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Opinion

  • School board schism may doom bond...

    We said in an editorial last month there was no reason to think the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners would not allow the 2016 general election ballot to include a bond referendum for Brunswick County Schools. We said there is already no doubt the school district needs money to meet the needs of its students.

    On Nov. 3, school board vice chairwoman Shirley Babson, John Thompson and Bud Thorsen voted to approve a $175 million bond referendum request.

  • BSRI's growth bodes well for...

    U.S. Census Bureau data for 2014 show 27 percent of Brunswick County’s 118,836 residents is made up of people 65 and older. Our county has long been touted as ideal not only for vacationers looking for a quiet getaway, but also for retirees seeking a relaxed lifestyle.

    It is the senior citizen population that makes Brunswick Senior Resources Inc. so vital to our community. BSRI is the lead not-for-profit agency providing programs and services specifically designed for adults 60 and older in Brunswick County.

  • Momentum is building against our...

    More than a year after a community coalition took its first step toward addressing Brunswick County’s heroin crisis through a collaborative multi-agency initiative, it may seem as though little headway has been made in eradicating the problem.

    Just last year, Brunswick County residents had 20 unintentional medication and drug overdose deaths — a rate of 16.8 per 100,000 people. By comparison, the North Carolina average was 9.7 people per 100,000 people, according to figures from N.C. Vital Records and State Center for Health Statistics

  • Get out and vote Nov. 3

    Election Day 2015 is nearly upon us. This week’s edition includes questionnaires from candidates in contested races for this year’s general election within the Beacon’s coverage area. Because no candidate forums or debates were held in Calabash or Sunset Beach, we included responses to questionnaires returned by candidates in each of those municipal races.

  • Mayor’s indictment exposes...

    It has been nearly a month since Brunswick County prosecutors detailed the indictments against Harry Simmons, the mayor of Caswell Beach: 18 felonies related to his service as chairman of the Brunswick Beaches Consortium. He stands accused of embezzling $673,304.07 from funds earmarked for the consortium’s lobbying efforts.

  • An easy way to improve annual event

    After the possibility of inclement weather led to cancellation of this year’s Brunswick County Intercultural Festival at Brunswick Community College, it seemed massive rainfall was about to wash out the chance to celebrate Sunset at Sunset in Sunset Beach this year, too.

  • Weather response deserves kudos

    By all accounts, the rainfall that soaked Brunswick County as a result of Hurricane Joaquin and the storm system following it constituted a historic event, the likes of which we have not seen in decades. While the hurricane never made landfall, it was the first part of a one-two punch of precipitation that left many residents along our coast and farther inland temporarily trapped in their homes and caused flood damage as though the hurricane had blown through the area.

  • Proposed schools bond may be tough...

    There is no reason to think the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners will not allow the 2016 general election ballot to include a bond referendum for Brunswick County Schools. There is already no doubt the school district needs money to meet the needs of its students.

  • BFA expansion meets and reflects...

    Brunswick Family Assistance has been providing emergency assistance to those in crisis who are willing to help themselves since 1981 when it started as the private, nonprofit Volunteer Information Center. It offers this assistance, along with complementary programs designed to help people become self-sufficient, to qualified low-income families and individuals as a result of donated money, food, clothing and countless hours from volunteers totaling more than $950,000 in 2014.

  • Release of footage would help...

    With news of officer-involved fatal shootings and allegations of police brutality and misconduct being reported almost daily across the United States, law enforcement may be the most reviled profession in the nation.

  • Celebrate, support First Tee

    The First Tee of Brunswick County is celebrating its 10th anniversary of using golf — our community’s signature sport — to teach life skills and core values to children.

  • Ensure safe travels as summer...

    While the autumnal equinox falls on Sept. 23 this year, the unofficial end of summer comes this weekend with the Labor Day holiday.

  • County board should not support...

    The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution July 6 saying it supports seismic surveying in the Atlantic Ocean to promote future offshore drilling efforts off the coast. But commissioners decided to take another look at the issue after a number of residents voiced their concerns over the decision at the board’s July 20 meeting.

  • Our county suffers under sales tax...

    As the General Assembly continues to grapple with formulating a 2015-16 fiscal year budget, its members are considering whether to change the way sales taxes are distributed.

  • Support students and stop bullying

     

  • Hazmat exercise program keeps us...

    To most of us, developing an exercise program means getting into and maintaining our best physical condition.

    To emergency preparedness and public safety officials, developing an exercise program means establishing a routine practice schedule to prepare for out-of-the-ordinary events that threaten the health of a community.

  • Area road construction demands...

    By the end of this week, motorists in Brunswick County will have endured another inconvenient summer road closure because of a North Carolina Department of Transportation project.

  • County’s sex offender compliance...

    The case of Army Pfc. Kelli Bordeaux, a combat medic stationed at Fort Bragg who was reported missing in April 2012, attracted national attention. She was last seen alive in the company of Nicholas Holbert, who had been convicted of sex crimes against a child, helped lead police to her remains two years later and is awaiting trial on murder and other charges related to her disappearance and death. Although Holbert was a known sex offender, he was not registered because he was living in the woods behind the bar where he met Bordeaux and had no permanent address.

  • Support Veterans Memorial efforts

    As the campaign to preserve the Battleship North Carolina as the state’s memorial to its World War II veterans continues to make significant progress, efforts to establish an all-inclusive monument for our military servicemen and –women in Brunswick County deserve our recognition and support.

  • Drug Treatment Court key to...

    As the Project Lazarus initiative gains ground to combat Brunswick County’s prescription drug overdose crisis, we are obliged to cite a program already working toward that end: Drug Treatment Court.