LUMINA NEWS YO U R C O A S TA L C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R S I N C E M AY 2 0 0 2
March 31–April 6, 2016
Volume 15 | Issue 13 | 25¢
luminanews.com
Source: National Weather Service
Breaking away
New raquet sport debuts
Page 6
Seahawks take CAA series
Page 8
Page 12
Easter sunrise service
Utility plans for 421 corridor could qualify for state bond funding
Town hopes to balance budget with cuts, not taxes By Emmy Errante
By Terry Lane
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
The first draft of Wrightsville Beach’s 2017 budget projects the town spending more than it takes in by about $1 million. While Mayor Bill Blair doesn’t anticipate a tax increase, he won’t rule out a water and sewer rate increase, since many of the biggest expenditures aim to improve the town’s water and sewer system. Balancing the budget without increasing taxes or dipping into the town’s reserve fund will require budget cuts. The board of aldermen held its first of several budget workshops March 23 to start prioritizing how to use its projected $15 million in revenue. Cutting down the expenditures to fit the revenue is a yearly challenge, town manager Tim Owens said.
While primarily dedicated to education and parks funding, the $2 billion statewide bond that voters approved in March could provide a funding source for long-anticipated New Hanover County infrastructure upgrades on U.S. 421. The timing is ideal, as the New Hanover County board of commissioners received last week a preliminary engineering report on the feasibility and costs of extending utility lines under the Cape Fear River to provide water and sewer to businesses along the busy highway. With the recent withdrawal of the application for Titan Cement in Castle Hayne, many local leaders have identified the 421 corridor as the most appropriate location for n See CORRIDOR Page 5
Housing
coalition conducts survey on costs By Terry Lane Staff Writer
Last November, local political, business and nonprofit organizations met to discuss what many were identifying as the increasing local economic problem of housing affordability. But while data shows that 39 percent of homeowners and 54 percent of renters in the Wilmington area are “housing cost-burdened,” it’s not clear to many stakeholders what the public at large thinks of the issue. The Cape Fear Housing Coalition wants a public survey it is conducting to change that by giving a picture of what residents in the area think about the issue. “I don’t think anyone’s put a survey out in the community,”
Clouds and rain did not deter six local churches from coming together for the annual Wrightsville Beach Community Sunrise Service Sunday, March 27 at Public Beach Access No. 19. -Allison Potter
n See BUDGET Page 5
24-hour paddle raises thousands for family fighting cancer By Emmy Errante Staff Writer
In the final hours of a day-long paddleboard fundraiser, participant John Beausang tried to lift himself off his board onto the dock to get a few minutes rest. He was so fatigued, he tumbled into the 62-degree water and sprawled there in what he called “a manatee impression.” “My whole body was just enflamed and hot and sore, so it was like an ice bath,” he said. Beausang was one of six local paddleboarders who took turns stroking around Wrightsville Beach for 24 hours from Friday, March 25 to March 26 to raise more than $3,000 for a Wilmington child battling brain cancer. The participants — Beausang, James Bain, April Zilg, Barry Blackburn, Tracy Skrabal and Nancy Preston — divided into three teams and paddled Wrightsville Beach’s waters in two-hour shifts from noon Friday to noon Saturday. The paddle was part of a national event called the 24 Go Because You Can. Seattle resident Troy Nebeker created the event last year in his hometown with the goal of raising money and support for local families battling cancer. This year, paddlers in six other communities, including Wrightsville Beach, organized their own events. Wrightsville Beach’s involvement resulted from a serendipitous n See PADDLE Page 5
Staff photo by Emmy Errante
Participants in the 24-hour Go Because You Can Paddle, April Zilg, John Beausang, Nancy Preston, Tracy Skrabal and Barry Blackburn, pose after the event with the paddle’s beneficiary, 7-year-old Owen.
n See HOUSING Page 5
Local school gets flotilla donation
WB hires new fire chief By Emmy Errante Staff Writer
Wrightsville Beach has filled its open position to head the town’s fire department by tapping the former fire chief of a Massachusetts seaside town that has several similar characteristics. Glen Rogers brings nearly 30 years of experience working in fire departments of coastal towns, including Manchesterby-the-Sea Fire and Rescue Department in Massachusetts, where he was fire chief from 2012 until December 2015.
He started his career in fire service as a firefighter and paramedic with the Falmouth, Massachusetts, fire department in 1986 and in 1999 he was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief and Paramedic. “I am honored and humbled to be selected as fire chief for Wrightsville Beach,” Rogers said in a March 30 press release. “My background in firefighting and emergency management has been in oceanfront communities similar to Wrightsville Beach so it seems to be a natural fit. I am looking forward to leading the n See CHIEF Page 5
By Emmy Errante Staff Writer
Lumina News file photo
Shemeka Shufford helps Rebekah Williamson and Jerry Blanks construct a STEM curriculum project at D.C. Virgo Dec. 12, 2014.
Police Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 For the record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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Lifestyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Sports/Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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Because of a new charity element to the North Carolina Holiday Flotilla sponsorships, the 2015 festival raised $5,400 to benefit one of Wilmington’s low-income schools, D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy. Flotilla committee members recently visited the students to present the check and learn about the program the money will benefit. The flotilla’s 2015 donation, like n See DONATION Page 5
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