Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Nov. 7, 1991, edition 1 / Page 4
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Opinion Page THE BRUMSWICKjjBEACON Edward M. Sweat! and Carolyn H. Sweat! MiUtehcni Edward M. Sweatt Editor Susan Usher Mews Editor Doug Kutter. Terry Pope and Dort Gurganus SftjJ/ Writers Johnny Craig Sports Etlilor l*eggy Earwood ...Office Manager Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director Tlinberley Adams. Cecelia Gore and BUI Ntsbet Advertising Representations B re n da Cletnnions Moore Dorothy Brennati Graphic Artists William Manning Pressman Brenda Clemmons M(*>re Pltoto Ttvhnician Ixinnle Sprinkle Assistant Pressman I'hix-bc Clemmons and Frances Sweatt Circulation PAGE 4 A. THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 7, 1991 Speed Controls, Signs Could Make Shallotte Bypass Safer A double fatality lasi Friday at the intersection of the U.S. 17 bypass and N.C. 130 near West Brunswick High School has spawned a "told you so" rehashing of the earlier debate over the need for an overpass rather than the existing grade-level intersec tion because it would be used by so many school buses and young, inexperienced drivers. "It was just a matter of time." was the comment heard most often in the wake of the accident. A logging truck apparently ran the red light on the bypass, striking two autos before overturning and bursting into flames. The drivers of both cars died, while the truck driver w as treated for injuries and released. Certainly an overpass or a bypass relocated farther west be yond the school would have been better in terms of safety. Unfortunately, right-of-way acquisition and other preliminaries to bypass construction had begun before the high school was ever envisioned. Revamping those plans might have been a good idea, but would have involved major delays and a great deal more money. The state Department of Transportation wasn't open to either at the time local officials were pushing for something bet ter. The only concession offered: a traffic signal at the grade-lev el intersection instead of simply stop signs 011 N.C. 1 30 for traffic crossing the bypass. Now even the light's effectiveness has been questioned, with motorists and observers alike complaining that too few vehicles have time to cross before the light changes. The debate is over as to relocating the bypass or replacing it with an overpass. However, there are things state and local officials and all mo torists can do to make that intersection and the entire bypass safer. Make Bypass Safer Motorists can start by observing the 55 mph speed limit. At times the bypass resembles nothing more than a race track during qualifications, w ith almost every driver a would-be Richard Petty jockeying for pole position. Second, the Shallotte Police Department and State Highway Patrol can become more diligent in enforcing that speed limit in their jurisdictions for local and through traffic alike. An officer could stay busy full time writing speeding tickets on the bypass. Also, the state should monitor the traffic signal for more than a single day and seriously consider adjusting the lights to provide more crossing time, especially during heavy traffic periods such as the beginning and ending of the school day. Signs warning motorists of school-related traffic might also make a difference. These are small things, but each could contribute to making the bypass a safer place for all of us who use it. If you agree, let those who can help bring about these changes know. Meanw hile, slow it down. Exit Polls: A Mistake From The Beginning The results from an optional exit poll taken by voters Tuesday are not in this week's newspaper. Those bal lols hail to be tallied by hand, alter the official election totais were 111. l-or what they are worth, the |H>1I results should be available lor next week's issue. Brunswick County Commission ers added the exit |*>ll to get public input on three issues ? county /oil ing, fire and rescue service districts and non-partisan school board elec tions. My ballot isn't among those now being counted, for I chose to ignore the poll. 1 voted on the binding ref erendum items ? two- or four-year terms for commissioners and school hoard candidates, plus a redisricting plan but fell the exit poll was a bit ux> much. The present board of commission ers has made some brave and valiant decisions since reorganizing last December, when newcomers Donald Shaw of District 5 and Jerry Jones of District 2 joined hands with those already seated to make an all Republican board. Let's look at the record. They Terry Pope have: ?Interviewed county manager ap plicants in open session: ? Mired the logical choice for county manager, David C'legg. who is also county attorney ? two for the price of one; ?Moved to consolidate the coun ty's 67 ugly and costly green box garbage disposal sites into mini transfer stations; ?Went after delinquent taxpayers by legally digging into their bank accounts and garnishing their wages for those who owe the county more than S4 million; ?Got to the bottom of employee problems within the water depart ment by hiring an outside consulting firm to study the situation; I ~ ? SuhhI behind Winnabow resi dents* who fought against a pet cre matory lor their neighborhood, at a state permit hearing in April; ?Hired a tax auditing firm to un cover, at no cost to the county, hid den taxes owed Irom large compa nies with outlets in the- county; ?Revived, held a public hearing on, and adopted a much-needed new subdivision ordinance to protect consumers; ?Itcgan looking into lire and res cue service districts as a possible way to fund volunteer services; ?Cut S7.5 million from depart mental budget requests to avoid a tax increase, even during a lean year with cuts in state funding; ?Followed a firm's recommenda tion to cut five employees from the water department thai had been la beled as top-heavy; ?Voted to seek bids on possibly hiring a private company to take over the county's garbage collection and disposal service, in an effort to save county funds; ?Determined that parcel fees for garbage collection were unlair to all taxpayers, and dumped the proposal alter public protest; ?Financed a S7 million water project. Phase III and II I- A ol the capital improvements, that will route lines to Seaside and Shallotlc Point. Commissioners voted 4-0 in September to have the exit poll. Since then, one commissioner has privately admitted it was a mistake and wishes he could lake his vote hack. Why all the uneasiness? Reality settled in. The tough and not always pleas ant decisions outlined above were all made without exit |x>lls. Alter such a powerful start, the armor could start to tarnish on our commissioners if they keep this up. Perhaps they are beginning to real ize this, UK). They should he guided in their decisions by a much deeper commitment than a stupid exit poll. By law, public hearings would have to be held it commissioners want lire and rescue service districts or a county zoning ordinance. They can gain their public input that way. Exit polls are for wimps. The curtain is closing on 11 ??? United Way Shouldn't uouqet in on the act? "7 I 'BrWojh- [ f ~ I J J < ch'o: V1 ctW<xti* ^T-MM ? 111 MT? t * ' | Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too? The trail sign said "Closed To Hikers." Jusl a year earlier the mountain trail had been open, a fa vorite plaee to ramble. Apparently loo many of us liked it, though, and often strayed from it as well, damaging a beautiful natural area and making it more vulnerable to erosion, drought and other prob lems. As a consequence wc now have to stay away from the area and give it lime, hopefully, to heal. We Can't Give Up On Recycling Yet As I drove up to the recycling trailer in Shallotte last Wednesday, my car tilled with what I thought would he my last load of recy clables, 1 was greeted by the trailer's closed doors. I had heard that the Shallotte bin was full and would close that day, but 1 still thought I might have time on my lunch hour to drop off some more stuff. Another hopeful recycler drove up. The woman inside of the car asked if the recycling bin was closcd. We talked with heavy hearts for a lew minutes and she drove off. declaring that she "hated to sec it go in the landfill." I stood there for a minute think ing, why does it have to go in the landfill? 'Hie idea of the loss ol recycling opportunities in Brunswick County lias become a nauseating ic.ilii> to me. I have so many questions, but so few answers. I wish 1 knew why recycling is such a struggle. I cannot say anything negative about Brunswick County, because the full condition of the Shallotte trailer, and the worried response ol local residents is evidence enough lor me that I'm not die only one who thinks this is a serious issue. 1 was glad w hen I relocated to this area to sec so many people taking their recyclable waste to the neigh borhood bins. But I still wonder, why doesn't everyone across die country do this? Dori Gurgonus Why can't people everywhere, es pecially in Congress ami the White House see that recycling is one of many solutions for saving a green planet for our children? Many people think tins is not an immediate concern. These are the people who proba bly weren't watching Peter Jennings about a month ago reporting on tele vision that the Environmental Protection Agency, which normally is very conservative, is saying that ozone depletion is Liking place right now. 1 watched, stunned, a.s a scien tist said that we must stop filling the air with pollution that makes the hole m our life-saving ozone layer bigger. But, overloaded landfills aren't really killing anyone right now. Scientists may even coire up with a solution lor supplying clean air and water to cities once we have no choice in the next live to 10 years. It may not matter il we never stop throwing it all away. I hear that logic too often, that it's not alfecting me now. so why should 1 recycle? Well. I guess that question is a dead issue ai this moment, as finan cial hard limes have forced our waste recycling contractor to cancel service to our county. Now we don't even have a choice. Of course, 1 could drive to Wilmington or Myrtle Beach. It seeins like a lot of effort, but 1 think it's worth it. I just think about future genera tions and the crippled world they will inherit from us. Isn't it disgust ing? The biggest frustration for me these days is trying to understand the economics of recycling. Ap parently Mr. Bush, the waste con tractor, had no choice but to discon tinue service to Brunswick County. That's the really sail part. We have an economy that won't supjtort a suong nationwide recycling effort. 1 know it's not feasible, but wouldn't a few laws make things a little different? What if it were against the law to be a huge corporation that buys pa per made from virgin resources? What if Coca-Cola and Pepsi were forced to only use recycled plaslic drink containers? I could go on and on, but I realis tically can only hope that we will start recycling again in this area. I know most town councils are seek ing alternate contracts for waste pick up and I'm keeping my hopes very high for them. We all should hope dial we can do something to insure that a healthy, green planet is still in existence for our kids, and recycling is one of the better answers. We've moved on to other areas, and soon these trails may also be closed to the public because of overuse. Seems we tourists are sometimes as much a bane as we are a blessing. How do you balance protection and sustenance of North Carolina's seemingly abundant natural re sources with the demands of tourists for recreational areas? Especially when a survey of 6,2(X) tourists in 1989-1990 indicat ed the things they liked most about our state are iLs unpolluted natural resources and its friendly people. How do you keep it that way and still accommodate growing numbers of visitors? For that matter, how do you de fine tourism? How do you ensure that what a tourist expects of a given location matches his perceptions af ter arriving there? How you deter mine what "drawing cards" will lure tourists to stop in a particular locale? These are just a few of the ques tions researchers at N.C. State University are trying to address as the slate's tourism industry shifts to accommodate the leisure needs of a more mobile and sophisticated soci ety. I don't envy them the task. North Carolina relies heavily on tourism ? its third largest and fastest-growing industry. Suite lead ers would like to be able to predict trends, to know what direction things are heading in and to capital ize on that knowledge. Associate Professor Larry D. Guslke and Assistant Professor Gene L. Brothers are, among other things, developing a "tourism barometer" for the state's Travel and Tourism Division that would moni tor ami measure the various compo nenLs of tourism. "In North Carolina and at NC SU," said Gustke, "we are more apt lo define tourism as recitation and enjoyment as it relates to the natural resources and the liuiu.t, . uie state from the mountains to the shore." The researchers are looking not only at the economics of tourism, but also the sociology the aspect thai concerns a person's recreation, enjoyment and interaction with na Susan f ^ Usher lure, and their source of motivation. The researchers envision rural com munities tapping their own traditions anil developing them into mar ketable ideas that offer visitors an activity with a local twist. As they look at tourists, the re searchers are also learning a lot about the clashing of expectation with reality with perception. Thai's when you conjure up an image of a place or experience in advance, only to find that the reality isn't the same, or at least doesn't ap pear 10 be the same to you. Helping gel the three in line can make a dif ference in whether or not visitors have a disappointing or satisfying vacation experience. Example: You've read the ads de scribing unsullied mountain lakes w ith boating, fishing and hiking. "This is it, our dream get-away from-it-all vacation," you lell llic family as you pack the Eddie Bauer hiking boots and Land's End Hcnlcys. Bui on arrival, you find the lake not at all what you had anticipated. Instead of a serene, pastoral setting you find noisy, racing powerboats. Reality doesn't live up to expecta tions. Sure, the lake has loLs of nxim for powerboats, but they weren't what you expected to find. With this barometer and some re lated studies, the two researchers say that they're going to examine "the whole picture" to help the slate de velop "a responsible management plan that will sustain the naiural re sources which arc used by tourists for recreation". It's an idea I'd like to see work. For now, though, I'm pulling ii in the "wishlul thinking" file, right alongside the governor's Coastal Initiative Program which promises to help coastal communities figure out ways 10 protect their natural as sets while using them to attract tourism and other industries. My mother always told me you can't have your cake and eat u 100. But still we keep on trying, and iry ing again. Was she wrong on this one.' Only time will tell. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Nothing Wrong With AA/Quest To the editor: My name is Crystal Widener. 1 ani in the seventh grade at Shallotle Middle School. That, of course means thai I ani in the AA/Quest pro gram. I have read and heard n any disturbing comments about the pro gram. In my opinion, they are very untrue. There have been several let ters printed in The Brw, *ick Beacon written by people opposing this program. Now it is mv turn to express my opinion. There is notlu.ig at all wrong with AA. It teaches you many things that you can t learn in the ordinary math or science class. In the Quest program, you learn such thing' as how to express your feeling, how to build your self-esteem, how to get along with others, and how to say no to drugs and alcohol. 1 do not see how these people can judge this program when they haven't sat down in the classroom with us and listened to what goes on between those walls. You can write as long a letter as you want to the editor about Quest, but it's a waste of time until you've set fool in that classroom. Crystal Widener, Supply (Mure Letters On Following Page)
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 7, 1991, edition 1
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