Opinion Page
THE BRUNSWICK^fiEACON
Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H Sweatt Publishers
Edward M. Sweatt .'.Editor
Lynn S. Carlson Managing E ditor
Susan Usher News Editor
Doug Rutter Sports Editor
Eric Carlson Stajf Writer
Peggy Earwood OJJtce Manager
Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director
Timberley Adams, Cecelia Gore
and Linda Cheers Advertising Representatives
Dorothy Brcnnan and Brenda Clemmons Moore ..Graphic Artists
William Manning Pressman
Lonnie Sprinkle Assistant Pressman
Tammie Henderson Photo Technician
PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY, JULY 22, 1993
Appointments To Regional
EDC Can Make A Difference
Brunswick and surrounding counties stand to benefit a good
deal from the extra attention and effort that this region will re
ceive from the new Southeastern North Carolina Economic
Development Commission.
A special thanks for pulling this project together is due Rep.
David "Butch" Redwine. The commission represents an opportu
nity to improve the quality of life and prosperity of this region we
call home.
Now Southeastern North Carolina residents need to do our
part to make sure the EDC lives up to its potential and ours ?
starting with appointment of the initial 15 commission members.
Three will be named by the governor, two by the lieutenant gov
ernor and 10 by the legislature (5 recommended by the leader of
each house).
The commission will have a lot of leeway in setting its own
direction. That's why these first appointments are so important. If
members come on board burdened with a preconceived agenda,
we all stand to lose. Wouldn't you rather have members on that
commission who truly care about the region as a whole, who are
willing to examine its diverse needs, and who are willing to work
together?
Cooperation means working together toward a common end
or purpose and for mutual benefit: win/win. A board stacked with
representatives of a particular county, industry or interest isn't to
our advantage. Too many times in the past we have been short
sighted. While the immediate benefits might be tempting, ulti
mately that strategy hurts the region and future attempts at coop
eration.
We haven't had a strong history of cooperation even within
the boundaries of Brunswick County, much less across county
lines. The same is true across this entire region of independent
minded people.
But the times they are a'changing, and more and more we see
the value in cooperation across turf lines. To thrive, or even to
survive, we must learn to cooperate when and where it is to all
parties' advantage.
Economist Lester Thurow has written, "The economic game
that will be played in the twenty-first century will have coopera
tive as well as competitive elements.. .The world's common envi
ronment will require cooperation if it is to be livable for every
one."
Tell your legislators. Let's seek a commission willing to do
its homework from the grassroots up ? to listen, to honestly in
ventory assets and weaknesses, set priorities and act as a catalyst
to help get done whatever needs to get done.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Pair States Opposition
To Martin -Marietta's
Rock Quarry Proposal
To the editor:
We are strongly opposed to the
rock quarry proposed by Martin
Marietta Inc. to be situated near
Southport. We base our opposition
on the following reasons:
?The majority of the land pro
posed is surrounded on three sides
by small creeks which serve as
headwaters for the larger Walden
Creek. In addition to these creeks
there are hundreds of acrcs of
marshes, branches and smaller
streams. All of these areas serve as a
nursery for birds, marine and land
animals. It is a fragile system that
would be damaged by the digging
and blasting that are part of the ac
tivities by such a quarry.
Concerned citizens for our envi
ronment, fishermen (pleasure and
commercial), and tourist-related
businesses would feel the negative
results from such a quarry. If you
have travel led 140 just outside Wil
mington at Rocky Point you have
seen what an eyesore such a plant is.
We sometimes take for granted as
residents, the beautiful natural re
sources that surround us, not to
mention the millions of dollars
brought into our county by the visi
tors that come to enjoy our beauty
and recreation. Surely this alone
would be enough to oppose this en
deavor.
?One of the potential problems
would be the effect on our water
table. Persons knowledgeable in the
study of water tables indicate that a
substantial problem could occur
with such digging activities. Some
authorities believe that the headwa
ters of the tidal creek could be af
fected to the point of drying up as
could numerous springs in the sur
rounding areas.
?Massive amounts of dust, noise
and vibrating from the use of dyna
mile is certainly a negative aspect of
a limestone quarry. Homes on N.,C.
87 and the Bethel Church Road
community are subject to blasts 500
feet from their back door. Martin
Marietta can come this clou: and
still be within the law as indicated
by a Martin Marietta spokesman.
Many of these families have small
children and this would be a danger
to them as well as a health problems
to people who suffer from allergies
related to dust.
?The final reason for opposition
is the geographical location for this
site in regards to traffic. The gravel
will be shipped lo Wilmington via
N.C. 87 and Myrtle Bcach via N.C.
87 and or N.C. 211. Every one of
our school children attending South
Brunswick Middle and High
Schools travel this route by bus or
car, five days a week, ten months a
year, from the communities of Oak
Island, Sunset Harbor, Midway
Road, Highway 211, and Southport.
Hundreds of trucks carrying rock
will be entering Highway 87 and
will add to the already dangerous
problem facing that road now. Buses
and cars from ihe Bolivia, Win
nabow and Town Creek communi
ties will also meet these trucks trav
elling to and from school.
We simply cannot accept that the
few jobs and tax revenue generated
by this plant justifies putting people
and homes at risk. As concerned cit
izens of Brunswick County we must
join together to protect our wildlife,
river system, and most important the
citizens. We urge everyone to con
tact the county commissioners and
state representatives to let them
know we will not accept this project.
H. D wayne Price
Patricia S. Price
Southport
(More Letters, Following Page)
Author Sings Those Wedding-Beli Blues
It was. after all, the wedding sea
son. Inspired by that and a friend's
unrelated gift of two bottles of
French champagne, Eric and I went
to the Henderson County magis
trate's office early one Friday morn
ing and tied the knot. I called my of
fice and said I wouldn't be in that
day ? I was going on my honey
moon.
We didn't tell a soul except the
young doctor I had convinced the
night before to sign the necessary
medical form without doing any
blood tests. The doc and 1 both
worked at a community health cen
ter; I pleaded that if we had to go
through the lab, the nurses would
make a big, embarrassing fuss and
the news would be all over the clinic
in five minutes tops.
We stopped by Walmart and
bought a couple of S2.96 wedding
bands in case we needed them for
the ceremony. As it turned out, we
didn't. It took longer to round up a
couple of witnesses (two probation
officers hanging around in the back
room) than it did for the disinterest
ed justice of the peace to read our
"vows," collect our ten bucks and
fill out the paperwork.
Afterward, we walked to the deli
down the street and ate breakfast be
fore leaving town. Eric had to be in
Charlotte by noon on business, so I
spent the afternoon in a hotel room
alone, watching the rain pour over
Trade Street and hoping we hadn't
just fixed something that wasn't
even broken.
fa
J*k
II was a far cry from ihc multi
thousand-dollar, eight bridesmauls
and- 500-guesis nuptial extravagan
za that is NOT every gal's dream.
But it suited me just fine. After all,
there's no such tiling as a pcrfect
wedding.
Ask Margaret Bigger, author of a
90-page paperback entitled, appro
priately, There's No Such Thing As A
Perfect Wedding, and subtitled
"True wedding tales, odd, funny and
disastrous."
Bigger, who lives in Charlotte,
had no idea her idea would strike
such a chord, but it has. She's been
making the talk show rounds, chat
ting with the likes of Jenny Jones
and Vicki Lawrence and gathering
new wedding stories all along the
way. People have been buying the
book like there's no tomorrow,
mostly to give for bridal shower
gifts.
Here are a few of her stories:
?" Preacher, I think I'm going to
faint," whispered the knit-browed
bride, while the soloist was singing
two-thirds of the way through a
formal service.
Lynn
Carlson
"No. you're not.'' he replied in a
low voice. "Just bend your knees
and take some deep breaths."
She obeyed but grew whiter.
"Preacher. I'm going to throw
up." she said.
"Faint!" he barked
mihe mother-of-the-bride ?vav ex
tremely nervous. She stopped in
the ladies room one last time just
before her turn to enter the sanctu
ary. Soon she was headed down
the aisle, her long pink gown flow
ing as she walked with all eyes up
on her. In her hand, she was
clutching a roll of pink toilet paper.
Her pink clutch purse was still in
the ladies room.
MThe bride was quite a fine soloist
and elected to sing at her own
wedding. After their vows haii been
made, she turned and gazed into
her beloved's eyes while she sang.
"I'd rather have Jesus..."
Bigger loves to talk weddings.
She called to tell me about an up
coming autograph session in North
Myrtle Beach, and I was hesitant to
tell her my favorite wedding story ?
about the bride and groom I knew
who managed to spend their wed
ding night in jail.
"1 know you get tired of hearing
these from everyone you talk to," I
said apologetically.
"Absolutely not," she shot back,
following up by sending me a re
view copy of her book with a note
and this post script: "I can't wait to
get more facts on your 'wedding
night in jail' tale!"
There's No Such Thin % As ,\
Perfect Wedding has been such a tut
she's collecting anecdotes for Vol.
umc 2. Her richest material conicv
from preachers, Biggers says Slk
doesn't use brides' and grooms
names because if she did, the rev
crcnds would surely clam up.
I'm going to write Biggers and
tell her the whole jail story, though
it's probably too raunchy for her in
use. Maybe I'll share this? my ia
vorite clean wedding story ? too.
My sister was given a bridal
shower by a group of very sweet,
very straight- laced Baptist matrons.
One of the dreaded "shower games
was Advice for a Long Happy Mar
riagc, in which the older women
shared pearls of wisdom, written on
little strips of pink paper, with the
bridc-clcct, who would read them
aloud.
We modem young women, forced
to endure this arcane ritual out ol
love for Brenda, cringed as the el
ders' advice flew in the face ol all
our liberated ideas.
"Always get up before he docs
and put on your makeup." Oh, yeah,
right...
"Every night, set out his cloihes
for the next day." When pigs fly...
And on, and on, and on, ad nause
um.
Then she opened this one: "Never
go to sleep angry... Sit up all night
and pout." I don't think anyone but
my sister and me caught the twinkle
in the eye of the most proper little
blue-haired lady in the room.
II
J DON'T SEE lOCMHO VP GUNS
AT HOME HASTOVO WITH VlOlENtf.
AT SCHOOLS
?3;
jimi
ea
u)imp^0&y(
i-/ !
o
?
CftRoufWcfttoiNs
/?
Watching
It's hard lo imagine a more glar
ing example of elected representa
tives circumventing the public will
as a favor to a special interest group
than the mandatory smoking bill
nearing passage in Raleigh.
Thai's right, mandatory. At the re
quest of the state's all-powerful to
bacco industry, the legislature is
about to require that smoking be al
lowed in all public buildings and
many private businesses, whether
the owner wants it or not.
Even restaurants ? those with
more than 50 seats ? will be forced
to set aside at least 20 percent of
their capacity to accommodate peo
ple who wish to exhale smoke into
the air while other people eat.
In other words, a health-food
restaurant where no customer has re
quested an ashtray in 10 years would
be required to allow a table full of
cigar smokers to fire up stogies in a
crowd of vegetarians dining on tofu
and bean sprouts.
Lawmakers arc going so far as to
prohibit town and county governing
boards ? the elected officials closest
to the citizenry ? from enacting any
local smoking controls that are more
restrictive than the slate law.
Forget for a moment that we are
talking about smoking here. Imagine
if the legislature issued a similar
edict regarding, shall we say, the
minimum lot size for building a
home.
After all, most representatives
come from places where the typical
subdivision lot is half an acre.
Suppose they dccidcd to apply that
standard statewide? How many lots
in Brunswick County's mobile home
Your Righ
Eric ^
Carlson m
*:?? 1
parks or beach lowns would qualify
for the 2(),00()-squarc-fooi mini
mum?
Or whai if a coalition of city
dwellers, animal rights activists and
gun-conuol advocates pressured
enough legislators into a ban on
hunting in North Carolina? How
long would it be before the state
house was surrounded by camou
flaged protesters and packs of bark
ing deer hounds?
The legislature doesn't normally
bully lowns and counties into ac
cepting a statewide standard on is
sues that arc best decided at a local
level. Of course, when it comes to
real estate or hunting, there arc pow
erful interest groups that would run
them out of town if they attempted
such meddling.
In the case of the mandatory
smoking bill, it is the lobbyists who
are calling the tune while the legisla
tors dance like water on a hot grid
dle. Money (as in campaign contri
butions) talks. And in the Tar Heel
State, tobacco money shouts.
Most of the numerous opponents
of this law feel a person has the right
not to be exposed to "second-hand
smcke." They bring to the argument
convincing evidence that this legis
ts Go Up
lation poses a significant danger to
public health.
Personally, I'm not that bothered
by second-hand smoke, having been
around it all my life.
My mother smoked cigarettes
(until she got cancer). Lots of my
friends smoke. And I've had some
great times in blues bars and pool
halls and jazz clubs and coffee hous
es and poker games where a haze of
blue smoke is a natural part of the
scene.
One of my favorite forms of re
laxation is to rock back on the porch
with a cool drink in hand and classi
cal music on the headphones while
watching the sun set through the
swirling, aromatic smoke from a
hand- rolled lonsdale (Partagas, Te
Amo or H. Upmann, if you're mak
ing a Christmas list).
But I wouldn't think of lighting a
cigar in someone's living room, at a
restaurant or in a supermarket
checkout line. Because a lot of peo
ple don't like to smell burning
leaves in closed spaces.
Those people should have the
right to avoid that smoke. And any
body who wants to prohibit smoking
throughout his or her restaurant
should have that right also. Smokers
would either have to wait until they
leave before lighting up or find an
other place to dine.
On the other hand, a restaurant
owner should also have the right to
run his or her place of business
without providing a smokc-free sec
tion. Non-smokers could either put
up with the smoke or find another
place to dine.
Government buildings arc another
J
In Smoke
matter. They are built and operated
with taxpayer money and citizens
should have the right to use ihem
without needlessly endangering their
health.
Which is why more and more lo
cal governments are pulling up "no
smoking" signs in iheir buildings
and discussing ordinances to regu
late tobacco use in other public
places. These laws and policies nor
mally undergo a period of lengthy
discussion and debate by citizens'
committees and elected boards and
at public hearings.
But the cigarette industry and its
legislators don't want us to decide
this issue for ourselves. They figure
that all those "no smoking" signs in
tobacco country might send the
wrong signal to other states consid
ering even stricter regulations.
Too bad. If the Brunswick County
wants to open a debate on a local
smoking ordinance, it should have
that right. Maybe such a law would
pass. Maybe not. But the people
who live here should have a say in
the matter.
When ihis bill passes, we will on
ly have uniil Octobcr to decide the
issue for ourselves. After that, the
state will decide for us.
The Brunswick County Board of
Health is forming a committee to de
termine whether we want to accept
the stale's standard or set our own.
They want opinions from a cross
section of the population: mer
chants, workers, retirees, restaurant
owners, restaurant customers, even
tobacco farmers.
If you're interested, call the health
department.