MORE LETTFRS
Representation Inadequate
For Nonresident Owners ?
To the editor:
Paying taxes is no easy burden; but paying taxes as a
nonresident home owner in Holdcn Beach is truly
frustrating. Most of the home owners arc nonresidents,
and they have no vote on the issuer that directly
influence them.
It was my belief that the Holdcn Beach Property
Owners Association (HBPOA) was established to act as
a liaison between the property owner and the town
government. However, the HBPOA docs not have an
established forum for obtaining information from its
members. Therefore HBPOA, as its exists, cannot
adequately represent its members. This must change.
The members arc not apathctic about how their taxes are
spent as implied by some.
Approximately three years ago a survey was sent
regarding the use of land in the Town of Holdcn Bcach.
Since then there have been no organized surveys. The
quarterly meetings that are held represent the only way
to listen to the members. These meetings arc poorly
attended, yet the attendance cxcccds the seating
capacity. A quorum of only 25 members is necessary to
conduct business. Therefore, these 25 members control
the HBPOA, which has a membership of approximately
800. It is beyond the scope of imagination to think thai
this is appropriate. One can argue that more members
should attend, but the mere fact that they arc
nonresidents suggests that they may not be in town for
the meetings. This does not imply apathy.
I suggest a forum of frequent organized surveys
addressing the many issues affecting the property
owners. Oncc this information is obtained, it should be
presented to the mayor of Holdcn Bcach. Recently the
cxccutivc secretary of HBPOA said that a survey was
sent to the HBPOA members, and that there were only
39 replies. This was not a survey asking specific
questions, and the low response rale was to be
anticipated.
Some issues thai need to be addressed arc as follows:
? Why should the Town of Holdcn Bcach spend
$10,000 for advertisements? If the real estate interests
think it is necessary, let them pay for it. The town
should not be paying for advertisements that have a
direct benefit for the really interests. Remember, this is a
"family bcach."
? Why do we have street lights? The town will be
paying for these lights and their maintenance. Where is
the support for these? The HBPOA should have sent
questionnaires to the members to learn their desires and
relayed this information lo the mayor. The Town of
Holdcn Bcach is acting in a vacuum. They do not have
any idea what most of properly owners want.
?The issue of private lights needs to be addressed.
The bcach is beautiful at night. To sec the moon light
over the water is a naturally beautiful phenomenon. To
sec the phosphorous glow in the water is breathtaking.
All of this will be lost unless strict laws are written to
prevent "light pollution." There arc houses that have
lights extending to the ocean edge and some with lights
brilliantly lighting their neighbors. This is neither
necessary nor neighborly. It robs us of the natural beauty
of the beach, and its effect on the sea turtle is yet to be
determined.
These arc some questions that the HBPOA should be
addressing. The importance of the barbecue picnic is
dwarfed by the many significant problems that need to
be addressed.
Charles G. Gcgick
Greensboro
Deputies Should Get Raises
To the editor.
In response to the cut in the proposed raises for the
sheriffs department, it is my opinion they were given a
raw deal. They risk their lives to protect us and make
this a better county to live in. They should be given a
pay raise.
At night, after working 12 or 15 hours, 1 can go home
and go to sleep knowing they arc close by, watching out
for things and making sure everybody and everything is
safe. When I work later than usual at night, they pass by
several times or stop to make sure things arc okay. If I
get up and go to work earlier than usual, they pass by
several times to make sure things arc okay.
I'm very proud of the men and women at the sheriff s
department. They all do a very, very good job patrolling
Brunswick County, trying to protcct all of the people in
the county.
I'll tip my hat to each and every one of our lawmen
and women. They're doing a great job, and I'm proud of
every one of them. I know this won't help feed their
families or pay their bills, but I hope they get their raise.
They all cam it.
Joanne Coleman
Calabash
Marsh Rood Opposed
To the editor
Not much more than a year ago Doug Ruttcr briefly
questioned the development at the 6(X) West Ocean
Boulevard, Holdcn Beach, along the marsh. (I felt he
didn't delve deeply enough). Fill had been added to keep
out the marsh in this wetland in order to build.
Now a road is proposal to go through the very center
of the marsh. Again, it can't be done without covering or
disturbing wcUands. Marsh grasses such as sea lavender
and cordgrass (spartina) grow here. At high tide water
seeps through the marsh grasses. Great blue herons,
egrets, ibises, small blues and other birds nest on Bacon
Island.
The marsh contains raccoons, bluebirds, clapper rails,
a lone hawk and at least four deer, among other animals.
This nursery for shrimp, blue crabs, peril winkle, mus
sels, oysters, silvcrsides, spots and other fish and crus
taceans is important in the balance of nature. We have a
small forest and marsh, a natural area unlike other is
lands which have destroyed all natural habitats.
Tourists and residents enjoy the crabbing and beauty.
To put a road through this community of life and to
build there shows Holdcn Beach Enterprises and the oth
ers involved as avaricious and unconcerned about the
present or future.
There are alternatives to this unwise, irresponsible de
velopment. The owners were once stopped after begin
ning dredging. It is no more wise to build now than it
was in 1970. This marsh and island arc already inhabit
ed by animals and native plants, and should stay that
way.
Gail Flcaglc
Greensboro
Protest Coble TV Outages
To the editor:
I am sure I am speaking for many other cable
television "outages" in our area. Cable here is out almost
as much as it is working. Just lately, it was out most of
Sunday afternoon (June 21) and out again most of Mon
day morning.
This cable TV administration and maintenance must
consist of inexperienced bumblcrs. Like in Washington,
let's throw out the dead-wood rascals. Our money for
cable TV is being wasted on these people.
All it takes is a report of inclement weather, and the
cable goes out.
Something can be done if we formally protest this
treatment. We are sick and disgruntled with this cable
TV bunch.
Douglas R. Wildey
Calabash
Wanted Alive: One Rana Heckscheri
The "wanted" poster was unlike
any I'd seen before. The picture
looked like a certain ? no, it couldn't
be ? but it was.
Name: Rana heckscheri, a.k.a.
"River Frog."
Description: May be spotted as
tadpole or frog. Tadpole may be as
large as 3 inches to 6 inches, with
distinctive dark stripe along edge of
tail. Adult resembles bullfrog in
size, but has distinctive markings ? a
darker belly and white spots on
lips ? that may be indistinguishable
to giggers. May appear in large
schools.
Last sighted: July 12, 1975, along
the Lumber River near Maxton.
Likely whereabouts: Backwaters,
pools or swampy areas along
streams in the Lumber, Cape Fear
and Waccamaw River systems. May
appear on surface of water or on
aquatic vegetation.
Status: Unknown, may have dis
appeared from state.
Action requested' If spotted, con
tact Jeff Bcanc, Alvin Braswcll or
Bill Palmer, N.C. Museum of Nat
ural Science, Raleigh, (919-733
7450) to arrange protective custody.
Rana heckscheri. or river frog is a
wanted amphibian. At the moment,
its fate doesn't look too good.
"We're afraid we may have lost
that frog for reasons undetermined,"
curator Alvin Braswcll advised in a
telephone interview last week.
The wanted poster is part of a
concerted man ? er, frog ? hunt
mounted by the museum and the
Nongame Program of the N. C.
Wildlife Resources Commission to
determine the present extent and
range, if any, of this frog that is, at
best, rare in North Carolina. The riv
er frog is on the state's list of
species of special concern, just be
low threatened status, which is just
below endangered status.
Posters have been up in some lo
Susan
Usher
cations as much as two months, with
no luck so far. The Raleigh trio will
eventually give up the search, but
only with reluctance. Braswell fears
another river frog won't be found in
southeastern North Carolina.
Why worry so much about what
may have happened to a frog?
Well, it's not just one frog, it's an
entire species, as least as it exists in
North Carolina. If the river frog
weren't still common in Florida and
Georgia and still found, reportedly,
in South Carolina, the search would
have been mounted much sooner,
rather than simple random checking.
The study of this frog tics in with
worldwide studies in the decline of
amphibians. They live in the same
environment we humans live in. If
they are in trouble, that may be an
early warning for us that something
is wrong and needs fixing. If an ani
mal is in danger of being wiped out,
problems usually first show up
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where existence is already most
fragile, at the edge of their range, as
may be the case with the river frog
in North Carolina. Then it spreads.
If you know a species is in trou
ble, then you can start looking for
causes. That can lead to a determi
nation of how serious the problem is
and its possible solutions.
"The thing that scares me," says
Braswell, "is when you see the de
cline of a spccies and you can't fig
ure out why."
The linkages among all of cre
ation are fragile; what affects one
living thing affects others, plant, an
imal and of course, us. The message
is an obvious one.
"Staying in touch with the envi
ronment-to me that's a good idea,"
says Braswell.
So, keep alert for signs of Rana
heckscheri, the fiver frog. His fate
could be undeniably tied to yours or
that of your offspring.
Finding him would provide a bit
of hope in a world struggling to
achieve some sort of balance.
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Corporate Conservation
Crusade Has Successes
BY BILL FAVER
We've seen an increase in what
appears to be corporate awareness
of the environ
ment and the
need for setting
aside space for
wildlife habi
tat. Some of it
is, no doubt,
done for good
public relations
following such
environmental
disasters as the
oil spill in Alaska. Some appears to
be planned as a diversion from
having to deal with the real envi
ronmental pollution problems of
certain companies.
But, there still seem to be some
serious, effective realizations that
corporations need to lake responsi
bility for being better environmen
tal citi/.ens.
More than 80 companies have
been working through the Wildlife
Habitat Enhancement Council to
set aside areas for wildlife and sig
nificant plant species on lands they
own. We hear very little about
these efforts, since they don't gen
erate the publicity of corporate
greed logging owl habitat. These
Pho?o by Bill F <rv?r
WHOOPING CRANES are
cousins to this Sandhill Crane
photographed in South Flor
ida.
wildlife areas proicct wild turkey,
bobwhitc quail, while-tailed deer,
bald eagles, osprcys, turtles and
butterflies.
Last December. USA Today re
ported on a cooperative effort by
the Mitchell Energy Company in
Texas and Aransas National Wild
life Refuge. The company had ob
tained permission to dredge a wa
terway to reach a gas pipeline.
They agreed to create a 15-acre
habitat for the endangered whoop
ing cranes on refuge lands by
building a levee four feet high, 483
feet wide, and 3300 feet long.
Dredge material was pumped in
and the outside of the levee was
stabilized with interlocking con
crete pads.
Company officials worked with
environmentalists and biologists to
recreate the fragile ecosystem the
cranes require. The habitat pro
vides marsh waters with crabs,
crayfish, frogs, and fish and allows
small islands to form so the cranes
can find nesting places.
The new crane habiuit will help
these endangered birds in making
their comcback. The Mitchell
Company would have had to dis
pose of their spoil somewhere, so
ill is project became a cost-cffcctivc
effort for them. And it is good pub
lic relations.
Whatever the reasons for it, we
can be thankful ? for companies
like this who take interest in pro
viding habitat for our wildlife.
_ I
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