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 ! 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