Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Aug. 8, 1991, edition 1 / Page 38
Part of The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Corps OKs Beach Nourishment At Bald Head BY DOUG RUTTER Bald Head Island property own ers and the federal government will share the cost of an historic bcach nourishment project expected to be gin within the next two months. Sand will be dredged from the Cape Fear River ocean bar channel and placed on a badly-eroding sec tion of Bald Head Island. Work is expected to begin in late September or early October, said Frank Snipes, study manager with the Army Corps ol Engineers plan ning division in Wilmington. Bald Head Island Town Manager Wallace Martin said 320,000 cubic yards of sand will be dumped along an 8,000-foot stretch of beach, ex tending from the west side of the is land south to an area known as East Beach. The work should lake about six weeks to complete and add about 80 feet of width to the bcach. "We're really pretty much excited about it." Martin said. Snipes said the Bald Head Island project w ill be the first of its kind in North Carolina and one of the first in the nation. Congress passed a bill in 1986 authorizing the U.S. Corps of Engi neers to split the cost of beach nour ishment projects with local govern ments. All proposals must receive state approval and provide an eco nomic benefit. Martin said he first applied for the program about three years ago, and made a trip to Washington, D.C., last month to talk with Corps officials. "It's been quite a snuggle to get all of that through." he said. The project cost has been esti mated at S90(),(X)0. with the island and Corps of Engineers each paying half. Bids will be opened Aug. 23. Martin said Bald Head Island landowners will pay for the beach nourishment project through a com bination tax increase and assessment. The village council increased the tax rate by 12 cents this vear to raise SI 50,000. The other 5300,000 was borrowed from a bank but will be recovered in assessments oncc the work is finished. Martin said three /ones were set up on the island basal on elevation, distance from the beach and how long it would lake for property to be damaged if nothing was done to control erosion. People who own property in the /oik- closest to the beach will pay S2.02 for every SKX) worth of land. The rates for the other two /ones are SI. 01 and 33.33 cents per Sl(X) of land. Martin said some landowners re sisted the project at first, saying that the sand wouldn't last long enough to make it worthwhile. However, most people said they supported the project al ter a series of public meet ings. "It's been a total turnaround," Martin said. "I just hope they still feel that way when we start billing them." Snipes said the major benefits of the project arc protecting occanfnont homes from storm damage and sav ing relocation costs. The federal government helps cover the cost of moving erosion threatened homes if homeowners have federal Hood insurance. Building up the beach should also help protect the tax base. "Those aren't your average houses as far as value," Snipes said. ROBIN'S SWEET SHOPPE Chesse Cherry Cheese and Blueberry Cheese Delights Birthday Cakes Brownies and Mississippi Mud CLOSED SUNDAYS 579-0578 MON.-SAT. 8 AM-7 PM HWY. 1 79 ? OCEAN ISLE ORTHOPEDIC Sale Save 50% to 70% Firm II Inner Springs 2 Yr. Warranty Twin Set '89* Full Set '101" Queen Set '129* Twin Set ?119" Full Set '139" Queen Set '169" King Set *239 " ?COD j Wtfcoma -Layaways ? Day Beds Custom Waitress Sues Available Back Comfort I Golden Sleep Supreme I Imperial 20 Yr. Warranty^ 20 Yr. Warranty Twin Set '139" Full Set '175" Queen Set *209" King Set ?329" Twin Set ?169" Full Set '205" Queen Set '239* King Set '359" Pieces also Sold Separately YOUR CHOICE WITH S150 BED PURCHASE FREE BEDFRAME- FREE PILLOW FREE CITY DELIVERY mmaamm Outlet "More Quality For Less Price" formerly RSR MA TTRESS OUTLET Hwy. 17, Shallotte, Shallotte Plaza 754-5727 1 7th & Market St., Wilmington, 762-7331 Mon.-Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-4 OPEN WEDNESDAYS J 5% Senior Citizens Discount 3 Calabash Merchants Might Form New Chamber BY DOUC RUTTKR Calabash merchants arc consider ing forming their own chamber of commerce to draw more tourists to the border town that was once fa mous for its seafood restaurants. Rich Johnson, who owns a retail shop in town and started organizing a merchants group in February, said tourism isn't what it used to be in Calabash. South Carolinians are getting tourist dollars that used to end up in the hands of local businessmen, he said, and several restaurants in North Myrtle Beach are using the "Calabash" name to attract patrons. To combat the loss of tourism. Johnson said approximately 40 business owners ? nearly hall' of the merchants in town ? have come to gether to form the Calabash Mer chants Association. So far, donations from businesses have helped pay for a billboard on U.S. 17 in Little River that invites motorists to "Experience the real Calabash." Wooden signs welcoming visitors to the "seafood capita)" will be erected at four locations over the next few months. A map showing the location of various businesses is in the works. "I think we've established our selves in six months as a very vital merchants association with some very positive goals," Johnson said at a meeting last week. Approximately 40 Calabash area merchants belong to the South Brunswick Islands Chamber of Commerce, which has 450 members "/ think we've established ourselves in six months as a very vital merchants association with some very positive goals." ? Rich Johnson Calabash Merchants Association ami promotes tourism on a regional basis. The chamber promotes Calabash and the other South Brunswick Island towns in its brochures. It also distributes literature for individual businesses in Holdcn Beach, Shallottc, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach and Calabash. Despite the Shallotte-based chamber's efforts. Calabash busi ness owners met last Wednesday to talk about establishing a new cham ber that would focus specifically on luring tourists to their community. Al Laughinghousc and Nick Newton, who both serve on the South Brunswick Islands chamber board of directors, said the chamber will support and help the business men if they want to form a new chamber of commerce. They also said they would be willing to work with the Calabash merchants to give them better repre sentation on the South Brunswick Islands chamber. "We do strive, more so than you may think, to promote Calabash," Newton said. "Calabash really is stressed as much or more than any other place when we go to travel and tourism shows." Newton vml the chamber board of directors would be willing to consider setting up a satellite office in Calabash. "If you work together you can get more for your dollar," he said. Jim Schcll, the southern region's senior legislative manager with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said a new chamber in Calabash could work if the merchants there arc en thusiastic and able to fund it. Schell said the 70 chambers of commcrcc that serve areas with populations under 1 (),(XK) operated with an average budget of S87.000 last year. Money comes from mem bership dues, government funds and special projects such as festivals. To form a successful chamber, Schell said the group would have to develop a "mission statement" or purjx)se for the organization. Merchants also would need a long range plan for five to 10 years and a specific one-year plan of action. "You can't just go out and say, 'Join the chamber'," he said. "You've got to have a selling tool." Schcll said chambers use plans to develop budgets and form commit tecs that can carry out their objec tives. Most chambers must hire pro fessional paid stall to operate. However, Newton said chambers of commcrcc can't operate success fully without volunteers to support the professional staff. "Thai's what it takes to make a chamber run ? volunteers. You can't do it just with paid staff." Johnson said business owners have "conic out of the woodwork" to support the Calabash Merchants Association. Town officials also have been in favor of the effort. GIFT SHOP Fred's Breads Sourdough "innamon Cheese {Cinnamon NutRo's CAUSEWAY PLAZA HOLDEN BEACH 842-5678 ? DAILY 9-9 A new low tar cigarette. When you want more flavor. MEDIl IM C&** SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight. 12 mg "tar." 0 8 mg nicotine av per cigarette by FTC method c- Phii?p k'
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 8, 1991, edition 1
38
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75