Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Sept. 15, 1994, edition 1 / Page 2
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Candidates commissioners: forum Say Boards Should Talk More, Fight Less BY ERIC CARLSON Encouraging better communication would be the best way to avoid conllicts like the current legal battle be tween the school board and county commissioners, can didates for the latter office agreed Monday night. Only one incumbent, three challengers and a handful ui ouiookers showed up at SrunswiCiC County Community College for a commissioner candidates' fo rum sponsored by the Brunswick County Association of Educators. Of the group, only Commissioners' Chairman Don Warren took a firm position on the county's recent deci sion to appeal a court decision awarding a $14 million budget to the board of education. He defended the move and noted that the school board members who submitted the budget request will not be the ones who spend the money. "Last year we gave the schools a 17 percent in crease," said the District 1 Democrat. "We had a lot of other needs to address this year. We approved the school board's operational budget, but we had a lot of questions about their expansion budget. "Let's face it. We just went through a primary and they're going to have four new members on their board," Warren said. "Those members may not want to address the same needs this board had in their expansion budget." None of the other candidates said they fully supported or opposed the county's action. "I'm not saying I agree or disagree," said Alfonza Roach, a District 2 Democrat. "I think they need to sit down at a table and discuss it. They need to look at the children and they need to look at taxes. CANDIDATES for county commissioner face questions from the Brunswick County Association of Educators during a forum at Brunswick Community College Monday night. Attending the gathering were (from left) incumbent Chairman Don Warren, and challengers Alfonzff Roach, Bill Sue and Leslie Collier. "I think the number one problem in schools and in some better. We need to push for better law enforce homes and above everything else is drugs," Roach said. ment. Young'uns get to school so drugged up, teachers "When drugs get put under control, our schools will get can't teach them nothing." District 3 Republican candidate Leslie Collier said she was "basically supportive" of the school board's proposed budget "with some minor adjustments," adding that she felt there was "room for compromise so it could be more livable from a county standpoint." Collier aaid her experience working with local parent tsscfcer crgssiz^tior.s would make her election an asset to the county in resolving conflicts between the two boards. She suggested that the commissioners and board of education meet more often, not just at budget time. "We need to re-establish lines of communication," Collier said. "I feel I have a good working relationship ?vith people in the school system. I would encourage the input of anyone in the schools who wanted to contact me." Bill Sue, the Democrat candidate from District S, said his two terms on the board of education would help him address school funding issues as a county commissioner. "We had our problems too, but we tried our best to keep it out of the papers," Sue said. "Somebody's got to be smart enough along the line to separate wants from needs." Sue said a lack of discipline is the greatest problem facing schools and advocated corporal punishment as a possible method of dealing with students who disrupt classes. The '.evel of vandalism at local schools "looks like mass destruction," he said, adding, "We need to get rid of the riff-raff that disrupt schools." Citing his experience in business. Sue said both the county government and the school system should emu late large corporations and scale-back the number of middle management positions in their operations. Brunswick After Theft BY ERIC CARLSON A Brunswick County sheriff's de tective will be suspended without pay for two days for failing to hand cuff a prisoner who escaped custody while helping him recover thou sands of dollars worth of stolen property. Detective Steve Mason on Monday said he "accepts full re sponsibility" for violating a sheriff's department policy requiring that prisoners be kept handcuffed at all times. Mason said his supervisor will de termine when he should take the two-day suspension without disrupt ing ongoing investigations or court obligations. The escaped suspect, Jeffery Allen Hicks, 24, of Randleman, re mains at large after running into the Detective S Suspect Ru woods near Lei and while cooperat ing with Mason during an investiga tion Sept. 1. Hicks was arrested two days earli er after he was seen breaking into a home in Winnabow. After further in vestigation, he was charged with nu merous counts of breaking and en tering, larceny and possession of stolen goods. He has been linked to thefts in Brunswick, Bladen, Vance, Ran dolph and Pender counties. On the day of his escape, Hicks had been taking Mason to various homes in Brunswick and New Hanover counties, where he led the detective to thousands of dollars worth of stolen property including a boat, a motorcycle, televisions, mi crowave ovens, jewelry, fishing uspended ns Away m equipment and dozens of firearms. "The bottom line was, the boy was being very cooperative and helping us clear cases," Mason said. "He had confessed to a number of break-ins. He gave me every reason to believe he v/ould continue to be cooperative and I allowed him to go unhandcuffed, which is a violation of policy." Mason said that after a number of stops. Hicks led him to another home where he said more stolen property could be found. After knocking on the front door and re ceiving no answer. Hicks walked around the corner of the house, say ing he believed the occupant was in side, Mason said. When the detective followed a few moments later, he discovered that Hicks had run off into the woods. "I believe it was a spur-of-the moment thing. He had ample oppor tunities to run earlier in the day and he didn't," Mason said. "I've been in law enforcement for 24 years and never had a prisoner run from me. But he did, and I take full responsi bility for it." Hicks is believed to have hitch hiked out of the county and was last heard from in the Asheboro area. Mason said. His name and descrip tion have been entered into the na tionwide criminal information com puter system. Sunny Weather To Continue Shallotte area residents should continue seeing plenty of sunshine for the next week, according to amateur meteorologist Jackson Canady. Canady said Tuesday he expects the area to receive less than one-half inch of rainMl over the next week. v ~ The forecast also calls for near normal temperatures ranging from the upper 60s at night to the upper 80s during the day. For the period Sept 6-12, Canady measured just .12 inches of rain at his Shallotte Point residence. The daily average temperature for the peri od was 76 degrees, which is about 1 degree below normal. Canady said the daily average high was 86 degrees and the average nightly low was 66 degrees. The maximum high temperature was 90 degrees on Sept 11 and the minimum low was 63 degrees on the sixth. Judge Gra (Continued From Page 1-A) District 5 member Yvonne Bright, who pledged Monday night at a can didates' forum to continue the fight tor additional funds, is the only school board member who could re turn to the board, while there is a possibility of all five commissioners gaining re-election. Democratic school board mem bers Polly Russ and Thurman Gause lost their primary races in May, and Chairman Donna Baxter and Republican Bill Fairley withdrew as candidates. On the board of commissioners, four incumbents won primaries, while the fifth, Jerry Jones of District 2, did not have a primary contest. Speaking Monday night at a school board candidates' forum sponsored by the Brunswick County TO BRUNSWIOfftKACON Established Nov. 1, 1962 Telephone 754-6890 Published Every Thursday At 4709 Main Street Shallotte, N.C. 28459 SUBSCRIPTION RATES IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY One Year $10.36 Six Months $5.55 ELSEWHERE IN NORTH CAROLINA One Year $14.86 Six Months $7.90 ELSEWHERE IN U.S.A. One Year $15.95 Six Months $8.35 Second class postage paid at Shallotte, N.C. 28459. USPS 777 780. Postmaster, send address changes to: P.O. Box 2558, Shallotte, N.C. 28459-2558 nts More School Funds Teachers Association's political ac tion or PACE committee, District 3 Republican school board candidate Beth Osiek of Yaupon Beach, said a group of parents is contemplating le gal action against the county board of commissioners because of its school funding decision. The mother, teacher assistant at Southport Elementary and former PTA president said Tuesday the group is trying to find out "if a suit could be filed solely against the commissioners or if it would have to name the school board as well, which would be pointless." "The parents would be filing on behalf of their children, suing the county for failing to fund the educa tional needs of their children." About 20 to 25 people are part of this "core group." a number Osiek thinks "would be many more once word got out." I 1 HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE BRUNSMflOtftftACON ! POST OFFICE BOX 2558 * | SHALLOTTE, NORTH CAROUNA 28459 I \NOTICE Reliable or consistent delivery cannot be guaranteed since this newspaper must rely on the L/.S Postal Service for delivery. We can <pnly guarantee that\ \your newspaper will be submitted to the post office in ,Shallotte on Wednesday of the week of publication, in time for dispatch to out-of-town addresses that day. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: Sr. Citizen In Brunswick County Q6.30 (J5.30 N.C. Sales Tax .38 .32 Postage Charge 3.68 3.68 TOTAL 10.36 9.30 Elsewhere in North Carolina 06.30 Q5.30 N.C. Sales Tax .38 .32 Postage Charge 8.18 8.18 total i4jfi lajtt Outside North Csrollna 06.30 05.30 Postage Charge 9 fiR 9 TOTAL 15.96 14.96 Complete And Return To Above Address Name I Address City, State ; I Sunset Council Members React Strongly To Secession Proposal (Continued From Page 1-A) not to be saved by a small number of malcontents. There are those among us who will never give credit to the benefactors responsible for what we have at Sunset Beach. The greatest credit certainly goes to my beloved father, no matter what is said or written as fact." He referred to those promoting secession as "fear mongers seeking a following." adding. "There were al ways a few, even in the early days, who've wanted to close the door once they got their place " Councilman Cherri Cheek said she hopes the seces sion proposal "falls by the wayside. It astounds me that anybody would even want to divide this town." Councilman Julia Thomas said, "Maybe this is a challenge to make us stronger and more able to work together. We do have the interest of people in our town at heart. We're all one body, all one town, a beautiful town." Ray Zeds, an island resident heading an SBTA com mittee to pursue the secession proposal, described himself as a newcomer and told Gore, "I commend your father for his fortnight." At a meeting Labor Day weekend, SBTA distributed to its members and reporters a document entitled "A Proposal For Independent Government for the Island of Sunset Beach. The paper cited "a rising tide of con cern and dissatisfaction" among island property own ers and said "unless the island takes control of its des tiny, we can expect our financial and emotional invest ment in Sunset Beach to turn sour " "While the island has nearly 1,000 homes and pro vides about 65 percent of the town's tax income, regis tered island voters are far outnumbered by the growing number of mainland voters," an accompanying news release stated. "The Town Council, elected by the mainland major ity, is deaf to island voices, island issues and island concerns. The five-member council has one member who represents island interests. The island has effec tively been disenfranchised." SBTA proposes to poll island property owner* to "determine if there is a consensus for independent government" then try to convince the county's legisla tive delegation to introduce a bill in the N.C. General Assembly creating an independent island town. Sen. R.C. Soles has said he doesn't think he'd sup port a secession proposal and suggests the islanders and council members talk out their problems. The taxpayers' group, comprised primarily of out of-town property owners not eligible to vote, has been at odds with town government for years over issues af r fecting the town's future. SBTA successfully sued to block construction of a high-rise bridge to the island until a lengthy environ mental impact statement is complete. The group is on record as favoring the preservation of the nwn's one lane pontoon bridge, which council says is dangerous and consumes too much of the police force's time with traffic control SBTA's leadership has also staunchly opposed imple mentation of a central sewer project, which council says is the best means of improving local water quality. Calabash, Sunset Beach Community Activist Dies Warren D. "Bud" Knapp Sr.. a founder of the Sunset Beach Taxpayers Asso ciation and organizer of the first Calabash Festival died Friday, Sept. 9, the secood longest-living diabetic in the United States. Knapp, 77, lived with diabetes for 65 years but remained a com munity activist until his passing. "Bud was a tireless worker who devoted his efforts in an attempt to leave some of God's creation unspoiled for future generations," KNAPT said Cletc Waldmiller, Sunset Beach Taxpayers Association president. "Brunswick County and espe cially Sunset Beach iost a good friend." Knapp, who lived in Calabash and owned a home at Sunset Beach, was a leader in the effort to preserve Sunset Beach's one-lane pontoon bridge and was ac tive in the Brunswick County Republican Party. He was born April 10, 1917, in Maiden, Mass, and was married to his wife Jane for 51 years. He is sur vived by his wife and four sons. He retired as mi industrial engineer and assistant plant manager for Armstrong World Industries in 1979 and had published articles in engineering journals and manuals. In Massachusetts, he helped start commuter boat transportation to Boston and received Gov. Sargent's Award of Achievement for that project. He started the South Shore Tennis Association for New England I .awn Tennis Association tournaments and to train and instruct new players. He was a member of the Hingham, Mass., Advisory Board and the racing com mittee of the Hingham Yacht Club. He was Massachusetts state singles badminton champion in 1941, was a bronze life master in bridge and was an avid tennis player. KNAPP SALE Make money fast. Rid yourself of unwanted items by advertising in the classifieds. Your items may be exactly what someone else is looking for. Advertise in the classifieds and watch your stuff "sale away. TH[ BRmwci($mca\i 754-6890
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 15, 1994, edition 1
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