T "ISWICKffEACON Home Of West brunswi(.K High School, 1 993 North Carolina 3A Football Champions J jrty Second Year, Number 7 Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, December 1 6, 1 993 50c Per Copy 38 Pages, 3 Sections, Plus Inserts ? STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG RUDER WEST BRUNSWICK SENIORS Wayne Branch (right) and Chris Brown embrace following the Trojans dramatic 19-14 win over High Point Andrews in the state 34 championship game. KINGS OF THE HILL! Crazy About The Trojans BY DOUG RU1TER "How Bout Them Trojans!" You can't leave the house these days without running into somebody eager to talk about the West Brunswick High School football team. The Trojans captured the North Carolina 3A Championship last Friday night in Chapel Hill, coming from behind in the final minutes to beat the High Point Andrews Red Raiders. 19-14. It was the second straight state football championship for West Brunswick, which defeated Maiden 14-6 to win the 2A crown one year ago. West is the first team to re peat as state champs since 1990. The football team's success has thrown Shaliotte and the surrounding communities into a frenzy. The Trojans are the talk of the town from Calabash to Holden Beach and Ocean Isle to Longwood. "The community's just abuzz with it," Bobby Williamson, treasurer of the West Brunswick Athletic Booster Club, said Tuesday. "That game will be talked about for years to come." "Everybody's extremely excited," he added. "It was just such a tremendous game and such an exciting finish. I think everyone is just beside themselves with the way it turned out." Despite the thrill in Chapel Hill, West Brunswick Principal T.d Lemon said it was business as usual at the school this week. "Because we played on Friday, I think the hoopla was over by Monday," he said. "We're back to normal as far as school. I think the players and student body have learned after three years to control the hoopla." West Brunswick, which played its first four playoff games at home, saw a larger crowd each week at Rourk Stadium. The biggest crowd to ever see a football game in Brunswick County showed up two weeks ago when the Trojans played Tarboro for the eastern champi onship. Last Friday, an estimated 1,500 West Brunswick fans made the three-hour trip from Shaliotte to UNC's Kenan Stadium. The caravan included 28 members of the Gospel Center Baptist Church youth group. "The crowd was real good to us tonight." West Brunswick Head Coach Jim Brett said following the game. "They've done a great job helping us and they re ally helped us tonight in the fourth quarter." Williamson said the fan support cannot be underesti mated. "That's one thing that goes into a championship season. The grass roots support adds a lot to it," he said. Lemon said the football team's success has drawn the community a lot closer to the school. "1 think what it does is it gives the student body a lot of pride in our school." Lemon said. "It does pull the community together to support an issue. The issue here was football." The Trojans have been praised everywhere people have gathered this week. Holden Beach Mayor Wally Ausley kicked off a town meeting Monday morning by congratulating the team. He said winning back-to-back state championships was a "remarkable" feat. "A movie should be made about the way they ended up doing it in the fourth quarter," said Ausley. an avid sports fan. West Brunswick made North Carolina High School Athletic Association history Friday night when it be came the first school to repeat as outright state champi ons after moving up in classification. After winning the state 2A championship last year. West Brunswick was moved up to the 3A class this year due to increased enrollment. The only school that has come close to matching West Brunswick's magic is Sanford, which tied for the state 3 A championship in 1972 and won the 4A title the fol lowing year. Sweatshirts and hats commemorating West's state championship will be available this week, possibly by Thursday. They will be on sale at Bobby's Auto Parts and JSJ Carpets in Shallotte. Williamson said the booster club is looking for indi viduals or businesses who are interested in helping pur chase championship rings for the team. The rings will cost $125 each. Bach ring sponsor will receive two tickets to the West Brunswick football banquet, which will probably be held in the spring. Williamson said the booster club also will be selling copies of the game film for $20 each. Orders should be called in to Williamson at 754-6619. Highlights of West Brunswick's victory will be in cluded in an hour-long television special scheduled to air next month on the N.C. High School Athletic Association Network. The "Toyota Football Championships of North Carolina" will include highlights of the 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A championship football games. It will air Saturday, Jan. 22, at 5 p.m. on WJKA-TV 26 out of Wilmington. Mine Could Endanger Nuke Plant's License BY ERIC CARLSON Fearing its Brunswick Nuclear Plant will be caught between a rock quarry and a hard place, the Caro lina Power and Light Company has asked the state to stop Martin Mar ietta Aggregates from opening a limestone mine that could endanger plant operations. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has asked CP&L for its assessment of the mine's potential impact on plant safety, which will be considered in determining whether the agency will continue to license the twin-reactor generating facility. In a blunt letter commenting on its new neighbor's intentions, CP&L told the state's Land Resources Division that the proposed mining operation "will constitute a substan tial physical hazard" to the power plant buildings, that it will endanger railroad lines carrying radioactive fuel and that it will threaten power lines used to run cooling pumps in the event of a nuclear emergency. The Dec. 10 letter, signed by CP&l. President William Cava naugh III. was entered into the record of official comments on Ma tin Marietta's application for a state mining permit. Cavanaugh said an independent review of Martin Marietta's "flawed and unreliable" engineering report on the project shows it to be "based on arbitrary assumptions, inadequate hydrologic mapping, inappropriate extrapolation of test results and an inappropriate model" for determin ing the possible effects of the lime stone mine on surrounding proper ties. "If CP&L determines , because of some outside hazard, that it can no longer operate safely ; we will take whatever action is necessary against CP&L. " ? Patrick Milano, NRC The mining company's report ig nores its own evidence, CP&L says, when it fails to consider the hazards posed by sinkholes that could form as a result of Martin .Marietta's plan to pump 10 million gallons of water a day from an underground aquifer to keep the quarry bottom dry. The formation of a sinkhole along the company's rail line could result in a hazardous waste spill. The sink ing of a single electrical line could result in a costly plant shutdown if emergency cooling pumps are de prived of power. Martin Marietta's own engineer ing report "included maps showing the ten-year sinkhole development as posing a hazard, not only to the railroad line, but also to those CP&L transmission lines that carry power to and from Brunswick Nuclear Plant." the letter said. It also noted that sinkholes "are possible in areas underlying plant structures." If the NRC agrees with CP&L's assessment of potential safety haz ards. the state's issuance of a permit for the mine could jeopardize the nuclear plant's license to operate. "We cannot get involved in the lo cal permitting process. That is total ly a state decision," NRC Reactor Project Manager Patrick Milano said Tuesday. "Our concern is that the plant continues to operate in a safe manner. CP&L will have to prove to us that it can do so with a limestone quarry in operation. "If CP&L determines, because of some outside hazard, that it can no longer operate safely, we will take whatever action is necessary against CP&L." While there are a range of steps that could be taken. Milano said the most extreme would be the revoca tion of CP&L's license to operate the nuclear facility. The plant is one of the areas biggest employers and accounts for about 25 percent of Brunswick County's tax base. For now, the NRC will continue to review CP&L's assessment's of the potential dangers posed by the proposed mine. "They have raised a flag indicat ing there is a potential physical haz ard to their facilities. What that is, we can't say right now. That's what we will be asking for (from CP&L) in terms of an evaluation," Milano said. In his letter to the state, Cavanaugh acknowledges the threat (Sec CP&L, Page 2-A) Sunset Calabash Denied $4. 7 Million Sewer Grant; Loan Offered, With Catch BY LYNN CARLSON Proponents of central sewer ser vice for Sunset Beach and Calabash hit an unexpected snag Tuesday when they learned the towns won't qualify for $4.1 million in Farmers Home Administration grants. At a meeting in Raleigh, Farmers Home offered the towns an alterna tive in the form of an S18 million loan over 40 years at 5.25 percent interest, hut that came with a catch, too. Federal funds cannot be used in ways that might encourage develop ment in a flood plain, which would eliminate the possibility of extend ing sewer service to any new build ings along area waterways or on the island of Sunset Beach. The towns are seeking a combina tion of grants and loans to construct a central sewer service estimated to cost $25 to $30 million and whose debt consultants have maintained can be serviced through user fees. Sunset Beach Mayor Mason Barber, who attended the meeting, called the news "a change in direc tion" rather than a setback, and said he believes the towns probably should pass on the loan offer. "It sounded great at first, but then they told us about the built-in re strictions that would create a real hardship here," he said. "They could have told us about this way back. I wish they had contacted us." Calabash Mayor George Ande rson agreed, saying it seemed the towns could have been informed "nine months ago." "It really put a hole in our bal loon," Anderson said. "I thought we were going up there to find out how much of a grant we would be get ting. It was a real kick." Janice Burke, director of bond au thorization for the State Treasurer's Office, was at Tuesday's meeting and confirmed that Farmers Home Administration determined the towns' median household income levels, derived from the 1990 Census, were too high to qualify for the grants. She also confirmed that FmHA's loan offer "has some environmental stipulations and other normal FmHA regulations," including no use of federal funds on floodplain develop ment. "That's my understanding," she said. The two towns, through consult ing engineers from Powell Asso ciates, had submitted pre-applica tions to Farmers Home seeking grants and loans for portions of the sewer systems jointly totaling $10.8 million. They are still eligible for State Revolving Loan funds, having been ranked second and third on the statewide funding priority list. The engineers say the towns are jointly eligible for at least $3.78 million to he used to build sewage treatment facilities. They may also be eligible for up to $5 million under the re cently approved statewide Clean Water Bond referendum. They may also, with voter ap proval, issue general obligation bonds to fund the system. A Farmers Home official who met with the Sunset Beach Town (Sec AGENCY, Page 2-A) Inside... Birthdays ,.2B Business News .8C Calendar ????????????? 8A Church News 5B Classified 1-8C Crime Report 8C Court Docket 9C Golf 7B Obituaries 5B Opinion ? ????MM****** ??????? 4-5A People In The News .....4B Plant Doctor ......3B Sports 7-12B Television ??????????????? 10-1IC PLAN ELIMINATES FIVE MANAGEMENT JOBS Changes In Schools' Office Expected To Save Dollars, Shift Emphasis BY SUSAN USHER A plan adopted by the Brunswick County Board of Education Monday will restructure the Instructional Services Division by cutting five central office man agement slots and, in a shift of emphasis pledged more than a year ago by Superintendent Ralph Johnston, pro viding principals and teachers more on-site support. Jan Calhoun, assistant superintendent for instruction, drafted the proposal, which was adopted on a 4-1 vote with little discussion. Board member Yvonne Bright cast the lone vote against it, saying later the board's de cision was made hastily. While five new positions will be created, the seven part plan is also expected to result in a net savings of approximately $113,475 in local funds, a three-person reduction of central office staff, and greater equity in pay for middle managers. Calhoun said a conscious ef fort would be made to maintain or improve racial and gender equity on the central office staff. The reorganization will go into effect in July, though planning and related personnel decisions will be made as early as January and February. It comes at the rec ommendation of the board. This past summer, Brunswick County Commissioners urged the school board to look closely at its central office staff for poten tial reductions as a cost-cutting move. Calhoun said he didn't think the central office was overstaffed, but that the changes, "will help us identify and select the administrative staff we need to do the things the board has asked us to do." "We will be moving more toward supporting build ing (site-based) goals than program goals, and focusing more on our mandate for accountability," he said. Calhoun said he discussed the plan's "most sensi tive" recommendation, the reduction in force or RIF, last Wednesday with the five employees whose jobs would be eliminated: Edna Gause, director of libraries and media; Nelson Best, director of athletics, health, physical education and driver's education; Christine Hall, elementary supervisor; James McAdams, high school supervisor; and Bob Rhyne, middle schools su pervisor. Some of their administrative duties will be trans ferred to other individuals or assumed by Calhoun; some responsibilities will be dropped. "I find this is a real difficult thing to do," he said. "I don't want to slight them or the service they have pro vide in any way through this recommendation. I hope we can find positions for them in our system that match their skills, interests and abilities." The five will be given priority for jobs for which they qualify, said Calhoun, who did not rule out the possibility that some of them could become candidates for the five new positions created by the plan. "It will depend on who else from our system comes forward who may be more qualified." The "worst case" that could happen would be their rehiring as classroom teachers, positions for which all five qualify, at greatly reduced salary levels. Calhoun and board attorney Glen Peterson told Bright they couldn't guarantee there would be no "repercussions" from the RIF, which would be justified on the grounds of district reorganization. A review procedure is available if any of those af fected think they were unjustly terminated. All five positions affected are paid in full with local (county) funds, totaling $296,686. Retaining their administrative positions in the divi sion will be; ? Gloria Talley, whose position as director of plan ning, assessment and staff development was created in September; ? Patricia Ward, Chapter I Director, who will take permanent charge of the Reading Recovery program and its expansion using Chapter I supplemental/reme dial program funding; ? Joseph Butler, director of migrant education and parenting programs, a position created in July and ex pected to continue to increase in importance because of mandates for greater parent involvement in the schools; ? William Furpless, director of vocational education, who will oversee a changing approach to vocational (See FIVE ADMINISTRATORS', Page 2-A)

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