NO TAX HIKE EXPFCTFD
Shallotte
Pro
poses Higher Utility Rates
BY DOU(; R UTTER
Shallotte residents won't pay any
more taxes but would pay higher
water and sewer rates next fiscal
year under a preliminary budget pre
sented this week to the town board.
The tax rate will stay at 47 cents
per SI 00 of valuation under the
SI. 26 million proposal that Town
Clerk Mary Etta HcwcU passed to
the full board of aldermen Tuesday
night.
Shallottc's sewer rate would in
crease 50 cents per 1,000 gallons,
and the water rate would be raised
by one nickcl per 1,000 gallons un
der the clerk's 1992-93 fiscal year
plan.
If the budget is approved, town
sewer customers would pay a mini
mum of S9 per month. People who
produce more than 3,000 gallons of
wastewater per month would pay an
extra S2.50 for every 1,000 gallons.
Current sewer rates arc S7.50 per
month for up to 3,000 gallons and
S2 per each additional 1 ,000 gallons,
according to Mrs. HewetU
The budget proposal also calls for
an increase in the water rate from
S2.59 to S2.64 per 1,000 gallons.
The minimum monthly fee would
increase from S9.27 to S9.42, and
any water use over 3,000 gallons
would cost extra.
Town officials defended the pro
posco increase in utility rates
Tuesday night, saying the cost of
town water is still inexpensive.
"Anybody who asks about it
should talk to somebody who
doesn't have water," Mayor Sarah
Tripp said.
Alderman Wilton Harrclson relat
ed his experience without town wa
ter at the garden supply store he
owns south of Shallotte.
"We have a well at the store and
the water has so much iron in it you
could draw it with a magnet," he
joked.
The proposed budget, which must
be adopted prior to the start of the
new fiscal year on July 1, features a
5755,553 general fund, S468.523
water and sewer fund and S40.000
capital project fund.
Major expenses in the general fund
arc S249.728 for police, S120.308 for
streets, SI 20,000 for sanitation,
SU7.620 for administration and
S54.600 for the Tire department.
Proposed general fund revenues
include S331.162 in current year
taxes, S48.400 in prior year taxes,
SI 15,000 in state sales tax, S66.000
in utility franchise tax and $36,000
in Powell Bill money.
Besides the 47-cent tax rate, esti
mated town tax collections next year
arc based on Shallouc's property
valuation of S74 million and a col
lcction rate of 95 percent.
Aldermen didn't discuss the pro
posed budget at all Tuesday nighL
They chose instead to take the 10
page document home for study.
"It's going to take a while to look
over," said Alderman David Gausc,
who suggested the board hold off
any review of dollar figures this
week.
The town board will hold a bud
get workshop next Tuesday, May
26, at 7:30 p.m. A public hearing
has been scheduled for the following
Tuesday, June 2, also at 7:30 p.m.
Other Business
In other business Tuesday, alder
men voted unanimously to nominate
Maynard Owens for the N.C.
Coastal Resources Commission.
Shallotte officials also agreed to
send a letter to the N.C. Department
of Transportation requesting repair
of pot holes on Main Street and
more signs at the north end of the
U.S. 17 bypass.
The board postponed action on a
proposed mutual aid agreement with
the Ocean Isle Beach Police
Department and a program that al
lows residents to ride with policc of
ficers on patrol.
Aldermen also tabled a property
tax refund request. They arc waiting
for further research by the town tax
collector.
State Post Hopeful
Touts Local Co
ntrol Of Schools
BY MARJORIE MEGIVERN
Change is the byword of many
political candidates this year, but
when Vemon Robinson talks
change, he has specific plans to back
it up.
Robinson, Republican candidate
for the office of
State Superin
tendent of
Schools, was in
Shallotie last
week, drum
ming up last
minute support
for his June 2
runoff with
Teena Little. If
ROBINSON h<; js succcssfuli
he will face Democrat Bobby
Etheridge in the fall.
Voters may be more interested in
this particular race since the poor
showing of North Carolina school
students has become increasingly
obvious. Brunswick County parents
should care, having just received an
other "report card" from the testing
of sixth- and eighth-graders, indicat
ing mediocre writing skills.
Robinson would give those par
ents a choice of schools for their
children. Part of what he means by
change is shifting control of school
assignments from state and county
school boards to individual parents.
He explained how it would work:
"A group of teachers would create
a school they think parents would
choose, like a Montessori middle
school, design the curriculum,
choose the textbooks themselves,
then let the local school board vote
it up or down," he said. "If enough
parents choose to enroll children in
that school, it would be chartered by
the state and be a legal entity.
Funding would be based on the
number of students attending."
This is not exactly the "neighbor
hood school" concept being de
manded by many parents in counties
where busing is heavy.
"A neighborhood school is great
if you have a good neighborhood,
but if you don't it could be terrible,"
he commented.'Tm not committed
to neighborhood schools; choice is
what is important."
Robinson, the first black Re
publican to run for this job, has won
support from such prestigious
sources as former education secre
tary William Bennett and the Wall
Street Journal. The latter admires
his audacity and courage in "raising
the banner of choice" even though it
dismays GOP officeholders who
aren't eager for reform.
"He says education in his state
can't wait for the public schools to
decide to reform; he thinks they
need competition now," the Journal
said in an April 29 editorial.
He docs possess considerable
bravado for a 37-year-old education
al novice. The Winston-Salem man
has a B.S. degree from the U.S. Air
Force Academy and an MBA from
the University of Missouri, and is
presently assistant professor of busi
ness at Winston-Salem State
University. He has dabbled exten
sively in Republican politics, run
ning twice for the state senate, serv
ing on the state GOP executive com
mittee and being named the 1991
N.C. Young Republican Man of the
Year.
His progressive views on educa
tion are based on a philosophy of
populism and the need he sees for
radical reform.
"School is a shared vision be
tween teachers and parents," he said.
Other strong planks in his "change"
platform arc to cut the top-heavy ad
ministrative load in state and local
school districts and to provide alter
native certification for those without
teaching degrees who have contribu
tions to make in the classrooms.
Asked if the focus on local con
trol would not eliminate the job he is
seeking, Robinson listed three valid
functions for the superintendent's
office: administering testing, deter
mining how to diffuse technology
into all school districts, including
the poor rural ones, and serving as a
clearinghouse for research.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Local 4-H Fashion Competitors
Two Brunswick County young
people have been selected to model
garments of their own design during
the 4-H Club Congress Fashion Re
vue in Raleigh July 23.
Amy Smith, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs Roger Smith of Supply, and
Chris Conner, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Gene Conner of South port, repre
sented the county in senior fashion
revue at the 4-H Clothing Camp
held May 1-2 at the Betsy-Jeff Penn
4-H Camp in Reidsville. Heather
Hilton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Tom Morgan of Holden Beach, was
junior fashion revue participant.
As part of the event, senior partic
ipants took clothing related classes
stressing personal development, ide
al silhouette and foreign fashion de
signs. Junior members created T
shirt designs and took part in
"sewing bingo."
Jenkins Earns Degree
Ronnie Jenkins of Leland recently
received a master of arts degree
from the Fayetteville State Univer
sity School of Education. The uni
versity held its 125th spring com
mencement May 10 in Fayetteville.
Airlift Participant
The son of a Leland couplc re
cently took part in an airlift to the
?
former Soviet Union.
U.S. Air Force Tech.Sgt. Paul W.
Klutz, son of retired Army Master
SgL Herman E. and Irene F. Klutz of
Rural Route 1 participated in
Operation Provide Hope, an exercise
to the Commonwealth of Inde
pendent States.
Klutz is an Air Force linguist and
a 1986 graduate of the University of
Maryland military extension in Ja
pan.
His wife Cynthia is the daughter
of retired Air Force Chief Master
Sgt. Guy I. and Nancy J. Macey of
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Brown Graduates
Airman 1st Class Isaac M. Brown
of the U.S. Air Force has graduated
from the ground radio communica
tions specialist course at Keesler Air
Force Base, Biloxi, Miss.
He learned to install and maintain
high-powered ground communica
tions equipment, including transmit
ters, single- and mulii-channcl re
ceivers. transceivers and recorders.
Brown is the son of Mozelle B.
Campbell of Jamaica, N.Y., and
grandson of Beatrice F. Brown of
Route 2, Bolivia. He is a 1991 grad
uate of South Brunswick High
School at Boiling Spring Lakes.
Local Items Of Business On CRC Agenda
At least two items of business re
lating specifically to South Bruns
wick Islands towns will be on the
agenda when the state's Coastal
Resources Commission meets May
28 and 29 at Beaufort County
Community College in Washington,
N.C.
Both an amendment to the Sunset
Beach land use plan and an update
of the Ocean Isle Beach land use
plan will be considered.
The Ocean Isle Beach update was
adopted by the town board of com
missioners Tuesday morning after
several years of work.
Sunset Beach Town Council
metFriday to amend its current land
use plan. The major change, adopted
following a public hearing, reflects
the town's interest in pursing a cen
tral sewer system.
Also on the CRC's agenda is a re
quest for a variance, an exception, to
allow construction of a 3,200-foot
by 70-foot seawall to protect historic
Fort Fisher in New Hanover County
Sincel985. the CRC's rules have
banned erosion-control structures on
the oceanlioni.
Public hearings arc set for May
28 at 4 p.m. concerning amendments
to several rules to clarify develop
ment guidelines for the estuarine
and ocean hazard systems; proposed
guidelines for federal agencies to re
quest a declaratory ruling, or inter
pretation, of a CRC rule or policy as
it applies to a publicly-funded pro
ject; and a policy to encourage the
beneficial disposal of dredge materi
al so thai sand is not removed from
the active beach system.
The community college is located
on U.S. 264 toward Bclhaven, six
miles off U.S. 17. Sessions will be
gin at 8:30 a.m. both days, with con
current committee meetings Thurs
day morning and full commission
meetings Thursday afternoon and
Friday morning.
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LIFE ? ANNUITIES
FRATERNAL PROGRAMS
STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
DISCUSSION IS INTENSE at this table group led by planning board member Mary Nell Eaddy (back
to camera). Clockwise from left are sewer system consultant Joseph Tombro, Warren "Bud" Knapp ,
Charles Van Winkle, Marie Summerlin, John Warring, Neil Melvin and Zane Winters.
34 RESIDENTS PRESENT
Sunset Beach Property Owners
Talk Policy At Land Use Meeting
BY SUSAN USHER
Thirty-four residents of Sunset Beach and its ex
udate rritorial area talked about key issues affecting the
town's future last Thursday night.
At a two-hour public meeting at the fire station on
the town's CAMA land use plan update, participants di
vided into small groups for discussions led by four
members of the town's planning board.
Suggestions from the participants will be used by the
town planning board and governing council to help
shape policies affecting land use in the community over
the next five years, consultant Margaret Hayes of Hayes
and Associates said.
Five issues identified earlier as important to the
town's future were on the agenda: a 35-foot height zon
ing requirement that may only be changed by referen
dum, a public sewer system, commercial development,
and, more difficult for townspeople to influence, conser
vation of Bird Island and the future of the bridge to the
island.
Preventing high-rise development was the No. 1 is
sue identified in a survey of property owners both main
land and island, and that was the general sentiment over
heard at most tables at Thursday's meeting.
"We were attracted to Sunset Beach by what it is,
not what it could become," said Henry Satterwhite in a
comment generally reflecting that of many of the re
tirees at the meeting. Others at the same table nodded in
agreement.
The consensus at that table: nothing higher than
what the town already allows, which includes 50 feet
maximum height for the condominiums in the MR-3
area on the mainland. The 35-foot height limit in force
on the island results in a roof peak height of about 50
feet for houses on pilings.
Table discussion turned around the possibility that
funds to buy Bird Island might not become available; if
that is the case, participants generally agreed that low
density development of the island is the alternative
choice.
Several speakers expressed concern about zoning a
strip along N.C. 179 from the bridge to the N.C. 904 in
tersection for commercial use, saying the road could not
handle the additional traffic.
Opinion varied on the sewer system, with most resi
dents wanting more information on its actual cost and
evidence that it is needed.
While views also varied on the bridge and its impact
on island residents and visitors, those at one table at
least concurred that the state should offer the townspeo
ple some alternative other than a high-rise or the exist
ing bridge, such as a two-lane drawbridge.
Island resident Sue Weddle suggested that the state
might be influenced by the pressure of public opinion to
change its thinking.
"I think this was great, to see people sit and talk,"
said Ms. Hayes. "There was good discussion, with typi
cally not one person dominating."
The format of the meeting also pleased Haskell
Rhett, a field representative of the N.C. Office of
Coastal Management. Rhett said he may recommend use
of the technique to other communities.
Sunset Beach has an estimated year-round popula
tion of 491, which is expected to increase to at least 511
in five years, then to 1 ,000 by 2000.
Mrs. Hayes estimated the seasonal population at
about 11, 383 now, including about 8,970 in the town
and 2,416 in the extraterritorial area.
ra.
)
Dear Friends,
Over the last 4-1/2 years I have had the pleasure of
serving this community as a physician. 1 brought with me a
desire to practice the highest standard of medicine, as a
loving and caring human being who was also trained in the
specialty of Family Practice.
My philosophy of medicine holds the doctor to be an
educator-the true definition of the word doctor. I have
attempted in that role of educator to practice preventive
medicine, as well as therapeutic intervention. 1 have an
abiding belief in the biblical phrase that tells us it is better
to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.
I have attempted to demonstrate my belief in good health
maintenance by practicing that which I preach. There have
been occasions in which my alliances have been in discord
with this philosophy; projects started that will not be
completed. Yes. there are some regrets.
For the most part, it has been extremely gratifying to
experience the warm acceptance of what appeared to be in
this area at least, a non-traditional medical practice. In the
end, it is clear that we all share the same goals of an
improved quality of life.
It now becomes necessary for me to move the basis of my
practice, and my office in Village Pines will be closing
effective July 1, 1992. For the honored patients in my
practice who wish to continue with me, 1 welcome the
opportunity to discuss these plans further. Please contact
my office or my home at your convenience. For those
individuals with whom my association in a patient-doctor
relationship shall end, 1 thank you for the pleasure of that
acquaintance. With my most sincere regards...
Marilyn boehm, MD, PhD
)