cdiMis.tcoMcnn
We Need A New Airport Terminal
By Hoyle H. Martin Sr.
Post Editorial Writer
On June 20, Chariot teans will be
asked to approve a $47 million bond
issue for the construction of a new
Douglas Municipal Airport termi
nal.
As might be expected, at a time
when citizens across the nation are
strongly opposing any kind of in
creased public debt that might even
remotely imply the possibility of
raising their taxes or affect their
property values, voters are saying
“no” or at least showing a greater
awareness and concern and have
matured from the apathy or indiffe
rence to such matters as they’ve
done in the past. Thus, it is
understandable that some opposi
tion may appear in the June 20
referendum on issuing the $47 mil
lion bond for the proposed new
terminal
Specifically, residents in District 3
in the West Blvd. area neighbor
hoods-primarily block-have expres
sed concerns about the possible
increased auto traffic that the termi
nal would generate.
In addition, Allen Rousseau, presi
dent of the local chapter of the
NAACP has expressed to City Coun
cil concerns about the limited job
opportunities for blacks at the air
port.
Finally, the Westside Community
Organization (WCO), which helped
.. to defeat a new terminal plan in 1975,
lias expressed concern about the
effect of increased air traffic on
property values in their neighbor
hoods.
Interest Groups
These three interest groups, know
ledge of the fact that politics in a
game involving the art of compro
mise, have each asked the City
Council to grant them some special
consideration in exchange for their
support of the bond referendum. In
particular, the West Blvd. neighbor
, hoods and WCO has asked for
increased recreational facilities and
protective zoning to help beautify
their neighborhoods and the latter
has also asked for special tax
considerations to protect property
values near the airport. At the same
time, the NAACP has expressed an
Interest in seeing blacks get more of
the 30 or more jobs that the city has
at the airport. WCO’s Grace Bailey
summed up these concerns when she
reportedly told the City Council last
week, “Based on your response, we
will decide whether to support or
oppose the bond issue.”
In responding to these concerns
Mayor Ken Harris appeared to sum
•up the City Council’s views when he
said, “I ’m not making any guaran
tees.” Mayor Pro Tern Betty Chafin
added, “I think it’s unrealistic to
expect any kind of definite state
ment within the next two weeks.”
Having given caretul considera
tion to the Airport needs, and its
earnings to pay off the bonds, the
neighborhood concerns and the City
Council’s response, the POST
supports the bond referendum
because in our view when all factors
are considered the City of Charlotte,
and more specifically it’s citizens
will benefit by a higher level of
living both in the near and distant
future.
We base our assumptions here on
the fact that a new Airport terminal
will undoubtedly be a prime factor in
attracting new business and indus
try to the Charlotte area. This will
mean more jobs for our citizens,
both black and white, and increased
revenues for local public services.
Furthermore, a larger and more
fully utilized airport means that the
airlines themselves will employ
more people at the airport and
business opportunities at the termi
nal will expand.
Job Opportunities
Therefore, the proposed new Air
port terminal can be the catalyst for
expanded job opportunities,
expanded small business opportuni
ties, both at the Airport as well as in
relation to the new business
attracted to the area, and new tax
revenue that may help to meet some
of the expressed concerns about the
airport’s impact on neighborhoods.
We believe too that George Bean,
president of the Airport Operators
Council International, put the issue
in clear perspective when he said in
Charlotte recently, “The community
which fails to plan for and provide
the best obstainable airport facili
ties and air services will see its
future progress and prosperity
diverted to a more farsighted and
aggressive environment.”
f inally, with a City Council that
had the courage to say no
“guarantees,” its self to a stronger
' plan for affirmative action and has
demonstrated a concern for the
needs of the districts and their
neighborhoods, we believe that
blacks, residents of the West Blvd.
area and members of The Westside
Community Organization, can as
Mayor Pro Tem Betty Chafin has
asked, “have faith in this Council”
to respond to citizen needs in a
timely manner that will benefit both
rich and poor, black and white.
The POST believes there is thus
sufficient reason for all citizens to
support the Airport referendum on
June 20. To do less, we believe,
would be to fail to have a sense of
vision, faith and hope in the future
and trust in your elected officials.
To help your future and your city
support the Airport bond referen
dum on June 20.
LAWYERS ARTISTS
DOCTORS ARCHITECTS
DENTISTS BUSINESS
ENGINEERS SOCIAL WORKERS
TEACHERS ACCOUNTANTS
AFTER YEARS OF HARO
WORK AND STUPV-NOW
RETURNING TOBUILP
BLACK
We Have The Tools To Do The Job
Welfare Is Third Major Problem
Raleigh- The welfare rolls
are full of able-bodied loafers
and cheats who drive Cadillacs
to the grocery store and buy
beer and wine with their Food
Stamps.”
People who work for a living
- and pay taxes - find it
difficult to understand those
who do not, therefore, state
ments, such as the one above
have bee ome commonplace in
our state and nation through
out the years according to
Robert Ward, director of the
Division of Social Services of
the N.C. Department of
Human Resources.
Based on the over 100,000
responses to the Governor’s
“North Carolina Tomorrow
Survey,” citizens of the state
consider “welfare” to be the
- - - » - -«-■ _
1* ■■ ■ U IMUJVI |/« VWfVlll Ul VU1
state. Results of the survey
shcwjhat approximately one
half fit the response* citing
“welfare" as a problem re
lated to the concern over
recipients fraduently receiv
ing aid.
Ward said the Division o.
Social Services is responsible
for the overall administration
of the Aid to Families With
Dependent Children (AFDC)
program. The program is
state supervised and county
administered and covers more
than 195,000 recipients. He
said while this is not the only
“welfare” program it is the
one that more citizens are
concerned about.
Currently, the 100 county
departments of social services
are responsible for determina
ting suspected fraud in the
AFDC program and taking
appropriate action based on
their findings. Although all
county social services depart
ments are actively involved in
determinations of suspected
fraud, only 30 departments
have specialized procedures
in fraud prevention, detection,
and or investigation.
“Even though contrary to
popular belief, we feel that the
welfare fraud problem in
North Carolina is minimal
compared to our nation's
metropolitan cities, we are
launching a more concentra
ted statewide program for the
prevention, detection and
investigation of fraud effect
ive July 1,1978,” Ward said.
The State Social Services
Commission at its May 16,1978
meeting approved implement
ation of a fraud prevention,
detection, and investigation
program requiring all county
social services departments to
DarticiDate. The State Divi
sion will issue state regula
tions and procedures that will
provide a better understand
ing of the county social ser
vices departments’ responsi
bility in this area.
Ward said the Division is
also in the process of develop
ing a fraud training program
for county workers that will
begin in August. A pamphlet
on fraud is also being printed
for county departments to
assist AFDC applicants in
understanding the penalties
for fraud and how to provide
accurate information to the
workers. Additionally, all
current AFDC recipients will
receive an insert in their
September check explaining
the same thing.
Ward said the Division
began in May matching AFDC
recipient files against
Employment Security records
to determine which recipients
have been working and report
ing earnings. This informa
tion will be sent to county
social services departments to
! ■
serve as an indicator of poten
tial fraud.
“We will also begin using
the Department of Human
Resources toll-free Care-Line
number 1-800-662-7030, for
people across the state to
report suspected fraud,’’
Ward said.
He indicated that although
North Carolina already has a
good record in relation to low
incidence of fraud and error
rates, with this added
emphasis the program should
continue to improve.
The Division of Social Ser
vices has a statewide Quality
Control System with a staff of
quality control analysts who
do a thorough review of
buemuiu Buucwiuv Muiipic ui
AFDC cases to determine
errors in eligibility ana pay
ments, to assess the cause of
such errors, and to implement
procedures to correct error*
For the July-December 1077
reporting period, the Quality
Control case error rate for the
AFDC program showed that
96.5 percent were eligible and
only 3.5 percent ineligible.
This was lower than the
national average ineligible
rate. Of the total errors
committed by recipients, only
1.7 percent were due to mis
representation of facts.
“I sincerely hope that these
increased efforts to detect
fraud don’t make our citizens
continue to feel that the
majority of welfare recipients
'are‘cheats and bums.' We are
just trying to do a better job of
weeding out the few who have
helped create this image. I
am confident that the vast
majority of our AFDC reci
pients are honest people who
sincerely need the limited help
they are getting,” Ward con
cluded.
Vernon J
TO
BE
EQUAL
Jobe Program Up For Renewal
Congress is considering legislation that would
extend the life of federal job programs under
CETA-The Comprehensive Employment and
Training Act. Hopefully, it will also improve the
Act so that it becomes what it was intended to
be—the chief weapon in the war against structu
ral unemployment.
Experience with CETA has revealed some u
glaring faults. While it has served as a vehicle <
for providing disadvantaged people with job
training, work experience, and job-related edu> 1
cational services, it has also been a vehicle for
providing cities with federally-subsidized white
collar workers. \
This, combined with slack stinervision nf
prime sponsors-local govemments-led to what jj
has been caUed the “substitution effect.” Cities, 1
in order to prevent lay-offs or higher local taxes, M
simply switched municipal workers off the local rM
payroll and onto CETA-funded budgets.
That meant a shift in the focus of the program *
away from the disadvantaged. In some cities, a
third or more of municipal workers were paid for
by Washington. Meanwhile, the long-term '
unemployed have gotten lost in the shuffle.
Blacks, young people, and the poor continue to
swell the ranks of those who need the skills,
training and opportunities afforded by federal
jobs efforts.
There are about ten people eligible for every
federal jobs program slot. When scarce
resources are divoted to helping middle class
workers retain their jobs, less is available to
train and employ the truly disadvantaged.
So a major goal of Congress’ re-examination of
the program should be to sharply focus CETA
openings on those most in need. The new
legislation should include clear and unmistak
able language that mandates aid to economically
disadvantaged persons who are unemployed or
underemployed.
ruMiiuuis i\n uie uuocauon oi oma tunas
should also be revised to assure that federal
money is channeled to the areas that need it
most—places where poverty and unemployment
are highest.
The 'traditional Congressional practice of -
spreading funds broadly should be resisted.
Every dollar sent to a region of relatively high
employment or used to fund a job for someone
who could find employment on his own or who
has the skills to compete in the job market is a
dollar denied someone desperately in need of
training and work.
The Administration has also added provisions
for a private sector job program-some $400
million to boost private business’ employment oi
the unskilled and the long-term jobless.
That’s an important step in the right direction,
since the private sector employs the bulk of
American workers and should be the source of
new jobs. If we are to be a full employment
economy, the private sector will have to be a full
partner with government in job-creation and
training.
Local “private industry councils” will work '
with local government CETA sponsors to
develop specific plans for training and hiring the
unskilled jobless.
THE CHARLOTTE POST
, “THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER”
Established 1918
Published Every Thursday
By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc.
2606-B West Blvd. • Charlotte. N.C. 28208
Telephones (704) 376-0496, 376-0497
Circulation, 9,915
60 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE
Bill Johnson.Editor-Publisher
Bernard Reeves.General Manager
Hoyle H. Martin Sr.Executive Editor
Julius Watson.Circulation Director
Albert Campbell.Advertising Director
Second Claw Postage No. 965600 Paid At
Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3,1878
Member National Newspaper Publishers
L Association
North Carolina Black Publishers Association
■—. -
Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m.
Monday. All photos and copy submitted becomes
the property of the POST, and will not be returned.
National Advertising Representative
Amalgamated Publishers, Inc.
45 W. 5th Suite 1403 2400 S. Michigan Ave.
New York, N Y. 10036 Chicago, 111. 60616
(212) 409-1220 Calumet 5-0200
CJ o | | C
me Decision Ut The f uture?
mjj \jw»iuu.ifwu*un
It is that time of year when
young people all over the
country are faced with big
decisions. What shall they do
with the rest of their lives.
Yes, the time Is graduation
and the decision is the future
High school graduataa are
faced with the decision of
continuing their education or
entering the Job market.
College graduates are faced
with the same dilemma but
with more intensity. High
school graduates have a ten
dency to feel the future la
tomorrow while college grads
realize the future firmly baaed
upon today.
Unfortunately, both high
school and college grads are
failing to resolve the problem
of making the dedaion. More
and more atudenta are finding
that they can’t make the decl
sion or that they are making
the wrong dedaion.
Because both sets of stud
ents lack proper guidance and
counseling in making a deci
sion baaed on individual
needs, I am going to give a
little advice so that these
atudenta can help themselves
First, know yourself. Know
the things you like to do and
the things you don’t like to do.
' Prioritize" the things you
like to do, then research posai
urc uu ocib in uww areas.
This is simply stated, but it is
a difficult chore.
When I taught Computer
Science I had a student who
was determined to major in
Computer Science. His single
motivating factor was that
Computer Scientist made a lot
of money. I was living proof
that was a falsehood. But
after teaching the student and
watching him fail, I had a talk
with him. He had a vary poor
math background, an even
poorer attitude about analyti
cal situations, and no idea
what Computer 8cience was
all about. 1 was able to learn
from our conversation that
what be was really interested
in was art. But be didn’t have*
any idea about what he could
do with his talent. I talked
him into going to a technical
school where he could learn
Fashion Design, Drafting,
Commercial Art and a host of
other things. Today he is
doing quite well in school
which was a complete turn
around from how he was
doing.
This was a situation where a
student was forcing himself
into a predictment where he
couldn’t cope. But after reali
sing what he enjoyed doing
and finding out about career
possibilities he was able to do
Gerald Johnson
well.
Secondly, set career object
ives. Once you determine the
career you would like to pur
sue, setup a plan to achieve it.
If you decide that you would
like to pursue a career In
Computer Science and your
interest are geared in that
direction, then look Into possi
bilities of achieving that
career. It might mean you
would like to get a Bachelor ’s
or Master’s Degree in Com
puter Science and enter the
Job market with a well
rounded background. Or you
could get an Associate’s
Degree from a technical
school and work your way up
in the ranks. You could even
get a entry level Job and work
your way up. But the decision
must be yours.
Thirdly, don’t wait until you
are a Senior in high school to
look into a career. The 8th and
9th grades are excellent times
to begin to look into your
future.
The importance of all this
can’t be overemphasised. The
fact that more an more young
people are futureless is quite
evident when you talk to them.
Recent college graduates
have no Jobs and no idss about
what they will spend the root
of their lives doing. Many
graduates will end up with
Jobs thst didn’t require them
to spend four years in college.
So, what gives)
COLLEGE AND YOUR
FUTURE
It Is without a doubt that the
whole college scenario Is
going to pot. In fact the whole
educational scenario Is going
to pot. What this mesne to you
is In order to make U today,
you must excel. A college
education today doesn’t
amount to much more than a
high school education. A high
school education amounts to a
elementary school education
and so on. Unfortunately, as
the educational quality
deflates the business environ
ment's quality inflates. Con
sequently, only the top 5 per
cent of college graduates are
getting employment. Schools
that stress quality in educa
tion of course have a higher
percentage and those schools
that view a college education
as means of employing people
have a lower percentage.
Most Black Institutions fall la
the latter category. This
recent trend in predominately
Black Institutions shortly
after Integration. Since then
Black Institutions beat the
bushes for warm bodies and
completely Ignore any quality
in education. This is partly
due to the Government and
partly due to the Institutions
themaelvss.
All of this is to say If you
choose to go to college be
completely sure you chooee
carefully. If you chooee a
predominately Black school
make sure it has programs to
suit your needs.
If you choose a technical or
trade school be extremely
careful to chooee a good one.
Most aren’t any good. CPCC
happens to be a very good one.
But even then a technical
school is limited because it is
Job oriented. Hence, it
teaches specialization in a
trade and this has limitations.
But don’t go to college and
waste your time and every#
elses if you don’t really w
f
it.
In closing I would like to say
that today is the start of the
rest of your life, use it.
Interest Rate
Wachovia Bank and Trust
Company will increase the
interest rate it pays on Indivi
dual Retirement Accounts
(IRAs) from 7% percent to
eight percent, effective July 1.
The increased rate can result
in an additional savings of
over $10,000 for persons who
make maximum contributions
for a period of 30 years.
The increased interest rate
was made possible by regula
tory actions taken May ll by
the Federal Reserve Board
the Federal Deposit Insurance ’
Corporation and the Fed**-*'
Home Loan Bank.
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