Keeping pace
South Brunswk c’s cross-coun
try team has made great strides
in its first season - 1,C
November it, f 999/50 cents i
Volume 69, Number 12
Phone 910-457-4568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot @ south^ua.net
Im..? im 1 —V**-. >. - ■
Published every Wednesday in Southport, N. C.
Lawson
top county
principal
By Diana D’Abruzzo
Staff Writer
Knock on Rick Lawson’s door at
South Bmnswick Middle School, and
if you’re a teacher touting a sure-fire
way to better your classroom, you’ll be
greeted with a familiar refrain.
“The answer is ‘yes,’” the principal
will say. “If it’s good for the kids and
not against the rules, why haven’t you
done it already?”
Lawson’s acceptance of all things
innovative and exciting into the class
rooms of his middle school has led to
accolades and awards for his students
and teachers.
And now for him.
Last week, Lawson was named
Brunswick County’s principal of the
year — a title that his teachers say fits
him well and comes on the heels of a
state award proclaiming the school the
most innovative in North Carolina.
Lawson insists that all the good news
coming from his school is the direct
result of that open-door policy where
teachers are encouraged to pursue their
ideas and watch them come to life.
“When you have a chance to see a
teacher’s dream come true, wonderful
things happen for children,” Lawson
said, citing the award-winning physical
education, technology and arts pro
grams. “Every one of these things has
been a teacher’s dream.”
With all the laurels bestowed upon
■ See Principal, page 8
Regional
sewer plan
has appeal
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Nearly two years into a moratorium
on permitting large subdivisions and
advised they will need to create up to
2.5 million gallons of new daily waste
water treatment capacity to serve 20
year city needs, Southport aldermen
may now be more inclined to join with
Brunswick County and municipal part
ners to establish a regional wastewater
management system.
Aldennan Paul Fisher last Wednes
day night advanced that possibility, say
ing he had met with county officials
who are planning the establishment of
three separate wastewater management
regions in Brunswick County.
“The system looks like it is going to
be a reality now," Fisher said. He rec
ommended the board conduct a
December workshop session to further
explore Southport's possible involve
ment in a regional wastewater manage
ment effort.
“We’ve got to determine if we are
See Regional, page 7
Early
m
■
Next week’s edition of The
Slate Port Pilot will be published
a day early, on Tuesday — a holi
day tradition of our own.
'&■- The early schedule will allow i
distribution to vendors, and mail
delivery to many subscribers,
I before the Thanksgiving holiday.
If ; Deadline for real estate adver
| tjsing (noon Friday) and classi
fied advertising (2 p.m. Monday)
remain the same. Deadline for
; news and display advertising
material to be included in next
•M
week’s edition will he noon.,
Monday.
••
at" '
SBMS tops the state
‘Entrepreneurial school of the year’
By Diana D’Abruzzo
Staff Writer _
Students at South Brunswick Middle School were greeted
Monday with a crackling message on the morning announce
ments, welcoming them to “the best school in North Carolina”
It was no glorified pat on the back.
Last Friday, the school was honored by Gov. Jim Hunt as the
Entrepreneurial School of the Year — the best in North
Carolina
“When Gov. Hunt made the statement that in 2010 he wants
North Carolina to be first in America and he wants all schools
to look like ours, well, that’s a profound statement to make to
the people of Brunswick County," said Rick Lawson! principal
of South Brunswick Middle School.
Forty-eight students, parents, faculty and administrators from
Brunswrck County gathered in Carv to accept the award, given
to the school for its “compassionate and innovative approach
es to improving education."
More than 100 schools across the state applied for the
Governor’s Entrepreneurial Schools Award, and South
Brunswick Middle School was one of seven finalists. All final
ists were honored at the banquet Friday night, but it was South
Brunswick that came away with the top honor,
“These exceptional schools go above and beyond teaching
See School, page 9
South Brunswick Middle School principal Rick Lawson (left) and Gov.
Jim Hunt celebrate with students and faculty Friday night after the
school was named the most innovative in North Carolina.
Photo bv Jim Harper
Check-in of the U. S. Open catch proved again to be a popular spectator sport over the weekend, and some
onlookers early Saturday afternoon got to see a new tournament-record 52.45-pounder come ashore.
New ‘Open’ record set
By Jim Harper
Staff Writer
The U. S. Open King Mackerel Tournament entered
its third decade with a weather-hampered field but a
record-setting catch Saturday.
Only 282 boats fished the 21-year-old event but a
new tournament mark was set by Joe Winslow and
David Haynes aboard the Hooligan — a 52.45-pound
fish that bettered the six-year-old record by .05 pounds.
Their earnings with the catch totaled 345,980,
adding to an already impressive list of victories for the
Little River, S. C., team this fall. •
More drama was added to the event with a tie for the
next largest fish — with the decision going to the one
which reached the dock first
Second place was awarded to the Man-O-War team
led by Rick Nifong, who boated a 43.8-pound fish near
Frying Pan Tower and weighed it in at 1:36 p.m.
Saturday.
Jerry Dilsaver on the Carolina Adventure logged a
See Record, page 19
RESCUE nr SEA
— ■ HI—
Tournament fishermen Jerry Gainey and Fred Sherer
were all smiles Monday night as they greeted family
and friends alter a two-day drift in stormy waters off
Cape Fear. The story of their rescue by the Coast
Guard is on page 19.
m
Beachprojects
INI's flveat
couSd strand
consortium
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Breaking, ranks with the othei
Brunswick County beach comnumittc
it had called partners, the Village o
Bald Head Island has threatened to sir
die U. S. Army Corps of .Engineers if i
is not provided the first 2.5 millioi
cubic yards of sand dredged from thi
Wilmington Harbor Project.
The quantity of sand the village now
demands is two and a halftimes what i
would receive under a Section 933 plan
by which the federal government would
help pay to spread sand on four area
beaches, including Bald Head Island.
Caswell Beach. Oak Island and Holden
Beach would be left to share about 2.3
million cubic yards of sand if Bald
Head Island prevails.
Under terms of a sand distribution
plan advanced by the corps two weeks
ago. Bald Head Island was to receive
one million cubic yards of sand from
the project to deepen and widen the
Cape Fear River shipping channel at no
cost. Another 1.55 million cubic yards
was to be shared by Caswell Beach and
eastern Oak Island at no cost. Western
Oak Island and Holden Beach were to
share costs to place 1.59 million cubic
‘I am quite con
‘ cemed about the
; overall appearance
here about Bald
Head Island being an
equal member...
then choosing to go
off on their own Lind
do something differ
ent.’
Harry Simmons
BBC chairman
yards and 660.000 cubic yards of sand
on their beaches, respectively.
Bald Head Island’s surprise move,
outlined in a letter from the town's
See Beach sand, page 6
Oak Island
Deck rebuilding
guidelines noted
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Oceanfront homeowners got sonic
solid direction for the repair and
replacement of decks and steps
Thursday.
In special session, Oak Island Town
Council enacted an ordinance estab
lishing rules for repair and replacement
of decks, steps and walkways over the
dune structure now under repair. The
ordinance directs the repairing and
replacing of steps, walkways and decks
under four separate conditions.
The good news for oceanfront own
ers is that crosswalks can be repaired
and replaced in many circumstances
and may extend to the public beach
from each oceanfront cottage.
Confusing direction from state officials
led town officials at one time to specu
late steps may not be permitted to land
on the beach under any circumstances.
Until now, oceanfront owners had been
told steps may not be built seaward;
they may only extend east, west or
north.
The caveat is this: “All oceanfront
walkways and steps constructed after
November 10. 1999, in the public trust
area are considered temporary and sub
ject to removal."
The only other general provision of
the ordinance holds that steps shall not
interfere with an adjacent property
owner’s steps in any way or “extend
past the riparian line on the seaward
side of the dune.”
The four conditions and the actions
the ordinance directs are:
■ Condition: House habitable, deck,
walkway and steps are less than 50 per
cent damaged and a dune is present.
Direction: The owner may repair deck,
walkway, steps as before, with steps
landing preferably south as close to the
See Rebuilding, page 8