MAY INCLUDE TECHNOLOGY FUNDS
Schools Awaiting Word On County's Financial Commitment
BY SUSAN USHER . ? ? ? ? ? ? ? funds, but is disappointed thai it appears funds won't be
county school officials arc waiting to icam from Somebody, sometime has to stop thinking about the voters ana provided for 10 new "lead tcachcr" positions called for
Brunswick County Commissioners if any expansion 1 ? t 1 it i ?? ? in the schools' performance-based accountability plan
items such as computer technology or lead tcachcrs will trlMfC aOOllt Wriat trieSe Children need. * and other needs.
be restored to the school system budget following last "I understand that the commissioners have to deal
week's budget hearing. School Board CrUlliiUUn Donna Baxter with funding requests from everybody, but it is frustrat
Following the public hearing on the county budget ing when our budget is cut year after year, yet we're still
last Thursday, County Commissioners' Chairman Don it down or not," he said. new elementary school in the Lcland area and cxpan- held accountable."
Warren said he will propose a shift in funds so that the Warren cxpccts no funding for school construction sion/rcnovation of West Brunswick High School. "I wish they would fund our requests and then hold us
school system can continue a computer technology pro- from property tax revenues, saying that money "would The budget proposed by acting County Manager John to the fire," she said. "Somebody, sometime has to stop
gram begun this year. He said he will ask fellow com- have to come" from a bond referendum. "That's the only Harvey provided no money for growth or construction, thinking about the voters and think about what these
missioncrs to delay construction of a county warehouse way," he said. but did include an additional S401,000 (5 percent) for children need."
and allocate that additional Sl.l million to the schools The school board had asked for S9.4 million in oper- continuation of existing programs. The 5-percent budget increase isn't cx pec ted to be
strictly for technology-related expenses. ating funds and another S7.8 million in capital outlay. Board of Education Chairman Donna Baxter is opti- enough to cover even a status-quo budget. The schools
"I'm going to make the motion and they'll either vote including a $6 million installment on construction of a mistic about the possibility of getting the technology need to cover the 2- or 3-percent salary increases and rc
(See EDUCATORS. Page 2-A)
TK
i*Ions .book binoIrv
sfrinIport"" mi 49284
Thirty-First Year, Number 28 ?mjtHiHu*s*n?kacon Shollotte, North Carolina, Thursday, June 3, 1993 50c Per Copy 50 Pages, 4 Sections, 3 Inserts
NO SECOND HEARING PLANNED
STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG It UTTER
Mission Accomplished
The crew of the Tern watches as the M.B. Coppedge sinks at an artificial reef site off Ijockwood Folly Inlet last Thursday. The Coppedge, a
tug boat built in 1883, was 83 feet long and 19 feet wide and weighed 63 tons. For the story and more photos, see Page 9-C.
BUTLER REASSIGNMENT BRINGS PROTESTS
Personnel Policies On
Education Agenda
BY SUSAN USHER
Superintendent Ralph Johnston planned to un
veil more of his proposed central office reorgani
zation at a special meeting of the Brunswick
County Board of Education Wednesday night,
June 2.
The board was to meet at 6 p.m. at the confer
ence room at the school system offices in
Southport for a work session on proposed person
nel policies with consultant Richard Schwartz, re
newed discussion of the 1993-94 school calendar;
and personnel and attorney-client matters includ
ing staff reorganization.
"What I hope to present, what you're going to
see, is further decentralization of administrative
staff to North, South and West," Johnston said
Tuesday afternoon. "Among other things we're
trying to revamp the central office physically and
get everybody under one roof."
As presented earlier, one effort of the plan is to
get more administrative support into the schools
themselves, working with principals and teachers.
Another is to bring in new people with fresh
ideas.
The first element of Johnston's reorganization
plan, approved by the board earlier this month,
brought in three new principals from outside the
system and also brought heated protests from
black community leaders and some Leland area
residents.
About 30 people representing both groups ap
peared before the board at its April 19 meeting,
asking the board to reconsider its reassignment of
"This isn't racial, this isn't
anything personal against
Joe Butler. It is a question
of supporting efforts to
improve the school
system."
?Lee Harrison
Lincoln PTA President
Lincoln Primary School Principal Joseph Butler
to the central office staff as migrant education and
parent involvement coordinator.
Several speakers from the black community,
including former school board member Franklin
Randolph, questioned the loss of a black adminis
trator and the hiring of three new principals, all of
whom arc while.
Another black administrator, Sandra Robinson,
an assistant principal of West Brunswick High in
Shalloue, was named to succeed Mark Owens as
principal of Shallotte Middle. Owens plans to
sometime during the coming year, but has not set
the date.
The school board also heard from several
Lincoln Primary School parents who attested to
Butler's love of the children at Lincoln School
and asked thai he be given an opportunity lo carry
out the performance-based accountability plans
developed by Butler and his staff this year.
Melissa Padgett, a third grade teacher, also
spoke on Butler's behalf. The board also received
a petition of support signed by most faculty mem
bers and several hundred oihcr community resi
dents.
Meeting in special session last Wednesday to
consider tenure and probationary teacher status,
the board took no action on the request.
Butler is to be replaced with Pat Carney, an as
sistant principal at Dogwood Elementary School,
Fairfax, Va., since 1990. Other new hires arc
Richard Lawson, who will serve as principal of
South Brunswick Middle School, where Assistant
Superintendent Mosc Lewis had been Tilling in
for Les Tubb, who is on leave from the school
system with the N.C. National Guard. Lewis is re
tiring this month.
Dean Peterson of Lcland, assistant principal of
Blair Elementary School in Wilmington, has been
offered the Waccamaw School principalship in
Ash, but as of Tuesday had not accepted it.
School board member Thurman Gause, the on
ly black on the board, was on vacation when the
board approved the reorganization plan.
Tuesday he said the plan approved by the board
was not like the earlier drafts hQ had seen, that "at
first they were planning to transfer everybody,"
but it didn't happen that way.
Gause said he had been willing to accept the
(See PF.RSONNKL, Page 3-A)
W9W>?;??5?f
Tear Gas Subdues Gunman
Charged In Taxi Kidnapping
BY ERIC CARLSON
Stephen Lewis Willoughby had
been living with his mother at Shell
Point for only a few weeks when his
recurring bouts of depression appar
cnUy got the best of him.
Diagnosed with a degenerative
Inside...
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Crime Report 9A
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skin and bone disease at the age of
three, Willoughby had tried to deal
with his condition by drinking alco
hol. Now 18 years old, he had been
talking about going back to Vermont
to live with his father. He had also
talked about committing suicide.
Thai's how police believe
Willoughby reached the breaking
point last Thursday when he hi
jacked a taxi outside Shallottc, tried
to rob a Winnabow couple at gun
point and fired more than 80 bullets
at police, at an occupied home, at a
passing motorist and even at his
mother.
Several times during his three
hour standoff with about 50 law en
forcement officers, Willoughby put
the muzzle of a pistol into his
mouth, into his nose and into his car,
threatening to pull the trigger.
All the while, a police sniper kept
Willoughby's head in the cross-hairs
of a high-powered rifle as another
detective tried to persuade him to
surrender.
Willoughby finally tossed his two
pistols out of the car and gave up af
ter three tear-gas canistcrs were fired
through the taxi window.
"From what we can determine, he
was having a really bad day," said
Brunswick County Sheriff's Detec
tive Ken Mcsscr, who interviewed
Willoughby and his mother after the
incident. "He wasn't particularly
communicative. But his mother said
he'd been depressed about his con
dition, that he had been drinking and
that he wanted to go back to
Vermont."
Apparently, that's what
Willoughby had in mind when he
called the Oak Island Cab Company
at around noon Thursday and ar
ranged for a taxi to pick him up in
Shell Point. After slopping at a
Shallotte convenience store, the cab
headed north on U.S. 17 with Wil
loughby and a female passenger on
board.
"Just outside Shallotte, Willou
ghby pulled a gun and told them
they were hostages," Messer said.
"He said he wanted to go to
Vermont."
When they reached the Bolivia
area, Messer said Willoughby
(See STAND-OFF, Page 2-A)
Large Crowd
Protests Agency
Cuts, Tax Hike
BY ERIC CARLSON
A crowd of about 175 turned out
for a public hearing in Bolivia to
voice their opinions on a proposed
budget that Board of Commissioners
Chairman Don Warren had already
declared "unacceptable."
But although radical changes arc
planned for the budget plan, Warren
said he won't schedule a second
hearing to allow citizen input on the
revised spending package.
The hearing was scheduled to
hear comment on Interim County
Manager John Harvey's budget
package, which calls for a 10-per
cent tax increase and would elimi
nate the Brunswick County Library
Board of Trustees, the Resource
Development Commission and the
Parks and Recreation Department
The proposed budget also discon
tinues county allocations to many
agencies and organizations that have
traditionally relied on some level of
county funding including volunteer
fire department districts, the volun
teer information center, the
Brunswick County Literacy Council
and the Hope Harbor Home domes
tic violence shelter.
Warren last week issued a scries
of statements indicating that many
of the budget proposals would be re
jected. However, the board had not
voted to make any changes in
Harvey's budget before the
Thursday public hearing.
Forty-six people addressed the
board during the nearly three-hour
hearing. Most speakers asked the
board to continue supporting various
eliminated departments and dc-fund
cd agencies. Others criticized the
board's handling of the budgeting
process. No one spoke in favor of
the budget as proposed.
"We need to get politics out of the
budget," said Carson Durham of
Shallotte, a member of the Hope
Harbor Home advisory board. "We
need to do what's good for the citi
zens of this county, not what's good
for the party!"
Durham asked the board to rein
state its previous year's donation of
SI5,000 to the domestic violence
shelter and to consider adding an
other S5.000. Warren has indicated
that last year's appropriation will be
returned to the budget.
"I label this so-called budget as
Budgetgatc!" said Eileen Kellagher
of Long Beach. "Please don't use
vindictivcness or petty jealousy to
phase out Kelly (Barefoot) or 'BJ.'
(Jones). You're making Kelly a vic
tim of seedy politics."
The proposed budget would
delete the two protected county po
sitions held by Clerk to the Board
Kelly Barefoot, paving the way for
her expected removal from her ap
pointed post, thereby terminating
her employment after 14 years in
county government. Brunswick
County Parks and Recreation
Director Jones and two of his assis
tants also would lose their jobs if
their department is eliminated as
proposed.
Warren has said that Jones and his
department will remain along with
nearly all personnel slated for elimi
nation, except Barefoot. The budget
includes a new position of secretary
to the county manager?a job
Barefoot performed for two years
under former County Manager
David Clcgg?but she has not been
suggested for the position.
Don Hughes, chairman of the
Resources Development Commis
sion, defended the RDC's track
record of attracting business and in
dustry to Brunswick County. He ex
pressed concern that the board is
(See CITIZENS, Page 2-A)
STAff PHOTO BY MIC CAJUSON
HOrriMS AND BULLETS are among the items recovered as an SRI crime scene investigator search
es through the Oak Island taxi used in a standoff with police in Winnabow last week.