroom. •‘By the time we get many of our stu dents. they have already missed more than the six days allowed,” said Bob Rhyne, principal of Brunswick Learning Center. “It's very difficult for children to come here with 15 absences; knowing they can’t pass — they have no motiva tion to do good.” The waiver request was approved Monday night by the Brunswick County Board of Education and will be sent to the state for consideration. In schools across the state, students must spend at least 84 periods in the classroom. Alter six absences at the high school level, the student cannot receive • credit for the course no matter what his or her final grade. But at Brunswick Learning Center, ' where students often are transferred after being suspended for ten days from their last school, there needs to be some flexi See Policy, page 8 Photo In Jim Harper Walkers in the annual CROP Walk raised over $10,300 Sunday, over 25 percent of which will stay in the community with the ivst distributed by the nondenominational Church World Service. The CROP Walk is organized locally by the Southport-Oak Island Interchurch Fellowship. Airport receives $2.5 mil i Bv.Diana D’Abruzzo Staff Writer . : Long-awaited plans for Bruriswick County Airport to have its runway extended are finally taking flight, as more than $2.5 million in feder al fends have been approved for the project. The N. C. Department of Aviation's Aeronau tics Council approved the request at its monthly meeting. Brunswick County will post a ten-per cent match of funding, bumping the seed money for the runway extension to $2,875,000. “These much-needed funds will be a huge help in expanding and improving the Brunswick See Airport, page 14

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