Thirty- First Year, Number 8
12/31/99 :MPO
HOAG & SONS BOOK BINDERY
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jrolina, Thursday, December 24, 1 992
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32 Pages, 3 Sections, 1 Insert
Board OKs $55
Million, 10-Year
Plan For Schools
BY ERIC CARLSON
In one of several split decisions
by the newly constituted board, the
Brunswick County Commissioners
voted Monday to approve a non
binding wish list of SS5 million
worth of school improvements pro
posed for the next ten years.
Chairman Don Warren and
Commissioner Way land Vereen vot
ed against the package, saying the
$1.6 million earmarked for the 1993
construction of a new school admin
strative office building in Bolivia
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classroom space.
Vereen also joined Commissioner
Jerry Jones in a minority vote
against a request for $153,622 the
school board says was lost when the
state cut off funding for local school
energy costs. Warren and commis
sioners Tom Rabon and Donald
Shaw voted to approve the appropri
ation.
Jones said the school board was
given enough to cover energy ex
penses in the 5-percent budget in
crease allocated for 1992-93 by the
former board of commissioners.
The proposed county leash law
passed a second and final reading
wilh Vereen casting the only dis
senting vote. (See related story.
Page 6- A.)
In asking approval of the school
board's 10-year plan. Assistant
Superintendent William Turner said
it "is not something that's carved in
stone" and would not commit the
commissioners to allocating funds as
scheduled. He said the plan was re
quested by the slate to help long
range planning and to assess the
need for a statewide school bond
referendum.
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expect a 33-percent increase in en
rollment in the next ten years.
Turner said. That means the total
school population would jump from
its current level of just under 9,000
students in 1992 to an estimated
12,300 by 2002.
Among the improvements
planned for the next 10 years are:
?1993: A new central office
building in Bolivia, additions to the
South port Primary cafeteria, new
floors and lights in the three high
school gyms and a new roof on the
Lincoln Primary School.
(See SCHOOLS, Page 2-A)
Local Fishermen Find, Leave
Behind , Lots Of Tiny Oysters
BY DOUG RUTTER
The old saying about good things coming
in small packages doesn't apply to oysters.
Small oysters are off limits to fishermen.
Brunswick County shellfishermen say
they've have been Finding lots of undersized
oysters since tiie season started Oct 15.
In North Carolina, it's illegal U) harvest
oysters that are less than three inches long.
Local fishermen say this season has been
characterized by art abundance of the tiny
oysters.
"We have a lot of little oysters around un
der three inches," said Rich Carpenter,
southern district manager with the N.C.
Division of Marine Fisheries.
As a result. Carpenter said oyster season
has been "just fair" to this point. "It hasn't
been a great year and it hasn't been a disas
trous year. It's kind of in between."
Toni Chadwick of Chadwick Seafood at
Shallotte Point said fishermen that work
Shallotte River have found bushels and
bushels of small oysters. All they can do is
leave them behind and look for bigger ones.
"There ain't much to it right now. The big
ones are getting pretty scarce," she said.
"The first of the season they looked pretty
good, but the little ones haven't grown
much."
Among other things, Chadwick said oys
ters need cold weather and rain to grow.
There's been plenty of rain this season, but
the weather hasn't been cold enough.
"It hasn't been a
great year and it
hasn't been a
J disastrous year. It's
kind of in between."
? Rich Carpenter,
Division of Marine Fisheries
Chadwick said she's hoping there will be
more oyster growth in January and February
than there's been so far this season.
"Usually in the cooler months they grow
better."
Another factor stunting oyster growth in
Shallotte River, she said, is the blockage in
Shallotte Inlet. The inlet needs to be dredged
so more food can come up the river for the
oysters to feed on.
"Thai's our biggest problem," Chad wick
said. "The old inlet needs to be dredged so
the oysters can get some food. Thai's anoth
er thing that's keeping them from growing."
Although oysters have been undersized,
fishermen are thankful they haven't found
many dead oysters this season in Brunswick
County.
In 1989 and 1990, oyster-killing parasites
known Deimo and MSX were blamed for
widespread shellfish mortality in area rivers
and streams.
Carpenter said there's been "very little"
mortality so far this season. State officials
don't expect the parasites to cause problems
this winter.
"We're kind of into the colder stason so
Dermo slows its growth a little bit,"
Carpenter said. "We've seen some patches
of it but nothing like two or three years
ago."
Chadwick said fishermen haven't found
many dead oysters in Shallotte River this
season. "A couple of years ago I mean they
really died, but there ain't many dead ones
this year."
Soles Tapped For No. 2
Senate Leadership Post
BY SUSAN USHER
Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. (D-Columbus)
has been nominated as deputy presi
dent pro tem of the North Carolina
Senate for the term that begins next
month and marks his 25th year in
the state legislature.
Soles, 58, is expected to succeed
Kenneth C. Royall Jr. of Durham in
the post, which is considered one of
the most powerful in the Senate. He
was nominated by the Senate's
Democratic Caucus, and will be vot
ed on and sworn by the entire Senate
and sworn into office shortly after
the Senate convenes at 12 noon
Wednesday, Jan. 27.
"Because the Senate is controlled
by Democrats, obviously he's as
good as in," said Mike Ballance, a
public information assistant in the
lieutenant governor's office.
At 3 p.m. that day, he will co-host
a reception at the Brownstone Hotel
for constituents withl4th District
Reps. David Redwine (D-Brans
wick) and Dewey Hill (D-Colum
bus) .
As deputy president pro tem,
Soles' responsibilities will include
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Inside...
Birthdays .2B
h Business News 6-7C
Calendar af Events ? .7 A
Church News 4-5B
Classified 1-6C
Court Docket
Crime Report .9C
Golf iOB
Obituaries
Opinion
People In The News . ? 3B
Plant Doctor ?2B
Sports Sr-U B
Television Listings 6-7B
" When you're in a
leadership position ,
you are able to
influence
things.... We' 11 want
to help direct things
toward southeastern
North Carolina,
whether it's jobs or
something else."
-?Sen. R.C. Soles
presiding over the Senate in the ab
sence of Marc Basnight (D-Dare),
president pro tem, Ballance said.
Under the state constitution the pre
siding officer of the Senate is Lt
Gov. Dennis Wicker. He has the
power to vote when the members of
the Senate are equally divided.
Soles said Tuesday he will contin
ue to serve on committees, and has
asked to continue on the agriculture
committee. He isn't certain if he will
hold a committee chairmanship this
term and said that decision will be
reached in consultation with
Basnight. If not, it would the first
time since he was a freshman in the
House that he has not chaired a
committee.
During the 1991-92 term. Soles
served as chairman of the Judiciary 1
committee and vice chairman of the
Finance committee, as well as a
member of 10 other committees.
Soles was ranked the seventh
most effective of the senators in
polling conducted last term by The
Center for Public Policy Research.
The not-for-profit center annually
surveys legislators, lobbyists and the
media representatives covering the
legislators.
A partner in a law firm in Tabor
City, Soles previously represented
Columbus County for four terms in
the N.C. House of Representatives.
In the Senate he represents the 18th
District, which includes Brunswick
County.
During the coming term Soles
said he expects his leadership posi
tion to benefit the area, at least indi
rectly.
"When you're in a leadership po
sition, you are able to influence
things. When decisions are made
certainly I'll have a lot of input.
We'll want to help direct things to
ward southeastern North Carolina,
whether it's jobs or something else."
Reflecting some of the emphases
of the Clinton administration at the
federal level. Soles said he antici
pates much emphasis at the state
level on infrastructure such as high
ways, mass transit, sewer and water
systems, and on innovative ap
proaches to education. Currently
Soles said he is "leaning toward"
support of a bond issue for the com
munity colleges, state university
system and public schools.
He sees southeastern North
Carolina as ready to "open up" to
economic growth with the near
completion of the four-laning of
U.S. 17, the speeding up of work on
U.S. 74-76, which will open up a
four- lane route to Charlotte and in
centives that have increased use of
the State Ports Authority, which is
also in his district.
Soles has served as co-chairman
of a study committee on docketing
criminal cases that, along with the
new sentencing commission study,
will make recommendations aimed
at improving the efficiency of the
court system and ensuring that those
sentenced to prison serve "some rea
sonable time" in prison.
STAFF PHOTO BY LYNN CAJtLSON
HEALTH DIRECTOR Michael Rhodes and Department of Social Services board member Brenda
Grissett admire the Christmas baskets assembled for Brunswick County families.
Christmas Basket Program
Helps 600 Families In Need
BY LYNN CARLSON
They were lined up early in the
chilly morning outside the Schaeffcr
Buick building in Southpon. There
were children and parents and
grandparents and great-grandpar
ents. some well-dressed and others
tattered, some cheerful and smiling
and others uncomfortable with hav
ing to avail themselves of the com
munity's charity.
They were the A's through the
L's, the first half of 600 families
who qualified for Christmas baskets
distributed by the Brunswick Coun
ty Volunteer & Information Center
beginning Monday.
When Monday's food and gifts
were all with their designated recipi
ents, the task would begin of as?em
bling goods for the M's through Z's
in time for Tuesday morning's con
tinuation of the program.
Inside, VIC Director Pete
Bamcuc and assistant Angic Fisher
coordinated a small army of volun
teers, shepherded clients and cross
checked to make sure baskets went
to the right families. Volunteers'
tasks varied from checking in clients
to holding doors open. Two volun
teer "Santas" from Carolina Shores
and "Mrs. Claus," a former VIC
employee, added to the merriment
Fisher's husband Mike and an en
ergetic group of high-school and
college-age volunteers did most of
the running and retrieving ? locating
each family's gifts in a sea of red
and-grcen wrapping paper, card
board cartons, bicycles and tricycles
and grocery sacks, and delivering
the goods to their grateful beneficia
ries.
"Isn't this great?" said Barneue,
beaming as he greeted ciicnts at the
door. "People love helping with this.
I wish it was as easy to get volun
teers the rest of the year."
The Christmas baskets program is
truly a community-wide effort.
From mid-October until mid-No
vember, VIC sought applications
from low-income families in need of
help with Christmas gifts and food.
Fisher made tags for the 'Trees of
Hope," throughout the county, an
opportunity for people to buy specif
ic gifts for people under 18 and over
65. In addition to the gifts acquired
that way, there are "generic gifts,"
(See GIFTS, Page 2-A)