Rolling On The Ramp
Varnamtown's new public boat ramp is
under construction, and talks continue on
the adjacent parking lot. Page 7-A.
The Other Olympics...
A team of 15 Shallotte Middle School
students will compete in the upcoming
state Science Olympiad. Page 5-B
JSWICIC#
You've Earned It!
Retirement is a new and welcome
beginning if you do it with style. Read all
about it in Retirement living. Section D.
Thirty-Second Year, Number 16 t*t4 tMt MUNSV*ICK M*COn Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, February 17, 1994 4 50c Per Copy 80 Pages, 4 Sections, Plus Inserts
STAFF PHOTO BY LYNN CARLSON
Wheeling And Dealing On Valentine's Day
Members of the Shallotte Wheel and Dealers Square Dance Club delight residents attending a Valentine's Dance Monday at Autumn Care
in Shallotte. The square dancers not only performed but included residents in their dances during a party attended by staff, visitors and
family members, too.Juanita Roberts and Fred Karger were named king and queen of the ball. Their picture is on Page 6A.
OFFSET RISING COSTS OF LUMBER. BUILDING MATERIALS
Low Interest Rates Buoy Local Housing Market
BY SUSAN USHER "The previous year, 1992, was scary;
After a hesitant first quarter, home 1993 was a comeback year and it's busy
construction rebounded in the South now," Baker said.
Brunswick Islands during 1993, buoyed Another positive sign for the indus
by historically low interest rates and try: material deliveries are requiring \'A
following a trend that saw a 7.1 percent days' advance notice, compared to a
increase nationwide in the number of half-day a year ago.
new single-family homes built. "I've only seen that once before,
"For the southern part of Brunswick years ago. It's not 'How much is it?' but
County, I think everyone pretty much 'When can I get it?'"
had a good year," said Jim Baker of Builder and Realtor Mark Saunders
McClure Realty. of Coastal Development & Realty said
Baker is president of the South that building was generally strong last
Brunswick Islands Home Builders year in the immediate Holden Beach
Association, which in the two months area, "surprisingly strong" considering
has added "10 or 12" new members for the fluctuations in the cost of building
a total of about 85 members and associ- materials?prices he expects will con
ate members?another sign of health in tinue to rise this year.
the local industry. Buoying local construction are inter
est rates that fell to 7 percent and TA back in low interest rates. That is why
percent last year, the lowest in approxi- there is a lot of construction now. The
mately 20 years, enough to offset rising interest is what kills you to start with."
construction costs. "Low interest rates are the only factor
Those two trends arc expected to offsetting the higher costs," concurred
continue, hand-in-hand, into late 1994. Saunders. "Time and again our cus
"We're very busy right now and I tomers are realizing they are going to
think it's going to be busy year even have to pay $7,000 more for a home
with building materials as high as they than just a month or two ago, but are
are," said Baker, who spent 15 years in willing to do it to lock in that lower in
retail construction material sales, terest rate."
Materials costs are the highest he's seen Local homebuilders like Baker and
them, he said, with lumber costs in- Saunders anticipate interest rates will
creasing 80 percent to 100?adding remain low or increase very slowly over
$4,000 to $6,000 to the cost of an aver- the next six months to nine months,
age house of 1,500 to 1,800 square feet Slow First Quarter
in size. Septic tank permit activity was off
"You take that figure and in probably
three to five years you would gain it (See LOW, Page 2-A)
STILL SEEKING DONATIONS. VOLUNTEERS
Site Found For Temporary Shallotte Library
BY ERIC CARLSON "The public will need to bear with us and appre- ing to move in and out of all of them at the same
Thanks to a volunteer fundraising effort and ciate that this will be a significant relocation ef- time," Eggert said.
the generosity of local citizens, towns and busi- fort." Patrons of the West Brunswick Library can
nesses, Shallotte library will remain open at a Work is nearing completion on two new expect the branch to be closed for "several days
temporary location during the four-month reno- branch libraries in Yaupon Beach and Leland, to a week" during the move, he said.
vation of its current building on Main Street. with the former expected to be open by April 1 While it is unlikely that the temporary library
The Friends of the West Brunswick Library and the latter by "mid to late-April," Eggert will maintain its cuirciil operating houi.s. Eggert
support group has arranged to rent a !,200 said. At that point, work is cxpcctcu to begin uu he would expect it to remain open "certain
square-foot space in Resort Plaza, less than a additions and extensive renovations at the ly more than two days a week."
mile west of the permanent site, where library Shallotte and Southport branches, which will be At the board's last meeting, Friends of the
officials hope to make the branch's entire collec- closed "around the middle of April." Library officials guaranteed enough volun
tion available for public use. Library personnel from the closed branches teers?with backup personnel?to keep the tem
The only questions left are when and for how will help set up and run the new libraries. In ad- porary branch open for as many hours as the
long. dition, they will be called on to put Southport's county is willing to provide a library department
"As it stands now, we're in a somewhat fluid materials into storage and to move Shallotte's supervisor.
situation," said Don Eggert, chairman of the into temporary quarters.
Brunswick County Library Board of Trustees. "It's kind of like owning four houses and try- (See FRIENDS, Page 2-A)
O/B May Expand P
BY SUSAN USHER
What does a town do when its planning board
has a meeting attendance problem?
Ocean Isle Beach Commissioners' approach
was to set a joint meeting with the planning board
Tuesday morning to discuss possible solutions.
But only one planning board representative
showed up?Norfleet Underwood, appointed in
January to replace Ken Proctor, who was elected
a town commissioner.
Planning Board Chairman DeCarol Williamson
and ETA member John David Frink both had ap
pointments at the Brunswick County Tax Office
Tuesday morning; no explanation was available
for the absences of town member Bill Bullington
and ETA member Judy McHenry.
Commissioners agreed Tuesday that a persis
tent meeting attendance problem over the past
two years has hampered the Ocean Isle Beach
Ian Board, Require
Planning and Zoning Board's ability to act on
pending matters in a timely basis and in some in
stances, left commissioners to act without any
recommendation from the planning board.
Since his election Proctor has pushed fellow
commissioners to address the issue of planning
board meeting attendance, and the broader ques
tion of whether the town needs a larger planning
board.
Commissioners agreed that attendance was the
biggest problem, not representation, but had little
bad to say about a larger board.
"I just want to hear a good excuse for not hav
ing a five-member board," said Proctor. "It gives
the town more input. I can't see any negatives. I
can't see any reason not to do it."
Mayor Betty Williamson at first proposed the
addition of alternate members who would be re
quired to attend meetings, could participate in all
Better Attendance
discussions, hut only vote in the absence of a reg
ular member, ensuring the presence of a quorum.
However, most commissioners said they didn't
think residents would be eager to serve under
those limitations.
Instead, they preferred Kendall Suh's sugges
tion to expand the planning and zoning board to
include five members from within the town limits
and establish an attendance requirement that
would force members off the board if they miss
too many meetings.
At their next meeting commissioners will look
at the idea in greater detail and set a public hear
ing on a specific proposal
Underwood is one of three planning board
members who live within the town limits and can
vote on all matters coming before the board. Two
(See PLANNING, Page 2-A)
Teachers' Request
To Separate Pay,
Scores Receives
Board's Support
BY SUSAN USHER
Power play. Failure of communi
cation. Misunderstanding. Resis
tance to change. A matter of (dis)
trust.
All these terms have been used to
describe circumstances leading to an
impasse between Brunswick County
School system officials and school
faculties that came to a head
Monday night, just tour days before
county schools were due to submit
revised Senate Bill 2 plans for the
1994-95 academic year.
Dressed in Valentine's Day red
and holding heart-shaped signs bear
ing messages such as "Have A
Heart, Vote Smart" and
"Professionalism is the (heart) of the
matter," between 200 and 250
Brunswick County teachers filed in
to the Supply Elementary School
gymnasium Monday night to con
front the Brunswick County Board
of Education?and to come away
with a reprieve and a vote of sup
port.
Their presence backed requests
presented by Shallntte Middle
School guidance counselor Mary
Yates, president of the Brunswick
County Chapter of the N.C.
Association of Educators: rescission
of the "resolution for school im
provement" first adopted by the
board last spring, support of site
based management, an increase in
teachers' local pay supplements.
Teachers said they want a chance
to see if the plans that have been
written will work before being made
to rewrite them, she said, and be
lieve their time can be better spent
preparing for classes. The schools
had been asked to incorporate sys
temwide goals use a uniform format
and make sure differentiated pay
plans linked bonus pay as closely as
possible to students' academic
achievement.
"Teachers are on the firing lines
in Brunswick County every day,"
Yates told the board, dealing with
students who come from a problem
riddled community with 13-percent
(See TEACHERS, Page 2-A)
1993 New Home Starts
i
Homes Valuation
Calabash 1993 65 $5.03
1992 69 4.09
Sunset Beach 1993 127 6.97
1992 90 6.14
Ocean Isle 1993 56 7.06
1992 36 4.96
Shallotte 1993 22 2.55
1992 21 2.46
Holden Beach 1993 40 3.48
1992 48 4.03
+County 1993 151 10.46
1992 201 14.16
* To nearest million
+ Area outside municipal zoning authority
Brunswick Native Wins
$ 7 0,000 For Funny Video
BY DOUG RUTTER
Frightening your in-laws with a
rubber snake and winning $10,(XM)
in the process seems too good to be
true.
But that's exactly what happened
to Brunswick County native Mike
Varnum.! lis video of a rubber snake
nr:?nlr wk th?? nnnd nri*/#? winner ;tt
r ? ? **- "*? o ? r
a recent taping of the popular televi
sion show America's Funniest
Home Videos.
The program, which was filmed
two weeks ago in Hollywood, Calif,
will be broadcast Sunday, Feb. 27, at
7 p.m. The half-hour program can
be seen locally on WWAY-TV3.
Varnum, a 1975 West Brunswick
High School graduate who now
lives in Mebanc, shot the award
winning video and set up the practi
cal joke involving a rubber snake
and a chest.
Varnum tied fishing line around
the snake's head and positioned it
inside the chest so that when the lid
was lifted, it looked like the snake
was alive.
The winning video features three
of Varnum's relatives and their an
ticipated reaction to the snake gag.
Varnum spooked in-laws Vernon
and Nadine Sykes and sister-in-law
Jill Best.
Varnum said he mailed the video
to Hollywood last October and
didn't hear anything for a long time.
When the show's producers selected
the video ;ts a finalist, Varnum was
given two days notice to catch a
flight to California.
His wife, Janice, and mother-in
law, Nadine, also made the trip.
They flew to Hollywood Friday,
Feb, 4, taped the show on Saturday
and returned home Sunday.
"I was nervous at first," Varnum
said. "It took about four hours to
shoot the 30-minute show so it was
a long wail, it was definitely worth
it "
Varnum said he was "very sur
prised" to win. "We thought it was
pretty good, but we never dreamed
of taking first place."
Varnum is the son of Herbert
"Midget" and Jeanette Varnum of
Varnamtown. He left Brunswick
County in 1985 to work for the
Durham Fire Department, where he
is a rescue specialist.