Year, Number 34
Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, June 25, 1992
36 Pbges, 3 Sections, 2 Inserts
Here She comes...
Miss Brunswick County. Crystal
Williams, competes Saturday for
the Miss N.C. crown. See 'Under
the Sun/ Page 1-B.
Fish Are Jumping
Unseasonably cool weather made
for exceptional catches,
especially kings and Spanish
mackerel. Fishing news, 11-C.
New At WBHS
Jim Brett, formerly of Tarboro
High School, is the Trojans' new
football coach and athletic
director. Page 10-B.
... msmatmmmKmmi * hbp*?
STAFF PHOTO BY EftIC CARLSON
Who's Catching W hot?
Ken Elliott of Winston-Salem does his best to cast a net for bait with the help of his daughter Emily, 18
months, and son Nelson, 3. Elliott and his wife Margaret brought their family to Ocean Isle Beach last
week.
Funding For Corps Projects Clears House
Ocean Isle Beach is one step clos
er to having its erosion control mea
sures in place with the June 17 pas
sage of an appropriations bill by the
U.S. House of Representatives.
The bill, supported heavily by
Congressman Charlie Rose, would
provide funding for several U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers projects in
southeastern North Carolina. One of
these is prcconstruction work on the
building of a vegetative dune at
Ocean Isle Beach, a victim of severe
erosion over the past several years.
Pending passage of a Senate version
of the bill, $200,000 has been ap
proved by the House for this project.
Another $906,000 for operation
and general maintenance funding is
included for Lockwood's Folly
River in Brunswick County.
Rose's legislative aide Bob llen
shaw said a firm plan for a specific
project has yet to be worked out for
that river.
"We might go ahead and do a de
mo dredge there," he said.
At a recent meeting sponsored by
Save Our Shellfish, a local group or
ganized to protect the river, the
Corps was criticized for a study it
recently completed on the effect of
the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
on circulation in Lockwood Folly
River. The study concluded the wa
terway had had no significant effect,
but noted more field data was need
ed to validate those results.
The Corps had been asked to
study whether reopening Eastern
Channel would improve circulation
in the river, including a small de
monstration dredging project or con
struction of a physical model. Due
to a shortage of funds, the Corps
conducted a computer study of lim
ited scope instead.
The appropriations bill also pro
vides S296,00() lo continue precon
struclion work on the beach protec
tion project at the Fort Fisher his
toric site.
"I realize that some decisions
about the future of Fort Fisher arc
still pending at the state level," Rose
said, referring to a request for a
waiver to the state's ban on seawalls
pending before the North Carolina
Coastal Management Commission,
"but we must press on in hopes the
issues will be resolved."
Environmental planning and other
work can begin toward building a
hard-structure seawall at Fort Fisher,
where erosion has become a critical
issue.
A total of nearly S12 million is in
cluded in the appropriations package
to fund projects in the Cape Fear
River, Wilmington Harbor. Carolina
Beach and Carolina Beach Inlet, and
Masonboro Inlet.
Board Takes Heat
Over Land Plan
11 Y F.RIC CARLSON
Brunswick County Planning Board members look
criticism last week over published excerpts of the draft
Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) land use plan
update that express concern about rising numbers of mo
bile homes and too much "T-shirt and fast-food
tourism" in the county.
Board members told the audience at a planning
board meeting last Wednesday night that the statements
had been taken out of context by a Wilmington newspa
per and did not reflect the
plan's overall philosophy.
They passed out copies of
the complete draft and invit
ed critics to bring their com
ments to the board at a later
meeting.
The land use plan notes
that more than 4, (XX) of the
5,000 building permits is
sued for residential struc
tures in 1991 were for the
placement of manufactured
housing, or mobile homes.
"From an economic development perspective, it is
an unfortunate truism that the occupants of manufac
tured homes are less educated anil have lower incomes,
on average, than occupants of site-built, single-family
homes, "the plan says. "The addiuon of this many mo
bile homes has implications for the county's tax base,
education and quality of the labor force."
The plan recommcnds that the county seek to diver
sify its housing to include more single- and multi-family
homes, especially in areas expccted to become urban or
suburban within 10 years.
In an effort to attract a "high-quality tourist," the
plans says the county should encourage the development
of more golf courses, mannas, ocean front resorts and
equestrian facilities rather than "chcap t-shirt shops, fast
food outlets and other low-end attractions."
Patty Young, a mobile home owner from Lcland,
criticized the plan for encouraging the county to "devel
op more toward the rich person" at the expense of local
residents.
'There's a middle of the road in there somewhere,"
said Mrs. Young. "Whether it's becausc of poor educa
tion or whatever, people in this county don't have a way
to play $75 rounds of golf.
"...If all we have are people We're giving them the
working in T-shirt shops making
A cr\ ? i -? ' - * Eddie Johnson said the
county is putting too much
emphasis on golf course
development at the expense
of water quality.
"You've got enough
runoff already," Johnson
said. "You can't dredge an
oyster or a clam now. If
you build another golf
course and let that water run into a creek its going to be
worse."
He said the plan should do more to attract higher
paying industries to (lie area.
The proposed land use plan recognizes that storm
water runoff "is among the most pressing water manage
ment problems now confronting the developer and pub
lic officials."
It encourages all land use activities to employ effec
tive runoff management practices.
Planning board member John Barbee saiu thai the
policy recommending upgraded tourist attractions is n.
(See PLANNING, Page 2-A)
$4.50 an hour, they won't be
able to pull themselves up by
their bootstraps. They won't
even have boots."
? Planning Board Member
John Barbee
7 Schools Get New Assistant
Principals
BY MAKJORIK MKGIVKRN
Seven county schools will gci
new assistant principals in action
taken by the Brunswick County
Board of Education Thursday night.
In the last of several June meet
ings called to discuss personnel mat
ters, the board also moved four
guidance counselors, transferred one
teacher and hired a new football
coach for West Brunswick High
School (See related story in the
sports section).
Two administrators were
switched from their present posi
tions as assistant principals. Tom
Simmons was moved from Union
Primary to Leland Middle and
Clifton Jones from Shalloue Middle
to Supply Elementary. Terry
Chestnutt, assistant at Waccamaw
Elementary, will remain in that posi
tion.
The other four assistant principals
come from the ranks of teachers or
from the central office. Elizabeth
Young, presently serving as
math/science coordinator, was as
signed to South Brunswick Middle
School, where she has previously
served in that position.
Harry Martin, physical education
teacher at South port Elementary,
was named to Union Primary as as
sistant principal; Ronnie Jenkins, so
cial studies teacher at South
Brunswick High School, will go to
North Brunswick High as assistant
principal; and Faye Nelson, second
grade teacher at Lincoln Primary,
will move up to assistant principal
there.
Wanda Fra/.icr, a former South
port Elementary teacher, had been
named assistant principal at Bolivia
Elementary in a special June 11
board session.
Simmons was happy about his
move.
"I'm a team player, so 1 have no
problem with being moved," he
said. "I look at this as a positive
changc lor me. I've taught in middle
school before so I know it's a chal
lenge, and my main objective is to
make the school there part of the
community.
"Of course, I'll miss my kinder
garten babies. For 13 years I've
been hugging babies, so this will be
a changc. I think of myself as a good
administrator, so we'll find out if I
am."
Four guidance counselors were
switched, with Penny Blackburn
moving from North Brunsv xk to
West, Harold Bellamy from Leland
Middle to North, Judy Harris from
West to Leland Middle, and Bill
Schewc from South to serve in the
dropout program at North and
Leland Middle.
Board member Polly Russ said
the board followed recommenda
tions from Superintendent P.R.
Hankins in regard to the shuffling of
counselors. "He has investigated
these and they've been looked at
over a long period of time," she
said.
In regard to the assignment of as
sistant principals, Mrs. Russ said
many factors were considered.
"We have people in the system
(See SCHOOLS, Page 2-A)
Redwine: 'Lottery Is Dead'
Rep. David Redwine, D-Brunswick, said Tuesday he had given
up on ihc slate lottery for the current legislative session.
He has been the chief supporter of a bill to allow a referendum on
a lottery, but it has been opposed by House Speaker Dan Blue, D
Wakc.
Although Redwine believed last week he had enough votes to get
the bill out of the finance committee, his assessment had changed by
Tuesday morning.
"We won't even press for a vote in committee." he said. "It's I
dead for this session."
The bill had been approved by the Senate, but in the House fi
nance committee had not garnered sufficient votes for passage, accord
ing to Co-Chairman Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, who polled the
members last week.
Asked about his future efforts on behalf of a state lottery,
| Redwine observed, "I'll let someone else lead us into the promised
land."
? ' ? 11
Trustees Worried Auditorium
Won't Be Finished On Schedule
BY SUSAN USHKR
Brunswick Community College staff and trustees are
keeping a close eye on the general contractor in charge
of construction of the Otlell Williamson Auditorium.
The project is falling behind schedule, with indica
tors it may be difficult to gel back on track in time for a
late fall opening.
Hatcher Construction Co. Inc., of Fayetteville, gen
eral contractor, is asking for a 2 1/2-month extension be
yond the original Oct. 24 completion date.
"We're not recognizing the extension the contractor
wants at this time," Ken Phelps, an architect with
Boney Associates of Wilmington, advised trustees last
week. As of now wc expect to hold the contractor to that
completion dale. From what we have seen, the request
for an extension is not warranted in any amount."
As the project continues, the company might quality
for an extension if weather or something else beyond the
contractor's control delays progress.
The reasons given in ihe original lellcr Iron) the con
tractor arc "unacceptable," said Phelps, since they relate
to performance of subcontractors lor which the contrac
tor is held responsible. For example. Hatcher has ad
vised BCC of problems with its roofing subcontractor.
This past week there arose "several problems... that
make it more difficult for me to tell you what condition
the contractor is in," Phelps said.
As of Friday a week ago, the masonry contractor
was leaving the job. A new general superintendent was
to report to the job this week, with plans to go to a six
day work week to make up some of the lost lime.
"We have no authority to do anything to him (for not
meeting interim deadlines) except to bring to his atten
tion that he is behind schedule," said Phelps. "We have
no club."
The bonding firm is in a similar position, at least
unless the company defaults on the contract, gets "terrif
ically behind" or is facing Financial failure. II the con
tractor were replaced, and a new construction schedule
adopted, the project might be delayed still further.
Chairman David Kelly noted.
With four months remaining in which to complete
the project, most of the block work is done, 99-plus per
cent of the decking and much of the steel work. The
stage and main floor have been poured. Except for the
balance of the brick veneer and the roof, said Phelps,
"the major structural elements have been constructed."
Still, he noted, "there's a lot of work to be done in
that four months. We'll have to keep a close eye on
him."
Should the company not receive extensions, Matcher
would be under a daily penalty for failure to meet the
completion deadline.
ihe auditorium project has undergone a series of un
foreseeable delays since voters approved a bond issue
for its construction in 1985.
Boney Associates is the third architectural firm to
work on the project, which had to he modified and
scaled down to budget before bids could be let.
Phelps' update was for Kelly and five trustees in
what the architect jokingly referred to as a "non-meeting
of the non-bo;ird." The board could conduct no business
because it lacked a quorum.
Reaves said the college is advertising for an audito
rium manager. The slot, which is being advertised
statewide, needs to be filled well in advance of the facil
ity's completion so that programming can be booked.
Trustees also heard, but took no action regarding, a
proposed interior color scheme described by Phelps as
"very sophisticated" and as having "a more formal, the
atrical image," and unlikely to appear dated with time.
The subdued scheme is in shades of cream, rosy beige,
rust, gray and black.
Phelps said a decision is needed as soon as possible
so that materials can he ordered, in keeping with the
original construction schedule for the project.
"The contractor has gone on record as wanting this
information immediately," he said.
(See Related Story And Photo, Page 2- A)