WHAT'S
HAPPENING
Free Copy
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HIGH POINT MODEL CITY COMMISSION
October 27,1972
TAXPAYERS
'FEDERAL
GOV'T
MAYOR,
CITY COUNCIL
PRO-
,JECT
PRO
JECT
PRO
JECT
PRO
JECT
TAXPAYERS
Revenue Sharing
Revenue Sharing: Local Government
To Decide How Federal |$ Is Spent
How it works
With the passage of a bill by Con
gress last week, revenue sharing be
came a reality.
What does this new law mean for
High Point?
According to the formula worked
out in Washington, High Point will re
ceive $1,287,001 from the federal gov
ernment every fiscal year for the next
five years to spend however its local
government sees fit.
Half of this amount, or roughly
$640,000, is expected to come by No
vember 1. The remainder is due to
arrive in the spring.
In other words, City Council will
receive a lump sum, or block amount,
to spend on whatever projects it feels
necessary.
This new federal spending concept,
very similar to the way Model Cities is
funded, is another step in replacing
old methods of funding projects.
In the past, Washington doled out
funds for separate local projects; cities
were required to make numerous ap
plications for federal funds every time
they found a worthwhile project which
needed financial assistance. And once
the federal monies came, their use was
monitored very closely.
LOCAL KNOW-HOW
Now the federal government is mov
ing away from such strict control over
how local governmental units choose
to spend their funds. Many leaders in
Washington feel that it is those on a
local level, after all, who know best
what their conditions are, which pro
grams deserve funds, and how best to
carry out these programs.
With this growing feeling that local
government should be most responsible
for the spending of domestic tax dol
lars, revenue sharing was passed into
law.
In revenue sharing, and its sister bill.
Community Development — which is
expected to be passed when Congress
reconvenes next year—communities all
over the country collect their federal
taxes as usual and send them to Wash
ington. Federal oflBcials, in turn, de
termine how much is then transferred
back to state, county and city govern
ments according to their population
and per capita income.
Guilford County, for example, will
Sickle Cell Test Now Given At Health Clinic
A new site for testing for sickle cell
anemia has been added by the Guil
ford County Health Department in
cooperation with the Sickle Cell Out
reach and Education agency.
Mothers can now take their children
to the health clinic on Montlieu Ave
nue, across from High Point College,
from 3 to 4:30 p.m. each Monday.
This time and place is in addition to
the Elizabeth Street Demonstration
Center in the Southside, where all
black children are tested routinely for
the blood disease.
The simple Sickle Dex test, ad
ministered free, is taken by simply
pricking a child’s finger. Results will
show whether or not the child either
has tlie trait or has the disease itself.
If the test is positive, a further more
sophisticated test must be conducted
at High Point Memorial Hospital to
determine whether the child is a car
rier of the trait or has the severe form
of the disorder.
Parents of children who are found
to carry the trait or to suflFer from the
painful sickle cell anemia are then
counseled by the staff of the Sickle
Cell Outreach office, a Model Cities
agency.
More information about sickle cell
can be obtained by contacting the
agency at 402 Harrison Street. Direc
tor Teresa Bodie can be reached at
886-7436.
Though geared primarily at this time
to residents of the Model Neighbor
hood, the project is designed to assist
any black family in High Point who
needs help regarding sickle cell
anemia.
Legal Services Client
receive a total of $5,957,099. Of that
amount, Greensboro will receive $2,-
781,068, while High Point will get its
$1,287,001. These amounts are in ad-
ition to the $1,770,000 sum allotted
High Point annually for the Model
City Commission.
Unlike federal grants in the past,
with the exception of Model Cities,
revenue sharing requires the local gov
ernments to decide how these new
monies are spent.
Cities which have had Model Cities
processes already at work, it can be
pointed out, have actually had a head
start in deciding the direction of reve
nue sharing.
Model Cities stresses the importance
of citizen participation in identifying
problems and conditions, planning so
lutions, and evaluating results — all of
which will be necessary for effective
revenue spending.
NEED ADVICE
Now, more than ever. City Council-
men will need the help and advice of
citizens from all over the community
to help make these crucial decisions
on what projects to fund.
New city-wide task forces being
formed by Model Cities are a step in
a heightened communication with City
Hall and the decision-makers.
The new revenue-sharing technique
— in which more well-to-do cities share
their revenue, or income, with poorer
ones — has several advantages, it is
felt. Cities now have the opportunity
to develop their own strategies and
programs to meet their own unique
needs without strict federal guidelines.
More than ever before, people on
the “grass roots” level will have a bet
ter chance to voice their opinions on
how their federal tax dollars are spent.
City Councils can take a more com
prehensive approach to problem-solv-
(Continued on page 3)
She Thought That Something ^Fishy^ Was Going On...
When Leona Hickman went to High
Point Legal Services with a complaint
last February, she thought she was the
only one who had been cheated by a
local keypunch training firm.
As it turned out, not only had she
been cheated, but so had at least 52
others in High Point.
It was Ms. Hickmans visit to at
torney Mike McGee at Legal Services,
which offers free legal advice to those
certified by the Department of Social
Services, which gave the added push
needed to resolve the keypunch case.
Leona Hickman, a Model Neighbor
hood resident at the time the whole
matter began, has a fifth grade educa
tion. She is a textile worker, now em
ployed by Anvil Brand, Inc. She and
her younger son live at 802 Oakview
Road.
Learning the techniques of key
punch, she thought, was something she
wanted to do. She heard about the
local branch of a national keypunch
school, and talked to a representative.
He assured her that her lack of
education would not prevent her from
learning the skill. “He said education
didn’t matter, that I could leam it,”
she said. “I guess I let him talk me
into it.”
INSTANT LOAN
She gave him a deposit of $5 —all
she had at the time —and was taken
next door to a loan company to borrow
the additional $345 needed for the
course. The money was produced at
once, without a credit check, and the
loan agreement signed.
The first night of class there were
no instructor, and no keypunch ma
chines. The second class an instructor
showed up, but according to Ms. Hick
man “didn’t explain much.” By the
third class meeting it became apparent
to her that the material was too dif
ficult, and that something “fishy” was
going on.
The fourth night of class, Ms. Hick
man’s last, there was likewise no in
structor.
Having consulted Legal Services be
fore about another matter, Ms. Hick
man decided to pay them another
visit.
In the meantime, Ms. Hickman be
gan her repayment of the $345 loan,
(Continued on Page 3)
LEONA HICKMAN