Head Start
Program Eyeing Former
Leland School Building
BY TF.RRY POPE
A Leland community building
that has stood idle for about seven
years may be getting a new lease on
life.
Four-County Community Ser
vices of I^aurinburg wants to reno
vate and lease the old Leland School
for its Mead Start classes. The plan
has also renewed debate over who
should control the building.
For many l-eland residents, the
former school brings back fond
memories. The county leased it to
the 5th District Civic Association, a
group of Leland area citizens, in
Octobcr 1985 with hopes that pri
vate donations would help repair it.
Four-County wants to finish the
rixims at no cost to the county, in
exchange for free use of the building
during the day for Head Start class
es. The Civic Association would
schedule the building for communi
ty use at nights and on weekends.
A building in the Northwest com
munity that had housed the Head
Start program no longer meets state
standards, said District 5 Commis
sioner Donald Shaw. The building
has water and septic system prob
lems and insufficient space in which
to expand. It has been shut down.
Four-County operates two other
Head Start centers in Brunswick
^ : ? a a .l:ij ? ?
V.VIUIIl), tu V.II1IU1CII IWW
days each week at the Cedar Grove
Community Building near Supply
and 60 students five days each week
at the Longwood Center. Leland
area students arc bused to the Ran
som Center at Armour in neighbor
ing Columbus County.
I _oct fall ^ prior to tho 2gCHCy Hp
proaching the county commission
ers, the Brunswick County Board of
Education agreed to a proposal from
Four-County to locate a mobile
Head Start center for Leland area
youngsters on the school's property,
should the project receivc federal
funding.
Brunswick County Commission
STAFF PHOTO BY TERRY POP?
THE FORMER IJilAND SCHOOL building may be leased for Head Start classes if a plan is worked
out between Brunswick County and the 5th District Civic Association.
CiS iuivC ilic ngiii Lu ufpfGVC Or uiS
approve a sublease for the old
school building, said County Mana
ger David Clegg. The county would
have to amend its lease agreement
with the Civic Association to allow
the building to be used for "educa
tional purposes".
The present lc2.sc stipulates that
the building can only be used for
civic, charitable and corporate use,
said Clegg.
Head Start is a federally-funded
child development program aimed at
helping break the cycle of poverty
by providing preschool children of
low-income families with a compre
hensive program to meet their cmo
ticr.al, social, health, nniritional and
psychological needs.
Commissioners tabled the matter
at their Jan. 21 meeting and have
asked for more information from the
Civic Association.
"Wc really got into a heated dis
cussion about this four years ago,"
said District 4 Commissioner Frank
ie Rabon. "Arc wc going to get right
back into that discussion? That's my
conccm."
Commissioners became involved
in the debate over which company
should be chosen to provide Head
Sl:tr1 srrvi ccm in Rnjnswick CoURtV.
Four-County's proposal to use the
Leland School building has raised
concerns from some residents who
have kept an eye on the building
since 1985.
'To me it's a community build
ing," said Jean Speight, member of
the Leland Community Action
Group (LCAG).
The LCAG has fought to save the
building from demolition. At one
time, the Brunswick County Parks
and Recreation Department indicat
ed the building was not worth re
pairing and should be leveled to
make more parking space for base
ball fields at uic Leiand Schooi
Park. That recommendation infuriat
ed l>cland residents.
"I say we should turn it back over
to the county and let ihem schedule
ii out iike the other buildings," said
Mrs. Speight, who is also chairman
of the Lcland Sanitary District.
LCAG members arc not opposed
to Head Start using the building, she
indicated, but arc concerned about
scheduling of the building during
nights and weekends.
The town of Belvillc contributed
between S7,(XX) and S8,(KX) plus
volunteer time in 1990 to help reno
vate the exterior of the building and
to repair the roof. The county bud
geted $2,000 in fiscal year 1990-91
and $5,0(X) in 1991-92 for the Civic
Center. It was the only part of the
old Lcland High School left stand
ing when other pans of the building
were leveled after the completion of
Leiand Middle School.
Belvillc Mayor Ken Messer said
he hopes the county's plan with
Head Start will work so the building
can finally be finished.
The Northern Mayor's Confer
ence, composed of mayors from
Belvillc, Leiand, Navassa, Sandy
Crock and Mrs. Speight of the
Leiand Sanitary District, met at the
center in December and January and
talked about its future.
"We wanted to show that it has a
lot of potential," said Messer.
At the January meeting, Clegg re
portedly told the mayors that "the
county had plans" for the building,
but wouldn't elaborate further, said
Mrs. Speight
Word that Four-County wanted to
renovate the building and hold Head
Start classes there was good news,
said Messer, to those who have al
ready put money into the building.
"I just wish the county would take
it," added Mis. SpcigiiL "Tiie build
ing we've got now stays booked."
There is another community
building at the Lcland School Park
that once served as the school cafe
teria. The building Four-County
hopes to occupy would have indi
vidual classroom spacc. At one time,
it was considered a possible site for
iV nnw Leland area library.
"Tbc building means something
to a lot of Leland people," soid Mrs.
Speight.
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Apply Now For 7 BCC Scholarships
Sewn scholarships worth $500 cach arc available to Brunswick
County high school seniors to attend Brunswick Community College af
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Completed applications for six Presidential awards and the Judith
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Two Presidential awards will be presented to seniors at each of the
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Recipients will be selected by BCC's financial aid committee.
For more information or forms, contact the college's Financial Aid
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A ? - " - -----
A cosmetology student at Brans
wick Community College has been
selected for the Francis Poole
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crs.
Pamela Kaye Rogers, a single
mother of two young children, was
recently named after the selection
committee unanimously chose her
application above all others, report
ed Linda Moorefield, financial aid
administrator for BCC.
When the committee members
shared their votes, they realized that
they had all chosen Ms. Rogers, said
Mrs. Moorefield.
The criteria for the award were:
being a self-supportive non-tradi
tional female enrolled at BCC, hav
ing residency in Brunswick County,
using education to upgrade job skills
for entering or re-entering the job
market, and having the greatest fi
nancial need.
The scholarship will cover Ms.
Rogers' tuition and fees for the re
maining two to three quarters of her
cosmetology studies.
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