Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Aug. 6, 1987, edition 1 / Page 4
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Opinion Page THE BRUNSWICKiBEACON KdwnnI >1. Suvatt niid Carolyn H. Swcalt Publishers Ktiwnrd M. Sucntt Kditor Susan l!sh.-r yinrs Editor Marjorio >lf|rivem Assuciato Editor '•‘Try Topi-. staJJ Writer Johnny (.raig Sports Editor (:hrislini* Kalh.u Office Munaffer C.i’r‘lin (forc* & Susan Barefoot. .Advertisinfi liepresentiitives Inniniir (>allo>vay & Uorothy Brennan Typesetters Bill >le(;owan Pressnum Hren.la Clemmons Photo Tevhniei.m Connie Sprinkle.. -Is.st.Hf/inf Pressmun (.lyile nnil Mattie Stout, Phoelie Clemmons ('.ircidtition Page 4-A Thursday, August 6.1987 Let's All Stop Blowin' Smoke Like most problems besetting modem life, there is no one simple solution to the recent smokescreen that blanketed much of Brunswick County. It was no minor matter. Highway accidents and severe breathing problems resulted from the aftermath of that con trolled burning whose smoke could not be absorbed in the at mosphere. Much finger-pointing is now going on, with the three paper companies in the area the favorite scapegoat. Citizens are organizing in protest, calling for action. It’s true that most controlled burning is done by F'ederal Paper, Georgia Pacific and International paper companies, who are not required by law to obtain burning permits, as is everyone else. But they’re not the only ones contributing to the smoke that hung around a couple of weeks ago, oppressive, pungent and a vacation spoiler. Developers burn in quantities, and so do farmers and other a.ssorted individuals. They are regulated in a rather loose fashion since Brunswick County was removed from the state’s “high hazard’’ list in 1982. High hazard counties require more stringent controls on any open burning, so the recent smokeout, caused by a Ber muda high pressure system and no wind, prompted calls for a return to the 16-county list labeled “high hazard.’’ That’s probably a good idea, because all county burners apparently need a heavier hand. Our removal from the list in ’82 was done in a peeve, according to the recollections of Ben ny Ludlum, a county commissioner at the time. “Paper companies could burn anytime, and citizens couldn’t,” he recalled. He is convinced, by the way, thai aforementioned companies are the sole villains in this piece. If so, becoming a high hazard county would do no good. But, as noted before, nothing is that simple, and there are a number of “villains,’’ so tougher restrictions on the general populace would probably help. As a matter of fact, Willard Lane of N.C. Forestry Ser vice’s Whiteville office said paper companies have been ex ceedingly careful to practice their controlled burning under the most favorable weather conditions. The recent incident was a combination of unusual weather and some laxity on the part of everyone. It’s the latter, that carefree, thoughtless attitude that must change to one of responsibility, and that usually doesn’t happen solely through regulation. Along with the return to a high hazard status, let every property owner and developer sharpen his weather eye and tighten up his conscience in this matter. Along with a permit, every burner should take extra precautions in regard to climactic conditions, remembering what the smoky highways of summer ’87 were like. I^t’s all take that aggravation very personally, note its ef fect on tourism, health and safety, and put those pointing fingers to work testing the wind. It’s not somebody else’s fault. There’s enough respon sibility for us all. Once More, With Feeling Rebels Have Their Own Drink An cntrepcncur from up north has hit upon a suporb marketing tactic. .At the peak of America’s health foixi and fitness craze about five years ago, C. ,1. Rapp and lus father began developing a sinful concotion that would restore to the public the dangers of cavities, obesity, and heart disease. And so it is that today we have dolt!, a carbonated .soft drink with • real sugar and twice the caffeine of other drinks." Rapp held a press conference in Wilmington last week, to which a Beacon representative was invited. I didn't go, but as a public .sen’ice I decided to give .lolt a te.st. 1 bought a can at a convenience store and drank half of it as 1 drove home in the late afternoon in my usual .stupor of fatigue. Immediately upon reaching home, 1 gave the cat a plateful of .Jolt and Marjorie Megivern saved the rest for iny husband. Here are the test results: Uie cat refused to touch the brown liquid, ob viously not milk. My philosopher hus band rendered a one-word verdict: “Pretentious." He explained it was pretentious of Rapp to assume that anything that wasn't good for you would necessarily taste good. That’s the funny way philosphers think. In my more orthodox fashion, I disagree with both Jim and Rascal. Jolt tastes pretty good, about like the classic soft drink that hits been recently deprived of its sugar and caffeine but is still No. 1 in its category. It did not even Ix'gin to keep me awake, which a cup of coffee consum ed after 1 p.m. 'will always do. I’ll report Uiter on new cavitic;: and-'or a weight gain. But the important aspect, which Rapp, in his marketing genius, counted on, is that I felt a thrill of guilt at drinking something con sidered unhealthy. A sip of Prohibition whiskey must have produced the .same titillation. And that is a commentary on our times. Americans arc so self consciously pursuing perfect health, we’re afraid to have any fun. Rapp said his product is “for satisfaction, not sjicrifice," and that sums up its appeal. "We forget that soft drinks l)egan as something for fun that we enjoyed," he said in a radio inter view. “We just wanted to provide that fun and to inject a little humor in our advertising.” The obsessive joggers, who down wheat germ and skimmed milk after the morning run and check their blood pressure, weight and cholesterol on a regular basis will disdain Jolt and Rapp’s irreverent question, “Is the health kick over?” But for the rebel that lingers in many American breasts, a little adventure is just the thing to brighten the day. So, for them an enterprising New Yorker has invented the perfect con versation piece and designer drink. It probably won’t thrill their taste buds, but neither will it ruin their health. And what fun to give the preten tious health kick a kick in its own assumptions! LETTERS TO THE EDITOR VVUfW I a kJfJ L.fffiGr Of fr» liQi ,' Says QHie Fan To the editor: The heaciline on Susan Usher's July .lO column paraphrases a song atxjut Tom Dooley. Has she ever heard the .song, "Wake Up I jttlc Susie?" She really should not make written remarks about evidence arising out of the Iran-Contra hearings wiUiout watching and listening to the witnesses as they appear on live TV. It appears that Ms. Usher has resorted to repeating some of the phrases that she has picked up from other media. 1 know that newspapers land lY) do net like to report a story like the hearings becau.se such a large por tion of the public has watched the witnesses and know the truth, thereby reducing the media’s oppor tunity to tivist the facts to correspond with the story they would like to tell the public. So the media is reduced to com mentary, alterations of facts, and other tricks of the trade to permit them to let us hicks know what they (the media) consider good for us. StLsan’s accusation that Colonel North scoffs at the constitution is without basis. It is obvious that she either is uninformed of the revela tions of the hearings or she, too, believes that we hicks do not have enough sense to watch, listen and make up our own minds without the help of the press. The day has past when one would read a newspaper and believe what he had read. The hearings have helped the American people learn that the press in this country is, for the most part, radically liberal. We have learned that the hearings were aimed at embarassing the president. When that failed the Capillary Waves The first ripples caused by the wind as it begins to blow over the sur- la'v ot tbi waicr are called capillary waves. We can see them on freshwater ponds and lakes or in liavs and the watenvay when a slight breeze begins to blow. I’hese are the smallest waves on the ocean .surface, but tlie greatest amount of wind energy is traiusferred through them to the water. Capillars waves are exactly op posite from the more familiar ocean waves we see. Their trouglis are v-sliaped and their crests are round ed. .As capillary waves grow, they slow down in speed rather than in crease as the other waves tend to do. I hese waves get their name from the liehavior of fluids in a capillar\- tiitie where surface tension deter mines liehavior. The attraction of water molecules for each other is stronger than the attraction for the air molecules alxive them. An inward pull on the surface molecules results and gives the fluid surface a strength as if It were covered by a stretchable membrane. Ihis is the reason a nee dle floats on the surface of an over filled glass of water. It al.so allows water striders and other insects to walk on the surface of water. • then ,i .slignt nreeze blows acro.ss water, the surface is .stretched. .Sur face teasion tries to restore the stret ched surface and it begins to vibrate. The new ripples increa.se the surface area for tiie wind to push on the liberal elements (Democrats, liberal Republicans and the press) went searching for inconsistencies in testimony, unpopular decisions, and mistakes in organization and execu tion that could be indirectly blamed on the president. Hence, they attack the one that made them look so bad—Ollie North. Susan could have reported and commented on her trip to Williamsburg svithout attempting to degrade Colonel North. But, I sup pose she is suffering from the same disease that appears to lie running rampart through the press cor ps-unbridled socialism. Next she will probably tell us hicks that John Wayne was a Nazi, Audie Murphy was a coward, apple pie will cause cancer, mothers are never to be trusted and the flag is a symbol of oppression. If I may borrow from Wesley Pruden in his July iO coiumn in the “Washington Times,” “(Colonel North) demonstrates best the power of a just cause, passionately believed in. To the consternation and rage of Mr. Inouye and liis partisan col leagues, who thought they were cook ing up something very different, the colonel has conducted an effective teach-in about vhal is at .slake for the United States in Central America . . . Ollie North comes across first and last as a soldier with his heart in the right place ...” It is obvious to those of us who care enough to stay informed that most of the press is going to continue to distort the facts of these hearings in an attempt to attack the Reagan ad ministration. Ollie North .stated his love of country and its president, he is a symbol of administration and the leftists feel they must attack him. But. I firmly believe that you can tell Lirtie Susie to give it up—Ollie North and what he stands for is here to stay. It has been around since the first ^cret meetings to form a con stitution—or before—and it is the strength upon which we, the people, draw when we need it. Nathan Halci felt it. It was with us one night in Bo.ston, it was with us in Flanders, Corregidor, Bataan, Normandy, Pork Chop Hill, and Hue’. It makes us feel good to identify witii Colonel North, to be a part of a group that is proud to be Americans, ready to fight for our country and our way of life. Why do you (the liberal press) want to destroy the thing that makes us feel good? I guess we are just too dumb to know what’s good for us. Remember the Maine? Remember the Alamo! Remember Pearl Har bor! Tlianks Ollie! Davey L. Stanley Shallottc water. Capillary waves grow larger and become more noticeable. At a certain stage, their shape and other physical properties change and capillary waves become the ordinary gravity waves we experience at the shore. The waves increase in speed and size as more and more area is ex posed to the wind. New capillary waves may be formed on the surface of the gravity waves, to add to the buildup of wave energy. At some point, the waves will have absorbed as much wind energy as they can and will be traveling at about the same speed as the wind. These are the storm surges that can create devastation when driven by hur ricane force winds. It may seem hard to believe that the greatest waves owe their ex istence to the little ripples of capillary waves we see beginning uvei’ a calm surface. Next iiine we see the wind begin to stir the surface of a lake or the ocean, we can be sure the small capillary waves are just the beginnings of the waves that greet us along the shore. Citizens Guaranteed Right To Ask Questions To the editor: In response to the letter written by Charles Rajsky, published in last week’s Beacon, I would offer the following comments: 1. The exact quote as published by this newspaper on 7-15-87 is as follows: “Dr. Ken Neal, Calabash veterinarian, asked what immediate plans the town has for annexation on Thomasboro Road." Since I have recently purchased property there, possible annexation is of course an important issue to me. I neither stated that I was in favor of or oppos ed it, but was rather seeking infor mation. 2. The U.S. Constitution, proven now for 2GG years, guarantees under the First Amendment, the freedom of speech. This allows anyone to openly ask questions or express their views before any branch of our govern ment. I don’t believe these same privileges are enjoyed in the Soviet Union. I have never seen Mr. Rajsky at a council meeting. Perhaps if he were to attend, he could more in telligently form an opinion of the issues that face Calabash as well as the surrounding areas. 3. Mr. Rajsky presents himself as a water quality expert. What, I wonder, are his credentials? Will readers misinterpret his statements in the same manner he did mine? 4. Carolina Shores is a fine area as well as the one we live in. I find it hard to lielieve that Mr. Rajsky can segregate the quality of living into communities or that he speaks for all of our neighbors when he says, "agitate for things we don’t want.” Kenneth R. Neal, DVM Calabash A spate of letters responding to last week’s editorial com ments on the heroism of Ollie North were vehement, sincere, and completely missed the point. So, here’s one more crack at it. Now, folks, try to put that wicked Congress and those wild-eyed liberals completely out of your mind, and listen carefully. North was disqualified for heroism, in our minds, by his very own admissions that he had lied to everyone in govern ment and the public and had ignored the U.S, Constitution he swore to uphold when he donned that handsome uniform. That’s it. That’s all. His unheroic behavior is something he described freely to his questioners, without embarra.ssment, without apology. Is tlie Constitution worthless? Is dishonesty unimportant? Or do the ends North served justify even dishonorable means? If so, we could use a few thousand words to debate the communism supposedly running rampant in Nicaragua and the desirability of trading arms for hostages. But that’s another editorial. liut, if not, if you Ollie-lovers do still have some affection for integrity and our Constitutional form of government, then anyone who tramples on both cannot possibly be heroic. And this has nothing in the wide, wide world to do with Congress, collectively or individually. They could all be rank, vile creatures and North’s own words would still brand him the non-hero of the year. (Ixitters Continue On Following Page) Note In A Bottle Humbles A AAan Putting inesKagc.s iiiio bottle.s or at- tacTiing note.s to helium-filled balloon.s may tje kul stuff, but we adults get just as excited when we find one. I found a me.s.sage in a bottle last week that had washed ashore. The coast is a good place to find such things, for both balloons and bottle.s float and can be carried by the tides and changing winds. It also gives you a feeling of discovery To lie the jierson who finds a note that is relea.sed for all of the world to find is humbling. It may travel hundreds of miles, but it ends up in your hands cither by fate, acci dent or just good timing. 'i'he iKiltle 1 found was a clear one with a white cap that didn't seal ex actly tight, so the note inside got a lit tle wet .Marsha Rabon, of Holden Beach, al.so called last week to .say that her husband, Ronnie, a commercial Terry Pope fisherman, found a balloon with a ine.s.sagc attached that was floating in the ocean about 50 miles offshore. He had taken a group out fishing when they came across the balloon. It was still inflated, but the ine.s.sage lied to it was a little soggy. It was from a church in .Summerville, •S.C., where children there released balloons last month. •Summerville is a town about 30 miles from Charle.ston, S.C. It is safe to .say that the l>alloon had traveled over ‘200 miles. Now tell me that you’re not interested in such trivial things. The note inside the bottle that I found had gotten soggy also, and an attempt to rake it out with a stick began to tear the paper. My brother began telling me how someone he knows found a note inside of a bottle once that had t)cen launched by so meone in Cuba, with some Spanish coins iaside for return postage. There were two coins inside the bottle we found as well. One fell out and got lost in the .sand when I opened the bottle. Another coin was an American dime that had turned brown from the .salt water that had seeped inside. 1 discovered the only way to get the paper note out without tearing it to pieces was to break the bottle. Have you ever tried breaking a vodka bot tle with a seasheir.' It isn’t ea.sy. In fact, it can't lx; done. The suspense continuisl I had to drive home with the bottle safely lUcked away in a fishing bucket, thinking of millions of things that could be on that note. My curiosity was unbearable. With one gentle tap from a crowbar, the vodka bottle shattered. From the debris, I carefully pulled the folded paper out. I caught a glimpse of the writing-large, stick letters, like so meone’s poor attempt at writing in English. I carefully unfolded the note, and here is what it said: “Help us. We are stranded on an island. Please read the back.” I carefully tumec the note over. “This is a joke," it stated. So much for that humble feeling we adults gel when we try to get excited about such trivial things as finding notes in a bottle. Rotten kids.
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 6, 1987, edition 1
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