?^WUN9WCK^C0N
Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers
Edward M. Sweatt Editor
Susan Usher News Editor
Doug Rutter and Terry Pope Stajf Writers
Johnny Craig Sports Editor
Peggy Earwood Office Manager
Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director
Tlmberley Adanis & Cecelia Gore Advertising Representatives
Tammle Galloway & Dorothy Brennan Craphk: Artists
William Manning Pressman
Brenda Clemmons Photo Technician
Lonnie Sprinkle Assistant Pressman
Phoebe Clemmons and Frances Sweatt Circulation
PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY. JUNE 20. 1991
For Good Health, It's
Time The County Acts
Board of Education member Doug Baxley recently threw
the gauntlet at the Brunswick County Board of Commis
sioners.
Why, he asked, isn't the county leading the way in estab
lishing smoke-free public buildings?
It's a good question. The Brunswick County Board of
Education is to be applauded for having the guts to do the
right thing ? to eliminate smoking in school buildings by em
ployees and the use of tobacco products by school employees
at school functions.
The policy does several things: 1) intentionally or not, it
enforces the sometimes forgotten responsibility of adults to
serve as good role models for young people; 2) it reduces ex
posure of co-workers, and in some school buildings, students
as well, to their smoke; and 3) it tells the public that the
school system is concerned for the good health of its employ
ees and its charges.
The county has indicated an interest in the public's health
with its decision to fluoridate county water. Rules governing
smoking are another logical step.
As with all rules, this one wouldn't be needed if smokers
were more considerate of others.
As an attorney, Mr. Baxley spends time at the Brunswick
County Courthouse. This building is a classic example of why
a county smoking ordinance is needed. On court days visitors
must struggle through a haze of thick smoke to get through
the lobby and hall to an interior office.
For anyone with asthma, sinus trouble, allergies or simply
a strong aversion to smoke, it can be a most uncomfortable
journey.
The county needs to establish specific areas on the com
plex grounds or in those buildings where smoking is allowed
by employees and/or visitors and ban it in general congregat
ing areas such as the public assembly building and courthouse
halls. Times have changed. There are many more non-smok
ers than there once were and more and more people are
health-conscious.
The county could offer smoking cessation classes as an in
centive for change. If so, it needs to be included in the budget
for fiscal year 1991-92.
County commissioners took a first look at a proposed pol
icy and sent it back to staff for more work.
It's time ? now while the budget is being completed ? to
get the policy spruced up, off the desk and on the table for
discussion, and positive action.
r
Nobody Deserves Trophy
More Than Michael
It's nice to know that people always get what they deserve.
Michael Jordan, star of the NBA's Chicago Bulls, has finally earned
the championship trophy that he
deserves more than anyone else.
Jordan, who grew up in Wil
mington, has been a phenomenon
since he entered the National
Basketball Association seven
years ago.
People have always praised
his physical talents ? his quick
ness, leaping ability and agility.
Fans have always marveled at
his uncanny ability to hang in the air ? as if his world was one without
gravity ? and create opportunities for himself.
Michael has always been recognized and idolized for the talents and
abilities that nobody even dreamed about until he came along.
Now that the Chicago Bulls have won the NBA tide, Michael can fi
nally be recognized for the true champion he's always been.
It's a shame, but Michael Jordan never would have been considered
one of the best basketball players in history if his team hadn't won a
championship.
He never would have been talked about in the same breath as Magic
Johnson or Larry Bird if he hadn't won a stupid ring.
That's because leading the league in individual scoring and leading
a team to the top of the profession are two totally different things.
Anybody with talent can score 30 points a game. It takes somebody
with guts and strong leadership qualities to bring out the best in his
teammates.
That's just what Jordan has done. For the first few years of his ca
reer, Michael was the sole magic on the Bulls. He was the one who had
to step up and score the big basket or make the big defensive play when
it was needed.
Now that he has players like Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and John
Pax son as a supporting cast, Jordan's role has changed.
He still scores his 30 points a game and gets his share of assists and
steals, but Jordan has become the glue that holds the Bulls together as a
unit.
Over the last few years, while "sports heroes" like baseball's Pete
Rose and football's Lawrence Taylor have been caught gambling or
abusing drugs, Michael has kept his nose clean.
Jordan is filthy rich. There's no doubt about that He makes pretty
good money playing ball, and his sneaker and cereal endorsements are a
gold mine.
It would be very easy for Michael Jordan to let drugs or other nega
tive forces take control of his life. With his raw talent, he is under a
tremendous amount of pressure to perform.
That's what makes Michael Jordan so special. He's got a good heart
and it shows. Those of you who saw the locker room scene following
the final game last Wednesday know what I'm talking about.
Whether he could dribble and dunk a basketball or not, Michael
Jordan is the type of person who is worthy of admiration.
Just A Happy Camper Among The Crawling
By the time you read this I'll
probably be crawling.
I decided long ago that if chosen
I would spend my summer vacation
at referee's camp at UNC-Wil
mington. That happens to be this
week.
High school basketball teams
from across the state will gather
there for a week of summer camp
instruction and workouts.
You don't have to be a sports en
thusiast to know high school players
and coaches attend summer camps.
It's a chance for college personnel
to make contact with area student
athletes and to spend a week doing
what they love to do ? teach game
fundamentals and keys to success.
But few people actually realize
that it is a camp for referees, too.
That's the part of the camp I'll be
attending. After all, someone has to
officiate the volume of games that
are played in a week's time, so it
becomes a training camp for the
guys in striped shirts.
It'll be my first in the three years
that I've been with the Eastern
Athletic Officials Association. So
where does the crawling part come
in?
J -Jf#
4K.
As 1 write Ihis, I don't really
know what I'm about to get into;
however, inside I'm feeling like a
kid who's waited all summer to go
to Disney World and now the day is
finally here.
A letter arrived last week that
shed a little light on the subject.
Twelve games a day arc played and
cach official works in every other
game. According to my math, that's
six games a day for five days.
According to my calculations, I'll
be crawling before the week is over
while trying to keep pace with
teenagers racing up and down the
court. They'll be trying to imitate
moves that Michael Jordan showed
to the Los Angeles Lakers while en
route to his first NBA championship
last week. I don't want to think
Terry
Pope
about li'.al now.
While I'm paying good money to
torture myself on the court this week,
my parents are spending their vaca
tion in the Great Smoky Mountains,
as usual, cooling it and relaxing on
their annual trip west. 1 try not io
think about that either ? the pool, the
rocky streams, the cooler air in high
er elevations, the sights.
Now that's a vacation, but I can't
complain. 1 had a choice, too.
I've never been one for going to
summer camps. I never did as a
child. Nobody in Maco ever went to
summer camp. Instead, I could al
ways count on going to spend a
week in the mountains with the
family whenever the weather got re
ally hoi.
This summer will definitely be
different. I'm not sure if I'll return
to work refreshed and full of ener
gy. My parents think 1 ought to go
to the mountains and give up this
foolish notion of becoming a happy
camper.
I try to explain that you either
love or hate athletics. Some people
place sports in the wrong perspec
tive and also give referees a bad
name.
Bui for a high school player io
give up a week at the beach with
their friends to spend time focusing
on their game and working to be
come a part of a team requires dedi
cation and discipline. They'll be a
much better person for the time they
give to their coaches and teammates
this week.
Most people also have no idea
what it takes to be an official.
Summer camp is one part of what it
takes to improve and move up the
totem pole in the level of games,
but there arc also six clinics, scrim
mages, a state seminar and written
examination required of each offi
cial every year.
At camp, we'll be graded by
more experienced officials after
each game. The best will advance to
the final games starting Thursday.
So competition docs comc into play,
a little.
But that's the least of my worries
right now. It takes a little more ener
gy to race up and down a basketball
court in mid-June than it docs to
type out this column.
My fingers stay in shape the en
tire year, but my legs arc begging to
have another summer off.
M7E minimum
AT LEAST THERES
ENOUGH LEFT FOR A
PACK OF CIGARETTES.
MINUS THE INCREASE
IN THE iSALES TAX.
CAPOli^CAPTOm
Student Newspapers Offer Surprises
uoug, Terry and I spent a few
days last week helping out with the
North Carolina Scholastic Press
Association newspaper contest. It
was an eye-opening experience in
several ways, mostly good.
Judging seemed like a way to
show appreciation for the interest a
few adult journalists had shown in
our work as high school students as
well as a refreshing change of pace.
Hey, we only had to judge two cate
gories. And the rules were simple.
We were told to "retain your profes
sional standards while you mentally
regress and relive those glory days
of high school journalism" as we
waded through two one-foot tall
stacks of entries.
Timbcrly Adams of the advertis
ing department pitched in to help
judge the advertising entries and we
all began flipping pages. After each
of us rated the entries, we tallied
our totals. Surprisingly, given the
difference in our backgrounds,
training and experience, there was
very little difference in our judg
ment calls.
It was fun, but harried. Another
deadline to meet We didn't have
any spare time to simply sit back
and read these student newspapers
at leisure.
I can tell you this: there are some
Susan
Usher
very good young journalists out
there. These kids can do more than
write well. They also know how to
gather information from a variety of
sources and how to conduct inter
views. lTiey take some great pho
tographs. Their feature layouts look
good, like those in a magazine.
Some of them appear to know more
about modem day newspaper tech
nology than I do and arc using far
more advanced equipment than 1
learned the trade on. No upright
Smith-Coronas and jars of white
glue for these guys. They're whiz
zing along on Ventura Pagemaker
and mouses.
What did disturb me greatly was
the vast disparity in resources avail
able to these student newspapers.
Some were obviously very well
funded by their school systems, in
addition to any advertising revenues
they might generate. Others were
-4
selling a heck of a lot of ads and
getting solid community support
that way.
But some of the newspaper prod
ucts we saw were pitiful. They
looked like typed and mimeo
graphed elementary school newslet
ters, not the stuff that generates
school spirit and pride among either
the people who put out the paper or
those who read it. I wanted to give
them an award for just trying.
For some reason the writing and
editing and art in those publications
were of similar caliber. Was this a
reflection of the advisor's capabili
ties or those ot ttie school's academ
ic standards (or lack thereof)? I
don't know.
I do know that school newspa
pers, when produced by talented
students who take pride in their
work and receive the basic re
sources with which to work, can be
a real asset to a school and to its
community.
In at least one instance, the
school newspaper apparently IS the
community's newspaper. I wish I
could share a copy of the Ocracoke
Island News with you. Judging from
the staff box, it is produced by a
group of about seven students at
tiny Ocracoke School, which has 95
students in grades K-12.
To quote one student writer,
"Ocracoke School doesn't have a
drug or weapon problem... The
school is very relaxed and the focus
is more on learning rather than the
additional rules and regulations nec
essary to maintain order at (another
school)."
The newspaper must be the prod
uct of an unsual cooperative island
wide effort. The News circulates "to
approximately 200 island sub
scribers, 31 states and 9 foreign
countries..." Cost is S5 for eight is
sues produced October through
May. Mailing is under a non-profit
organization permit.
The News features a full-color
photo on the front. The April issue
had 20 pages, including well-done
articles by special correspondents in
the community on subjects such as
the impact of tourism on the Outer
Banks island. Four pages were de
voted to the school's own "Mini
Pages" ? the writing and artwork of
students in grades K-8.
It was a delightful newspaper ? it
shows the kind of results that arc
possible when a close school-com
munity relationship is nurtured.
Had we not judged this contest, I
would probably never have discov
ered the Ocracoke Island News.
That would have been a shame.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Here's Proof The Democratic Process Works
To the editor:
The two corridors selected for the
Wilmington-Leland Bypass (also
known as the Outer Loop) are proof
that the democratic process works
when the people get involved and
express their concerns.
Either of the two Final corridors
will serve southeastern North Caro
lina well. The rejected alternatives
could have had devastating conse
quences for both Leland and Na
vassa.
Public hearings were well attend
ed. Both the Brunswick County
Commissioners and the Leland
Town Council provided detailed cri
tiques of the 26 proposed corridors.
Leland not only called attention to
the harm some of the proposed
routes would have caused, but also
prepared a "20-year Economic
Development Plan" and showed
how it would be impacted by the
various routes. Cynics told us we
were wasting our time, that our ef
forts would make no difference.
They were wrong.
I would like to express apprecia
tion to all who helped Lcland present
its case to Greiner, Inc., the engineer
ing firm that is conducting the envi
ronmental impact study. Especially
deserving of credit are Brunswick
County Planning Director John
Harvey and Resources Development
Commission Thomas Monks.
1 also wish to thank the good pco
pie of Leland who recognized the
danger and prayed. I am sure your
prayers and your comments helped
the council to bring out Leland's le
gitimate concerns in a convincing
way. And finally, I want to thank
the Greincr engineers for listening
and responding to our conccms.
Russell Baldwin
Mayor, Town Of Leland
Tired Argument
To the editor
Replying to the remark made at
the Sunset Beach Council meeting
that "people who live away from
the beach might not share the same
concerns for the environment and
lifestyle," I have heard that tired ar
gument too many times.
I did not build my home within a
mile of Sunset Beach because I love
the beautiful ocean, the pristine
beach, the abundant birds and
wildlife. I built here because 1 am
anxious to trash the bcach and build
high-rises, water slides and pool
halls!
Come on Clete-give us a break.
People who live off the bcach are
every bit as concerned, environmen
tally aware and even as intelligent
as those of you on the bcach.
Marcia P. Warring
Sunset Bcach
(Letters Continue Following Page)