MORE LETTERS
County Board Chairman Says Criticism Factless, Unjust, Petty
i o inc editor:
rhis is in response to the letter of Mr. "David
Beecher" of Shallottc which appeared in the April 14
Beacon. I would have liked to have spoken to the gentle
man personally, but having checked tax listings, public
utilities and voter registration, was unable to determine
whether he in fact exists.
First, (John) Harvey was not dismissed or forced to
retire from his position by (Wyman) Yelton. On the con
trary, Mr. Harvey has been a dedicated, loyal county em
ployee for many years, and his record is spotless. My
personal regard for and confidence in him are so high
that he was chosen to be interim county manager after
(David) Clcgg's resignation.
Although under the law, I am restricted in divulging
most information concerning a county employee, I can
say that Mr. Harvey is scheduled to return to work full
time, at regular salary, on Tuesday, April 19, 1994, pur
suant to a mutually satisfactory employment arrange
ment that took into account his and the county's needs.
This arrangement was negotiated following Mr.
Harvey's wife's death, when Mr. Harvey no longer
needed a leave of absence.
His desire for a leave of absence was, of course, un
derstandable and appropriate, and he was accommodat
ed. It did, however, leave a gap in county government
that was unexpected and needed to be filled by someone
as competent as Mr. Harvey. Wade Home fit that de
scription. He did not actively seek the position and cer
tainly had no part in Mr. Harvey's decision to seek a
leave of absence. Mr. "Bcechcr's" criticism of Mr.
Home is both unfair and incorrect.
Concerning what Mr. Clegg might have done, please
be advised that it was Mr. Clegg's action which resulted
in the lawsuit by Billy Ingram with the county having to
pay a substantial sum of money.
I would like to finish by saying that I speak with Mr.
Yelton by phone almost daily for the short lengths of
time his very poor condition permits. At times his
breathing is so labored he must stop. He is in constant,
chronic pain.
He also is a dedicated, loyal county employee who
acted in what he perceived to be the correct way?a way
that sought to accommodate the wishes of Mr. Harvey
for a leave of absence to be with his dying wife and the
needs of the county for a competent planning director.
Mr. "Bcechcr's" criticism of him?obviously without
fact and motivated by some personal interest?while he
is down, is pathetic and petty.
The continuing challenges of being a public servant
are always difficult, especially making decisions on
many-sided issues. One of those most important chal
lenges is to see that the truth is told. Responding to "Mr.
David Beecher's" factless, incorrect, totally unjust and
false attack on Mr. Home and Mr. Yelton, (is) a charge
thai I take seriously as a commissioner, to set the record
straight.
Don Warren, Chairman
Brunswick County Board of Commissioners
A Message From Yehon
To the editor:
I have requested that my daughter, Stephanie Yelton,
prepare a statement for me to my many friends and sup
porters.
While returning from western North Carolina on
Sunday, April 3, my wife Kay and I were involved in an
automobile accident which unfortunately resulted in the
death of my wife and the other driver. I have received
very severe injuries to my arms, shoulder, legs, knees,
neck and ribs and was air-lifted to Duke Medical Center
and remained in the intensive care until until April 10.
Thanks to many prayers and excellent medical treat
ment provided to me by Duke Medical Center, my con
dition has improved and I am now off the critical list.
No one will know how much your prayers, cards,
calls and visits have meant to my family and me.
As you might expect, it is difficult for the doctors to
let me know when I will be released from Duke Medical
Center or when my subsequent rehabilitation will permit
me to return to Brunswick County as county manager.
My doctors have assured me that I will be able to return
io work, and with God's help and your continued
prayers, this will occur within the next few months.
! am looking forward to continuing my warm associa
tion with the citizens of Brunswick County and working
with the many fine Brunswick County employees.
Again, please accept my thanks for the many cards of
sympathy, expressions of concern, and especially your
prayers.
W. Wyman Yelton
Brunswick County Manager
Column On Target
To the editor:
Many thanks for Susan Usher's excellent column,
"Time to Strike a Balance" in The Brunswick Beacon.
It hits the nail on the head, and has been distributed to
all members of the Coastal Futures Commission.
We hope you will continue to follow the progress of
our committee.
Richardson Preyer
Greensboro
EDITOR S NOTE: Mr. Preyer is chairman of the N.C.
Coastal Futures Commission.
SBTA Position Defended
To the editor:
This is in response to Carl Bazemore's letter to the ed
itor on April 14, 1994.
GUEST COLUMN
Southerners Are Real Victims In
Washington's War On Tobacco
BY J. STEPHEN VVRAY
We have marked the passing of
tobacco's financial peak, in all prob
ability?the last year of billion-dol
lar-production each for North
Carolina and Kentucky. A 10-per
cent quota cut is now official, and
future cuts are certainly anticipated.
This product used by ancient
chiefs in peace ceremonies is now at
war, fighting for its survival, at least
in the U.S. Its fate is probably as
doomed by the great fathers in
Washington as was the fate of those
17th- and 18th-century chiefs who
puffed the aromatic leaves for pcace.
It is under attack (now, for about
25 years) officially fired upon first
by the surgeon general with warning
labels, then harsher warning labels
that until recently were not required
on alcohol products. Next, cigarette
ads were banned from TV, but not
beer ads.
The tobacco industry has been at
tacked by all the major networks in
documentaries against their product,
but not against alcoholic drinks. As
tobacco is banned from TV, the net
works have nothing to lose. While
beer continues to bring in the big
bucks for TV, adverse media public
ity against tobacco is almost a daily
routine.
Now there is an adamant
"Coalition Against Tobacco" deter
mined to deliver tobacco users from
their right to choose the product.
The coalition wants the Clinton
Administration to push for a $2 per
pack tax ($20 per carton!). TTiis
would severely punish poor smokers
and the economics of Kentucky and
the Carolinas. Maybe merchants
should move now!
Tobacco is now cited as a pro
posed source of major financing, via
more taxes, for the nation's number
one priority, the national health care
plan. It is ironic that the government
chooses a source that it is simultane
ously trying to eradicate. Is that
hypocrisy, stupidity or what?
Why is Uncle Sam determined to
put North Carolina and Kentucky in
to a great depression instead of re
quiring all 50 states to share the fi
nancial burden of the health care
plan?
Tobacco must be Washington's
favorite whipping boy. Its use must
be the worst pursuit in the U.S. Its
least-favored status is evidenced by
the government's good-riddance
program as more efforts go into
fighting tobacco than any other
product, with the possible exception
of illegal drugs. It must be worse
than TV violence, pornographic lit
erature, salt, sugar, fat, nitrates, sodi
um, preservatives, caffeine, carbon
ated diinks, alcoholic drinks, X-rat
ed videos, peep shows, strip joints.
bungee jumping and marijuana (if
you don't inhale). Yet this product is
used by choice.
You merchants are going to miss
its power to produce money. You
tax-gobbleis in government arc go
ing to miss its multiplied revenues.
But the victims of this war, by far,
will be millions of Southerners.
The Carolinas, prior to 1994, have
enjoyed an annual billion-dollar
plus economic boost immediately
upon the sale of the raw product.
Kentucky has been getting its bil
lion. Florida, Georgia, Tennessee
and the Virginias have been annual
ly reaping hundreds of millions from
the sale of tobacco. Now add to that
the revenues, including taxes, re
ceived from the finished product,
and those figures will form an eco
nomic mountain towering far above
the raw product's revenue.
This government-cursed product
employs hundreds of thousands. It
provides for the sale of automobiles,
trucks and tractors by the tens of
thousands. It pays for the construc
tion of houses, packing bams, curing
barns, storage facilities, warehouses,
factories, etc. It necessitates the re
peat purchase of auto/truck and trac
tor parts, farm implements, tires,
batteries, agri-chemicals, fertilizers,
etc.
Its trade revenues help offset the
huge, staggering U.S. trade deficits.
Its tax revenues, pound for pound,
out-perform product, poultry, eggs,
meat and milk.
Many well-meaning advisors
have suggested that farmers simply
diversify to replace the revenue loss
es from tobacco sales. What should
they grow?$3 billion annually
worth of more radishes, peaches,
peppers, cucumbers, com, wheat,
milk, eggs?
Tobacco is certain to suffer with
additional taxes and unfavorable
regulations from the farms to the
factories. Quotas are cut for 1994.
Buying companies, citing uncertain
ties facing tobacco's future have
projected a 39-percent decrease in
demand for 1994. How much will it
be cut in 1995, 1996?
What will the government find to
tax five or ten years from now when
tobacco products are drastically re
duced or banned? The government's
war on tobacco is persistently dri
ving this industry overseas, where
jobs and revenues are appreciated.
Is America debt-free? Have em
ployment levels reached a surplus?
Have Southern farmers, merchants
and tobacco workers become so fi
nancially secure that they can easily
weather another great depression
when this industry is deported?
If the government continues to try
to regulate every aspect of our per
sonal lives and our industries, regu
lating them out of business, sending
them overseas, perpetuating unem
ployment, enlarging welfare rolls,
how long will it be before there is a
major rebellion? We are told how to
sit in our cars, when and where we
can clear land, dig a ditch, building
on land we pay taxes on. Now we
are told where we can and cannot
smoke. Apparently, we will be told
if and when and what we can
smoke.
When the government cannot get
a handle on controlling crime and il
legal drugs, it continues to look for
whole new areas to subdue, oppress
and harass, even at its own expense.
Stephen Wray is a tobacco auction
eer who works the North Carolina
and Kentucky markets. He lives in
Shallotte.
SOUTHPORT-O0K ISLAND FRIENDS
OF SENATOR R.C. SOLES, ]R.
.Ci^a? C.Mou 3a, CftU.ul (f
Free Barbecue
Dinner
"9lleet tile C'uml.duLo "
Friday. April 11
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Oaic ?)Uoo,s<? ,^L itili|v
i?omj fBeucli fKuull, (^uiillipdii, Oil*
Paid for by Linda Packer Phillips
ei??4 TMf BHUW5WICK BfACOW
As a hoard member of the Sunset Beach Taxpayers
Association, the organization representing the majority
of the taxpayers of Sunset Beach. let me state that our
interest?our only interest?is in what is best for the
area's environment, coastal waters and the community
as a whole.
The evidence on coastal water pollution is in. After
years of scientific research and study, stormwater runoff
(also known as nonpoint source pollution, often originat
ing miles inland from the coast) has been found to be the
major cause of coastal water pollution.
In 1990, with this evidence in hand, the federal gov
ernment enacted the Coastal Nonpoint Program. Under
this program the coastal states have until July 1995 to
develop an effective and enforceable runoff control pro
gram. North Carolina is currently in the process of de
veloping the required program.
If we push through an environmentally damaging
sewer system without a stormwater management pro
gram before the new regulations are in place, we will
not be excused from compliance. We will be required to
take the necessary and potentially costly steps to achieve
and protect water quality standards.
Stormwater runoff control is relatively cheap if done
before development occurs. It is accomplished primarily
through zoning controls, natural vegetation areas and
buffer zones. It is much more expensive and not nearly
as effective if approached through costly engineered so
lutions after development has occurred.
Right now most of the undeveloped land in Sunset
Beach is zoned multifamily and commercial. Such zon
ing permits high-density development. Is this kind of de
velopment compatible with achieving and maintaining
coastal water standards we will have to meet? We don't
know, and neither does the town council.
An environmental impact statement, required by the
N.C. Division of Environmental Management for pro
jects with potential environmental impact, would pro
vide the information we need to carefully evaluate the
impact of development and identify the steps to take to
avoid the negative impacts of development. The town
council should take the lead in obtaining an environmen
tal impact statement to ensure the $35,(XX),(X)0 they pro
pose to spend on a sewer system will, in fact, achieve
and not defeat our expressed purpose of cleaning up our
coastal waters.
At the April 2, SBTA meeting, Mr. Bazemore had his
say, at length. He argued for proceeding as rapidly as
possible to put in a sewer system and looking at the is
sue of stormwater management later. Most members dis
agreed and voted overwhelmingly to support Dr. Barry
Lenz's motion to "explore taking legal action to enjoin
the town from participating in a sewer system that does
not include a stormwater management system." Please,
let's do it right the first time instead of trying to fix it lat
er.
What we Sunset Beach property owners want is sim
ple: a livable environment for the present and the future.
Minnie K. Hunt
Sunset Beach
Who Is Represented?
To the editor:
On April 12, the Ocean Isle Beach Board of Com
missioners voted V2 to keep the planning board at three
members here on the island. Six people in attendance
spoke in favor of enlarging the board to five. None
spoke up to keep it at three.
Who are the commissioners representing?
E. Dale Powell
Ocean Isle Beach
Seeking A Response
EDITOR 'S NOTE: The following letter was directed to
the Ocean Isle Beach Board of Commissioners. A copy
wfl.v furnished for use a letter to the editor:
Dear Commissioners:
Why is this public hearing held at 8:30 a.m. on a
Tuesday morning?
It seems to me that any town meeting or hearing
would be more effective if it were held when the taxpay
ers, i.e., the electorate, could attend?say Tuesday
evening at 8 p.m.
Where does the tax base begin and end?
I don't believe that any elected official or any official
should live outside the tax base borders.
I would also like to propose that three members of the
planning board come from residents who are not in
volved, directly or indirectly, with the development of
Ocean Isle.
Your response to these questions and points is appre
ciated.
Nick and Diane Nolan
Ocean Isle Beach
Tribute To Wally Ausley
To the editor:
(This is) a tribute to a real "Southern gentleman:"
Throughout the past few days, I've thought so much
about you, dear friend Wally, and felt a compelling need
to thank you for so many, many memories.
?For the many times we chanced upon each other on
our beautiful beach and your interest in all of its glory;
?Your glee in seeing a baby pelican stray from the
"V" to get a better view of below;
?Your continual show of genuine concern for our
marine life and your dedication to its survival;
?Your shout of delight at seeing the first baby log
gerhead poking through the sand at your nest;
?Your amazement at the fast-footed beach birds who
always beat the tide and never get dunked;
?Your appreciation and knowledge of the beautiful
shells that line our shore;
?Your genuine show of thankfulness when I painted
and gave you the picture of the pelicans you wanted so
much;
?Your ability to get adversaries to work together for
the sake of accomplishment;
?Your ability to instill a sense of security in our
community with just your presence at the helm.
Thank you, dear friend, for these and so many more
memories. Now walk with God in peace through the
heavens and bestow on those there as you have here, the
power of your musical voice, the delight of your boyish
grin, and the great sense of security your presence gives
to all as the true Southern gentleman.
Judy Bryan
Holden Beach
The House On
The Left Cost
$111,663 More
ThanThe House
On The
(Hint: It's not the wallpaper.)
I Exhibit AI [Exhibit Bj
In fact, these houses are remarkably similar,
except for one important detail. The house on
tin* right w;ls refinanced with a 15-year Mortgage
from NationsBank When you refinance with a
NationsBank 15-year Mortgage, you could save
tens of thousands of dollars in interest while
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from NationsBank. And maybe you can save < Tort Un 'Mint* only uu? KjuiuaI j*r<?-r**?- rain >.?ut4r * of
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tiusii11<is ol dollars on your noust*, too. w>,a<'>i* ^mw-xw'1 m?><iin) wtniu
The NationsBank
15-YEAR REFINANCE MORTGAGE
- .1 r ttntuiirisuit
30-Year 15-Year
*<w M?rtmr
U?an Amount $95.000 $9f),000
Monthly Pajment $789.8? $959.42
Annual I'errentatfr Rate 9.3?*, 8.93%
Equity After 10 Years $9.585 $49,184
Total Interest
.ftlMf ixrrtyr 4i.UN}
$189,357 $77,694
NationsBank
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