My Vote

Knowing that I had to work day shift and would not get to the poles till about 6:45 tonight, I voted last Friday. I was the 1579 vote casted in Columbus County. I voted for everyone I listed in my previous post plus Kevin Hood, Monte Herring and Bill Johnson for the county school board, everyone else on the ballot was unopposed. I saw in the Reporter that 3267 early votes where cast in the county. That's almost 10% of the registered voters. Not to bad in an off year. Hope you got to cast yours and may we get the right people in office.

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My Canidates for the Upcoming Election Are:

First off the District 7 County Commissioner, I'm voting for Sammy Hinson. He has talked a lot about transparent government and open elections the last few years and want to give him a chance to do it. For the 13th Judicial District DA, my vote goes to Jon David. Rex Gore has been our DA for 16 years and I honestly don't think he has done the best job. I recently spoke to a Detective with the Sheriff's Department and was informed that one of the biggest problems in Columbus County was Rex Gore. If the police will not stand behind Rex, why should I. My vote for the 8th District Senate seat will go to Bill Fairley. R.C. Soles has been in Raleigh way to long and has lost touch with the people he is suppose to represent. Also many claim and feel that R.C. runs Columbus County politics. If this is true then have him voted out of office will help remove his influence over the county and may ease some of the trouble we have here. And if for no other reason my vote goes to Fairley because he wants to reduce the tax burden of NC. For the NC House District 20th seat, I will cast my vote for Ray Gilbert. I've heard him speak several times and feel that he will try to make a honest effort to do what's right in Raliegh. It's time that Dewry Hill ran his business and let someone else help out in Raliegh. In the race for the US Congressional District 7 seat, my vote goes to Shirley Davis. Mike McIntyre has done a good job with regional things but his stance on national issues leaves me wanting for a change. I've voted for Mike in the past but this year I have a better canidate to vote for. Shirley is for HR25 (FairTax), tough illegal alien legistration (she even calls them illegal aliens) and making the tax cuts permanent. For the NC Supreme Court Chief Justice, I'm voting for Judge Rusty Duke. One reason "Judges should interpret the law, not make law." and that is all I have to say about that. For the NC Supreme Court Associates, I'm voting for Mark Martin, Ann Marie Calabria and Eric Levinson. For the NC Court of Appeals, I'm voting for Kris Bailey and Donna Stroud.

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Commissioners Rescind Insurance Benefit

Friday our County Commissioners met in a special call meeting to discuss the insurance benefit they had created for themselves. About 300 angry citizens showed up for the 3pm meeting. Kip Godwin, started the meeting telling the public that the board would not hear from them, that if the people wanted to be heard the needed to attend a regular board meeting. He then gave the floor to Amon McKenzie to give the boards decision. He basically said that he and the board did nothing wrong and that the citizens where in the wrong for the way we reacted. He recieved a round of hissing and comments from those in attendance. The only commissioner that even tried to apoligize was James Prevatte. After that the board dismissed and all but McKenzie and Prevatte quickly left the floor. I hope that when the rest of the commissioners come up for re-election they like David Dutton loose their seats.

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Columbus County Commissioners Take a Collective Stupid Pill

Our grand bunch of commissioners got together the other day and in a closed meeting, unamimously voted themselves a very generous health insurance benefit. The plan was included in the county personnel manual by commissioners Godwin, McKenzie and Jacobs. The News Reporter stated that they requested a copy of the manual before the vote, but that county Manager Jim Varner wouldn't allow. After the benefit was made public, some of the commissioners said that they thought it was a grand idea, that their constituents would want them to have this token of appreciation, other counties have similar benefits, I didn't know it was in there and no comment. Board rebel James Prevatte, stated that he didn't read the manual word for word and must have overlooked that section. Everyone I've spoken with has said that that was no excuse and wondered what else he might have overlooked since taking office. The benefit would pay 50% of the health insurance for a 1 term commissioner, 75% for a 2 term and 100% for a 3 term. They would recieve the benefit regardless of their antics while on the board. The News Reporter published the following chart showing what some of the surrounding counties have like this. Just to make it clear, the Columbus County plan is the best of the bunch, even better than counties that have 5 times the tax receipts as Columbus. County Benefits after one term Benefits after two or more terms Columbus County Pays 50% Two terms: county pays 75% Three terms: county pays 100% New Hanover Commissioner pays 100% Two terms: county pays 25% Duplin None After 10 years county pays 50% Anson None None Bertie None After 20 years county pays 100% Richmond None None Scotland None Life insurance at $14 per month Pender None Two terms: commissioner pays 100% Hoke None Two terms: county pays 100% Bladen None None Wake At age 62 county pays 50% At age 62 county pays 100% What board members fell to realize is that they are public servants, not employees. They are there by our grace and deserve no benefits when their terms are over. The board said that they will meet Friday at 3pm to discuss this matter farther. Updated 2006-09-29

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Busy Busy Busy

I've not stopped posting, I've just been very busy the last week or two. I hope to be back in full swing either the middle or end of next week. Just a few thoughts I've had lately: 1) NC needs a zero point budget. Take this year, our state collected more tax money than expected, so what did our people in Raliegh do? They expained the size of our state government. Why? Was that the smartest thing to do? In my opinion, no! What happens if for the next year our economy drops just a little? The tax money will not be there to support the growth in government forced on us. So then what happens, Raliegh will raise taxes, create new user fees or impose more "temporary" taxes that just never seem to go away. With a zero point budget every penny would need to be justified as needed before it is given out each year in the budget. 2) I don't like the UN. I've not liked it for a long time now. I believe that America should withdraw our membership and then have them withdraw from our soil. 3) What is it about South Carolina crazy people and bunkers and dungeons? Scary stuff going on across the border. 4) I heard on the radio the other day that a proposed bill in Washington would pay for a border fence if Mexico agreed to it and that it didn't detract from the landscape. What?!? Someone must have took a stupid pill that day.

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West Virginia Man Can't Afford Free House

MyrtleBeachOnline LAKE LURE, N.C. - Donald P. Cook, who won HGTV's 5,700-square-foot Dream Home on April 29, plans to sell the house because of the high taxes and maintenance costs. Cook, an auditor for the state of West Virginia who has been disabled since childhood by multiple sclerosis, said the electricity bill is more than 10 times what he now pays. "I don't think there's any possibility I could afford to live there," Cook, of Alum Creek, W.Va., said in an interview posted on the Home & Garden Web site. "What we plan to do is live in the Dream Home for about three weeks, then sell it." The home overlooks Lake Lure in Rutherford County and has been assessed at slightly more than $3 million with an annual tax bill of $19,396.64. Cook, who was one of 40 million people who entered the Dream Home contest, plans to retire in October and stay in West Virginia. He said he'll use the money from the Dream Home's sale to buy another house. "It's a dream that anyone would love to have - owning a house like the Dream Home," he told HGTV. "But then reality sets in."

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Earn An Extra $1200 Just For Speaking Spanish

MyrtleBeachOnline HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - Employees for Hilton Head Island who know Spanish will soon make an additional $1,200 a year. The program, which goes into effect later this year, is meant to help people ranging from emergency crews to building permit officers better communicate with the region's growing Hispanic population. Critics of the program say it eliminates another reason for immigrants to learn English with some of the harshest detractors asking why the town is catering to illegal immigrants. But Hilton Head Island officials said the policy is pragmatic. It wouldn't be worth it to have to hire an interpreter for code-enforcement officers needing to tell someone they were cutting down a tree improperly, officials said. Also, emergency workers can't refuse to treat someone who doesn't speak English, and state law requires interpreters in courtrooms, Mayor Tom Peeples said. "I don't think you can stick your head in the sand (and say), 'We're not going to give you service if you're here dying of a heart attack and you can't explain to us what your symptoms are,'" Peeples said. Peeples does agree with the critics who say the program shouldn't have been extended outside of emergency workers. Beaufort County has a similar program only for law enforcement officers. But the mayor said Town Council doesn't like to micromanage the operations of Town Hall. Municipal governments often are forced into short-term solutions to deal with growing populations who speak a different language, University of South Carolina political science professor Blease Graham said. The program has generated a lot of interest in the community. At a Town Council meeting last week, Fabia Kendall, who said she didn't know a word of English when her family came to America from Italy, told council members her family didn't expect to encounter government workers speaking anything other than English. "Your incentive plan treats this issue with little or no respect for the obligations that come with legal immigration, and completely sidesteps the issue of illegal immigration. It is just plain wrong and an insult to all of those who came to this country legally and properly to improve their way of life," Kendall said to applause.

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NC Localities Fighting Over DHS Funding

The News & Observer has an article about the fight between the state and local agencies on how to spend the money allocated to the state from Homeland Security. North Carolina's allocation has shrunk from $54 million in 2004 to $30.5 million this year. About one-third is already earmarked by the federal government. State emergency officials are deciding now how to spend the rest -- and taking heat as they do it. The dwindling grants have touched off a spat between state and local officials over how to slice the smaller pie.

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What?

WRAL MOORE COUNTY, N.C. -- Pinecrest High School has only 25 varsity football players, well below the average for most 4-A schools. "It's heartbreaking," said Pinecrest senior Jay Heimrich. School officials confirmed that Heimrich is one of only four seniors on the Patriot football squad. "Obviously, every kid is out here giving his all," he said. "We've been here all summer." Because of the low participation at the varsity level in recent years, school officials said that only junior varsity and freshman schedules might be played this season. School leaders, coaches, and parents will meet to discuss the future of the team early next week. The school's principal, Joel County, said it's the numbers not the talent level that might cost the team its season. "We've got some skilled participants," said County. "It's the number that concerns us." Because of low participation, players would have to play both offense and defense for the entire season, with very little substitutions available. County said he fears for their safety. "Our concern is putting kids out on the field and incurring more than you'd expect from playing football," County said. If the varsity season is cut short, the school could face fines from the conference and seniors like Heimrich would likely see their high school careers come to a disappointing end. "The kids looking forward to scholarships," Heimrich said. "It's just a heartbreaker, it's not looking too good." So what? What does it matter if you only have 25 players. When I played at WCHS we where lucky to have that many players. As far as playing both offense and defense, many of us did that every game of the season. Let the kids play.