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Opinion

  • Program makes recycling a...

    Brunswick County has a growing problem—its trash.
    While we’re blessed to be a county where people want to live, with a growing population comes a number of quality-of-life headaches, like what do we do with all the stuff residents and visitors throw away?
    As of July 1, the county has a new alternative—a fee-based, countywide curbside recycling program.
    Some of the county’s municipalities offer curbside recycling, but those who live in unincorporated areas—or in towns without recycling—were left with few options.

  • Protect yourself and your family...

    A local veteran recently had more than $260,000 stolen from him.
    The alleged thieves, who have outstanding warrants for their arrests, were women who worked in the nursing industry.
    As a matter of fact, the 72-year-old man had willingly let one of the women—Lisa McClain, a caregiver who worked for Allied Home Health—into his home.

  • Celebrate our rural heritage by...

    Here in Brunswick County where our beautiful beaches lure people from around the world to our sand and surf, it can be easy to overlook the community’s rich agricultural heritage.
    While sea-related ways of life are a dominant part of our history, so is the area’s richly diverse agriculture heritage.
    There are about 40 farms in Brunswick County listed as Century Farms. There are many more other farming operations—big and small—here, too.

  • County lucky to have new hospice...

    It has been several years in the making, and in just a few weeks it will at last be ready for the public.
    On Sunday, June 24, Brunswick County’s newest Lower Cape Fear Hospice facility, SECU Hospice House, will be available for public tours during an open house from 1-4 p.m. that day.
    As it has been in each of the communities where it expands and offers more services, the success of the hospice facility here is due largely to the support and enthusiasm of local businesses and individuals.

  • Revised hospital offer a good one

    No, it’s not perfect. It’s far from perfect, in fact, but we think county commissioners moving forward with the bid process with Crown Management’s revised bid to purchase the old hospital is a step in the right direction.

    After submitting their initial bid of $1.5 million last year and then withdrawing that bid in April, Crown Management has once again come to the table to negotiate to purchase what was once Brunswick Community Hospital and the land on which it stands. Crown officials plan to convert the hospital to a psychiatric care facility.

  • Revised hospital offer a good one

    No, it’s not perfect. It’s far from perfect, in fact, but we think county commissioners moving forward with the bid process with Crown Management’s revised bid to purchase the old hospital is a step in the right direction.
    After submitting its initial bid of $1.5 million last year and then withdrawing that bid in April, Crown Management has once again come to the table to negotiate the purchase of what was once Brunswick Community Hospital and the land on which it stands. Crown officials plan to convert the hospital to a psychiatric care facility.

  • Now is the time to be prepared for...

    Well ahead of the official June 1 hurricane season start date, two tropical storms have already been making waves.
    The first, tropical storm Alberto, brought little more than choppy seas, cloudy skies and rain to our area. The second, tropical depression Beryl, is projected to move through our area sometime Wednesday. The system will have been over land for much of its venture in our direction.

  • Idea for sheriff’s office to take...

    A proposal is before Brunswick County commissioners that recommends the sheriff’s office take over operations at Brunswick County Animal Services.
    We encourage commissioners to approve this venture when they meet to discuss it on June 4.
    After the Brunswick County Board of Health approved the recommendation, sheriff’s officials quickly moved into action. Already, non-violent inmates have been taken out of the local detention center and put to work scrubbing and cleaning every nook and cranny of the animal services building.

  • Medical services for veterans are...

    A medical clinic for Brunswick County’s vast number of veterans was slow in coming to the area. There were times we wondered if needed services would get here at all, or if there would be enough options for veterans who live here.
    At 20 Medical Campus Drive in Supply, the Brunswick Count VA Outreach Clinic provides many basic healthcare needs for local veterans. In addition to a doctor, care staff includes nurses, assistants, a pharmacist, dietician, social worker and mental health provider.

  • Help the homeless

    In Brunswick County there are signs the economy is beginning to recover.
    Some homes are selling. Some new construction is under way. Tourists are coming to the area.
    But as times are slowly improving, there are still plenty of people right here in Brunswick County who are struggling.
    Groups like Brunswick Family Assistance are strapped trying to find ways to extend its services to people of all ages.

  • Congrats, outstanding educators!

    Congratulations, Laura Hunter, Brunswick County Schools’ Teacher of the Year.
    Hunter, a social studies teacher at South Brunswick High School, was honored at a luncheon last Friday in Ocean Isle Beach.
    While Hunter was given the ultimate honor, the event honored 19 teachers who have been recognized for doing outstanding work with Brunswick County children. Margaret Arrowood, a social studies teacher from Shallotte Middle School, was named this year’s runner up.

  • Join in the fight; support Relay...

    This Friday Brunswick Countians of all ages, races and backgrounds will come together for a common cause—to fight back against cancer.
    The annual event begins at 6 p.m. on the track at West Brunswick High School off Whiteville Road in Shallotte. Its purpose is to raise awareness about lives lost and victories won against this horrific disease. It’s also a major fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, which uses money raised from events like this across the nation to fund research, support programs and education.

  • Buckle up, don’t drink and drive...

    It’s heartbreaking news to digest anytime we get word a Brunswick County resident has died suddenly or in a tragic way.
    It’s especially devastating news when it’s a young person.
    This week, people throughout the county are mourning the loss of 17-year-old Ryan Dilworth, the son of a Holden Beach police officer and 911 telecommunications operator.
    Ryan was a junior at West Brunswick High School and was a member of the JROTC. He worked at Main Street Restaurant and Boomer’s Rentals of Holden Beach.

  • The whole issue is bigger than it...

    On the surface, it may seem like a whole lot of digging going on in local town governments.
    Beach communities throughout Brunswick County are up to their necks in sand, and they’re talking about its impact.

  • Traffic restructuring is not the...

    Concerned business owners along N.C. 130 did the right thing.
    Worried their businesses were going to suffer because of a change in traffic flow near their locations, merchants rallied together and went before the Shallotte Board of Aldermen.
    The road project at the heart of this controversy had been many years in the planning and work stages. When it was finished, it redirected the main flow of traffic away from the Main Street and N.C. 130 intersection near Walmart behind Shallotte Commons Shopping Center and back onto Main Street and Smith Avenue.

  • Debris will mount, but where will...

    It’s been a long, drawn out and ultimately expensive process.
    For months, the Brunswick County Planning Board has heard testimony and reviewed information supporting and opposing the county’s proposal to expand its current construction and demolition landfill.
    After expending more than $200,000 in attempt to get a permit, which would allow future build-out of some 259.25 acres near the current landfill off U.S. 17 near Galloway Road, planning board members said no.

  • Time running out to speak up about...

    At the next Brunswick County Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, April 3, officials will make a final determination about what time classes will start for the 2012-2013 school year.
    This year, the district adopted a staggered-start schedule, beginning and ending classes at various times depending on whether students are in elementary, middle or high school.
    Superintendent Edward Pruden says the change has taken a number of school buses off the road and has essentially saved the district about $500,000 of an ever-decreasing, tighter budget.

  • Important dates approach for May...

    You’ve seen the advertisements.
    You’ve heard the debates.
    And now it’s getting closer to time for you to make a decision.
    This year’s May primaries are just around the corner, and before you show up for voting on May 8, there are a few important dates to keep in mind.

  • Stay alert during Severe Weather...

    Skies turned dark and winds picked up suddenly Monday afternoon in Shallotte. The familiar clicking of tiny hail stones bouncing off the ground soon joined sounds of heavy rain. The storm popped up quickly and after a drenching rain it was gone, leaving clear skies.
    Sudden, drastic changes in the weather like this help note the importance of Severe Weather Awareness Month, which spans throughout March.

  • Help keep officials on their toes

    It’s Sunshine Week and for the fifth year in a row, The Brunswick Beacon is taking a close look at government transparency in Brunswick County.
    This week, we join other news outlets across the nation in shining the light on open government.
    What we’ve found in the five years of looking at, challenging, chastising and praising agencies in our community is although some groups know North Carolina’s public records and open meetings laws well, there are still far too many agencies who flub the law altogether.